Scene
– Post Act 1 I want to begin to change to narrative of my story. At the moment it’s been building up to be a wholesome story about Rudy and his bestfriend facing these challenges, but starting post time skip I want to highlight the beginning of the end.
So This scene is a post time skip and we start out on the football field. They boys are now in middle school and playing football. Starting with this football game we see Rudy excel on the football field and Kevin is like his shadow, at this point Rudy has grown and looks like a D1 prospect while Kevin kind of looks like little bro, hes not as big or strong but he makes up for it with his speed and cognitive abilties.
– Id like this scene to really portray the shift of Rudy from a life where violence and crime was the narrative to now a broader vision of what other things can do for him. I mentioned early on in my story that Dontavious could’ve kept playing football and that path is what Rudy begins to take.
Scene 2
After the game, we see a big-time high school coach come up to Rudy and offer him a scholarship to play for his school, Rudy hesistates but he doesn’t say no. This is important because im gonna show a piece of Rudy and Kevin at the end of ACT 1 promising to go through middle and highschool together. While this all goes down Kevin is seen behind the corner/wall whatever it may be and before Rudy can answer he runs off believing his bestfriend is gonna betray him. Just after Kevin leaves though Rudy declines the offer telling the coach why. This builds friction between the two and Kevin starts to drift away.
Scene 3
Here I want to start and show more of Kevin as well and introduce his home life and what that looks like, the story now is going to show not just Rudy’s side of like with a positive and strong family foundation, but also Kevin’s and his lack of.
– after the game we see Kevin go home for the first time, we see his environment and the abuse he goes through. His mind spirals and just when he thinks about giving up the streets offer him a way of comfort.
– This makes him shy away and kind of disappear for a week without talking to the Jones family..
Scene 4
Now we move onto Kevin. His story.
– In this week following the game we get a mini Kevin type of episode thing where we are shown the truth behind his brothers passing. How he ultimately died and how it affected Kevin’s family. It drove them apart and since his other brother retaliated against it we see Kevin take a visit to see his other brother in jail. What is shown is the depiction of life that’s laid out for Kevin, while his brother can try and save him, it’s hard to do when he’s behind bars and can’t help his little brother. I want to show hoe close the two were and how losing him has further dragged downs Kevin’s mental state. He leaves the jail that day with tears in his eyes knowing he will never get to spend a day outside with his brother again.
Scene 5
Back to Rudy and his side we see just how much he misses his bestfriend and we see how it’s affecting him mentally.
– About a week later without any word from Kevin we see the Jones family talking at breakfeast and we see Rudy stressing. They have a conversation and Rudy’s mom eneds up dropping some wisdom. It’s a big week and Rudy and his team are playing against a rival school..
Scene 6
It’s an important game coming up and Rudy has to lock in if he wants to contine and play this game at the next level
Leading up to the game we see Kevin is still MIA, he waits in the locker room for his best friend but when the horn buzzes and he doesn’t show he sheds a solo tear, walks onto the field and sees his family in the stands. He plays the game of a lifetime and after he’s recruited again. After talking to his mom later that night they agree it’s the best thing for him. A private school with a good educational background and a great football program, one that could earn Rudy a full ride to University. That night they call the coach and accept his offer, but as Rudy lays in bed that night something just seems off.
Scene 7
After the game the rain starts and everyone scrambles to get home and on the Jones family ride home Rudy sees what looks like Kevin on the street. He urges his mom to stop and after she does he bolts out the car following the figure into an alley way. He screams kevins name and when the figure turns around we see a random guy just trying to get his fix for the night. Right there Rudy falls to his knees crying and when his mother sister catch up to him they console him and take him home.
Scene 7
To finish act 2 I want Rudy and Kevin to see each other once more at school.
– After a couple weeks of absence Rudy finally sees his best friend in the hallway and bolts over. Looking at Kevin’s eyes he doesn’t see his friend. They look lifeless and devoid of emotion, Kevin just looks at Rudy and says “what”. The two get into it with Kevin mentioning how Rudy planned to abandon him and go to this school, the kids fight and even though Rudy is bigger Kevin had the upper hand. He clocks Rudy and leaves a mark, but almost reminicemnt of his father Rudy stands up and his mind just goes blank we see the fear on Kevins face here and that right when the fights broken up and Rudy snaps back to reality.
Scene 8
Scene 7 really changes how the two interact with eacother and while they still love eachother they began drifting further and further apart. Kevin is so closed in and becauae he doesn’t have a good outlet for his emotions he starts to do the same things that killed or jailed his brothers.
– Here we see Kevin in the streets doing no good, but these things come so easy to him. He feels as though this is what he was made to do even though deep down he doesn’t want too. His concious is still alive and he’s crying out to help, but with no words and that’s something that’s been ingrained in him from his family. Seeing his father behave how he does, his mother, it’s a learnt behaviour he just cant run from.
ACT 3 Mapping
This is gonna be another time skip but this time to highschool. We start off with Rudy’s first day of school without his best friend. It’s weird, but Rudy quickly adapts to his new environment and excels.
Parallel
This is going to be Kevin’s first day of school without Rudy as well, we see him at the neighborhood high school, and we see him lonely and conflicted about everything. This is when Kevin gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, we see that he ran from the streets this summer because of that consciousness, but being in school with these hoodlums; he falls into the cycle.
Scene
– First big game of the year for Rudy and as a freshman and he goes off. We see Kevin in the crowd way back and we see the look of joy on his face, that quickly sours as his new “friends” come and get him to leave.
– Parrallel
– After the game ends we see Rudy look into the stand and see Kevin, he wants to go talk to his friend, but the masses are just in his way, and by the time he looks up again Kevin has vanished.
I wanna show the parralle here as well with what Kevin is thinking and feeling, I wanna show the smile he got from watching his bestfried play, but the streets already got him. He picked his path and they pull him farther away. I want this to show that this was the last time Kevin could’ve been saved by Rudy. It’s the last game of his he ever attends, his last cry for help.
Scene 2
It’s big game after big game for Rudy, as the years go on and he enters his senior year of high-school we see a monologue of his achievements over the years. We get flashbacks of big games and some crazy moments the kid has done on the field.
– Additionally one day in class we see Rudy just stare out the window with a blank expression. As his friends come to ask whats wrong Rudy just hakes his head and says nothing. As the scene ends we get a vision of the other side and what life for Kevin now looks like.
Scene 3
After scene two we get the camera opens up to a scene out of a movie. We see a blacked out all white infinity swerving through the street late night. They roll up on some kids in an unfamiliar neighborhood and the car slows. As the window rolls down we see Kevin with a hand gun and a switch attachment that sparys the the ground and hits one of the kids right in the chest. The car speeds off and the scene ends.
Scene 4
Aftermarth of the shooting. We see Kevin in bed with a girl and he clicks to tv on, the news pops up and the front headline is “SHOOTING IN SOUTHEAST DC”. Kevin pays it no mind, he clicks past rhe channel reaches over to his nightstand and light a blunt puffing smoke into the air that fades along with the scene.
Scene 5
The morning after the shooting we see the Ruderious family watching the news and the same headline is Shown with a picture of the car In question. Shanequa just shakes her head and says “it’s the same shit every day, when will it stop”?
Scene 6
Rudy makes his way to school and during this walk he gets a call from his big sis Makiya and Zaira who moved away to college. Makiya let’s Rudy know a surpirise she just couldn’t keep and tell him that they are coming home for Rudy’s final game of the year and for his birthday.
Scene 7
Scene
He becomes the neighborhood hero and the same kids who used to bully him are the first ones we see congratulating him on his success.
Scene 8
During his birthday party his sister is fatally shot. It breaks Rudy and withut emotion he walks into his section 8 apartment home. Looking under his mother bed he opens a box with two gold plated glock 17’s. He grabs his bag and bam scene ends.
Overall Inspirations:
Supernatural (television show)
Follows two brothers hunting monsters, all started when their monster-hunting father disappears
Came out in 2005, ran until 2021
Takes place in America, traveling across different cities and states
Brings up questions of “what is family,” “what is moral in a world of secrecy and monsters,” and “what are you willing to sacrifice”
Inspired the American aesthetic, the importance of family and finding family, the concept of a secret hierarchical society
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (television show)
Follows Buffy, a chosen-one Slayer, and her adventures fighting monsters while trying to navigate her new high school (and eventually college)
Came out in 1997, ran until 2003
Takes place in Sunnydale, California, over the Hellmouth
Brings up issues of feminism, exploitation of youth, morality, and what is means to have power
Inspired the idea that women are more likely to be Hunters, the idea of dreams being mystical in the Sasaki family, and the idea of a whole secret society existing
Grimm (television show)
Follows Nick, a detective who discovers he is a Grimm, someone capable of seeing monsters that inspired folktales known as Wesen
Came out in 2011, ran until 2017
Takes place in Portland, Oregon
Brings up questions of “what makes someone a monster”
Inspired the idea that only Hunters could see Lightstalkers
Jujutsu Kaisen (television show and movie)
2020-present TV show & a 2021 movie
Secret society of people with powers fighting “curses”
Influenced themes of tragic romance, found family, constraints and corruption of hierarchy
Mariko’s ancestor and child are both named Megumi as a reference to this influence
Love Actually (movie)
2003 British romcom
Takes place around Christmas
Follows multiple different romances, some positive, some tragic
Plays into the cinematography and sound
Slay The Princess (video game)
2022 visual novel video game
Fantasy, cosmic horror
Inspired the designs for the Children of Desdemona a bit
Inspired some of the sound design and reflects the cyclical nature of violence
Chasing Amy (and the View Askewniverse)
1997 romcom/romantic drama
Takes place within a larger comedy movie universe
Inspired the cinematography and aesthetics
Ties into the themes of queerness and self-sabotage
Act I: Summary
Dolores begins a fragmented account of what has led her to this moment in 2013 where she is losing her job. We see her family, a close friend, a wise ally (Wynn), and the object of her affection: Mariko. As Declan calls Dolores to check in and asks about what’s going on, Dolores explains that she met Mariko when the latter joined the New England Hunters’ Council in January of 2003, providing a bit of context about Mariko’s toxic relationship with her boyfriend, as well as the sabotage of Mariko’s efforts to stop a doomsday event she expects to happen as a result of her ancestor’s failings to do so.
