#it was only in 2015 that he was brought back as a love interest

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Rebirth and the 2017 movie convinced a lot of people that you cannot do Wonder Woman stories without Steve Trevor there as her love interest, even though there's a good 45 years worth of WW comics with barely any Steve Trevor in them.

[mxstellatayte]

next door kind of love.

warnings: none, just some childhood best friends to lovers and tooth-rotting fluff. make your dentist's appointments now yall.

growing up living next door to the sargeants was an interesting experience. your parents were friends, having bonded when logan's parents moved in a few months after your own parents had. then, a few years later, they had dalton. just over a month after dalton's first birthday, you came along, and then eight months after you, on new year's eve, logan was born.

the three of you were inseparable as you grew up. you'd accompany them to their races and they'd support you at your roller derby tournaments. they would find a new way to climb the tree in your back yard and you would set a time record for climbing that route. the three of you had more inside jokes than you could count, made up more backyard games than anyone could ever begin to comprehend, and trusted each other beyond the ends of the earth.

when the sargeants moved to switzerland, though, you were crushed. sure, their plan was to only stay for two years, but those two years started to feel like an unbearable eternity after just the first month.

"mama," you said, a bite of peanut butter and jelly sandwich in your mouth, "i miss logie and dalt. when are they coming back?"

"not for a long time, honey. i'm sure they'll come visit, though. how about we call them and see how they're doing?"

your face lit up. "yeah! can we call them now? can we can we can we?"

your mother smiled and shook her head, the papers surrounding her full of confusing numbers and big words like "homeowner's insurance" and "disability pension application."

"maybe, honey. we'll have to see what time works for them. first, though, i need you to finish your lunch, strawberries and all. can you do that for me?"

"sure, mama."

lo and behold, two years had passed, and the sargeants were almost back to florida. your father had the idea of surprising them at the airport, so you'd made a giant sign that said "WELCOME BACK SARGEANTS!" in bright blue magic marker. after selecting a spot you deemed visible enough, you craned your neck every time a new flow of passengers exited, hoping to see your best friends. every time you caught a flash of what might've been one of them, your heart skipped a beat, but when you finally saw dalton, logan, and their parents, it felt like you were on the moon.

you mustered up as much air into your thirteen-year-old lungs as you could and screamed.

"DALTON! LOGAN!"

every head in the airport whipped around to you, but you couldn't care less. your two best friends were running full speed at you, suitcases abandoned with their parents, and you couldn't stop smiling. you're slammed by the tightest hug you've ever experienced and you might be seeing stars from your ribs being crushed but that doesn't matter when you finally have dalton and logan back with you in florida.

you're muttering so many "i missed you"s and "i couldn't wait to see you guys"s and "i have so much to tell you"s into them, and it feels like forever before you guys let go of each other.

"you guys ready to get out of here?"

when logan won the karting championship in 2015, you'd never screamed louder. you were the first person he looked for after the race and the person he hugged the tightest.

when you made it to the top roller derby league in your area, he was the first person to congratulate you, and he brought you a small bouquet of your favorite flowers- baby breath, white tulips, and jasmine.

as logan worked his way up through the different levels of formula racing, you'd always manage to stay up to all hours of the night to watch him race or even send him a simple "good luck" text.

when he told you he'd been admitted to the williams driver academy, you almost tackled him to the ground with how much force you hugged him with. "i'm so happy for you," you said, repeated like a mantra.

"and guess what?"

"there's more?" you pulled back from the hug, looking up at him.

"i get to do a post-season test drive in abu dhabi."

"what?!" the smile on your face is not only from pride, but now also shock. "lo, are you serious? that's amazing! when did you find out?"

"maybe..." he checks his watch, eyes looking up. "five minutes ago?"

"wait. did you tell your parents? and dalt?" he hesitates, a blush of embarrassment creeping up his cheeks. you can't help but think, even for an instant, that it's... kind of cute?

"logan hunter sargeant, did you tell me before you told your parents?"

"i might have..." the scowl on your face deepens, and you pull away from him, remove the house slipper you're wearing, and whack him across the head with it.

"out of my house! go over to your own and tell your parents, your literal givers of life, that you're driving a fucking formula one car! out! out with you!" you wave him out of your front door and watch with a smile on your face as he runs back to his own home, laughing when he trips over himself and falls into the grass. a few minutes later, you hear dan and madelyn scream with joy.

"my best friend is going to drive a formula one car," you say to the wind. "holy shit."

a bit over a year later, when logan signs with williams to drive with them in 2023, he still tells you before his parents.

the tuesday after the austin grand prix, a new post on your private instagram account appears. its location is tagged as the circuit of the americas and the caption reads "one of the perks of your best friend being a formula 1 driver is getting to go to austin and get paddock passes for free. the other is getting to spend the weekend with your best friend."

in may of 2024, logan brings you to the miami grand prix. at the end of the race, you are the first person he looks for. you are the person he hugs the tightest. you are the person to tell him that it wasn't his fault that he crashed and he did everything he could. you are the person whose shoulder he cries into and the person who gently holds his face and wipes his tears away with your thumbs.

you are the person to stand on your tip toes to place a kiss to his lips, the salty taste of his tears reaching your own lips. you are the person he sees when he opens his eyes and, when you backpedal in the slightest bit, you are the person he pulls closer and kisses like he means it.

you are the only person that hears when he says that he's loved you since you surprised him at the airport when they came back from switzerland. you are the only person that hears him say that it's always been you that he's loved, that he's never seen anyone else besides you.

and he is the only one that hears you say that you love him, too.

[snapghoul]

Why Twisters is an amazing movie

Brought to you by snapghoul and their film degree

I really love analyzing films and I need to talk about this movie so badly. Get cozy, grab a nice drink because this is a long one.

Spoilers below

[ Part 2 ]

1) Disaster film - Human vs Nature

Disasters films are one of the most difficult movies to write and shoot because it’s human vs nature and people can only do so much. They are to remind us that we are very fragile, nature very dangerous, and a visual metaphor for the illusion of control. Making a film like this also requires a lot of CGI or a balanced mix of practical effects which in most films today is not as common due to budget.

When looking at films like San Andres (2015) or Day After Tomorrow (2004), both films are more action based. San Andres is written worse to worse before it gets better which is externally common in films like these, the earth quakes that lead to a tsunami and so on. The film also ends with the hopeful “we won” with the American flag and everyone recovering.

What makes Twisters stand out is the presence of the disasters are there but they aren’t what drive the characters solely, the tornadoes themselves are actually a subplot. It’s not tragedy after tragedy, like there’s an ungodly amount of tornadoes at once and people are dying left and right. And when people died it wasn’t graphic, I appreciated that very much that it was only people being swept away and not bloody. The tornadoes themselves only take up about 30 minutes of the 2 hour movie, which is very little compared to other storm films.

The main story is Kate working to overcome her trauma and relearning how to love chasing and being in the field again. They are an obstacle that do end being the “antagonist” towards the end of the film where Kate drives into the EF5 to stop it. Twisters is more written in a way to respect nature, to see the beauty and the power of the earth. Twisters also ends more ambiguous, there is the moment of triumph but it’s very short lived before the resolution of Javi, Kate and Tyler at the airport.

2) Kate’s Character & Relationships

Kate is one of the best written female protagonists I’ve seen in a very long time. Through the film she is struggling to over come a lot of trauma while also trying to juggle her crumbled friendship with Javi and her disconnection with her mother. Her struggles are very real, they weren’t played down or exaggerated, she had realistic response to being in a tornado again after the death of her friends. They also show her reliving that event many times, in the beginning we see a “ghost” of Jeb telling she’s okay, the moment she sees a tornado with Javi up close, she stumbles back and the voices of Jeb as they’re riding out the storm in the pool and how she grabs Tyler’s hand for a second to see if he was still there.

I personally loved that she refused to acknowledge her fear when around others because that is a very human thing, many people do it which makes her very dimensional and relatable. How she didn’t give Ben her last name, how she told Riggs she wasn’t scared. It’s such a real things that it makes me froth at the mouth because it such good writing.

As many people are upset that Kate and Tyler didn’t kiss, I actually agree on why they cut it out, it’s not about their budding romance. In movies there are many different subplots, in Twisters, Kate and Tyler are I would say around subplot C. Which I LOVED, i loved that they didn’t have all her problems fixed by a love interest or how his character downplayed her intelligence. In fact he elevated her character, Tyler is there to remind her the passion and fun of their field, he is also a blank slate with Kate, he has no preconceptions about her or history which allows her to open up and reignite her passion she had before.

And her hair symbolism! How we see it slowly gets more brown and less bright beach blonde that we see in New York.

Kate and Javi’s relationship I would also place at subplot B, Javi trying to get Kate back in the field but doing it in a not so right way. They have some unresolved issues between them regarding the trauma they share and it rears its head multiple times. The line “three of my best friends died while you were trying to land a big fat grant.” Was a real nail in the coffin for them but also it opened Javi’s character development up for the end of the film. Not only that but they and audience known that he agreed to getting the money at the beginning. So them splitting up was good because neither of them could get what they wanted or process anything when they were together. And in the end the come back together when they grow and change.

Also have to mention Kate and her mom, because it’s more growth for Kate, her mom comes in as the mentor character type, she refused to let Kate throw anything away and pushed her and Tyler together because she saw what he was doing.

3) Tyler Owens & The Wranglers

Of course I have to talk about our favorite tornado cowboy. His character is so interesting, he adds so much to each character, like a said above he only lifted Kate up.

But what I loved most about him was the infectious enthusiasm and passion he just oozed about weather. Even with the cocky YouTube personality he was having fun which was a contrast to Javi and Kate who were there on business. He is also very bright, instead of having a self taught chaser he had a degree, he knows what he’s doing and how to be safe while doing stupid stuff. The scenes where we see him showing her science side were some of my favorites, seeing him geek out over the storms and setting up models just showed he’s as much as a nerd and Kate.

His character is also very compassionate as well as the wranglers. We learn they sell merch so they can provide free food and water to survivors, that Tyler and Boone spent a while looking for a dog and that Lilly offered Kate food before she left. We see Tyler put himself in danger for the safety of others many times but not in a hero archetype way, he’s not a hero in any way, he’s a man who deeply cares, understands tragedy and knows how important friends and family are.

4) Music & Sound

Oh my god, the music in the film is phenomenal. Sound makes up a good majority of a movie, without good sound a film can flop. What I loved most about it was a lot of the music was diegetic: taking place in the world and can be heard by the characters. Seen(or heard) Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma playing through the speakers as the wranglers roll up, accompanied by a shot of the loud speakers on the motor home and the audio editing to make it sound like it’s coming from said speakers. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky blasting while they go to shoot fireworks, seeing Tyler whipping the truck through the field very recklessly also sets up that these characters are wild and obnoxious. Boone singing along to Dead End Road while loading flares, it adds another element of fun for them to interact with the music instead of it there so let for aesthetics.

If there was music for the action scenes, it wasn’t overpowering, in fact i barely noticed it until my third watch through.

The soundtrack is also really good, I’m not a huge country fan but my god did I by that OST vinyl so fast.

5) The Trucks

This is an honorable mention, but the red sped up dually ram was a character in its self. Once again showing the rugged and fun loving wranglers when put next to StormPAR’s pristine white trucks which is also a metaphor for Javi that we see it gets dirtier and dirtier as the film progresses and his character changes. But also how the red ram represents Tyler, he’s very safety oriented and the truck is a part of him and protects Kate during the final storm. She puts her trust in it and lets nature run it course instead of fighting it, something Tyler was trying to teach her. Not to run from it but to ride it.

But also Tyler ripping that rig through fields going 75mph is also just so funny to me.

I love symbolism.

I’m gonna stop it here before I write a whole essay about this which I might. But if you haven’t seen this movie I highly recommend it, it’s PG-13 so I suggest being careful watching this with little ones if you have them, the CGI storms can get a little freaky.

(Please let me know if you want more, I will gladly talk more)

[sc0tters]

So Long | Quinn Hughes

summary: after years of no contact you finally reach out to Quinn, but in the way he’d least expect.

request: yes/no

warnings: swearing, mentions of death.

word count: 2.03k

authors note: so I’ve never written anything like this before. But it felt interesting and I rolled with it. Going through that “I don’t know if I like what I write” phase again so just bare with me for the next few days.

You were meant to be the girl where things didn’t work out.

Quinn met you during the summer of 2015. You were both still in high school and your family had just made the move from Tennessee to Michigan, where your father purchased the new lake house.

Quickly you two became as thick as thieves constantly at each others side. That was how your summers were when you two built onto your friendship constantly growing closer than you ever thought possible.

So it was no surprise when you both landed up at the university of Michigan where you were quickly asked to be Quinn’s girlfriend.

The whole Hughes family adored you much like how your family adored him.

You were in the car arguing about how Quinn intended on moving to Vancouver to join his new team, the Canucks “don’t you love me anymore?” Quinn felt his throat grow raw as the argument seemed to ensue.

Tears ran down your face as your heart broke at the question “of course I love you baby,” you reached out to grab his hand as you wanted to feel some kind of comfort from all of this but he instead decided to pull away.

Quinn stared out of the window watching the raindrops dance on the glass seeming unaware of what was going on inside of the car “then why are you breaking up with me?” His question rang through your ears.

There were many reasons that came to your mind, you were mainly trying to protect him as you hoped that he would hate you after this all. But instead you couldn’t reveal the truth “we just aren’t meant to be together.” In the logical part of your brain you knew that it was true, but your heart wanted to erase this conversation from your brain forever.

Your comment only hurt him more “you can’t mean that.” You were the first girl that Quinn opened his heart up to entirely, it was all in the palm of your hand and that terrified the eldest Hughes boy.

Quinn couldn’t even look you in the eye as he heard your sobs over the hum of the engine “I want you to be happy-” you made it sound like he needed more than you “I am happy goddammit!” Quinn yelled turning around as he flung his arms in frustration.

It made you choke on your tears as you shook your head “I need you to be happy without me.” It was tough for you to admit but some sense of comfort was going to be brought to you if you knew that Quinn had moved on.

It had been years since that moment in the car. Quinn tried to move on from you, but your abrupt exit from his life left the hockey player wondering how this is his fault.

Despite Ellen and Jim’s efforts to tell Quinn that you leaving was a choice that you made, it seemed to always fall on deaf ears.

So when your moms car pulled up to the Hughes lake house, it was safe to say that the whole family was taken by surprise when only your mom seemed to leave it.

She looked tired as her cheeks seemed tear stained and she carried a stack of letters that represented the way she felt carrying the world on her shoulders.

Ellen was quick to open the door trying to urge your mom inside for a coffee so they could catch up “I can’t stay.” Your mom sighed shaking her head.

Her hand seemed to shake as she held out five letters “I came to drop these off.” She explained holding them out for Ellen to grab.

It was clear that the blonde was confused but she still listened “send your family my best okay?” Ellen’s voice was soft as she could tell that something was up.

All your mom could do was nod before she made her way back to the car trying to avoid being in tears as she knew you would have hated seeing her cry.

