Quirky Tidbit Name of the Game: Bean, Sean Bean

So. It has clearly been a busy week, which means that this will be a mishmash of Quirky/Tidbit/Name of the Game. Thank you adulting. Fortunately, all three of these things coincide.

I've already mentioned that I do these weird celebrity obsessions right? This one has to do with my current projects. And it's weird, because not only is this someone I've had a secret crush on for a while, but I've never really talked about. Out loud. Fortunately, this is someone everybody knows(thank you pop culture). He started as Lovelace and Sharpe; he's done James Bond(as a villain); he's acted with Nic Cage(and was fabulous); current pop culture knows him as Boromir and Ned Stark. Know who he is yet?

Yes. It's Sean Bean. And yes, I fell in love with him when I saw Lord of the Rings. I saw him in National Treasure and he won me over even as a villain. Thanks to my job, I have access to all his earlier work, namely the Sharpe mini-series and the BBC adaption of Clarissa. So I've been doing a bit of a binge on all things Sean Bean that I can possibly get my hands on--and I feel no shame about such.

 The result is this week's "Tidbit Tuesday" section: that he  is currently dancing around in my head as a celebrity model for not one, but two of my characters. And here's why. See this photo above is Sean Bean as of last year. The photo below is when he was younger, specifically as Richard Sharpe:

And yes, all right, there isn't much difference between the two(the photos are fifteen years apart). But these are the faces I get when I think of these two characters--one the villain, and one the hero. I love his accent--both his natural and those he assumes for his roles; I love the way he moves, whether he's flirting/seducing a woman, or shooting things, or swinging his sword around. I haven't seen every episode of Game of Thrones but I have read the first book; and I follow enough of it on Social Media that I was upset by the death of his character(I watched Ned Stark's death on Youtube multiple times--some of the saddest fifty-three seconds of my life:) 

Needless to say, once this project is over, his face will stay in my head. And yes, he is one of the celebrities on my Collaboration Bucket List.

Tidbit Tuesday: Cameos Galore From the "Writing Closet"

I was having one of those days yesterday where I go back through all my projects to find something to revise because if I didn't I'd do go nuts.

This was after I had spend four hours baking things. My roommates love me, and there is a lot of refined sugar stuff in our apartment--let see if it lasts a week.

Anyhoo.....

As I was going through my projects, I made a discovery--or rather, a lot of discoveries. Check this out:

• Nick Callahan and Johnny Moreno in "Angels Alley". Davey, Dutch, Ash, and Gyp featured
• Davey and Mark in "Not a Criminal". Nick, Johnny and Gyp featured
• Ash featured in "Spider's Web"
• Dutch, featured as an Adult, in "Alley Cats"(with Johnny)
• Davey, Mark, and Gyp(under another name) featured in "Like Wolves"
• Alexis Callahan(Nick's relative) and Max("Maxie") in "Bright Smoke" and "Angel's Alley" 
• Milo(from "Simpatico") is related to Johnny(from "Angels Alley")
• Kiki and Eve("Polterguys") are descendants of Ivy(Kiki) and Julia(Eve) from "Angels Alley" How's that last one for weird?

For some reason, these people insist on getting a relative into whatever story is being told at the time. I've even got relatives of these people in my fantasy stuff(figure that one out).

You guys.

I am unwittingly writing a multi-generational, multi-genre, family saga.

It's weird.

***This discovery has been brought to you by chocolate bread, mint brownies, and cake balls****

NANNOWRIMO TAKOVER Tidbit Tuesday Bucket List: Plays

This week is nuts.

First, because THANKSGIVING!!!! which means probably no blog on for the rest of the week(thank you Squash-hunting and turkey and Black Friday insanity).

The other reason is that NaNoWriMo is coming to an end. Sad face.

Getting off NaNoWriMo is a bit like getting off an adrenalin rush.

In other words, less than a week from now, I won't know what to do with myself. At all. I call it the NaNoWriMo Crash--the thing all writers deal with at one point or another and have to get over to move on to the next project.

And it's NaNoWriMo makes this harder.

The upside is, I know when this happens, I can turn my second hobby: lists.

So I have a list for y'all.

When I was in high school, I was a "closet nerd". I knew about things("Supernatural", Marvel, TMNT, etc) but I never talked about them. Ever.

