#that one and Paris texas while driving at night… | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bbrandy2002 · 4 years

Text

The Getaway

Part Two

A/N: This is obviously a continuation of a birthday fic I wrote for @ao719 that is now 2 weeks late 🙈 I was dealing with stuff, dont judge lol The writers block and doubts were for real yo! But thanks to my Tumblr bestie, who wouldnt let me quit, encouraged me, talked me through this thing and gave me ideas, it finally all came together.

Anitah, I apologize for being so late and the silliness of this fic and if it's terrible. I still hope you had a wonderful birthday and are blessed with so many more 💜

A/N/N: Thanks to @burnsoslow for beta reading and literally a thousand other things.

Warning: A lot of bad language, a miserable Drake Walker and violence involving tasers, fires, animals and car accidents ... No one dies people!

**Drake and Liam belong to Pixelberry, Nikolas belongs to me, the driver and mailroom guy belong to @burnsoslow and Liam's secretary belongs to @ao719

Drake stepped out of the truck in a furor, cursing under his breath, to check on his damages. The front driver tire had fallen into a deep ditch, and it was evident by the thick mud it sunk into that it would be next to impossible to get unstuck without some assistance.

He shook his head, gritted his teeth, and the veins in his neck enlarged and throbbed. As he knelt down to assess the damages further, Nik hopped out of the truck and stood over Drake. With one glance, Nikolas clutched his belly and let out a loud continuous cackle that soon sent a storm of hot blood that seemed to collect in Drake's crimson-colored face.

And the laughter just got louder and louder.

And the laughter didn't stop.

In Drake's head, it sounded like a thousand Niks laughing simultaneously, each one with two horns, a pointy tail, and a pitchfork in hand.

His anxiety took over.

He stood up, and in an attempt to let some of his anger out, he kicked the tire with an enraged shout that echoed beyond the heavily-forested valley and sent flocks of birds in a frenzy.

The tire's air must have been over-pressurized by the drop's force and popped as soon as Drake's foot made contact. He fell back onto his ass with a heavy thud causing Nikolas to screech out in more laughter. Drake sat up into time to see the front bumper and side panel fall to the ground.

"I think your truck is broken, Uncle Drake," the prince chortled.

Drake's head whipped around and glared at the boy. "No shit! What the fuck are you even doing here? You're supposed to be on a plane to Paris."

Nikolas shrugged. "This sounded more fun."

"This isn't fun, you little asshole!" Drake jumped up and attempted to lunge at the boy, but slipped in the mud, caught his balance for a split second by grabbing onto a tree limb, then slipped again, before wiping out completely. "Son-of-a-monkey-fucker!"

Drake laid on his back, staring up at a large tree branch that hung overhead, praying to God the damn thing would just fall on him.

Nikolas walked over to him and looked down on the face of fury. "Is it time for dinner yet? I'm staaaaaaaving!"

"Nikolas," Drake groaned then took a deep breath, his back mud-soaked and achy. "How? How in the hell did you pull this off?"

Nik plopped down on Drake's stomach, causing him to grunt loudly. "Easy. I told my dad you invited me, and he let me go. He was happy you wanted to spend time with me." The Prince smirked.

Drake gritted his teeth. "And he just believed you? Fucking Liam."

Nikolas shook his head. "No. I got Neal in the mailroom to pretend he was you on the phone."

Drake lifted his head and glared. "You mean that grease trap that lives in the ambulance down by the river?"

The young prince nodded. "Yeah. Except he doesn't live by the river anymore. He moved behind the elementary school .. said it had a better view."

There was dead silence for a moment as Drake grimaced at what he just heard before jerking his hips upward. "Get the fuck off me."

Nikolas stumbled to the ground with an uproarious laugh.

Drake reached into his front pocket and pulled out his cell as he rose to his feet. He was dead set on getting someone from the palace to retrieve this little menace to Drake Walker society before he found himself tied up to a cinder block at the bottom of Lake Boogaloo. The issue with his truck could wait.

Liam and Riley would already be on the plane with Bastien in tow, so calling them right now would be useless. He pressed the contact for the palace operator, hoping to be directed to the mailroom; if Neal was part of helping get Nik into this, his shady punk ass could come pick him up in the renovated ambulance that served as his home and part-time blood mobile.

Pacing back and forth, Drake raised the phone to his ear, waiting impatiently for a ring.

"Trish! Put me through to the mailroom."

While he was distracted taking care of that, Nikolas was somewhat disappointed the trip was already over -- he had so many plans for his favorite uncle. With his arms crossed over his chest and a pout on his lips, he leaned up against the truck in a huff. "This sucks!"

The sounds of leaves crunching and brush moving around nearby caught his attention. Nik's eyes widened in fear when the black furry coat of a creature with a white stripe down its middle could be seen scampering around searching for food. The boy gasped and pinched his nose as the animal's foul scent started to become thick in the air and made his eyes water. "Uncle Drake," he called out in a nasally voice, "there's a skunk."

With a scowl, Drake lowered the phone and scrunched up his own nose. He took one glance at the animal, who didn't appear to be a threat, then glanced back at the kid. "It's probably more scared of your evil ass than you are of it. Just keep your mouth shut and don't move." The call with Neal resumed.

"But, Drake ..." Nikolas whined, trying to plead for him to listen but could tell his uncle would have none of it.

Frantic to scare the smelly animal away, the young boy searched the ground for something to throw at it: a large stick, a rock, Drake's Air Bud soundtrack. Those things might scare the skunk off, but they posed a risk of it spraying before doing so. Memories of the smell of Madeleine's office when he had one shipped to her came flooding back. It took a month for the palace to lose that scent. The prank was hilarious until it affected his comfort.

A devilish smirk took shape as an idea popped into his head. “I need my backpack.”

Nik grabbed the top of the truck bed and stepped up on the rear tire and swung one leg over, then the other. He found his backpack and quickly unzipped it, pulling out night-vision goggles and a rope, then placed them beside his feet. He proceeded to move aside a bottle of industrial-strength super glue and the glass jar holding his tarantula, Barf. Finally, at the bottom of the bag, was the taser he “borrowed” from Bastien’s desk, and he quickly took it out. Holding the electrical gun in front of his face and twisting it around menacingly, he said, “Okay, Mr. Skunk. Get ready for a shocking experience.”

“No!” Drake yelled into the phone at Neal, “You can’t borrow my binoculars. What the fuck are you gonna use those things for at a children’s museum anyway?”

“The … the …” the man scrambled for an answer, “those dinosaurs … yeah … the dinosaurs. They’re, like, really tall, ya know? I want to be able … to, uh … see their faces and stuff.”

“I call bullshit,” Drake bit back, “I won’t be an accomplice in your bone watching … dinosaur or small boy.” He resumed his pacing, wanting to get the conversation moving along. “Now listen, my sister and brother-in-law are in Texas, Lord Beaumont is on a book tour, and the guards are off duty until the royal family returns. You are going to come pick up this kid.”

“Oh! I would love to come pick him up. He’s under 10, correct?”

Drake could practically hear the creepy mirth oozing from the man's gruff voice and spat back, "I'll be with him the whole time, you oily ass, ambulance-driving … è piccola cagna!"

"What does that mean?"

Drake knitted his brows; he didn't really know, just that Nikolas called him that from time to time, and the word just kind of stuck with him. "Just ... just get here now!"

"Okay, okay! I'm coming."

The call ended. "God, I hope he meant that literally, and I didn't just get that fucko off." He slipped the phone into his pocket and turned to Nik. "Alright, listen up, assh ..." Drake stopped dead in his tracks and stood, stunned, at the first glimpse of a taser-wielding Nikolas with the gun aimed almost directly at him, with a tiny finger wrapped around the trigger.

"Wwwhatcha got there, boy?" Drake's voice sounded calm and friendly. He even managed to fake a genuine-looking smile. Inside, however, he was close to shitting his pants.

Nikolas licked his lips and closed one eye to find the perfect aim. "I'm about to fry that skunk with extreme vengeance. One ..."

"Nikolas, no! Give me the taser." Drake cautiously approached him with his hand held out.

"Two," the small but menacing voice continued the count.

"Nik, don't do it! Give it to me now!"

"Three.”

"Noooo!"

The piercing sound of Drake's shout startled the skunk, and it scurried out from the thick brush.

Nik jumped up with the taser. "Hey! Get back here, asshole." He aimed at the fleeing creature and pressed the trigger.

___________

The instant Drake's mocha-colored eyes fluttered open, an acrid mixture of what smelled like ass, sweat, rotten eggs, and his mother's hairy feet had bubbled up inside his nostrils. The aroma was slightly overshadowed by the 1200-volt prongs that had pierced just below the protruding vein in his neck, causing him to seize up and then drop like a rag doll to the dirt, and muck that littered the ground.

Close by, he could make out the discernible sound of footsteps crunching through foliage and bark and sloshing over wet earth.

Drake's cheek rested against the cold, soggy ground, even as the silhouette of the young prince crouched next to him with his little head tilted sideways and blinking owlishly. He saw the child's lips moving but blocked out the little shit until the feeling of electrocution and muscle spasms had waned.

Drake looked at the small face next to him that resembled his best friend at that age. Liam is a good man, Drake thought; he was a considerate child, too. We had fun together. We always had each other's backs and would do anything to protect the other, no matter the consequences. Liam wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s just the best all around. So … how in the actual ass fuck did he produce the spawn of Satan?

Is there any chance he’s ... Neal’s kid?

Maybe Riley ... No, fuck, no. She wouldn’t.

The sky transformed from a brilliant blue to one streaked with gold and orange hues before Drake shook himself of the aftershocks that sparked through his body.

The metal prongs left behind two bright red spots, resembling a large spider bite and stinging like hell when he pulled them out. A thick layer of mud had dried and clung to his back, while a fresh layer adhered to his front. The numbness in his limbs had dissipated somewhat, but the pins-and-needles feeling remained. He was grateful the back spray from the skunk missed him, but the remnants it left on the nearby trees were stifling.

At this point, the only thing Drake wanted was a hot shower, a clean change of clothes, and to get stupidly drunk to the point he would pass out in bed and sleep for days. He scanned the perimeter and could make out the crystal-blue lake through a small clearing in the trees about 100 yards away.

Removing his filthy shirt and tossing it in the back of the truck, he eyed Nikolas, who was surprisingly quiet and subdued. The child was sitting on the lowered tailgate, swinging his legs, and trying to force his tarantula to eat a dead cricket. Drake rolled his eyes but was relieved the kid was staying out of his hair for now. He just needed to take a quick dip in the water, change his clothes, and hurry back in time for their ride home. Nik would be fine by himself for 10 minutes.

Drake let out a sharp tongue whistle that caught Nikolas' attention. "Listen up, kid. I'm going down to the lake real quick to clean up and change into some clean clothes." He opened the driver's side door and reached across the seat to toss his cell phone and wallet in the glove box while he continued, "You and your spider get in here and lock the door until I come back."

Nik dropped Barf in the jar and slapped the holed lid on it. "It's not a spider, Drake. It's a tarantula. A tarantula," he corrected with emphasis as he slid down from the tailgate.

"I don't care if it's your grandma's bladder control protection, get your ass in the truck, and don't move until I get back."

Stepping up in front of Drake, Nikolas sneered at an annoyed Drake towering above him. "I'm telling her you said that. And why can't I go with you? I wanna go to the lake, too," he whined.

Drake nearly doubled over in fake laughter. "There ain't no damn way I'm taking you. For one, you've ruined my entire trip. The one good thing I had in my life to look forward to, and you ruined it! And two, I don't know what the rules are about grownups, and nakedness, and with kids around, and all that shit. So the answer is no."

Drake could tell by the beady little eyes glaring back at him that Nikolas would not give up on this. He let out a heavy sigh. "Look. Do what I tell you right now, and when I come back, I'll build a campfire, and we can make up some s’mores. How's that sound?"

“Okay.”

“Really?” Drake shook his head in astonishment that he actually won that argument. Without another word, he watched as His Royal Highness happily climbed into the cab of the truck and gave a thumbs up.

Did that taser kill me? I’m dead, right? He did it. Do you smell that, Cordonia? No, not that fucking rank ass skunk. It’s the smell of victory! Drake Walker is a god! I have the power back.

Grabbing his duffle bag from the back, Drake hurriedly made his way toward the lake. He felt a little on edge, leaving Nik by himself for even just ten minutes, maybe even somewhat guilty. But he was caked in mud from head to toe, and the grime was starting to seep and burrow around certain parts of his anatomy. Nothing was worse than having monkey ass.

Within minutes, Nikolas sat on his haunches and looked out the back glass. He hadn’t wanted to show it, but he did feel a little bad for shooting Drake to the point it drew blood. Also for causing him to crash his truck. And even though it was funny as hell to watch, the second slip in the mud was kind of brutal. Perhaps a little remorse was starting to set in as the words of his Uncle Drake telling him that he ruined the one thing he was looking forward to repeated in his head. Tomorrow he would return to normal, but Nik was determined to do something nice for a change for the rest of the evening.

With the quick snap of his little fingers, an idea formed, and it would be the perfect thing to make Drake feel better. Nik unlocked the door, grabbed his spider, and jumped out of the truck. He headed to the back and rummaged through the bags of camping items laid in piles until he found what he was looking for: a lighter and lighter fluid.

“I’ll make the bestest s'mores ever for Uncle Drake. That’ll make him happy.”

Nikolas had never built a campfire before, but he’d seen it done in a movie once, and that was good enough in his mind to practically make him an expert.

Feeling clean and refreshed, Drake dried off from his dip in the lake and put fresh clothes on. Making his way back to the site, he caught a glimpse of thick, black smoke protruding above the trees and the smell of burning rubber that traveled with the approaching evening breeze.

“Nikolas,” he muttered as his heart crashed into his stomach. He raced back as fast as he could, fearing the absolute worst thing had happened to the Prince of Cordonia. “I knew I shouldn’t have left him alone. Liam and Riley are going to kill me, and I would deserve it. I just hope he’s not …” he trailed off when the site came into full view. It was worse than he imagined.

His eyes searched frantically until relief washed over him when he caught his first glimpse of Nikolas sitting under a tree, eating, and seemingly unconcerned by the inferno that had lit up the dusky sky.

Drake rushed over to him and lifted him into his arms and held onto him tightly. “Are you okay, buddy?”

Nikolas chuckled, “I’m fine, Uncle Drake.”

He lowered him back on the ground and started patting him down, looking for burns or injuries.

Drake let out a sigh of relief. “How? How did this …” he turned to look at the fire, then raised his voice. “Wait! You caught my goddamn truck on fire?”

Nik followed his uncle's gaped-mouth stare to the truck engulfed in flames, then screwed up his face. "Yeah ... about that. I think I used too much of that lighter fluid stuff building a campfire. But I made you something." He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a s'more, licked the melted chocolate off the side, then proudly held it up to Drake. "The marshmallow is exactly the way you like it, too: completely charred."

Drake dropped his head into his palms and repeated a slew of curse words and sounds that were not even human. As badly as he wanted to destroy everything around him at that moment, to release a fit of anger the likes of which no one had ever seen in him before, it appeared Nikolas had beat him to it: There was nothing left around there to destroy.

He dropped his arms to his sides in defeat and looked to the heavens before surmising, “This is my punishment, isn’t it? I stole that taser from the guard as a kid and let Liam take the blame for it. I insisted Liam come with me in that boat during a storm, and he nearly drowned when it overturned. He got lost in the woods on my time. I pushed him too hard once during maze tag. I got stuck in that laundry chute all night, and Constantine took hide-and-seek away from him. This …” he motioned to Nikolas, who was smiling back at him with a big cheesy grin, “this is how he got me back for all of it. Well, you win, Liam! You win! I hope you are having one hell of a time in Paris, schmoozing and laughing your ass off, because I have nothing left in this world but this … hairy, lint-filled s’more with your son’s saliva all over it … and it’s not even toasted right!”

