Maniac Mansion....Part One of Four

Ext. A forested area seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  A large mansion sits in the middle surrounded by an iron fence and a dirt pathway leading off into the woods.  The mailbox sits close by as the sun sets beyond the clouds.  Grass blows around the foot of the mailbox, a car makes its way down the pathway towards the mansion ala the opening scene to Night of the Living Dead.  It pulls up to the house quietly.
Int. Third floor, a small room where a young boy sits coloring.  Colored pictures line the walls and various other young boy toys litter the room.  The drawings on the wall resemble his family and favorite things. The sound of the car door closing  is heard from outside the window making the boy look up in excitement.

EDWARD
Dad’s home!

The boy exits the room as the camera slow zooms to his desk which is covered in drawings.

Int. First floor.  The parents are getting dinner ready and mildly arguing.

FRED

Well, once the grant goes through it’ll provide more money to the labs and I can hopefully hire someone else to take on some of the workload.

EDNA

It’s not the amount of work I’m worried about, Fred.  It’s true I don’t like how much you’ve been working yourself but money is getting really tight.  If we don’t decide on something soon….

FRED

I know.  And don’t worry. I’ve been speaking with my advisors and they are looking into giving me the tech position or maybe even transferring me to a larger facility.

EDNA

Transfer?  We just got settled here!  Poor little Edward finally made some friends too.

FRED

Yes but we don’t have a choice.  We won’t be able to survive the way we are going right now.  I don’t know what we were thinking buying this place.

EDNA

We?  You said it was a great location, things would be different, trust you.  Remember?  You only say it every time we have to up and move.  Honestly I don’t know how you got me to agree to this place.

FRED

Don’t pin this just on me!  You had just as much input in this decision!  How was I supposed to know they had plans to shrink my department and hire abroad?  Let’s just see what they say next week and then talk.

EDNA

--sigh--  I don’t know Fred.

FRED

What do you mean?

EDNA

I’ve been thinking about lea—

Edward enters the kitchen oblivious as to what has just been said.

EDWARD

Hey dad!  What are we having for dinner?

FRED

There he is!  Ham and potatoes son!  Perfect food for a growing boy!

EDWARD

Didn’t we have that yesterday?

FRED

Yes, but…..it was so good, I thought we’d have it again!

Edward looks disappointed and looks up to his mother.

EDNA

Go wash up while we set the table, Edward.  Maybe we’ll get dessert later.

The sound of dessert makes Edward smile.

EDWARD

Alright!

He leaves the room.  Edna looks at Fred with a mix of anger and hopelessness.  Fred looks back at her silently, broken.

FRED

Edna….

EDNA

I’ll get the plates.

INT. Dining room, first floor.   Family is sitting at table eating dinner.  It is silent except for the sound of silverware hitting the plates.  Edward is playing with his food, not eating much, staring sadly at the plate.

EDNA

Eat hunny, can’t take you out for dessert if you don’t eat your dinner.

EDWARD

I’m sick of ham and mashed potatoes.

EDNA

Well that’s all we have right now.  We’ll go shopping for food in a few days, once we get some more money.

The room goes silent again.  Edna looks at Fred and then back down at her plate.

EDNA

Speaking of…..mommy is going to be working a bit more now to help daddy make some more money so we can afford to stay here and get different food.  You think you’ll be okay here after school by yourself for a few hours until one of us comes home?

FRED

Edna you don’t have to work extra hours, I told you I’ll handle it.  Next week I’ll have an answer and then we won’t have money problems anymore.

EDNA

Yes but you’ve said that before.  I just want to be sure.  I won’t have us moving again.

EDWARD

We’re moving?

FRED

No buddy,  not yet.  I’ll know for sure next week.

EDNA

We aren’t moving!  Don’t worry about it Edward, you just keep up with your schoolwork and everything will be fine.

FRED

Don’t lie to him Edna.  There is a possibility we might be moving but we won’t know until next week.

EDNA

No Fred!  We aren’t moving!  Not again!  I refuse to do it!  If it means that we have to work more hours then so be it but I’m not putting him through this his whole life!

FRED

His whole life?  We’ve moved three times!  And one of those was just a few blocks away!  You aren’t working more, I’ll handle it, just trust me.  End of discussion!

Edward looks down sadly at his plate and prods the potatoes.  Edna is clearly holding back a tidal wave of anger.

EDWARD

We aren’t going to get dessert are we?

EDNA

Yes.  Yes we are.  You deserve it.  I’ll take you when you’re done.  I’ll be upstairs.

Edna  angrily throws her napkin down and leaves the table towards the door.

FRED

Edna don’t leave.  Edn---Everything is going to be fine, look I’m sorry!

Edna slams the door and the room once again becomes silent.  The two sit quietly and Edward begins to tear up.  Sounds of thunder begin outside, getting louder and stronger.

Ext. Wind starts to blow harder and clouds gather.  The thunder rumbles louder.

Int. Edna’s room.  She is sitting down crying and looking at her wedding ring in her hand.

Ext. Clouds cover as the sky lights up and a large meteor falls from the sky and burns its way down to land in the yard of the mansion.  In a few moments the porch light comes on.  Voices are heard from inside.

EDNA

What was that!?

FRED

I don’t know, sounded like something crashed outside!

EDNA
Where’s Edward?  Is he alright?

FRED

Yeah, he’s with me.  We’re going out to see what it was.

EDNA

You are not!  Wait a minute!  I’m coming with you!

Ext. Front yard.  The family cautiously walks over to the area where the meteor hit.  Edna stays far away holding Edward close.

EDNA

Careful!  Edward stay with me!

Fred walks to the hole in the ground.

EDNA

Fred wait!  It could be dangerous!

FRED

Edna, please!

A concerned yet very angered expression spreads across Edna’s face.  Fred carefully approaches the hole and slowly looks in.  Sizzling smoke emanates from the crater.  Fred peers closer down inside.

EDNA

What is it?

Fred looks confused yet terrified.

FRED

Oh….my….god….

The camera pans down to the top of the meteor and shows a glimpse of two tentacles around it.  The smoke increases and fills the screen while  the opening  titles begin.

Opening credits show over various pictures and newspaper clippings showing the future timeline of events.  The family investigating the crater, taking the tentacles and meteor indoors, experimenting on them, newspaper coverage of the meteor strike, Fred slowly going mad, pink slips from their jobs, the family changing over time, different lab experiments, kidnappings and disappearances, police report headlines, and the mansion falling into disrepair.

Twenty Years Later

Ext. College campus in the fall.  It is Halloween and posters and decorations are staples to telephone poles all over about that night’s football game.  Students are all over and a few are being let out of class including Dave.  Dave walks to the parking lot while being greeted by a couple of fellow students as he walks.  He reaches his car just as a beautiful cheerleader runs up to him, hugging him.

SANDY

Attack hug!  How was class, Davey baby?

DAVE

Same as always.  Only fell asleep six times today!

SANDY

--giggles--  That’s not fair!  I wish I had a sleeping class….must not be in my major….

DAVE

No, Sandy, it’s not actually a slee—

SANDY

Warm-ups are going to be soo boring today.  I know all of the drills off by heart, I don’t see why we have to keep doing them.

DAVE

Well, the big game is tonight so they are just making sure you guys are all ready to go.

SANDY

It’s stupid.  Halloween is tonight and I want candy!

DAVE

I think we’re too old to go trick or treating, I’ll just buy you some.

SANDY

That’s no fun…I want to dress up!  Speaking of fun, let’s get together before the game and fool around.

DAVE

Are you gonna have enough time?  The game isn’t too long after your practice.

SANDY
We’ll just pretend it’s for good luck, you can pick me up in this sexy car of yours.

The car is parked next to them and is an older beat up model.  Upon the finish of her sentence, the hood ornament falls off the front of the hood.

DAVE

Oh yeah, real sexy….

Sandy gives a small cute giggle and kisses Dave.  While they embrace, they are approached by a camera lens.  The scene takes a POV of the lens and walks towards the couple.  The flash goes off.

MIKE

Ooooh, public display of affection!  Going to take everything in my power not to put that on the front page of the school paper.  I can see it now, headline, Casanova Davenstein, the smoothest guy of the parking lot.

SANDY

Don’t you dare, Michael!

MIKE

--laughing--  Don’t worry I want people to actually buy the paper.  Here, I’ll take a good one just for you guys.

DAVE

That’s alright man.  Where’s Wendy?

Sandy poses on Dave while Michael takes a photo.  A shot of the photo coming out with Sandy posing on it is shown with writing appearing on it saying ’85.

MIKE

She’s on her way out.  She had to finish copying some newspaper clippings from the last couple of  months.

SANDY

You guys still coming to the game tonight?

MIKE

Yeah, we have to.  Wendy is writing an article for the paper and she’s dragging me along to take some shots for her.

Wendy arrives from across the street and joins the group, standing next to Michael.

WENDY

Good ones I hope.

MIKE

Well, I only shoot masterpieces so don’t worry.

WENDY

--small laugh—

Riiiiight

SANDY

Alright, I’m off to lame-o practice.  See you afterwards….?

DAVE

Sure, I’ll pick you up at five.

MIKE

Oooh, I think I’ll take pictures of that instead tonight.

Wendy elbows Mike.

WENDY

Gross on top of gross.

Sandy giggles, slightly embarrassed.

SANDY

See you at the game, bye!

Sandy bounces off away from the group.

WENDY

We’re gonna get going too, we have to get this film equipment back to the store before it closes.  So we’ll see you tonight.

DAVE

Alright, see ya then.

Wendy and Mike walk off and Dave attempts to open his car door when another student dressed in black slides over onto the hood over to Dave.

SYD

Look at this guy, dashing out of school without saying bye to me.

DAVE

Sorry Syd, just couldn’t take that class anymore.

SYD

And after everything I gave up to raise you.

DAVE

What?

A red head rocker girl comes into view from behind Syd.

RAZOR

Had no idea Dave was your secret love child.

SYD

Oh yeah, I had to get rid of him though because he was just too average.

RAZOR

Whatever, just as long as I don’t have to have ‘the talk’ with him.

SYD

Woah.  Woah.  What do you know about the talk?

DAVE

Ha Ha, you guys are hilarious.

SYD

--smiles--  Hey you still coming to our show on Saturday?  What am I saying?  Of course you are!  How could you miss the fantastic debut of ‘Razor and the Scummettes’?!

Razor strikes a rocker pose and a small bit of guitar riffs play out loud from nowhere.  Dave looks around to see where it came from.

DAVE

Alright…um…first, could you get off my car please Mr.Stardust and second, I have a date at Bruders with Sandy that night.

SYD

Could’ve sworn you….promise…unless you….hate…..Razor

Razor gives a sad puppy face to Dave.

DAVE

--small laugh—I don’t hate anyone.  You know I love your sound…soul…brother…

Razor and Syd look at one another as Dave fails to be hip.

DAVE

--sigh—Look, we won’t be out long and I’ll swing by with her and check you guys out.

SYD

Rockin’.  Lookin forward to seein you there.

Razor hands Dave a flyer for the concert.

RAZOR

Here, in case you somehow forget.

DAVE

I won’t forget…but thanks…you gonna be at the game tonight?

SYD

Us?  Why?

Syd looks at Razor over his glasses.

SYD

I’ve got way better things to ‘do’ tonight.

RAZOR

Very subtle.  No, we won’t be there.  Say hey to Sandy for us though.

DAVE

Will do, have a good one.

Dave gets into his car and starts it up.

SYD

Oh we certainly will.  A good few.

RAZOR

Shut up!!

Dave smiles and drives out of the parking lot.  As he makes his way out of the college campus, he notices a nerdy student named Bernard walking out of the building struggling to carry his books.  A larger jock walks by and knocks the books out of his hands, laughs, and walks away.  Dave pulls over to a stop and shakes his head.

DAVE

--sigh--- It’s like he asks for it.

Bernard is gathering his books off of the ground as Dave walks up to help him.

BERNARD

---muttering to himself--- Didn’t even do anything…

DAVE

Let me help you Bernard, those guys are jerks.

BERNARD

You’d think that after high school they’d minimize their efforts to ruin my existence.

DAVE

Just forget about them, you’ll probably own them in a few years anyways.  You’ve got a lot to carry, let me give you a ride home.

BERNARD

That’s quite alright, you don’t have to burden yourself with me, I’ll be fine.

DAVE

I don’t mind, it’s on the way anyways, come on.

Bernard looks at Dave’s car and is a bit apprehensive.  The camera pulls to the car and the hood ornament falls of the car again.  Bernard gives in.

BERNARD

Well, okay.  But if you could please drive the speed limit and…and…and don’t forget to secure your safety harness because as…as you well know, sixty-two percent of all vehicular related fatalities are the direct result of improperly used or neglected safety restraints.

DAVE

Yes mom, I promise.

The two situate themselves inside the car and Dave adjusts the driver side mirror revealing a shaggy haired surfer in bare feet waving his hand and running up to the car.

JEFF

Yo, wait up man!

DAVE

---under his breath---  Great…

Without hesitation, Jeff jumps into the back seat.  A vacant expression can barely be seen through his helmet of hair covering most of his face.

JEFF

---out of breath--- Phew…made it.

DAVE

Hello Woodie, please…join us.

BERNARD

Afternoon Jeffrey.

JEFF

Awwww dude!  Don’t call me that, makes me feel like a child.

BERNARD

You’re right.  I didn’t mean to imply that you were exhibiting infantile behavior.  That would be too nice…..Woodie.

Bernard gives a snorty laugh to himself.  Jeff is clearly lost.

JEFF

Wait…what?

DAVE

Alright, alright, we’re leaving.  I’ve got plans.

JEFF

Thanks for the ride.  Pretty nice car, when did you get it?

DAVE

…um…two years ago.  I’ve driven you home at least a hundred times.

JEFF

Really? ………….That’s a lot of times.

DAVE

I know….about a hundred too many.

BERNARD

Do you go to class in those shorts?

JEFF

Class?

BERNARD

Never mind….

The car drives off down the road away from the campus, the sun is setting in the distance.

Later that evening.

Ext.House on a small street with a large tree next to the window, the moon is out.

Int. A girl’s room, a bit of a mess, lit only by the moonlight outside, a ceiling fan spins slowly above.  Sandy and Dave are in the bed just finished making love.

SANDY

Phew, I think I might be too pooped to cheer tonight.

DAVE

Flattery won’t get you out of the game tonight.

SANDY

It’ll be worth it if we do it again.

Intermittent during this scene, cutaway flashes of a dungeon and a girl tied up flash briefly.  The first being a shot of hands being tied down in darkness.

DAVE

You can’t miss, your grades are bad enough as it is.

SANDY

Hey, what do you mean bad enough?  I’m trying!  You think I’m stupid don’t you?!

Another flash of a girl being tied over the mouth, she is terrified.

DAVE

Stupid?..........no.

SANDY

Not everyone can be as brainy as your friend Barnyard.

DAVE

Bernard.  But all he does every waking moment is study.  Shocks me every time I see him outdoors.

A flash of sharp tools being handled with the table out of focus in the background.

DAVE

You aren’t stupid.  I’m just looking out for you.  You better get ready for the game.  Maybe we can go for this again afterwards.

SANDY

Yeah right, like I’m gonna let you now!

DAVE

I deserved that.  Get dressed, I’ll drop you off on my way home.

They share a small laugh.  Sandy is now out of bed wearing only a long shirt.  The room is quiet.

SANDY

I’m not stupid.

DAVE

Never said you were.  Sexy though.

SANDY

Yeah yeah.

She throws a pillow at him, the camera switches to POV as the pillow covers the frame to black.

INT. Dark shadowy laboratory.

A girl is strapped to a table horrified.  A man in a labcoat is readying equipment over her.

FRED

Stop squirming.  It’s not going to make this any better.  Unless you want the punishment again.

The girl’s eyes go wide and tears run down her face.

FRED

No?  I didn’t think so.  You should be excited.  This is going to be a very interesting test.  It…..will be pleased.

The girl tries to scream but it is muffled.  Hands and feet try to move but are strapped down.

FRED

What’s that?  Awfully hard to understand you.  Perhaps the straps are too tight?  Although…your fingers are a very lovely shade of purple.

The girl’s hands tremble as Fred lifts a silver cutting device.

FRED

Now if you’ll just relax, this is going to hurt….a lot.

He brings the device close and we only see the shadows on the wall as he cuts into her.  She screams and her body convulses before finally becoming still and lifeless.  Her hand falls over the table, hanging, blood covered.

FRED

Damn.  That wasn’t supposed to happen yet.  The moron moved and damaged the organs.  I’m going to need a replacement.  And soon.

A door at the other end of the lab glows and whispers are heard through the air.

FRED

Yes that’s true….not a bad idea…..stop for ice cream on the way back too…

The door glows bright.

Later that night

Ext.Neighborhood near campus, football field around corner.  The sounds of the crowd can be heard.

Dave, Jeff, and Bernard are walking down the sidewalk towards the field.

BERNARD

So as you can see, even with all the exercise and calisthenics, the actual feats and physical prowess accomplished, especially on rooftops, are just not applicable to real world physics and human limitations.  So, in short, you could never be Batman.

JEFF

Whatever, when I grow up to be Batman, see if I ever save you.

DAVE

I can’t believe you just had that conversation.

Dave looks straight  into the camera.

DAVE

The things I put up with.

BERNARD

Why am I here again?

DAVE

Because, you gotta get out of the house more.  Get some sun.  You’re practically see-through.

BERNARD

The sun isn’t up though.

DAVE

Well then get some moon.

JEFF

I mooned someone yesterday.

Dave tilts his head back to look at the sky and sighs to himself.

The group comes up to the entrance of the game, the crowd noise becomes louder.  The game is about to start and players are being announced.

A shadowy figure is watching  from the shadows across the street.

DAVE

I’m gonna go say hi to Sandy before the game starts.  Try not to moon anyone while I’m gone.

BERNARD

Wait, what are we supposed to do?  I’ve never been to a social sporting event previously.

JEFF

---chuckling to himself---  Mooning.

DAVE

I don’t know.  I’ll be like five minutes, relax!  Study….something.

BERNARD

Not funny.

DAVE

---smiling--- I’ll be right back!

Dave leaves and Bernard and Jeff stand beside the bleachers looking out of place.

JEFF

Let’s go surf some waves, I’m bored.

BERNARD

There isn’t a body of water anywhere in the vicinity.

JEFF

Then why am I wearing swim trunks?

BERNARD

………………..I’m going to go walk around.

