#and that first quote on the bottom on the left side is so freaking accurate w axl and his feelings smdh

[serrpentine]

↪    A    LOVE   TRIANGLE    /    WHEN   FIRE   &   ICE   COLLIDE . 

a  rose  frozen  with  a  flame ,  ღ

                  ❝   she   says   her   love   for   me   could   never   die;   but   that’d   change   if   she   ever   found   out   about   you   and   i.   o h,   but   her   love   is   cold.   wouldn’t   hurt   her   if   she   didn’t   know,   ‘cause   when   it   gets   too   much... i   need   to   feel   your   touch.   i’m   gonna   run   to   you,   i’m   gonna   run   to   you.   ‘cause   when   the   feelin’s   right  i’m  gonna   run   all   night,    i’m   gonna   run   to     you.    ❞

don’t  reblog  unless  you’re   @erinseverly  &  /  or  @stephseymour .

[pandachamp]

AVENGERS 4 TRAILER ANALYSIS

Whoop Whoop! The new Avengers trailer just dropped this morning at 7am (USC) and I couldn’t be more excited!

To prove how much of a fanatic I am about the MCU, I made a scene by scene analysis of the one minute trailer. Be aware of the long post ahead, we’re diving in deep.

So I split up the analysis by three things. I put a voice over as stand-alone quotes right above the shot it correlates to. Every time there is a shot change, I put a new dash. Whenever the scene itself changes (ex. from Space to Earth) I write down the new area we are watching. Keep in mind that sometimes the shots and scenes of trailers do not occur in order. (But I’m sure ya’ll know that)

Trailer Watch:

Scene: Tony and his recording to Pepper in the cockpit of a ship

-Tony’s iron man head is ruined. It is the right side of his helmet. This isn’t accurate to what we see in Infinity war. You can find the youtube video I watched to find this out here. Tony had his helmet smashed off. The left side of his face was open and the right side was still intact before Thanos hit him across the head the whole thing came off. Soooooo, either Tony has another suit with him (wouldn’t surprise me) and then got into a separate fight, or I got it wrong and that was not the last time we see the Iron Man suit in Infinity War. EDIT: I rewatched it since I posted, the helmet is not ruined, it is meticulously taken apart. What if Tony was trying to give power to the ship through the Iron Man suit? That power is going to run out ‘tomorrow’ and the ship will then have no power to give them oxygen. 

Tony VO “This thing on?”

-The interior of the ship he is on is similar to ones from the guardians of the galaxy. Making me think he is on their ship.

“Hey miss Potts, If you find this recording…”

- He is wearing a black tank top and his triangle arc reactor is showing through the shirt. He looks physically exhausted and tired. The last outfit we see him in on Titan was a zip-up sweatshirt, but I don’t expect that to be the only thing he had on him.

“Don’t feel bad about this. Part of the journey is the end. Just for the record, being adrift in space with zero promise of rescue is more fun than it sounds.”

- Honestly, I thought the ship in space was Falcon. I got excited for a hot second there. It is not. Then my brain started working again ‘you really think Falcon would be in space? Did you forget that Sam was dusted too?’ Thanks, brain, I really needed to remember that Sam got dusted. Thanks.

“Food and water ran out four days ago. Oxygen will run out tomorrow morning. That’’ be it.”

- Tony’s outfit is different. He now has a red long-sleeve shirt on. He is standing and looking out the front of the ship. There is something blue and bright on the right bottom corner of the screen, but it doesn’t seem artificial, maybe there is a bunch of bright nebula’s. Speaking of Nebula, we haven't seen her on this ship yet.

“When I drift off I will think about you. It’s always you.”

-my heart 

-the ship’s screens in the background seem to be disrupted. There is something else that is wrong with the ship.

Scene: wherever Thanos is

- his armor is off and hung like a scarecrow. His hut we see at the end of infinity war is in the background. The landscape is hilly and looks like it could even be earth. (Dear Lord I hope not)

Natasha VO “Thanos did exactly what he said he was going to do…”

- We see the gauntlet. It is wrecked. It looks just as burned as it did after the snap in infinity war.

- The plants Thanos is walking in are not from earth. He is on a different planet. I can’t tell where he is walking to, but he is going toward the sun. It’s all quiet and peaceful, just like he wanted. 