Quinn was quick to run to his mom to see what happened “what did she want?” He enquired trying to figure out what was going on.

Whilst Ellen tried to piece the bits of information together she shrugged “I don’t actually know.” She mumbled realising that each of the letters were addressed to someone in the family: Ellen, Jim, Lukey, Big Shot, Love.

Ellen held out the final one to Quinn “I think that this one is for you.” She sent her son a comforting smile as the boy grabbed it from her hand.

His finger ran over the name inked out in black pen. You were the only one who called him that and it was in your writing, a style he would recognise from anywhere.

Quinn knew you didn’t like letters, they were weird and you always seemed to thing they were meant to tell some sad sob story. So it made him nervous that you had written one.

Ellen watched as Quinn shook his head “I don’t want to read it.” It had been all these years since you two last spoke, so why were you reaching out like this.

Surely if you wanted to talk you would have driven up to the house yourself “just give her a chance.” Ellen urged him as something in her gut told her that this was serious.

Rolling his eyes Quinn figured he’d listen to his mom “fine but don’t be surprised when I come back and tell you that it’s stupid.” Given his knowledge of your dislike for letters, Quinn hoped that he would find some kind of comfort there.

It was warm as the sun shone on the water “what are you thinking about?” Quinn asked as your feet danced in the water beneath the dock.

You smiled as you looked up at him “I always feel close to you when I’m by the water.” You confessed seeing his cheeks turn pink.

Quinn rubbed his elbow against yours “you make it sound like the water is our place.” Quinn couldn’t help but laugh at his comment before he went silent seeing that you looked like a lightbulb had gone off above his head.

It made you smile when you thought about it “when you miss me visit the water, and I promise I’ll be there too.” You proposed sticking your pinky finger out to him “you know what? Okay.” Quinn shrugged licking his finger with yours as he smiled.

𝐻𝑒𝓎 𝒬𝓊𝒾𝓃𝓃,

𝐼𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓁𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓃’𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒾𝓉. 𝒜 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓀𝑒𝓅𝓉 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓀𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒱𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓋𝑒𝓇, 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒹𝒾𝒶𝑔𝓃𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓁𝑒𝓊𝓀𝒶𝑒𝓂𝒾𝒶.

Quinn felt his heart drop as he read out the first line “what?” He asked feeling emotions all come flooding into his brain as he thought back to that summer. How on earth could he have not picked up that the love of his life was sick?

𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝒾𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓇 𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒾𝒸𝑒. 𝒲𝒽𝒾𝓁𝓈𝓉 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃’𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝓈𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒶 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀. 𝐼𝓃 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓉𝒽 𝓃𝑜𝒷𝑜𝒹𝓎 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒾𝒸𝑒𝒹, 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓎. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇.

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝐼 𝒷𝓇𝑜𝓀𝑒 𝓊𝓅 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓊𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝐼 𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝐼’𝓂 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝒩𝒶𝓃𝒸𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒶 (𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝓃𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒 𝑔𝑜 𝑜𝓃 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊.) 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓉𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝓂𝓎 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝑜𝓊𝓉. 𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃𝓉 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝒶𝑔𝓃𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓈 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓂𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒹𝒾𝑒 𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒𝒹. 𝐵𝓊��� 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝒶 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒻𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝑒. 𝒩𝑜𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓎𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊.

Quinn felt a tear roll down his cheek before it dropped to land on the letter. The hockey player still loved you, and it brought him some comfort that your time with him left just as big of an impact on your life as it did his.

𝐼𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒜𝓁𝑒𝓍 𝑜𝓇 𝒞𝑜𝓁𝑒 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝒶𝓊𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝐼’𝓂 𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓎. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓃’𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓉, 𝐼’𝓂 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹. 𝒮𝑜 𝓎𝑒𝒶𝒽, 𝐼 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃’𝓉 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝑒 𝐼’𝓂 𝓌𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔.

As unintentional as it was, Quinn couldn't help it when a laugh left his lips mainly when he read that last line. You could have told him anything, literally, this was your letter as you got to say your final goodbye. And here you were telling him you won at something that was never meant to be a competition.

𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝒷𝑒𝓎𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒, 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝓈𝓉 𝐼’𝓂 𝒷𝑜𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒶𝓎𝒷𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎 𝒶𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓅𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓎.

Not even two days ago had Quinn gotten the call, that day when he became captain, was the present. And it seemed to hurt him that two realities he never put together, he never wanted to put those two together. Where you were dead and he was captain.

𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒. 𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓏𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝑜.

𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝓉𝑜𝑜 𝒻𝒶𝓇 𝒻𝑒𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓈𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝓌𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈𝓁𝓎. 𝒟𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝓉𝓇𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝒸𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝐼’𝓂 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹, 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝒷. 𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝒶 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝓃 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝑜𝒻 𝓊𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼’𝓂 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒.

Quinn didn't like the idea of moving on before, but now he definitely hated it. How was he meant to be okay moving on when there was an alternate universe where you never got sick and he was still with you "'s not fair." Quinn grumbled to himself shaking his head as he clearly disagreed with what you were trying to tell him.

𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒸𝓇𝓎 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝒻𝑒𝓌 𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝑜𝓇 𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓀𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝒶 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝑜𝑜. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝒻𝓊𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓊𝓃𝓉 𝒾𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓈𝒶𝒹.

𝑀𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓀𝒾𝒹𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒𝓈, 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝑒. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓉𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝒻𝒻 𝒶𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓀𝒾𝒹𝓈.

You always wanted to be a mother, it was something you dreamed about doing as you grew up. Quinn wanted to be a father as well and that caused you two to very quickly realize in this essence that your futures were more than likely connected to each other.

𝐼𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓈 𝓂𝑒, 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝑔𝑜 𝓋𝒾𝓈𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜𝑜.

𝒩𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒹,

𝓎/𝓃 𝓍

Quinn didn’t know how to feel as he reread your letter trying to make sure that he had not missed anything that you had written. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his hands shook so hard he let go of your letter “shit!” Quinn realised what he had done as he reached out to grab the letter that was brought down to the lake by the wind. There was nothing left for him to do besides for just to stare at the letter as it absorbed water letting the paper get wet, much like his cheeks.

The battle between the water and the paper finally seemed to end as the letter paper began to rip.

As sobs left his lips he rocked his body back and fourth coming to terms with something he never thought he would have to worry about.

You were officially gone.

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss 'doesn't need' a Glee reboot as he teases new project he has 'special feelings' about

Singer and actor Darren Criss revealed whether he believes Glee should get a reboot.

The 37-year-old, who played Blaine in the hit Fox series, spoke with The Mirror US at Elsie Fest, Broadway's annual music festival. While many shows have gotten the reboot treatment like Boy Meets World, Saved By the Bell and That 70s Show, Darren doesn't feel like a Glee reboot would be necessary.

"I don't need to [reboot Glee] personally, but that's not to say I don't think it could happen, but it's, I'm the lowest ranking member of the totem pole that makes those kinds of decisions," he told us exclusively.

This comes after Glee creator Ryan Murphy teased the possibility of bringing the show back.

Speaking on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast in 2022, Ryan said, "I’m at the phase now with that show [Glee], you know, where it’s like, well, there’s been enough time. Like, maybe we should really re-examine it as a brand.

"You know, should we do a reboot of it in some way? Should we do a Broadway musical of it in some way?"

However, nothing has come of that since. Instead, Darren has teased a new project that he's especially excited for - his upcoming Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending. In the musical, he stars as Oliver, a Helperbot, facing the stark reality of obsoleteness as his model becomes increasingly outdated.

Darren not only gave a first look at the title song at Elsie Fest but he also spoke with The Mirror about the upcoming show. "I just started rehearsing for a new show, maybe happy ending that we open previews in October and opens officially in November," he shared.

Left: Image: Variety via Getty Images Right: Darren Criss spoke with The Mirror at Elsie fest

He added: "I think it's very, very special and I'm, I've never really had that feeling about doing something before, which is not to say the things I did before weren't special. This one just keeps creeping up on me in a way that I am so delighted by and I feel like I'm part of something very, very unique that I'm very excited for people to see it."

Darren not only performed at Elsie Fest but he created the event. The festival launched in 2015 and ran every year up until 2021. This year, Elsie Fest returned after a two-year hiatus. When speaking on what it was like for the festival to be brought back, Darren revealed it was "an honor and a joy" to serve the theatre community.

"I'm just happy that there are still people here that are interested in this kind of an environment. The show, and this sounds like such a cliche, but it is made up of the fans," he said.

He continued: "This is not for our benefit, it is for theirs. Because, you know, I, sort of saw this hole in the market of there's this fan base that really loves to celebrate and perform this kind of material but doesn't have a venue to kind of let their hair down and kind of, you know, be a little unfettered. And so to be able to provide that is, is, is an honor and a joy as a huge musical theater fan."

[flanaganfilm]

Hi Mike!

I am loving the LONG posts you’ve been making about your career and films. I wonder if there is any such one for ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’?

‘Doctor Sleep’ was the first film of yours I had seen where I went “What else has this guy made?” And I was so surprised to learn Ouija was yours as well, it took me back to that college date! When I bought it on blu-ray and showed it to my friend, she saw Alice and Doris and went “It’s Shirley!”

Id love to know what your thoughts and feelings are on the film, 7 years later. Cheers!

Sure thing! This will be a fun one... I had such a great time making that movie.

Back in the spring of 2015, we were shooting Hush. Blumhouse was coproducing the movie with Intrepid Pictures. This was my second outing with Blumhouse after they came aboard Oculus at tiff in 2013, and they'd even hired me do a little uncredited consulting on another movie they'd made - a teen horror flick called Ouija. The first Ouija movie was... well... not great, but it made a lot of money. And I mean a LOT of money. A sequel was inevitable.

Jason Blum started calling me about the project while we were working on Hush. Initially I passed on it, I wasn't interested - I wasn't sure how to make a movie about a Ouija board interesting, and I didn't see myself as a sequel filmmaker. It just wasn't a movie for me.

If you know Jason at all, you know he is one of the most persistent and persuasive people in the business.

He wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and the phone kept ringing. The bar was low, he argued. The first movie performed very well, and because the franchise was just hung on a board game, there was kind of a blank canvas. "What movie do you want to make, buddy? Because I promise you'll wait your whole career for someone to make you this kind of offer again. You are a fool if you don't say yes."

He finally made me an offer that I couldn't refuse: I could approach the film from any viable creative direction I wanted, just as long as it connected somehow to the first movie and involved a Ouija board, and if I did that (and brought in the scares the kids wanted), I'd have a guaranteed worldwide theatrical release through Universal Pictures.

It's hard to understate how appealing that prospect was at the time. Oculus had been released theatrically but only performed moderately well. Before I Wake had been caught up in Relativity's bankruptcy, so the promised theatrical release never occurred (at this time, the movie was tied up in bankruptcy court without any release on the horizon), and Hush had been scooped up by Netflix, which meant it would never see the inside of a movie theater.

This offered me substantial creative freedom and a guaranteed wide theatrical release with the full weight of Universal Pictures behind it... I finally agreed.

How could I not?

The first film was a contemporary elimination horror film about a group of teenagers who awaken a scary little girl ghost with a stitched-up mouth. She kills them one by one. I wasn't really drawn to that, and I pitched Jason instead on a prequel that focused on a single mother in the late 1960s. To my astonishment, he agreed.

They had their conditions - it had to be PG-13, it had to directly connect to the first film, and I had to deliver the movie on their budget. And I had my conditions - I wanted my crew (including my producer Trevor Macy and my DP Michael Fimognari), I wanted my period setting, and I wanted the movie to look like it was made in the late sixties, down to the zooms, the film grain, and all the other aesthetic bells and whistles. This wouldn't look like a contemporary movie.

Again, to my astonishment, they agreed.

They had one more stipulation, this one from Universal Pictures - no one could smoke cigarettes. And not just that, there couldn't be evidence of smoking in the movie; not even ash trays.

"But this takes place in the sixties," I argued. The NO that came in was emphatic and resounding. There was to be no evidence of cigarettes in our 1960's, and this was non-negotiable. This was a priority for Universal Pictures, and they were far more interested in eliminating cigarettes from the eyes of their young viewers than they were interested in historical accuracy.

Frankly, they were right.

We all agreed on the terms, and to my own admitted surprise, I went off to write and direct Ouija 2.

There was an immediate skepticism in the press when the project was announced, and a fair amount of mocking online. I was determined to ignore it. I really thought this could be fun. I felt like I had been given a gift; I had a huge canvas and precious few rules, and a guaranteed theatrical audience.

I wasn't just going to make Ouija 2; I was going to make Ouija 2 as well as it could possibly be made.

Sitting to write the script was a unique process. The only thing I knew for certain was the very, very end. Our connection to the first movie was that we were telling the origin story of Doris Zander, the ghost from the first film.

She came with some backstory that we were married to: the first movie told us her mother Alice was a professional medium. When Doris had been possessed after using an Ouija board, her mother had sewn her mouth shut and killed her. And we knew her older sister, Lina, had spent the rest of her life in a mental institution (where she grew up to be Lin Shaye), and was absolutely not to be trusted.

So no matter what I did, we had to land there. Everything else was fair game.

I was very interested in the idea of a family who worked as mediums, but most interested in them if they were not authentic psychics. I'd researched a lot about fake mediumship, and the tricks that were used in those performative seances to separate willing marks from their money. What if that was the family's business? What if her mother was something of a con artist, and her kids were part of the act? And what if they ran afoul of a real haunting?

And further, what if it wasn't that they were con artists - what if they were good people, behind it all? What if they had experienced loss themselves, and had rationalized their behavior by saying they were offering people comfort? This was interesting to me. It was cool, it was fun, and I hadn't seen that movie before.

The story was a lot of fun to write. I really enjoyed the characters, I really enjoyed the world, and I kept thinking about the kinds of movies that I loved growing up. Yeah, this was a movie for a younger audience, but maybe they'd sit in that theater and have an experience that would stay with them, the way the movies of my youth had stayed with me.

I thought about those movies: Poltergeist, The Omen, The Changeling, Watcher in the Woods... and I thought about the theatrical experience of them. Their music (I particularly honed in on Jerry Goldsmith's score from Poltergeist), their aesthetics, even the little markers in the upper corner that signal the reel changes - "cigarette burns", as they're called in the business.

All of those things were ornaments of my earliest theatrical experiences, and I wanted to recreate that for the young viewers who might seek out Ouija 2.

One thing that set Ouija 2 apart right away was that we were going to shoot in Los Angeles. I'd lived in LA since 2003, but I had never actually filmed a movie here (and haven't ever again, sadly). This was a really exciting factor - I could spend the day in prep at Blumhouse, and then go home and sleep in my bed.

This was also great for my home life. Kate and I were engaged by then, and Blum was very happy with Hush, so she ended up playing a small role at the top of the movie. Having just spent the Spring living in a hotel in Fairhope Alabama and only working nights, it felt very novel that I'd get up in the morning and go to the office, and be home for dinner. We absolutely loved it.

Casting was also fun. Terry Taylor at Blumhouse did the casting, and for the first time in a long time I could be in the room when actors came in to audition. This was all in-person, because we were in LA. For Before I Wake, we'd had to run the whole thing through the lens of foreign sales value and over choppy, pixelated FaceTime meetings that did not give us much understanding of who we were casting. Compared to that, this process was a real delight.