The two walk away as the figure from the shadows walks past in the background.

Dave is standing at the top of the stairs whistling to himself waiting for Sandy to come up from the locker room.

Down the stairs in the girls locker room, the cheerleaders are ready and leaving one by one.  Sandy is running behind.

LINDSEY

Did you finish that book for Lit?

MANDY

Almost, I think I’m on the last chapter.

LINDSEY

I don’t understand it at all.  There isn’t even a clock or an orange in it.

MANDY

I know!  I might just skip next class.

LINDSEY

You think it’s gonna get any colder?  Don’t know if I want to wear my jacket or not.

MANDY

That’s all I’ve got.  I left my cheer pants at Alex’s.

LINDSEY

Oh yeah?  And what were they doing at Alex’s?

MANDY

Na-ah, my lips are sealed.

LINDSEY

I bet that’s not all those lips were doing                !

MANDY

Oh my god, shut up!  ---laughs---

Mandy playfully hits Lindsey and they grab their stuff and begin to leave the locker room.

MANDY

Better hurry Sandy, see you up there!

SANDY

Yep, right behind you, Mandy.

The others leave and the locker room is extremely silent.  Sandy is alone finishing up.  The door to the room quietly closes and the camera pans past the rows of lockers until it reaches Sandy.  She zips her bag up as one of the locker doors down the row opens slowly with a creak.

Outside, Dave is waiting still as the other girls come up the stairs.

LINDSEY

Hey Dave, she’ll be up.  Running late again.

DAVE

Not surprising.

In the locker room, Sandy looks over to the open locker a little fearful.  She closes her locker and slowly walks over to the open locker door.  She peers inside but sees nothing out of the ordinary.

SANDY

Huh…..creepy…..awww, those socks are soooo cute!

She closes the locker and hears whispers from behind the row of lockers.  She peeks around the corner, very scared.  She sees Fred dragging the body of a cheerleader down the row.  Sandy gives a small gasp.

SANDY

---gasp!--- Anna….

Fred is taken by surprise, eyes wide, dropping the cheerleader’s body to the floor, he tries to play it off casually.

FRED

OH! …..um…..she…..fell…..?

Sandy walks backwards slowly, a horrified expression on her face.  The cheerleaders eyes have been mutilated and blood covers a few spots on her body.

SANDY

Wh….what have you….

FRED

Let me explain….this…..well this is probably what it looks like….

SANDY

Her…eyes….

FRED

Well that does tend to happen when you’re dead….I mean…dead tired….oh, screw it.

Fred grabs Sandy by the wrist so she cannot run and she opens her mouth to yell.

FRED

I’m afraid you’ve seen too much.

SANDY

Help!!!

Outside, Dave is beginning to wonder what is taking Sandy so long.

DAVE

Where the hell is she?

Curiosity overtaking him, he walks down the stairs to go check on her.

FRED

Quit struggling!  Seriously, it makes this a lot easier.

Fred has Sandy in his arms, she can’t escape and is dragged down to the other end of the locker room.  In her struggle, she loses a shoe and a hair tie.  He drags her away and up the back stairs to the exit door.  The second the door shuts, Dave arrives at the locker room door, he opens it a little and calls inside.

DAVE

Sandy?  You in here?

He doesn’t hear anything and continues into the room.

DAVE

Sandy?

The room is eerily silent and Dave cautiously walks further into the room looking for Sandy.  After looking around he eventually comes across the body of the cheerleader Fred had been dragging.

DAVE

Oh my god!  What the hell….Sandy!?  Sandy are you in here!?

Quickly, he searches for her, finding her shoe on the ground near the stairs at the back of the room.  Running to the stairs he looks up and sees her hair tie near the top of the staircase.

DAVE

Oh no…..

He runs up the stairs and opens the door leading outside to the back, there is a dirt clearing and a road leading down a tree lined pathway.  A man is throwing a struggling cheerleader, Sandy, into the back of an old Edsel.

DAVE

Sandy!  Hey!  Get away from her!  What the hell are  you doing?!

Fred throws Sandy into the car and looks straight at Dave.

FRED

Sorry, I kind of need her brain for something.  It’s complicated.

DAVE

What?

Dave runs at the car but Fred has already gotten inside and drives away before Dave can reach him.  He skids to a stop in the dirt, the dust from the car tires surrounding him.  The car getting smaller into the distance.

DAVE

No!!  Sandy!!  Come back here!!.............crap.

Dave is visibly upset and terrified, staring at the car as it disappears into the distance.

EXT.Football field.  A referee blows his whistle and we now join Wendy and Michael on the sidelines.  Michael is taking photos while Wendy is writing in her notebook.  Bernard and Jeff have since joined them.

WENDY

This game is a lot less interesting than I thought it would be.

MIKE

You wanted to cover this.

WENDY

I didn’t know Conway would get injured ten minutes into the game!

MIKE

Well now you’re stuck with it and dragged me into it too so just make the best of it.

Michael clicks away, Bernard is behind him looking over his shoulder.

BERNARD

You know, you may achieve greater visual clarity if you tilted the camera counter clockwise a few degrees and adjusted the shutter speed to capture more luminescence from the flood lights.

MIKE

Yeah, thanks Bernard but….I think I know what I’m doing.

BERNARD
Just providing information.

MIKE

It’s kind of my major so….I know a thing or two.

BERNARD

Noted.

Wendy smiles as the two talk and the referee blows the whistle signaling a penalty, the crowd is visibly upset with the call.

JEFF

This bites, man.  I’m outta here.

MIKE

Bernard, your date is leaving.

BERNARD

My what?

Suddenly Dave comes running straight up to the group, grabbing Jeff by the shoulders.

DAVE

They took her!  They took Sandy, we have to go to the police!

JEFF

Uh……I’m not Sandy?

DAVE

Someone kidnapped her!  I saw them take her!  We have to go to the police!!

BERNARD
Oh no, I’ve been through this scenario before.  Let me remind everyone that it is Hallow’s Eve, night of pranks and mischief.

MIKE
Oh yeah, good one Dave, but we have to finish this story for Monday.  Nice acting though.

DAVE

I’m not joking damn it, I need help!

Nobody moves or shows any sign of concern, Wendy slightly looks up from her notebook.

DAVE

Fine, great friends you are, I’ll be at the station!

Dave runs off out of the stadium in a panicked sweat towards the direction of the police station.

Entertainment Stuffs Part Two

What a long period of time of just accumulating things.  There's so much piled up that it gives me anxiety that I'll never get to anything.
Books have grown a lot, mostly due in part to my one job but there are a few stacks laying around now.  I got all the hardcover Harry Potter books and even the first two that have been released that are all illustrated.  Those are nice.  A few notable ones have been a star wars character encyclopedia, a few movie books, a Friends book that goes through the series and cast members and everything, a casual vacancy, ready player one, doctor sleep, some Marvel and video game books, and I have been subscribed to a monthly box (like we were before) but it's just comic books.  Graphic Novels specifically.  So, every month I get four of them and depending on what the book is, I'll read it and like it or not and put it in a pile to trade in at work.  Some notable stuff has been delivered that I have really liked, like Old Man Logan, Days of Future Past, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen, X-Men.  I got really really nice and detailed and well done making of/behind the scenes/collection of all info books on Ghostbusters series and Back to the Future series and they are really well done.
I was going to try and save a lot of the things I've gotten as surprises but I'll let a few slip lol
One was one I was going to leave for you on your porch or something while you were here and if you've seen those adult coloring books around, well, I found a Supernatural one lol
Grabbed a Marvel one myself and it's crazy what they have, I've seen a Home Alone one haha
The best and worst part of working half price on the weekends is that I get a discount.  Half off the books and movies and i think like 20 percent off games.  So half off half off.  Let me tell you how much time I spend in clearance and stuff getting things for one to three dollars lol.
I really need to be getting more sleep but I want to make sure I get enough out while my head is clear enough.
I picked up a few other movies while at Half Price, one such came in one day and I grabbed them right away.  A few years ago they put out a limited edition set of 3 dvds of the orignal star wars trilogy and each had a second disc with the orignal orignal unaltered theatrical release of the film as a bonus feature.  So naturally I grabbed those.  I started picking up a few other things just because they were so cheap or to replace my dvds to save space and upgrade the disc I had.  Upgraded a bunch of disney dvds, Batman the killing joke which is a great graphic novel and the animated movie was just as good but they added a little bit to the beginning before the main story where batgirl has a crush on batman and they kinda sort have sex on a rooftop i dunno it's weird, I got the Mummy trilogy on bluray and it always makes me think of you because you are a big fan of those movies, I got Showgirls for some reason too lol it's not a good movie but, and I hope this doesn't sound creepo, but I like porn and naked stuff and like watching it a lot.  I dunno, something about seeing people naked and how they do things and all that.  I dunno, moving on haha
I've been watching a lot of video game retrospectives, mostly Resident Evil.  Been looking for older games and due to money can't get much of anything but I did find Sonic Spinball with the case for a dollar, some playstation 1 games like Resident Evil 2, Hulk, Theme Park.
Jumping around a lot but back to dvds lol
I know you were super jealous of me getting Doug but I also got Rocko's modern life lol
Old Marvel cartoons, I feel like a hoarder at this point because I'm not doing anything but collecting and not having time to watch or play them.
Hearing that you were going to Universal made me so sad.  I miss going there almost every weekend, that is probably my most favorite place in the world.  I really miss going all the time.  Anytime I hear the harry potter theme or jurassic park theme I go right back to that place and feel so sad.
Crazy how much has gone by.
New Nintendo console came out.  new zelda.
Movie announcements like It, Avengers 3, Deadpool 2, young han solo movie, pitch perfect 3, another xmen movie.
Penny Dreadful got canceled noooooooooooooooooooooo
Tired is calling again, so I must go.  I love you and hope you have a good weekend.  I shall type more posts very soon, have a good night and good morning!

