1,000 Words: A Bit More More Words

I guess this is a good time to announce I am releasing my second book in October. Here's a teaser. The number of pages and word count could change as I wrap up the finishing touches. Not sure when exactly it will be out in October, as my self-administered deadline is set to October only to release a bit of tension as the month draws ever closer. 

Thanks for watching

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Death Note (2017)

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that had a list of things I would have liked the American remake of Death Note include. Unfortunately, and to be fair, as expected, it didn’t capture hardly anything of the original. There are a few things it got right, but there were more it spectacularly got wrong.

The first thing the film had to include was the mental battle between Light and L. Instead, we received a physical one, a run through a city. In the anime, we were made to think who was good and who was bad – in the film, it was made clear who we should be rooting for, eliminating that iconic tense atmosphere that kept us firmly planted in our seats, wanting to watch another episode. Light and L’s intelligence were the epicentre of the anime, as they battled it out mentally. Light being a constant obstacle between L and the confirmation that the person who’s working with him is Kira. That constant intensity as you waited for someone to make a mistake. None of that was captured properly in the American remake.

Light and L’s intelligence were represented authentically with L coming to a quick conclusion as to who Kira is, and Light battles to keep himself hidden. However, it quickly spiralled out of control during the second act. The plot threw out all it had set up to allow an action set piece in, disturbing core essentials that people were expecting. Unfortunately, Light’s intelligence was the only thing they got right. He’s supposed to be cool, calm, collected, constantly active, and the defining moment that allowed us to see exactly who he is as a person was when he first saw the Shinigami. He wasn’t afraid, just took it in his stride, studied and learnt what it all meant and planned the future. In the film, he ran away, scared. He screamed for help. That was not Light.

L’s character stayed truer to the source material than any other character. His love of sweets, his genius intellect, his sitting position, and he bent stride – although at first glance it did appear to be standing perfectly straight.

Being an adaptation, it makes sense that there had to be a few changes and discards along the way, especially when making a 37-episode series into a 2-hour film. Misa’s Death Note and ability to see people’s names above their head was scrapped, but her crazy personality and insane love for Light remained – although dumbed down considerably to the point where it felt as if it was a romantic teen drama instead, which again completely ruins the overall atmosphere we all expected.

Ryuk’s appearance was constantly kept in shadow for some strange reason, only stepping into the light a handful of times – giving the impression the budget wouldn’t allow the animators to put in any details. However, William Defoe was the perfect choice for that character. His darkly growling voice captured the Shinigami’s personality flawlessly. That’s about the only thing they did get right – everything else was half of what it should have been.

In conclusion, the entire film felt as if it was a coming-of-age story with teen dramas and a little bit of mysticism. It failed to capture the essence, and the core of the show. It was dark, it was gory, it’s definitely not for children, but that’s about it. Whilst this could be considered a nitpick, I felt there were unnecessary swearing throughout. The anime didn’t need to litter the dialogue with swear words, because it explained everything cleanly and clearly – only using them when absolutely necessary to add emphasis to the situation, not what felt as if they were an automatic impulse.

There’s also talks for a possible sequel, but only if enough people watch it, but that’s the problem if they go by that alone. Plenty of people will see it because it’s an adaptation of Death Note, and so curiosity will take control, or because you’re a fan. I do hope they pay attention to the reviews and forego the sequel. If it follows on from this film, it’s not going to get any better. At least they tried, right?

Thanks for watching

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 204:

(Tom’s perspective)

At least it’s a warm day. Everyone around me knows exactly where they want and need to go. They know what they want, need and have to do. And they only have to worry about normal things. They don’t have to worry about suddenly being trapped in another universe. I wonder how many people actually believes in parallel universes. I doubt that, with them worrying about all the necessities, they would believe in them. I wonder what their reaction would be if I told them that I was from another universe. They would probably label me as crazy.

I don’t know where I’m going because I don’t have a destination in mind. I’m just walking in this direction, letting my feet lead the way. I turn down this road and that road, not paying attention to their names because I just don’t see the point in remembering them. I’m just plainly and simply walking.

I turn to my left and see, stretching as far as I can see, a single street. I stopped walking and admired the view for a couple of seconds before carrying on. It had many apartments, shops, offices, and if I identified that correctly, a very tall carpark that had several stories, but I wasn’t sure if that was just an ordinary building with a two story carpark on the roof. It’s probably the latter the more that I look at it. Right, I had better keep going. Walking aimlessly forwards is much better than just standing around.

No other road was as long as this. I remember Sebastian telling one day that the horizon is 2.9miles away from you at sea level, and considering that the end of this street disappears behind the horizon, it must be more than 3 miles. How much further than that, I will only know when I get further enough along it. Will I actually be walking the entire distance? I cannot be certain. I’ll walk as far as I can before I have to stop. On average, my feet start to ache around about the 7-mile mark, and I doubt I’ve walked more than 2 miles already. I doubt I’ve even walked more than a mile and a half, so I can get quite a way down here.

This street isn’t as busy as all the other streets that I’ve been down. There are still so many people that you have to keep weaving in and out of, changing your direction every so often instead of simply walking forward, but compared to all the other places I’ve been before here, this place is relatively quiet. There are still just as many cars, though. I can see in the distance that there are several busses crossing this street at the lights. Not one that I’ve seen so far have turned towards me, telling me that this must be the part of the city where there are no bus services. It was just then that a bus came past me in the direction that I was walking. I stand corrected.

It stopped just in front of me and five people hopped off: a family of three, an old woman, and a young man who helped the woman off with her bags. She said her thanks and they went off in their separate directions. I like it when someone offers their help to someone. Anyone who offers even the tiniest bit of help to someone who is clearly struggling instead of leaving them there to fend for themselves, deserves some recognition. Obviously, that is what they do that for. They just see a person who needs help and helps them. It’s as simple as that. I try and do my bit as much as I can. I’ve helped as many people as I can. There just hasn’t been anybody who needs it, and if they do, there’s always someone who’s quicker than me getting there before me. Of course that’s not a bad thing.

As three people climbed on board, I had walked to the front of the bus. I wonder where this bus is going. I look up at the sign above the front window and read: Pogo Street.

I couldn’t help but smile at that. Pogo Street. What kind of a name is Pogo Street? I can imagine a group of counsel officials sitting around a large table in a very big conference room, wearing very expensive suits, discussing what to call a particular street. The reaction that person who suggested Pogo Street must have gotten. Either that, or everyone agreed in an obvious manner as if to say that they should have realised how obvious it was. The person who erected the sign or painted the words must have been giggling uncontrollably. Professionally suggesting Pogo Street is hilarious.

I wonder where Pogo Street is. I won’t be able to ride the bus there because I have no money, but maybe I can find it. That could be my objective for now. Find Pogo Street. Well, all I have to do is ask someone where it is and they’ll point me there. It would save me wondering around for hours, but then again it would distract me for a long period of time if I were to walk around with the hope that I would stumble across. Well, it’s something to do, I guess.

The bus’s doors closed and it pulled out of the bus stop. Shrugging, I set about finding Pogo Street. There must be a very good reason why that street was named that way. Maybe I’ll find out that reason once I’ve found it. What if all the shops sell nothing but Pogo sticks? Or what if… well, that’s all that I can think of at the moment. Whatever the reason, I’m sure it’s a good one. And I shouldn’t really be making fun of the name. I am from another universe after all. I need to start paying attention to the road names. It could be anywhere. It might even be back where I came from.

Then my stomach growled. I forgot that I was hungry.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Far and Away

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman play the characters Joseph Donnelly and Shannon Christie, both, with the film being set in Ireland, with Irish accents. Throwing themselves in to the roles whole-heartedly.

The film is set against spectacular scenery, which adds to the quality of the film. The battle between a rich landlord’s team of men and the poor tenant farmers is played out. It is nice to see though that Mr Daniel Christie (Robert Prosky) is not as bad as it seems, being unaware of what his management team are up to.

A scene I found funny was after Joseph was injured and was laying on the bed, Shannon being innocent and curious looks under the bowl. Shannon has a rebellious nature and determination for getting away to the United States of America to claim land that they are giving away in Oklahoma in 1893.

It is ok to have ambition, but the reality may not always be as you would expect. When Joseph and Shannon find themselves in trouble once they had made it across to America. There is a role reversal and Joseph becomes the more knowledgeable one and sorts things out for them both.

The film is a bit gory in some places, when blood is splatted around but it adds to the reality of the character’s situation and doesn’t last long.

As the film plays out Joseph finds himself on the wrong road and when you are on the wrong road you, as he did go to join the right road. This is good to see as many people just stay where it is comfortable, but Joseph, remembering the ambition of Shannon and the message from his dying father was stronger than that and set out for some land.

The race scenes are some of the most epic scenes I have seen in a film, however, it is sad to see some casualties along the way. It just goes to show that using one horse could work out better in the end, and to not be overburdened.

The Oklahoma land run is a great back story to a romantic film and the scenery enhances the romance of it all.

At the end of the film, it is nice to see love on the land win out in the end.  

Jerry's Journal: Chewed

Any new toy Jerry has it immediately becomes his new favourite. He loves chewing them, and the more he can get his teeth into a certain toy, the more he'll stay focused on that one toy. A few weeks ago, I gave him this toy - it was originally 3 foot long.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 203:

(Tom’s perspective)

I should have known from the very beginning that I was in some random parallel universe, but I thought it was all an illusion. I’m standing in a city, a busy city with traffic and crowds of people all going about their business, acting as if nothing’s out of the ordinary, because it isn’t. If I was anywhere but here, then maybe I would have figured it out, but everything is so normal. Of course it would be, though. Why wouldn’t it be? Everything in this city is perfectly normal, not a single thing is out of place. That’s why I was fooled into believing that I was home.

So what do I do now? It feels so strange knowing that I’m standing in another universe. Even more so now with the knowledge that there is no way of getting back home without Sebastian’s help. I have to stay here for an unknown, possibly indefinite amount of time, before Sebastian comes and get me, and that could literally be any time. Starting from now, until whenever, Sebastian could appear in front of me any second. Until then, what the heck do I do? I have no money, no phone, no anything. I couldn’t be more separated from everybody.

The feeling of loneliness starts to kick in for the first time. The fact that everyone that I know: My mum and dad, nana and granddad, grandma and granddad, uncle and aunt, cousins, Sebastian, Amy, Alex; everyone that I know, now standing in another universe. Only Sebastian and Amy know that I’m somewhere other than home, but they have no idea where exactly I am, and that makes the feeling of loneliness that much stronger.

Amy! I’m not the only person in some universe. I’m struggling to properly comprehend everything, I really am. Amy is in the same position as I am right now. In some parallel universe, lost, lonely. The chances of landing in your home universe is less than infinitesimally small, I can only imagine. I really hope that Sebastian can find us. I know that he said that he can do anything, and I know that he believes that, and I know that I believe he can do anything, but, just maybe, there are some limitations. I mean, he can jump to any universe he so wishes, but finding the one with me in, that’s like finding a needle in a hay stack, except that analogy doesn’t sound right because even the biggest of needles in the smallest of hay stacks is just too small to find when compared to parallel universes.

I never thought that I would be in this position. I never thought I understood so much. I, along with Sebastian, had a fascination with science and stuff, but I was always the one that left the house on a regular basis. I decided to put down the book, turn off the TV, switch of the computer, and/or put down the game controller and go outside just for a casual walk around the block. It was Sebastian who stayed indoors and studied the heck out of everything he could. Not because he chose to, but because he just couldn’t bring himself to go outside. He was too nervous all the time, and even though he wanted to try and push himself to do more, he always found himself locked indoors. Now, standing in some random parallel universe, with nothing and no one, I’m beginning to feel as if Sebastian unintentionally had the right idea. Maybe I should have locked myself indoors more often. Sebastian always wanted to be more like me, but maybe I should have been more like him? I’m so lost.

Sure, I can be proud of being confident, because it isn’t a thing that comes easily. I did have to work hard to push myself. It was only when I found myself in situations that I had pushed myself into that they weren’t as scary as I imagined them to be. We all start off without any confidence in the beginning. But now I am scared. I can feel my confidence slowly slipping away.

Maybe I can treat it as… but it isn’t like that at all. When you go to a different country, you at least know that you are on the same world. It’s hard to describe it, but even though you are from your family and friends, you just know that you are safe, because… well, you just know that you are. But this is different. I’m not in a different country, I’m in a different universe. I don’t get that feeling of just knowing. I haven’t got that feeling at all. And that scares the heck out of me. I’ve never been more scared. I’m in such a strange situation, that my brain just cannot process it all properly; I don’t think I am as scared as I should be. Is that a good thing? How should I know?

So what do I do now? What does anyone do when the find themselves standing in a parallel universe with absolutely nothing? I have no idea, because everyone that I know hasn’t been in this situation before, and even if they were, I cannot talk to them because they are so far away.

All of this incomprehension is draining my energy. I’m just standing here, staring at the city, watching life rush past me, yet I’ve used up more energy than ever before. I need a coffee. Oh, right, I can’t because I have no money. Well, I can’t stand here all day. I have to do something. Anything. I don’t think it matters what I do. Maybe I should just go for a walk. I don’t know how much help it will be, but at least it’s something. Where do I walk to? What’s here? I don’t think that matters either. I can’t get any more lost than I already am. And it’s not as if I have a destination in mind, anyway. I guess I’ll just walk off in this direction and, well, hope for the best.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Random Topic Generator: What Day is it?

It’s strange that, upon waking up, you believe it to be another day. Sometimes it only lasts momentarily, but on other times, you could go the entire morning believing it to be tomorrow.

This happened to me on Thursday morning. I woke up and believed it to be Friday, today. It was only when I discovered a piece of information did I realise that today was actually Thursday. Why does that happen? I’m not asking that question because I’m going to answer it somewhere on this article, I’m asking rhetorically because I know scientists haven’t figured that out yet. Maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough online, but not only is the answer unknown to us, but apparently there isn’t a name for it either.

These are just my thoughts on the matter. I in no way claim to have figured out the answer, just wanted to point out a pattern I had come to notice.

This is an extremely popular occurrence I know that for a fact. If I were to ask everyone I know, they undoubtedly would say they’ve experienced it more than once in their lives. That notion you get when you wake up, and start acting upon the plans you had laid out for today, only to realise that they were for tomorrow instead. Of course there are various reasons for why this happens, and despite the fact that we probably can state why it happened when it does because of a certain reason, that doesn’t explain why it does happen altogether.

If you have a big event on at the end of the week and you’ve spent many days planning it, and each day has a set amount of plans that need to be executed, it’s possible that you could believe it to be another day because you have so many plans going around you head all at once, each one just as important as the other. Your brain, upon waking up with everything weighing on your mind at once, could get confused with how quick it needs to get moving and thinking. It doesn’t have to be a massive event, just various tasks in an assignment, and with the deadline looming, you could believe it to be today, when instead it’s tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be an assignment you could just have a lot to do over the week. I’ve never really experienced this phenomenon without some sort of stress in the present moment.

Stress affects us all differently, but our brains get confused just the same as all the others, so maybe that’s why it happens. We’re all suffering from the side effects of confusion because our brains are under an amount of stress.

This doesn’t happen when we’ve got something exciting planned over the weekend. You don’t wake up on Friday and believe it to be Saturday. We know we have one more day to work before we can go away and enjoy ourselves for two entire days. Even when the exciting activity is happening mid-week, you don’t wake up thinking it’s that day and not go to work, only for your boss to ring you up and wonder where you are, leading you to realise what day it actually is. That never happens, but instead only when a lot is happening all at once.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

TV Show of the Week: Marvel's – The Defenders

The Defenders see Matt Murdock as Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Danny Rand as Iron Fist (Finn Jones) team up to defeat the evil organisation, The Hand, led by Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver) as one of the five fingers. We also see a few supporting characters return, including Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung). And of course, Claire Temple, the person who’s jumped between each of the individual series and now has developed relationship with Luke Cage, a paring that does work.

Each of the four series on their own have very different tones. Daredevil’s dark and full of violence and gore, Jessica Jones’ psychological, Luke Cage’s is mysterious with patches of tenseness interwoven throughout, and Iron Fist’s tone is light-hearted compared to the previous three. Each show is completely different than the other, and bringing these together would have to be done right first time. Marvel does have experience with this matter, when they brought all the Avengers together after having their own film. On Netflix, however, they were able to explore and experiment so much more, so it was entering into new territory even though we know they know what they’re doing.

You absolutely have to watch the four previous series to understand what’s going on and know who each character’s personality wise. The first episode explores just that. The series only consisted of 8 episodes rather than 13, and there was some criticism regarding such because of course we wanted more, and we wondered if it was possible to do a big collaboration series in a much smaller arc than before. They’ve pulled it off brilliantly. The four series with 13 episodes was perfect to establish each character, so they don’t have to do that in The Defenders. They aren’t treating us as ignorant, they are jumping right into the action, but only after introducing each character and bringing them all together.

A massively powerful secret organisation known as The Hand, with five fingers scattered throughout the world, each with incredibly influence and resources at their disposal whenever they want, tearing that apart in only 8 episodes may sound rushed, but actually, if they were to spread the story over 13 episodes, there would undoubtedly be a few episodes acting as pure filler. There was plenty of action, plenty of necessary expositional scenes and each character was explored and developed at a steady pace. Jessica Jones’ personality stood out the most, not as an odd one out, but because she was staying true to how she was as a character in her own series – want no part of anything other than to crack her case. Her development over the course of the series had to have been the most, but was done well.

Alexandra, the head of The Hand. She wasn’t a traditional villain, just someone determined to get what they want, and the thing they want happens to be the wrong thing. She was portrayed brilliantly by Sigourney Weaver. She captured the character’s power and leadership brilliantly, without missing a single beat.

I do, however, have one criticism. I was glad that Electra came back as teased at the end of Daredevil series 2, but her story arc was unfortunately predictable. As soon as she was resurrected, I had an inkling that she would turn against The Hand. I wasn’t expecting her to still be a foe to Daredevil and the others. I was hoping The Defenders would take down Alexandra, not Electra, as that is essentially what the show is all about. The last episode sees The Hand being defeated once and for all, and The Defenders moving forward. Now that we know who they are, and that they’ve developed as a team, over the next few series of each individual character, it would be nice to see the others make cameo appearances now and again. It would seem odd that they would team up and never see each other again until the next series of Defenders. In other words, the Netflix series are following the same formula as the films, which I have nothing against, because the content is original and unrelentingly entertaining.

In conclusion, The Defenders is a highly exciting 8 hours that would easily suck you in until you’ve finished the last episode, something that did happen to me, and it was totally worth it.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 202:

(In Tom’s perspective)

After I had downed three glasses of water, I said my thanks for the fifth time and left the café. I felt so much better. I was back to my normal-self once more. I was smiling for about a minute before I realised that Sebastian and Amy were nowhere to be found. I still need to figure out where I am so that I can get my bearings. All I do know is that it’s in some busy city centre, but I don’t recognise it as anywhere in London, or even England for that matter. I only know I’m in an English speaking country.

‘Ok,’ I breathed, ‘maybe there’s a tourist information centre,’ I suggested to myself. Surely there should be some clues as to where I am. Then I got a brainwave. The prices on the menu in the café. The currency will tell me exactly where I am. I turned around on the balls of my heels and found the menu on the window. Pound Sterling. I’m in England. OK, so where about am I in England exactly, then? However, all thoughts about where I was were suddenly and instantly clouded by how hungry I felt. My stomach growled loudly. Travelling here really drained my energy. The only problem is that I don’t have any money, and I don’t have my bank card to draw any out either.

I never imagined being in this position. I never left the house without my phone or my wallet, but due to certain and unexpected circumstances, I’m trapped in the middle of a city, with no money and no phone. If I can figure out what city I’m in, maybe I can go about making my way home.

What if Sebastian and Amy are looking for me? Should I stay here until they do? I can’t be sure how long that’ll be though. Wherever they are, I hope they are OK. If only I had the watch. It would be so easy to press a few buttons and teleport back home. But I don’t have the watch, and so I have to go about things via the long way round. And I can’t do that without any money. And I can’t do anything without any energy. Once I’ve gotten some food inside me, I can then sit down and really think about this.

So what do I do first?

‘Ah, I know,’ I said thinking aloud. A couple of people turned their heads towards me with confusion. I quickly bowed my head and starting walking away. I can go to the bank, say that I’ve lost my debit card – which I technically have – and then go through a (lengthy) procedure to access my account to acquire some money so that I can go about my business and get home. That’s an idea and a half. Right, so, where’s the bank?

‘Excuse me,’ I said, asking another random stranger. ‘Do you know where Natwest is?’

‘Er…’ she said, thinking. ‘Oh, um… if you go back that way,’ she said, pointing back where she just was, ‘and take a right at the lights, it’s on your left.’

‘Thanks,’ I said.

‘You’re welcome,’ she said, happy that she helped someone and we went our separate ways. At the lights, I pushed the button and waited for the red man to chance to the green man, signalling that it’s safe for us to cross. The beeping noise sounded and a group of us all crossed at once. The bank was exactly where she said it would be, on my left. There was a bit of a queue, but that didn’t matter. As long as I can withdraw some money, then the queue can extend to outside.