In college it got a little better because of the people I spent time/lived with("oh, you're going to do a "Supernatural" binge instead of study for midterms? Cool! Me too!").  I read nerdy books, saw nerdy movies, etc. etc.

And then I discovered nerdy plays.

I blame Qui Nguyen for this one.

I found one of his plays--"She Kills Monsters"--and devoured it.

DE.VOURED. IT.

I found something that appealed to my nerdiness; something I could relate to. And it didn't stop there.

Guys, there are more.

So many more!

In other words, the perfect cure for NaNoWriMo Crash 2015. Check this(re-reads included in list just because):

1. She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen
    Set in the 90s(when I grew up) and it's about RPG. And nerds. Yeah......
    I've seen production stills, I read the script, but have I been in a production? Not yet...

2. Clown Bar by Adam Symkowicz 
     Think film noir, but with clowns. Like, red-nose-wearing-polka-dot-sporting-crazy-wigged-
     legit-circus clowns. In a bar. With guns. And it's immersive, so it's supposed to be performed
      in a bar. Not on stage. In a bar. Oh my glob!

3. Toothpaste and Cigars by TJ Dawe and Michael Rinaldi
      Ok, so it's not exactly nerdy, but it's a sweet little relationship story with characters that are---    
      really quirky. Like, I saw the film version and...shall we say gained a whole new respect
      for Daniel Radcliffe? Yes.

4. Superstudent and the Case of the Missing Water Pistol
    I stage managed this show years ago, and can't for the life of me remember the playwright
    or how I got it(which is why no link, so sad). BUT--it's a sixth grade superhero battling
    a supervillain who has a water pistol that freeze people! Um...YAAAASSSS

5. R&J&Z by Melody Bates
    Guys, "Romeo and Juliet".
    With ZOMBIES.
     The end.

6. Soul Samarai by Qui Nguyen
    Ok, so I haven't even read this one. BUT I WANT TO!!!!!

Tidbit Tuesday: Bibliophile, Meet Research

Being still in the throes of revision of one piece and developing two more(yes, two, but more on two later), I have decided to pull a Lauren Willig again and "get into the characters' heads, experience the world as they experience it, speak as they speak".

One of the things I love about being a writer is that I get to read before, during, and after I write. Even better, I get to read books that are along the same genre, when I'm in the mood for reading fiction and not research stuff. So below, for your reading pleasure is what I have been reading for both research and pleasure purposes--as of now.

Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst This is another book where Watership Down meets wolves. Or Julie of the Wolves meets Watership Down. Anyway, this is an amazing example of what an author can do with a lifetime's worth of research. And it's something that is now on my Audible wishlist.

Beastly by Alex Flinn- Seriously, I have read this book so many dang times. I almost went full on fan girl and bought the audiobook and the movie--if the narrator hadn't been terrible in one and the other was---a complete waste of my money(especially since I went opening night; but I digress). I love the idea of a Beauty and the Beast Story told from the Beast's POV. And it's even better when that story takes place in 21st century New York, and kinda follows the Disney version of the story line(because, personally, I have issues with--well a lot of stuff in the original fairy tale. But I won't go into that now).

Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley-I confess, I read this version first, not Beauty. The main stupid reason is that the first time I read it, I wasn't into the whole first person narrative thing. I bugged me. This one was written in third person, so I gave it a shot. That was the first time. I have now read this thing four or five times, because it's such a sweet story.

Beauty by Robin McKinley-It took me a while--ok, it took two of my librarian friends and several other writer friends--to get me to read this book. First, because I was at the reading phase where I was sick of Robin McKinley(I'd read all her things except this one and was looking for something new). And second, because it was in first person(and I have no idea why I annoyed me, but it did). And I have now read it more than once. It's kind of nice to see Beauty with a little bit of a backbone.

The Sight by Dave Clement-Davies I read this on a dare from a writer friend of mine. And I made the mistake of checking it out during finals week my sophomore year of high school. It took me a very long time to get to the end. But, this book is--incredible! It's an amazing fairytale centered on wolves. And they aren't just animals that talk. They have their own language; their own hierarchy, their own--you name it, they got it. Now I'm waiting on the sequel to be available in audiobook form, and for my wallet to allow me to purchase it, as I think this is the kind of book that should be heard--because of it's length.