Act II:
Scene #1: Montage sequence of 2003
Following the sabotage incident at the end of Act I, Dolores and Mariko develop a friendship and borderline emotional love affair as they try to figure out who the saboteur is and how to stop them.
Throughout all of these little meetings, Mariko appears more and more off-kilter due to the increasing toxicity and mistreatment from her boyfriend, Marc.
Lack of sleep, frustration with Marc (and other men), bruises, weight loss, increasing mistrust of the Council
Throughout all of these little meetings, Dolores appears more and more romantically infatuated with Mariko
Increasing the ante in their little meetings (first it was coffee, eventually dinner “dates” and “sleepovers”)
Viewing Mariko with more and more interest, to the point where she teases her ex-situationship & current friend Cassandra that her terrible choices might finally be over
Learning more about genetics to impress her, learning more about the Children of Desdemona, traveling to Maine to meet up with her even though it’s far away
Decreasing and eventually ceasing her habit of one-night stands and casual flirting with other women
Ends in late March 2004, where the next major scene begins
Heavily influenced by the montage with Wade and Vanessa from “Deadpool” where the couple falls in love and is romantically involved in some capacity for each holiday.
Similar timescale too
Scene #2: It’s Never Just Coffee
Mariko shows up in Boston unexpectedly, visibly shaken and carrying a BLACK JOURNAL OF PARCHMENT PAPER WITH A BLUE CALLIGRAPHY PEN
This journal will be important later!
Most visible emotion we see on Mariko the entire runtime so far
The worst Mariko has looked physically up until this point
Messy hair, bruises, bloodshot eyes
Dolores, just having gotten home from work, asks Mariko what’s wrong, and Mariko kisses her unexpectedly, marking the start of their messy love affair.
Influenced by “Coffee” by Chappell Roan (specifically the chorus, especially since the first “date” was coffee, as seen in Act I) & “Chasing Amy” with its rain confession (I’m picturing lots of blue lighting)
Scene #3: Mariko Goes to Iceland
Mariko and Dolores are spending a night together when she unexpectedly excuses herself and soon leaves. Days later, Mariko tells her that she got a work opportunity in Iceland for her day job, which despite Dolores’ instincts that something’s up, Dolores accepts. The two agree to talk over Skype.
Cue the montage: the pair keep in touch for conversation over Skype, but nothing more develops romantically, Dolores noticeably lonely back in the US. Mariko seems visibly tired, but looks much healthier than before, much to Dolores’ relief.
In August of 2004, Dolores notices that there is money missing from the donated funds dedicated to supporting Mariko’s genetic research, but that there is extra money allocated to historical research and travel funds, however the amounts do not match. She debates telling Mariko, but upon seeing a visibly vibrant Mariko talking about an exciting new discovery unrelated to the Children of Desdemona stuff, she decides against it.
Inspired by Forrest Gump’s reveal of Jenny having had a kid when she left unexpectedly (there’s another movie I’m also thinking of, but I honestly can’t remember which one for the life of me)
I want to utilize the unique landscape and time differences of Iceland to contrast Mariko being on her own and Dolores being surrounded by people, but feeling lonely
Scene #4: Mariko Returns
Mariko returns by New Year’s. She looks different, tired most definitely. Dolores attempts to ask her, but Mariko dances around it, instead launching into a passionate discussion about Hunter stuff. Dolores, who is always attracted to her passionate nature, falls for this. They resume their love affair, but Mariko’s availability is limited at night, and she seems more tired.
A microscene: January 2005, Wynn joins the Hunters’ Council, a young, idealistic but also haunted person. Mariko and Dolores both work closely with them, especially as they have that same passion they do. However, Dolores notices Mariko disappearing more and fears that she’s getting “too close” with them.
Scene #5: Breach of Privacy
Dolores snoops through Mariko’s journal while she’s asleep and discovers that Mariko has had a daughter she’s doomed. She decides to never speak about this to anyone. She also discovers that Mariko slept with her for information.
It’s implied Mariko did this with someone else, but it is never specified who, though it’s implied to be a man
Scene #6: The Breakup
November 30th, 2005, Mariko and Dolores have a massive falling out, feelings of betrayal on both sides. This day is the one Dolores regrets more than anything.
Dolores betrayed Mariko’s privacy and trust
Mariko broke Dolores’ heart and lashes out
Scene #7: December-February Descent
Mariko begins to fall apart, becoming incredibly hostile and paranoid. Dolores can’t bring herself to risk her career for her, still wounded by the heartbreak. Only Wynn stays at her side, though it appears working on separate projects as well.
Scene #8: March & Changing Tides
Mariko seems to start doing better during March 2006 as she discovers that people with the Artemis mutation are also incapable of having hemophilia due to all Hunters carrying only normal blood-clotting alleles.
Dolores seems to be improving her status in the Council once again, but doesn’t appear to be any happier.
Scene #9: Turn for the Worst
But April 2006, Mariko loses her day job and becomes even more obsessed, to the point where she calls Dolores during a private meeting with Jesse on April 29th in a fit of self-loathing and distrust of everyone after almost ‘saving her daughter from fate.’ John overhears part of this on the phone, and Mariko’s position is officially called into question
Scene #10: The Incident
May 3rd, 2006, Mariko shows up to the meeting with baby Megumi (shocking both Wynn and Dolores the most), haggard beyond belief with a turquoise binder. Dolores notices her staring at Jude and scribbling intently at her binder.
Dolores tells Wynn to let her go, knowing that neither of them can save her from being ousted, and that if it goes more smoothly than not, she can at least make sure she gets the mental health help she needs for her paranoia. They argue with Wynn about this, who calls her out for giving up on Mariko. After pondering on what Wynn has said, she recognizes that Mariko will never forgive her, and not having her back means that she’ll probably never be able to see her again. Deciding that she can’t handle this hell of no Mariko in her life, she calls her to tell her that she’ll have her back and that she wants to make up for their fight, but it goes straight to voicemail repeatedly, making Dolores question if the saboteur murdered her.
Act III:
Scene #1: Emergency Contact
Dolores learns of Mariko’s death. She is utterly devastated that she never truly told her how she felt and extremely regretful of what she’s done. She only stays afloat because she sees how broken up about it Wynn is and decides they need each other, at least for now. They agree to quietly carry on her legacy by keeping an eye on her concerns and continue to fight for their dreams.
It’s notable that Dolores was Mariko’s emergency contact.
Scene #2: Spiral Out
Dolores, in a moment of reckless grief, gets injured and forced to partake in a psych evaluation through the Council. She lies through it, but later calls her mother and tells her everything.
Marks a change for the better in Dolores’ familial relationships
Scene #3: Family First
It’s 2013. Dolores is visiting her cousin, and the two of them both see a Lightstalker in the distance. She tells him to say nothing, she’ll explain when he’s older. For now, he needs to focus on being young. She notices Dylan Jareau in the distance.
Scene #4: No Regrets… Well, maybe 1
Two days later, at a meeting, her failure to report her cousin’s son is announced, and she is ousted, save for Wynn. On her way out, she tells Wynn she hasn’t forgotten her promise.
Dolores hops on the train and, for a brief moment, she sees Mariko standing behind her, and when she disappears she decides that her ousting will be okay, that she’ll find some other way, just like Mariko tried to do.
Act one introduces us to Flan, our lead as well as two of his closest confidants. While talking, Flan finds a leaf blowing in the wind leading to him finding out about the existence of the outside world. He wants to see it so he confronts Quell who is said to know how to leave. Quell refuses to tell him however but one of Quell’s subordinates accidentally name drops someone who might know. Flan and co leave to go on a journey to find this other character, The Acolyte who might possess the key to getting out. To prevent this, Quell sends two of his subordinates, Orin and Eisgai after the trio in order to persuade them to stop.
Act II
Act two will primarily center on Flan’s journey through the dunes of Kaleo with his two companions. The three will meet up with the mysterious Acolyte who will tell the trio about the history of the Progenitors before meeting up with and being eaten by the last Progenitor. Our trio fight off the last Progenitor, causing it to diffuse, freeing The Acolyte. The Acolyte is enraged however and gives them what they want but refuses to tell them more, kicking them out. With shard in hand the three try and return home but get into one last kerfuffle with Orin and Eisgai who have melded together to take the shard. Once the shard is reclaimed and the three return home, Flan galvanizes the town and the entire town march towards freedom. However when they make it to the gate and Flan places the shard in, he realizes that there are still spots missing, causing him to become enraged.
Act III
Flan is desperate to escape. In a state of delirium he starts to absorb other people around him, forcing them to fuse with him in order to amass more power. Quell tries to evacuate as many people as possible with the help of Orin, Eisgai, and a distraught Moon. However Flan does end up absorbing enough people to gain enough power to tear open a gateway to the outside. He goes through it but once there he starts to dissolve as Quell had warned. He is saved however as he is dragged back into the pocket dimension. In an ending credits scene there is a small time skip as an unknown person makes an expedition to the outside via a fixed up gate, wearing a special suit, showing that they make it outside eventually.
Inspirations
So a lot of my inspirations actually come from TV shows and games so keep that in mind.
The Emperor’s New Groove – No movie is as funny as that movie is to me. The writing is short and the humor is witty. Like with one of the other things I have here, I have this movie here because I strive for that kind of sharp comedic writing.
Undertale – A game about monsters being trapped underground via a magic barrier. The general premise came a lot from Undertale, along with the Ethereal Workshop in the mobile game My Singing Monsters.
Cassette Beasts – Another great game. The Melding system takes a lot of inspiration from Cassette Beast’s fusion mechanic along with other works with similar systems such as Dragon Ball Z or Steven Universe.
Steven Universe, specifically the episode Keeping It Together – This episode stuck with me because the concept of Gem Clusters are terrifying. The show revolves around Gems which are lifeforms composed of a singular gem and a body projected from it made of light. A gem cluster is a bunch of shattered gem parts bunched together in the ground, forced to fuse into an amalgamation. Think of it like Frankenstein. I’m a sucker for fusion in movies but forced fusion is hardly even seen. This episode had a lot of influence when it came to the climax and the introduction of the Melding system in order to make that climax happen.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime – In terms of Flan’s design, a lot of inspiration came from Rimiru, the lead in that anime.
Human Centipede – This kind of body horror (along with Tusk) makes me squeamish. Combine the human centipede and an inside joke with one of my roommates and you get The Tailor.
Amphibia – One of my favorite shows in recent years. One big reason for that is the comedy, both in visual gags and actual written ones. I respect how witty and at times morbid the humor is. I strive to that level of comedic writing.
Act I:
Introduces the characters and the conflict:
In the first scene, the Trusted One is running through the Palace of Labar– the capital city of the nation Latabat– as it crumbles and shakes around him. This foreshadows the conflict and introduces the character who will later become the antagonist.
Scenes two through seven: introduce the five main characters, the Travelers. They are Dergek from Dafarn, Plurmef from Pernet, Flook from Clarn, Renege from Rouch, and Clanas from Tabat. These scenes provide information on the characters’ backstories, their families, and who they are as people. Especially important: reveals their dramatic needs (or their desires/motivations that push them to take on the journey→ for many of the characters, it’s love for their families and the need to protect the families; for others, it’s the desire to escape a life they feel trapped in.
Scenes eight through ten: transition the story from character introductions and conflict revelations to the beginning of the journey. These scenes follow the travelers as they are officially assigned their mission and objective, and as they prepare to step out into the world on the own for the first time.
Scene eleven: the final scene of Act I; the transition into Act II. The travelers finally leave Latabat through a heavily guarded passageway that connects the cavern of Labar to the natural world outside of the nation. It marks the official start of their journey and advances the story into the next sector of adventure.
Overview:
What is it?
A story about a newly single mother, Jamie, and her two children. Jamie is navigating life without a husband, and the kids are navigating life without a father when they are randomly targeted by home intruders. The safety of the children is suddenly thrust into the hands of Jamie, who must do whatever it takes to keep them from harm.
Influences:
Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games”
“Why are you doing this?” “Why not?”
Bryan Bertino’s “The Strangers”
“Why are you doing this to us?” “Because you were home”
ACT I:
Establishes the family’s new dynamic. The kids are shown at school, at sports, with their friends, with their mother at home. They have a couple of hard conversations with their mother about the absence of their father, but it’s evident that he was never the most supportive anyway. They are struggling with the feeling of relief. Jamie is shown mostly stressing about the situation that her family is in, but once with her friends as she begins to learn how to let go. Through her words and actions it is more than obvious that her children are the most important thing in the world to her.
ACT II:
Toward the beginning of ACT II, the intruders break into the home and restrain the family. Jamie begs not for her safety, not for her dignity, not for her belongings, but for the safety of her children. She does not cry as the children do, but it’s obvious that she wants to. The intruders are both male, and threaten Millie and Jamie with whatever horrible things they can think of if they refuse to comply. The element of sexual predation does not unfold further than this—it serves no purpose to the story as the characters are being abused and traumatized in other ways.
ACT III:
It’s revealed that Jamie has found access to nail clippers left on the coffee table, overlooked by the men that have now been in the house for several hours. We continuously see her slowly, quietly, secretly, hack at the ropes around her wrists while she reasons with the intruders, carefully dancing around what she wants to say and do to them. She eventually overpowers them after an incident between the two causes their bond to weaken, and kills the one that remains, saving her children and waiting outside for authorities to arrive.
ACT 2: Act 2 will take us to the railroads of Stralavia, where Shura (mc) and Malco (sc) will be jumping a train to the capital city of Stralavia, Vimala. Before Shura and Malco can leave however, a group of masked bounty hunters will attempt to attack the two, as their parting train is about to leave. After narrowly escaping, we learn this group of attackers is an infamous group called the “Chuavin Legion”, a no strings attached bounty militia for hire, known for its violent, yet professional aura. It is made clear that Kitor Wilstem sent them for Shura.
There are a few cuts to show Kitor during the time, as he focuses on hunting down Shura, because her existence threatens his power.
We get to know our two main characters better, on the way. We learn about Shura’s humble beginnings, and more of her personality, as well as Malco’s. Suddenly the train they jumped on has to make an emergency stop at a large station after being alerted to possible jumpers, so Shura and Malco have to stop. However, many of the workers know Malco, and when they are discovered, they do not threaten the two. Unfortunately, because of the Chuavin Legion’s authority from King Wilstem, their free ticket train is forced to stay put for a number of days, delaying Shura’s plan drastically. After discussing matters with his coworkers, Malco convinces Shura to wait the investigation out with him and the rest of the railworkers, posing as one of them. Reluctantly, Shura agrees and is hidden in plain sight as a Technician.
Once the Chuavin Legion arrives, they immediately begin taking over the station, leaving no room for mistake, or slip ups. Shura continues to “work” as a “technician”, having close calls with the Chuavin Legion. After a very close call, Shura eventually confronts Malco, and his coworkers, explaining the situation at large, and attempting to have the railworkers help them. They all announce their concerns, distastes, and even call Shura out for allowing them in their current position. Eventually Shura is able to suede the workers to help her, even rallying a group of them to go with Shura and Malco to Vimala, to act as a distraction for any surrounding security/guards Shura may encounter.
Unfortunately, the Chuavin Legion discovers Shura’s cover, and she is separated from the rest of the workers in a chase. And after nearly being captured, Malco is able to save Shura and they both run for the train, now departing for Vimala. After jumping on, the Chuavin Legion is left in the dust, to be met at the Palace.
ACT 3: In act 3, Shura, Malco, and the group of rail workers arrive in Vimala, at the Royal Transportation Station, right inside the palace grounds. Immediately, guards are outside the station, due to the unscheduled arrival of a train.
Shura conducts a plan with the rail workers, to help her get inside the palace. The workers, as well as Malco, would fake a protest outside of the Palace, to act as a decoy for Shura to enter unnoticed, and without interaction with any guards that will attempt to kill her. The workers all agree on the plan, however Malco objects to the idea of Shura going in alone, and says that he would go along with her. Shura and Malco go back and forth trying to convince on another that Shura will be fine, and that she wouldn’t without help. Suddenly, guards enter the train, and the decoy protest is forced into action, as Shura hides among the crowd of yelling workers. Malco tries to find her, but she disappears into the night.
Shura is able to sneak inside of the palace due to the situation the workers were causing, and she runs along the eerily empty palace halls that were once a little warmer than before. She pulls out her pistol as she gets closer to Kitor’s chambers, but when she reaches for the door, the gun is swatted from her hand, clacking against the floor. Shura turns, and Kitor stands behind her with his sword, already awaiting her arrival. The decoy worked on the guards, but not him. Shura and Kitor speak in a distance, as he inches closer to Shura. Suddenly, Kitor throws a second sword to Shura’s feet. He explained that the future will be decided on who wins the battle. She will have to fight him to the death.
Meanwhile, Malco is trapped with the group outside. He tells those close that he has to find Shura, and tries to escape the crowd. Eventually, he is also able to sneak out of the crowd, and has to find Shura in the large palace, blind to its layout. She could be anywhere.
Shura and Kitor then engage in combat. It is clear Shura is rusty compared to Kitor. He nearly slashes her multiple times, as Shura is forced to jump out of the way, and tries to make attempts at Kitor. She kicks him upside the face, causing him to fall, and she has a chance to end the battle, but… She hesitates, and Kitor jumps up, and it continues.
Malco finds Shura fighting Kitor, and he yells out to her, causing her to lose focus. Shura looks over to Malco, but it comes with a great cost. Kitor impales Shura, making her collapse to the floor in her own blood, as her life drips away. Malco fights Kitor, but is beaten down, about to meet the same fate as Shura.
However, with the last of her strength, Shura stands before Kitor as he is about to kill Malco, and she swings her sword across Kitor’s neck, killing him instantly. She collapses again, and the world goes black.
Inspo: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars the Phantom Menace, Amulet (graphic novel series) Game of Thrones.