As I was queuing, waiting for the staff members to deal with everyone’s requests. In front of me was an elderly couple, both with walking sticks and hunched backs. There were holding hands as they waited, which I found really cute. The longer I waited, the more I zoned out and focused on my thoughts once more. The last thing I remember is being in that box, talking to Amy, and waiting for Sebastian to come and rescue us, and that strange tingling feeling just before I found myself lying on my back in the middle of that alleyway. Maybe Amy was teleported to some other part of the city. Maybe even to the opposite side of the country. Did something go wrong with Zaylor’s plan? He wanted us to answer his questions, so I can’t imagine him suddenly pressing some button to teleport us to some random place, and I know that Sebastian wouldn’t have done anything like that. He would have smashed through the glass and took us home. It wouldn’t matter how tough the glass was, he would have smashed it with ease.

I think something went wrong with Zaylor’s plans. That has to be the only option that sounds reasonable. Wherever Sebastian is, he’ll find Amy and I. Hopefully, I can get back home so that I can contact him to let him know that everything’s fine and that I can then help find Amy. I don’t know if he has his phone with him. Is the watch able to pick up telephone calls? It probably can, but I doubt that I would be able to call it with Sebastian’s mobile number. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. At the moment, let’s just focus on getting some money so that I can actually do something.

I hope that Amy is OK. Suddenly being in a strange place is very disorientating. If it weren’t for that pile of rubbish, I doubt I would have recovered as quickly. I don’t have to worry about Sebastian. He’s fine. He has the watch. I wish I had the watch. It would be nice to simply teleport back home in a matter of seconds, less than that. Now I’m just retracing my previous thoughts.

‘Next,’ I heard someone say. ‘Next.’ I felt a tap on my shoulder. I snapped out of my train of thought and turned around.

‘You’re next,’ the man said, pointing at the counter.

‘Oh,’ I said, a little surprised. ‘Thanks.’

‘Hello,’ a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties said with a smile.

‘Hi, I lost my bank card and I was wondering if I could withdraw some money out. I need to get home, you see,’ I explained.

‘No problem,’ she said. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Um… Tom Edward Alexander,’ I said. She tapped my name into the system.

‘Date of birth?’ she asked.

‘Nineteen-ninety-seven,’ I answered. ‘Sorry, seventh of July, nineteen-ninety-seven.’ She smiled at my blunder and tapped in the date into the system.

‘And your home address, please?’

‘Um… eighteen Woodland Drive,’ I answered.

‘I’m sorry, Tom, but it doesn’t appear that you are on the system,’ she said regretfully.

‘What? I don’t understand. I’ve been banking with you for years.’

‘I’m sorry, but you don’t appear on the system. Are you sure you’ve given me the correct details?’

‘Yes,’ I said a little too bluntly.

‘Well, I’m sorry, but you’re not on the system. I can’t help you if you’re not on the system,’ she said sternly in response to my sudden bluntness.

‘Right, OK,’ I said. ‘And you are completely sure that the system is working fine?’ I asked.

‘Sir, the system is not down. I’ve entered the details that you’ve given me and correctly, but I’m afraid to say that you are not showing up on the system. I can’t help you if you are not on the system.’ That’s probably going to be the only answer I’m going to get no matter how much I try and push.

‘Well, then,’ I said before leaving. Now what do I do. How can I not be on the system? I’m in England. I’ve been banking with Natwest for years now. Why am I suddenly not showing up on their system… unless…

No. Please don’t tell me… Oh, it’s so obvious now. I’m not home. I mean, I’m not back home. I mean, I’m not in the world that I come from. I’m in some random parallel world.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: The Lovely Bones

WARNING SPOILERS

When I first watched this film, I didn’t quite get what they were aiming for, but after reading the book, of the same name by Alice Sebold, it all made sense to me.

This is a film about a young 14-year-old girl, Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) on a quest to help her father, Jack (Mark Wahlberg) find a mass murderer, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). The difference is, is that Susie is also one of his murder victims. Some of the film seems a bit strange, but once you read the book it all becomes clear.

