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EC: Giovanni's Angel Excerpts Fun Hops

Youthful Frights vs Adult Fears #WEPFF Challenge No. 2 featuring Dolls & Eternal Curse Series #amwriting #amreading #movie

Well, I’d like to start off by saying, Happy Birthday to Me! That’s right. I’m the big 3 5 today and not ashamed one bit. Reaching 35 years of age unscathed, non-committed, non-incarcerated, and non-impoverished is something to be happy and proud about. I am blessed to have lived another year, simply put.

Now let’s talk about childhood fears…

When I was a kid (and let’s be honest, even now sometimes) I collected stuffed animals and toys. I wasn’t much into dolls, but where my sister had Barbie I had G.I. Joe. I did, however, love teddy bears. One year for my sister’s birthday, my parents decided she could have a sleepover and pick out three movies to watch, and one could be something none G or PG as long as they approved it first. I still to this day don’t know how she got this movie passed them, but I think it had something to do with the title.

Now at that time, I was nine years old (turning 10 in four months) and my sister was turning 12. She picked this movie thinking it would be corny and not really scary. Ha. I was the only one out of her bunch of friends to actually finish watching it, which I still regret to this day. I wasn’t even supposed to be at the party, not that I wasn’t invited, but I wasn’t interested in all the girly stuff that happened before the movie watching began. In a rare instance of kindness, back then (she’s lovely now), my sister gathered me from my room to watch the movies because she knew how much I enjoyed films; even at that age I knew more trivia than all the adults around me.

So, what all this boils down to is that after watching the movie, I realized that I needed to find a place to sleep. My room was out of the question. Every toy and doll in that freakish scary movie was in my bedroom along with dozens more. I’m pretty sure I remember waking up in the bathroom tub to the sound of my mom yelling, “What did you do to your sister?”

I’ve watched this movie since and it’s not nearly as scary, but still very creepy … Who makes these movies!

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I find dreams to be nerve-wracking sometimes. When it’s a good dream you don’t want to wake up from it and when it’s a bad dream that’s all you want to do. I don’t throw around the word hate a lot, but I hate it when I’m having a bad dream and I can’t wake up from it, even though I know it’s not real. I can’t stand that sense of helplessness, of not being able to do anything about my situation. It’s like being mugged or trapped. That’s my adult fear and I used that idea to write the following passage. Not sure if I quite captured the sense of desperation I wanted.

Looking for general feedback here. Even though this piece has been published, the beauty of self-publishing is that I can update my work anytime I choose. 😉

~

     He looked down toward the ground and saw an attractive young woman carrying a large pail into a barn. Her skin was freckled and pale, and she had rosy cheeks. Her hair was long and straight, and it was black like the night. She seemed so familiar to him, but he didn’t know her. Giovanni watched as the young woman filled feeding troughs with water to be cleaned. As she reached for a scrubbing brush, Giovanni could see that someone or something was following her. He sensed that trouble was on the way. He tried to call out to her, but she could not hear him. His voice made no sound. Giovanni left the tree and swooped down to the ground to achieve a closer look.

     There he saw a creeping perpetrator bouncing from beam to beam in the rafters of the barn. Drool slipped from the monster’s mouth while it hovered over the unknowing young woman. Giovanni tried to fly up to see this fiendish stalker, but he couldn’t lift his feet off the ground, and his wings would not flap. Giovanni knew something bad would happen, he could feel it in his heart, but it seemed he could do nothing to stop it. He did not understand. Why was this happening? How could he appear to be so powerful, be so angelic, and not be able to help someone in need?

     Giovanni refused to give up his pursuit. He pushed his body forward and moved from door to door, and window to window, trying to get in to warn and protect the young woman. Looking through a window, Giovanni finally saw the villain’s full horror. He established a clear vision of the attacker as it leaped down from the ceiling toward the woman. It was the most hideous monster he’d ever seen, much worse than his own reflection.

     A twisted and mangled troll with charcoal for skin on a hairless body stalked about. It had empty holes carved out of its skull where eyes once were. There were two large dull spikes protruding from its hunched back, where it looked as though wings had been violently ripped from its body. Its hands were made of jagged bones held together with rotting ligaments, and its feet crackled as it moved along the floor.

     In the troll’s hands were two long golden rods that whipped back and forth almost like lassos. Each rod was attached to the end of a large iron spike that punched through the shoulders of a young man’s dying body. The rods held up the young man’s body as though he were a puppet being pulled by strings. To the young woman, however, the troll simply appeared as a shadowy figure lingering around the painfully disturbed and ailing young man moving toward her.

     The troll maneuvered the young man’s body around the girl for attack, delivering blow after blow.  The monster had taken over this young man’s body; it was using him as a weapon to attack this poor girl for what seemed to be the sheer enjoyment of it. It laughed a loud cackle as it threw the girl down to the ground, tearing her raggedy dress. Giovanni could see the girl’s anguish and could hear her screams. Throbbing empathetic pain consumed him in every place the girl was struck, but Giovanni could do nothing to stop it.