The first act shows us our first two main sides: Euan Murray, a ruthless killing machine, and Leroy “Red” Jackson, a leader of the most infamous gang at the time, The “Red Riders”. It sets up the setting as an old western movie, with the town of Sapwood truly setting in that fact. We meet Jeffrey, a soon to be accomplice of Euan in his hunt for the Red Rider gang. After Jeffrey gives Euan a lead on the Red Riders and a possible reward of 1 million dollars, we see the two flair their different techniques in a brutal, quick gun fight in a bar. This scene cements this story as one of death and blood. Next, we meet the quintessential “villain”, Leroy “Red” Jackson, and his gang of Red Riders. He has an argument with one of his closest men, Cairo, about a large sum of cash Jackson seems to be hiding somewhere. He sends three of his men off on a mission to find someone while he himself rides into a nearby town. Here, we have a confrontation with a small sect of KKK members that Jackson takes care of. We also reveal that two bounty hunters are actually looking for Euan. This becomes the first time Jackson has heard that name. We cut back to our dynamic duo, as Euan sees visions of his scarred past. Then, the two ride up to the house of Mr. Weevil, where Jeffrey was hoping to find Pooler Weevil, an old friend of his he thought might be able to help the two hunt down the Red Riders, but instead it seems he is gone, and his wife was killed by a group of three men. We later find out it was the same three men that Jackson had sent out. Now, Euan and Jeffrey must try to get to Mr. Weevil before Jackson’s goons can. END ACT 1
Act two is all about the formation of a small band of, as Jeffrey puts it, “Merry Men”. Euan and Jeffrey attempt to save Pooler, but it’s too late. Euan gets revenge on the three men who kill Pooler, getting some info out of one of Jackson’s goons. Then, after returning to Mr. Weevil’s home, Natalia, Pooler’s daughter, begs to join the two to get her revenge on Jackson, and, despite Jeffrey adamantly refusing, Euan decides to let her join them on their crusade. The band of the three then heads south, closer to the Red Rider gang, and towards their next new hires, The Rose Brothers. We cut to see Jackson in a larger city, such as San Antonio at the time. He rides through the city and goes to a gunsmith to purchase ammo and guns to be shipped out to his home. Just then, a band of KKK members burst in and accuse Jackson of the killing of the three KKK members from before. The gunsmith turns into an all-out gun fight, and Jackson is able to slip out the back into an alley way and then onto his horse. He gets chased out of the city by the band of KKK members, of which he dispatches a few of them. He eventually loses them in the wilderness. We then go to Cairo, who seems to be conspiring against Jackson. One night, he sneaks out to where he knows the money is being kept, and creeps past all the guards that Jackson had posted. Just as he begins stealing all the cash out of a box, Jackson’s right-hand man, Ramírez, stops him. They get into a scuffle, and Cairo ends up killing Ramírez on accident. Out of fear, he runs away in the night from the gang, headed somewhere north. We go back to our Band of Merry Men and meet the Rose Brothers, two very eccentric men. They agree to join Euan and Jeffrey for a good cut of the million dollars. They stay the night at the Rose Brother’s place, and we learn more about Euan by him talking to Natalia as she misses home and her now dead parents. We learn Euan has a troubled past, one that was torn apart by the Red Riders gang, and he’s in this for revenge, not the money. We then cut to Jackson who has made it back to his home. He is informed of the death of Ramírez and swears to finally put Cairo down. Just then, the band of KKK members find his outpost, and a big battle takes place. Many men die, but the KKK loses and finally retreats. Now, Jackson knows he must flee, and starts packing everything up, hoping to get to the Mexican border as soon as possible. However, in one finally decision, he sends out one of his finest hunters to kill Cairo. END ACT 2
Act three starts with Cairo running into the band of Merry Men in a small, deserted town. He is recognized by Euan as being part of the Red Riders gang, and, after some persuasion and manipulation, agrees to help the gang find the Red Riders and get the money. After bunkering down in the town for the night, Jackson’s hunter arrives. Just before he is able to kill Cairo, Jeffrey awakens and jumps on the hunter. The rest of the Merry Men wake up and attempt to help Jeffrey. Jeffrey gets shot by the hunter, then Natalia puts down the man. Jeffrey seems to be fine and just patches himself up. The next day, the band makes their way to Jackson’s camp with the help of Cairo. The group sets up a plan upon arriving and they carry it out. It begins falling apart halfway through as the flaws of each character is truly shown. The Rose Brothers end up blowing up the compound with themselves in it. Cairo dies just inches before he is able to escape with all the cash by Jackson. Natalia is knocked unconscious by a beam falling on her. Jeffrey and Euan get stuck in a room and, as the remnants of The Red Riders surround them, they fight off each and every single one of them. Euan gets out of the room, Jeffrey being left behind, and Euan and Jackson finally have their final confrontation. They have a duel, and Jackson wins the duel, but Euan tricks Jackson and fires a bullet through his head when he checks to see if he’s dead. As Euan bleeds out, Jeffrey comes out of the rubble. He puts Euan to rest and finds Natalia. The final scene is Jeffrey taking Natalia to a doctor before dying from the wound he took from the hunter before. The story ends in a bloodbath.
Most of my inspirations come from Sergio Leone, from the setting to the characters to the way the gunfights play out. The dynamic of the characters and the locations is heavily referenced to Sergio, and I want a couple of nods in the movie itself to his work, like certain camera angles, musical stingers and the like. It is mostly Sergio that got me so enveloped into the idea of making a Spaghetti Western film.
In looking at the stages of grief, act 1 is denial, act 2 is anger followed by grief that bleeds into act 3, which ends in acceptance.
Act I
Act I is not as outright as the other acts in terms of the process of grief, nothing is linear and coping does not always start in a healthy manner.
Odette is a florist who runs her own flower shop, she recieves a cactus as a sympathy gift from a woman named Margaret, later shown to be her aunt. She initially treats the cactus coldly, instead opting to take care of her shop. Odette is joyful yet childish, no more so than when she is interacting with the cactus.
She travels through the city, the world is vibrant and colorful, yet there is a sense of loneliness and isolation to Odette as she traverses her world.
She takes the cactus home, we are introduced to her cat and eclectic style, and her growing mixed feelings towards the cactus.
The next few scenes involve Odette going about her life, where she begins to account the events of her days to the cactus. She does not necessarily like the cactus, but still talks to it anyways.
Norman, her cat, knocks over a vase of flowers, foreshadowing the eventual fate of the cactus.
Flashbacks on a train clue the viewer in to her past, showing a small Odette and a social worker discussing her newfound orphan status, and subsequent placement with her grandmother.
Margaret comes over to Odette’s apartment for a girl’s night, things are humorous and fun until Margaret starts to reminisce about the day she met Odette and her mom, Odette’s grandmother. While Margaret sees the memories as happy and nostalgic, they upset Odette, who shuts down and goes to bed.
Throughout this act the heavy themes of loneliness and isolation surround Odette, despite her bubbly demeanor, as she has few meaningful interactions with characters besides her cat and the cactus. We get repeated references to a lost loved one, whom Odette avoids talking about out of fear of recognizing the fact her grandma is in fact dead.
Act II
Odette’s grief and emotions start to eat away at her, and her emotional state deteriorates the more she tries to bottle it all up.
Following her night with Margaret, memories of the past plague Odette often. Everything seems to remind her of her grandmother, both the good and the bad.
Margaret calls, she doesn’t pick up, instead opting to eat dinner with the cactus instead.
Her talks to the cactus grow more melancholic, but also angrier. She has started to reflect on a few memories of her grandmother, and has projected that anger onto both herself and the cactus.
She gets a flyer in the mail for grief counseling, it is like an insult to her.
The cactus blooms, and in her brief joy Odette gets overzealous and gets pricked by the cactus. She lashes out at it, how could it hurt her like that when she had done nothing but care for it?
Odette is upset and confused when thinking about her grandmother, how Maria upset her and hurt her, but also how much she loved her.
As she lays in bed, we see one of the photo frames on her bedside more clearly, its her grandma, wrapped in a purple shawl, watering a cactus. The same cactus seen in the flashback in act 1 that she seemed so devoted to.
She comes home from a particularly bad day to find the cactus pot on the ground, shattered. The plant itself is damaged and broken beyond repair, already turning brown. She knows Norman got to it. Upon this discovery, Odette for the first time since her grandmother died, breaks down. She violently sobs and ugly cries until she can’t breathe, curled up in a mess on the kitchen floor.
Act III
This act starts out similar to act II in terms of atmosphere, its sad and bleak, but as Odette processes her grief and allows herself a shoulder to lean on, the world is bright again.
Odette is in shambles; she is at work and fails to make any conversation with Tony. Her fingers are bandaged from handling the broken pot shards.
Her attitude at home is no better, she feeds Norman dry food and doesn’t talk to him, her plants wilt, and the color shading is bleak and desaturated.
Margaret shows up at the flower shop and demands to talk to Odette, who has been ignoring her. Margaret does most of the talking, she tells Odette it’s okay to be sad, but it’s also okay to be angry. Margaret asks why she is so upset at the mention of her grandmother’s death, had she not seen it coming? Odette reveals she did not know she was sick until she got the call she died. Odette says that she talked to her every night on the phone, told her about every rude customer and every detail of her life, but her grandma never told her she was sick.
They go back to Odette’s place and Margaret asks where the cactus is, mentioning she thought it would have been a funny gift to brighten her mood since she always loved helping her grandma water her cactus. Odette is fixing a drink, and once again starts to cry in the kitchen, only this time Margaret is there, holding her and consoling her as she cries.
The final scene shows Odette visiting her grandmother’s grave, the grave of her father and grandfather beside them. She is smiling and left both a bouquet of flowers as well as a potted cactus on the grave. Margaret honks a car at her and Odette gets in, excited to go on a road trip with her to visit some of their extended family.
The world has color again.
By the end of the story Odette has only started to healthily process her grief and subsequent trauma, however by allowing herself to open to her emotions and lean on someone else for once, she has started her journey of healing.
8 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 21”
Mapping of ACT 2
Scene
– Post Act 1 I want to begin to change to narrative of my story. At the moment it’s been building up to be a wholesome story about Rudy and his bestfriend facing these challenges, but starting post time skip I want to highlight the beginning of the end.
So This scene is a post time skip and we start out on the football field. They boys are now in middle school and playing football. Starting with this football game we see Rudy excel on the football field and Kevin is like his shadow, at this point Rudy has grown and looks like a D1 prospect while Kevin kind of looks like little bro, hes not as big or strong but he makes up for it with his speed and cognitive abilties.
– Id like this scene to really portray the shift of Rudy from a life where violence and crime was the narrative to now a broader vision of what other things can do for him. I mentioned early on in my story that Dontavious could’ve kept playing football and that path is what Rudy begins to take.
Scene 2
After the game, we see a big-time high school coach come up to Rudy and offer him a scholarship to play for his school, Rudy hesistates but he doesn’t say no. This is important because im gonna show a piece of Rudy and Kevin at the end of ACT 1 promising to go through middle and highschool together. While this all goes down Kevin is seen behind the corner/wall whatever it may be and before Rudy can answer he runs off believing his bestfriend is gonna betray him. Just after Kevin leaves though Rudy declines the offer telling the coach why. This builds friction between the two and Kevin starts to drift away.
Scene 3
Here I want to start and show more of Kevin as well and introduce his home life and what that looks like, the story now is going to show not just Rudy’s side of like with a positive and strong family foundation, but also Kevin’s and his lack of.
– after the game we see Kevin go home for the first time, we see his environment and the abuse he goes through. His mind spirals and just when he thinks about giving up the streets offer him a way of comfort.
– This makes him shy away and kind of disappear for a week without talking to the Jones family..
Scene 4
Now we move onto Kevin. His story.
– In this week following the game we get a mini Kevin type of episode thing where we are shown the truth behind his brothers passing. How he ultimately died and how it affected Kevin’s family. It drove them apart and since his other brother retaliated against it we see Kevin take a visit to see his other brother in jail. What is shown is the depiction of life that’s laid out for Kevin, while his brother can try and save him, it’s hard to do when he’s behind bars and can’t help his little brother. I want to show hoe close the two were and how losing him has further dragged downs Kevin’s mental state. He leaves the jail that day with tears in his eyes knowing he will never get to spend a day outside with his brother again.
Scene 5
Back to Rudy and his side we see just how much he misses his bestfriend and we see how it’s affecting him mentally.
– About a week later without any word from Kevin we see the Jones family talking at breakfeast and we see Rudy stressing. They have a conversation and Rudy’s mom eneds up dropping some wisdom. It’s a big week and Rudy and his team are playing against a rival school..
Scene 6
It’s an important game coming up and Rudy has to lock in if he wants to contine and play this game at the next level
Leading up to the game we see Kevin is still MIA, he waits in the locker room for his best friend but when the horn buzzes and he doesn’t show he sheds a solo tear, walks onto the field and sees his family in the stands. He plays the game of a lifetime and after he’s recruited again. After talking to his mom later that night they agree it’s the best thing for him. A private school with a good educational background and a great football program, one that could earn Rudy a full ride to University. That night they call the coach and accept his offer, but as Rudy lays in bed that night something just seems off.
Scene 7
After the game the rain starts and everyone scrambles to get home and on the Jones family ride home Rudy sees what looks like Kevin on the street. He urges his mom to stop and after she does he bolts out the car following the figure into an alley way. He screams kevins name and when the figure turns around we see a random guy just trying to get his fix for the night. Right there Rudy falls to his knees crying and when his mother sister catch up to him they console him and take him home.
Scene 7
To finish act 2 I want Rudy and Kevin to see each other once more at school.
– After a couple weeks of absence Rudy finally sees his best friend in the hallway and bolts over. Looking at Kevin’s eyes he doesn’t see his friend. They look lifeless and devoid of emotion, Kevin just looks at Rudy and says “what”. The two get into it with Kevin mentioning how Rudy planned to abandon him and go to this school, the kids fight and even though Rudy is bigger Kevin had the upper hand. He clocks Rudy and leaves a mark, but almost reminicemnt of his father Rudy stands up and his mind just goes blank we see the fear on Kevins face here and that right when the fights broken up and Rudy snaps back to reality.
Scene 8
Scene 7 really changes how the two interact with eacother and while they still love eachother they began drifting further and further apart. Kevin is so closed in and becauae he doesn’t have a good outlet for his emotions he starts to do the same things that killed or jailed his brothers.
– Here we see Kevin in the streets doing no good, but these things come so easy to him. He feels as though this is what he was made to do even though deep down he doesn’t want too. His concious is still alive and he’s crying out to help, but with no words and that’s something that’s been ingrained in him from his family. Seeing his father behave how he does, his mother, it’s a learnt behaviour he just cant run from.
ACT 3 Mapping
This is gonna be another time skip but this time to highschool. We start off with Rudy’s first day of school without his best friend. It’s weird, but Rudy quickly adapts to his new environment and excels.
Parallel
This is going to be Kevin’s first day of school without Rudy as well, we see him at the neighborhood high school, and we see him lonely and conflicted about everything. This is when Kevin gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, we see that he ran from the streets this summer because of that consciousness, but being in school with these hoodlums; he falls into the cycle.
Scene
– First big game of the year for Rudy and as a freshman and he goes off. We see Kevin in the crowd way back and we see the look of joy on his face, that quickly sours as his new “friends” come and get him to leave.
– Parrallel
– After the game ends we see Rudy look into the stand and see Kevin, he wants to go talk to his friend, but the masses are just in his way, and by the time he looks up again Kevin has vanished.
I wanna show the parralle here as well with what Kevin is thinking and feeling, I wanna show the smile he got from watching his bestfried play, but the streets already got him. He picked his path and they pull him farther away. I want this to show that this was the last time Kevin could’ve been saved by Rudy. It’s the last game of his he ever attends, his last cry for help.
Scene 2
It’s big game after big game for Rudy, as the years go on and he enters his senior year of high-school we see a monologue of his achievements over the years. We get flashbacks of big games and some crazy moments the kid has done on the field.
– Additionally one day in class we see Rudy just stare out the window with a blank expression. As his friends come to ask whats wrong Rudy just hakes his head and says nothing. As the scene ends we get a vision of the other side and what life for Kevin now looks like.
Scene 3
After scene two we get the camera opens up to a scene out of a movie. We see a blacked out all white infinity swerving through the street late night. They roll up on some kids in an unfamiliar neighborhood and the car slows. As the window rolls down we see Kevin with a hand gun and a switch attachment that sparys the the ground and hits one of the kids right in the chest. The car speeds off and the scene ends.
Scene 4
Aftermarth of the shooting. We see Kevin in bed with a girl and he clicks to tv on, the news pops up and the front headline is “SHOOTING IN SOUTHEAST DC”. Kevin pays it no mind, he clicks past rhe channel reaches over to his nightstand and light a blunt puffing smoke into the air that fades along with the scene.
Scene 5
The morning after the shooting we see the Ruderious family watching the news and the same headline is Shown with a picture of the car In question. Shanequa just shakes her head and says “it’s the same shit every day, when will it stop”?
Scene 6
Rudy makes his way to school and during this walk he gets a call from his big sis Makiya and Zaira who moved away to college. Makiya let’s Rudy know a surpirise she just couldn’t keep and tell him that they are coming home for Rudy’s final game of the year and for his birthday.
Scene 7
Scene
He becomes the neighborhood hero and the same kids who used to bully him are the first ones we see congratulating him on his success.
Scene 8
During his birthday party his sister is fatally shot. It breaks Rudy and withut emotion he walks into his section 8 apartment home. Looking under his mother bed he opens a box with two gold plated glock 17’s. He grabs his bag and bam scene ends.
Overall Inspirations:
Supernatural (television show)
Follows two brothers hunting monsters, all started when their monster-hunting father disappears
Came out in 2005, ran until 2021
Takes place in America, traveling across different cities and states
Brings up questions of “what is family,” “what is moral in a world of secrecy and monsters,” and “what are you willing to sacrifice”
Inspired the American aesthetic, the importance of family and finding family, the concept of a secret hierarchical society
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (television show)
Follows Buffy, a chosen-one Slayer, and her adventures fighting monsters while trying to navigate her new high school (and eventually college)
Came out in 1997, ran until 2003
Takes place in Sunnydale, California, over the Hellmouth
Brings up issues of feminism, exploitation of youth, morality, and what is means to have power
Inspired the idea that women are more likely to be Hunters, the idea of dreams being mystical in the Sasaki family, and the idea of a whole secret society existing
Grimm (television show)
Follows Nick, a detective who discovers he is a Grimm, someone capable of seeing monsters that inspired folktales known as Wesen
Came out in 2011, ran until 2017
Takes place in Portland, Oregon
Brings up questions of “what makes someone a monster”
Inspired the idea that only Hunters could see Lightstalkers
Jujutsu Kaisen (television show and movie)
2020-present TV show & a 2021 movie
Secret society of people with powers fighting “curses”
Influenced themes of tragic romance, found family, constraints and corruption of hierarchy
Mariko’s ancestor and child are both named Megumi as a reference to this influence
Love Actually (movie)
2003 British romcom
Takes place around Christmas
Follows multiple different romances, some positive, some tragic
Plays into the cinematography and sound
Slay The Princess (video game)
2022 visual novel video game
Fantasy, cosmic horror
Inspired the designs for the Children of Desdemona a bit
Inspired some of the sound design and reflects the cyclical nature of violence
Chasing Amy (and the View Askewniverse)
1997 romcom/romantic drama
Takes place within a larger comedy movie universe
Inspired the cinematography and aesthetics
Ties into the themes of queerness and self-sabotage
Act I: Summary
Dolores begins a fragmented account of what has led her to this moment in 2013 where she is losing her job. We see her family, a close friend, a wise ally (Wynn), and the object of her affection: Mariko. As Declan calls Dolores to check in and asks about what’s going on, Dolores explains that she met Mariko when the latter joined the New England Hunters’ Council in January of 2003, providing a bit of context about Mariko’s toxic relationship with her boyfriend, as well as the sabotage of Mariko’s efforts to stop a doomsday event she expects to happen as a result of her ancestor’s failings to do so.
Act II:
Scene #1: Montage sequence of 2003
Following the sabotage incident at the end of Act I, Dolores and Mariko develop a friendship and borderline emotional love affair as they try to figure out who the saboteur is and how to stop them.
Throughout all of these little meetings, Mariko appears more and more off-kilter due to the increasing toxicity and mistreatment from her boyfriend, Marc.
Lack of sleep, frustration with Marc (and other men), bruises, weight loss, increasing mistrust of the Council
Throughout all of these little meetings, Dolores appears more and more romantically infatuated with Mariko
Increasing the ante in their little meetings (first it was coffee, eventually dinner “dates” and “sleepovers”)
Viewing Mariko with more and more interest, to the point where she teases her ex-situationship & current friend Cassandra that her terrible choices might finally be over
Learning more about genetics to impress her, learning more about the Children of Desdemona, traveling to Maine to meet up with her even though it’s far away
Decreasing and eventually ceasing her habit of one-night stands and casual flirting with other women
Ends in late March 2004, where the next major scene begins
Heavily influenced by the montage with Wade and Vanessa from “Deadpool” where the couple falls in love and is romantically involved in some capacity for each holiday.
Similar timescale too
Scene #2: It’s Never Just Coffee
Mariko shows up in Boston unexpectedly, visibly shaken and carrying a BLACK JOURNAL OF PARCHMENT PAPER WITH A BLUE CALLIGRAPHY PEN
This journal will be important later!
Most visible emotion we see on Mariko the entire runtime so far
The worst Mariko has looked physically up until this point
Messy hair, bruises, bloodshot eyes
Dolores, just having gotten home from work, asks Mariko what’s wrong, and Mariko kisses her unexpectedly, marking the start of their messy love affair.
Influenced by “Coffee” by Chappell Roan (specifically the chorus, especially since the first “date” was coffee, as seen in Act I) & “Chasing Amy” with its rain confession (I’m picturing lots of blue lighting)
Scene #3: Mariko Goes to Iceland
Mariko and Dolores are spending a night together when she unexpectedly excuses herself and soon leaves. Days later, Mariko tells her that she got a work opportunity in Iceland for her day job, which despite Dolores’ instincts that something’s up, Dolores accepts. The two agree to talk over Skype.
Cue the montage: the pair keep in touch for conversation over Skype, but nothing more develops romantically, Dolores noticeably lonely back in the US. Mariko seems visibly tired, but looks much healthier than before, much to Dolores’ relief.
In August of 2004, Dolores notices that there is money missing from the donated funds dedicated to supporting Mariko’s genetic research, but that there is extra money allocated to historical research and travel funds, however the amounts do not match. She debates telling Mariko, but upon seeing a visibly vibrant Mariko talking about an exciting new discovery unrelated to the Children of Desdemona stuff, she decides against it.
Inspired by Forrest Gump’s reveal of Jenny having had a kid when she left unexpectedly (there’s another movie I’m also thinking of, but I honestly can’t remember which one for the life of me)
I want to utilize the unique landscape and time differences of Iceland to contrast Mariko being on her own and Dolores being surrounded by people, but feeling lonely
Scene #4: Mariko Returns
Mariko returns by New Year’s. She looks different, tired most definitely. Dolores attempts to ask her, but Mariko dances around it, instead launching into a passionate discussion about Hunter stuff. Dolores, who is always attracted to her passionate nature, falls for this. They resume their love affair, but Mariko’s availability is limited at night, and she seems more tired.
A microscene: January 2005, Wynn joins the Hunters’ Council, a young, idealistic but also haunted person. Mariko and Dolores both work closely with them, especially as they have that same passion they do. However, Dolores notices Mariko disappearing more and fears that she’s getting “too close” with them.
Scene #5: Breach of Privacy
Dolores snoops through Mariko’s journal while she’s asleep and discovers that Mariko has had a daughter she’s doomed. She decides to never speak about this to anyone. She also discovers that Mariko slept with her for information.
It’s implied Mariko did this with someone else, but it is never specified who, though it’s implied to be a man
Scene #6: The Breakup
November 30th, 2005, Mariko and Dolores have a massive falling out, feelings of betrayal on both sides. This day is the one Dolores regrets more than anything.
Dolores betrayed Mariko’s privacy and trust
Mariko broke Dolores’ heart and lashes out
Scene #7: December-February Descent
Mariko begins to fall apart, becoming incredibly hostile and paranoid. Dolores can’t bring herself to risk her career for her, still wounded by the heartbreak. Only Wynn stays at her side, though it appears working on separate projects as well.
Scene #8: March & Changing Tides
Mariko seems to start doing better during March 2006 as she discovers that people with the Artemis mutation are also incapable of having hemophilia due to all Hunters carrying only normal blood-clotting alleles.
Dolores seems to be improving her status in the Council once again, but doesn’t appear to be any happier.
Scene #9: Turn for the Worst
But April 2006, Mariko loses her day job and becomes even more obsessed, to the point where she calls Dolores during a private meeting with Jesse on April 29th in a fit of self-loathing and distrust of everyone after almost ‘saving her daughter from fate.’ John overhears part of this on the phone, and Mariko’s position is officially called into question
Scene #10: The Incident
May 3rd, 2006, Mariko shows up to the meeting with baby Megumi (shocking both Wynn and Dolores the most), haggard beyond belief with a turquoise binder. Dolores notices her staring at Jude and scribbling intently at her binder.
Dolores tells Wynn to let her go, knowing that neither of them can save her from being ousted, and that if it goes more smoothly than not, she can at least make sure she gets the mental health help she needs for her paranoia. They argue with Wynn about this, who calls her out for giving up on Mariko. After pondering on what Wynn has said, she recognizes that Mariko will never forgive her, and not having her back means that she’ll probably never be able to see her again. Deciding that she can’t handle this hell of no Mariko in her life, she calls her to tell her that she’ll have her back and that she wants to make up for their fight, but it goes straight to voicemail repeatedly, making Dolores question if the saboteur murdered her.
Act III:
Scene #1: Emergency Contact
Dolores learns of Mariko’s death. She is utterly devastated that she never truly told her how she felt and extremely regretful of what she’s done. She only stays afloat because she sees how broken up about it Wynn is and decides they need each other, at least for now. They agree to quietly carry on her legacy by keeping an eye on her concerns and continue to fight for their dreams.
It’s notable that Dolores was Mariko’s emergency contact.
Scene #2: Spiral Out
Dolores, in a moment of reckless grief, gets injured and forced to partake in a psych evaluation through the Council. She lies through it, but later calls her mother and tells her everything.
Marks a change for the better in Dolores’ familial relationships
Scene #3: Family First
It’s 2013. Dolores is visiting her cousin, and the two of them both see a Lightstalker in the distance. She tells him to say nothing, she’ll explain when he’s older. For now, he needs to focus on being young. She notices Dylan Jareau in the distance.
Scene #4: No Regrets… Well, maybe 1
Two days later, at a meeting, her failure to report her cousin’s son is announced, and she is ousted, save for Wynn. On her way out, she tells Wynn she hasn’t forgotten her promise.
Dolores hops on the train and, for a brief moment, she sees Mariko standing behind her, and when she disappears she decides that her ousting will be okay, that she’ll find some other way, just like Mariko tried to do.
Act I
Act one introduces us to Flan, our lead as well as two of his closest confidants. While talking, Flan finds a leaf blowing in the wind leading to him finding out about the existence of the outside world. He wants to see it so he confronts Quell who is said to know how to leave. Quell refuses to tell him however but one of Quell’s subordinates accidentally name drops someone who might know. Flan and co leave to go on a journey to find this other character, The Acolyte who might possess the key to getting out. To prevent this, Quell sends two of his subordinates, Orin and Eisgai after the trio in order to persuade them to stop.
Act II
Act two will primarily center on Flan’s journey through the dunes of Kaleo with his two companions. The three will meet up with the mysterious Acolyte who will tell the trio about the history of the Progenitors before meeting up with and being eaten by the last Progenitor. Our trio fight off the last Progenitor, causing it to diffuse, freeing The Acolyte. The Acolyte is enraged however and gives them what they want but refuses to tell them more, kicking them out. With shard in hand the three try and return home but get into one last kerfuffle with Orin and Eisgai who have melded together to take the shard. Once the shard is reclaimed and the three return home, Flan galvanizes the town and the entire town march towards freedom. However when they make it to the gate and Flan places the shard in, he realizes that there are still spots missing, causing him to become enraged.
Act III
Flan is desperate to escape. In a state of delirium he starts to absorb other people around him, forcing them to fuse with him in order to amass more power. Quell tries to evacuate as many people as possible with the help of Orin, Eisgai, and a distraught Moon. However Flan does end up absorbing enough people to gain enough power to tear open a gateway to the outside. He goes through it but once there he starts to dissolve as Quell had warned. He is saved however as he is dragged back into the pocket dimension. In an ending credits scene there is a small time skip as an unknown person makes an expedition to the outside via a fixed up gate, wearing a special suit, showing that they make it outside eventually.
Inspirations
So a lot of my inspirations actually come from TV shows and games so keep that in mind.
The Emperor’s New Groove – No movie is as funny as that movie is to me. The writing is short and the humor is witty. Like with one of the other things I have here, I have this movie here because I strive for that kind of sharp comedic writing.
Undertale – A game about monsters being trapped underground via a magic barrier. The general premise came a lot from Undertale, along with the Ethereal Workshop in the mobile game My Singing Monsters.
Cassette Beasts – Another great game. The Melding system takes a lot of inspiration from Cassette Beast’s fusion mechanic along with other works with similar systems such as Dragon Ball Z or Steven Universe.
Steven Universe, specifically the episode Keeping It Together – This episode stuck with me because the concept of Gem Clusters are terrifying. The show revolves around Gems which are lifeforms composed of a singular gem and a body projected from it made of light. A gem cluster is a bunch of shattered gem parts bunched together in the ground, forced to fuse into an amalgamation. Think of it like Frankenstein. I’m a sucker for fusion in movies but forced fusion is hardly even seen. This episode had a lot of influence when it came to the climax and the introduction of the Melding system in order to make that climax happen.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime – In terms of Flan’s design, a lot of inspiration came from Rimiru, the lead in that anime.
Human Centipede – This kind of body horror (along with Tusk) makes me squeamish. Combine the human centipede and an inside joke with one of my roommates and you get The Tailor.
Amphibia – One of my favorite shows in recent years. One big reason for that is the comedy, both in visual gags and actual written ones. I respect how witty and at times morbid the humor is. I strive to that level of comedic writing.
Act I:
Introduces the characters and the conflict:
In the first scene, the Trusted One is running through the Palace of Labar– the capital city of the nation Latabat– as it crumbles and shakes around him. This foreshadows the conflict and introduces the character who will later become the antagonist.
Scenes two through seven: introduce the five main characters, the Travelers. They are Dergek from Dafarn, Plurmef from Pernet, Flook from Clarn, Renege from Rouch, and Clanas from Tabat. These scenes provide information on the characters’ backstories, their families, and who they are as people. Especially important: reveals their dramatic needs (or their desires/motivations that push them to take on the journey→ for many of the characters, it’s love for their families and the need to protect the families; for others, it’s the desire to escape a life they feel trapped in.
Scenes eight through ten: transition the story from character introductions and conflict revelations to the beginning of the journey. These scenes follow the travelers as they are officially assigned their mission and objective, and as they prepare to step out into the world on the own for the first time.
Scene eleven: the final scene of Act I; the transition into Act II. The travelers finally leave Latabat through a heavily guarded passageway that connects the cavern of Labar to the natural world outside of the nation. It marks the official start of their journey and advances the story into the next sector of adventure.
Act II:
Overview:
What is it?
A story about a newly single mother, Jamie, and her two children. Jamie is navigating life without a husband, and the kids are navigating life without a father when they are randomly targeted by home intruders. The safety of the children is suddenly thrust into the hands of Jamie, who must do whatever it takes to keep them from harm.
Influences:
Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games”
“Why are you doing this?” “Why not?”
Bryan Bertino’s “The Strangers”
“Why are you doing this to us?” “Because you were home”
ACT I:
Establishes the family’s new dynamic. The kids are shown at school, at sports, with their friends, with their mother at home. They have a couple of hard conversations with their mother about the absence of their father, but it’s evident that he was never the most supportive anyway. They are struggling with the feeling of relief. Jamie is shown mostly stressing about the situation that her family is in, but once with her friends as she begins to learn how to let go. Through her words and actions it is more than obvious that her children are the most important thing in the world to her.
ACT II:
Toward the beginning of ACT II, the intruders break into the home and restrain the family. Jamie begs not for her safety, not for her dignity, not for her belongings, but for the safety of her children. She does not cry as the children do, but it’s obvious that she wants to. The intruders are both male, and threaten Millie and Jamie with whatever horrible things they can think of if they refuse to comply. The element of sexual predation does not unfold further than this—it serves no purpose to the story as the characters are being abused and traumatized in other ways.
ACT III:
It’s revealed that Jamie has found access to nail clippers left on the coffee table, overlooked by the men that have now been in the house for several hours. We continuously see her slowly, quietly, secretly, hack at the ropes around her wrists while she reasons with the intruders, carefully dancing around what she wants to say and do to them. She eventually overpowers them after an incident between the two causes their bond to weaken, and kills the one that remains, saving her children and waiting outside for authorities to arrive.
ACT 2: Act 2 will take us to the railroads of Stralavia, where Shura (mc) and Malco (sc) will be jumping a train to the capital city of Stralavia, Vimala. Before Shura and Malco can leave however, a group of masked bounty hunters will attempt to attack the two, as their parting train is about to leave. After narrowly escaping, we learn this group of attackers is an infamous group called the “Chuavin Legion”, a no strings attached bounty militia for hire, known for its violent, yet professional aura. It is made clear that Kitor Wilstem sent them for Shura.
There are a few cuts to show Kitor during the time, as he focuses on hunting down Shura, because her existence threatens his power.
We get to know our two main characters better, on the way. We learn about Shura’s humble beginnings, and more of her personality, as well as Malco’s. Suddenly the train they jumped on has to make an emergency stop at a large station after being alerted to possible jumpers, so Shura and Malco have to stop. However, many of the workers know Malco, and when they are discovered, they do not threaten the two. Unfortunately, because of the Chuavin Legion’s authority from King Wilstem, their free ticket train is forced to stay put for a number of days, delaying Shura’s plan drastically. After discussing matters with his coworkers, Malco convinces Shura to wait the investigation out with him and the rest of the railworkers, posing as one of them. Reluctantly, Shura agrees and is hidden in plain sight as a Technician.
Once the Chuavin Legion arrives, they immediately begin taking over the station, leaving no room for mistake, or slip ups. Shura continues to “work” as a “technician”, having close calls with the Chuavin Legion. After a very close call, Shura eventually confronts Malco, and his coworkers, explaining the situation at large, and attempting to have the railworkers help them. They all announce their concerns, distastes, and even call Shura out for allowing them in their current position. Eventually Shura is able to suede the workers to help her, even rallying a group of them to go with Shura and Malco to Vimala, to act as a distraction for any surrounding security/guards Shura may encounter.
Unfortunately, the Chuavin Legion discovers Shura’s cover, and she is separated from the rest of the workers in a chase. And after nearly being captured, Malco is able to save Shura and they both run for the train, now departing for Vimala. After jumping on, the Chuavin Legion is left in the dust, to be met at the Palace.
ACT 3: In act 3, Shura, Malco, and the group of rail workers arrive in Vimala, at the Royal Transportation Station, right inside the palace grounds. Immediately, guards are outside the station, due to the unscheduled arrival of a train.
Shura conducts a plan with the rail workers, to help her get inside the palace. The workers, as well as Malco, would fake a protest outside of the Palace, to act as a decoy for Shura to enter unnoticed, and without interaction with any guards that will attempt to kill her. The workers all agree on the plan, however Malco objects to the idea of Shura going in alone, and says that he would go along with her. Shura and Malco go back and forth trying to convince on another that Shura will be fine, and that she wouldn’t without help. Suddenly, guards enter the train, and the decoy protest is forced into action, as Shura hides among the crowd of yelling workers. Malco tries to find her, but she disappears into the night.
Shura is able to sneak inside of the palace due to the situation the workers were causing, and she runs along the eerily empty palace halls that were once a little warmer than before. She pulls out her pistol as she gets closer to Kitor’s chambers, but when she reaches for the door, the gun is swatted from her hand, clacking against the floor. Shura turns, and Kitor stands behind her with his sword, already awaiting her arrival. The decoy worked on the guards, but not him. Shura and Kitor speak in a distance, as he inches closer to Shura. Suddenly, Kitor throws a second sword to Shura’s feet. He explained that the future will be decided on who wins the battle. She will have to fight him to the death.
Meanwhile, Malco is trapped with the group outside. He tells those close that he has to find Shura, and tries to escape the crowd. Eventually, he is also able to sneak out of the crowd, and has to find Shura in the large palace, blind to its layout. She could be anywhere.
Shura and Kitor then engage in combat. It is clear Shura is rusty compared to Kitor. He nearly slashes her multiple times, as Shura is forced to jump out of the way, and tries to make attempts at Kitor. She kicks him upside the face, causing him to fall, and she has a chance to end the battle, but… She hesitates, and Kitor jumps up, and it continues.
Malco finds Shura fighting Kitor, and he yells out to her, causing her to lose focus. Shura looks over to Malco, but it comes with a great cost. Kitor impales Shura, making her collapse to the floor in her own blood, as her life drips away. Malco fights Kitor, but is beaten down, about to meet the same fate as Shura.
However, with the last of her strength, Shura stands before Kitor as he is about to kill Malco, and she swings her sword across Kitor’s neck, killing him instantly. She collapses again, and the world goes black.
Inspo: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars the Phantom Menace, Amulet (graphic novel series) Game of Thrones.