“I didn’t make it right?” Nikolas asked thoughtfully. “Hang on. I can make you another one.” He bent down, pulled out a marshmallow from the bag and rammed a mud-covered stick entirely through its center. Drake watched as Nik skipped over and held it next to the flames shooting out the window of his truck.

For several seconds, Drake contemplated whether he should just leave the child there and let nature take its course. Glaring back to the star-filled sky, he groaned, “You owe me big for this.”

Tugging Nik by his jacket hood to pull him away from the hot blaze, he startled the boy who then whipped around with the burning marshmallow and accidentally got it stuck to Drake’s shirt. “The fuck is wrong with you?”

Ten minutes passed, and the two were on the dirt road heading back to the highway’s main stretch. After patting out the fire on his shirt, Drake planned to call the fire department to report the inferno taking place in the woods. He laughed wryly when he realized the phone was still in the glove box of his burning vehicle. And it appeared Neal’s skank ass wasn’t coming after all, so the pair would have to flag down someone and hope they actually stopped. Thankfully, Nikolas had his backpack on, and Drake used the night vision goggles to direct his way along the darkened path.

Hand in hand and approaching the main thoroughfare, Nik’s legs were starting to tire, and his droopy eyes looked up. “Uncle Drake, will you carry me?”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Pleeeeeeease,” Nikolas begged in a high-pitched squeal that grated Drake’s teeth.

Drake stopped with a huff and crouched down. “Get the fuck on my back,” he commanded, “you’ve burned and shot the front part of me, so your ass is gonna have to hold onto the back. And I swear to God, Nik, if you so much as drool on me, you can sleep in the woods with the wolves and bears and poodles. Understood?”

With a tired nod, Nik wrapped his little arms around Drake’s neck and held on. As they proceeded ahead, the prince asked, “Would you tell me a bedtime story?”

Drake grunted, “You wanna bedtime story? I’ll tell you a bedtime story. It’s an ol’ Bianca Walker original that she used to tell me every night called ‘Go the fuck to sleep!’ The end.”

Nikolas sleepily chuckled. “I already have that book, Uncle Drake. My dad’s secretary, Charlotte, gave it to me and told me to put it in my room. She said if my mom or dad found it, just to tell them you gave it to me.”

“Of course she did,” Drake scoffed, thinking about the other person who found pure delight in annoying him.

Through the night-vision goggles, the headlights of a random car could be seen driving by, and Drake let out a relieved breath, knowing they were so close.

The night couldn’t end that easily, though. A sudden sense of unease enveloped Drake, telling him that everything was not as it seemed. His steps quickened, and his heart pounded away in his chest.

Feeling like he was being followed, he turned on his heels, then widened his eyes.

A large brown bear let out a roar that echoed past them.

Drake shrugged his shoulders and muttered, “Yep. That’s about right.”

The survival training he’d learned from his Campers Anonymous group about bear encounters kicked in, and he completely stilled his body. That was until he heard, “BEEEEAAAR!” screamed over his shoulder and felt Nik’s body drop to the ground.

“Don’t move, Nikolas,” Drake ordered through a whisper.

It was too late; he was gone and headed toward the road.

Drake whirled around to see the bear on its hind legs, drumming its chest and licking its lips. “Shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Wait for me, Nik!” He took off running.

---------

Alyssa was headed back to Cordonia earlier in the night than she expected. With her hands firmly gripped on the steering wheel, she complained to her friend through the car's Bluetooth, “The guy showed up one hour late to our meeting spot, then drove through a McDonalds, asked if I wanted anything, proceeded to park behind a church and tell me he has condoms before the cops picked him up on a warrant! Worst. Date. Ever.”

Driving around a bend in the road, Alyssa slammed on the brakes when her headlights reflected off a small child darting into the road. As her tires screeched, she let out a deafening scream when a man came out of nowhere, followed immediately by a bear. The frantic man shoved the kid out of the way.

Though the brake pedal was pressed to the floor, the car collided with Drake, and his body flew onto the hood before falling feebly to the road.

The bear sniffed at Drake and batted him around a couple of times before taking off into the woods.

When Alyssa was sure it was safe to do so, she and a crying Nik both crouched around a moaning Drake.

_________

The following morning, Drake's eyes fluttered open. His vision was a little fuzzy, but he could make out a doctor hovering over him and a worried Liam standing with Nikolas at the foot of his bed. He tried to speak, wanting to know what happened, but was unable to open his mouth.

"Don't try to speak, Mr. Walker. Your jaw was wired shut to protect the small fracture you suffered from the car accident. You also broke both legs and sprained your neck. You have a long recovery ahead of you, but shouldn't need to spend any more time in the hospital. You’re a very lucky man. Now if you’ll excuse me, I will get the discharge papers and check to see if the ambulance transporting you to the palace has arrived. His Majesty has offered to allow you to recover in his home."

Drake took one look at a gleeful, bouncing Nikolas and shook his head as best as he could with a neck brace on and emphatically mumbled his indiscernible objections.

Liam chuckled, "Quit being so modest, Drake. I assure you it’s no trouble at all. Besides, it's the least I could do after you saved my son's life. And Nik here even offered to let you stay in his room to keep you company."

Nik nodded with a grin. “Yep. For the next eight to 12 weeks, it's just me and my Uncle Drake hanging out all day and night.”

Drake tried to escape from his bed but couldn’t move without use of his legs.

Liam walked around to the side of the bed and put his hand on Drake’s shoulder. “Look at you trying to protest. You never were one to accept charity. I told you, I’m more than happy to help. You deserve this and more.”

A knock at the door diverted their attention and a head popped in. “I’m here to transport Mr. Walker back to the palace, Your Majesty.”

“Perfect! And on such short notice too. So glad my secretary could arrange this ride,” Liam exclaimed. He glanced down at his injured friend in the bed and smiled. “You ready to go home, my friend?”

No! No! That’s fucking, Neal. He doesn’t even have a real ambulance. I’m not going. Somebody, anybody, heeeelp!

#Happy Birthday Anitah #2 weeks later #hahahahah #better late than never #drake walker #king liam #little shit #I'm so sorry this is ridiculous

74 notes · View notes

i-watch-too-many-movies · 4 years

Text

Favorite First Watches of January 2021

Giant (1956) (dir. George Stevens)

Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean are at the absolute peak of their acting abilities and the peak of their hotness in this epic Western. Three generations of a Texas family are explored, an expertly done melodrama that is also not shy about examining America's racism and how it was hand in hand with capitalism.

Hard Boiled (1992) (dir. John Woo)

Incredible, heart-stopping action, explosions and open wounds galore, all packed inside a tightly done romantic drama. Much like Woo's magnum opus The Killer, it has that same rhythm as a ballet or a musical, which are his biggest inspirations when it comes to his filmmaking.

Jesus Camp (2006) (dir. Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady)

There's a scene in this documentary where the preachers and counselors bring out a cardboard cutout of George W Bush and tell the kids to say "Thank you, Mr. President" for being Christian, and that's only the fifth or sixth most fucked up thing in this movie. Some of the best editing I've seen in a documentary, tells the truth about the hypocrisy that is the American Evangelist.

Melancholia (2011) (dir. Lars von Trier)

A film that feels more apocalyptic than it did than when it first came out. Climate change continues to grow worse, the youngest generation is most known for their depression and inability to be hopeful for the future, and now we're in a global pandemic. It only feels more and more likely that our time to be swallowed up by destruction of the Earth is right around the corner. Maybe that's too nihilistic of a mindset of a mindset to have, but it's natural for people of my generation, who have seen people like Claire and John, those who have all the money in the world, and choose to keep investing it in shitty wastelands like golf courses rather than giving it to those in need.

One Night in Miami... (2020) (dir. Regina King)

A film based on a true story, a true encounter of four Black legends; Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. They discuss their lives, the religion of Islam, but most of all, they discuss their roles as Black public figures, whether they should be more peaceful or militant to white audiences. And knowing what happens to Malcolm X two years later, pandering to the white audiences to make them feel more comfortable feels like the irresponsible answer, which is a message that only feels more relevant in 2020s America. A tight script from Kemp Powers, even tighter direction from Regina King, and four brilliant lead performances make this one of the best of last year.

The Straight Story (1999) (dir. David Lynch)

One of Lynch's best, yet it feels severely underrated. Doesn't have his trademark terror or eroticism like Blue Velvet or Mulholland Drive, the cult classic status of the Twin Peaks show or films, or even the hipster's seal of approval like Inland Empire. And yet, this feels like a movie only he could direct. His love of the people of rural America, the way he directs landscapes, treating people who would be considered different with respect. The true story of Alvin Straight is one he directs with such grace and sincerity. Richard Farnsworth and Sissy Spacek give two of the best performances I've seen.

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1988) (dir. Todd Haynes)

Banned in the United States for a while due to its portrayal of Richard Carpenter, Superstar is one of the all-time great music biopics, an experimental film telling the tragic story of legendary pop singer Karen Carpenter through Barbie dolls. It seems like a dark comedy due to its bizarre premise, but it's an achingly sad movie about the pressure that we put on female musicians and their bodies. The ending will forever be burned into my brain.

Touki Bouki (1973) (dir. Djibril Diop Mambiéty)

I need to explore more African cinema, there's a whole continent worth of movies I just haven't seen. This was an excellent film. Two kids in love planning to leave their home country to Paris after stealing a rich douchebag's money. Beautifully shot, full of youth and hope, and exquisitely edited. I love the neverending loop of the Paris song, it turns from hopeful to nightmarish fairly quickly.

When Harry Met Sally... (1989) (dir. Rob Reiner)

There's not much I can say about this movie that's been said thousands of times. It's a classic romantic comedy, a perfect friendship between a man and a woman, made even more adorable by the fact that it's based off of Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal's friendship. New York is a third character in the film, topped off with its signature autumn foliage. And Meg Ryan & Billy Crystal's chemistry is immaculate.

#these movies are (chef's kiss)#giant #james dean #hard boiled #john woo #jesus camp #melancholia #lars von trier #one night in miami #regina king #the straight story #david lynch #todd haynes #superstar the karen carpenter story #touki bouki #when harry met sally #rob reiner

21 notes · View notes

spurgie-cousin · 4 years

Text

Weird History Wednesday: UFO Encounters in American History (Part 2)🛸

(feat. my 2 favorite international UFO stories of all time!)

1. The American Airship Wave (1896-1897) Beginning in California in 1896, sightings of strange ships and lights in the sky began to be reported in unprecedented numbers across the Western United States. Many of the encounters describe hearing singing, voices, or strange noises accompanying the sighting of strange lights or crafts. One account by Colonel H.G. Shaw from Stockton, CA claims while driving his buggy, Shaw came across a strange metallic object rested in a field. He stated that 3 slender figures around 7 ft tall approached his buggy making a ‘strange warbling noise’, and tried to force him back to their craft with them. Despite their size, he was able to fight them off, after which they fled back to their craft and disappeared into the sky.

2. Mantell UFO incident (1948) A little before 2pm on January 7th, 1948, Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas F. Mantell was sent out in a P-51 Mustang Fighter to pursue an unidentified flying object in the vicinity. The only description of the object was that is was circular in shape and around 80-90 meters in diameter. Mantell pursued the object until he encountered an unstable altitude that caused him to spiral downward and crash, resulting in his death. Some have wondered if the object was a military weather balloon, but the object in question has never been definitely identified.

3. The Flatwoods Monster (1952) The Flatwoods monster is an entity reported to have been sighted in the town of Flatwoods in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States, on September 12, 1952, following the appearance of a bright object crossing the night sky. After seeing the strange object seemingly crash land on a neighboring farm, 3 boys went to notify the owners of the farm, and they walked as a group into the property’s woods to investigate. While looking for the object, they describe encountering a humanoid figure approximately 10ft tall, with glowing green eyes, small ‘claw like’ hands, and a head that resemble ‘an ace of spades’. It appeared to glide toward the group making a hissing noise, before the residents dropped their flashlights and fled.

4. The Incident in Aurora, Texas (1897) Another bizarre encounter from the airship ‘wave’ of 1896-1897 happened in Aurora, Texas on April 17, 1897. According to reports, a strange metallic craft reportedly crash landed on local farm after hitting a windmill. After finding the site of the crash, the residents are said to have found metallic debris along with a body described as ‘not of this world’. The farmers, for some reason, decided to dispose of the craft remnants in a well, and buried the strange body on the property with traditional ‘Christian Rites’ as well as a grave marker (which has since been taken down). 5. Allagash Abductions (1976) Brothers Jim Weiner and Jack Weiner were on a camping trip in Allagash, Maine with friends Charles Foltz and Charles Rak when they claimed that they were abducted by aliens on August, 20, 1976. During a hypnosis session, they recalled being taken aboard a circular UFO and being "probed and tested by four-fingered beings with almond-shaped eyes and languid limbs". In a later interview by the St. John Valley Times, Charles Rak changed his story, saying he saw strange lights during the camping trip, but the abduction part of the story was a fabrication. The other three members of the group though stand by the abduction story, saying that “...after all these years, (we) are still in agreement with the Eagle Lake event as we remember it. We also accept the results of the hypnotic regression sessions and subsequent polygraph tests as supportive of an abduction scenario".

6. Nash-Fortenberry UFO sighting (1952) The Nash-Fortenberry UFO incident was an unidentified flying object sighting that occurred on July 14, 1952, when two commercial pilots (William B. Nash and William H. Fortenberry) claimed to have seen eight UFOs flying in a tight arrow formation over Chesapeake Bay. The crafts were described as balls of light flying in an eerily precise manner. The case was listed in the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book as an "unknown” and there has still been no credible explanation found for the incident to this day.

7. Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident (1986) On November, 17, 1986, Japan Airlines Flight 1628 was en route from Paris to Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, with a cargo of Beaujolais wine. While flying over eastern Alaska, the crew witnessed two unidentified objects flying to their left. According to their accounts, the figures abruptly rose from below and closed in seemingly to escort their aircraft as it flew. Each object had two rectangular arrays of what appeared to be glowing nozzles or thrusters, though the bodies of the crafts remained obscured by darkness. When the objects were at their closest, the aircraft's cabin lit up and the captain described being able to feel their heat on his face. When the two craft disappeared, the crew noticed a third, much larger disk-shaped object had began trailing their aircraft. The sighting lasted 50 minutes and ended in the vicinity of Denali National Park, Alaska.

Illustration of the first two objects, based on Captain Terauchi's drawings and descriptions. 8. The Stonehenge Incident (1975) The ‘Stonehenge Incident’ or the ‘North Hudson Park UFO sightings’ occurred on January 12, 1975 in New Jersey, at a tall grey apartment building nicknamed the ‘Stonehenge’. According to resident George O'Barski, while out driving he began hearing static over his radio and saw in North Hudson Park a dark, round flying object with brightly lit windows hovering over the ground. He then observed ten small, hooded, identically-dressed figures emerge from the UFO and appear to dig up soil, collect it in bag-like receptacles, and return to the craft. O'Barski returned to the site the next day and claims to have found the holes in the vicinity of his sighting. Months later, O'Barski told the story to ufologist Budd Hopkins, who with other ufologists allegedly found other independent witnesses (like the doormen at the Stonehenge) who also reported seeing the strange object.

9. The Ariel School Sighting (1994) In 1994 at the Ariel School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, over 60 students reported witnessing a strange craft land on a lawn near their school in broad daylight. Several students reported feeling compelled to approach the object, and said they were communicated with telepathically by the beings inside. The students report feeling an extreme urgency combined with a message of conservation for the earth, nature, and our natural resources, as well as being given visions of possible disaster scenarios if humans didn’t heed these instructions. Many students who experienced this stand by their stories to this day, and say that it affects the decisions they make regarding conservation to this day.