Entertainment Stuffs Part One

The past two years have been full of various movies and video games and events that I have not only accumulated to share with someone and experienced to also share.  It's 1 am and I am super duper tired but I want to at least make this a part one of the info dump.
Crazy how good it feels just to type as me, I feel like I haven't been me in so long.
A part of me worries that I may have lost my talent for writing and drawing because I haven't done either in over a year.
First are the movies.  Now granted being with someone who isn't really a movie person can really handicap viewings.  Not only can they not sit still, pay attention, or stay off of their phone but they don't care about the characters and have actually uttered the phrase "Why buy the movie when you've already seen it"
I mean what?
Anyways, I'll start with what I remember as my memory from all the unhealthy activity and stress has gotten pretty bad.
Theater viewings was a bit of a bust but i did manage to see a couple.
Civil War - A great adaptation of the comic event, albeit with a lot of characters not in it, but it managed to have a great story and all the characters had enough time to shine and develop. Oh, and Spider-Man!!!!!!!!
Dr.Strange - A good film but not one of my favorites.  I enjoyed it and it introduced Strange well but I felt there may have been a little too much humor.  I was never a huge fan of the character but I knew of him enough.
Rogue One - A fine addition to the Star Wars series, it was odd not seeing an opening crawl of words but I liked that it was set within the orignal trilogy timeline because I grew up with that trilogy.  The CGI recreations of Grand Moff Tarkin and Leia were amazing.  I will admit, there wasn't enough character development as I didn't find myself caring about many of the people or even remembering their names, it didn't help that I knew nobody would make it in the end anyways.
Logan - Could not have asked for a better swan song for Hugh Jackman, I grew up watching him take on the role of Wolverine and grow with each film.  This movie had so many layers you could write a report on it from a million different angles.  A story of redemption, loss, realizations, responsibilities, and knowing what your role is.  I never thought I would ever see X23 in a movie but there she was.
Sadly that's all I was able to see in theaters but I did squeeze in a few films at home as well:
X-Men Apocalypse - A worthy entry in the newer series with the younger cast but coming off the perfection that was Days of Future Past, it seemed a bit lacking and missing something.  The ending was especially amazing though.
Batman vs Superman - Not as bad as everyone is making it out to be but too much was a little ridiculous and setting up Justice League and far too much shoehorned in from Doomsday to Luthor to Wonder Woman to the big fight between the heroes ending because of a stupid name.
Deadpool - Fantastic, I loved it.
(Sorry, I'm crazy tired and don't want to take forever describing them when we will be watching them later anyways)
Monsters University, Finding Dory, Ex Machina, All the nightmare on Elm streets, all the Saw movies, The Peanuts movie, Mr.Holmes, a documentary on star wars toys and one on ghostbusters and one on cosplay and comic cons.  I'm sure there were more but I can't remember them at the moment.  I did miss in the theater - Lego Batman, Fantastic Beasts, Ghost in the Shell, Power Rangers, Suicide Squad.
Video Games were a bit of a stagnant place.  I never really had time and had to only play at night alone.  There were also a ton that I bought and am saving for you to watch and/or play with me.
All 3 Batman Arkham games, The Last of Us, Star Wars Battlefront, Uncharted series, Resident Evil series, Life is Strange, Tomb Raider, The Bioshock series, Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, Kingdom Hearts on ps4, lego harry potter is on ps4 now, Disney Infinity, pinball, goosebumps, final fantasy, I even procured some older systems and games that I am super proud and happy about.

All of it making me want to do the youtube show more than ever to share and play and review.
I was only able to go to one comic con and saw Doc Brown from back to the future and Malfoy from Harry Potter.  No pics though unfortunately.

Not the longest or most detailed post as I wanted but I am insane tired and have so much to do as it is, so part two shall be coming very soon!

My Soul Mate.....Always -- Part One.

Two years ago around this time I had exactly what I wanted and what life I wanted to live.  But I made a mistake and live every day wanting to have it all back.
There are times in your life when a lot of realizations start to materialize in your head.  Some growing up happens and things sort of clear your view as to what you actually want in life.  There are many causes for this to happen from situations to jobs to just plain thinking things through.  But sometimes it takes a year of one's self being torn down and depressed to the point where upon complete reflection....they know exactly what they want and how big certain mistakes may have been.  The past year has been full of its ups and downs.  In a period of a year my health has declined, family members are at odds and barely speak, arguments filled the air and depression filled the rest, projects were abandoned, events were missed, and I found myself in a place that I was just in a constant state of misery.  And all I could think was that this was my fault.  All I had to do was take the right actions that I knew I wanted to when they presented themselves.  But I didn't.  And now I pay that price.
I know now that I can honestly and truthfully say that I am not happy with my life and who I am.  But I was.  I know exactly who I want to be and what would make me so happy and the accomplishments I want to pursue.  I also know who I want to be at my side during all of it.  I'm old enough and broken enough now to admit that I made mistakes.  I was weak and afraid and didn't follow or listen to what I wanted or what would've made me happy and instead tried to make others happy and avoid anyone being angry or upset.  But I didn't listen to myself.
It hurt.  It hurt a lot and still does.  There is a huge empty void in the middle of me that cries out every single day to take that action and go for exactly what I want.  Exactly what my mind, body, and heart yearn for and scream for and want.  The biggest mistake I made was not fighting to keep the woman that made me know what true love was.  What a life of cooperative interests and support and genuine care felt like.  Someone who would punch someone to prove it and who's heart begged them just as much as mine did me to be closer to that person.
But I made a mistake.  A mistake that cost me more than I care to think about.  In hindsight I know the exact moment I would scream at myself to stop.  To listen.  To reach back out to her already reached out hand and grasp hers in mine with such strength as to never ever let go.  I know the exact moment I would go back to.  But I can't.  If there were any way possible, trust me, I would do it.
It's just not right.
Where I am right now.....It's just not you.
The memories now don't feel the same as the ones with you.  They don't carry any emotional weight the way ours do.  When I think back to the happiest moments of my life they all take place with you.  It's so hard to look in the mirror at myself knowing that I made the choices that I did and I am definitely paying the price for not acting when I should have.  To have something happen for you, you have to act on it and show it that it's what you want and that life just cannot go on without it.  Without you.
There are words and sentences that echo in my head on a daily basis that are a constant reminder of you and have latched on to me in ways that run through my mind monthly, weekly, daily.
There is a story that flows through my mind that I run through when I am feeling down or hopeless and it gives me hope, a smile, and a dream that makes me excited to pursue.
It all started a bit back when I worked at a Giant Eagle in customer service doing my job and hoping for an art job to come around.  I was in the process of starting another animated movie to help me get by and give me something else to market myself.  So, as I did with my first movie, I reached out to people to try and find voice actors for my film.  Not much was coming through but that was okay, there was a lot of time to go.  I had gotten an interview with Giant Eagle for a graphic artist position at another store and didn't get it and had no idea how not getting that position would lead to me being happier than ever.  Then one day.  One day that I later found out was more rare than I could have imagined.  The lining up of events to cause me to not get another job, to work that exact weekend, to work customer service that day, for her to be home from Ohio that weekend, to come in for lottery on a whim on that exact day.  A pretty, short girl came in with her mother to get some lottery and our eyes met.  I knew her.  I recalled her from a job from way earlier.  Ponderosa, yeah.  She was a buffet person and I would regal her with stories of my life and she would listen intently.  She smiled and I said hi and to this day I remember exactly how she said hello back to me.
"Hey, how are ya!"
I can't remember what if anything mumbled out of my mouth but as she left the store I watched her go and just before she turned the corner to be out of my life, she looked back.  Our eyes met and she smiled.  Then she was gone.  Then I had an embarrassing stupid moment, what was her name??
Oh my god, how could I not remember her name!??!
I tried so hard to recall it and racked my brain so hard and eventually it came.  That night I went straight home and using good ol' Facebook, I searched high and low for her.  Then there she was.  Her beautiful eyes looking into mine out of the little profile picture at the corner of the page.  Upon looking at her page I saw that she had been married, might still be married.  Damn.  The one picture that sticks in my head was a picture she posted of a truck with some runners hanging out the back of it and she wrote under it something about the urge to just drive up the runners.
Well, so she was taken.  I still needed voice actors so hey why not, at least I would have someone else to talk to.  So I went for it.  I didn't expect the response back to be what it was.  It was instantly wonderful.  Fun, funny, and just flowed so smoothly you'd think we were speaking with words of butter.  The conversations flowed from such a fun range of subjects that surprisingly we both shared interest in.  Marilyn Monroe, whose book I was reading and we both happened to have read, to Star Wars to video games and more.