For Lina, I really wanted to bring back Annalise Basso, the young actress from Oculus. She'd done a terrific job on that movie, and this was a great chance to work together again.

Henry Thomas signed on as Father Tom, and we hit it off immediately. I had been a fan of his since... well, forever I suppose, but I was really excited that he'd be in our movie.

The big revelation, though, was Lulu Wilson. We auditioned a lot of girls for Doris, and we used a particularly upsetting monologue as the audition piece - a 60 second speech about what happens when someone is strangled to death. Lulu's audition knocked me over, and we cast her immediately.

(Fun note: in the film itself, Lulu performs the monologue almost exactly as she did in her audition. And she did it so well, we never cut away. Don't know many 10 year-olds who can hold an entire monologue like that... in fact, I know a lot of 40 year-olds who can't. Lulu Wilson kicks ass.)

Production began in September 2015.

From the jump, this movie was FUN to make.

We were using an antique zoom lens package to achieve the look, and after spending much of prep obsessively watching The Changeling and The Exorcist for inspiration, we were really excited to do something fun. Every day was like a trip to an amusement park.

Michael Fimognari and I enjoy one of the vintage cars

One set, it was a family reunion. I had a lot of my crew from Oculus, Before I Wake and Hush, and a few familiar faces in the cast as well. It even reunited me with Dougie Jones, who had worked for one day in my debut feature Absentia, and agreed to let us bury him in gross demon makeup.

I really can't overstate how fun this was. The movie had more genre set pieces than most of my other work combined, which meant every day we were dealign with ghosts, ghouls, and some wild stunt work. Annalise and Lulu were just delightful, and spent their days pulling escalating pranks on the crew. I would find myself tagged with dozens of C47's (clothespins) whenever Basso was on set, and Lulu was doing all of her own stunts and making us laugh like hyenas.

I was also really enjoying Henry. Toward the end of the shoot, I told him I wanted to put him in everything I did. He laughed and said "whatever, sure man, sign me up." He's been in everything I've made since.

We didn't have a lot of money, but had a lot more money than I'd ever had before, and because Universal was committed to a theatrical release, they wanted the movie to work. I felt supported at every turn. Trevor handled the production the way we'd always done, and this was now our fourth collaboration - I knew I had a producer for life.

Blum was also a delightful collaborator, popping up frequently to check in but always just to see if there was something we needed. I felt an enormous amount of trust from Blumhouse, Hasbro, Platinum Dunes and Universal. That's a lot of cooks for one kitchen, and believe when I tell you it can easily go south... but it didn't. In this case, it just clicked.

We got to do a lot of fun things that had nothing to do with horror, too. There's a lovely little scene in the movie where Lina has her first kiss. We modeled the entire shot sequence after the best kiss in the history of movies: Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly's smooch in Rear Window.

We were even able to perfectly mimic a slower frame rate just as their lips meet, exactly as Hitchcock had done in that movie. If you look in the background, the Rear Window poster is hanging on her wall. We were always careful to cite our sources (and there were a lot of them).

My favorite scene of the whole movie was a dinner date between Elizabeth Reaser and Henry that we filmed at the Cicada Club in downtown LA. This was a restaurant that I loved, as once a month it transformed into a full-blown time machine, putting a brass band on the stage and functioning like a 20's-era speakeasy.

The scene where Alice and Father Tom spend an evening out together was among my favorites in the script. It was two adults who were clearly attracted to each other, and who acknowledge it, but recognize the reality of their situation. As we were filming, I remarked to Fimognari that - for a movie about a haunted Ouija board - we were really getting away with murder. This was lovely, sweet, subtle character development, and no one was stopping me. After what we'd gone through on Before I Wake, I had to pinch myself.

My favorite scene of the film

It was set in a restaurant in the late 1960s - almost everyone in that room would realistically be smoking. Universal had been clear that there was to be absolutely no suggestion that cigarettes even existed in this world. But for the restaurant, I had to haze up the air. It was the only time I was questioned creatively, as there was immediate pushback.

"It's a restaurant," I said. "What if there's a fire in the kitchen, an entree got burned and that's why it's smokey?"

No one bought that for even a second. But they let me go ahead anyway. Man, I love that scene. And later, when it was all said and done, Jason Blum shocked me by telling me it was his favorite as well.

We wrapped the movie just before Halloween, and off we went into post. The holidays came and went, and Kate and I got married in February 2016. There was gentle pressure in the cutting room to make the film as tight as possible, and keep things short, but as with everything else, the pressure was decidedly gentle.

The movie's test screenings were very positive. People were very engaged by the story of the family, and the only issue people took seemed to be with the ending. It was a real downer to get so attached to everyone, only to have to kill Doris so brutally. The ending was, to put it mildly, very depressing - Father Tom was dead, Alice was dead, Doris was dead (and her mouth stitched up to stop the demonic voices), and Lina was condemned to the asylum. It was exactly what was required of us, and what was dictated by the first movie. But it hurt people's feelings.

My original ending had Lina in the asylum, crafting a handmade Ouija board out of her own blood, and trying to contact her dead sister. She tries and tries, but there is no answer. It is just silence. And we leave her saying "are you there? Are you there?" over and over again, as tears fall down her face. Doris wouldn't answer - in fact, Doris wouldn't answer for decades, when the first movie finally caught up to us. It was a haunting and sad ending, and I kind of loved it.

But test audiences are a fickle thing, and so we came back to tweak the ending, as the studio wanted one last scare to send us out on - not an unreasonable position, though it was a cliched one. We shot the film's current ending, with Doris' ghost on the ceiling of the asylum. It's as rote and impersonal a horror movie ending as I can imagine, but... well, it was Ouija 2, for crying out loud.

The movie we'd made up until that point had no business being as much fun as it was.

I remember the phone call I got from Blum after the movie was done. Universal had decided that they wouldn't call the movie Ouija 2 after all, they were worried about the number 2 making it feel less interesting.

Instead, they'd taken a big swing: the movie would be called Ouija: Origin of Evil.

I laughed out loud. I thought he was kidding. When it became obvious that he wasn't, I filed a protest. "It's not very good," I said. "It's cheesy. And not to put too fine a point on it, but the movie depicts neither the origin of the Ouija board, or of - um - Evil."

"Buddy, the title tested well. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Trust us, if the studio says it's Origin of Evil, it's Origin of Evil."

With a big theatrical release comes a lot of pomp and circumstance. There was a huge premiere for Ouija: Origin of Evil that October, and whatever nerves I had about the critical reception to the movie proved to be short-lived. People really enjoyed it. The overwhelming sentiment was that a sequel to a movie like Ouija frankly had no business being this interesting.

For all the pomp and circumstance, I missed it all. I didn't get to go to a premiere or walk the red carpet, as I was already in Alabama shooting Gerald's Game. On opening weekend, I took the cast and crew to a local theater in Daphne Alabama to see Ouija: Origin of Evil on the big screen.

The projection in this little backwoods theater was NOT good. The lamp was too dim (a common cost-saving strategy in some theater chains), and it was out of focus. I ran up to complain to the manager.

"The movie's soft focus on purpose," he said. "That's what the filmmakers wanted."

"No, it really isn't," I said.

The movie ultimately was not the runaway hit that the first Ouija was. Not even close, in fact.

To everyone's surprise, the teenagers just... didn't really show up. The first movie had grossed 103 MILLION dollars worldwide, but our little prequel only managed to do about 80. It was considered a modest success, not a hit by any means, but no failure. In the end, Universal decided maybe there wasn't a franchise to be had here after all.

So in the end, I had single-handedly revitalized and destroyed the Ouija franchise.

But man, believe when I tell you I've got no regrets whatsoever. I had the time of my life making that movie. Sure, some people groan about the ending, but that was kind of our only job - those were the cards we knew we had to turn over. Did you see everything that led up to that, though??? Did you see what we got away with?!

Since this movie, I've worked with a lot of people again. True to my word, I've put Henry Thomas in every single thing I've made since. Elizabeth Reaser came back to play Shirley in The Haunting of Hill House, and little Lulu Wilson - who was so wonderful as Reaser's daughter Doris - played the younger version of Shirley on that show. Lulu is also in The Fall of the House of Usher (and if you look closely, her original Ouija board and planchette are in frame with her.)

Kate sported a fun blonde hairdo for her small role in Ouija: Origin of Evil, and it was a really fun stepping stone between Hush and Hill House for her as an actor. There's a fun deleted scene where she goes home and murders her father, played by the great Sam Anderson. I really dug that scene, and I wish it was in there. You can see it on the blu-ray and DVD though, because even in a world where Netflix is trying to erase such things, Universal Pictures actually takes care of their movies with proper physical media releases.

I haven't yet found the next project to do with my friends at Blumhouse, but it's not for lack of trying, and my dance card has been booked solid since we wrapped this movie. It was an important step for my career, and their support was amazing. I know that we'll work together again, as soon as the timing is right.

Also, get this...

Ouija: Origin of Evil is my most successful movie.

Ever. Of all of them.

It did 82 million worldwide. That's better than Doctor Sleep, which did 72 million. It's better than Oculus, which did 44 million. The rest were all dumped to Netflix.

So yeah, Ouija: Origin of Evil is my most successful movie. Ain't that a trip?

We weren't trying to change the world, or reinvent the genre. I was making the second entry in a PG-13 franchise about an evil board game, and dammit if I didn't get to do everything I set out to do. There's an exuberance to the camera movement, the staging, the set design, and the lighting. There's an unbridled joy in this movie, and I smile whenever I think about it.

Up until this point in my career, every movie I had was hard-fought. Oculus was a trial by fire whose distribution deal was detonated days before it premiered. Before I Wake was a brutal experience both creatively and logistically. Hush was a labor of love and determination against all odds. But this one... man, this one reminded me why I wanted to make movies in the first place.

Because it can be really, really fucking fun.

[iknowimdespicableme]

My top 5 Doctor Who Episodes; And why!

DOCTOR WHO SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!! I say the season and episode before I start analyzing, so feel free to skip some.

5. Vincent and the Doctor [5x10]

This episode was so touching to me on many different levels. Firstly, as a creative person who deals with mental health and ostracization, seeing a version of Vincent Van Gogh on screen felt almost healing. Acknowledging the hurt he experienced while not ignoring his joys was very special. On a technical level, the way that the episode visualized a way Vincent Van Gogh may have seen the world was incredibly eye opening and better allowed me to appreciate his art. Furthermore, the confusion Amy experienced during the episode regarding her memory was such an experience for two reasons; Firstly, it proved to us, the audience, how much she has grown to love Rory. Before, she was dating him because he was the only half-decent guy around. But, after learning more about him and spending more time with him, she is truly in love with him and this episode gives proof of that. Secondly, I experience dissociative fugue, wherein I may forget large aspects of my life, and this episode was so comforting regarding that experience. Yes, sometimes there are things you can't remember that make you happy or sad. You should embrace the feelings rather than ignore them or feel scared. And, finally, the moment where Vincent Van Gogh is able to see what the future of his art holds is a touching moment; and I like that it didn't save him in the end. Like the Doctor said, “The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things or make them unimportant.”

4. The Husbands of River Song [2015 Christmas Special]

I looked forward to finally watching this episode for so long leading up to it because I had heard such flattering things about it; and it didn't disappoint. After many episodes that felt lacking or one dimensional, this special brought back an element of camp, humor, and fun that had been missing, all the while including beloved characters and dramatic sequences. Allowing the Doctor an opportunity to see how one of his companions, especially River, acts when he is not around gives the audience so much more insight into her character and the Doctor a chance to learn and grow. Asking her about himself and learning that, although she may be worried or grieving, she finds these feelings worth it just to keep loving him. Considering how much River puts a mask on around 11 to not show her age and sadden him, it was refreshing to see a new side of her. Not to mention, the storyline for the special was interesting and compelling without being overwhelming in a way that took away from the characters. Although it's unlikely that the Doctor doubted River's feelings for him, this episode gave ultimate proof regarding how much she cares about him. Unfortunately, it also showcases how little River thinks of herself in relation to the Doctor. And, yet, there 12 is to prove her wrong when it mattered. Best of both worlds! Finally, the tenderness mixed with grief and understanding that we end the special with is such a perfect conclusion to River's story with the Doctor as it reflects their whole saga together perfectly. River's argument to the Doctor that, "Happily ever after doesn't mean forever, it just means time." was so special and the Doctor finally allowing himself to settle down (if only for a little bit) was exactly the kind of growth the character needed.

3. Wild Blue Yonder [2nd 2023 David Tennent Special]

I watched this episode yesterday and by gods it quickly skyrocketed to one of my favorites, where do I even start. Within the first few minutes of the episode, we are given many similarities and differences when comparing this Doctor and Donna adventure to their previous excursions. While they still compliment each other well, offering understanding and push-back, it is also clear the ways they have matured. Donna seems more in touch with her emotions and how she is truly feeling. When we first met her, she had a lot of anger and frustration within her from constantly being scrutinized and ignored. Now, we can see she is more peaceful and secure, even if below the surface some hesitation still lingers. Whereas, in the Doctor's case, he is so much more open to affection and vulnerability. The lessons he learned as 11 and 13 showed him that he could trust others, even if it is slowly. Although he is still trying to ignore or repress many things that have happened to him, he is at peace with them more than he was as 10. They both are less rageful. So, from a literary standpoint, just the beginning of this episode was wonderful. The classic "TARDIS fucks off somewhere leaving the company stranded" and "Doctor loses his sonic screwdriver and doesn't know what to do with himself for a bit" tropes came back swinging, and the way it affected the duo was wonderful to watch. The reality of the situation wasn't quickly swept under the rug or ignored because of a bigger problem, they got to sit in their fear for a while which was beautiful. The slow realization throughout the episode as if the audience is figuring out the answer at the same time as the Doctor just felt satisfying. Small, seemingly disconnected things coming together to form a compelling mystery. And, because it takes so long to give us the answer, we feel the carnal fear of the unknown just like the Doctor and Donna. I was tense when I realized they weren't talking to each other, but copies. I was scared when they were separated. And, the best part of the whole fucking episode, I didn't know who was who. That was terrifying! Up until the last second, I thought the Doctor had made the right choice, too! It kept me on the edge of my seat, informed me so much about the characters, explored a terrifying "what if" in a way only sci-fi can replicate, and was silly as hell. Loved every second. Also, the little robot guy was cute as hell.