10. The Celestial Phenomenon Over Nuremberg (1561) On the morning of April 14th of 1561, a mass UFO sighting was recorded via broadsheet in Nuremberg, Germany. The story says that around dawn, residents of Nuremberg saw what they described as an aerial battle, followed by the appearance of a large black triangular object and then a large crash outside of the city. The broadsheet claims that witnesses observed hundreds of spheres, cylinders and other bizarre-shaped objects that moved erratically in the sky. It also describes objects of various shapes including crosses, globes, two lunar crescents, a black spear and tubular objects from which several smaller, round objects emerged and darted around the sky at dawn. A quote from the original report states: “...there stood on both sides and as a torus about the sun such blood-red ones and other balls in large number, about three in a line and four in a square, also some alone. In between these globes there were visible a few blood-red crosses, between which there were blood-red strips, becoming thicker to the rear and in the front malleable like the rods of reed-grass, which were intermingled, among them two big rods, one on the right, the other to the left, and within the small and big rods there were three, also four and more globes. These all started to fight among themselves, so that the globes, which were first in the sun, flew out to the ones standing on both sides, thereafter, the globes standing outside the sun, in the small and large rods, flew into the sun. Besides the globes flew back and forth among themselves and fought vehemently with each other for over an hour.”

An illustration of the Phenomenon over Nuremberg

#weird history wednesday #not fundie related #ufos

18 notes · View notes

lipstickbisous · 4 years

Text

the rei brown series (2/3)

OUR LOVE REMAINS.

notes: here’s the second part!! one more after this haha. not much of a plot to these just meant to put you in your feels. butttttt, i did write this from the experience my mom had in the icu when she was a nurse.

this one is your p.o.v. and is a little bit longer but not much

i DID NOT KNOW if anyone would get offended by “latino” or “hispanic” so i used both im sorry.

LISTEN for better understanding.

also u guys REALLY LIKED the din fic so i guess...more of those?

pairing: javier peña x reader

summary: while rethinking all of the choices you’ve made in your life, memories of a certain person begin to flood in.

warnings: MORE ANGST ahahaha, childhood nostalgia, fluff ending

word count: 3.3k (these are not long chapters)

masterlist

you weren’t sure what time it was (you knew it wasn’t too late) and you hadn’t bothered to check as you stumbled through your doorway, one arm holding grocery bags and the other, your purse and papers from work. your hair had been stuck in the ponytail you threw it up in since the morning, but now, it was pulling at your scalp and giving you a headache.

managing to balance on one foot, you flipped the light switch in your entryway and watched as the first floor of your house illuminated in the night. the tiny dog you’d adopted a few months ago came padding out on the wood floors from the dining room, his tongue stuck out with loud pants to relieve himself of the texas summer heat.

with a small “hey, bub,” to your pet, you placed the groceries on the kitchen counter and slipped off your clogs, throwing them at the bottom of your stairs so that you could be reminded to take them to your room when you went upstairs. for now, you reached into the glass cabinet and grasped a dark bottle of wine. the label read a fancy word in french, but growing up in kingsville, you’d never bothered to learn the language of love. you grew up in that rich latino and hispanic culture.

this house had memories threatening to let it crumble, you knew that, but even after your parents had moved into a smaller apartment due to medical reasons and the fact that they couldn’t afford the house, you couldn’t bring yourself to move out of this town and just ditch them there--now the house was in your name. you didn’t know why it was so hard to leave--you’d been able to leave for university, but when you came back the summer after you’d graduated, something stuck. now, it had been twenty years and you had made no attempts to even leave kingsville.

you popped the cork of the wine bottle open and instantly met that musky historic smell of the red alcohol. you had seven wine glasses in your cupboards, but you never had any friends over. you might occasionally invite a few girls you knew in high school, but if you were to hang out with people, it would be at a bar on friday and saturday nights. you watched as the wine splashed around the glass and when it was filled to your satisfaction, you pushed the cork back into its place and left the bottle on the counter.

as you made your way into the living room and collapsed on the couch, the little dog you called yours jumped up onto the high furniture the best he could due to his tiny legs. you searched your couch for the remote, pulling over the cushions and pillows before finding it buried under the arm. you switched the tv on and and flipped through the channels before settling on fifty-one. your dog curled up next to your lap and closed his eyes to sleep.

you didn’t for what you were sure was the next two hours. the movie that had been playing before ended the beginning of a new one had started until you realized your glass was empty and dry and your eyelids were getting heavier. you leaned your head back before rethinking how the day had gone. you’d shown up to the hospital for work at the crack of dawn and spent the next twelve hours wheeling around patients, taking diagnostics, and carrying their dirty dishes.

it definitely had not been the job you imagined when you were ten. you’d played doctor with your stuffed animals and plushes before but in those scenarios, the patients had been obedient in kind. unfortunately, fate had not been so kind and, while sitting in front of the television with an empty wine glass in your hand, your fingers grazing over the sore spot on your wrist. it was sure to be bruised, the one on your calf had turned purple and yellow in the past few days. you hissed when you applied just a bit too much pressure.

i spent four years at a college i hated to have this. you’d put it all on the line to have this job. you thought that by being a nurse in the fucking icu, you’d be saving people everyday. instead, you were groped, spat out, and ignored by everyone there. you deserved a glass of wine every night.

you knew that this was not healthy at all and that you were intoxicating yourself with far too much alcohol but the way your back ached, your calf bruised, and your head pounded drowned out whatever warnings your brain sent you.

suddenly, you managed to catch sight of the atomic clock sitting on your kitchen counter. bright crimson letters read “1:30 am.”, and with a far too heavy sigh that awoke the small dog next to you, you set the glass on your coffee table (you’d grab it in the morning when you weren’t so sad) and flipped the tv off before sauntering up the stairs. even at your age, you had still been terrified of the dark--you could barely walk down to your basement without a flashlight and by yourself--but you found that you were perfectly fine walking in the pitch-black of your upstairs hallway. your dog was quick to follow behind you, jumping onto your bed and waiting for you as you emotionlessly entered your bathroom and looked at your reflection.

who the fuck were you? how much time had passed and yet here you were, in your fucking childhood home all alone? you’d found love with many men over the years, but you hadn’t expected them to last--and they hadn’t. what had you done? had you left some sort of imprint in the world at all? you were never one for kids, everyone you knew was well aware of that, but how were you supposed to live on even when you were dead? in reality, abandonment and loneliness was your worst fear along with--

oh god, you thought in a shriveled voice. you’re gonna be forgotten.

one part that hurt the most was the news. you’d gotten better at keeping up to date with pop culture and politics, and the pablo escobar situation had you worried for one reason and one reason only--javier peña. you’d seen him on the news, the DEA agent who had made it his responsibility and top priority to catch the famous drug lord. it was nice to see that he had gotten somewhere while the only time you’d ever really traveled was to paris for a christmas and then LA to see an old friend who you didn’t even talk to anymore.

this was your life now. mindlessly wandering around your house after work, eating microwaved leftovers and carry-out from the diner.

god, that diner. it had been one of your favorite locations in the shitty town you called home--had been. the first time you went, you were suspicious due to the fact that the actual building was a different restaurant owned by a criminal before it was a diner, but javier had practically begged you to have a late dinner with him after an afternoon spent skipping your last few periods and driving around the outskirts of town in his truck. the wind had been blowing through your hair and you hung your head out of his window, letting your arms wave around, and you could’ve sworn you had felt him looking at you.

that was the moment you were in love with javier peña.

you knew that you had been lying to yourself up until that moment because since the first day you met javier when driving past their ranch and stopping to look at the horses, you’d been in love. you couldn’t even think about how many days were spent writing poetry about him that now seemed stupid and childish. you’d told yourself it was an outlet for your feelings, but you had really written it because you were too much of a bitch to come out and tell javi. maybe that hadn’t been your fault--you’d witnessed, first hand, javier rejecting a girl in sixth grade. you watched her nod and tell him “oh, that’s okay” but then run away into the bathrooms. javier had continued on to tell you about a new foal on their farm.

you remembered the horses. you missed them too. if it hadn’t been them roaming about in the pastures, or the great stallion that caught your attention while on that family car ride, you would’ve never met javier. you weren’t sure if he judged you for it or not, but every time chucho needed help around the farm, and javier was too much of a brat and a teenager to do it, you had gladly offered. so, chucho peña had put you in charge of the foals. there was one in particular, a small one with a white coat, that had piqued your interest. there was a day, one in the middle of the summer if you could remember correctly, where you and javi had just run out to the fields while the rest of the horses stayed in their stables. javi had been excited since his father had gifted him with a new camera, and he had spent all day taking pictures of--and to this day, you still didn’t notice it--only you.

while brushing your teeth, carefully placing a small dot of paste on your toothbrush, you began to scrub in small circles. how long had it been since you and javi had last talked? even then, it had barely been a conversation. a simple exchanged of very few words, a goodbye that went misheard, and that was it. when you had called his home phone the next morning, instead of javi replying like he always did, it had been chucho’s voice instead, muffling an annoyed “hello?” but when he heard the exhaustion and lightness of your voice, he carefully explained that javi had already left.

you hadn’t felt heartbroken--not at first. in fact, there was barely any sadness in that tired head and upset stomach. you were infuriated. how could he? how dare he? he had been such a coward that he couldn’t even say goodbye and it angered you more than you thought it ever would--not that you had ever thought about javier leaving before because he said he wouldn’t even consider it. and now, he had left you alone your fucked up hometown that you’d always told him you hated so much. then, about three days alone without javier (which was something you weren’t used to) you’d realized that there was a large possibility this could’ve been your fault.

had you been a bad friend recent to his leaving? yes, you had been acting distant, but it was due to normal events, such as school and...the fact that you were hopelessly in love with him. it had been harder to talk with senior year ending and college coming up, but you hadn’t never thought he could just turn himself away like that. never.

and not once had javi tried to contact you. he, of course, knew your number by heart, but after all these years, he’d probably had hundreds of girls phone numbers--in fact, you were sure that if hadn’t been a DEA agent hooked with the most dangerous man on the earth, you would’ve expected him to be married already. you had gone to the wedding. you’d seen how the church was decorated, how each and every guest wore plastered smiles--just the idea of seeing javi made you giddy and you’d worn your best dress you could find. even after returning from university, javier didn’t visit or call. you also remembered hearing lorraine sobbing when her groom didn’t show.

javier was not the type of person to stand someone up. you didn’t know what he was like now, but as teenagers, if he ever had a date (which wasn’t often because even if you didn’t know it, he was hopelessly in love with you) he would arrive five minutes early.

the one time javi did have a date, you stayed home and watched one of his favorite movies while crying. you hated to admit that the next day, when he admitted to you he didn’t like the girl that much, you were excited.

suddenly, you remembered how this was completely your fault. you had always blamed javier for never calling or writing, but then you realized that you had never made the attempt either.

“fuckin’ hell,” you whispered and washed off your toothbrush. as a nurse, you didn’t normally cake yourself with makeup, but you did wear the average concealer, mascara, and lipstick or gloss. you took one look at your reflection and noticed that your mascara was currently running. when did i cry? you asked yourself and exited the bathroom, not bothering to remove your makeup.

your room was next door and when you walked inside, your dog was patiently waiting next to your nightstand and- god, did i leave the fucking light on again? you felt like slapping yourself until your head was straight because it wasn’t right to think about someone you haven’t seen in twenty years.

you slipped off your pants, leaving you in expensive panties you’d gotten for no reason at all. you threw off your scrubs, discarding them onto the floor with a light air sound and replacing your shirt with a tank-top. your bed had been so perfectly made that it almost annoyed you. you threw yourself onto your bed and began to rub your eyes. it wouldn’t matter if you messed up the mascara because there was nothing to mess up.

hoping the sleep would rid you of the horrible thoughts, you flipped the lamp next to your bed off and pressed a pillow to your cheek. the small dog at your feet curled up rested his eyes. you did the same.

it would’ve been physically best for your health if you had gone at least six hours of sleeping without any interruption, but one moment in the night, the phone on your nightstand began to blare its ringtone. your eyes shot open and began to burn slightly from a sudden awakening. the sound had scared your dog, who jumped to the ground in protection of whatever the source was until he realized it was the telephone. you groaned with heavy eyelids and looked to the clock. two-twenty five am. as soon as you went to answer the call, it went to dial tone.

more frustrated than before because you really just wanted to sleep, you groaned and flung yourself back into bed. of course, now you were awake.

but then, the phone began to ring again. it had seemed louder this time and your dog barked in the most un-intimidating way possible before you threw a pillow at the spot next to him to get him quiet. you held the phone close to your ear and spoke a tired, “hello?” the line was silent and at first, you were terrified because you could’ve sworn you heard someone breathing. another one of these. “hello?”

part of this was exciting to you. while it was extremely frustrating to be awoken a few hours before you normally rose to get ready for work, your mind was racing during the silent pause between you and this stranger. who could it be? perhaps it was chucho telling you that javier could be coming home, but you cursed yourself for thinking of that man and dismissed the idea. maybe it was your mom calling to tell you how your father had gotten better and, for now at least, the cancer was gone.

“(y/n)?”

―

while the reason behind it remained unclear, you had always loved airports. the cleaning-product smell, the diverse people, the small restaurants, even the feeling of the carpet--or the feeling of that when in an airport, you were going somewhere.

it had always been about going somewhere. javier knew this since fifth grade, that you had always wanted to just leave kingsville, texas. maybe you would move to new york, or philadelphia, or even go to london and paris. they had been silly daydreams due to reading too many of your mother’s travel books, but paris had always looked so nice. maybe even visit mexico--you’d already been well immersed in the culture.

but that wasn’t why you were here. you were here for something that was long overdue.

after the phone call that night, you javier had made sure to call each other every other day at ten o’clock pm. there had been some days where you had to stay late at the hospital or javi was chasing sicarios and didn’t get home until midnight--those nights, you would either fall asleep or just call the next day, but you both had made a good schedule. it definitely hadn’t been the same as when you were teenagers, and you didn’t expect it to be. his voice was much deeper and raspier (you knew it was because of the cigarettes, you could practically smell them through the phone) and his voice wasn’t as...lively anymore. you felt that you couldn’t say much, though, because the years had been rough to you as well.

he had told you everything. your thoughts on how he was living was wrong--he told you of the countless informants and prostitutes, how the colombian sun was definitely hotter than the texan sun and even to him it had made a difference. when you both had too much to drink and were passing back funny stories, his was that he had grown a mustache. you had laughed at that one because if you could imagine the clean-shaved, teenage boy that javier once was with a mustache, it was a hilarious thought.

all-in-all, it had still been painful to talk to someone you knew so well like they were a stranger. at first, you had asked yourself if he’d changed but you caught yourself in the stupid thought. of course, he had changed. it had been twenty fucking years and even you had noticed the faint lines starting to appear around your face.

it had taken almost half a year of phone calls, missed and attended, happy and sad to be where you were now.

the airport bustling had also been one of your favorite things too. the countless and various voices all coming together to make a white noise that was so distinct.

you were standing near the entrance, watching as families reunited, lovers embraced, and yet you stood alone. it had been over ten minutes since when javier was supposed to show. if you were being honest with yourself, what did you expect? he would just appear out of thin air in the middle of a crowd? you hoped the flight from bogotá had been peaceful and well. there hadn’t been any storms passing by, baggage loading problems, or anything that could possibly delay the plane, so there was no reason for javier not to be there.

unless...you began to think and it had been too late to stop yourself from completing the thought. maybe he just didn’t want to.

like when he rejected that girl in sixth grade. like when he left you alone in kingsville. like when abandoned his bride at their own fucking wedding.

suddenly, you felt angry. your blood was boiling, your hands felt hot, the hair on your neck became irritating, and the winter heat of texas began to scorch, even in air conditioning. you ran a hand down your face, feeling two beads of sweat trickle down a path to your chin. your foot, which had been tapping for the past now fifteen minutes turned on its heel as you made your way to the glass doors.

your car was just outside. you wouldn’t even have to walk that far, and then you could drive home, cry yourself to sleep, and call javier about this some other time.

“(y/n)!”

tags: @pascalisthepunkest @javierpenaspinkshirt @gummiishark @cyarikaaa @larakasser @pedropasscals @honeyedspace @talesfromtheguild @absurdthirst

45 notes · View notes

the-distance-doesnt-define-us · 4 years

Text

So we were reunited for three days. It was supposed to be longer but I went with my parents and my sister had surgery today (november 4th) so we had to drive back earlier. 😭

October 28th, we left out at 9:30 AM instead of 7 like we were supposed to. Passed Defiance, Ohio - Marshall, Illinois, - Earle, Arkanasas, - Stayed in Sikeston, Missouri for the night.