 I remember specific pieces of those convos and also later finding out that I took a bit too long to respond back to her messages lol.
She was so jealous I had older Nintendo consoles and was surprised I had never played Yoshi Story.  She watched a lot of Netflix through her Wii and spent a lot of her nights sitting on the couch watching Supernatural, some show I had never heard of which would later become a staple of our interests and viewings.  Our stories were shared and upon finding out that she was in the process of dealing with a break up, my hopes went up a little as here was this beautiful girl who was technically single. I know, I know, too soon, but I had to claim her before someone else in the single world noticed her.
Eventually our talks led to wanting to hang out soon, she was super excited for the animated film and even more so to just hangout.  This was going like magic and like nothing I had ever experienced before.  I was smitten.  We managed a hangout one night and I led her clumsily to my house with the worst directions possible, where I showed her around my room and my art and my heart was on the loudest volume as our arms bumped into each other and our skin touched, you could feel the emotions falling for her already.  We caught up and chatted into the night and it started to develop into more conversations, texts, and hangouts.  I remember discussing Marilyn Monroe and speaking to her about my dad talking forever on the phone with the cable guy while I read a Star Wars book.  I sent her pictures of a drawing in progress I did one afternoon of Angelina Jolie and sent her text pictures  throughout the day and another time on her way back home she was pulled over by the police.

She would lay on my bed while we watched TV and anytime I asked when she needed to go home she would reply with "when do you want me to"
Never
oh my god never.
Then gaming entered the ring and we played Mario on wii along with a few others while I sometimes fed her gummy bears and one night my heart knew she was the one.  She went home for the night to go back to Ohio the next day and I received a text that night from her asking if I worked the next day because she was thinking of staying another day and wanted to use that day to hang out with me.
What?
Me?
This pretty gamer girl??????????
Needless to say it only got better from there and one particular morning before work we played mario and after one level she put down her controller and laid back onto my bed and closed her eyes.  I knew that was the moment and while there was that moment of fear, my heart leapt up into my brain and screamed to not let that moment go by.  So I leaned in and our lips met for the first time.  Her lips were like silk and I felt that butterflies feeling more intensely than I ever had.  You could practically see fireworks and my insides screamed with absolute and total true love.  We got a lot closer but work was calling and she didn't want to go too far, which was understandable.  But I kissed her and I was lit up light a Christmas tree all day.
That was where the best adventure of my life started.
The sheer amount of memories that started after that night are enough to fill pages upon pages of books for a lifetime.  I gave her Animal Crossing early because she said she liked it and I even set us up a Zoo date so I could take her somewhere.  But she did me one better and on my birthday took me to a day of places that hasn't been topped to this day.  From the museum to the incline to the hard rock cafe, I still have a folder on my laptop labeled of just that day.

I still remember her ring tone being the Imperial March from Star Wars and it was awesome.  Her phone case was an old school tape deck that she sometimes swapped out with one that was a little gameboy.  Fun fact, I still have an iphone4 and won't upgrade simply for the fact that I am still using that gameboy as my case and don't want to take it off because it's a way to carry her around with me daily.
There were a small handful of unfortunate times sprinkled in as we spent our beginning days together.  I messed up her birthday shamefully and her full of herself friend didn't help that.  Making up for it the next day with the sims and banjo kazooie helped but I made sure I didn't do it again.  She was beginning to feel bad about her own life and issues and happiness with her job and career and schooling.  I wanted to be there for her the best I could.  I even got us a wii u so that we could experience a new Nintendo console together, us being the nerds that we are.  But, her own personal issues got the better of her and I was let go.  I remember walking her to her car and her stereo playing the song with the lyrics "say something I'm giving up on you" and she drove off into the night as I stood out there, broken.  I couldn't believe the best person to ever walk into my life was now walking out of it.  This would happen again down the line and it hurt just the same.  Needless to say, our hearts were too in love and something would always bring us back.
I remember sleeping on the floor of my room because I didn't want to use the bed unless she was in it.
Another time, I was watching Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and eating cheez-its and we rekindled a bit over text before facetiming one another 'one last time'.
When we were back together, we began crafting memories and fun nights that make me smile no matter how many times I think about them.  The little Christmas tree that we set up with decorations and took pictures with after we bought it at Home Depot when she napped in my car during lunch.

We began working at the same place, The Limited so that I could make more money and what started as a cute time evolved into a mutual hatred of a job that treated us like we were nothing.  I'll never forget the night of a reset that lasted until the dim dark hours of the night and when we left, we got mcdonalds and sat in my room eating and watching Are You Afraid of the Dark until we slept.  It gave me a great feeling of worth and pride when I would bring her lunch at work.  I would walk in to visit and be greeted by what would come to be my most favorite phrase.
"Hey darlin!"
I never wanted a moment away from her.
But I had a test before me as she went to Mexico for a week and I was without my love.  She was amazing and wrote down her daily adventures for me to read when she returned and even brought me back sand in a bottle that I still keep on my bookshelves every day.  Along with the scientific sand that leaves no grains on your hand at all!  She got someone to airbrush a picture of, now watch me spell this, Chiza Nizu.......yep........which I still have framed.
Visiting her at both Alfred Angelo and Limited were a part of my day that I looked forward to.  If I wasn't at work I was visiting her or finding a way to surprise her like leaving fuzzy flowers in the doorhandle of her car when she left the Limited one night.
Halloween came and we carved pumpkins, Mario and a Ghost, while we watched episodes of Big Bang Theory on my laptop and made love every hour.

Christmas was beautiful because of her from her white hat she would wear while we ate lunch at the mall to our presents that we exchanged, I will never forget the reaction to Supernatural autographs and Luigi's Mansion.  Including a photo of her making it rain with a couple hundred dollar bills.
A few random choice memories that I have in a heart shaped box inside my mind would be:
Seeing Frozen in the theatre and spreading the word of it once it was on DVD.
Watching you beat the boss in your Japanese N64 game and looking back in total surprise when you did it.
The smell of the soup you would always make, even though I hated the smell.
Going to Phipps Conservatory with you and you photobombing the pics I took.
Going to the Aviary with you and comparing pictures we took afterwards.
Being introduced to Supernatural and getting hooked adding in Vampire Diaries, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and taking a shot at American Horror Story
Seeing your become addicted to Lego Harry Potter and going to our first comic con together, Black Ranger!

Making cookies at your parents house with Jamie.
You telling me about the ghost that follows you around.
When you wore a sexy outfit under your coat and came over.
Sneaking out of your house once you had fallen asleep and walking home.
Helping you with your homework.
When you got me the Art of Marvel Studios books that I have standing proudly on top of my bookshelves right now as a constant reminder.
Reading your copy of Misery.
Learning that growing up you had a VHS tape of Indiana Jones and Return of the Jedi.
The casino.....I mean what?
Buying me nice shirts and shoes that I still wear to this day and haven't replaced.
Getting the balloons for your idea of a party at Alfred Angelo.
Writing you a poem while you were away.
Going to Art All Night and writing in marker our names on the one display.
When you wore your feety pajamas and ran around and we built a blanket fort in your room, then played Wii.
All the music you listened to while in the car and on your phone.
Watching you scroll through Facebook and Pinterest.
Getting you a special edition of the Notebook with a scrapbook in it just for us.
Watching you put your makeup on in the morning before work.
Watching all the Star Wars movies and making Phantom Menace bearable.
Getting angry with me when I beat mario bros wii after you died but loving hearing you say "weeegeeee"
Spidermonkey holding me while you slept and making breakfast in the morning.
The blanket fort we made in your room.

But, inside the perfect wonder that was her.....she was still unhappy with herself and how she was crafting her future.  It bothered her a lot and the only way she felt that she could make it right and fix her life to the way she wanted was unfortunately to be alone.
I was devastated.
I had managed to get her back and have so many fun times but ended up losing her again.
During this time my family was in the middle of moving houses and I was looking for a new job myself.  I managed to get a new job at an electric company in customer service which was the worst job I've had and my family moved a few streets away.  During this time I tried my hardest to keep together and just work my job and figure out what I was to do.  She stopped talking to me as to actually focus on her life and get to where she needed to be.  This went on for a little but she was always in my head.  I missed her.  I noticed that her friend was moving away and I got a little hopeful because without her friend, she would be a bit open during the day with nothing to really do.
Fingers crossed.
My finger crossing actually worked and one day at work I got a text from her explaining what happened and if I wanted to hang out to help her not be so bored.  I practically screamed yes at my desk.
We got together and it was like a dream.  We went to the zoo again, I still remember what she wore and she told me about the birth control she got and we went to Fridays, I showed her around my new attic room and we began to watch the Lego Movie.  Well, we tried.  It wasn't long before our hearts remembered that special feeling and reached out once again to one another.  We kissed and made love and spent more days together even with her always stating that we couldn't act like that anymore.  She quit her bridal store job due to some shady activity and was growing worried about her financial situation.  Until one day, she made the decision to follow in her friend's footsteps and see what Florida was all about and if that was where she could find what she seeked.
No, no no no, she couldn't leave me yet again.
It was something she was considering that quickly turned to a decision that was a few days away.  She was going for it and it was really scary to be honest.  The night before she left, we snuggled together in her room and I watched Clerks on Netflix while she tried to nap.  She dropped me off at home and with rain beginning to drizzle, I once again watched her drive away, only this time she would be 14 or so hours away from me.  I went into the house, unsure of how I felt.  I wanted her back right away and selfishly didn't want it to work out down there so she could come back and stay with me.  I recall being on the phone the most I could with her as she drove all the while playing Lego Star Wars and trying to get achievements in it.  When she arrived she tried to Facetime the palm trees and then began her time in Florida looking for employment and apartments.  The days went on and she would go to the beach and hang out with her friend and facetime me all she could, it even got dirty some nights.  Her friend began to grate on me as a bad influence and it sadly annoyed me a little much and she was unable to celebrate her school victory the way she wanted.  But out of all of it came a really great thing.
She was able to clear her head and knew where she wanted to be and who she wanted to be with.  She was thinking about us again and wanted it for sure.  I couldn't have heard any better news.  But moving down there?  I had never done anything like that before.  Could I?  I decided that if it was going to be with her as my girl, then it would be more than worth it.  Now how do I explain it to everyone here without causing a massive hatred/depression movement.  Nobody wanted me to go.  Which I didn't understand.  This was something I wanted to do with someone I loved, if it made me happy then why wouldn't they be in support of that?  It became a really rough time with high emotions and more and more arguments.  The day was fast approaching and I was getting very nervous.
She ended up finding a place to live and to be honest, it was amazing.  Not only was that amazing but the fact that she was able to go down there on nothing and get a job and find a place to live in less than a month.  She was proving that anything was possible.  Now I had to do this.  In my head it wasn't as bad as everyone else was taking it.  I could understand it though.  My family liked having me live close so they could see me and vice versa often and I enjoyed doing that too.  This girl meant a lot to me though.  So I packed it up, quit my job, and one night set off for Florida.  My parents cried so hard and I had to leave them there like that.  It was the worst I had felt in my whole life.  The drive down was very difficult.  Not only was I a huge emotional mess, but I couldn't stop crying and was driving to more unknown than I ever thought possible.  I eventually was able to calm with a lot of thanks going to her who would call back to me and be there for me.
We got there the next afternoon and proceeded to check out the apartment and start moving it all in.