Fire Bringer by Dave Clement-Davies- So after this guy wrote about wolves, he wrote about deer. And this book was almost as good as The Sight--and is so helpful to someone working on a fantasy that won't work the way it's supposed to. The best way to describe this is Bambi meets Watership Down(which is another book that I've been reading to get me in the mood).

Bambi by Felix Salten-You guys. Bambi isn't just a Disney movie. Bambi is a book. A novel. A really good 1929 novel. Why have I never of this until now? And it isn't Disney-fied either(which isn't a bad thing--I happened to LOVE Disney's Bambi). No, it's a story for teens and adults. And one I want on my shelf. Like now.

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen Thanks to Lauren Willig, I have also started re-reading historical fiction. This was a passion of mine in high school,a s I love period pieces. This little story is set in the 1920s and focuses on the lives of three girls headed in three different directions. The 1920s is a time period I've never really explored before, and so this is a great introduction!

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh-Talk about a period piece actually written during the time period! I'm only a few pages in, but I love the British satire spin on what was going on in the 1920s.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen-Just finished this one--something I decided to try because my sister did and she liked it. So I gave it a shot. This one is along the lines of--oh, Miss Marple thirty years younger or something and she's a spy for the Queen. In the late 1920s-early 30s. I love this book so much!

P.G. Wodehouse-Whenever you need a pick-me-up, you go to Jeeves and Wooster. When you need "fluffy reads for research" you go to Jeeves and Wooster. 'Nuff said.

So can you guess what project number two is, based on the above list? Don't worry, I'll tell you more about it soon!

Quirky/Tidbit Tuesday: Models

What with one thing and another, I didn't post yesterday. To make up for that, this is both about a quirk I have and a tidbit a Monday/Tuesday Mash if you will. It's also a little bit of a re-post, but hey, what can you do when you're working doubles and have this blog thing you do three times a week(I will not slack off again, I will not slack off again, I will not slack off again......)

So there's this website I absolutely LOVE!!!! I found it when I was on the website of one of my favorite authors four or five years ago, and every so often I go bad a waste an hour or so on it. The website is called StoryCasting. Want a gander? Just go here. You're welcome.

Basically all you do on this site is "cast" your favorite books.

Literally.

You pick a book--say, I don't know Shannon Hale's River Secrets(it helps if the book isn't already a movie or tv series/show--which rules out things like Game of Thrones and LOTR, but whatever) and you pick the celebrity you'd love to see play a specific character.

 Delightful waste of time?

I'd say so, yes.

Why do I bring this up?

I've said before I'm a visual writer. Not only do I say my dialogue out loud and ask my roommates(or anyone else who's game) to visually demonstrate something I want to put in one of my plays(within reason; there are lines I will not cross, period).

 I also have visual models for my characters.

Literal models.

I've already demonstrated this when I was writing Angels Alley--but it happens with anything and everything I write. There has got to be a clear picture in my head of the person I am writing about.

And the weird part is sometimes the people who are serving as "models" aren't celebrities--exactly.

They're people I know(and yes, I have said this before)--and sometimes it gets to a point where I have that person's voice inside my head when I'm writing the dialogue.

Needless to say, it is oh so helpful during the revision process. If I can't hear the words I've written coming out of a specific person's mouth, it means I have to change it now.

Does it happen with everything I write?

Not necessarily.

But when it does, it's pretty dang cool.

Tidbit Tuesday: From the "Writing Closet"- Angel's Alley Throwback

I am a packrat.

Which means I keep every little piece of paper I come across and then I forget about it until I do something like switch apartments.

Because then you have to separate your junk from everything else you own and get rid of it. Which in my case means you have to go through every drawer and open every folder and--well, read every piece of writing you come across to see if it's "keepable" or not.

Sometimes when you're clearing out all of your writing junk, you run across little things like this. So a little over two years ago, I wrote Angels Alley, and to help get my mind in the right place I wrote little life sketches for all my characters. Because, of course, that's what you do.

And then I lost half of them.

 Or so I thought.

So for this Tidbit Tuesday, we're going to do a mini-throwback. This is me apologizing to all my characters that I forgot(and Blogger keeps changing font color on me, so hopefully, it's readable; contains SPOILERS.)