Left Sikeston at 8:58 AM, got into Bossier where Love lives at 5:00 pm. The fire alarm went off as soon as we got into the hotel, so that was something.

We got in October 29th at 6:00 pm, Love went straight to the hotel when I gave him the address, he brought a freaking rose with him from his garden 😭😭😭, he stayed the night in the hotel with me, we walked over to this restaurant and got food with my parents.

October 30th, we went to BeauxJax Crafthouse, Love got Shrimp Etoufee, I got the Bourbon Street Chicken bowl. So. Good. Went to Joseph’s Riverport Barbeque, I got a cheeseburger, Love got cajun fries. Went to the Shreveport Boardwalk. Went to Bass Pro shop and saw SO MANY FISHIES swimming around in this glass thing, then we went up to the elevator and in the elevator when you went down/up, you saw the fish right up close! It was amazing.

Me and my parents went to the Red River National Wildlife Refuge while Love was at work on the 30th, it was really beautiful. Then we went to his house to meet his mom, which was nervewracking but she was really amazing and sweet so I had nothing to worry about. I met his best friend Hayden and his mom, met one of his high school friends while we were at BeauJax cause she was our waitress. We also went to this forest park place and walked around there for quite some time, just the two of us. We got a really cute picture of us underneath this wrought iron awning thing that a sweet kid took for us. Stayed the night at his house for the night, his mom lent me some pajamas,. (She kept saying how she wanted to do my hair and put make up on me if we had more time so that... yeah. that’s something I guess.) We watched Howl’s Moving Castle in his room and we danced to our song when it came on. He started a bath for me without me knowing and put candles all over the bathroom and put bubble bath stuff in it and essential oil in it. My god. He’s amazing. We played a board game and she called me her DAUGHTER, guys. Her DAUGHTER. She’d said she’s never seen him happier! I about DIED on her living room floor when she said that. He gave me a promise ring but it was a little too big so it’s hanging on my necklace next to the lock with his initials on it for now.

We took a road trip to Jefferson, Texas on Samhain/Halloween/October 31st, Went to Joseph’s Riverport Barbeque, went to the general store there, went to a haunted hotel (Jefferson Hotel), walked around there, we went on a horse drawn carriage tour okay, a HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGE while his mom took pictures of us and kept saying how enchanting everything was.

November 1st, we went to his house, hung out there for quite a long time, then we went to the Boardwalk again and he SANG TO ME. He SANG TO ME WHATEVER SONG IT WAS THAT WAS PLAYING. It was an oldie that I had never heard before but it was absolutely adorable. He spun me around the boardwalk, we went to Build-a-Bear and we made a bear!!!! Her name is Paris and she’s a tie-dye kitty and when I press her left paw, Caleb’s voice goes “I love you, Kitten.” EEEE!!!!! Went on the carousel, went through a photo booth and got our photos taken (although because they’re black and white, they didn’t come out all that great, unfortunately.) Then we went and fed ducks at the duck pond because I’ve always wanted to do that with him since we started dating. Then, because it was the afternoon we had to leave, we went back to his house, said goodbye, and left.

We did so much in such a short amount of time, though. I loved every single second of it. His mom was saying we should plan to meet up in Colorado so that's another really cool thing!

Until the next adventure, Love! 😽

#long distance relationship #long distance couple #long distance #ldr #ldr relationship #thedistancedoesntdefineus

3 notes · View notes

hms-chill · 5 years

Text

RWRB Study Guide: Chapter 7

Hi y’all! I’m going through Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue and defining/explaining references! Feel free to follow along, or block the tag #rwrbStudyGuide if you’re not interested!

Crêpe-eating tourists (157): Crepes are a thin, flat pancake traditionally filled with sugar, but commonly filled with other toppings. They are an iconic French dish and are popular with tourists both for this reason and because they are typically inexpensive.

Place du Tertre (157): A square in Paris, it is in the Montmarte district, which is known for its art history.

Crusty baguettes (157): Baguettes are a French bread that is meant to be crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.

Le Monde (158): The most popular French newspaper.

Fromagerie Nicole Barthélémy (158): A famously wonderful cheese shop in Paris.

Parisian cheese shop (158): French cheese are known for being fancy and especially good.

Pisces (159): A zodiac sign known for being compassionate, artistic, and intuitive. (more)

NYU (159): New York University.

The Met (159): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a famous art museum in New York.

Joanne (160): JK Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter books, and has been pretty consistently homophobic and transphobic on twitter.

Freddie Mercury (161): Lead singer of the band Queen, Mercury never officially came out, but he had long-term relationships with both men and women and was known for his camp performances, and there are claims that he was “openly gay”. His flamboyance and camp performances, as well as his relationship with partner Jim Hutton, essentially demanded that people simply take him as he was. He died of complications from AIDS in 1991, one day after admitting openly that he had been diagnosed four years earlier. (More)

For context within the book, he wrote “Don’t Stop Me Now”

Elton John (161): A famous British musician. He came out as bisexual in 1976, then as gay in 1992. He and his husband, David Furnish, became civil partners in 2005, the day they became legal in the UK. They were officially married on the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership, the year that gay marriage was legalized within the UK. (More)

Bowie (161): David Bowie, who was a bi British musician and actor who, in 1976, described his bisexuality as “the best thing that ever happened to me”. His wife (who was also bi, and with whom he often shared partners) claimed that he had a relationship with Mick Jagger, though his bisexuality has been consistently erased, both during his life and since his death. (More)

Again for book context, Henry’s dog is named for David Bowie

Jagger (161): Mick Jagger, an English singer/songwriter and member of the Rolling Stones, known for his promiscuity. As mentioned above, he and Bowie pretty clearly had a relationship, though his Wikipedia makes no mention of queerness. (More)

Oakley Street (161): A street that runs through an affluent borough of London.

Stonewall (161): The Stonewall Inn in New York City is a gay bar. The riots against police brutality there in July of 1969 are heralded as the beginning of the gay rights movement.

SCOTUS decision in 2015 (161): The Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage across the US.

Walt Whitman (161): An American poet who wanted to become The American Poet and saw himself as the quintessential American. His poetry often deals with his queerness, and he absolutely slept with Oscar Wilde in the late 1800s.

Fun fact; he is celebrated in the movie The Dead Poets Society, which is incredibly popular with Sad Gay English Majors and which Henry would definitely have seen.

Laws of Illinois 1961 (161): In 1961, Illinois became the first state in the US to repeal its sodomy laws.

White Night Riot (161): A series of riots in San Francisco protesting the lenient sentencing of the man who killed Harvey Milk, the first openly queer politician. The riots were the most violent queer uprising since the events at the Stonewall.

Paris is Burning (161): A 1990s movie celebrating drag ball culture in New York. It celebrates in particular queer communities of color in the late 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic was at its peak.

“If I die of AIDS...” (161): This is a real photo; you can find it here. The man’s jacket could refer to a form of protest called “die-ins”, where people with AIDS would go to a homophobic politician’s office or another public place where they were refused treatment and simply not leave until after they died. (see it here)

Chop my own tit off (162): Fun mythology fact; the Amazons (warrior women from Greek mythology) actually did this to make themselves better archers.

H fucking W (162): George HW Bush, a former US president.

George (163): George Villers was the boyfriend of King James the I/VI, and Prince George, Duke of Kent, was rumored to be in a polyamorous relationship in the 1920s.

Edward (162): Edward II was a famously gay king. He was may have been "wedded brothers" with Piers Gaveston and may have also had a relationship with Hugh le Despenser the younger following Gaveston's death. (More)

James (162): The British king known for translating the Bible and being just... indescribably gay and very deeply horny. He promoted his boyfriend, George Villers, to the highest non-royal position in the UK within a few years of starting to date him. James’s friends actively tried to set him up with hot guys for their own political gain.

Alexander (163): Alexander Hamilton was an incredibly bi founding father. He’s remembered for founding our current national banking system, having the first ever American sex scandal, and for literally never shutting up or knowing how to stop being A Lot All The Time.

Catalina (164): Catalina is an island near Los Angeles. On a more meta level, St. Catalina was a respected writer.

June (164): June Carter Cash was an American singer/songwriter/director/comedian.

Tricky Dick (164): Richard Nixon, a president remembered for wiretapping his opponent.

Taft (165): 27th president of the United States.

Eisenhower (165): 34th president of the US.

Baby (166): this is what Henry’s mom calls him; I wrote a thing about it here.

Daily Mail (166): A trashy British tabloid.

Lollapalooza (167): A music festival in Chicago known for setting fashion trends and having lots of drugs.

Joni Mitchell (167): A singer/songwriter known for her innovative use of the guitar, including unique tunings, chords, and a unique fingerpicking/strumming style. (Listen here)

Cocaine (168): A highly addictive drug. It is snorted, smoked, or injected, and while it makes people feel more confident or forget their problems, the highs from it last only up to about 30 minutes, which often drives people to take it more frequently. Side effects (aside from addiction) include a loss of appetite, irritability, and increased mental health issues.

Spitfire (168): Someone with a quick temper or willingness to fight.

High as a kite (169): Someone who’s “high as a kite” is on a lot of drugs and is still enjoying the high.

Clean (169): Drug/alcohol free.

Stiff upper lip (170): Ability to seem determined or hold it together in the face of hard times.

A levels (170): A UK test taken for admittance to college, similar to the ACT/SAT in the US

Henry V at RSC (171): Henry V is a Shakespearean history play about the life of Henry V, especially focused on the events of the Hundred Years’ War. RSC, or the Royal Shakespeare Company, is a Shakespeare theater company in London.

Travis County (171): The Texan county where Austin is located.

Surfside (171): A beach in Texas.

Adderall (172): A prescription drug taken for ADHD but commonly abused by students to help them stay awake for all-nighters or focused for unhealthily long study sessions. However, given McQuinston’s claim that Alex has undiagnosed ADHD, it likely helped him to be able to focus and helped his brain work the way it was expected to.

Almond milk (vs. dairy) (173): Texas has a huge dairy industry, and almond milk is not great for the environment.

The Gun File (173): American gun law is so deeply broken.

WASPy Hunter’s Harvard pencil cup (175): Harvard is a prestigious college in Boston; it has a reputation for being mostly rich white folks.

Iron curtains of gerrymandering (175): Gerrymandering is a form of drawing lines for voting districts to disenfranchise marginalized voters. It is a form of skewing elections to keep power in the hands of the powerful that divides marginalized votes, making people of color or poor folks the minority in their districts, therefore erasing their votes on a broader scale.

Vision-boarding his funeral (175): a vision board is typically made to inspire someone to pursue a goal.

Parks & Recreation (175): A popular American sit-com focused on the parks and recreation department in a small town in Indiana.

Leslie Knope (176): a Parks & Rec character. One of her defining traits is an aggressive, overwhelming love for the people in her life.

Mid-century rug (177): Mid-century furniture and style is characterized by lots of color and playful patterns (following the more reserved WWII period in the 1940s); it is rising in popularity again as a classy yet fashionable look.

J14 (178): A teen fashion/celebrity magazine.

Sacramento Bee (178): The largest newspaper in Sacramento, CA.

Southerness (180): In positive lights, the American South is known for its genuine, warm, unselfish hospitality.

Jane Austen my life (180): Jane Austen is a British author whose novels star lower/middle class women who fall in love with rich men. They typically try to avoid these men for large portions of the book, or at least have rather negative feelings about them due to a misunderstanding or other failure to communicate.

LSAT (181): the test taken for admittance to law school.

Carmarthenshire (183): A largely agricultural county in South Wales. As a tourist destination, it is known for its wide range of outdoor activities.

Llwynywermod (184): A royal estate in Carmarthenshire, the biggest building of which is a renovated three-bedroom farmhouse. It is surrounded by the rolling green hills common to south Wales.

Finals (in the US) (185): At US colleges, a semester’s final tests (typically worth up to 30-40% of a final grade) take place the week after classes end.

Stamp on his forehead at The Tombs (185): Tombs is a bar near Georgetown. According to reviews, and “Tombs Night” parties, where students celebrate their 21st birthday and get their foreheads stamped at the end of the night, are a Georgetown tradition.

Jumped in Dalhgren Fountain (185): Dalhgren Fountain is in the center of Georgetown’s campus. Swimming in it is a Georgetown tradition.

Summa cum laude (186): “with greatest honor”.

Ceviche (186): A seafood dish native to Peru that spread to Mexico, where it contains lime, avocado, chili peppers, onions, and cilantro.

Palm Room (187): The gateway to the West Wing, the area of the White House where most politics happen.

Hoe Dameron (190): A reference to Star Wars character Poe Dameron, a rebel pilot and the first Latino main character in the series.

Prince Buttercup (190): Princess Buttercup is the heroine/love interest in The Princess Bride,

West Hollywood (190): One of the most prominent gay neighborhoods in the US.

“Call Me” (191): The most popular song of 1980; it was originally written for the film American Gigolo and inspired by the film’s opening sequence of a character driving along the coast of California. (Listen here)

“So Emotional” (191): An absolute bop about enjoying being in love. (Listen here)

“Don’t Stop Me Now” (193): A Queen song where Mercury sings to both a man and a woman; it’s a huge bop. (Listen here)

In-N-Out (194): A fast food restaurant/burger chain native to California and unavailable in other states.

Animal style (195): Animal style burgers are an In-N-Out staple; it includes the typical burger toppings, along with mustard fried into the patty, pickles, onions, and extra spread.

French-fries-dipped-in-milkshake (195): a truly god-tier American dessert tradition.

“O captain, my captain” (196): A reference both to the idea of a lacrosse team captain and to Whitman’s poem, “O Captain, My Captain” (as mentioned above, Whitman was a deeply gay American poet).

Burberry (200): A posh British brand of clothing known for its classy, traditional pieces.

Cats that caught the canaries (200): A cat that caught a canary is a person who looks smug or satisfied.

Mother hen (201): A “mom friend” or someone who will do everything they can to look out for people they care about, sometimes to the point of it being annoying.

—-

If there’s anything I missed or that you’d like more on, please let me know! And if you’d like to/are able, please consider buying me a ko-fi? I know not everyone can, and that’s fine, but these things take a lot of time/work and I’d really appreciate it!

—–

Chapter 1 // Chapter 6 // Chapter 8

#rwrb study guide #rwrb #red white and royal blue #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor x alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #bea fox mountchristen windsor #june claremont diaz #nora holleran #pez okonjo #English Major Brain™#English Major Brain™️#rwrb analysis #red white and royal blue analysis #rwarb #rwarb analysis #rwrb fic ref #rwrb reference

19 notes · View notes

kevrocksicehouse · 4 years

Photo

The “Before” movies are about two people walking and talking. They are still Richard Linklater’s magnum opus:

Before Sunrise. D: Richard Linklater (1995). A French girl and an American boy meet on a train from Budapest and then walk around Vienna. That’s the plot. Linklater makes a romantic classic by showing the process of falling in love. Jesse and Celine open themselves up to each other because, hey, they’ll never see each other again and as the night deepens that prospect becomes less and less bearable. By the end they’re hanging on the edge of each others’ cliff, ready to jump off.

Before Sunset. D: Richard Linklater (2004). They didn’t jump. Jesse and Celine are full adults now. She has a career as an environmental activist and he is married with a son and has written a bestselling book about their previous meeting and he is in Paris promoting it when they meet again. As they walk around the city they rekindle their feelings but Jesse has to catch a plane in an hour (the film takes place in real time). Linklater drives home the time in life when real commitments and responsibilities weigh down what might make one happy. Celine puts on a record, does a goofy dance and they’re ready for another will-they-or-won’t-they cliffhanger.