 It was hotter than hell and I still haven't sweat more than I did that day.  I can remember all the boxes being in the living room and my tv on top of a tupperware cube with my xbox hooked up to it while we ate Boston Market on the floor and watched Supernatural.  It still felt surreal.  The bed was set up and we slept our first night in our apartment together holding each other like we were all each other had.
And we were.
She would work during the day and I would clean the house, unpack, call places, and just try my best to calm myself down.  She had a perfect dog named Sammy who was my new buddy during this transition and I knew while she was away at work I had a little friend to keep me company while I tried to adjust, even if he acted like a retired old man.

Once we set up all the internet and such, I began my daily search for a job.  I felt terrible even more so because I didn't have much funds to help us out and she paid for a TON of everything for a period of time.
I should have let her know how much I appreciated that more and really gave back on my end because she really went through hell and was the absolute best in keeping us afloat while I looked for employment.  That's one thing I regret not doing.  I should've let her know every single day that she was such an angel and I wasn't going to take her for granted.  It got a little scary sometimes but in the end, she was more than an angel. I had some spending money and I remember going out to the store to get a trash can and some much needed things for the home.  We started to adjust well to living there and I continued to job search while she worked.  I would try and hold up what I could and cook dinner for her to come home to and vacuum and walk the dog.  I did watch movies while I applied to try and catch up on my viewings.  Big Trouble in Little China, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Anchorman 2, The Graduate, etc.
She wanted to go through all my DVDs from the beginning and watch all of our movies, she watched me play video games at night and help me out with where to go and what to do if I got stuck.  The Evil Within had a particularly frightening creature that she couldn't even look at the screen for.  I wanted to take us to the movies to see the new Ninja Turtles movie and we started watching through all my Disney movies.  Until we made it to the Lady and the Tramp and she got a phone call from her mother with horrible news.  Her nan had passed away.  I knew the feeling as my grand mother had passed away not too long after we got to Florida.  She managed to have enough money and time for us to drive home and do the funeral and visit home.  Our drives were always fun as we took turns driving and singing to music in the car from Michael Jackson to Journey to Cher.  To stay awake she would ask me to tell her a story or we would listen to podcasts.
I eventually did get a job at Hobby Lobby and that helped with money for a little bit of time during the holiday season as I was there until just after Halloween.  We would order pizza with Fritos on it and chinese food and take so many trips next door for the 2 for $20 meals at Applebees and Chilis.

We tried to watch a scary movie a day in October and managed to pull it off and when she dressed up for the holiday nobody came to the door.  I walked in from work and she was on the couch and looked up and said "nobody caaaame".  She made our place look amazing with decorations.  Once the stress died down and things started to feel a lot better, our relationship started to feel a lot better too.  We made love more and began showering together and feelings of forever together began to really catch fire.  We explored the area and went to the mall.  We found a game store called Blue Dragon and she would always try on the rings at the mall.  Her family came down to visit for a wedding and they decided to go to Universal Studios while down there and I was then invited.  I didn't know it at the time but that would be the bug that bit me to infect me with the virus of never ever ever wanting to ever leave that park ever again.  From Spider-Man to Harry Potter to Jurassic Park, I was in heaven.  To make it even better, it was all her first time too.  We had the most magical fun place on Earth as our place.  She was the perfect angel that just kept getting better.
More specific memories that float around my head constantly would be:
Deeeean?  Sammy!  and Dean screaming in terror in that episode, you know the one.

Dancing to music while cleaning the apartment.
Sitting on the balcony with you listening to the fountain while you smoked.
Waking up in the morning and hearing my xbox turn on and the music of Lego Harry Potter begin to play, putting a huge smile on my face.  My gamer girl.
Her anger when trying to beat the final boss of banjo kazooie.
You doing discussion questions through online school
The continued anger of trying to beat bosses in diddy kong racing
Your delicious Chili you would make and the many ramen recipes we created.
My hallway of art.
Spilling drinks on the carpet.
Cooking Mama in bed and your radio playing while you got ready for work.
The shoes that lined the closet all along the floor.
The bug on the balcony railing that I had to use a broom to push away.
Going to the beach together and trying to throw you in the ocean.
The movie theater to see 50 shades, minions, ant-man, ninja turtles, avengers, cinderella, and how happy you were just to watch the Force Awakens trailer over and over.
The way you would say "into my wallett!" and Juuice!
You gave me the name of my Etsy store that I use now, Geek Sense.
Falling asleep on the couch together while watching TV
Introducing each other to movies the other has seen like Sound of Music and Rocky Horror.
You visiting me at work to get the house key and me turning around so happy.
You breaking said key in door.
The chinese food delivery guy who the dog wanted to meet.
Making you a table with love painted on it and paintings for the walls that were pop art looking and one that said Be-you-tiful.
The lottery ticket scratch off that you won 100 bucks on.

For Christmas we got a real tree and she surprised me with two little nuggets of joy for the holiday.
Two little kittens that we went to go rescue and named Harley and Quinn.  I look at them both now as I write this and they are the only part of her that I can spend every day with.  She would take pictures of them with my camera to try and test the camera and work on her photography skills.

New Years was spent on the beach at a big festival and I was a complete ass and just about ruined it because of her friend once again.  I don't know why I couldn't just enjoy the time with my lady and ignore her friend but it started to seem like our life was just seeing her friend or doing what her friend wanted and it was starting to cause problems in our relationship because of it.
My lady's birthday wasn't full of people like she wanted but I was able to get her wonderful gifts and an ice cream with candles in it because I was not going to forget it again.
Valentines Day came months later and she surprised me this time with the coolest best gift of all.  Passes to Universal.  OMG  We could go whenever we wanted how many times we wanted.
Heaven.  I was now in heaven.
Unfortunately my mother was during this entire time texting and saying things to me to bring me down or feel terrible for leaving and playing the guilt trip like i had never seen before.  She was relentless and just kept getting worse.  It was starting to really affect me and become troubling and dangerous.  I wish I was stronger.  I wish so badly that I didn't let it affect me.  I had everything I had ever wanted and was truly happy.  But it just kept making me feel so so badly.  It was true I missed home and my girl even agreed that after a year we would look at moving back home to be near family again to start out life.
We continued to go to Universal and it was beyond magic.  We were the happiest little kids going through Harry Potter world and riding Spider-Man over and over.

Her favorite ride was the Mummy ride and she even liked to say her favorite quotes on every ride.
"The Magii" - Mummy
"Gonna take a bite out of the big apple" - Spider-Man
The little mouth robot in Transformers
"It's a diverrrrrsion!"
Running around the parade to reach the Terminator show
Eating at every restaurant from the Universal monsters place to all the Harry Potter places and even the place with the big fish tank and the Universal butters
The ducks in the pond
Those long lines.
The scary face I could never find in Harry Potter
My nerves on the Hulk coaster
The drop in the Jurassic Park ride
Getting butter beers and spending too much on food and snacks, I still have the Weasley box that you bought in the other room.
Going on the Popeye ride and getting soaked.
The Suess train in the rain
Cat N the Hat scaring us
Hearing the people talking around us about working on the ride and the british people while in line at Gringotts.
You getting just about sick on the Simpsons ride.
Turkey Leg
Getting me to go on the Triwizard Dragon coaster
The refillable cup that sits in my cupboard still
Seeing the GooGoo Dolls play
The amazing Shrek "ride"
The makeup show where the werewolf scared you
Yelling thank you to spider-man
The Universal history movie that they showed on the water on the lake.