2. Heaven Sent [9x11]

Explodes everywhere I love 12. This Doctor is characterized as a less nice, but still very kind regeneration. He holds so many conflicting feelings regarding the loss of the Ponds, his changing relationship with Clara, his perception of himself. I loved how he acted in his episodes. as socially confused, because it felt very familiar to me. The way his brain always seemed too loud and his loner energy was such a switch-up compared to 11. and yet so in character all the same. This episode carried this perfect essence of Doctor Who that felt lost in the majority of the last couple seasons. An entire episode where the Doctor is alone, and grieving, and loving, and problem-solving all at the same time was so compelling. Although it is clear I am more of a fan of episodes that focus on the characters and not the current storyline, this story was enthralling even if it took away from character moments sometimes. Do I wish we had more chances at the beginning/middle of the episode to properly address or reminisce about Clara? Yes. But, after watching the whole episode, it is clear why it was done. The setting for Heaven Sent was so intriguing, and the whole episode we are just wondering as much as the Doctor is; Why? Why is he being chased, why was he brought here, why are there shovels? It reeled us in. And then, once we realize the torture he is putting himself through, the dramatics, character information, and emotion we are given is so heart-wrenching. Evidently, Clara gave the Doctor a comfort greater and worth more than 5 billion years of torture. Could you imagine that? The depth of his love for Clara is given so much of a spotlight in this episode, and I am frothing at the mouth for it. Especially considering how they may frustrate or hurt each other, they still know each other. They help each other. And goddammit, he is not going to let her go. But, this stubbornness isn't necessarily a good thing. One important thing about loving someone is knowing when to let them go. This love for Clara was selfish the same way her love was for him in these intense moments where they sacrifice themselves for each other. They were doing it to prove something to themselves, to get the other back because they couldn't accept they were gone, not because it would be a better existence for the one in danger. Clara didn't want to be saved, she was being brave. And this imperfect grief the Doctor experiences was so achingly realistic. When I lost my cousin, it was so hard to accept. I wanted to ignore it, I wanted to be angry, I wanted him back. But, in the end, it was his time. This journey the Doctor goes on regarding yet another loss felt so powerful. He was forced to feel this and it hurt, he couldn't just try and quickly forget about it or sulk on his own terms. At the same time, the revelations he comes to throughout the episode were so reassuring to hear someone outside of my own head say. "It’s funny. The day you lose someone isn’t the worst. At least you’ve got something to do. It’s all the days they stay dead."

Turn Left [4x11]

This comes as a surprise to no one as someone who has been PREACHING character > story. This episode, while being a perfect set up for the finale, tells us so fucking much about the Doctor and, more importantly, ABOUT DONNA! Without Donna, there's no Doctor. Without the Doctor, everything goes to shit! Seeing as we, the audience, are usually seeing the universe by following the Doctor, a companion-focused episode was so refreshing. We got to learn so much about who Donna is, what her life back home was like before we met her, and gave realistic consequences to her actions. FUCK YEAH! It felt grounded, it felt interesting. I also adore the theory that every action we take splits us off into a new universe or timeline, so this episode was so perfect for me. DONNA'S INTERACTIONS WITH ROSE!!! Their comradery and understanding, the way Rose takes Donna under her wing, a moment where we see them as real people without the Doctor intervening or affecting the discussion. The importance of Donna to the universe being made so clear. WILF'S FLASHBACKS!! It's been forever since I saw this episode, but it is so rewatchable and makes me so interested every. single. time. The end of the episode is bone-chilling, with her literally killing herself to save the universe. And then!! The Doctor being out of the loop for once and understanding the severity of the situation with the return of the Bad Wolf. Explodes everywhere, words do not do justice the pure love, respect, and admiration I have for this episode and every actor, producer, tech person, writer, involved. Thank you GODS for this episode, I love you turn left. This lesson that every single person is indispensable and important sets up that conversation in later seasons and eventually becomes the main reoccurring theme of the show. Every Donna Noble, Rose Tyler, and Martha Jones of the universe is important and loved and unique and dbiubibjbjbgiufgbfgu you get me?

Honorable mentions:

The Parting of Ways [1x13]

The first finale of new who, and it was so gooooood!! Tied up the Bad Wolf hints, gave interesting endings to the TARDIS crew, told us so much about the ninth doctor, gave us confirmed ninerose, had a compelling storyline behind it, and just a classic good episode to go back to.

Tooth and Claw [2x2]

I know I've been mostly talking about the character implications of my favorite episodes, but this one was just interesting and fun. I loved the dynamic between the Doctor and Rose, the adventure, the silliness, the royal family being involved. Just a good, well-paced, wonderful episode.

The God Complex [6x11]

This episode was so yummy. While I was watching 11's seasons, I did get the vibe that Amy looked up and admired the Doctor in an unhealthy way and I loved how this episode addressed this. The idea that this thing was taking the forms of people's worst fears, the mystery of what the Doctor saw, the interesting characters, the understanding on what a God Complex actually was, its wonderful!!

The Timeless Children [12x10]

This may be controversial and I don't care!! I loved the way this episode was structured. I was confused and interested the whole time and when it fell into place I actually had to pause and pace around because OH MY GODS!!! it was a well-done reveal that had such interesting implications and I believe every reaction was in character and made sense. At first, I was upset about the loss of the former perception of the Doctor; Just a regular ol' guy who decided to act out and, above all, be kind. Suddenly, she was from another universe and was the original timelord and i was a little sad. But, the way it has been handled after feels so fitting, and it puts the rest of the show into perspective. All of the confusing things that set the Doctor apart from the others, it made sense now! I loved this episode, I thought it was a great.

The Village of the Angels [13x4]

I LOVED THE FLUX!! getting to have a old-school style season wherein the who season was just one problem was so cool and allowed for so much information! This episode specifically was so compelling. I loved the Professor Jericho; was SUCH a great addition to the TARDIS crew, and the way the handled the angels was arguably better than Time of Angels + Flesh and Stone. They were terrifying, the mystery was intriguing, and the characters were interesting!!! The only difficult part of this episode was keeping track of who was who as someone who has difficulty recognizing faces. Besides that, I fucking loved The Village of the Angels.

[blackmoonlightexpress]

TTEOTM Creative Team: What else did they work on?

For those who are a bit underwhelmed by the summer drama options or still dreaming about TTEOTM! 😎

Kuk Kok Leung (Lead Director)

Kuk Kok Leung is a veteran director who started his career in Hong Kong's TVB. He's been nominated for the prestigious Magnolia Award and is known for wuxia and serious, warm-blooded historical dramas (he's adapted 7 out of 8 Jinyong novels). His works include...

Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983) as Assistant Director, with Felix Wong and Barbara Yung

The Duke of Mount Deer (1984), with Tony Leung & Andy Lau

Return of the Condor Heros (1983) with Andy Lau & Idy Chan

Legend of the Condor Heroes (2002) with Li Yapeng & Zhou Xun

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (2003), with Hu Jun, Jimmy Lin, and Liu Yifei

Water Margin (2011), nominated for Magnolia Award

Cool Sword (2013), with Julian Cheung & Wallace Chung

The Patriot Fei Yue (2013), with Huang Xiaoming & Ruby Lin

The Stand-In (2014), with Wallace Chung

The General and I (2016), with Wallace Chung and Angelababy

He's also a frequent collaborator and producer on Johnny To films, including Election, Election 2, Mad Detective.

So you get the picture. He makes TV for men who are ready to bleed for their country. This all makes him a really interesting choice for TTEOTM (and tells you a bit about the ambition and creative vision of the producers), especially since all his more recent idol dramas were widely panned.

Wang Haiqi, Director & Action Director

We don't know too much about Wang Haiqi because TTEOTM is actually his directorial debut. He started his career in stunts and has worked as the action coordinator on Ashes of Love (2018) and Immortality (unreleased) alongside Luo Yunxi. He was also a stunts man/double in a bunch of Hollywood films, including Mulan (2020) and the Foreigner (2017) through the Jacky Chan stunts team.

He's responsible for most of the action/battle scenes in TTEOTM, and his experience working on films probably explains why the fight sequences are unusually cinematic for TV.

Luan Hexin, Art Director

Luan Hexin is a Magnolia Award nominated art director best known for Huanyu productions, including Story of Yanxi Palace, Winter Begonia, and Royal Feast. He's a serious art guy, as you can tell from this interview.

(Note: Huanyu is Bai Lu's management company. There is a rumor that Luan Hexin is part of Bai Lu's "dowry", but the parties have since clarified that Luan was brought in after she was cast.)

He's also an interesting choice, having never worked on costume fantasies before and better known for his authentic representation of the look and feel of bygone eras.

Huang Wei, Costume Designer

Huang Wei is one of the most sought-after costume designers working today, especially for xianxias. She started her career as a Vogue China editor and was in fact the person responsible for TTEOTM's Dunhuang-inspired aesthetics.

Her better known works include A Dream of Splendor (2022), One and Only (2020), Love O2O (2015), Back from the Brink (2023) as well as a bunch of highly anticipated dramas like Immortality and The Last Immortal. (The joke on Chinese internet is that there is an "expensive" vs. "cheap" version of Huang Wei costumes - her design can be much simpler on lower-budget productions.)

I'd like to think that after designing 40 mostly white costumes for Luo Yunxi in Immortality, she decided to go nuts on color with Tantai Jin.

Tsang Ming Fai, Makeup Designer

Tsang Ming Fai is a big name in the xianxia circuit. He and his team of “students" have worked on a large number of costume dramas, including Ashes of Love (2018), Love & Redemption (2020), Under the Power (2019), Noble Aspirations (2016), Sword of Legends (2014), as well as the... wait for it... unreleased Immortality and Luo Yunxi's currently filming drama Follow Your Heart.

He's sadly been receiving a lot of hate in fan circles over the heavy makeup in TTEOTM (which may or may not have been his call). What I do appreciate is his ability to help actors craft distinct characters with varied hair and makeup choices. For example you can distinguish between different Luo Yunxi characters and their personalities with Runyu's clean cut tie-back half ponytail (ethereal & straight laced), Tantai Jin's slightly brown hair, messy bangs and heavy eye shadow (dark & sickly), Chu Wanning's angular eyebrows and geometric hair puff (strict & proud).

He also excels at creating unusual, iconic looks even for side characters, e.g. Chen Yao's dark lipstick paired with gothic jewelry in Immortality and Chen Duling's retro updo in TTEOTM.

[sillyname30]

Darren Criss spoke exclusively with The Mirror about how he doesn't feel Glee needs to be redone amid the booming reboot culture

Singer and actor Darren Criss revealed whether he believes Glee should get a reboot.

The 37-year-old, who played Blaine in the hit Fox series, spoke with The Mirror US at Elsie Fest, Broadway's annual music festival. While many shows have gotten the reboot treatment like Boy Meets World, Saved By the Bell and That 70s Show, Darren doesn't feel like a Glee reboot would be necessary.

"I don't need to [reboot Glee] personally, but that's not to say I don't think it could happen, but it's, I'm the lowest ranking member of the totem pole that makes those kinds of decisions," he told us exclusively.

This comes after Glee creator Ryan Murphy teased the possibility of bringing the show back.

Speaking on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast in 2022, Ryan said, "I’m at the phase now with that show [Glee], you know, where it’s like, well, there’s been enough time. Like, maybe we should really re-examine it as a brand.

"You know, should we do a reboot of it in some way? Should we do a Broadway musical of it in some way?"

However, nothing has come of that since. Instead, Darren has teased a new project that he's especially excited for - his upcoming Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending. In the musical, he stars as Oliver, a Helperbot, facing the stark reality of obsoleteness as his model becomes increasingly outdated.

Darren not only gave a first look at the title song at Elsie Fest but he also spoke with The Mirror about the upcoming show. "I just started rehearsing for a new show, maybe happy ending that we open previews in October and opens officially in November," he shared

He added: "I think it's very, very special and I'm, I've never really had that feeling about doing something before, which is not to say the things I did before weren't special. This one just keeps creeping up on me in a way that I am so delighted by and I feel like I'm part of something very, very unique that I'm very excited for people to see it."

Darren not only performed at Elsie Fest but he created the event. The festival launched in 2015 and ran every year up until 2021. This year, Elsie Fest returned after a two-year hiatus. When speaking on what it was like for the festival to be brought back, Darren revealed it was "an honor and a joy" to serve the theatre community.

"I'm just happy that there are still people here that are interested in this kind of an environment. The show, and this sounds like such a cliche, but it is made up of the fans," he said.

He continued: "This is not for our benefit, it is for theirs. Because, you know, I, sort of saw this hole in the market of there's this fan base that really loves to celebrate and perform this kind of material but doesn't have a venue to kind of let their hair down and kind of, you know, be a little unfettered. And so to be able to provide that is, is, is an honor and a joy as a huge musical theater fan."

[ljones41]

"THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" (2022) Commentary

"THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" (2022) COMMENTARY

During the height of my high regard for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), among the movies of which I had been a major fan were the Captain America releases. At least two of them. The third film in this mini franchise - 2016's "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" proved to be a major disappointment for me. However, when I heard that Disney and Marvel Films had plans to air a miniseries about the characters Sam Wilson aka the Falcon and James "Bucky" Barnes aka the Winter Soldier, I must admit that I felt a renewed interest in the franchise again.

When I said a renewal of the MCU franchise, I meant it. Aside from a few movies like "ANT-MAN", "BLACK PANTHER", "CAPTAIN MARVEL" and "ETERNALS"; the MCU had become a major disappointment for me ever since the release of 2015's "THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON". One might ask . . . what about the MCU television productions that aired on the Disney Plus streaming channel? Aside from one production that I somewhat liked and one that I loved, most of them have been disappointing to me. Unfortunately, I have to include this follow-up to the Captain America movies, "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER".

Set six months after 2019's "THE AVENGERS: ENDGAME", "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" followed former war veteran/Avenger Sam Wilson, who has resumed working the for the U.S. government, while using his role as the Falcon. When the government recruits Sam to track down and deal with a group of enhanced anarchists known as "the Flag Smashers", former World War II veteran/HYDRA tool/Avenger James "Bucky" Buchannan aka the Winter Soldier decides to join Sam in his mission, due to his lingering guilt as a former HYDRA assassin and their shared experiences as Steve Rogers' close friends and battling Thanos and his army.

Since "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" had aired on the DisneyPlus channel in six episodes, I had seriously considered ranking the episodes. But like Season three of the Marvel Netflix series, "DAREDEVIL", the more I watched "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLIDER", the more it disappointed me. Aside from complaints about its pacing, the limited series had received a great deal of praise from critics and fans alike. Because of this, I believe it was one of the most overrated productions in the MCU history. People had seemed so focused on little moments and scenes that very few had noticed how the series' narrative seemed to be all over the map. For example:

Sam Wilson This limited series is supposed to be a follow up to the events of "ENDGAME" in which Sam had received the Captain America shield from an aging Steve Rogers, a sign for him to take up the latter's costumed role. Was this an attempt by Marvel Films/Disney to make Sam a more relevant character? If so, why? Why did a MCU character have to replace Steve as the new Captain America to be more relevant? Why not allow Sam to continue as the Falcon, only push his role to the forefront as one of the franchise's new leading characters? Some might accuse me of not wanting a black man as Captain America, a topic that was brought up in the series. Frankly, I never wanted another character - regardless of race, gender or ethnicity - to become the new Captain America. That includes Bucky Barnes. Allow Steve Rogers to fade into the background and let Sam (as the Falcon) shine as one of the franchise's new leads. However, the die has been cast. One can only sit back and see if moviegoers are willing to accept Sam as the new Captain America.