Before Midnight. D: Richard Linklater (2013). Nine years later in all of our lives, Celine and Jesse are a couple with two children of their own vacationing in Greece and feeling restless and dissatisfied. She’s thinking of taking a government job while he wants to be closer to his son in Texas. From this comes a long argument where the talk that so beguiled us in the other movies becomes poisonous and sorrowful as the two pour out their frustrations and we feel the emotional weight that many years can bring. In yet another cliffhanger they seem to have rekindled enough of a spark to carry on. But the film leaves them tired and wary. I don’t know where it goes from here but if there’s another chapter, I’m in.

#richard linklater #julie delpy #ethan hawke #before #kevrock

2 notes · View notes

tylercamebackyes · 5 years

Text

i adore you, Cy.

surprise!! @imonlyhereforgay this is your gift!! i was stressing over it because everyone has so many parts and amazing stuff but i worked really hard on mine so im not changing it anymore. happy pride! also i used When too many times but i dont think TJ would care if he wrote a letter to Cyrus.

TJ writes a confession to Cyrus.

Dear Cyrus,

These are 10 of the times I got lost in your eyes.

When we went out for milkshakes after my first game of the season. You were telling a story about how your cousin drank his milkshake in 4 minutes flat, only to realize he was lactose intolerant. He never went out to eat with you again because you laughed at him for weeks. You laughed so hard telling the story that you started crying, but your eyes were lit up with joy.

When you came out to me in your basement. I made a joke about how girls would love a ping pong champion. You said you hoped the guys did too. The guys most certainly do. I was stunned into silence because I realized you wouldn't find it so weird that I thought your eyes were pretty.

That time we went on the Ferris wheel at Adrenaline City. You wouldn't look away from the spinning wheel, but I made you have a staring contest with me. You looked like you were about to cry until Marty spun the wheel and you screeched with your head in your hands.

When I had dinner at your house for your dad's birthday. I was helping serve cake when you said I had gotten frosting on my nose. You wiped it off with a napkin because I "wasn't getting the blue off." The blue didn't even come off after.

When I was getting you do do the high jump into the foam pit at Bouncy Castle Land. Andi and Buffy had always let you sit out, but I made you count to 10 with me before you let me push you off the platform.

When my cat had kittens and you were holding one, but it sneezed and you look at me smiling like a goof. I thought I could look at you smiling like a goof forever.

That time we were studying for my math test and you laughed at the drawing of my cat. When you laugh you get a sparkle in your eye. I got B+ on that math test and you took me to the Spoon to celebrate.

When we were playing the second championship game and I looked over at you during the last timeout. Your smile made me want to win the game to make you proud even though you would be proud either way.

When Andi was thinking about going to New York for an art school, so you went to the swings to think about it. I told you that you were allowed to be upset about it because she was your best friend and you would miss her more if you were here instead of with her. Andi decided not to go.

When you got a brain freeze from eating a snow cone too fast at the fair.

9 times I almost held your hand. Mostly times I missed my chance to.

When we went on that roller coaster and you said you couldn't feel your hands. I thought about it for a long time, but then we were upside down and I missed my chance.

When I watched your dance final and you were shaking when you finished, because when I'm shaking people holding my hands make me feel better but you were being hugged by Buffy before I got the nerve to.

When you came out to Amber at the Spoon, because she said she was frosting everything rainbow for pride month and you said you would definitely but a piece of cake for that, and she asked if you were LGBT+ and you paused and said you were gay. I didn't want to reach over the table so I didn't hold your hand.

When we were both laying on the couch but we couldn't reach the remote, so we both reached out to get it. I ended up falling off the couch.

When my cat scratched you and I helped you clean your hand, and I did technically hold your hand but I almost really held your hand.

When Andi was up for an art award and they were announcing winners. I started clapping to snap you out of peeling your fingernails. She didn't win, but she got 2nd place.

When we were having a sleepover and you turned over on the air mattress just to say "TJ, I LOVE dinosaurs." You started showing me shadow puppet dinosaurs, but you were too tired to do it right.

At Andi's slumber party, you were doing everyone's nails with Amber, and you painted mine yellow. "You're like my lemon boy, Teej. Or a sour-patch kid. Because you're sweet now," you said.

When Andi was upset about her parents not getting married and Buffy was hanging out with Marty again, you told me that you were afraid it was straining your relationship with them. I told you that if you could survive Celia becoming Ce-Ce and Buffy moving you could survive some change.

8 times I almost kissed you.

When we were at the pool and you did the big water slide, and you were so excited that you choked on the water. You laughed so hard that you had to get out of the pool.

When we met Amber's dog for the first time, and you thought he was the cutest thing in the world.

When we got churros at the fair. You got cinnamon on your nose and I still have no idea how.

When we had that pillow fight and you somehow got a hold of every pillow and it was like you had 3 pairs of nun-chucks.

When we were at the drive-in and you were holding all of the candy because Jonah had a broken arm. He said you wouldn't let him hold anything, but you said his arm was hurting. It was probably both.

That time at the lake when I jumped in, and you didn't want to jump in after me so you tried just walking into the lake but you slipped on the mud.

When we were swimming for Buffy's birthday party, Marty and Jonah flipped your floatie over. You complained about your hair the whole day, but I thought it looked better.

When you saw the shooting star on July 4th. Right after you saw it the fireworks started and the sound scared you.

7 times I almost told someone I liked you.

Buffy asked me after my first game of the season if I liked you, and I almost said yes. I said I didn't know.

My mom asked me why I had become so much happier lately. I said I was just having fun hanging out with you and everyone. Part of it was me being happy about coming out, but it was also being around you that made me so happy.

Jonah asked me how long we had been dating. He really thought we'd been dating for months.

I was paying for a Queen record when Bowie asked about the drawings on my hand. He asked me who drew it and when I said that you drew it, he said, "You two are pretty close, huh?" I just smiled and said yeah.

My cousins came over for Christmas. Addie is 8 years old and when she saw me texting you she said, "Why are you smiling so much? My mamma says people only smile that much when they're in love!" I thought it was really funny that she pointed it out before Buffy or Amber.

Jonah, Marty, and I were watching Love, Simon and they asked why I knew all of the emails by heart. It was nice to think of having a love story like that, even if it wasn't with you.

I almost told Amber's dog once, but Andi walked in before I said it.

6 times I did hold your hand.

When you were over and my parents started fighting while we played Mortal Kombat. I didn't want to feel scared like I always feel when they fight, even though I had never done it when they fought before.

When I came out to my dad. Or before, I guess. It made it easier having you there because I had someone there for me if my dad wasn't.

When you had a sleepover and we tried to watch all of Supernatural in one night. I fell asleep after a few episodes, but the first scene always makes me nervous.

When I was going into math class for the last test of the semester. You had worked with me the most and you believing that I could pass made me really want to pass the test.

When we listened to Paris by Sabrina Carpenter for the first time. It was more of me grabbing your hand and spinning you around to the music, but it counts.

When you brought me the blueberry macadamia muffin. That was one of the best muffins I've ever had, by the way.

5 times I almost called you at 2 am.

When my parents were fighting and I wanted to distract myself, but I ended up watching YouTube.

When Khalid announced his tour and I saw the post. You actually ended up calling me first.

When my cat threw up on my bed. I was really stressed but I got worried about the cat and told my mom instead.

After you dislocated your thumb when I tried to teach you how to play basketball. I was so worried that I couldn't sleep, but your mom posted on Facebook that you were fine so I let it be.

When I realized the song stuck in my head was Electric Love by BØRNS. Then I realized you were probably asleep, so I didn't.

4 times I did call you at 2 am.

When my dad told my mom that I was gay. I thought he was cool with it, but while they were fighting he said, "So YOU can have our abomination of a son." My parent decided to get a divorce later that week. I probably called you every week because I couldn't handle it.

When I realized another song that was stuck in my head was Maneater by Nelly Furtado. You didn't know what song I was talking about until I sang the "you wish you never met her at all" part.

When I had that nightmare where a clown came and attacked the whole town but you had an alliance with him but he was set on killing me so you died defending me then the clown died because he wasn't allowed to kill you.

When you texted me saying you hated crying at 2 am. You were crying about your stepdad making a homophobic joke. I said that he probably didn't mean it, and would stop once he realized he was directly hurting you. It still wasn't okay, though.

3 times I thought I had lost you.

When Reed brought that gun. I know I've said it dozens of times, but I didn't think he would bring it while you were there.

When your dad was thinking about moving to Texas and you got really excited, but your mom said she didn't want to give up custody so he stayed. I wanted you to be happy, but I also wanted to be with you forever and I wouldn't really want to be in Texas for months or years on end.

When Kira outed me to the school, and she looked at you when she said I was really obvious about it. I thought you weren't ready to come out in any way at school, but you said that our friendship was worth more than avoiding humiliation.

2 times I almost confessed.

That day when we couldn't reach the remote from the couch. Me falling off the couch made me forget about it, though.

When I came out to you. I was crying and you were almost crying and I have no idea why I was so terrified.

1 time I did.

Right now. I don't know why it's taken me so long, but with enough reassurance from Jonah and Andi, I'm writing this letter to you right now. I adore you, Cy. I want to be around you all the time. I would really, really like to kiss you. I know you might not feel the same, but I also know our friendship would survive a crush. I don't like keeping secrets from you. The last one is this: I like you. I like you more than I've ever liked anyone. And I had a teddy bear named Blueberry for 12 years until Reed blew it up. That's all.

Love, TJ. aka Tyler James.

#andi mack #tyrus #pride gift exchange #my fic #cyrus goodman #tj kippen

38 notes · View notes

lovelyirony · 6 years

Text

The Necessity of Goodbyes

Robert Bruce Banner was born to a mother who loved him more than she could put into words. She loved him as he grew, and his first word was “book.” She loved him through bruises, shouts of anger, and the silence following. But she knew that if their life would continue like this, she would not survive, and there was a high chance he would not either. So when he is passed out on the couch, and Rebecca allows herself to sneak into Bruce’s room, heart breaking at his immediate reaction to tense up before releasing, she makes her decision.

Screw her marriage. Screw this house. Screw him. She will go and save them.

“Do you want to take a road trip?” Rebecca asks him. Bruce lights up. He saves postcards. She will give him fifty cents when they go grocery shopping, and if he could, he would spend hours looking at the different scenes. Not much to Ohio, but sometimes they’ll put in pictures of Paris or Switzerland or Wyoming or Texas. She thinks they do it just for Bruce—their regular cashier always gives him a mint and a smile. Rebecca thinks maybe she knows about the situation. It helps.

“Can we visit Yellowstone?” Bruce asks. “Or…maybe, um, Jennifer and Aunt Elaine?” That sounds like a great idea.

“We have to be very quiet about this,” she answers. “We’re going to stay with Jennifer and Aunt Elaine for a while. We’ll visit the Hollywood sign and see what Uncle William is up to as sheriff.” Bruce smiles, smiles so widely that Rebecca can’t remember the last time her son did that.

They go to the library. She guides Bruce away from the house, and they use the computers that take forever to boot up. She emails Elaine about the situation, and the result is a resounding yes.

Jennifer needs more company in her life, Elaine writes, and I think Bruce and her would get along great! I don’t have to play as many checker games now! I miss you, and I’m glad you’re staying with us. Keep your eyes peeled for job opportunities, if you want.

She starts stockpiling resources, hides the bags in the guest bathroom. They never have guests over anywhere, haven’t since Brian’s little “problem.”

He doesn’t suspect a thing. She plies him with alcohol, cooks his favorite dishes, and stays quiet. He likes it, and she burns with hatred. Bruce is behind her, silent. He steals cereal from the cabinet, takes granola bars for his school backpack.

When it’s a week away, she’s on edge. Her mind is paranoid, giving her nightmares of him finding out, going berserk. She grips the extra key she has to the car tight, not losing sight of it. He’ll check her purse all the time, making sure she has money that he gives her, making sure there is no “evidence” of everything going to shit. So she hides the key close to her chest, even if it hurts sometimes.

They leave early in the morning. She let him drink to his heart’s content, not caring of the consequences. He gets too close, breath reeking of booze.

She stays quiet with the berating comments, because she knows that he won’t wake up until close to twelve. He has work at eleven, and she won’t be there to wake him up. His boss had called her, telling her that if he was late again, he was fired. She “didn’t remember” to tell him.

Rebecca tiptoes to Bruce’s room at five, surprised to see him already awake. He has his backpack ready to go, shoes in hand, and they go down the stairs. She doesn’t know why she’s so terrified. Her heart is pounding out of her chest, and Bruce is whimpering. She shushes him with a smile.

“We’re leaving for forever,” she says. “It’s a moving experience.” Bruce grins, and the sniffling melts away.

The car is parked in the street, thank god. She starts it up slowly, looks back at the house, and turns off the street for the last time.

Her hands are shaking with excitement, she can’t believe she’s actually doing it. She had had dreams about this moment, escaping with her son.

Her son actually starts laughing. She turns on the radio, not to the news channel that he used to blast and complain about every good thing happening in the world. She finds a song she used to listen to before everything, one that she still knew the lyrics to.

Bruce giggles as she does little dance moves, and tries to improvise the words. They go on the highway, and Bruce had only seen it once, when they were going to Grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving. He loves going fast, loves getting away.

“I wanna talk to Jen,” he decides. “I’m gonna tell her all about frogs and my favorite color and maybe even that I don’t like the—what was it, momma?”

“You don’t like the white sauce,” she reminds him. “And neither do I!” He grins and tells her about his dinosaur book. They don’t actually know the color of dinosaurs, which was amazing. She makes up colors.

“Maybe a stegosaurus was actually…neon orange!” Bruce cackles in his car seat.

“No mommy!”

“Well we don’t know their actual color! Who’s to say?”

They stop at a gas station, and she allows him to pick out one treat. Bruce carefully goes up to an aisle, and points at a small bag of barbecue chips. “Can I get this one, please?” Rebecca grins.

She gets beef jerky, a huge cup of Coca-Cola, and a car scent thing. Just because she could. It’s scented “sunset walkway,” and she didn’t even know that she could smell something like that. She calls Elaine on a payphone, telling her where they are and how much more it will be.

Bruce thinks everything is fun. He loves pointing to signs. He’d never seen other license plates on cars. He saw one from New Mexico, and announced that he wanted a turquoise sweatshirt exactly like it. Rebecca snorts.

“Okay, baby. We can see what we can do.”

She’s kind of terrified, if she’s being completely honest. She has no idea what she’ll do in LA. Not at all. But she knows anything would be better than living with that monster. Bruce deserves better than…than that. She’s determined that his life will be better because of it.

They have a fast food dinner. It’s not exactly what she wants, but Bruce is absolutely excited. He receives a toy with his meal, a little plush turtle. He disregards the assigned name of “Shellie” and promptly names the turtle “Tchaikovsky.”

“It starts with a T,” he says. “And it’s not Tina or Tim or Shellie.” Rebecca nods, dipping a fry into ketchup and urging him to drink more of the milk.

They sleep in a motel room. She pays in cash, gets the key, and tells Bruce to pick the side of the bed. Children look through everything as if it’s the most exciting thing ever. Bruce is overjoyed that they are on the second floor, and they get to use the elevator. He thinks the ice machine is amazing, and wants to get behind it to see how it works. She just sighs, smiles, and tells him they need a good night’s rest. He’ll get cereal in the morning and maybe something else. Depends.

She stays awake past him, taking him into her arms. She is worried, oddly enough. She wonders what Brian’s doing now. If he’s lost his job. Probably. Drinking money away. Being an asshole of a person. She prays to God that no poor woman goes to him, looking for solace or something else. She hopes, cruelly enough, that he gets what she thinks he deserves. Rebecca settles down against her pillow, and smiles down at Bruce. She would do anything for him.

They get closer to Los Angeles. She thinks the majority of the day will cover it. Bruce might slow them down some, but she’s allowing him some leisure time. He likes stopping at all the rest stops along the way and describing what he likes. He likes the color green, but not bright green. The color green like pine trees, or like mommy’s favorite sweater. (She’ll have to check to make sure she packed it.)