Scene: Avenger’s compound

- A sky view of the compound. It is completely empty, there’s hardly as much movement in comparison to other scenes. Thanos really did do it.

“He wiped out…

-Cap is crying. I am crying. We all are crying. I miss him too, Cap. I miss him too.

“Fifty percent of all living creatures.”

-50% of living creatures! Not just humans! This means that there are fewer animals too. Do plants count?

- Next, we see Bruce standing in front of a screen showing missing avengers. We see Scott Lang as the main face he is looking at, but a smaller screen also shows both Shuri and Peter Parker as MISSING. Shuri got dusted as well! He looks at Scott and puts his hand in his face.

- We then get another shot at the compound. This time it looks like a hanger for maybe the quinjets? Nonetheless, it is empty.

Steve VO “We lost. All of us”

- Thor is 1. In human clothing (and man does he look good) 2. Sitting solemnly against a background that is pretty indistinguishable. At first I thought it was the Asgardian cells, but then I remembered that he was last on earth. He is most likely at the base with Cap and Nat. He looks defeated. He had him. He had the power to kill Thanos! He didn’t truly avenge Heimdall’s and Loki’s death. He truly has nothing more that he could lose.

Scene: Tony and Nebula’s spaceship

- We see Nebula for the first time in this trailer. This is most definitely the ship the Guardians we’re using in the last film. She steps around the corner and is either going toward the cockpit or away from the cockpit, I can't distinguish. She is very slow in her movements, pausing and looking down. (Could this be that she just saw Tony die??) She looks defeated. Does she need the same amount of food and water and oxygen that humans need? This makes me wonder about how much of her is a robot.

“We lost friends. We lost family.”

- Nebula’s hand is sliding off Tony’s shoulder. I didn’t see any movement from Tony. With the wording that goes along with this scene, we are led to assume that this is when Tony dies. ... NOT ON MY WATCH MARVEL!

Scene: In Chinatown or in an actual Asian city.

- We see a hooded figure wiping blood off of this weird looking sword thing. Honestly, at first, I thought they brought daredevil into Avengers. I knew they wouldn’t, but I had no clue who this was.

-Nat stands behind this hooded figure who is standing over the body of a man in business apparel and two other men in the background in white clothing. The guy at the hooded man’s feet is most likely the boss and still looks alive at this shot. The hooded man begins to remove his hood and then a mask. It shows unruly hair and I was freaking out thinking it was Klaw. Who else has hair like this?

“We lost a part of ourselves”

-IT'S FREAKING CLINT. But is it? Or is this is new alter ego Robin? Robin is the alter ego of Hawkeye but Robin only came after a bad event. I'm betting he lost someone in his family if not all. Think about it. In infinity war, Nat said that Clint chose to be with his family instead of fighting Thanos. What would push Clint to leave his family again and become this vigilante-esque man? IF HIS FAMILY GOT DUSTED. Clint ‘loses a part of himself’ and becomes Robin, the bad-boy alter ego of Hawkeye.

“This is the fight of our lives”

Scene: Nat and Cap are dressed and ready to go into action and standing in the quinjet.

-Cap brings out his compass with the picture of Peggy. My goodness the love that this man has for her is crazy. I know that there are people who low-key ship Cap and Nat (I was even on board for a bit), but I don’t think anyone should be with Cap unless it’s Peggy. Those two were meant to be together, but sadly, time kept them apart. RIP Peggy Carter.

- Nat to Cap “This is going to work, Steve.” Cap, “I know it is.” looks over to Nat “Because I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t” Okay, guys! There’s a plan! There is no indication of what they’re doing or where they’re going but at least there’s a plan!

At this point, we get some Bomb™ music and the wonderful intro to the title of this movie AVENGERS: END GAME

“Hi, uh, is anyone home?”

-okay wait hold up. WHAT? Isn’t that Scott’s voice?

Scene: The Avengers compound. Looking at a screen (the same screen that showed Scott as MISSING)

“This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago at the airport in Germany? I got really big.”

- Steve and Natasha were surprised with this video on the screen. Steve stands up, confusion on his face. Wait, he’s alive? He asks “Is this an old message?” Nat then stands up.

“Ant man? Ant ma — I know you know who — I know you know that.”