Perhaps the MCU had to make Sam the new Captain America in order to make him more relevant. Why would I say that? The showrunner for "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER", Malcolm Spellman, came dangerously close to shoving Sam into the role of the second lead or worst, a role he has been since his debut in 2014's "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" - a supporting character. During the series' first three or four episodes, someone other than Sam (either Bucky Barnes or Helmut Zemo - two white men) made decisions that allowed the plot to move forward, not Sam. He was simply regulated to being an observer or reactor. The series even managed to undermine Sam's decision not to support the Sokovia Accords in "CIVIL WAR". In thee 2016, Sam became the first Avenger to speak out against the Accords and declare his intentions not to sign it. Yet, according to Bucky in this series, Sam had merely followed Steve's example in rejecting the Accords. And Spellman did nothing to allow Sam to correct this misconception.

James "Bucky" Barnes One of the few aspects of "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" I found enjoyable proved to be the interactions between Sam Wilson and Bucky Buchannan. Despite their lingering jealousy and competition over the role as "Steve Rogers' best friend", the pair's interactions proved to be very entertaining, thanks to the screen chemistry between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Unfortunately, Mackie and Stan could not save "CIVIL WAR" for me. Nor could they save "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER", due to its problematic writing. A good deal of that writing surrounded Bucky's character. I have so many questions about his role in this series. For example:

*Why would any official of the Joint Counter Terrorist Center allow Bucky to visit and question Helmut Zemo, the man responsible for the U.N. conference bombing in Vienna, in "CIVIL WAR"? That made very little sense to me. Surely the JCTC authorities remembered how Zemo managed to brainwash Bucky into making his own prison break in "CIVIL WAR"? Also, Bucky was on parole for his activities as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin. Yet, the JCTC had allowed him to visit Zemo? Surely, the showrunner could have allowed Sam, who was serving the U.S. government again, to be the one to visit and question Zemo?

*How on earth did Bucky managed to evade being arrested and charged for helping Zemo escape from the JCTC? The U.S. and other governments should have been suspicious of Bucky after learning about his visit to Zemo.

*Bucky came off as an arrogant school jock, who thought he was entitled to get his way - especially in his interactions with Sam. I found it hilarious that many fans had criticized John Walker aka Captain America aka U.S. Agent for such toxic behavior. Yet, they had turned a blind eye to Bucky's own behavior. And so did the series - up until the last two episodes. Why did the showrunner allow Bucky to get away with this behavior toward Sam for so long without any complaints from the latter?

*I did not care how Bucky had bullied his way into Sam's mission without the latter's consent. What I found even more annoying was the U.S. government's decision to allow Bucky to join Sam's mission after that ludicrous "therapy session" they were forced to attend together.

Racism A good number of MCU fans had complained about the inclusion of racism in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER". I had no problems with this direction, considering the story was about Sam, an African-American man, becoming the new Captain America. However, I had a good deal of problems with how the production explored the topic of racism.

The story of Isaiah Bradley, Marvel's second Captain America, had originated in the comics. In the MCU, he was a Korea War veteran whom the United States Army used as one of several unwilling African-American test subjects for their version of the Super Soldier serum. I realize that both Marvel Comics and the MCU had attempted to use Bradley's experience as a metaphor for the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The problem is that I cannot see the U.S. government and the Army - both racist organizations in the early 1950s - be willing to risk the possibility of creating a non-white super soldier. Despite the recent desegregation of the Armed Forces in the late 1940s. And both the government and the Army had been more than willing to use white soldiers in other experiments.

After saving a group of black American super soldiers from a prison camp, Bradly was imprisoned by the U.S. government for thirty years. I saw nothing wrong with this twist in the character's narrative, until I remembered two things - Bradley had been able to free his fellow soldiers without anyone's help; and nearly sixty years later, Steve Rogers managed to break into the Raft and free those Avengers who had refused to sign the Sokovia Accord. Why was Bradley unable to free himself from prison? This is the man who had defeated the Winter Soldier by breaking the latter's metal arm. And he was not powerful enough to make a prison break, let alone evade capture?

I had assumed Sam's difficulty in becoming the new Captain America would stem from the government's reluctance to recruit a black man for the position. That would explain their decision to recruit the blond-haired John Walker instead. But the series never really made it clear whether political racism had played a role in Walker's recruitment. The series also had James "Rhodey" Rhodes had paid Sam a visit, emphasizing the importance of the new Captain America being black. As it turned out, Sam's own insecurities about becoming Captain America had more to do with him not initially assuming the role. There was also that interesting scene outside Bradley's Baltimore home where the police arrested Sam during verbal argument with Bucky. Although the cops backed away when they recognized Sam as an Avenger, they ended up arresting the parolee Bucky for missing his required therapy appointment. This scene was supposed to be a case of racial profiling. But . . . we might as well be honest. In the real world, the police would not have backed down from hassling Sam. What I found more disturbing was the production's handling of Bucky's arrest. Once the police discovers that Sam was an Avenger; they turned to arrest Bucky for failing to show up for his missing his therapy session. Not only did the police arrest Bucky with a more gentle behavior, they did so, accompanied by Henry Jackman's mournful score, something that did not accompany the moment of Sam being arrested. Were the audiences expected to notice the hypocrisy and racism in the police's handling of the two men? Expected to feel sympathy for Bucky? Or both?

The last episode featured a scene of two black kids playing with toy Captain America shields. Someone had commented that the shields (especially in the hands of non-white children) represented hope to the future of race relations in the United States. Why? How? This country had a biracial president for EIGHT YEARS. Yet, U.S. racial policies have remained problematic even to this day. I can say the same for other countries. The so-called symbolism of this scene only reminded me of how human beings put so much faith in imagery and symbolism. And this strikes me as a FALSE FAITH. Why was taking up the mantle of a costumed hero that had been previously occupied by a white man, the only way for Sam Wilson to become relevant within the MCU franchise? What was wrong with him being "the Falcon"? Sam becoming the next Captain America was not going to save the U.S. in regard to race relations - not in real life and not in the fictional world of the MCU. Looking back on the series, the series' only scenario that seemed to expose racism in a realistic manner, proved to be Sam's failure to acquire a bank loan for his family's fishing boat in Louisiana.

Sharon Carter I am certain many MCU fans are aware of this. One of Marvel Comics' most iconic couples happened to be Steve Rogers aka Captain America and Sharon Carter aka Agent 13. She also happened to be the great-niece of Peggy Carter, Steve's love interest during World War II. Portrayed by Emily VanCamp, Sharon was first introduced as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" as a potential love interest for Steve. Despite Sharon's appearance in the following Captain America movie, "CIVIL WAR", their romance never really developed. Many blamed the lack of chemistry between VanCamp and Chris Evans. I never had a problem with their screen chemistry. I had a problem with the lack of relationship development between Sharon and Steve. And I blame Kevin Feige's decision to transform the third Captain America film into a third (and badly written) pseudo Avengers movie. The change in the film's narrative, along with Sharon's failure to appear in "THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR" and "ENDGAME", left no opportunity for Sharon and Steve to become the romantic pair they had been in the comics. Instead, Sharon became a fugitive from the U.S. government after helping Steve and Sam hunt down Bucky, moved to Madripoor, a city-state with no U.S. extradition and became an embittered criminal known as "the Power Broker".

After "CIVIL WAR", nearly five years had passed before Sharon appeared in another MCU production - namely this series. And what happened? The franchise, with Spellman, ended up completely destroying her character by transforming her into the villain known as Power Broker, the criminal leader of an Indonesian city-state called Madripoor. After helping Steve and Sam acquire their suits and equipment in order to go after Bucky in "CIVIL WAR", Sharon lost her job with the C.I.A. and became a fugitive. She eventually moved to Madripoor, a city-state with no U.S. extradition, to evade capture, survived Thanos' Snap and became an embittered criminal nicknamed "the Power Broker" in order to survive the new world.

What really pissed me off about Sharon's arc between "CIVIL WAR" and "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" is that her development into a major villain all happened OFF SCREEN. Off screen. Apparently, screenwriters for "INFINITY WAR" had written a draft that included Sharon in the movie. But according to Christopher Markus, he and Stephen McFeeley could not imagine scenes featuring Steve and Sharon trying to make it work in an apartment, because the 2018 movie did not have time to focus on their personal life. Why did Marvel simply fail to allow Sharon to be part of Steve's vigilante team - like Sam and Natasha Romanoff? I mean . . . good fucking grief! And why did Malcolm Spellman believe the only way Sharon could be interesting was to become a villain in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER"? This was his idea of improving Sharon's character?

Helmut Zemo aka Baron Zemo Why did Malcolm Spellman, Kevin Feige and the MCU thought it necessary to bring back Helmut Zemo, the Sokovian-born villain from "CIVIL WAR"? What role did he play in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER"? I realize that Bucky, of all people, visited the incarcerated Zemo to acquire information on who had created the super-soldier serum that empowered the Flag Smashers. But why did he believe Zemo could provide the answer? Because he thought HYDRA was involved? Bucky or Sam could have searched for information from sources other than Zemo, who had been incarcerated for . . . what? Eight years? Eight years. Zemo managed to become something of a crowd-pleaser, thanks to Daniel Brühl's performance. Otherwise, I found his presence in this series unnecessary.

The Big Bad Why on earth did it take this series so long to finally reveal the main villain's identity? At first, the series hinted the Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau. However, the series tossed other potential candidates for the Big Bad before viewers - John Walker, Helmut Zemo and yes, Sharon Carter. But in the end, Morgenthau and her group proved to be the main villains.

The Flag Smashers were a group of empowered people who believed the world was a better place between Thanos' Snap and the Blip (resurrection of those who had died during the Snap), when Humans around the world managed to unite and form a borderless society, one in which people helped others without any thought to nationalism and bias. Thanks to the Avengers, the world resumed its conflicts between nationalities and other groups. In other words, the borders returned.

Frankly, I have nothing against this ideal. Only Ms. Morgenthau and her followers resorted to violence and terrorism to achieve their goals. Does this sound familiar? It should. The Flag Smashers proved to be another example of characters with a progressive goal, resorting to extremism and becoming villains. This seemed to be a growing trend within the franchise, which I believe began with Erik "Killmonger" Stevens aka Prince N'Jadaka in 2018's "BLACK PANTHER". Since then, the MCU has not looked back at its growing roster of progressive villains. Perhaps I should not have been surprised. The franchise's ambiguous portrayal of an unconstitutional document like the Sokovia Accords, should have been the wake-up call. It seemed as if Kevin Feige, Marvel Films and Disney Studios had finally exposed themselves for the faux progressives they pretend to be. Frankly, this form of villainy has become tiresome to me.

After writing this article, I had considered ranking the six episodes featured in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" anyway. But I decided against it. My dislike of the series made it impossible for me to even bother. Being a fan of the first two Captain America movies, I had truly hoped this series would redeem the franchise. Unfortunately, it proved to be just as disappointing as "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR". Pity. Perhaps the fourth film, "CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD" will do the trick. I hope so.

[bobbie-robron]

Robron Fanfiction Recommendations (Jan-2024)

The below were recommended in January 2024 on Twitter. Enjoy!

Memories at Midnight (2016) 2.0K words, robertsaaronsebastiankurt

It’s New Year’s Eve 2015 and there’s a party at the pub but Aaron’s not in a party mood especially since dear ol’ mum invited the vile one to it. Enter Robert who is still a bit off recovering from his shooting. What better way to celebrate the approaching new year than to have Aaron unloading to Robert about the vile one and more.

Robert Flippin’ Sugden (2016) 2.8K words, SugdenLovesDingle

Paddy can’t think of anyone worse than Robert for Aaron as we all know. But that perspective begins to very slowly change between Robert and Aaron participating in the pub quiz to their legal wedding taking place in Apr-2017 with a surprise guest. Yup, clearly an AU 😂.

Blue Eyes and Kiss Red Lips (2017) 4.8K words, iwillsendapostcard

Once upon a time, Robert lost his family and his home to the Whites who turned him into a one man servant in order to allow him to stay in the home he grew up in. One day, a grand ball was announced for the prince… Aaron… to find a match for him. Well, we all know the story of Cinderella so the only question is… how will Robert and Aaron get their happily ever after?

These words are all we have (2018) 3.6K words, their_dark_materials

The insults book… we only heard it brought up once and never again (unfortunately). But why, how and when exactly did this insults book come about? It’s been a ‘thing’ for longer than any of us thought actually. And who exactly has been an active participant in those pages. Well, read on and find out the answers to all these questions.

The Sunshine Show (2017) 4.1K words, NotForOneSecond

When Robert becomes Aaron’s co-anchor on the morning show, it’s dislike on first sight for Aaron. Soon after, Ed gets a job at the station showing interest in Aaron. When a caller comments about their on screen chemistry, Aaron’s gobsmacked. But that does appear to be the turning point as Aaron begins to have a change of perspective about Robert…

Wedding receptions and a wake (2018) 5.5K words, nothing_much

Aaron’s a waiter that is helping his friend (Vic) out on weekends with catering gigs. During the course of four weddings and a wake, Aaron comes across the ‘beautiful blonde” Robert (who’s engaged to Chrissie) and the two of them wind up fooling around on the sly during each of these events, never knowing if they’d see each other again. Over these gigs, Robert will need to stop hiding from the sister he hasn’t seen for nine years and also figure out what makes him continually seek out the ‘gorgeous waiter’ as his own wedding looms.

Oh but darling we are meant to be series (2017) 12.3K words, softlyspoken

Three stories in this series. Aaron has been in love with his ‘almost’ boss Robert since he’s started in the office and never thought he’d have a chance with him until an awards night. From there the stories focus on the office figuring out they are together and the big final story that concentrates on confronting Jack when he shows up on Robert’s birthday and how childhood secret coming out affects everyone around them including Robert’s relationship with Aaron.

Cut to the feeling (2018) 9.9K words, their_dark_materials

It’s 2018 and Aaron’s birthday. He’s having dreams of Vegas with Robert even though he’s with the boring pointless one. To top it off, he’s feeling off and grumpy about the day and dreading what’s planned. When he gets the pressies from the dull one, it ‘seems’ to indicate that maybe he does KNOW and SEE the REAL him after all. But really, he should have known better. The only one that’s ever known him fully is Robert which the pressies clearly go back to him. So what now? Basically, let’s get rid of the pointless one sooner rather than later 😀.

What Might have been (2016) 6.9K words, rayrod67

It’s a Wonderful Life and that’s exactly what Robert is gonna learn after he wishes he hadn’t been born after inadvertently taking on a dodgy (and dangerous) haulage deal that could land him in legal trouble. Enter a guardian angel who takes Robert’s wish seriously and shows him how things would have been for his Sugden family and especially later for Aaron if he hadn’t been around. Robert will learn some deaths were always meant to be but others…

Almost lost you (2016) 11.2K words, jamesm97

It’s the vile one’s trial and all see red, especially Aaron, at the performance he presents related to his physical condition. This leads Aaron to take a combination of whiskey and sleeping pills which Robert gets to him in time before the worst could happen to Aaron. What follows is Robert and Aaron growing closer while they wait for the verdict while Chas reluctantly accepts Robert as he makes her son happy and steps aside from interfering. Also, there’s a secret from their past year that gets a strong reaction out of Aaron.

[gothicprep]

Does the “woke” critique ever really go beyond “this has gay people/poc/women in if they’re pushing their agenda” type stuff? Personally I don’t think I’ve heard “Mary sue” get used since Rey Starwars, everything I’ve seen lately is just foaming at the mouth when a story doesn’t exclusively center white men

there’s a version of the critique that’s just that, and there’s another version of it that’s something to the effect of “it seems like some writers use IP to tell a story *they* would like to tell, regardless of how it works in the IP”. the former one is just whiny. the second one, as far as I can tell, is probably a real critique, because i can think of examples of this being brought up where representation isn’t involved in ~the discourse~ around it at all.

this happened in like 2015 back when fallout 4 came out. if you don’t know anything about fallout, here’s the quick TL; DR. nuclear war happens. americans take shelter in vaults built by the vault-tec corporation. some of the vaults turn out to be weird social experiments set up to study human behavior. vault 95 was housed with only drug addicts and there were no drugs in the vault, except 5 years in, a massive stash of drugs would be revealed in a hidden location in the vault. the problem is that one of the logs the player can find is written by a delivery man where he says he’s delivering a shipment of jet, a fictional drug in the game that’s a weird cross between meth and jenkem, made from fumes of radiated cattle dung. but this was invented after the bombs dropped, so there was no way for a pre-war delivery man was bringing a shipment of it.

this is a problem that’s very easy to fix in a video game. just change the text in the next patch. instead, what happened was the guy who wrote that quest doubled down, and did it again when fans were pointing out the clear flaws in his logic. and the writer responded with “not interested in discussing how realistic things are in an alternate universe post-apoc game w/ talking mutants and ghouls.” and a lot of game and tech news sites backed him up on making fun of fans for daring to complain about lore inconsistencies.

and like, on some level, yeah. it’s just a story. maybe you shouldn’t take it too seriously. but part of the flip side of that is that if you stop taking it seriously, you stop consuming it. bethesda didn’t create fallout, they’re just it’s current owners. people working there might care about fallout to some extent, but when push comes to shove, they prioritize their own visions. and stuff like this is ultimately how they view it. if you’re a fan of fallout, it means something to you. that’s why you enjoy it. but to them it’s only a vehicle for their new story. if they can get away with not respecting old lore – not just to save face, but also because the old lore gets in the way of the story they want to tell – and they believe that you’ll continue consuming the product, what incentive do they have to respect the old lore.

and, how many times have you heard a story like this? how many tv shows? how many video games? how many movies has something equivalent has this happened to? people take these things seriously because they love them. when they see inconsistencies, they’re worried that the new stewards don’t actually care. and when those new stewards lash out like this, it just confirms to fans that these creatives only want to wear a skin suit of the thing that they love.

that’s the best steelman I have for that, anyway.

[mrcowboytoyou]

The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay (the comic)

The City on the Edge of Forever is arguably a pretty popular episode of TOS and with good reason. It's a pretty dramatic episode and it was influential in forming Kirk's character and inspiring future ST material, both in the beta canon and in fan works.

Fun fact (though a bit off-topic): Edith Keeler is brought up in the novelization for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Bones mentions her and it results in a pretty emotional altercation with Jim. The scene isn't in the film but I think it adds an interesting level to the story especially where Gillian Taylor is concerned. Makes her parting in the end sting a little worse.

"She had a mission in her life, and she wouldn't have given it up to go with you."

A bit of foreshadowing aye? Anyway, this aside, I actually have something else entirely to talk about.

Recently, a trek artifact found its way into my lap. And that is the comic version of Harlan Ellison's original script for The City on the Edge of Forever. The comic isn't that old really, but I'd seen other people talking about it and was excited to of found it out in the wild myself.

For those unaware, the script underwent a lot of changes resulting in pretty different experiences between it and the episode that aired. I think even more than what's in this comic version, which came out in 2015. I've not actually read the original script though.

I did read some commentary from Ellison who's original script apparently ended with Kirk deciding he would save Keeler, because fuck it, he loves her, and Spock saves the day by physically holding him back from doing so.

The episode ended with Kirk stopping McCoy, and by extension himself, from saving Keeler; the comic ends with Kirk hanging back as Spock stops Beckwith (instead of McCoy) from saving Keeler. I do have my opinions on which ending I like best but I'll get to that a bit later.

Since I've not read the original script (except for one exchange which is in the comic and was wholly responsible for my excitement in finding this comic to begin with), I will avoid comparing it to this comic for the most part. While, I'm sure there are differences, at present time I don't know all of them besides what I've already said above.

Instead, I will compare this comic experience to the episode. Besides, there's going to be a lot more differences I think between this and the show rather than this and the script.

So first things first, let's actually talk about the conflict here. I mentioned that instead of McCoy we have an antagonist of the week type named Beckwith. Beckwith is a drug dealer in karkow, which is a drug that resembles comically big, colourful crystals. Seems an unfortunate thing to have to ingest, but it apparently sends you on quiet the whirlwind.

Beckwith has some larger agenda surrounding this drug and has gotten one of his shipmates hooked so that they might, in a drug induced daze, assist him. This other lieutenant references that Beckwith caused a slaughter on Harper V, but I don't know what the details of this are. Looking it up only brought up a dead ensign, may he rest in peace lol.

So, while I'm curious, I don't think that bit of info is important beyond just detailing Beckwith's track record. It's a bit of a strange setup to me in some regard. Like it feels too big of an issue all on its own to just be a component of a story. I mean there was a "slaughter" on a planet because of very expensive and illegal drugs.

Additionally, there is something else very interesting about an antagonist that we aren't attached to, like McCoy. For one, we do not care if he lives or dies. Really we only care that he sees justice, because we care about the motivations of Kirk and Spock.

But in keeping with the episode, the conundrum ultimately becomes about the life or death of Edith Keeler. Beckwith, like McCoy, saves her and now Spock and Kirk have to prevent that. That's interesting because, we are given information that paints Beckwith in no uncertain terms, as a very bad person. Additionally, his saving of Keeler is something one of our leads wants very much to do himself. So it's a interesting dichotomy.

I sorta like that aspect of it a lot. McCoy wants to save Keeler because he's a good person and a doctor. We know that his ignorance and desire to save others motivate him. With Beckwith, its a bit of a mystery, and as an audience we must now think about what it means that Kirk and him might share a want or an instinct to save.

The comic ends with Kirk and Spock discussing this very dilemma. Why might Beckwith of done that? This may be the only part of the comic you'd know at all because it is in the original script, and pictures of the text circulate ST tumblr every so often.

Following this bit of a dialogue Spock asks Kirk why Beckwith would try to save Keeler. An appropriate question given what we know. I think the answer is a bit cryptic but the long and short of it is- humans are capable of good and bad things.

Beckwith, a horrible man, was still capable of saving a woman's life. And Kirk, noble and level headed as he is, can still be selfish. At the end there they mention Keeler and a soldier whom Kirk paid for information. The soldier is homeless and legless but saves Kirk's life when Beckwith fires at him, dying in the process. When they go back to the Guardians Kirk asks if the soldier's life, just as Keeler's, might have affected reality but the answer is no, he was inconsequential.

This cruel uncertainty about the value of people weighs on Kirk. He wasn't inconsequential to him. That man saved his life, and was paramount in finding Beckwith.

I think the ending dialogue is a bit confusing and I don't know if that's just me, but at the end Spock assures Kirk that Keeler was not negligible. Kirk replies, "...but, I loved her".

I think there is a thought which remains unsaid here about the loss of these two. Part of Kirk's confusion and hurt comes from the fact that if Keeler was so important to the future, why couldn't she be saved in some manner? Why was her fate to also die like the soldier, whose loss was labeled as negligible by the Guardians?

In response to this, Spock says:

"No woman was ever loved as much, Jim. Because no woman was ever offered the universe for love."

It's very touching. The value of life isn't lost because someone dies, and your feelings for her aren't without purpose or meaning because you didn't save her. It's something he needs to hear. Shortly after, Spock leaves, and Kirk now alone in his quarters screams into the inky darkness of space as the Enterprise hurtles on to boldly go... Good ending.

There are a lot of parts of the story which hit similar beats to the episode. The plot largely is intact after all but even in the way of dialogue. There are cute moments where Spock doesn't understand the lingo of the time period in both, for instance.

Additionally, the tension that builds between them, and which has been the source of so much fanfic, is very much alive and well in this comic. Some of those scenes play out pretty similarly as they do in the episode. Even the panel designs are reminiscent of shots from the show at times. But there's also bits like this only in the comic that I couldn't stop rereading...

"Captain, fooling me is simple. Just give me the order, I will change my opinion."

WOOF WOOF. Just an absolutely great line. It's the sort of thing only Spock could and would say. There's something about it that is so rich with understated emotion, like the way a dam holds back a flood.

So would I recommend this? Oh, easily!

Is it better than the episode we got? This question is harder to answer so readily, but I think after much thought, I would say no.

So much change is taking place between these adaptions that they're different enough stories to both be fulfilling to experience. There are parts of this comic that I'd of loved to see acted out, for sure. Obviously there are some amazing bits of dialogue that did not make the final cut and that's disappointing; they'll always be in my heart, but I like the canon ending a lot more.

In the show, Kirk's choice to stop McCoy is really very significant. It's not just that he's stopping Bones, he's also stopping himself. He went back to save Bones and also the entire rest of the ship's crew after all. In my mind, Kirk was always going to make this choice no matter what. Yes, he loves Keeler, but it's not like he loves his ship, friends, or crew less. He just loves them in a different way. Ultimately though, he would always do what he needed to do when there proved to be no other option.

So I'd of hated an ending where Kirk defies the beliefs he's consistently maintained throughout the show to save Keeler. I also don't really like that Kirk hangs back in the comic's rendition and that Spock ends up stopping Beckwith. It's less significant for Spock to be the one doing it.

I don't mind Beckwith being there instead of Bones but I do think the drug dealing component to his character feels a bit out of place. As I said in the beginning, something about it feels too large to be just a mere component of an episode. It feels more deserving of its own episode entirely.

In any case, I really liked this comic. The art is beautiful and the back of the book included a bit of how J.K Woodward (the artist) went about creating panels and poses. Despite the fact that I ultimately like the episode we got, this comic is still a great story, so I think it's a nice addition to any Star Trek collection.

[ernestelm]

Black Cat Detective movie rant

Ever since I made that video about black cat detective I've realised how much I despised the movie. It missed the mark so badly that after I vented I felt like I had more things that I hated about t.

 Im not going to urge people to watch the video because I am cringing at it but I also want people to find it and maybe have more people be interested in black cat detective.

I'm going to be honest, that video made me never want to make a video again.  Im just going to be mostly text based, I might start posting animations or something some day but don't expect too much from me.

Useless rants away, Im going to get to the point.

Im starting from the beginning since Im kinda hoping no one reading this watched the video. Bcd is widely considered a classic by Chinese people created in the 80's. I didnt grow up with it, I was more interested in western shows , but I did see people from 2000's which is my age range say that they did. To me this was kind of a red flag, you see, liking western shows means my norm is watching the newest rendition for a series. For example, I watched tmnt 2012, I didnt grow up with the 80's one. So colour me surprise when I started trying Chinese media and they had so little good kids shows that after the 2000's they were still referencing shows from the 80's.

By that point I've already started watching more kids shows, I just didn't want to sit through anime and tvs shows and feel drained in the end anymore. So it was definitely a surprise when the main character started absolutely obliterating the villains. It also showed the more dark side of nature, like praying mantis eating their mate so their offsprings can have more nutrition. The whole show as a concept was kinda cool, my only gripe was that they didn't kill off the main villains despite killing smaller villains you know, typical hero movie tropes.

In 2015 they created a movie, which was where it all went downhill. (It might also be the series's season 2 but I couldnt bring myself to watch it so Im not counting it) They movie was loved by a lot of adults because they toned down the violence. Whatever, its fine, a show didnt have violence as long as they have good plot.

The movie didnt have good plot.

Characters

The characters, weren't good. First off, I didnt like how they added thick eyebrows for bcd and like he still barely had any expressions.

the whole thing about animation is that you can distort facial expressions, surpass what humans cannot do in real life, even the original series had bcd puff up from anger.

Im going to do another section just based on animation later

Other than that they added gag characters like a goddamn duck that keeps coming in with underwears on. It was so goddamn annoying, they even repeated it several times as if taunting me. I find it to be a problem with chinese cartoons in how they dumb down humour for children despite China supposedly being smart. I might bring this up for another rant on a show that I might do in the future but you'll understand what Im saying if you watched any chinese children show in recent years.

They also brought back the iconic villain, one ear, who is both unlikable and barely entertaining, his voice was annoying, I never liked it when he was on screen, he was mostly useless either way.

They also brought in a new "one off villain"  a gorilla who's story sorta had potential. He basically got pissed at a friend over a misunderstanding, thinking that his friend was selfish trying take the credit of both of their work despite his friend mostly using "us" and "we", while the people back at base used "you found it". It could've been a pretty good lesson on miscommunication. Other than that, he also started thinking he should take all of the credit, a good lesson on how jealousy can blind a person. Everything was in place and yet they still messed up. I liked how even after seeing his friend apologise to him through a hologram he still couldnt forgive him. He wasn't like the best villain but he was certainly a step in the right direction.

Alright now for the main character, yup that's right, bcd wasnt the main character. It was a pig kid. With a hedgehog for a mother, which is a goddamn pun that can only be translated in Chinese. 豪猪 hedgehog and  猪 pig. Weird design choice aside. The goddamn kid is the most annoying little shit I've ever seen.

Alright Im going to start with the positives, the kid could be a good example on stress on children, which is also a theme for another pig related kids show that I hate, might talk about it someday but I didnt like the show so I'm probably going to take a while. He goes to tuition every single day, his mom honestly kinds of neglects his interest to be a policeman. Only allowing one poster of bcd in his bedroom, giving him tons of homework in one scene, it would've been a good chance to show the stress he is in, already having so much pressure to succeed in life despite only being in primary school. Instead, the show decides to play it off as a gag, haha relatable, dont you think this is funny? As someone who grew up in a competitive Chinese school, I would say no. Story for another day tldr, it ruins your mental health and your relationships if you're not careful.

Now for the negatives, the kid is annoying. Well immature traits are annoying to me, so I might be biased. First off, the kid keeps trying to save the day despite it being wildy out of his capabilities. Exhibit A, trying going against 2 adults, one being a prisoner who escaped from a high security prison. He was lucky that his idol, bcd arrived in time to save him. Bcd even told him that he shouldve contacted him instead of facing 2 dangerous adults alone. And yet the kid kept going in and save bcd, being a kids movie they of course want everything to go well but his presence did cause the two villains to escape containment at one point. His presence did cause bcd to have to hand over a dangerous item as he was held hostage, why? He decided that instead of calling bcd to warn him about his battery being stolen and probably being used to escape, he goes on his scooter to warn him. Mind you, this show has phones, they had a gag were a girl liked bcd and asked for his number, which he replied with China's emergency number so contacting him via phone was an option. In the end everything works out, he was even rewarded for being reckless, now assuming this show was targeted at kids ( based on the juvenile jokes ), what message would this send to the children watching? It certainly isnt a good one now is it.