This film, not only explores what happens to a family in the event of a murder, but also what happens to the victim, in this case, what Susie is going through after her death in the in-between world. It is clever how the two worlds collide, such as when George, her murderer, breaks her charm bracelet and when Jack, her dad, smashes the bottles with the ships in. the special effects are amazing, you could see they went to town on them, as no one knows what happens when we pass, Alice writing the book and the people making the film could have free reign. However, her dad sensing Susie’s emotions leads to a not very nice consequence for her father.

When Susie meets George’s other victims it is very emotional to watch. Luckily Susie realises she has some unfinished business and lets the others go and returns.

In parts of the film we hear Susie talk over the scenes, this adds to the emotional atmosphere of the film. She has the perfect tone of voice and the script is well written.

One person, Ruth Connors (Carolyn Dando) senses something is wrong, it is a pity we didn’t see her act on it more, justice may have been served sooner, in the end however, it is surprising what can be achieved with an icicle.

Jerry's Journal: Showing Mum His New Toy

I brought him a new toy yesterday, hopefully one that he doesn't chew to pieces in a matter of days. He loves it.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 201:

(Tom’s perspective)

Struggling to breath. My eyesight is blurry. I can’t move. I want to move, but every muscle in my body is rigid. I’m hearing voices all around me, but my hearing is too muffled for me to make out any words. Then I feel my feet hit something solid. I collapse to the ground in a pile, every muscle in my body suddenly limp. Then nothing but darkness.

***

Struggling to breath. Am I conscious? I think I am. Can I move? I think I can. Nothing but darkness.

***

Struggling to breath. I am conscious. I can move. There’s sunlight. Muffled voices all around me. My eyesight slowly rights itself and I’m staring up at the sky, the sun’s rays being blocked by two buildings sitting opposite one another. The coldness from both building’s shadows washes over me as my feeling starts coming back. It’s as if I’m waking up from being in a deep sleep but with my eyes wide open and I’m dreaming of being in this exact position I’m in now, which I’m slowly figuring out to be an alleyway of some sort.

My head starts to spin the moment I sit up, but I quickly neutralise that by breathing in deeply to give my body all the oxygen it needs to wake up properly. After a couple of deep breaths, my head stops spinning and my eyesight is back to normal.

So I’m in an alleyway now. The last thing I remember is standing in that glass box talking to…

Amy!

I spin around a bit too fast and nearly lose my balance. Where’s Amy? Where’s Sebastian? Where am I? I can’t focus on any of those questions just yet. As much as I want to, I just can’t until I’m back to being one-hundred percent.

As I’m trying to keep my balance, I spun on the spot. That’s when I spotted the dumpster filled to the brim with rotten rubbish and foul smelling out-of-date foods, I instantly could smell it and it was horrid. That intense and thick smell actually helped kick-start my brain into action once more as I found myself about to fall into that it. I fought with myself to keep me upright. I was not going to fall into that dumpster. I swung my arms around in a wide circle to force my feet to stay on the ground. With my brain having to compute so many actions at once after being unconscious for an unknown amount of time, I was rather surprised that it righted itself quickly. I found myself standing upright with my balance back to normal. Then the smell from the dumpster made itself known once more. I grimaced and turned away.

Reaching the end of the alleyway, a busy city with roaring traffic and hundreds of people walking in several directions, either talking on their phones, listening to music, or just lost in their own thoughts greeted me. A car on the other side of the road was getting ready to pull out into the road. It drove straight in front of an advancing car, in which the driver slammed on the brakes causing the car’s front to dip down so the bumper was just missing the ground and hammered the horn as hard as they could to generate the loudest sound they could to grab the other driver’s attention. The booming sound smashed against my eardrums, causing me to wince as if I had the world’s worst hangover, except I don’t have a headache. The driver inside the car that nearly caused an accident responded by raising their hand in an apologetic manner before continuing to pull away. The people who were lost in their thoughts snapped back into reality and turned their heads to see what all the commotion was about, the people with mobile phones put a finger in the opposite ear, and the people listening to music carried on as normal. I’m back on Earth. That’s a good sign. But where are Amy and Sebastian, and where am I?

It was at that moment that my throat decided to let me know how badly it needed water. I wasn’t dehydrated, that much I could tell, but I needed to drink. But I don’t have any money. That actually doesn’t matter because it is now a legal requirement to give out tap water for free in any food outlet.

Stepping out of the alleyway, I slowly walk forward, trying to look for a café or a restaurant or any food outlet in the area. I only noticed that the sun was hidden behind a thick layer of cloud when it moved out of the way, allowing the sun to be free. My eyes went blurry as they had to adjust to the sudden brightness and I collided with someone walking in the opposite direction.

‘Whatc where you’re going, will ya,’ he said angrily.

‘Sorry,’ I said.

‘I should think so,’ he said rudely before continuing on his way. When my eyes had fully adjusted, I tried looking for the person who I had walked into, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. I swallowed and my throat stung once more, pushing my attention back to looking for some water.

Where’s a café when you need one. I can’t wonder around here for hours. Not in this state.

‘Excuse me,’ I asked a random stranger who stopped. ‘Where’s the nearest café or restaurant?’ I asked faintly.

‘Just around the corner. There’re about three cafés in a row,’ he pointed.

‘Thank you,’ I said.

‘No problem,’ and he continued on his way. Rounding the corner, the three cafés the man told me about shone with many bright colours. Rushing forward as fast as my legs would carry me, I crossed the road and bundled straight through the door of the nearest café. A couple of people watched me curiously, but all I cared about was getting some water.

‘Can I help you?’ a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties asked.

‘Water, please,’ I said before I gave off the wrong impression.

‘Sure,’ she said. I could tell that she was asking what my problem was, but she didn’t say anything as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard above and filled it up with tap water.

‘There you go,’ she said handing it to me.

‘Thanks,’ I said unintentionally snatching it from her and downing it in one. The cold water hit my throat, instantly soothing it and drowning any pain.

‘Thanks,’ I said again putting the glass on the counter. The woman was watching me, now even more curiously.

‘May I have another?’ I asked.

‘Sure,’ she said going back over to the sink.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Shifting the Tone and More

If you haven’t read up to The Watch – Part 200, please avoid this article because there will be spoilers as I talk about the story’s future.

During the events of The Watch – Part 200, Sebastian fails to rescue his best friend, Tom, and his girlfriend, Amy, from the mad scientist, Zaylor. They’ve been both been separated and transported to an unknown universe. Sebastian’s character has changed drastically from someone who used to be a nervous wreck all the time who barely left the house. The Watch, the most powerful device in the universe, has granted him incredible power and has unlocked so many possibilities, including his inner-self. He’s much more confident, and as a result, is able to stand up against those who anger him, including the mad scientist, Zaylor.

Sebastian’s character development is always a mystery to me. I know who he is, but how he transitions from who he was to who he’ll become is unknown to even me, which has given me ample opportunity to experiment with the story. Without given too much away for the future, I want to put Sebastian to one side for the moment and focus on Tom and Amy’s adventures in the other universe. I want to focus on developing their characters for the next 100 parts: The first 50 will be from Tom’s perspective, and the next 50 will be from Amy’s perspective. Where’s Sebastian? Looking for them. Sebastian will be absent for the majority of the next 100 parts, only briefly appearing in two parts. I’ve focused entirely on Sebastian for the past 200 parts, and if I want the story to continue, I need to change perspectives to keep it fresh. I also want to explore new avenues, and I don’t mean inserting parts that don’t fit into the story, but rather explore what happens when you’re stuck on an unknown world, in so many unfamiliar situations, and literally have no way of getting back. Amy and Tom do not have The Watch, so they can’t just hop back home in less than a blink of an eye, they’ll have to wait for Sebastian to come and get them, whenever that’ll be. That also means changing the tone slightly as well. I’ve done that gradually during Parts 151, to 200, so when it explores some dark areas, it won’t feel unnatural to the story.

Starting from Part 201 - to be released on Saturday, I won’t be going too dark. I never intended to make it too dark, but I always knew it wouldn’t be as light-hearted as it has been from beginning to end. Exploring a slight shift in the tone is inevitable when two characters don’t have The Watch.

When Sebastian does come back and, we shift back to his perspective but it won’t be so light-hearted as before, it’ll certainly be different, but not so different it’s unrecognisable. It'll be fresher. The last thing I want to happen is for the story that I love writing to go stale not only for the reader but for me as well.

I would like to thank each and every one of you who have read the story. I’m extremely grateful that anyone is paying at least some attention to something I’ve written. I’ve said this so many times before, but I’ll say it again because it’ll never stop being true; I’m blown away that there’s people out there taking time out of their day to read these posts. Knowing that there are people interested keeps me motivated – I just hope to keep you motivated in reading the story by developing the characters and the tone.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)