The two get into Los Angeles late, to the point where Bruce is too stubborn to go to bed, but too sleepy to do anything else. Rebecca sighs as she pulls into the familiar driveway, parking the car and turning off the headlights.

“We’re here baby,” she murmurs. A light in the kitchen comes on as Elaine walks out, rushing to greet the two.

“Hey,” she whispers. “How are two of my favorite people holding up?”

Rebecca’s shoulders drop a bit of their tension as she sets down Bruce to go hug his aunt. “We’re sleepy,” she responds back. “And forever grateful for you.”

“Don’t be grateful just yet, Will cooked,” Elaine remarked. “Bruce, Jen’s really excited to see you. She’s lying on the couch.”

Bruce trips over a shoelace as he races up the stairs. Elaine laughs as she guides him to where Jen is currently sleeping as reruns of some animated show plays.

“Bruce!” Jen says as he pokes her leg. She pats the seat next to her, and then lays down again. “Took you a long time. I wanted you to come to school with me today.” Rebecca smiles fondly as Bruce tells her all about the “extremely, super-duper cool hotel,” and the “weirdest thing I ever saw, Jen!”

Elaine and Will sit down with Rebecca in the kitchen, putting Jen and Bruce down to bed.

“We’re here to help, you know that right?” Rebecca nods. She sinks onto Elaine’s shoulder.

“I know. I know.”

And they do help, actually. Elaine helps her sister find a job with Stark Industries, working in their marketing department. She takes Bruce to meet Howard’s son when they go to the same school, and Tony’s there for a robotic demonstration. She honestly thinks her life is over when Bruce corrects Tony on a measurement. She thinks Howard will fire her, her life will fall apart, and all hope is lost.

But Tony grins, and drags Bruce to his makeshift workshop. Finally, there’s someone on “his level.”

Jen is a very shy girl, but one that is always ready to fight for what’s right. Rebecca and Elaine both suspect she’ll be a lawyer or something similar. She always can argue a little bit better than both Bruce and her father, which is always a delight to see. Bruce and Jen help each other come out of their shells and realize that they can have friends and they can be happy pursuing their hobbies and interests.

As Rebecca kisses Bruce on the cheek as she gets into the car to drive home, leaving him in college, she knows he’ll be okay. Bruce is rooming with Tony and a very nice boy named James who seems like he will be the one who will be either responsible or the instigator. (As time goes on, she discovers that it’s a little bit of both.)

‘Love you,” Bruce says, pulling her into a hug. “And I’ll miss you. Text you tonight with an update on how three college boys cook.” She laughs, giving him a final glance.

“I’m so happy for you,” she says. “Stay out of trouble.”

(Which of course, he doesn’t do. But that’s another scrapbook that she hasn’t finished quite yet.)

#abuse tw #alcohol tw #rebecca banner #elaine banner #bruce banner #jennifer walters #listen: i love jennifer with whoel heart #and bruce #bruce!!!!!#my boy #lovelyirony writes #i can't find this on my dash and i've tried looking for it so i'm just posting it now #or rather....reposting #at least i think i am

163 notes · View notes

timehealsfanfictionbka · 5 years

Text

Time Heals.....Chapter Twenty-Six

Robyn stretched with a groan before she opened her eyes to be utterly confused. She sat up as her eyes roamed the room she was in. Gripping the sheets and noticing their silk texture, she frowned, “this isn’t my bed.”

She flipped the cover off her body and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. Settling her feet on the ground, she felt carpet instead of hardwood, “this is definitely not my room.”

She felt for a light and touched an end table. Running her hands up what seemed like a lamp, she felt for a light switch and twisted it on. Illuminating the room, she felt relief flow over her body as she recognized the photo sitting on the end table next to the lamp. She was at Chris’s house. She didn’t mean to fall asleep after the movie but she just felt oddly tired. Why didn’t he just take her home though? Now it’s gonna be late when she drives home.

Chris felt the tingle go up his spine and paused his music to listen for any unfamiliar noise. Hearing footsteps, he figured that Robyn had finally decided to wake up. It had been hours since they left the movie theater. She slept through a stop at the supermarket, him carrying her up the stairs and everything. Her timing was great because he had just finished cooking dinner and set it in the oven. Figuring it was better to meet her at the stairs than have her wandering around looking for him, he left the kitchen and went towards his living room. He had just stopped at the staircase as her foot hit the last step.

“Hey.”

She smiled, “Hey.”

“You sleep ok?”

“Yea. Nice bed.”

“Thanks. I was gonna give you a few more minutes before I woke you up to eat.”

“I appreciate that. Sorry about falling asleep on you.”

“It’s fine. You were tired. We need to talk about that by the way.”

“And why would we need to talk about my tiredness?”

“Because you aren’t sleeping well apparently.”

“Or maybe I just needed a nap. I had been up early this morning, Mr. Brown.”

“Uh huh.”

“Chris, I have no reason to lie to you. My sleep patterns are fine, I promise.”

“Ok. Well, your request awaits you.”

Chris took Robyn’s hand and started walking back to the kitchen.

“I thought you didn’t have any steak to cook.”

“I stopped at the supermarket. You’ve been asleep for a long time.”

“What time is it?”

“After 8.”

“Damn, it’s gonna be super dark when I drive home.”

“You can stay and leave in the morning unless you have something else to do.”

“I don’t know if us staying under the same roof would be a good idea.”

“We did fine at our last sleepover besides you can have the room I’m in and-”

“I do not want to sleep in your marital bed and the last few hours doesn’t count because I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t sleep in my marital bed for the last few hours either. That was a guest room.”

“So why is all your stuff in it?”

“Because I’m sleeping in a guest room. I haven’t cleaned out my bedroom yet.”

“Oh, then where are you gonna sleep?”

“I have another guest room down here. We won’t even be on the same floor, it’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know, Chris.”

“Look, I’ll feel a lot better if you wait until the morning to leave. It’ll keep me from having to worry about you unless I drive you home and send for your car in the morning.”

“That’s too much. I guess I’ll stay the night.”

“Good. What you want to drink?”

“Juice. It’s a little late for a beer.”

“Says who? You work tomorrow?”

“No, no overtime for me.”

“Then have a beer. You can sleep late, the owner of the house won’t care.”

Robyn giggled, “you’re silly. Corona with lemon then”

“You got it. You can have a seat, I’ll bring your plate to you.”

“Chris, you don’t-”

“Let me, ok?”

“Ok.”

Robyn watched as Chris moved around the kitchen and it just reminded her of the first time he ever cooked for her.

“VA, remember the first time you cooked for me?”

“I remember the first time I attempted to cook, that shit was god awful.”

“It was not that bad.”

“You didn’t even eat it as it clearly wasn’t edible. That would mean it was bad.”

“The gesture was sweet though.”

“I guess. Just know this food is edible, my repertoire isn’t very large but I can cook a little.”

“The breakfast you made before was pretty good so you should be alright.”

“Oh, you do have some confidence in me?”

“Depends on the situation.”

Chris scoffed as he sat the cold bottle of Corona with a lemon wedge floating in it on the table in front of her, “what you want for your potato?”

“Cheese, salt and butter.”

“Anything for the steak?”

“I’ll try it plain then make a decision.”

“Ok.”

Chris placed two plates of food on the table then sat a butter dish, a small bowl of shredded cheese and moved the salt and pepper shakers in front of Robyn, “and dinner is served.”

Robyn took a sip of her beer before picking up her knife and fork. Cutting a small piece of steak, she popped it into her mouth and chewed. She dipped in her head in Chris’s direction before cutting another piece. He smiled and started to eat his own food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robyn plopped down on the couch and folded her hands over her stomach, “You did an excellent job, Mr. Brown.”

Chris chuckled as he moved her legs to sit beneath them then settled them back in his lap, “Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.”

“I was a little skeptical but it was really good. Thank you.”

“No problem. The least I could do.”

“So what did you and Mama J talk about besides me?”

“Besides you? Nothing. She just wanted to check on me since I hadn’t been to see her in a while.”

“Really? That’s interesting.”

“I think she’s back to subconsciously planning our wedding again.”

“When did she start?”

“9th grade.”

Robyn laughed, “If I didn’t love her so much, I’d strangle her.”

“Tell me about it. I really don’t wanna kill the mood but are we gonna talk or did Mama kind of turn you off from it?”

“I can’t avoid the topic forever I guess. I just haven’t come to terms with your confession, to be honest.”

“I can understand that. Please know I never meant to burden you with anything, that’s kind of why I didn’t want to say anything. That day I just got comfortable and it slipped out.”

“That was one of hell of a slip, Chris.”

“I know.”

“You know when we admitted that we love each other back in high school, a part of me thought the feeling would just pass at some point. Maybe it was just a proximity thing, you know. Then junior year came, senior year, college came and it never lessened. I was glad you had Tiana. I just always known that would never be me.”

“Well, I thought the opposite. My biggest fear was that it would lessen and then I wouldn’t have my best friend anymore. A part of me thought it would be you eventually but then I met Tiana and figured why rock the boat when I have a sure thing next to me.”

“I wasn’t a sure thing to you?”

“You’ve never been a sure thing to me. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just wasn’t in the place to be the kind of man I always believed you deserved. I definitely didn’t want to be the one to put you through any growing pains. I’m glad you got married and you had someone to love you right, that’s all I ever wanted for you.”

“And you never thought it could’ve been you.”

“I thought it could be but I was afraid I’d screw it up before we ever got to find out.”

“Were you ever in love with Tiana?”

“I was. Not the same way I was in love with you but I was in love with her. She was different, I thought she’d make me a better man and in a way, she did but I can’t say that our relationship was really ever something to write home about.”

“So why stay?”

“I knew her. She was comfortable. And not to be an ass, but better the devil you know than the one you don’t.”

“You make her sound like an old blanket or something.”

Chris laughed, “I’m not trying to really, it’s just she was comfortable for me that way. I didn’t really have to worry about trying as bad as that sounds. I gave her space, money, and jewelry and that’s really all I had to do. She was happy. I was content. Life was great.”

“And what changed?”

“I got tired of comfortable. I felt like I was stuck and it wasn’t an ordinary, you’re getting older stuck. A part of me felt like I was wasting my life. I didn’t have the children I wanted. I wasn’t who I wanted to be and it started to spill over into other parts of my life.”

“Like sex?”

“Like sex.”

“She never noticed the difference?”

“We rarely had sex so there wasn’t much to notice.”

“You rarely had sex? Now that’s shocking.”

“Tell me about it.”

Robyn chuckled, “I remember as teenagers when we found that kama sutra book in that chest we brought from that garage sale.”

“Oh yea. I swore once I got married that I was gonna try everything and be like this sex master.”

“You were one delusional, horny little 13 year old.”

“I mean I did get through a few positions before Tiana though.”

“Ewww...TMI.”

Chris laughed, “Don’t act like you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t. I had no interest in your sex life then and I have no interest in it now. Thank you very much.”

“Whatever, Robyn.”

“What changed though?”

“I got the letter to return back to Texas and I felt like it was my chance. I wasn’t thinking about leaving Tiana at all but I was hoping a change of scenery would change our situation. Maybe we had just been away from reality for too long.”

“Reality?”

“I mean it was just me and Tiana in Paris. No outside family. No one from our past to remind us of anything, it was a clean slate to be who we wanted without any interference of who we were.”

“And once you got to Texas?”

“Seeing you at my coming home party rocked me to my core. I wasn’t expecting you to show up and bumping into you just triggered something. I only had intentions of mending our friendship but as we spent time together even though you tried avoiding me like the damn plague, all those old feelings just came back.”

“Chris, I don’t want you to want me just for nostalgia purposes.”

“I know. I don’t want to want you for those reasons either. I ruined your life eight years ago, I don’t want to do that again.”

“You didn’t ruin my life. My children are absolutely everything to me and maybe things happened the way they did for a reason. What’s to say if you had known and stayed that we’d still be friends? What’s to say that we’d even be together?”

“That’s a logical way to look at it.”

“There was no guarantee that we would’ve bounced back from that night.”

“Maybe if I hadn’t gotten married.”

“You getting married wasn’t the issue. As I said, I never expected you to not get married.”

“Would you have considered us getting together if I hadn’t left that night?”

Robyn sighed and pulled her legs out of Chris’s lap to tuck them underneath her bottom, “I wish I knew the answer to that question. I think that’s what drives me crazy the most, the what ifs.”

“I know what you mean.”

Chris settled his hands behind his head and leaned back against the back of the couch. Robyn rubbed her hands against her thighs as she watched him fidget about, “you ok?”

“I’m good. Glad you’re here.”

“Really?”

“Your presence is solace for me, always has been.”

“That’s sweet.”

Chris looked over to her and reached his hand out to her. Robyn hesitated for a minute before taking his hand and cuddling up next to him. Chris wrapped his arms around her and settled his head against hers, “you need anything?”

“No, this is good.”

Chris kissed her temple then settled his head back against hers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Robyn had just pulled her nightshirt over her head when she heard a knock on the bedroom door. She glanced up as Chris leaned his head into the doorway and asked, “you going to bed?”

“More like lay down and watch some TV. Not as tired as I thought I would be.”

“You can sit in here with me if you want. I slept too long and can’t sleep.”

Chris shrugged his shoulders and walked in to sit on the bed. Robyn wrapped the cover around her shoulders and tucked her feet underneath her. Chris settled back against the pillows and put his hands behind his head, “what you wanna talk about?”

“Nothing. Everything. I don’t know. Tell me about Paris.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything. Where’d you live? What’d it look like? I’ve never been out of the country before.”

“We’ll have to remedy that one day, you-”

Chris paused as he saw Robyn’s brow go up, “I will be taking you to Paris and wherever else you want to go, even if it’s just as friends. And no, you can’t talk me out of it.”

Robyn chuckled as she brushed her hair over her shoulder, “just because it’s too late to argue, I’ll let you have that.”

Chris laughed, “You know we’re pretty good for each other.”

“Yea until I want to kill you.”

“You’d never kill me. Hurt me. Break a few bones but never kill me.”

“Don’t be too sure, VA.”

“You still my friend?”

“I’m still sitting here, aren’t I?”

Chris smiled and pushed her legs with his hand, “you’re annoying.”

#chrianna #timehealsfanfiction

11 notes · View notes

criterioncollectionashaiku · 5 years

Text

Criterion Collection as Haiku: Paris, Texas

I’ve seen over 250 movies in the Criterion Collection, and one of my all-time favorites has consistently been Wim Wenders’ 1984 film, Paris, Texas. The movie has popped up twice this week in very unexpected ways: once last night at a dinner with friends, and also on Reddit’s Criterion page, where someone linked to an essay by Nicky Smith called “The Emotional Terrorism of Paris, Texas.” Smith HATES Paris, Texas, and I’ll explain why shortly. Her essay has definitely changed the way I’ve thought about the world within the movie, but I’m here today to provide a different read — one that explains why I’ve loved it all these years.

Needless to say, major spoilers ahead. If you’ve never seen Paris, Texas and would like to view it tabula rasa, then stop reading and come back after you’ve had a chance to watch and digest it.

First, let’s start with a quick plot summary: The movie opens with Travis (played by Harry Dean Stanton) walking through a desert. He’s dressed in a dusty suit, a red cap, and an unkempt beard. We come to learn that Travis has been missing for four years. No one has heard from or seen him until, one day, his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), gets a call that Travis is at a doctor’s office in a remote part of Texas. Walt and his wife Anne (Aurore Clément) live in California, but upon hearing the news of his brother, Walt immediately drives to Texas. By the time he arrives, Travis has left the medical office and is roaming the desert once again. Walt searches aimlessly for Travis and eventually finds his brother.

Walt is full of questions, but Travis remains mostly silent. The two eventually make it back to Los Angeles, where Travis is reunited with his now seven-year-old son, Hunter (Hunter Carson), who for the past four years was raised by Walt and Anne. Hunter’s mom/Travis’ ex, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), left Hunter in Walt and Anne’s custody shortly after Travis left, and she’s had limited communication with Anne since then.

The first half of the movie is about Travis’ return to humanity — learning to reconnect with his son and brother and sister-in-law. He slowly becomes more communicative, although he’s largely silent on what happened between him and Jane.