He also doesnt freaking tell bcd about the plan of the villains instead kept telling him how much he likes him and shit and waiting until he gets asked before splurging out the information. He also made the high stakes feel so much weaker as people's lives were at stake when he was freaking stanning and crap.

There's also his friend who was only introduced to give the kid a vip ticket so he can be at the scene when the 2 villains arrived there despite it not being opening day yet. His friend is absolutely underutilized, his father is the curator of the green star which was the place, and the weapon that the villains used, yeah the event was held on a spaceship, which the villains were planning launch to space as some sort of sick revenge. High stakes that were absolutely underplayed by the protagonists but I digress.

He never went to check on his friend who, as stated was in the location of a crime. He was supposed to be the "best friend" and yet he never contacted his friend after the incident. I cant even entirely blame it on him as after the main character met his idol and "helped" him, he never contacted this friend to tell him about everything or something. Which made their friendship even less natural and making the fact that he was merely a plot device even more obvious.

Plot

After seeing how his friend was treated you already know the writing of this is going to be a treat right? I expected so much from China, who force their kids to memorize Chinese classics and read so much literature, you would think that the place that supposedly invented paper would have better writing but no, its absolutely garbage if you cant tell from my sarcasm in my first sentence.

Now now, Im going to start with the obvious, any writer or like writing enthusiast would know about the quote "show dont tell". Yeah, tell that to the writer of Mr Black: Green Star. Sorry I didnt being up the name of the movie sooner but, I dont like the name at all and was procrastinating on even typing out the words. They continuously repeated this elite group of policemen (yes, from what I can tell they were all male) yet never showed them, I had to go on 知乎 to even find any information about it. Even so, I wasnt even sure if it was official.

Other than that there was this plotline where bcd won his first award at 14 for defeating professor strange (generic ass villain, dr strange wannabe, can you tell how much I hate this movie?) look as much as it messes up the timeline, I might excuse him as maybe being younger in the original series causing him to be more violent. Like maybe he got more responsible causing a more child friendly new gen bcd but that's expecting too much from the writers.

I really, really wished that they started with a movie of him joining the elite team and defeating professor strange or something instead of whatever this is. It would've established his character. Maybe starting with a more feral and hostile bcd, maybe even mourning for his friend who died in the original series and wanting to kill the villains but being told killing is not the solution. It would've been a new chapter, it would've saved a few seconds of my life from listening to characters repeating the same thing, that could've just been in a movie.

Moving on, we have logic. There is barely any. Oh Ern! Stop being such a soggy cereal, can't you just enjoy a movie without debating the logic? No, not when they both cause stupid behaviour and ignore a goddamn chance to be educational which links it to the edu part of the original series. First off stupid behaviour, the kid drives a jet because his dad is a pilot, thats not how it works, I bet the writers thought they were smart like, chekovs gun moment! Remember how the friend made an offhand remark on how the main character's dad is a pilot? Well yes I do. But also I don't drive a boat because my dad is a fisherman because it doesnt work like that.

Other than that g force. Gravity altering device, whatever, I could care less but bcd withstanding 8 g force without equipment? Real shit. They couldve said something about how cats can handle higher g forces or something. Whatever , theres thankfully not much information about that but one thing I am sure of is, the goddamn jet the kid was driving also had g force. Why wasnt that brought up. Why cant the kid handle the device but could handle a jet? They could've thought the kid about g force and make him experience it himself. Maybe do a flashback on it when he was on the jet. It would've been an upgrade to bcd teaching him how to shoot and making the final scene about him  never being able to aim well but dealing the final blow perfectly. The shooting part could've been more talent or something honestly, I dont care much of it.

Enough of the g force. Talk more about plot. What else is there to say? This whole thing is just a shallow movie, what am I gonna talk about, the one lff minion who was basically just there to fill in the chase scene? There is barely any substance in this movie, it felt more like a cash grab but like itt can't even sell merch because the character designs were mid and most of them are unlikable other than bcd but that's just my opinion.

Animation

Shit was weak, as I said they never utilised the fact that they used 2D animation. The animation techniques used felt more 3D than 2D.their smear frames are just a white blur. Their expressions are boring. and the side characters looks like this

Ive seen passion projects on youtube with better quality screenshots than these. I would rather it have self inserts of animators. Heck I've seen better quality animation in Bilibili productions. LOOK AT TGCF, HECK, LOOK AT WHITE CAT LEGEND. Those aren't even national culture icons, they weren't even released in theatres and yet look at the quality.

The worst part? They used 2D animation to honour the original series. It didn't feel like honour at all, in fact, it felt like an insult. I feels like the people who watched it only watched the series a few times as a kid and didn't even rewatch it to write the new show.

Anyways, I hope I never think about this movie ever again.

[nerdzzone]

Dear Chris...

Summary: Madeline knew that Chris was the love of her life, but when his level of celebrity and hints about marriage become too much for her to handle, she realizes she has to make some hard decisions.

Part of the Back To You series

-----

October 2015

Considering who her boyfriend was, Madeline usually felt a shiver of dread whenever her name appeared in a magazine. There’d been several times that she’d been mentioned in relation to Chris over the years and while the articles themselves usually weren’t too scathing, the fallout that always followed had her nervous about any publication that mentioned her name.

However, the one that she was currently holding was one that she was proud to be a part of. It was an international magazine for ballerinas that was known to provide training and career advice mostly aimed at those just starting out in the industry. It was only published four times a year and for their fall edition, Madeline had the honour of being featured.  She’d done the interview months earlier and had been eagerly waiting for it to arrive, but as she flipped to the page that her article was on and started to read, she was immediately disappointed.

It was a magazine that was marketed to a very specific audience, it wasn’t one that tried to appeal to the general public. When she’d been interviewed, she hadn’t mentioned anything at all about her relationship. Yet, over half the article was more about Chris than it was about her.

It was senseless considering she hadn’t provided any juicy new gossip about him and the basic background information they’d included about their relationship and his current projects was unlikely to sell any magazines to people who weren’t interested in the ballet side of it anyway, but it just solidified what Madeline had been feeling for a while: No one cared about her, they only cared about Chris. She’d been so proud when she’d been contacted to be featured and now it just felt like they’d been hoping she’d give them some kind of inside scoop. She thought they’d been acknowledging her accomplishments and giving her the space to be a mentor for up and coming dancers, but now she felt used and like they just wanted to take advantage of her connection to Chris to appeal to a wider audience.

It was the same story every time.

This was the most prestigious media request she’d ever had, but there’d been other opportunities - like a few ‘a day in the life of a ballerina’ videos for various YouTube channels or Instagram takeovers for dancing apparel companies that endorsed the ballet - and every time she made an appearance she spent more time dodging questions about Chris than she did providing any of the insights or expertise that she’d been told she was supposed to share. He overshadowed her entire life. Nothing she ever achieved in her career would be more noteworthy to anyone than her relationship.

That thought brought tears of frustration to her eyes and she slammed down the magazine in a huff, unable to even look at it a moment longer.

She’d worked so hard to get where she was in her career and while she didn’t do it for the praise, it irked her that none of it would ever matter as long as she was with Chris. She didn’t want to be interesting because of her boyfriend, she wanted her accomplishments to stand out in their own right.

She sat in stunned silence as she frantically fought back the tears when her phone lit up with a text from Chris.

Hey! I just got my hands on a copy of your magazine. Your answers were so thoughtful, you really nailed it. So proud of you, Maddie!

Chris wasn’t narcissistic enough to have not noticed how much the article talked about him. Madeline knew that he’d purposefully ignored it to keep the focus on her, but in that moment his lack of acknowledgement only added to her frustration. She wanted him to be as outraged as she was, she wanted him to truly understand how undermined she felt every time he unknowingly stole the spotlight from her and she wanted him to do something about it.

But the problem was that even she didn’t know what that ‘something’ could be and she knew that it was unfair to expect Chris to have any kind of solution. So, after pushing down her feelings enough to send a thoughtful thank you message back to Chris, she spent the rest of her day stewing in her own resentment as she wracked her brain for some way to shift the narrative of her life.

-

Two weeks later

“Chris! Hurry up!” Madeline called down the hall to their bedroom where Chris was packing. “If we don’t leave soon you’re going to be late!”

“I know, I know,” Chris assured her as he jogged down the hall with his bag slung over his shoulder and his sunglasses already on his face to dampen the shine of the late morning sunshine. “I’m going as fast as I can. I don’t know how you’re not dyin’ this morning too.”

Madeline smiled and took pity on him as she stretched up to place a soothing kiss on his cheek.

“Because I knew when to stop,” she reminded him. “And I didn’t decide it would be smart to end the night doing shots of tequila with the groom.”

They’d spent the previous evening at Anna’s wedding and while Chris was grateful that he’d managed to sneak away from filming long enough to attend, it was obvious that he was regretting not requesting an extra day to recover from the festivities as rushing to make his flight was proving to be difficult.

“I know,” he groaned as they headed out to Madeline’s car. “It sounded like a good idea at the time.”

“I tried to tell you that it wasn’t,” she teased him. “But you assured me that you were a grown man and you knew what you were doing.”

“Well, apparently I was wrong,” Chris chuckled as they pulled out of the driveway. “It was a great wedding though.”

“It was,” Madeline agreed. “And I’m glad that Anna was able to relax and actually enjoy herself. She’s been going full bridezilla all week.”

“Was she really that bad?”

“You have no idea, you’re lucky you weren’t here,” Madeline smiled. “I mean, I wasn’t even a bridesmaid and I spent half the week putting out fires for her. She kept calling me crying about how no one would listen to her and no one understood how absolutely crucial it was that the bows on the table centres were maroon and not burgundy. I had to keep reminding her that weddings are supposed to be happy and fun.”

“That’s so not like her,” Chris raised an eyebrow. “I can’t even picture it.”

“It surprised me too,” Madeline agreed. “But I guess weddings are more stressful than we would have thought.”

“That’s true,” Chris smirked. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to judge, that might be you one day.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Madeline felt a wave of dread. She knew she should be excited at the thought of him proposing, but she’d spent the last few weeks since she’d read that stupid article fighting off some serious doubts. Not about her love for Chris - she knew that was solid no matter how frustrated she was by his overwhelming fame - but about how they could move forward together without her always feeling inferior. The conflicting emotions she’d been grappling with had the mention of marriage feeling more like a threat than an honour.

“I’d never be like that,” she assured him, realizing she’d taken a moment too long to answer him. “And that won’t be happening any time soon anyway.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that her response only made Chris’ smirk widen even more.

“Could be sooner than you think…”

Before Madeline could stop herself, a scoff fell from her lips.

“It can’t happen sooner than I expect it to.”

Chris’ smirk faltered then as his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“What?”

“How can I get married ‘sooner than I think’? At the very least, I’d have to accept a proposal first which would give me some idea when to expect it.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Chris insisted. “Just that you never know what’s around the corner.”

“Well, I would know if a wedding was around the corner because I would have to plan it.”

“Why are you getting so grumpy about this?”

“I’m not being grumpy,” Madeline shrugged. “I’m just pointing out that what you said made no sense.”

“You’re getting really defensive,” Chris informed her. “Do you not want to marry me or something?”

“What? When did I say that?”

“You didn’t,” Chris conceded. “But as soon as I brought up the possibility of it happening anytime soon you got pretty pedantic.”

Madeline rolled her eyes as his claim.

“I did not. You’re just being sensitive because you’re hungover.”

“That’s not true, don’t blame this on me.”

“Blame what on you?”

“This argument!”

“I didn’t realize we were arguing,” Madeline sighed. “I just pointed out that weddings don’t pop up out of nowhere, you didn't need to turn it into a whole issue.”

“It was more than that, Madeline.”

“It really wasn’t.”

Chris opened his mouth to argue, but the pounding in his head from the night before had him feeling too tired to push the discussion any further. Shifting in his seat, he turned his shoulders away from Madeline to look out the window and the rest of the ride was filled with a tense silence.

-

After she’d dropped him off, Madeline drove home with her heart heavy in her chest.

He was ready to propose, he wanted them to get married soon which meant he was probably already planning out when they would start a family.

And Madeline wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to stall him.

It made sense - they’d been together for almost five years, far longer than most people they knew had been together without an engagement - but she wasn’t ready for everything that she would have to give up to give him the life that he wanted. She loved him with all her heart, but she knew that planning a wedding would take more time than she’d be able to put aside during any given ballet season and having a baby would be the end of her career as she knew it. She wasn’t ready to put her dreams aside just yet. She was hitting her stride and edging closer every day to being in the top of her field and the thought of walking away from that made her stomach turn almost as much as the dejected look on Chris’ face had when he climbed out of the car without more than a mumbled ‘goodbye’.

She knew she had to talk to him, she knew that the only way to resolve any of the hesitation she was feeling was to explain herself to Chris and try to reach some kind of compromise, but she wasn’t sure the conversation would be well received and the urge to bury her head in the sand almost won out. However, by the time she’d arrived back at their house and felt the same lonely emptiness that she always did when she was there without Chris, she managed to work up the courage to give him a call. A quick glance at the time told her that he’d probably just boarded the plane and wouldn’t be likely to answer his phone, but leaving him a message would still be considered extending an olive branch and then the ball would be in his court to reach out when he’d calmed down.

However, it quickly became apparent that her plan was flawed as she curled up in bed that night - over nine hours after he would have landed and seen her message - with no reply from Chris. His silence sent a flash of panic through her and renewed her determination to explain her feelings, but as the days passed and turned into weeks with all her calls going unanswered or too brief for any meaningful discussion, the panic and guilt shifted back to bitterness. If he was mad enough that he couldn’t even stand the thought of talking to her just because she’d simply hinted that she wasn’t ready for marriage then it was clear that he wasn’t particularly open to any discussion about the subject.

The more she thought about that, the more her resentment began to build.

He must have expected her to just happily drop everything as soon as he decided it was time for them to get married and have a family. He obviously hadn’t given any consideration to her career or her goals and how they would be affected by that. In that moment it felt like he saw her the way the rest of the world did, that he thought everything she did was secondary to his accomplishments and his needs and could be just pushed aside without a second thought.

That wasn’t the life that Madeline wanted and she realized that something needed to change.

She loved him and couldn’t imagine her life without him, but she’d already made so many sacrifices for their relationship. She’d taken the abuse from his fans without much complaint, she’d put up with every achievement she’d had since they got together being overshadowed by his celebrity, but she wasn’t going to walk away from her passion to give him the family that he wanted if he couldn’t even be bothered to have a conversation about it.