Nat says “That’s the front door” 

- In the background of the security footage, we see that Scott came up in this great looking van. So now we have both Scott and Clint coming back to help out the team. Did Scott also lose his daughter?

“That’s me. Can you buzz me in?”

End of Trailer!

AND IT COMES OUT IN APRIL GUYS I’M SO EXCITED!

[raifuujin]

Well, it’s been a year since my last look at a chapter, so just going to jump in. Chapter five: The Underwater Pirate Ship.

Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3,  Ch. 4

Fun fact: I did some minor research on things in this chapter. Not enough to comment on every little thing, since it helps to be more experienced in the subject, but I can say the ‘time limit’ Kaito is referring to is most likely for a no-decompression dive. After exceeding a certain time (dependent on depth and person), too much nitrogen could be absorbed by the body to swim straight to the surface without risking decompression sickness. It’s basically dissolved gasses forming bubbles in the blood that can cause damage if you don’t allow the gas levels to dissipate before changing from the higher pressured depths to lower pressured surface.

So I think Kaito is in a perfect position to worry. The ocean can cause quite a few problems if you aren’t careful.

The fish looks spiny. Which makes me wonder how on earth she put it into her suit and kept it there without problems. I’m also assuming that it’s not a puffer fish, since it doesn’t look right, but spines do still usually mean poisonous when it comes to fish. Even if Kaito doesn’t want to touch any fish at all, pretty sure any normal person would be freaked out if you put that thing in front of their face.

1) Good aim with a projectile for a drunk person. 2) Looking at their faces. Aoko seems entirely confused, while Kaito’s head is turned to follow the path of the harpoon. While the translation has a question mark, the raw has no punctuation, so it feels like he could see the action perfectly well, even if it’s still surprising. ( I feel like Kaito has good dynamic vision anyway. )

Ah, yes, perfect way to introduce this guy. Just threw a harpoon without warning, looks like he could do it again at any time, drinking, and has glasses that are blacked out on one side. Clearly the guy to trust for a diving trip. ( I’d love to know how they found this guy. Was there just an add: Boat available for scuba diving? )

I feel like the more accurate translation was ‘you don’t know how good the sea is’, which would flow off of Kaito’s response better. Which, after this, I have to wonder if Kaito’s opinions of the sea have changed, since it’s saved him once in canon and once non-canon. And he’s fine philosophizing about why the sea is blue with Conan later.

Aoko, you had good intentions, but exposure therapy is better left to the person trying to get over the mild phobia. At the very least, pretty sure you need consent and the other person needs to know it’s coming for it to be effective and not making it worse.

Kaito is a pretty good judge of when someone is acting suspicious. Sudden compliments to try and get someone to let their guard down? Up to no good. Aoko, stop blushing, it’s pretty creepy to have the rude drunk suddenly trying to act sweet. ( He could also be read as being nervous here. Sudden sweatdrop in both of these panels. )

Not just Kaito that can guess when more is known than is let on. Also: not just glasses, but goggles that are half blacked out. Really trying to keep the suspense that is his eye a secret.

When did he have time to set up a bomb without Kaito noticing? Was he planning to blow up the boat regardless of whether the submarine was found or not? Also, Kaito got that equipment ready pretty quickly.

It doesn’t feel like they’d gotten very far. But question: Kaito, why did you dive in backwards? In the panel before, he was already in the water and looking down, he’d have purposefully ducked in backwards. And I feel like Silver noticed the explosion, at least. Can’t tell if he’s aware Kaito escaped and followed them.

(And side note: I just really like Kaito in the left panel for some reason.)

Ah yes, another fish surprise just for the sake of it. Because Kaito is the one human they’d want to gather around. ( Or maybe Aoko and Silver had to go through the school, and that’s what held them up. )

But here’s the evidence that Kaito isn’t deathly afraid of fish. Literally, anytime he’s been shown to be afraid, it’s been with a surprise. When he’s aware that they’re there, he’s not bothered. I still maintain that he just prefers not to touch them directly or eat them.

Detour with a fish and shark, and they still haven’t gone that far. Aren’t you lucky, Kaito. And isn’t it lucky he’s so focused and it’s apparently dark where they are.

Because that is a good face for a reaction to seeing the sub.