My favorite of all though, was walking along the lake holding hands at the end of the day with the nice music playing and just being in that moment with you.  I don't know if I ever said it but it was the one moment I always looked forward to.  I knew I had achieved everything I wanted in life as we walked hand in hand, you in your white star wars backpack and me just basking in love.
No ride or rush of anything that day could top the feeling of walking that path with you.  The music and the quiet of the end of the night.  If there were any time when I was reminded of how special you are and just how in love I am with you, it would be that moment.
Then the unimaginable happened.  First her friend had to live with us for a month which put a lot of strain on our relationship.  I do understand that her friend was in need and had nowhere else to go and I did let it get to me a bit much but the friend was a handful most of the time and wasn't a very great influence on my girl.  But, looking back I was very crappy about it and her friend did help her out during her life a lot and let her stay with her for a month while she looking for places in Florida for us.  It was very difficult for me because I didn't feel like I had my place or was able to be me and enjoy my relationship.  Then once that was over, her family decided to yes move down and the thoughts of being near my family and hers at once started to drift away.  So we went from that to now someone else living with us and I couldn't be me like we were because this was her father living with us.  It became really uncomfortable and started to really harm my relationship.  I shouldn't have let it but it was tough to be in love the way we were with a family member there.  It sounds terrible because family members will always be around but it started to seem like the idea that I wanted for us didn't matter or hold any value.  My fears and worries began to creep in.  I was used to being naked and being naughty to my girl and just being fun and silly and falling asleep on the couch while watching netflix and us being two silly in love nerds, but now it was just too awkward.
We went home for Easter to visit family and I saw that I did miss them a lot and it started to mess with my head and I let it overtake me way too much and my girl began to start to show second thoughts after our months of love together.  I was stuck and unsure of what to do.  I didn't want to lose her at all.  The thing that really got me was that she had picked out her ring.  I was fully on board and even had an idea of how I was going to propose to her.  The happily ever after was within reach.  Every time we went to the mall we stopped at the rings and the same nice old gentleman waited on us wondering when I was going to put a ring on her.  I wanted to that year my good sir.  That was the plan. Instead of calling her darlin, I'd be calling her wife.  But I had a fear and anxiety issue and was too heavily influenced and swayed by my own family.  I was weak and didn't have the balls to fight for what I wanted.  What made me happy.  I was too worried about upsetting them than getting what I had been dreaming for my whole life.  She was right there in front of me.  Her beautiful eyes looking into mine every day.  When I made her eggs before work and made sure to walk the dog while she was gone.  Cleaned the place up so she didn't have to when she got home from work.  Played with her hair while she laid her head in my lap and looked up things on Pinterest and Facebook all the while we watched Supernatural or How I Met Your Mother.
Haaaaave you met Ted?
Pivot!!
Deeeean
Sammy!
Family business and Dean dancing to Eye of the Tiger.
Our experimentation watch of American Horror Story and laughing at the man getting squirted in the face from a broken faucet on AFV.  From going through all Marvel movies and X-Men movies to White Christmas, Rocky Horror, I Dream of Jeannie, Big Bang Theory, Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, and the bunches in between.
I found my lobster.
I found my princess peach
I found my other.
Yet there I was, letting it go down the drain and letting too many things influence me and bring me down and bring her down.  I wasn't myself anymore.  I'm ashamed and embarrassed with myself because given the chance, I would go back and slap the shit out of myself.  She was an angel incarnate and proved every day that we were partners to the end, hand in hand, heart with heart.
She told her family to get ready for the wedding and was in the best spirits.
And I crushed it.
Not on purpose mind you, not even in the same star system of on purpose.
But I did crush it.
It's a pain I still feel to this day and would give anything to make it right and bring it back like a phoenix from the ashes, full of renewed life and splendor.
When we got back to Florida with her father, it was only a matter of time before our perfect kingdom began to crumble due to my unresolved anxiety.  I asked her father permission for her hand in marriage and he gave it.  But I had not created stable ground for us at that point and when she came home, it was over.
I'll never forget that night.  I couldn't believe it.  I was beyond shocked.  She was going to be my wife, this was it, this was our life!  But I let the stupid small things and the mother and family issues become something toxic in my head and wasn't thinking for me anymore.  The honest truth of what made me happy inside and truly complete, was living with her and being with her and being able to call her mine.
Just like the photograph in Back to the Future, everything was fading.
I panicked a lot and was beyond sad.  Her reasons had made sense though and I did understand but I was and still am willing to work through and fix and do whatever it takes to make right.  It very quickly became the saddest time of my life as I had to sleep on the couch every night alone, away from her.  Not kiss her when she got from work and couldn't have her hold me at night or even snuggle on the couch.  I spent my nights after she went to sleep, quietly crying and praying that it was all a dream and that I could fix it.  I played games at night because I could not sleep and looked to the hallway every chance I could hoping I would look over and see her standing there telling me to come back to bed.  The pain never went away and our hearts were still meant for one another, she was hurt and I was in no position to show her that she was my world and I didn't want to be without her.
After a bit she did invite me back to bed so I wouldn't have to sleep on the couch and like an idiot, I finally started to do what I should've done months ago and without being told.  I painted the furniture and cooked dinner and did everything I could to try and show that I wanted to be hers.  But, I hurt her too badly.  Slowly we became our super close loving selves again but the relationship wasn't being allowed to move forward.  I tried every chance I could to feel her, be near her, steal a hug or a quick kiss.  Bought her movies and flowers and whatever I could.  The end of my time there was coming close and I was really starting to get depressed about what was coming.  Near the end we decided to have a weekend to ourselves at Universal Studios and I honestly thought this was a good chance to try and bring us back.
The hotel adventure became a memory that I will never ever forget and hope it's something we can do again.

To start with, once we got to the hotel, the rooms weren't available and they sent us to another hotel and gave us some cookies....like that was going to help the situation.
I ate the cookies
Once we got to the other hotel, we checked in and noticed something amazing was going on.  There was a little comic/anime con going on at the hotel.  Once there she said something that made my day and quickly made me happier than I'd been lately.  She said that that weekend, as a one time thing, she was my girl again.  We had a fantastic weekend with all the cosplayers and even an interesting dance party going on with them all dressed up.  Universal was fun as always, well, there was some anger when looking for somewhere to eat but we ended up going to the Hard Rock both days.  I remember a moment right before we left the hotel where I saw her looking off into nowhere, deep in her own head and she said that it would be so easy to go back.  To be together.
We continued to have good times together and it only made the oncoming day of leaving hurt that much more.  The job I worked at had a little going away party for me at a restaurant and I even got a card from one of my coworkers.  Afterwards I went out to my car and cried because I had made a bunch of new friends that I would never see anymore.  Even my replacement only looked forward to coming to work because of me and quit soon after I left because it wasn't the same without me.  While she went to work I would do whatever and go to the beach and think of any way I could to cope or try and save things but in the end she stuck with her decision.
I traded my seasons of Big Bang Theory and a Paper Mario game for some love making and I haven't watched an episode of that show since....nor of Supernatural....or How I Met Your Mother....those were ours.
We took a last trip to Universal.  One last walk down that river and we even held for the water show.  Then the day came and to this day it was the hardest, saddest, most heart wrenching thing I have ever done in my life.  I had to say goodbye to my life with her.  Say goodbye to little Sammy.  Look at our place one last time and step out that door.  The drive home being the most depressing experience, I don't think I'll ever cry that much again.  There were so so so so so many times I just wanted to turn right back and run to her, but when she called she made sure I didn't.
I moved into an apartment owned by my mom's friend and I got a really good deal on rent, I tried to set myself up with a new life and my new start but all I could day dream about was living there with her.  I got a job and we began talking on the phone and texting and eventually facetiming more often.  I was still head over heels.
What started to happen was she began to miss me and put it out there that sometime in the future there may be a change with things.  But the moving back idea was still something that bothered me, especially because I moved for her and us and then back home and was out of money and could't find it in myself to move all my stuff again and put my family through that.
She made it hard to resist though.
I never thought there would be a time of me moving back down so I just tried to go day to day all the while keeping her near so I would at least have her as mine virtually.
Then I met someone at my new job that began the most difficult, stressful, regretful, depressing, painful, upsetting, and draining year and a half of my life.
I remember every moment as it hurt because I knew it wasn't right.  Nothing felt right or the way it was supposed to be.
My soul mate had decided that she was going to try and reconcile and bring us back and I dropped the bombshell that destroyed the first of many moments.  From the beginning there were issues and problems and I had to let the new girl know that I still had feelings for someone else.  She was upset and angry and because I hadn't learned from my past, I felt bad that I upset someone and did what I could to make them happy, instead of what would make me happy.
One night there was a phone call made to my true girl and she was in bed crying and the words she said have echoed in my head every single day, every single day since then and have never left.  They ring true to this day and have always stuck in my head and I've thought of them at least once every single day since.
She said:
You're my Edward.
She said she wanted to be there when I succeeded and be by my side as time went on.
You're my Edward, nobody elses.
And she was right.
Still is.
I don't want to be anyone else's Edward but hers.
I never left.  I never stopped.  It was incredibly unfair to all involved and I only let it get worse due to fear.
We continued to have problems and trust was called into question because I was still talking to my real love.  Out of fear and intimidation I did things that I regret and am not proud of and if I were in the mind that I am now, would never have done.  I made a terrible phone call to prove to the new girl that it was over between me and my love and i made her cry.
That night I cried all night and was inconsolable.  I had never acted like that and had never had someone able to do that to me.
The days continued and I tried to move on with the new person that I thought I wanted to be with.  I was told by all that it wasn't right and they weren't good people.  If only I listened.
The times weren't all bad and there were some good times in there but overall it was a slow toxic poisoning that I didn't notice until things got really bad.  I began to lose jobs, my money, my confidence.  She started to become more rude and yell and treat me like I was her misbehaving child to the point where I wasn't sure how to act like me anymore when I saw a friend.  To her credit she did help me a lot when I was unemployed and I do owe her that but when it wasn't those times, I just began to break down.  I tried to reach out to my real love but I was still living in fear and was caught by the new girlfriend which began a trust issue that escalated to levels that I don't even know I can recover from.  Due to not being able to trust me by talking to anyone behind her back, she erased all of the contacts in my phone that were female, linked my emails to her phone so she saw every single one that came in, took over my facebook and ran it herself and deleted all shared and tagged moments that I had with my real love.
That was what finally set something off in my head.
Those were cherished memories I had and never wanted to lose.  All of our posts together were memories I never wanted to forget.  Then one person comes along and destroys it all.
I can still see them in my head: The picture of me drawing that you took and wrote that you could watch me draw all day.  All of our movies and dates we went on.
My family then became annoyed with her and she began creating a lot of drama putting me at odds with every family member to the point where now my sisters don't speak to me and my parents wonder if I'll ever be their son again.
I lost most of my friends due to not speaking or hanging out and I became someone who only associated with her.  Never did anything I wanted and had to make sure I showed her attention.
It didn't hit right away but as time went on I began to actually see what everyone meant and notice just how bad things were getting.
At this moment in time I don't remember the last time I laughed.  I miss movies I want to see because she doesn't want to.  She doesn't like fiction.
She doesn't like fiction.
She calls it nerdy stuff and has made fun of it on many occasions, I have to play games when she is at work or asleep, I never get to watch a movie I want to so I just buy them and put them on the shelf for one day, the same with video games.  I have started to feel bad about liking what I do, my health has gone downhill, I lost most of my money to which I am finally now getting back on my feet by working two jobs 7 days a week.  I'm constantly being yelled at and made to feel bad for making her waste time in a relationship going nowhere.
It just all hit a fever pitch that is just about to destroy me.
So I work.
I work at Cigna during the week and on weekends I work at Half Price Books.  For some crazy reason, every single time i work on the weekends, as I put books away on the shelves, I day dream that I look down the aisle and there you are, my soul mate, standing at the other end.  Our eyes meet and we run down the aisle to each other in a huge embrace.  Tears running I say that I missed her so much, she says the same and we hug and hold like we never have before.
I had a chance too.
I had a really good chance.
She moved back home for a bit and she was literally right down the street from me.  She was right there.  And I didn't go for it.  Because I was afraid of what would happen with the new person.  My fear for the last time wiped out all hope to be with my soul mate.
I saw her with someone new and my heart broke.  What did I expect?  If you don't make a move then someone else will.  It reminded me of that Bruno Mars song.
I should've brought you flowers
and held your hand
should have gave you all my hours
when i had the chance
take you to every party cause all you wanted to do was dance
now my babys dancing
but she's dancing with another man.