NAME:  IVY CALLAHAN

ALSO KNOWN AS: Angel Eyes(Gyp)

AGE: 15-27(in series)

APPEARS IN: Not a Criminal, Angels Alley, Alley Cats

RELATIONSHIPS: Davey Callahan, older brother; deceased

Nick Callahan, older brother; SPOILER ALERT deceased by end of series

Johnny Moreno, childhood sweetheart, later husband

Julia and Mark Conlan, eventual brother and sister-in-law

MARITAL STATUS: Happily married to Johnny Moreno; Mother of six

IN LATER YEARS:  Wellesly College Graduate

Assists Johnny in running Junior Police

Mother of six; grandmother of fifteen; great-grandmother of two at time of

death.

DEATH: Natural causes; outlived husband Johnny Moreno by four years at time of death.
****************************************************************************************************

NAME:  TONY MERRICK

ALSO KNOWN AS: Gyp, Mickey, Maxwell Garrison II

AGE:  13-late 20s(in series)

APPEARS IN: Like Wolves, Not a Criminal, Angels Alley, Alley Cats, Fire Escape,

Spider’s Web

RELATIONSHIPS: Davey Callahan, mentor

Nick Callahan, nemesis(whom he eventually kills)

Lita Haller, girlfriend--kinda/sorta

Kit, childhood friend; dies before adulthood

Ivy Callahan, “romantic target”

MARITAL STATUS: In a “relationship” with Lita Haller

IN LATER YEARS: 
Arrest record at 13

Misdemeanor record at 13

Framed David Callahan for murder at 17
Served sentence for attempted murder of Johnny Moreno at 17; released

and changed name(Alley Cats); arrested for forgery and released on bail.Changed name again(Fire Escape/ Spider’s Web) SPOILER ALERT and killed Nick Callahan

DEATH: Gunned down SPOILER ALERT by Ash Valerio following his murder of Nick Callahan; died instantly--reported DOA

Survived by “girlfriend” Lita Haller

*******************************************************************************************************

NAME:  MARK CONLAN

ALSO KNOWN AS: N/A

AGE: 17-20s(in series)

APPEARS IN: Like Wolves, Not a Criminal, Angels Alley

RELATIONSHIPS:  Johnny Moreno, younger brother-in-law

         Julia Moreno-Conlan, wife

         Nick and Ivy Callahan, protegees

MARITAL STATUS: Married to Julia, and happily so

          father of two; widower at time of death

IN LATER YEARS: Commissioner of Police, retired

        Assisted Johnny in Junior Police Club

       Assisted Nick in undercover operations

DEATH: Natural causes; widower at time of death; outlived wife by ten years

*****************************************************************************

NAME: JULIA CONLAN

ALSO KNOWN AS: Julia Moreno

AGE:  16(?)=20s(in series)

APPEARS IN: Like Wolves, Not a Criminal, Angels Alley

RELATIONSHIPS: Johnny Moreno, younger brother

        Mark Conlan(Vecchio), husband

        Nick and Ivy Callahan, brother and sister-in-law

        Lee Breslin, friend

MARITAL STATUS: happily married to Mark Conlan; mother of two at time of death

IN LATER YEARS: Instructor at Wellesly College; Graduate of same; Integral in union work

DEATH: Cancer

************************************************************************************************************

NAME:  DAVID CALLAHAN

ALSO KNOWN AS: Davey

AGE: 17-23(in series)

APPEARS IN: Like Wolves, Not A Criminal

RELATIONSHIPS: Nick Callahan, younger brother

Ivy Callahan, younger sister

Mark Conlan, best friend

Tony “Gyp” Merrick, protegee

Lee Breslin, on-again-off-again-girlfriend

MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried at time of death

IN LATER YEARS: undercover operative with Mark Conlan; arrested for murder; tried and convicted

DEATH: Executed for murder 1942; exonerated posthumously

Tidbit Tuesday: 120 Page Answer

My Muse asks me a question, and I answer it.

Only my answer is 120 pages long.

It happens with characters, plots, or just something I happen to be curious about. This whole little quirk of mine started because I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and do some of those "writing exercises" that English professors and the like tell you to do.

You know what's funny? It totally works!