The second half of the movie begins when Anne tells Travis that she thinks she knows where Jane is. For a year now, Jane has been making monthly deposits in a bank account under Hunter’s name that she asked Anne to open for her. These deposits always happen on the 5th of the month, and they’re always at a bank in Houston. Travis asks what day it is, and Anne says it’s the 1st of November.

Travis is determined to find Jane. When he tells Hunter this, Hunter says he wants to come along, too. Even though Travis knows Walt and Anne wouldn’t approve, he picks Hunter up from school and the two drive to Houston to find Jane.

They spot her at the bank Anne mentioned and follow her to a peep show club. Travis leaves Hunter in the car, then goes into the club to confirm that Jane does, indeed, work there. The next day he leaves Hunter in a hotel room and goes to the club for the climactic scene between Travis and Jane. Because it’s a peep show, the glass in the room is one-way: Travis, as the customer, can see Jane, but Jane can’t see Travis. All communications is done through a telephone on Travis’ side of the mirror and an intercom on Jane’s side. Travis tells a story in the third-person that’s actually their story: a story of a man and a woman in love, but the guy gets jealous and possessive. One day the woman says she’s pregnant, and things are okay for a while, but then once the baby is born the mother has postpartum depression, and the two start fighting more and more. The guy starts drinking and becoming abusive; the breaking point is one night when he catches the woman trying to escape, and he ties her to the stove. He goes back to sleep and wakes up to their trailer engulfed in flames, the woman and the son gone.

At this point, the conversation flips. Travis shines the light in his face so that Jane can see him, but he can’t see her. She has a monologue about how she couldn’t care for Hunter by herself, that she had an emptiness inside her. And even though she loved Hunter, it hurt to talk to Anne about the boy, so Jane stopped calling. She also played out conversations in her mind between herself and Travis, all the things she’d say, but since Travis disappeared she eventually moved on. Travis tells Jane where Hunter is, and the movie ends with Jane and Hunter embracing while Travis watches them from the top of a parking garage across the street before he drives off into the night.

Whew. Okay, so that summary was a little bit longer than I expected. But I wanted to lay out some of the key points that I’ll get to in a bit. Before that, let me summarize Nicky Smith’s argument about why she hates Paris, Texas. Her critique is with the second half of the movie, when Travis kidnaps Hunter to go to Texas. The crux of the matter is that we don’t ever see Walt and Anne again, and thus we don’t witness the deeply hurtful emotional turmoil they’re going through. Moreover, the climactic scene between Travis and Jane, Smith argues, is problematic. “What’s criminal and irresponsible,” she writes, “is shown as heart-warming and fun.” She views Travis’ monologue as valorization of his actions, completely whitewashing his atrocious behavior.

I have a very different read on these points. Because for me, what I love about Paris, Texas, is the structural reversal of traditional story arcs. This is not a redemption story. We don’t start with a character we dislike whom we grow to like (or at least empathize with). The example I’m thinking of here is Citizen Kane, a movie I absolutely hated when I saw it in high school. I couldn’t get over how much of an asshole Orson Welles’ character, Charles Foster Kane, was. But I rewatched it maybe five or six years ago and had a slightly different take. I still think Kane is a piece of shit, yet isn’t the whole “twist” that Rosebud is his childhood sled supposed to be humanizing? It’s an element to make him appear more gentle, to get us to feel for this horribly despicable character.

Paris, Texas does the opposite. Here, we start with an inherently relatable character. Casting Harry Dean Stanton as Travis was a genius move, because Staton’s face — especially when rugged and sunburned — is one that conveys sadness. He seems so gentle and quiet, so hurt and broken that we, as the audience, are drawn to him. The film’s grammar tells us that Travis is our protagonist, and by virtue of being the protagonist we give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s a Good Guy.

But this isn’t true at all — Travis is horrible. He’s abusive and emotionally manipulative, as we learn in the scene between him and Jane. I don’t view Travis’ monologue as in any way valorizing his actions or whitewashing over them. Instead, this is a deeply affecting moment of reckoning — not of Jane to Travis (who has had plenty of time to do so already), but of the viewer to Travis. We have to come to terms that this person we’ve followed for the past two hours was (is?) a monster. This isn’t redemption because the movie never full exonerates Travis. I had to put the “is?” in parentheses a sentence ago because I’m not sure myself how much Travis has changed. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he hasn’t fully earned it.

Take Smith’s example of kidnapping. That is, indeed, a supremely fucked up thing Travis does. I’m not going to try to excuse that behavior, but I do think Travis’ actions aren’t quite as nefarious as Smith depicts. In the scene when Travis and Hunter are driving after Hunter cuts out of school early, Hunter says he wants to come along to find Jane. Travis responds, “What about Walt and Anne?” because he’s aware of how this is going to affect them.

A few hours later, when they’ve reached San Bernardino, Travis has Hunter call Walt and Anne from a payphone. And here’s where we DO see Walt and Anne’s emotional turmoil. Walt is borderline angry at Hunter for not being home yet, and once they find out Travis is taking Hunter to Texas, Anne sobs. This is the last time we see them in the movie, and I argue that it’s the perfect way to hint at their devastation without turning it into a melodrama. Immediately after the call, Travis reiterates that Hunter can go home any time he wants — just say the word, and they’ll turn around.

The subsequent scenes of Travis and Hunter making their way to Texas aren’t some feel-good buddy road movie — at least not in my opinion. Most of their travel is in darkness, notably how they have to sleep in a laundromat because Travis can’t afford (or doesn’t choose to make?) a hotel reservation. This is foreshadowing of Travis’ more reckless side, the part of him we’ll soon learn when he talks with Jane.

Also, returning to Anne and Walt for a second: the fact that the road trip sequence follows the call from the payphone highlights their absence rather than disregards it, at least to me. The way a musical motif can establish a mood for a scene, Walt and Anne’s distraught conversation hangs over the subsequent scenes like an air of discord.

As I said before, one of my favorite parts of Paris, Texas is the structural reversals. I’ve already mentioned Travis’ arc from sympathetic to unsympathetic, but I’d like to point out a couple more. First, Jane. Our view of her changes as the movie progresses, one that’s an inverse of Travis’: I think the movie tries to get you to dislike her from the beginning, only to side with her in the end. Although both Travis and Jane are absent parents, I feel like there’s more tacit blame placed on Jane. One example is during a scene when Walt projects home movies onto a screen. Here we see Travis and Jane and Hunter on a trip to the beach with Anne and Walter. Everyone appears happy, the way we’re told to smile for photographs. Of course, knowing what we know of Travis by the end of the film, this is more Jane pretending that everything is calm and good. However, upon a first viewing, when seen through Travis’ eyes, here we see a woman who has left her family and continues to be missing. How could she be so cold-hearted???

But of course she’s not cold-hearted. She’s anything but. Jane cares so deeply for Hunter that it hurts her too much to hear about his growth and development during those conversations with Anne on the phone. She’s flawed, too, of course, which is what I love about this movie — no one is perfect. Everyone is complicated. But here, in the case of Jane, we grow to empathize with her the more we learn about her story. As our opinion of Travis diminishes, our view of Jane seesaws upward. She is a survivor of domestic abuse and a mother who never really got to raise her son because she thought she was doing what was best for Hunter.

And here’s another one of those narrative reversals: while most stories clunkily reveal exposition at the beginning of the movie, here the exposition is crammed into the last 20 minutes. We learn more about these characters in the end than we do in the whole two hours prior. In that way, the exposition becomes a twist — and not a gotcha twist like The Sixth Sense, but a genuinely disconcerting and unsettling twist.

Okay, one last example, and it has to do with Travis. If the expected narrative arc is for a character to go from being lost to being found, this film does the opposite: it opens with Travis being found and ends with him lost, adrift in the night.

There are so many reasons I love Paris, Texas. The dialogue is honest, funny, raw. The cinematography is gorgeous — all the colors! Ry Cooder’s slide guitar score is unique and fitting. The acting is phenomenal (aside from Hunter, who is wooden, but he’s a child, so I’m not holding it against him). However, one aspect that I don’t think gets discussed enough is Paris, Texas’ narrative structural elements. There’s a lot to appreciate on the surface of this movie, but it should be no surprise — especially given the subject matter — that there’s way more going on underneath.

One-way glass prisms prisons of their past, pent-up penitence roamed free.

#paris texas #wim wenders #dean stockwell #harry dean stanton

5 notes · View notes

lostinsimsland-archive · 6 years

Photo

get to know me tag~

rules: make your simself and answer the 125 questions provided!

question time!

1. what is your full name?: kaitlyn dawn! 2. what are your nicknames?: kait, katie 3. birthday?: october 14th! 4. what is your favorite book series?: the if i stay + where she went books! 5. do you believe in aliens or ghosts?: ghosts definitely. 6. who is your favorite author?: lauren oliver! 7. what is your favorite radio station?: i don’t listen to the radio lol 8. what is your favorite flavor of anything?: chocolate everything pls 9. what word would you often use to describe something great or wonderful?: idk but i say “holy shit” a lot 10. what is your current favorite song?: monster by dodie 11. what is your favorite word?: fuck 12. what was the last song you listened to?: monster by dodie 13. what tv show would you recommend for everyone to watch?: scream 14. what is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down?: shitty romcoms 100% 15. do you play video games?: yes 16. what is your biggest fear?: losing loved ones 17. what is your best quality, in your opinion?: i’m good at cheering ppl up i guess. 18. what is your worst quality, in your opinion?: i’m an anxious mess 19. do you like cats or dogs better?: cats. but my mom’s allergic smh 20. what’s your favorite season?: fall + winter 21. are you in a relationship?: does being madly in love with my best friend count? 22. what is something you miss from your childhood?: i’m still technically a child, but i miss literally anything i did with my dad. 23. who is your best friend?: if i told you, i’d be giving away who my crush is~ 24. what is your eye color?: hazel 25. what is your hair color?: dark brown 26. who is someone you love? @waterlily-sims is my only friend, and i cherish her. 27. who is someone you trust?: see 26 28. who is someone you think about often?: my dad 29. are you currently excited about/for something?: i’m gonna play dbh after this so i’m pumped 30. what is your biggest obsession?: detroit become human 31. what was your favorite tv show as a child?: ok look, blues clues was the shit. 32. who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone?: there’s this kid at my school named carter. he’s pretty cool i guess. (i’m kidding, we share memes all the time and it’s great.) 33. are you superstitious?: fuck yeah 34. do you have any unusual phobias?: not that i know of 35. do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?: behind it 36. what is your favorite hobby?: writing and drawing 37. what was the last book you read?: before i fall by lauren oliver 38. what was the last movie you watched?: idk 39. what musical instruments do you play, if any?: i played viola in 6th grade 40. what is your favorite animal?: butterflies 41. what are your top 5 tumblr blogs that you follow?: everyone 42. what superpower do you wish you had?: i just wanna be an android ok. 43. when and where do you feel most at peace?: writing my shitty fanfictions in my bed. 44. what makes you smile?: seeing other people i love being happy 45. what sports do you play, if any?: what’s a sport? 46. what is your favorite drink?: sprite 47. when was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody?: probably sometime last year 48. are you afraid of heights?: yES 49. what is your biggest pet peeve?: people ghosting their friends 50. have you ever been to a concert?: yep 51. are you vegan/vegetarian?: i tried being vegetarian. that lasted 2 weeks 52. when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?: a youtuber (we’re talking 4th grade me who said i wanted to be a gamer lmao) 53. what fictional world would you like to live in?: the detroit become human world 54. what is something you worry about?: other people’s opinions of me 55. are you scared of the dark?: yes 56. do you like to sing?: i do, but i’m not great. 57. have you ever skipped school?: i’ve faked being sick, but i’ve never gone and left halfway through. 58. what is your favorite place on the planet?: my bed 59. where would you like to live?: detroit 60. do you have any pets?: 2 dogs 61. are you more of an early bird or night owl?: night owl 62. do you like sunrises or sunsets better?: sunset 63. do you know how to drive?: nope 64. do you prefer earbuds or headphones?: earbuds 65. have you ever had braces?: no but i need them tbh 66. what is your favorite genre of music?: indie pop / alternative 67. who is your hero?: my mom 68. do you read comic books?: no 69. what makes you the most angry?: everything 70. do you prefer to read on an electronic device or a real book?: both 71. what is your favorite subject in school?: art 72. do you have any siblings?: no, my mom isn’t available 4 commited relationships 73. what was the last thing you bought?: music 74. how tall are you?: 5′7 75. can you cook?: i can bake 76. what are three things that you love?: sunflowers, music, sims 77. what are three things that you hate?: stress, school, people 78. do you have more female friends or male friends?: female 79. what is your sexual orientation?: pansexual 80. where do you currently live?: texas 81. who was the last person you texted?: @waterlily-sims 82. when was the last night you cried?: who knows 83. who is your favorite youtuber?: vixella 84. do you like to take selfies?: sometimes 85. what is your favorite app?: tumblr 86. what is your relationship with your parent(s) like?: my mom is the best, and i haven’t figured out whether my dad ended up in heaven or hell 87. what is your favorite foreign accent?: british 88. what is a place that you’ve never been to, but want to visit?: paris 89. what is your favorite number?: 42 90. can you juggle?: nope 91. are you religious?: nope 92. do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting?: space 93. do you consider yourself to be a daredevil?: fuck no 94. are you allergic to anything?: dogs (but only the ones that shed) 95. can you curl your tongue?: probably 96. can you wiggle your ears?: no 97. how often do you admit that you were wrong about something?: pretty often, but it takes me a while to realize that i’m wrong 98. do you prefer the forest or beach?: beach 99. what is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you?: not everyone is as bad as one person who fucked you over. (we love my therapist) 100. are you a good liar?: depends on who i’m lying to 101. what is your hogwarts house?: hufflepuff 102. do you talk to yourself?: yep 103. are you an introvert or extrovert?: introvert 104. do you keep a journal/diary?: i try to, but it’s not going great 105. do you believe in second chances?: yes 106. if you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do?: turn it in 107. do you believe people are capable of change?: yes 108. are you ticklish?: yes, but if you even think about tickling me, be prepared for war. 109. have you ever been on a plane?: yeah 110. do you have any piercings?: no 111. what fictional character do you wish was real?: the entire dbh cast 112. do you have any tattoos?: nooooo 113. what is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far?: letting go of old friends 114. do you believe in karma?: yes 115. do you wear glasses/contacts?: i’m supposed to 116. do you want children?: YES 117. who is the smartest person you know?: my therapist 118. what is your most embarrassing memory?: all of them 119. have you ever pulled an all-nighter?: fuck yeah 120. what color are most of your clothes?: black + moss green 121. do you like adventures?: depends 122. have you ever been on tv?: i got interveiwed on the news because somebody stole my special needs bike (i have a disease that affects how i walk) 123. how old are you?: 14 124. what is your favorite quote?: “you can’t kill me, i’m not alive” 125. do you prefer sweet or savory foods?: sweet

#get to know me #kait.txt #x

2 notes · View notes

mz-pixie · 6 years

Text

Tagged by: @texmexchexmix Thanks Darlin’!

Rules: Bold what you prefer, and tag 10 people.

coffee or tea -- Can I have both please? lol

early bird or night owl

chocolate or vanilla

spring or fall -- Again, both are good. lol

silver or gold

pop or alternative

freckles or dimples

snakes or sharks -- Um, neither. 0.0

mountains or fields

thunderstorm or lightning

Egyptian or Greek mythology

ivory or scarlet

flute or lyre -- I play the flute so it’s a given. lol

eyes or lips

witch or fairy -- Um, look at my username. lol

opal or diamond

butterflies or honeybee

macaroons or eclairs

typewritten or handwritten

secret garden or secret library -- Both please!

rooftop or balcony

spicy or mild

opera or ballet -- Both again. I am a musician so these both speak to me. lol

London or Paris

Vincent can Gogh or Claude Monet

denim or leather

potions or spells

ocean or desert

mermaid or siren

masquerade ball or cocktail party

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 followers you want to know better!