I remember her playing that song in her car and telling me to listen to the lyrics.  I had no idea how those lyrics were warning me of so much.
I would walk up the street on my days off while the new girl was at work and look at her house and one day I did see her.  She wore a red dress almost like a strawberry and she looked beautiful.  I wanted to run over with all the roses I could and kiss her, hold her, hug her.  But I couldn't.  We were both with people now.  But it wasn't right.  It wasn't her.
She has now moved back away and my love is no longer down the street.  All I have to blame is me.  She tried, I've never had someone try that hard and so persistently.  Nobody has ever served it in front of me on a silver platter.  She has been beyond amazing and proved just how much she wants us to try again.  I know that I have hit the point of where I am, that I know exactly what I want.
I'm ashamed that it took so long and I made so many mistakes and I hurt so much.
This isn't right.  I'm not happy and we have no common interests and fight more than get along these days.  There have been so many bad moments and I can't deny that my heart was never with it and always with someone else.
She doesn't hold a candle to you.
No, I'm in love with someone that makes me feel complete.  Like I can achieve anything.  Like I can be me and really know what love feels like.
I want my Ramona, not my Knives.
I want the girl who can kick my butt at Mario Kart.
I want the girl who sings at the top of her lungs in the car to Journey, Cher, Pitch Perfect, and Barry Manilow.
I want the girl who goes to comic cons and not concerts.
I want the girl who can actually be herself.
I want my wizard woman with her wand and Gryffindor robes yelling Expecto Patronum around the house.
I want the girl who laughs when Sherlock Holmes asks Watson if he wants some tea and Watson replies in the smallest voice "noo"
I want the girl who knows to say "the river" when I play the lego lord of the rings disco song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P21wZlVNQc8
I want the girl who wants to watch the trailer to force awakens over and over
I want the girl who pushes me to make art and do whatever it takes to make it my career.
I want the girl who games because she wants to and knows about gaming.
I want the girl who sings songs from White Christmas and is just as big a nerd that likes Star Wars as I do.
I want the girl who wants a family.
I want the girl who I can have a daughter with and name her Layla.
I want the girl who I can say I love you to and she will say I know.....then maybe be placed into Carbonite...in which she will be in perfect hibernation until we can deliver her safely to Jabba for payment.
I want the girl who understands exactly every reference I mean like:
The zelda to my Link
The Peach to my Mario
The Leia to my Han
The Sam to my Dean
The Mary Jane to my Peter
The Lois to my Clark
The Hermione to my Ron
The Ramona to my Scott
The turtle who sings to Coldplay

I've made a lot of mistakes and let too many things run my life for me.  I've let too many people influence me instead of having confidence in what I wanted.  I've paid the price for letting all of this fear get to me and I'm of sound mind now to know and see it.  I wish I could go back and change a lot but also I don't because it made me realize a lot and grow up a lot.
There is a perfect girl who I know is my soul mate.  I've never clicked with someone so fast and so well and wanted to make someone my partner for life more than anyone.
It's to the point where I am buying things and saving things with the sole purpose of it being for us to share and for me to show her or do/play with her.  I've collected up a ton of things and have so much I want to share with her.  A lot I know she will love so much.
There is a little blue box full of memories and momentos that I save upstairs and can look in whenever my heart requests.  Nothing will ever make me get rid of that box.  That box represents the life I want.  As stated before, I didn't upgrade my phone so I could continue to use her phone case, I use the wallet she got me for Christmas and almost brings a tear to my eye because she picked it out special so that it was made so my identity couldn't be taken.  Star Wars magnets still adorn my fridge and a DVD called Trojan War sits on my shelves as the most amazingly remembered gift I've ever gotten.  Two kinds of bottled sands are on my shelves along with a Marvel art book.  All sorts of tokens, trinkets, memories, and shared love litter my place and wherever I look there is something to make me smile.
This current relationship doesn't work and never worked because my heart was never into it.  My heart was always with someone else.  It made me learn a lot and realize a lot and there's nothing I want more than a life with my one true love.
Love is about knowing who you want to be and becoming that person to make you a better person and a better partner.
Love is about making sure that your special someone knows that they are appreciated and loved every damn day of the week.
Love is doing things not because you were told but because you want to do it for them.
Love is knowing when you are wrong and admitting it and working to fix it.
Love is someone who you would die for and whose smile could brighten an entire sky devoid of all stars.
Love is sharing interests and adventures and not wanting to go or be anywhere without that person.
Love is those butterflies in your tummy that flutter to life when that person just looks at you.
Love is being the best most positive you that you can and bringing that other person up with you and not bringing them down or being a downer.
Love is providing and not relying
Love is hard working, inspiring, and pushes you to be your best
Love is brown eyes, short, dark hair, aspires to be a princess, loves Reisling wine by Barefoot, watches Breakfast at Tiffany's, plays Yoshi's Story, and is responsible for making me believe in love.
Love is you.
Love is this:

You don't marry the girl who you fight with, you marry the one who when you shout Wingardium Leviosa.....she in her best Hermione voice corrects your pronunciation.
You have to show and fight for and take action for what you want in life.  You have to make them know that there is no other girl out there that makes you feel like you do.  The one person in the whole world that there is no other.  That special unique one of a kind butterfly with the most beautiful wings.  You only get one heart and one life and when you meet someone like her, you never feel that feeling again and you know.  You know that it's her.
I want her
I miss her
I need her
I love her
It's time for me to conquer my fears, pull the real me back together, and get what I want to make me happy and make sure that she is the one smiling next to me the entire time.  If she is taken then I will wait all the years that the Earth has left in it for her because she is worth it.  If she isn't then I am going to do everything it takes to bring myself back and go find her.  The world ceases to turn unless I'm holding you in my arms.  I've never felt so truly that I have to make my changes and do what I need to do to get back to who I used to be, the real me, and pursue what makes me happy.
You are the one true reason for waking up every day with a sense of purpose.
You are the one true reason for spending every day with the biggest smile.
You are the one true reason that love feels the way it does when it's at its absolute best.
You are the one.
Now the road to that situation has started and while it won't be instant, it is on its way.  The light at the end of the tunnel is coming closer and while pains still remain and painful measures must be taken, certain things must be done in order for one to achieve what one wants to be happy.