Only problem is that sometimes the answer to one teeny tiny little question can be between 60 and 120 pages long. Yeah, there are times when the answer is short-ish--say 10-20 pages?--but then there are also times...well, check this out:

"Two guys get locked in a heating duct. Then what?" That was Duct Up. 15 pages.

"What makes film noir so  good?" Angels Alley. 133 pages

"The worst thing that can happen during Kick the Can?" Wired. 10 pages

"You're stuck in one spot for eternity. Now what?" Polterguys 105 so far(not polished as yet)

"Ok. So who is this guy?" That's at least three of the Angel's Alley sequels; all ranging between 90-134 pages

"That's it?!? Then what?" That's the other two. 60-98 pages

"Tagging animals happens. What about....?" This project has no official title yet. And no page count.

And on, and on, and on; et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

This is how my writing happens; and this is why I have fifteen thousand different projects going on in my head. Which is cool, I guess. It means that I never ever really have initial Writer's Slough--because there is not such thing as "Writer's Block", period--just Revision Blockage.

Which everyone gets to deal with anyway.

Tidbit Tuesday: Endings

"Endings are hard. Any chapped ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass." ~SUPERNATURAL

Erik Kripke wrote it; his character Chuck said it; and it's true.

Guys, endings SUCK. So. Much!!!!!

Not just because it's literally "the end", but because they are so difficult to write in the first place. No joke, what I usually do when I read the end of something is keep my fingers crossed that I haven't left anyone hanging. Endings are never, ever easy.

I hate reading them;

I hate writing them;

I hate seeing them;

I hate reaching them.

But I guess every writer feels that way. It's not just because it's the end of a story; a lot of times it has to do with ending it right.

There have been an infinite amount of times when I have reached the last page of a book, or the last five minutes of a film, and I'm not satisfied.

Because the ending sucked.

Yeah, it was "the end", but nothing was tied up; nothing was resolved; nothing enticed me to come see a sequel(if there was one). It just--stopped.

Cliffhangers are great; if they're used for a reason. Sometimes though, the ending of something feels like a cop out. Like the author ran out of things to say and so just called it quits.

Now, I know there are numerous other factors that can contribute to a situation like this. In television, for example, the network(*cough* Fox *cough*) can abruptly cancel a show(*cough* Firefly *cough*) before it gets a chance to actually "end"; it just leaves us hanging through no fault of it's own, and nobody's really satisfied(of course, it could also have something to do with the fact that the-episodes-weren't-aired-in-order-in-the-first-place-and-so-everybody-was-confused-anyway. But Joss Whedon fixed that--sort of--so I'm ok now.)

However, it's the job of a writer so satisfy his audience, to a degree. The author is the one who invites others into his world, and allows them to live inside it. And to make sure others enjoy being in that world.

No pressure, or anything.

I wrote something once that didn't really have an "ending". It just stopped. Not because I ran out of things to say, but because I didn't really know how to tie it up. Which is why I love the SPN quote so much.  Writing courses make it so easy--you follow the diagram and you're ok. HA!!! Guess what? There is no perfect way write a perfect ending.

But that doesn't mean you just leave people hanging. That also sucks. There has to be some kind of resolution, even if it's "and they all died and nothing worked out for anybody we were rooting for"(thank you, Hamlet).

If the guy gets the girl, that's good enough; even the monster dies, that's good enough. Those endings are easy, tied up nice and neat. If you don't chose to go that route, at least do something to get some kind of resolution. Even if one question you had gets answered, that's good enough.

Endings really are a "pain in the ass". But if they're done right, they can be awesome!

Tidbit Tuesday: From the "Writing Closet"- WIRED

Yeah. Ok, so while still in the middle of POLTERGUYS revisions(stupid difficult characters!!! Kidding, I love 'em!) this Tidbit Tuesday is a little different. I ran across this while doing a "college graduate cleanout" off all the writing I've compiled over the years. This is a delightful little fluffy I wrote my freshman year ". Clearly, freshman writing. Not academy award winning, and the formatting's  completely out of whack and the font color changed--again(stupid Blogger)--but still. Enjoyable.

(Two voices sound in the darkness.)

MICHAEL

Ha! Found it!

MARK

Are you sure this time? I mean, we’ve tried every other orchard, so how do you know that this is the right one?