Two fun facts:

1) From what I was looking at, this is a Japanese submarine from WWII, possibly i-400 series, though it doesn’t have a number. As will come up later, they were made to hold up to three planes, and were supposed to hide underwater and only come up to sneakily release a plane before diving back down. And they also came with torpedoes.

2) Knowing the design of the sub, you can tell this one is upside-down. This entire journey into the ship is all going to be upside down, and I will point out the extra evidence of this as it comes up.

Silver is somehow creepier than I recall. He’s not pure evil, but he got issues.

That fish has to be a relative of the one before. Maybe he’s asking about the one that got harpooned. ( Also, this hatch would normally be one you go down into, and they’ll be going up instead. )

That poor book should be disintegrated by now.

Well, guess you can’t just keep making random trips to this place without keeping your oxygen with you. Yet you’re not even going to think about that later, so oh well. I'd also be amazed you brought a lighter to use instead of a flashlight.

Foreshadowing~ ( And sticking to detail, the plane is upside down, too.)

As they’re walking on the ceiling, you can see the lights that would normally light the walkways while people went around the sub.

Yeah, real skeletons would be shocking. I’d like to know what happened, though. The guy with the hat is Silver’s father (even if I weren’t using the hat that we see later, the things on his shoulder and his pin say he’s high rank), but did the other guy try to kill someone to get a sword stuck in his skull in return? Also, guns exist, you can see it at the bottom, who decided to they were prepared to bloody weapons from their hoard? Also, pretty messed up to leave the skeletons in the ship. You couldn’t let most of them drop into the ocean?

...Did you just have chloroform stored away in here? Or with you? In some way that it retains it’s effectiveness.

Between this face and his last ones, I could believe he does feels bad about killing her. I doubt he cared about Kaito, but I could see him liking Aoko because she does seem to like the ocean and was so excited in seeing the ship. What I don’t think makes sense is deciding you needed to kill two people because Aoko may or may not have seen the ship. She thought it was coral, and as soon as she mentioned it, Silver was like: Welp, time to kill both of these two so they can’t say anything. Must’ve been really scared she go tell everyone about the ‘coral’ and that it’d attract attention, but that’s still a big leap.

First thing: The year is supposed to be 1967. To make it 20 years ago as of when this chapter was released in 1987. Having an exact time is odd, too. And ignoring the name... One thing about the panels is that you can see is that, in the previous, Aoko didn’t have her arm over her waist. It does show that we see down to her knee, but no hand.

1) Kaito, why and how the heck do you have your KID outfit? Why pull it out at all? You supposedly died in the explosion so you’re going to be a ghost in more than one way? I also hope this book was new and not the one from the water.

2) So, there’s a possibility Silver doesn’t know Kaito didn’t die, so would he have been thinking KID was just wandering around in here? ‘Oh no, he found the treasure’ sort of thing? If that’s the case, the pirate thinks he’s killed at least Kaito during this chapter. ( And to be fair, I don’t think he had a good impression of Kaito. So he’d be even less likely to assume the famous thief that dove down to a submarine is the same kid who gets backed into a corner by fish. )

Nice to see Kaito is admitting him being KID is selfish. Even if the motive sounds nice. And did Silver get that gun from his dad? Because that’s one thing I don’t think he could have brought with him while diving.

For all those people who thought Kaito has to rely on his own tricks to accomplish anything. He’s perfectly capable of kicking butt, even if I doubt he’s good at hand to hand combat. He’s good at thinking on his feet, even when it comes to action.

His finger is on the trigger. And while I doubt he’d be trying to kill anyone, I fully believe he’d be willing to shoot to injure.

Did he pick up the knife, too? Kinda unnecessary, when a weapon is more for a conscious hostage and you’re already essentially using her as a shield, but okay.

Kaito’s one time being fearless around a fish made said fish want to kill him. I don’t think this will help his dislike.

The shark facts in this one are far from on point, since Gosho has always pulled more from what looks cool, but still. Sharks don’t typically ‘stalk’ any prey that’s out of their reach. Swimming around to wait expends a lot of energy, and people aren’t a shark’s ideal food choice. Even if you say the shark is mad at Kaito, sharks would prefer to keep it’s energy survive than hold a grudge.

Biggest point of this story: Kaito sympathizes with Silver. Silver is watching over and protecting his father’s ship, and has been dedicated to watching over this place that means a lot to him. Probably resonates, especially while KID is using his father’s own title right now. Self imposed job related to things passed on from their father, even if it’s more an emotional choice than a logical one.

Nah, pirates are pretty okay. That’s more what would happen if you trust politicians. *shot*

This is probably one of my favourite quotes from Kaito. I might question the exact wording, but the meaning is still basically: I could die either way, I might as well choose to trust that you’ll help. Just a really good way to put it, being positive, but not quite in an optimistic way. More like better wording of ‘I don’t have much choice’. At the least, putting trust in Silver is what gives the pirate the support and push him to take steps to save all of them.

Ah, gotta love all of these early chapters where Kaito constantly faced situations that almost killed him. Newer chapters try, but Gosho’s style now makes it clear nothing major is ever going to happen. But either way, gotta love MK for how they show Kaito is not untouchable. And never has been, aside from in DC.

See? Good decision to at least kinda put faith in a pirate. And another shot for the upside down submarine. Here’s a look at the inside of a sub (not quite the same but close enough), they’re in the main machinery room.

Kaito, now is not the time to be sassy. You’re barely able to breathe. (And while Silver’s line was more or less okay, I have doubts on this line. Feel like it’d be closer to say ‘I’m not sure I’d want to’ or such. Their choice is lighthearted, but it’s one of those times I wonder if they were trying to add to a translation to make it feel more like banter. The denial of wanting to go along with what Silver said is there, but there no ‘fun’ added in it.)

Just how old was he when he got that scar, I wonder. And his dad’s hat must’ve gotten a cut in it during whatever fighting was going on that got the crew killed. Though, because of the slightly more modern setting of a submarine, and clear rank system, I have to wonder how the definition of ‘pirate’ actually works for Silver and his father. The skull and crossbones are there, but was the look to not gain suspicion? Or was it somewhat similar to privateers, who acted like pirates but were under orders from a government. This chapter could be expanded on so much, and it’s not like it’s a boring chapter without thinking about details.

I do wonder if they (mostly KID) should have been more nervous about returning power to the sub. I’m assuming these lines in the water are from wires or something else that’s been reactivated, and who knows how well that’s supposed to work while covered in water.

Still enjoying the fact that Kaito really can’t do anything but rely on Silver.

This poor, poor shark. Kicked in the face, rightfully wanted to show his annoyance, and then gets buried by giant rocks.

Genuinely cute little moment of ‘hell yeah, we actually get to live’ excitement and beating the odds. Would have been nice if the relieved happiness would have lasted longer.

I feel like Silver is just trying to prove a point, even though Kaito was the one right in the end. Silver had been the one saying that it’d take a miracle, and Kaito was the one to encourage him to try. And now the ship did rise, so Kaito was right, but now Silver is just trying to prove him wrong in deciding to put any trust in him at the end. Which Kaito is fully aware of, he’s never been blindly trusting this whole time, but might as well try. ( And the serrated edge was visible before, but I don’t think that kind of knife suits the guy much at all. )

True. From what we’ve seen, Silver hasn’t really done anything that could be considered piracy, it’s more like he’s taking his father’s title. Silver himself has only been dedicated to protecting the submarine and the memories in it. (Although, not the best at that, since he’s the one who took Kaito and Aoko to the area for diving. Doesn’t seem the brightest when you’re trying to hide something that’s visible when you’re beneath the surface. I have to question whether or not he’s had to really kill many people, and what would he do with them. At the least, he couldn’t have had to do it often, for all the bodies in the ship to only be bare bones. Unless past people were kept outside and left to the fish. )

Either way, he seems to just enjoy the ocean more than he does about adopting a pirate lifestyle. He’d be good as a normal sailor, if he could have ever pulled away from his ‘home’.

....Translation, he did not say ‘Liar’. He said ‘shut up’. Which indicates that he’s aware that Kaito is right, but he’s refusing to admit it. I also can’t tell from the framing if he’s been really aiming to hit KID, or if he would have been hitting his feet either way. Overall I question his killing intent, even if attempt to harm is clear.

Still trying to save Silver. It’ll be interesting if this is ever paralleled in his own story, an option to have a happy life, or continue his dangerous one that he’s not even obligated to do, just feels like he is because of his father.

(Oh, now he’s allowed to tell Kaito to shut up.) I’m a little surprised the machines didn’t fail sooner, considering how much water there’d been in the upper part of the submarine.

Oh, and I have much more doubts as to whether that gun would work now. We don’t really know how it got into Silver’s hands again, and even if handing over the gun was a condition for Silver to start trying to get the ship up and running again, we didn’t see it anywhere in those dry areas at the time. Unless he made sure to get it when passing by Aoko to set off the torpedo, but I’d have liked to see that scene. You’d think we would have, with how much Gosho loves details in his early works.

(My father is angry... why!?)

Also funny just how much Silver believes in spirits, at the least. Which would make this hilarious if there were two ghost dads fighting right now over their sons’ safety, and imagine if Toichi was the one who blew up the engine to stop Silver from killing Kaito and seal Silver’s fate.

Foreshadowing pays off.

I like that the same words are used and all... But his dad wasn’t so forceful. It was faded words, barely there ‘come... Silver... come...’ while Kaito is ‘Get in! Silver!'. Which, again, is more someone trying hard to save him, while his obligation is quietly keeping him from leaving. ( And just matches with the idea that his father’s spirit is still here better, more subtle than Kaito trying to yell at him to save his life. )

Silver’s face is a very good face.

Sticking to his title over his life. Again, really makes me think this is a decision Kaito will be faced with one day. Will he care more about living as himself, or living as his father’s legacy?

( And in his mind, this is true. He’s spent 20 years protecting the submarine, and if he left it to die, he wouldn’t be able to see himself as the pirate he’s been saying he is. ) On that note, I’d like to know if he was going by a different name for 20 years. Because we don’t have a name to refer him by until Kaito finds the captain’s diary, he was just a guy prior to that. So, it’s not like we’re aware of any life he may have had other than as Silver. So good way to go, I suppose.

Kaito, I hope you don’t choose poorly when you get this dilemma. (i.e. Don’t you go dying on us for your self given job.)

Hope you stick with her. you’ve done good so far, just continue to stick with her. I might still be iffy on how Aoko’s used, but she’s a good anchor to make sure that Kaito does still have reason to live as more than just KID.

This is a good chapter for pure character. I’ll hold on to my vain hopes that this and the robot may one day get animated. They’re just great as stories.

[planetfreddie]

room 32 at the alta cienaga

June 13-14, 2017

Last month I went back to Los Angeles for the first time since my dreamlike experience with the city I fell in love with in the summer of ‘16 and, being a dedicated fan of The Doors, I booked my weeks-stay at the Alta Cienaga Motel. 

Yes, the same motel Jim Morrison held occasional residence at and the same Room 32 that was featured in Jim’s HWY. It’s right off Santa Monica Blvd., down the street from Barney’s Beanery, across from a CVS that used to be a topless bar, and down the boulevard from The Doors old office headquarters. 

I landed around 9:30 pm, and got to the motel about an hour later. Up the driveway and into the parking lot, I saw my friend waiting for me next to the small office where the family that owned the motel lived. Excited to be back in LA after such a long year, I hugged her ‘hello’ and we went to check in. The motel’s lovely husband answers my ring and gathers my information for my stay. A closer look into the office and you start to see the various pictures hanging on the walls dedicated to Jim. Our excitement at the sight of Jim catches the attention of the man and he asks me if I’d like to stay in Jim’s room for the night. Then it hits me... I hadn’t looked for his room yet. I was trying to ignore that Jim’s room was right in front of me, just on the balcony that hangs over the entrance of the motel. I don’t know why, but I felt like I needed the right moment to acknowledge its presence. I eagerly jumped at the chance to stay in Jim’s room (After all, that’s what I was hoping would happen, and on the plane ride in I had a good feeling that I’d have the chance.) and grabbed my luggage to move in for the next two nights.

First impressions of Room 32: very hot, very stuffy, and hard to believe. The walls are just as the pictures depict. Various lyrics, quotes and dedications are scrolled onto every crevice of the room one can think of. Everything in the room in marketed as “hasn’t changed since Jim lived here” and minus a few commodities, I would say that’s pretty accurate.