Age: 29

Birthplace: Texas

Current Time: 4 PM

Drink you last had: Green Tea

Easiest person to talk to: My mom

Favorite Song: “What Ifs” by Kaine Brown and Lauren Alana

Grossest memory: I hate telling these sorts of stories, but it’s the best I’ve got. When I was in middle school I got food poisoning while at a summer engineering program. I fought it all day, but alas after lunch in my Algebra class I lost the fight. I couldn’t get out of the damn desk fast enough and puked all over the place and it managed to get all over my friend that sat next to me. Fuck those damn one sided desks.

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff, but I relate to Ravenclaw on a spiritual level.

Envious of people: Sometimes in certain situations, but only over silly things. I look at others and use them to give me the drive to be better.

Killed Someone: WTF kind of question is this????

Love at first sight, or walk by again: Walk by again. I don’t believe in “Love” at first sight. More like lust if we’re being honest.

Name: If I trust you or know you well enough I will give you my real name. But on this cesspool of humanity, I go by Pixie.

Number of siblings: 1

One Wish: To get my finances in order and be comfortable without worry.

Person you called last: My boss

Question you are asked most: Are you really a florist? Answer: Yes. Don’t act so surprised.

Song you last sung: All Around Me by Flyleaf

Time you woke up: 7 AM

Underwear color: Black

Vacation Destination: Europe, anywhere I have heritage basically. lol

Worst habit: Self Deprecation and probably swearing. lol

X-rays: Knee when I hyper-extended it during Marching Band in HS. And normal dental X-Rays.

Favorite food: New Mexican/Mexican Food, Italian, Southern Cooking... Fatass status. lmao

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Tagging: @itashiro-hitsuchiha, @angelsoffiore, @vickismusehub, @the-smirking-fox, @salamanderzhub, @kenta-koma, @fenixsmusehoard, @fauxfemininity, @huntsman-ash , @scarletblackout

Sorry Guys! lol You obviously don’t have to fill this out. Just though it would be fun to share. I totally understand if you don’t want to! XD

#From the Mun;;#Pixie's Musings;;#// Because why the hell not???

4 notes · View notes

bike42 · 3 years

Text

Kentucky Derby Weekend April 29 – May 2, 2021

Wednesday evening, we took Sox the cat downtown to Bailey’s condo, then came home to pack (the cat hates to see suitcases). I can pack for a hiking trip with my eyes practically closed, but this kind of trip took some thinking! I had to match shoes, purses and jewelry to all of my outfits, and then of course there was my hat. Since we’d decided to drive the 6+ hours to Louisville, space wasn’t an issue and we were able to load our car with hat boxes, a large bag of snacks, yoga mat, pillows and suitcases!

We were up at 6am on Thursday, anxious to get going, and we were on the road just after 7am. As we were packing last night, Jeff wondered if our iPass was in the new Audi – I thought it was, but we didn’t check. We had decided to travel straight down through Illinois and skip the Chicago madness so I was thinking tolls wouldn’t be an issue anyway. But as we got to Janesville, we recalled we still had the one toll near Rockford, so I checked the glove box – the iPass was not there. It had been in our old Audi, so I thought it was odd that we’d have moved it to the other car – we haven’t travelled to Illinois since February 2020. Then Jeff said he thought he remembered that our new Audi has a built-in toll pass?! I got out the manual and sure enough! It led me through the steps to get it activated, and I was able to get it set up just moments before we hit the Illinois border.

We had rain through most of Illinois, but decent traffic and no major slowdowns even though there was a lot of road construction. We turned east at Bloomington toward Danville, IL which started us reminiscing about our 2013 cycling trip down the length of the state.

The trees were more leafed out than ours and it seemed to get greener with every mile we traveled. As we got south of Indianapolis, we saw our first Waffle House, so we stopped the Waffle House in Taylorsville for our favorite breakfast (regardless of the time of day) when we’re in the south (waffles, eggs over easy, split a side of bacon).

We arrived in Louisville and checked into the downtown Hilton Garden Inn just before 3pm. That left us ample downtime for yoga, naps, catching up email from the day, and showers before our 7pm dinner reservation at Vincenzo’s.

So many experiences already on the trip feel novel, packing last night, a six-hour road trip, and now checking into the nicest hotel we’ve stayed in since February 2020. Once upside to the pandemic and its quarantine is the pure appreciation I have for the ability to travel again!

The restaurant was an easy walk from the hotel, and even though we’d checked the weather app before we headed down from our room, we were surprised to have sprinkles on our faces when we stepped out onto the sidewalk. No worries, Jeff had his rain coat and I had my beautiful poncho that I’d bought in Paris two years ago on a rainy April day.

We had a great leisurely dinner, four courses and a bottle of wine. It was nice to be dressed up and out together again. The staff and service were amazing, and we tried to chat a bit with the gentleman we thought was the proprietor (Vincenzo?), but he seemed to have limited English (or hearing). We’d heard on the local news before going out that that town of Louisville was so excited about this week-end – several hotels and restaurants were booked full – and that’s news!

After dinner, we walked through the Fourth street party area, which was fairly subdued at 6:30pm but we expected it’d be hopping later. There was a friendly guy on the street having a cigarette, he was a beer salesman named Scott from Appleton, WI. He was excited to tell us all about what to expect at the derby, how crowded this area should be right now (in a normal year), all the famous people he’d previously partied with here, etc. He’d have gone on all night, but his wife was calling him from a nearby table telling him his dinner was getting cold!

We had a lazy Friday morning, then we were out on the street at 9am to walk to waterfront park. Our hotel was a great location, and we found it was a beautiful day. It wasn’t long before we were peeling off layers. We walked along the Ohio river, east to the converted railroad bridge called the Big Four Bridge, the headed back. The river itself is muddy and filled with debris, but the Waterfront Park was fabulous. All of the people we encountered were so friendly – many greeting us with “Happy Derby!”

We had tickets to tour the Louisville Slugger factory and museum at 11am, so we walked back along the waterfront and found it in a funky part of old town (Main Street) – the area that had been known as Whiskey Row at the turn of the century. We really enjoyed the tour. Since I’d booked it last week, I had this song lyric with “Louisville Slugger” trying to work its was to the front of my brain. I took to google when we were having lunch later and figured out its from Mary Chapin Carpenter’s song “The Bug.” It goes: “sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug … sometimes you’re the Louisville Slugger, baby, sometimes you the ball … “

After lunch we wandered into the Evan Williams Experience, where we sampled Peach Mint Juleps – yum. Back to the hotel, we had a nap, then showers – ready for our next event at 3:30pm. This was an event booked by the group where we got our tickets: Princeton Sports Group. It was billed as “Derby Eve at Buffalo Trace,” but we weren’t sure what to expect. We got to the lobby and found we were a busload of people, and we were headed to the Buffalo Trace Distillery, about an hour away in Frankfort! Our guide and driver were great, they plied us with cocktails and information about bourbon and the trip went fast.

When we arrived at the distillery, there were three other packed busses, so we had a wait a bit to get through the temperature screening and get assigned to a guide. The distillery had a policy that everyone wear masks (except when seated in the tasting room), even outside, and some in our group were pretty vocal about thinking that requirement was ridiculous (especially the group from Texas!).

While I enjoyed the tour of the rickhouses (3-4 floor buildings where whiskey is aged after its barreled), and the room where the empty barrels were stored, I was disappointed that we didn’t get to tour the actual distillery – I wanted to see the chemistry! None-the-less, we had an enthusiastic tour guide and it continued to be a beautiful day and we enjoyed the beauty and the history of the property while we waited our turn to enter the tasting room. There we were socially distanced at spots with 5 shots laid out for each of us – a vodka (too strong for me just straight), and three bourbons with progressively better quality: Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and Blanton’s Single Barrel (we’d been introduced to that last month by our nephew Calvin, a far superior bourbon). We thought the tasting finished with their Bourbon Cream (like a Bailey’s) which was yummy on its own, but they served it with a shot glass of root beer and when we combined the two – we found heaven! Since it was Derby time, they finished the tasting with a demonstration of making Mint Juleps, and we each were served a large portion of that!

After the tasting, we had some time to shop, so we headed to the store and bought a bottle of their Bourbon Cream (they sell out of Blanton’s as soon as its bottled, or we’d have bought that too). By then we were mildly buzzed and in need of food.

Back on the bus, we travelled about 20 minutes before stopping at Jeptha Creek – an event center where we had dinner, more drinks, dancing to a bluegrass band and playing a little corn-hole in the yard. During dinner, we sat with two couples that had arrived on another bus – also their first Derby experience and we enjoyed trading stories with them.

On our bus back to Louisville, our guide decided it was time for bus Karaoke (using the music on his phone and holding it up to the microphone). One guy, who didn’t seem particularly gregarious, got up to sing, and sang very well as the bus lurched along the interstate. We sang all the way to the hotel, a fun night.

We awoke Saturday morning to another beautiful day, and had a leisurely morning with a hotel room workout and breakfast. We had the local NBC affiliate that had full time coverage from Churchill Downs and we watched the first two races on TV before heading out. The gates opened at 10am, but that felt too early to go, yet there were plenty of partiers already there.

We headed out of the hotel about noon. It was a bright sunny day and neither of us were prepared with sunscreen, so we walked around the corner to the CVS drugstore. As we walked down the street, we were greeted with shouts of “Happy Derby Day,” and nearly every vehicle driving by stopped as asked if we wanted a “shuttle” to the track. Our hotel offered a shuttle for $40 per person (which I thought was excessive), we could have driven our car and parked at the University lot and walked from there, but we’d decided we were going to take an Uber (I really want to think the best of people, but it seemed like a bad idea to jump into a car with someone who’s just taped a “Derby Shuttle” sign to his car for the day).

As we walked into CVS, a confrontation broke out between a store employee and a young black man who was accused of having stashed something inside his coat. You could feel the tension in the store, and it put me on edge too. Other employees were suggesting the manager hold the guy until the police arrived. We grabbed a bottle of sunscreen and went to the checkout, where the clerk was almost too distracted to check us out.

As we walked out the door, the managers had wrestled the man outside and the police had arrived. The scene quickly was surrounded by others that were taking videos on their cell phones. We moved around the corner, and didn’t see how it resolved, but it went quietly. Perhaps the manager was wrong?

Last month, we both got new iPhones, and are still struggling with having to sign into apps we haven’t used!? Ugh. We both really struggle trying to recall passwords that our phones have been so diligent about remembering, or allowing us to use face recognition. After a bit, Jeff succeeded in getting into his Uber app, but then his credit card had changed since we last used Uber, probably in NYC in 2019. My nerves were still on edge, and I was a bit panicked about standing here outside CVS with both of us focused on the phone, Jeff with his wallet in his hand and his credit card out. I pulled out my phone and was able to log into my Uber and my credit card was still active, so I said “I’ll order the Uber and you can work on your account another time!”

We had a great Uber driver, Onfraus. He had a Green Bay Packer emblem on the front of his Jeep. His girlfriend is from Wausau and he knew a lot about Madison. He asked if State Street was still the place to be, and was shocked when we told him of the devastation after “protests” turned violent last year when windows were smashed and businesses looted after the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis. We all agreed it didn’t make sense - the wrong people in the wrong place, with a demonstration of anti-police effort. His calm wonderful manner helped calm my frayed nerves. A lifelong Louisville resident, he was helpful in explaining where he had to drop us, and how to walk to the track from where he dropped us, and also where to find the Uber pickup lot to get our ride back to the hotel after the Derby. It was just over three miles - $45 with tip (surge pricing).

It was easy to figure out the way to the track, we followed the colorful crowd. Lots of young adults - many of them quite drunk already. I was surprised that many people had chairs, headed for the infield lawn which is where the party really happens, we’d heard. We followed the crowd to the gates, went through security, but our tickets wouldn’t read in the scanner - oh no. Our panic was relieved when a supervisor told us we had Clubhouse tickets, and we were at the infield gate, the wrong gate. They led us out and we worked our way against the crowd for a bit, and felt like was walked all the way around the outside of the track until we found our gate. I’d worn shoes for comfort and was glad to be walking before sitting for the next six hours or so.

At the Clubhouse entrance, things were more civilized and the crowd was scarce. In fact, due to COVID, they’re operating at about 40% capacity - so for someone like me that likes my personal space, this was perfect!

We found our seats - the first two seats in a box that was set up for just four, but could accommodate six. Every other box was blocked out with a tarp to maintain physical distance, so we had perfect sight lines to the finish like right in front of us. We were in the covered section, so no need for that sunscreen after all (but we saw quite a few people who could have used it).

There was a race roughly every hour, so we fell into an easy pattern of watching a race, then exploring the grounds in between races. This year for the first time, all food and drink were included in the ticket price, so we grazed on food and I sampled most of the specialty cocktails: Mint Julep, Whiskey Spire (cranberry) and the Lily (vodka and grapefruit).

For me, the neatest part about being onsite was standing at the edge of the paddock. Not only was the people watching amazing, but it gave us a close look at the horses. They’d be led around the circle, some seemed proud to be on display, some were fighting being led around, then they’d pull them into a cubicle where magically the tiny saddle would be strapped to the horse, then another lap or two, photos with the owners / VIP and one last parade past with the jockey onboard. How cool it was to see that up close. I’d never noticed their lightweight boots, and the small stirrups that seemed strung up too high. From the paddock, the procession would move under the grandstand and out onto the track where they’d parade by, before heading around the track to the starting gate (which was out of our view, but we could see it on the large video screen). The only downside to being there in person is the race happens so fast and with the crown noise and the garbled speakers, we couldn’t really tell how the horses we’d selected we’re doing!

We were joined in our box by a dapper young man, Jackson and his girlfriend, Danni, from Miami. Jackson split his time growing up between Middleton WI with his dad (attended Edgewood High School), and Louisville with his mom. He’d been to the derby many times before, but this could have been his first time trying to impress a girl with his knowledge. They were cute.

In the box kitty-corner to our front right, there were Louisville police officers. They primarily spent their time scrolling through their social media feeds on their phones. Later in the evening, two started smoking cigars and snapping photos of themselves. It seemed inappropriate and was noxious to be around, but the smell of cigar smoke was pervasive throughout the day regardless. As we were heading out to explore between races, we stopped to ask them if it’d be safe to walk the three miles back to our hotel after the race. They looked at us like we had two heads!

The actual “Derby” the twelfth of fourteen races during the day. It was the only race we actually bet us, choosing Hot Road Charlie (Jeff pick which finished third), and my pick, Rock Your World, finished in seventeenth place. We’d added the favorite pick of the day, Essential Quality to our trifecta bet (it came in fourth). Almost, but that doesn’t count in horse racing, so we lost our $200 but had fun doing so!

We hung around for a bit, enjoying some last-minute people watching, then joined the stream of people heading out of the main gate. We turned right, towards the Uber lot, which meant we were once again walking against the crowd leaving the infield – many were now very drunk, most were sunburned, and some were being carried. It seemed to be a zoo at the Uber lot, and the app showed our same driver, but it’d oscillate between 20-30 minutes away. The crowd and the noise of the Jesus Freaks yelling at the crowd through bad speakers was making me crazy, so I lobbied to start walking.

We walked with a smaller crowd, but many of them pealed off as we strolled through the U of L campus. We walked past large house parties, still going strong. After a mile, there were only a handful of us still walking towards downtown, but it felt good to move and the neighborhood felt ok. Several people that we’d pass would shout out friendly greetings, and we just kept moving, only slightly creeped out by the recommendation from the police that we don’t try to walk back to the hotel.

It started getting dark as we got close, but by then, it felt like a normal evening stroll. It felt great to get to the room though and jump into the shower to wash away the dirt and cigar smoke from the day! We were probably both sleeping by 9pm!

On Sunday, we were up before our alarm, so we got dressed and finished packing up and we were crossing the Ohio back into Indiana before 7am. An uneventful drive, and great to be home in the early afternoon and still enjoy the day.

#KentuckyDerby

0 notes