I am stupid tired tonight. I stayed up way later than intended last night, trying to get some dishes and other things done. Erin went to bed far earlier than normal, and I guess the quiet time left me to try to do things that I normally do when she’s not around. Surprised I didn’t bake, but I was more concentrating on cleaning up our mess, not making a new one.
I also only wrote 800 words yesterday, which is my low, but they were fiction, not journaling, so it’s maybe a gimme there. Having nothing else in mind, I went back to Byrd and her Gram. I’m in no way sure what any of that story is or what I’d want it to be if it were actually anything. I’m mostly just exploring with them. The house is absolutely the home that I grew up in, with my grandmother (and mom) at that. But I haven’t edged out the details at all. They’re just meanderings. As much as I say I don’t have the hard-on for nostalgia that society seems to right now, it does seem that’s what these stories are about so far. A young girl who is being introduced to the things in her grandparents’ histories. Some of it is interesting, some of it falls flat. Like I said though, I don’t know why. I guess it’s easier than coming up with new characters all the time.
Anyways, I was thinking about some new characters earlier.
They’re just names now. The names, though, bring out thoughts of who they could be. I don’t have a use care for them yet. And it’s just such a fucking easy thing to do, take names that are famous from other people or things, and then use them as a shortcut to introduce your character that fits in with some of the traits of the original. So one character would be Bradbury, and that leads into like a paranormal guy, right? A Fox Mulder. And the other I was thinking would be called Mulholland, and that would be closer to a hard-boiled detective or cop from the 50s. Except I don’t know if I want to do two dudes, because I love buddy stories, but I write more men than I do women I think and I’d like to break out of that. So if I went reverse X-Files, I’d make Bradbury the woman, Mulholland the guy. And then I’d have to think outside of the tropes that have all been done a billion times. Or just say fuck it and dive right into them.
Gadget person. Like their Egon. Gonna call them Giger. See how easy that is? Working my way towards a Keanu Reeves “Constantine” vibe now. You know, as far away from the source material (of the character himself) that movie was, I still kind of enjoy the fuck out of it. I’m glad the world has decided that Keanu is watchable and worth supporting. I’ve liked him since River’s Edge and especially Permanent Record. And sure, not everything he’s been in was great. But I liked him.
What are the other tropes we can pull from? Men In Black, sure. But I’m not a science fiction guy, I’m a fantasy and horror guy. So Lovecraft is easier and fits the timeline better for me. Although I’ve seen this, like I said, this is not breaking any new ground. Cast A Deadly Spell with Fred Ward, and whatever the sequel was with Dennis Hopper, those did this. So the concept of X-Files and Men In Black works in that it makes them a part of things to, I don’t know, keep the world in the dark? I don’t think a big, giant conglomerate works though. Smaller. A sect. Points around the world. Secretive. Like Doctor Strange (the film). Underground, allows you to bring in different types. Still feeling Constantine here.
Mulholland’s an apparition. Maybe. Hold that. Maybe more of a manifestation. The drive goes through Hollywood. Maybe it’s like Jack Hawksmoor from The Authority, where it’s the manifestation of the city. Trying to protect itself from the deeper darkness going on inside of it. So not a skeptic. Not human. Have to think on that.
Bradbury, she’s dirt magic. Knows her shit, as far as street level flash goes, but not an expert. That’s why Giger, and others, are part of things too. She’s not part of the team, not in with the ones who know all the plays. Awareness of them. But she doesn’t want in, she’s used to getting by. I don’t want to treat her like she’s not apt or good at what she does. She’s obviously our protagonist. I’m skewing younger too, for both of them. Can I make Mulholland a cross between a Philip Marlowe/Sam Spade type and James Dean? Now I’m syncing more with Wynonna Earp, which I haven’t watched enough of but I like.
Giger is Howling Mad Murdock. Because I need one of those. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve got a type. Giger captures and channels magic, but a lot of the tech has blown up on him, left scars, physical but also mental. Magic doesn’t want to be harnessed and sold. You give to take. What Giger is giving is his life, his sanity. That’s why he’s able to run both with the sect and outside of it. Sometimes he doesn’t know what side he’s on.
It’s a fine line between a MiB and an R.I.P.D. Try to stay to the left on this one.
I suppose after all of that it’s a matter of added flavor packets, straight out of 79 cent Ramen. Who do they meet, what do they fight, what is the “big bad” of it all. It being a cult is just so basic. They’re a sect, why would a cult be any worse? How do you reverse that but still make it matter to the mystic world?
It’s Hollywood. Giger sells wares. Movie maker buys some of it. Uses it. A couple of stars do too. They decide to make a film with it. About it. Exposing the secret hellmouth that is under Hollowood (and that, my friends, is the title). The act is meant to be a mundane thing. The results, as it goes on, are that the underworld wants to be exposed. Because exposure causes madness, and then grows the power.
Culmination on movie sets. Universal Monsters meets Re-Animator. Large scale. Real Scooby Doo shit.
Okay, that was fun.