MICHAEL

Call it elimination. Come on, it’s a short cut. You want to win this game or not?

MARK

It’s just a game.

MICHAEL

Win or lose?

MARK

Win. I guess.

(Lights rise. A starry sky is projected. There is also a barbed wire fence down left. Two boys—MICHAEL and MARK—enter. MARK keeps staring at the sky, not paying attention to a word MICHAEL is saying.)

MICHAEL

Ok. Nobody out here.

MARK

That’s good.

MICHAEL

The can’s over there, I think.  

MARK

Yeah.

MICHAEL

So now, all we have to do is cut across the ditch, you kick the can, and we win.

MARK

Ok.

MICHAEL

What are you staring at?

MARK

Huh? Nothing.

MICHAEL

You’re looking at something, now what are you staring at?

MARK

Just the sky.

MICHAEL

The sky. You see that every night, what the hell’s so great about the sky?

MARK

No moon tonight. Just stars.

MICHAEL

Great. No moon means no light, and no light means we don’t get caught.

MARK

Hey, Michael? You ever thought about what it’s like up there?

All those places up in the sky? Wouldn’t it be great if we could live up there, instead of down here?

MICHAEL

…You want to live on a star?

MARK

It would be something, wouldn’t it? We could pick our own, with no one to tell us where to go, or what to do. Bathed in all that light, floating far, far up above everything else. Nothing to worry about. And when we felt like it, we fall. Stars do that, don’t they? What do you think?

MICHAEL

I think you sound like a jackass. Look, forget the stars, ok? They’re not going anywhere. But we don’t win this game and get beaten again--

MARK

I thought you were joking!

MICHAEL

Nope. Real ants, real honey, and ants. Anthill’s already picked.

MARK

Wow.

MICHAEL

Forget about it. Come on, I think it’s just over the ditch.

MARK

Can you see it?

MICHAEL

No, but it’s got to be over there. You first.

MARK

Me? In the dark?

MICHAEL

You’re fine jumping over it during the day.

MARK

It’s light then.

MICHAEL

Fine. I’ll go first.

(MICHAEL runs forward, slamming into the wire fence. MICHAEL yells.)

MARK

Michael? Hey, Michael, you ok?

MICHAEL

Fine. Perfect.

(He examines his hands.)

MARK

What’s the matter? Did you miss the ditch?

MICHAEL

No. There is no ditch.

MARK

Really?

MICHAEL

See for yourself—no wait, don’t.

MARK

Why, what’s wrong?

MICHAEL

Come see for yourself. Slowly.

(MARK moves forward to join MICHAEL.)

MARK

You’re right. There is no ditch. What are you going to do now?

MICHAEL

No idea. When did they add this fence?

MARK

I don’t know. We haven’t come this way in a while. You’re bleeding.

MICHAEL

I ran into the stupid fence.

MARK

They put wire on it? Barbed wire?

MICHAEL

No, that’s tree bark.

MARK

Let me see.

(MARK examines MICHAEL.)

MARK(CONT’D)

You cut your face too.

MICHAEL

Wire does that. Ow! You said you were only going to look!

MARK

Sorry. Sorry, sorry.

(MARK stares at MICHAEL’s hands.)

MARK

Wow.

MICHAEL

What?

MARK

That’s—wow.

MICHAEL

What? What are you staring at?

MARK

You know what those cuts on your hands look like? Stars. See? There’s a million of ‘em, you know that?

MICHAEL

You’re high.

MARK

I’m serious. Look at all of them. Millions and millions. All scattered across the sky.

MICHAEL

Great. Fantastic.

MARK

Hey, Michael?

MICHAEL

What?

MARK

We could sneak under the fence. I’ll hold the bottom row and you sneak under? See?

MICHAEL

What about the barbed wire?

MARK

…I was hoping you’d miss that bit.

MICHAEL

Yeah. Yeah, you didn’t even think about it.

MARK

Ok, so we can’t get out climbing over or sliding under, but we could—

MICHAEL

Could what? Look at the stars?

MARK

…Yeah. I mean, it’s something to do, right? And it’s not like we won’t play another game soon. We’ve probably already been beaten anyway.

MICHAEL

Thanks.

MARK

You’re welcome.

MICHAEL

Are you going to start spouting your poetry bull?

MARK

No. The stars do it for me.