The first act shows us our first two main sides: Euan Murray, a ruthless killing machine, and Leroy “Red” Jackson, a leader of the most infamous gang at the time, The “Red Riders”. It sets up the setting as an old western movie, with the town of Sapwood truly setting in that fact. We meet Jeffrey, a soon to be accomplice of Euan in his hunt for the Red Rider gang. After Jeffrey gives Euan a lead on the Red Riders and a possible reward of 1 million dollars, we see the two flair their different techniques in a brutal, quick gun fight in a bar. This scene cements this story as one of death and blood. Next, we meet the quintessential “villain”, Leroy “Red” Jackson, and his gang of Red Riders. He has an argument with one of his closest men, Cairo, about a large sum of cash Jackson seems to be hiding somewhere. He sends three of his men off on a mission to find someone while he himself rides into a nearby town. Here, we have a confrontation with a small sect of KKK members that Jackson takes care of. We also reveal that two bounty hunters are actually looking for Euan. This becomes the first time Jackson has heard that name. We cut back to our dynamic duo, as Euan sees visions of his scarred past. Then, the two ride up to the house of Mr. Weevil, where Jeffrey was hoping to find Pooler Weevil, an old friend of his he thought might be able to help the two hunt down the Red Riders, but instead it seems he is gone, and his wife was killed by a group of three men. We later find out it was the same three men that Jackson had sent out. Now, Euan and Jeffrey must try to get to Mr. Weevil before Jackson’s goons can. END ACT 1
Act two is all about the formation of a small band of, as Jeffrey puts it, “Merry Men”. Euan and Jeffrey attempt to save Pooler, but it’s too late. Euan gets revenge on the three men who kill Pooler, getting some info out of one of Jackson’s goons. Then, after returning to Mr. Weevil’s home, Natalia, Pooler’s daughter, begs to join the two to get her revenge on Jackson, and, despite Jeffrey adamantly refusing, Euan decides to let her join them on their crusade. The band of the three then heads south, closer to the Red Rider gang, and towards their next new hires, The Rose Brothers. We cut to see Jackson in a larger city, such as San Antonio at the time. He rides through the city and goes to a gunsmith to purchase ammo and guns to be shipped out to his home. Just then, a band of KKK members burst in and accuse Jackson of the killing of the three KKK members from before. The gunsmith turns into an all-out gun fight, and Jackson is able to slip out the back into an alley way and then onto his horse. He gets chased out of the city by the band of KKK members, of which he dispatches a few of them. He eventually loses them in the wilderness. We then go to Cairo, who seems to be conspiring against Jackson. One night, he sneaks out to where he knows the money is being kept, and creeps past all the guards that Jackson had posted. Just as he begins stealing all the cash out of a box, Jackson’s right-hand man, Ramírez, stops him. They get into a scuffle, and Cairo ends up killing Ramírez on accident. Out of fear, he runs away in the night from the gang, headed somewhere north. We go back to our Band of Merry Men and meet the Rose Brothers, two very eccentric men. They agree to join Euan and Jeffrey for a good cut of the million dollars. They stay the night at the Rose Brother’s place, and we learn more about Euan by him talking to Natalia as she misses home and her now dead parents. We learn Euan has a troubled past, one that was torn apart by the Red Riders gang, and he’s in this for revenge, not the money. We then cut to Jackson who has made it back to his home. He is informed of the death of Ramírez and swears to finally put Cairo down. Just then, the band of KKK members find his outpost, and a big battle takes place. Many men die, but the KKK loses and finally retreats. Now, Jackson knows he must flee, and starts packing everything up, hoping to get to the Mexican border as soon as possible. However, in one finally decision, he sends out one of his finest hunters to kill Cairo. END ACT 2
Act three starts with Cairo running into the band of Merry Men in a small, deserted town. He is recognized by Euan as being part of the Red Riders gang, and, after some persuasion and manipulation, agrees to help the gang find the Red Riders and get the money. After bunkering down in the town for the night, Jackson’s hunter arrives. Just before he is able to kill Cairo, Jeffrey awakens and jumps on the hunter. The rest of the Merry Men wake up and attempt to help Jeffrey. Jeffrey gets shot by the hunter, then Natalia puts down the man. Jeffrey seems to be fine and just patches himself up. The next day, the band makes their way to Jackson’s camp with the help of Cairo. The group sets up a plan upon arriving and they carry it out. It begins falling apart halfway through as the flaws of each character is truly shown. The Rose Brothers end up blowing up the compound with themselves in it. Cairo dies just inches before he is able to escape with all the cash by Jackson. Natalia is knocked unconscious by a beam falling on her. Jeffrey and Euan get stuck in a room and, as the remnants of The Red Riders surround them, they fight off each and every single one of them. Euan gets out of the room, Jeffrey being left behind, and Euan and Jackson finally have their final confrontation. They have a duel, and Jackson wins the duel, but Euan tricks Jackson and fires a bullet through his head when he checks to see if he’s dead. As Euan bleeds out, Jeffrey comes out of the rubble. He puts Euan to rest and finds Natalia. The final scene is Jeffrey taking Natalia to a doctor before dying from the wound he took from the hunter before. The story ends in a bloodbath.
Most of my inspirations come from Sergio Leone, from the setting to the characters to the way the gunfights play out. The dynamic of the characters and the locations is heavily referenced to Sergio, and I want a couple of nods in the movie itself to his work, like certain camera angles, musical stingers and the like. It is mostly Sergio that got me so enveloped into the idea of making a Spaghetti Western film.
In looking at the stages of grief, act 1 is denial, act 2 is anger followed by grief that bleeds into act 3, which ends in acceptance.
Act I
Act I is not as outright as the other acts in terms of the process of grief, nothing is linear and coping does not always start in a healthy manner.
Odette is a florist who runs her own flower shop, she recieves a cactus as a sympathy gift from a woman named Margaret, later shown to be her aunt. She initially treats the cactus coldly, instead opting to take care of her shop. Odette is joyful yet childish, no more so than when she is interacting with the cactus.
She travels through the city, the world is vibrant and colorful, yet there is a sense of loneliness and isolation to Odette as she traverses her world.
She takes the cactus home, we are introduced to her cat and eclectic style, and her growing mixed feelings towards the cactus.
The next few scenes involve Odette going about her life, where she begins to account the events of her days to the cactus. She does not necessarily like the cactus, but still talks to it anyways.
Norman, her cat, knocks over a vase of flowers, foreshadowing the eventual fate of the cactus.
Flashbacks on a train clue the viewer in to her past, showing a small Odette and a social worker discussing her newfound orphan status, and subsequent placement with her grandmother.
Margaret comes over to Odette’s apartment for a girl’s night, things are humorous and fun until Margaret starts to reminisce about the day she met Odette and her mom, Odette’s grandmother. While Margaret sees the memories as happy and nostalgic, they upset Odette, who shuts down and goes to bed.
Throughout this act the heavy themes of loneliness and isolation surround Odette, despite her bubbly demeanor, as she has few meaningful interactions with characters besides her cat and the cactus. We get repeated references to a lost loved one, whom Odette avoids talking about out of fear of recognizing the fact her grandma is in fact dead.
Act II
Odette’s grief and emotions start to eat away at her, and her emotional state deteriorates the more she tries to bottle it all up.
Following her night with Margaret, memories of the past plague Odette often. Everything seems to remind her of her grandmother, both the good and the bad.
Margaret calls, she doesn’t pick up, instead opting to eat dinner with the cactus instead.
Her talks to the cactus grow more melancholic, but also angrier. She has started to reflect on a few memories of her grandmother, and has projected that anger onto both herself and the cactus.
She gets a flyer in the mail for grief counseling, it is like an insult to her.
The cactus blooms, and in her brief joy Odette gets overzealous and gets pricked by the cactus. She lashes out at it, how could it hurt her like that when she had done nothing but care for it?
Odette is upset and confused when thinking about her grandmother, how Maria upset her and hurt her, but also how much she loved her.
As she lays in bed, we see one of the photo frames on her bedside more clearly, its her grandma, wrapped in a purple shawl, watering a cactus. The same cactus seen in the flashback in act 1 that she seemed so devoted to.
She comes home from a particularly bad day to find the cactus pot on the ground, shattered. The plant itself is damaged and broken beyond repair, already turning brown. She knows Norman got to it. Upon this discovery, Odette for the first time since her grandmother died, breaks down. She violently sobs and ugly cries until she can’t breathe, curled up in a mess on the kitchen floor.
Act III
This act starts out similar to act II in terms of atmosphere, its sad and bleak, but as Odette processes her grief and allows herself a shoulder to lean on, the world is bright again.
Odette is in shambles; she is at work and fails to make any conversation with Tony. Her fingers are bandaged from handling the broken pot shards.
Her attitude at home is no better, she feeds Norman dry food and doesn’t talk to him, her plants wilt, and the color shading is bleak and desaturated.
Margaret shows up at the flower shop and demands to talk to Odette, who has been ignoring her. Margaret does most of the talking, she tells Odette it’s okay to be sad, but it’s also okay to be angry. Margaret asks why she is so upset at the mention of her grandmother’s death, had she not seen it coming? Odette reveals she did not know she was sick until she got the call she died. Odette says that she talked to her every night on the phone, told her about every rude customer and every detail of her life, but her grandma never told her she was sick.
They go back to Odette’s place and Margaret asks where the cactus is, mentioning she thought it would have been a funny gift to brighten her mood since she always loved helping her grandma water her cactus. Odette is fixing a drink, and once again starts to cry in the kitchen, only this time Margaret is there, holding her and consoling her as she cries.
The final scene shows Odette visiting her grandmother’s grave, the grave of her father and grandfather beside them. She is smiling and left both a bouquet of flowers as well as a potted cactus on the grave. Margaret honks a car at her and Odette gets in, excited to go on a road trip with her to visit some of their extended family.
The world has color again.
By the end of the story Odette has only started to healthily process her grief and subsequent trauma, however by allowing herself to open to her emotions and lean on someone else for once, she has started her journey of healing.