He needed a wake up call and if he wasn’t going to answer his phone then Madeline could only think of one other way to get his attention.

She needed to leave.

He would be home in three days which would give her just enough time to get her things out of his house and while the thought had her heart breaking in her chest, she felt like it was her only option. He would call her, she was sure that he would. He wouldn’t just let their entire relationship end with a note, but if he did then it would save her the pain of hearing his heart break when she told him that wasn’t ready for the family that he was so desperate to have. As much as she wanted to believe that he’d be understanding of her need to continue chasing her dreams, she really wasn’t sure that their relationship would survive anyway once she told him that she didn’t want to get married yet.

It seemed to her that they were at an impasse and while she desperately hoped she was wrong and they could surpass the giant hurdle that appeared to be in front of them, she put her plan in motion with a heavy heart as she wondered if she would ever see the love of her life again.

-

November 2015

Chris: She’s gone

Scott: What? Who’s gone?

Chris: Madeline. She’s gone and she’s not coming back.

Almost as soon as he sent the message, a call from Scott lit up the screen of his phone.

“She’s gone and she’s not coming back?” Scott questioned as soon as Chris answered. “What are you talking about? You’re making it sound like she’s dead.”

If Chris hadn’t been so heartbroken, he probably would have found Scott’s dramatic misinterpretation just a little bit funny but in that moment he couldn’t even muster up a smile.

“She’s not, but she left me,” he explained. “I just got home and all her stuff is gone, she left some shitty note saying she can’t do this anymore.”

There was a moment of shocked silence before Scott recovered enough to speak.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Were you guys fighting? What happened?”

“We had one little disagreement before I left,” Chris admitted. “I made a joke about proposing soon, she got super defensive and it pissed me off. I was busy filming so we didn’t have time to talk about it and then I came home to this fuckin’ note.”

There was another moment of silence and Chris braced himself for whatever he knew his brother was struggling to say.

“You didn’t have time or you didn’t make time?” Scott questioned. “Were you avoiding her because you were mad?”

“I was busy,” Chris insisted. “I didn’t have time to be distracted.”

“Did she try to talk to you?”

“She called me a bunch of times, but it’s hard to squeeze in a quick discussion about her not wanting to marry me between takes.”

“We’ve talked about your future wedding so many times and she’s never even shown a hint of doubt,” Scott assured him. “She does want to marry you, Chris.”

“Well, clearly not!” Chris snapped down the phone. “Because I’m standing here in a half empty house with a fuckin’ note that says otherwise!”

“Call her,” Scott urged him, ignoring his raised voice and misplaced anger. “Call her right now and figure it out.”

“No, I’m not gonna do that.” Chris’ immediate and firm refusal earned a groan of frustration from his brother, but he was undeterred. “If she’d wanted to talk, she would have stuck around instead of leaving a note. I’m not gonna chase after her with my tail between my legs if she doesn’t even have the guts to tell me to my face that she’s leaving.”

“Chris, this is Madeline we’re talking about,” Scott reminded him, his tone not far from begging as he hoped his brother would see reason. “This isn’t some fling, this is the love of your life. You can’t just walk away from that.”

“Apparently it wasn’t that hard for Madeline to walk away from.”

“You don’t know that,” Scott insisted. “Just call her.”

“No, she should call me if she has something she wants to say.”

“You just said she tried to!” The exasperation was clear in Scott’s voice and he continued before Chris could argue. “You know what? I’ll call her. Give me a second and I’ll call you back.”

He hung up without waiting for Chris to agree, leaving him alone with his thoughts. A place that, if he was being honest, he didn’t really want to be. He was angry - that was obvious and inescapable - but in his heart he knew that what he was really feeling was pain. It didn’t feel real - it seemed unbelievable that she would just be gone - but there was a knot tugging in his stomach that told him it was true, that he’d missed some big signs of upset and ruined his chances with the love of his life. Just the thought had tears pricking at his eyes and he was relieved when Scott’s name quickly popped back up on his phone.

“That was fast,” he answered the call. “What did she say?”

“She didn’t answer…”

It was clear in Scott’s tone that he was reluctant to admit that he’d been unsuccessful, but the information had Chris’ bubbling emotions quickly shifting back to anger.

“See? If she won’t even talk to you then she definitely won’t want to talk to me,” Chris pointed out. “She’s done, Scott, and all she thinks she owes me is a scribbled note with a shitty, half-assed explanation.”

“You don’t know that for sure yet,” Scott argued, even though it was clear in his tone that he had less conviction in that statement than he had before. “She could be dancing.”

“It’s nine o’clock at night, rehearsals never run this late.”

“That’s true, but we all know that she dances more when she’s stressed.” Scott’s words were true and did provide Chris with a brief flicker of hope, but it was dashed almost as quickly as it appeared when Scott spoke again. “Oh! She just sent me a text, give me a second.”

Chris waited with bated breath as Scott checked the message, but when the silence dragged on he quickly grew impatient.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing.”

Scott’s voice was quiet, almost sounding defeated and the knot in Chris’ stomach tightened again.

“What do you mean it says nothing? You’re trying to tell me she sent you a blank text? C’mon, Scott, what did she say?”

There was another moment of silence that had Chris bracing for bad news.

“She just said ‘I’m sorry’, that’s it.”

“Do you believe me now?” Chris croaked out, the realization of how bleak his situation was hitting him full force. “She’s gone, Scott.”

The emotion in his voice echoed through the phone as it felt like his heart had literally shattered in his chest and while Scott grappled with his own confusion about the situation, he leapt into action to support his big brother.

“I’m on my way,” he informed him. “I’ll get the next flight out and be there tonight. We’ll figure this out, Chris. We’ll get through it.”

The pain he was feeling at the tremendous and unexpected loss had him doubting that there was any way he could get through it, but he choked out some kind of response before Scott hung up the phone and he crumpled on his couch.

How could she just be gone?

He knew he should have made more time for her after their argument and that he should have let her say whatever she’d clearly been wanting to say, but he hadn’t thought that their little fight was serious enough for her to leave him and ruin everything they’d built together. He really did think that she wanted to marry him - there wouldn’t be a ring bouncing around in his bag if he had any doubts about that - and he thought they’d just talk out all the confusion when he got home.

But he’d obviously misread the situation.

His assumption that there was more to her defensiveness at the mention of marriage had been correct - she obviously didn’t want to marry him or even be with him at all - but how could he have been so off base about where they were in their relationship? What had happened to change her mind so suddenly and so drastically?

His curiosity almost had him tempted to call her and get the answers to his questions, but as soon as he looked at her name on his screen, the anger came flooding back before he could even hit ‘call’. The words she’d written in her note seemed very final. As he looked around the room, he could see that she’d taken everything that belonged to her. What else was there to say? She didn’t seem to think she owed him a conversation so why should he give her the satisfaction of knowing just how devastated he was by calling her even when he knew she wouldn’t answer? He had too much pride for that. If she wanted a clean break without so much as a goodbye then he would accept that no matter how much it pained him to.

It was done.

She’d made her choice.

He wasn’t going to beg her to change her mind even if the thought of never seeing her again had him punching the cushions of his couch - that she’d picked out - so hard they almost burst at the seams as tears welled up in his eyes.

-

Three Days Later

Chris’ first instinct when he heard the banging on his front door was to ignore it.

His head was pounding from the many beers he’d had the night before and the last thing he wanted to do was deal with any unexpected guests. However, it quickly became apparent that the person on his doorstep was persistent and wouldn’t be going away anytime soon so eventually he dragged himself off the couch to see who was bothering him.

His surprise when he opened the door to see Madeline’s dad, Greg, standing on his porch almost knocked the hangover right out of him.

“What are you doing here?”

His blurted out, blunt greeting had a weak smile sliding onto the older man’s face as Chris shielded his sensitive eyes from the sun.

“I just wanted to see how you’re holding up. Can I come in?”

Chris nodded and stepped aside, letting Greg walk by him before following him towards the kitchen as he suddenly regretted his current foggy state, wishing he had his wits more about him for whatever conversation was about to happen. He watched in a daze as Madeline’s dad puttered around the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee before moving some dirty dishes into the sink with a sigh.

“You should clean up in here.”

“I think Scott said he’s gonna do it later,” Chris shrugged. “He took Carly’s kids out for breakfast this morning and didn’t have time to do it before he left.”

“Is it all Scott’s mess?” Greg asked him with a skeptical eyebrow raised, waiting for Chris to shrug again before he continued. “Then maybe you should clean it up yourself.”

There was a familiarity that Chris had with Greg from the closeness of their families when he was growing up that normally would have made his parental style lectures not unwelcome, but considering the fact that his daughter was the one to blame for how Chris was currently feeling, it felt like the criticism was rather unwarranted.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Chris rolled his eyes. “But I’ve been a little distracted the last few days and cleaning isn’t really my biggest concern.”

Greg cringed at that confession as he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.

“I know, but you have to keep your head up.”

“Keep my head up?” Chris scoffed, his fragile state making his emotions quickly rise to the surface. “She broke my fuckin’ heart!”

“I know that and I know this isn’t going to be easy for either of you, but letting yourself fall apart isn’t going to help anyone.”

Chris shook his head in disbelief and did his best to remind himself not to take his frustrations out on people who were just trying to help him. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before asking a question that had been burning in his mind.

“Did you know?” He asked. “Did you know she was planning to leave me?”

“Not until last week when she asked me to help her move her things.”

Chris wasn’t sure whether that made him feel better or worse. Madeline was as close with her parents as he was with his, if she was unhappy then she wouldn’t have kept it from them for long. That meant that she hadn’t been lying or putting up a façade on the weekend he was home for Anna’s wedding, but it still left him baffled as to why that last conversation had pushed her to make such a drastic choice. He could feel Greg watching him as he mulled over the information until another question fell from his lips.

“Do you know why?”

He could hear the pleading desperation in his own voice, but the ache in his chest was too overwhelming for him to care and that ache only grew as his once future father-in-law shook his head.

“No, not really. She didn’t want to talk about it,” he admitted as Chris noticed for the first time just how worried he seemed to be. “But, Chris, she might just need time. Just be patient with her.”

Once again, Chris felt his emotions shift back to anger as he let out a snort of laughter at that preposterous suggestion.

“Be patient? Be patient for what? I don’t even know why she left me! I wouldn’t even know what I’m waiting patiently for!” He pointed out. “All she left me was a stupid note, Greg, a note that said she couldn’t do ‘this’ anymore and that she was sorry. After five years, that’s all I got. It’s a fuckin’ joke and she has a serious attitude problem if she thinks she can pull a stunt like that and expect me to just wait patiently for her to come crawling back to me.”

The pain shined through Chris’ words and he appreciated the fact that Madeline’s dad at least had the decency to look a little sheepish after foolishly trying to defend his daughter.

“I know, you didn’t deserve this and I’m sorry it happened,” he sighed. “I’m sorry for both of you.”

“Well, at least one of us had some say in the situation.”

“You’re right,” Greg agreed, moving across the room to pat Chris’ shoulder as he made his way towards the door. “I won’t push it any further, but I hope you know that whatever happens, we’ll always be here for you. Nothing that happens between you and Madeline will change that.”

Chris nodded his head and felt a lump form in his throat as he watched the man who was like a second father to him show himself out.

Because it was a nice thought, but it would change their relationship, it would change everything. There would be no more big Daniels-Evans parties, no more Thanksgivings or Christmases with both families together at his Ma’s house, not unless either he or Madeline chose not to attend.

The entire dynamic of their intertwined families would shift and that realization had a fresh knot of anger tightening in Chris’ stomach as he cursed Madeline for being so quick to throw away everything they had and he wondered where the ripples of the fallout would end.

-

Next

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[harrison-abbott]

Most of us were young and almost

All of them were loud. You were by

Far the quietest and thrown into this place

Of mayhem. With the steam and shouting

And the radio music, and the different

Accents whizzing about. The job was dull

But it was easy and there was never a non-

Eventful shift … You learned how other

People talk in a manic environment and

You learned to raise your voice a bit.

It was hard at first but you got there.

You met other people who were interested

In music and you got jamming with them.

You met girls and learned how to speak

To them and you’d always been super shy

Around that lot and so this was beneficial.

You learned how to stay stuff that was

Funny, and how to avoid saying things

Which were mean. You wrote songs on

The side in between this and university.

Almost every night you’d head out on

The town and drink the beers and you’d

Go home at 3 a.m. and the bakery was

Open with its yellow windows. And you’d

Be able to head into work again without

Being comatose. All of the colleagues

Were ace. There was loud bantering Dave,

And mischievous Steven, and foul-mouthed

Tracy, and big chubby friendly Calum,

And flirtatious Joe, and half-serious half-

Fantastic Pawel, and mentally ill Katia,

And stick-thin Lewis who played electric

Guitar and who joined me on stage; and

Irish Laura with the dyed hair who became

His girlfriend; and Katie with the ginger

Hair and baritone voice; and Scott who

Was totally useless with his job and

Never put any work in but everybody

Loved him because he was funny. That

Was all back in 2014. And I’m remembering

It now because it was ten years ago this

Summer. And the World Cup was on in

Brazil. And they gave all of the staff these

Little mini Brazil tops. Just cheap things.

That was the good thing about soccer.

It brought cultures together. And even

Though it was only a part time minimum

Wage job cleaning dishes it was fun and fine.

Was a real lively environment in which to work.

…………………………………………………

And the World Cup ended and then it slipped into

The autumn and things began to change. First thing

Was that Steven left the kitchen, and a lot of

The banter died with that. He was replaced with

Zoe, who was okay at first. But she got heavily

Overworked because a few other chefs left

Too, so she had to work about 70 hours a week.

She got ratty and she took it out on the colleagues.

And Joe left, and that took a lot of the humour

With him; and the manager friendly Calum

Was replaced with another manager who changed

A lot of the rules. And then the manager above

Him made us close an hour later at night, whilst

Also cutting our hours. So we had less money

And we had to work longer into the night.

And then loud bantering Dave left too.

And so it was just me, Zoe, and a handful

Of others in the kitchen. We had to put up

With Zoe’s wrath, whenever she felt like it.

Lewis and Laura were on the floor staff team.

Lewis got her pregnant. She went four months

Without knowing she was pregnant and then

They were shocked when they found out and

They didn’t feel they were equipped enough

To keep the baby so they decided to give it

Up for adoption. And many of that old 2014

Team left the city altogether. So they weren’t

Even around for pints in the evening. Those

That had replaced the old team weren’t into

Hanging out after the shifts. Lewis and Laura

Had the baby and then they passed it on for

Adoption, and then they left the city too.

And so it was pretty much me left in the joint.

That would have been in the autumn of 2015.

It’s crazy how much can change in a year.

Whereas I had been cheerful going into

Work the previous summer it was all but

Miserable now. I stayed on (miraculously,

Now that I think about it) for another couple

Of years, only because I needed the money

And because I was still studying. And there

Were a few colleagues who came in who

Were sound enough. On the floor team,

A few other cats who were nice folks.

It’s just that that ’14 period was never

Reincarnated. Lost forever. I miss it.