The first night was spent taking a few disposable pictures of the room, writing on the walls, and bragging to our friends that we were where Jim had lived. Katie didn’t stay this night, so I was left alone with the large impression of sleeping where Jim slept not that long ago. Not going to lie, it freaked me out a little bit being alone in a such an impressionable room, but I kept the lamp on and slept decently until the LA traffic woke me up at 7:00 am the next morning.

Now this is where things start to get a little strange, so to speak. This is my first full day back in LA, and since it’s rather early to start running some errands, I decide to take my time getting ready for the day. (Yes, I took a shower here.) I get up and naturally the first thing I have to do is pee, so I head around the corner (pictured above) to the bathroom. I usually have my head lowered when I walk alone because I get lost in my thoughts, so when I raised it to look towards the sink, I saw it. A dark shadowy figure.

The figure appeared to be in the shape of a person leaning over the toilet. It was definitely male and had definable hair where I assumed the head was. Not much else could be seen and as quick as I blinked, the figured was gone. I wasn’t scared, but more unsure if I had seen what I just saw. And me being me, I decided to ignore everything and just continue with my day.

Fast forward to a late diner meal with Katie. She was going to stay the night, my last night in Room 32, with me and we were going to try to contact Jim for fun. (Not in a serious way, but more along the experimental side.) While I was eating, I described to her what I saw this morning in the bathroom and she was Googling if anyone else had ever experienced any strange occurrences while they were in the room. Not long into her search, she stops and turns her phone screen towards me with a picture on it. I stop everything I was doing and looked close at the picture she is showing me. Suddenly I feel very creeped out because the picture she showed me is the exact image of the shadow I saw that morning. I didn’t know what the picture was and she told me it was a screenshot from HWY of Jim in the bathroom. At first I didn’t believe her because I had watched the film before and don’t recall any bathroom scene in the movie, let alone that image. Inspecting it closer, I see the same sink and the same window as the one in my room at the Alta. This is from HWY. Now I’m really freaking out.

The dynamic has now shifted for our little, impromptu seance once we get back to the room. I pull up HWY on my phone and double-check for the bathroom scene to confirm that it’s actually there. Katie pulls out her camera to document our discoveries. We run through the short part of the film where Jim is at the Alta and the parts that the room can actually be seen, like the bathroom. And yes, this part is in the film. This is the thing I saw just earlier that morning. Katie, a supernatural enthusiast, tells me she’s read about people experiencing parts of the past through visions of ghosts or shadows, like I saw. She tells me that it’s most likely I witnessed a part of the past while Jim was filming HWY. Go figure, a filmmaker herself experiences another filmmaker working his magic.

About a half hour into our ‘attempted documentary’ about the haunted bathroom, we put away our cameras and calm ourselves down for the night. We pass up on the chance to call Jim forward with a seance, too. Katie grabs her toothbrush and heads to the bathroom while I wait by the window taking a drink of water from my bottle, zoning out completely. All is silent on the motel front.

“DEVYN!!!” is the thing that wakes me from my dreaming. It’s Katie yelling from the bathroom, I looked towards the room and realize something is very different. The lights are off. I’m not near any of the two light switches in the room, and the bathroom is far out of reach for me. The bathroom light is in the bathroom as well, and why would Katie turn the lights out on herself? And HOW would that effect the whole room? Once I fully realize what’s happening, the lights come back on and Katie comes running out of the bathroom about ready to leave. I start laughing, to be honest and you know why? Well, it’s funny to me that the lights went out for a good 10 seconds on their on in general, yes, but also because Jim definitely did this. I could feel it. I mean, we’re both fans of The Doors, and we were joking all night long about how we were going to “contact him” with our seance, so why wouldn’t he take advantage of that?

I managed to get Katie to stay with me for the last night and we fell asleep just fine. The lamp stayed on and the traffic still woke us. No other events happened. I checked into my other room later that day (No one can book Jim’s room for an extended period, I guess I just got lucky.), Room 18. This room was much more cool in temperature which led me to believe the temperature should have been a clue in Room 32.

All in all, I enjoyed my stay at the Alta Cienaga. I don’t believe I could have gotten this experience anywhere else, and I’m so happy he decided to make me feel welcomed even if that meant tormenting my friend and nearly scaring me. See you next time, Jim!

***Notice the small blurry object on the bottom of the picture just above. That’s not Katie and I took this picture on my disposable. Just saying...