     Giovanni began to cry out, weeping and sobbing. He tried to look away and he tried to get away, but he couldn’t. That’s when it began to happen. He became consumed with anger and hatred. Giovanni’s body grew hot and began to sizzle. Smoke and steam began to rise up from his body as his wondrous glow began to fade and he became shrouded in darkness. Everything around him began to catch fire as he began morphing into anger. The smell of burning wood and flesh assaulted his tortured senses and Giovanni knew he was changing.

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel 4th Ed. Copyright © 2015 Toinette Thomas

Since it’s my birthday and it’s the season of spooky, the EC: Giovanni’s Angel ebook will be on sale for 99₵ the next few days. Check it out if interested and be sure to visit other stops on this challenge hop.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Movies

Renaissance Review – Mock Squid Soup No.10 #cinephiles #film #review

Wikipedia

This review will consist of me asking myself 10 questions and answering them to the best of my ability. However, before I do that, let’s take a look at my clues from last week.

#1 This is an awarding winning French film that, like so many others, did not do well at in U.S. box offices, but has since built up a cult following.

#2 The story is a dark tale of the future that cleverly ties into the fictional past of (the release year of the film) 2006 to help explain the mystery that’s being solved in the movie.

#3 This is a black and white film of a different caliber, with some well-known actors lending their talents this relatively low budget (for its type) film that has an awesome tagline: Paris 2054. Live forever or die trying.

Sorry about that last clue. I worried I made the clues too vague, but just coming out and saying that the film was animated seemed too easy.

New: see my viewing experience notes here.

1. What is this film about?

Like many sci-fi or futuristic movies, this film is about the pursuit of eternal youth or eternal life, two completely different things. It starts with a female scientist, Ilona, who seems to be in search of something, but before you have a chance to even wonder what it is, she gets kidnapped. This isn’t a spoiler; it’s the premise of the movie’s trailer. So in comes Captain Karas and the reckless sister, Bislane (I assume these are common French names.) to solve the case. With the investigation on, it doesn’t take long to realize that the company Ilona works for might have something to do with her disappearance I mean their name is Avalon and their slogan is “Health. Beauty. Longevity. Avalon. We’re on your side. For life.”…Right.

2. What did I think of the title, poster, and or trailer?

I’m not crazy about the title; I think it’s too vague. I guess it’s supposed to represent the genetic Renaissance of the future that makes people look and feel younger longer, but I feel like the movie didn’t emphasize that. Maybe the title means something else entirely and I just missed it.

I liked the trailer the first time I saw it which is why I wanted to see the movie, but I didn’t have a firm grasp on what the story was really about. I just thought it looked cool. I mean it’s an animated black and white movie made for a mature audience; how is that not cool? It turns out that the movie is more about Captain Kara’s investigation, but I won’t give away any details.

3. What did I think of the main character(s) and how the actors performed them?

Honestly, I didn’t think there was anything that really stood out about the voice work. Daniel Craig’s voice is distinctive, but that’s it. It sounds like trained actors reading lines in character. Nothing spectacular, but the animation is amazing. I feel like this was supposed to be a character-driven story, but I didn’t really connect with the characters. However, I didn’t dislike any of them and was able to easily follow along with Karas’s investigation. BTW- Karas’s character does have a very interesting back story.

4. What did I think of the direction and cinematography?

There are times when the images are hard to see, but that’s when you figure out how to look at the shadows around the light. The graphic artists were the real stars of this film and I guess the director helped all that come together.

5. What did I think of the soundtrack and score?

There were times when the music was a bit surreal and then there were times when I felt like James Bond was about to step onto the scene. The geek in me really liked that.

6. What did I like about the story as a whole?

I thought it was clever how the mystery of this story was tied into the past, the year 2006, which was the release year of the film. Overall I thought the story was really good and appreciated the little twist at the end.

7. What did I not like about the story?

I thought the relationship development was rushed and almost unnecessary, but people just don’t release movies without some kind romantic link. Also, I’m not sure if I picked up on a goof or glitch or what. There is one quick scene that I keep going back over, but I still can’t make sense of it.

8. Would I recommend this movie to others?

Yes, but I’d be picky about who I’d share it with.

9. If yes, who? What would I rate this movie?

Some people just don’t connect to animation and forget about black and white. I’d be sure to share this with an open-minded crowd. At least there are no subtitles, so that by itself will increase my audience.

On a scale of 1 to 5 movie reels, I give this film 4 reels.

MLikeIt

10. Was there anything in this movie that could be related to me or anything I have written?

I haven’t written anything like this, but I have penned a few thoughts and or cautionary tales of the future. I think what I learned most from this film is that no matter how much time passes, some people will always be greedy and someone will always have to keep them in check.

Watch, rent, or buy this movie here.

Mock Squid Soup – Film Society

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MOCK! and The Armchair Squid are proud to introduce Mock Squid Soup: A Film Society. Each month, on the second Friday, we shall host a bloghop devoted to movie reviews. We invite others to participate and post their reviews…Don’t be shy; come join the fun! 😀

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords