April challenge: Rio's story (so far)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

[Intro] [A long slow pan along the M25, with cars rushing past at speed. The camera moves as if it’s travelling along with a car. It slides off a slip road, rising up, past a small and slightly dingy little café, then down a small track to a large and scruffy junkyard.] One the corner of Main Street [Two small children, looking like a much younger Raph and Isabelle race past playing tag. Behind them, a teenage Rio leans against a broken van] Just tryin' to keep it in line [She looks across the yard, across a shot of a younger, and more relaxed looking teenage Rusty working on a car, to the edge of the junkyard where a young Jonah looks to be saying goodbye to a couple of rough looking men, with a very proud mother standing behind him] You say you wanna move on and [Jonah looks up at Rio. The camera holds on his face for a moment, as he looks at her and then turns away, unhappy.] You say I'm falling behind [Rio blinks, very unhappy, and turns and begins to walk back through the junkyard. As she walks, the skies begin to flicker above her, moving rapidly, shifting from day to night, from sun to snow, and she seems to age as she walks, from child to being almost on the edge of woman] Can you read my mind? [Rio pauses at the doorway to the house, looking backwards, to where an older, and rougher Rusty is arguing with some large looking men in suits.] Can you read my mind? [Rusty’s anger grows and he pushes one of the men backwards into some kind of giant crushing machine. The guy flails for a moment and then is sucked out of sight. The camera cuts to a picture of Rio screaming and beginning to dash forwards]     I never really gave up on [The camera shows Jonah sitting at a desk, in a small and cramped room. He’s a little older than in the last shot, but still recognizably a teenager. He has a pen in his hand and a book in front of him] Breakin' out of this two star town [Jonah puts the pen down, and stares out of the window, looking up towards the night sky. The camera pans along his gaze, moving up into the stars, bright and dazzling] I got the green light, I got a little fight [When the camera pans down, Jonah is standing in a London city street, now noticeably older, in a sharp suit, still looking up at the sky] I'm gonna turn this thing around [He shakes his head and turns and begins to walk away, between the high grey walls. The camera watches him go.] Can you read my mind? [The camera races away, moving rapidly down the street, then blurring with speed until it’s back in the junkyard. Again, two children race past, this time clearly a younger Bas and Nel, with a barely teenage Iz leaning against a ruined old truck watching them] Can you read my mind? [The camera follows Isabelle’s gaze, across Nel and Bas’s heads to the gateway to the junkyard, where a young and handsome Raphael is clearly flirting with a pretty blonde girl, unaware of Isabelle’s gaze]     The good old days, the honest man [The scene cuts to a kitchen, full of men, with a teenage Rio trying to pull bits of shrapnel out of an irritable and youthful Lennie. He raises a hand as if to knock her back and she catches his wrist in her hand. Their eyes meet] The restless heart, the Promised Land [Another cut to Lennie and Rio sitting on a motorbike, with the glittering lights of a city spread out behind them. Rio gets up, staring out into the distance with a kind of expression which echoes that on Jonah’s face when he looked up to the stars. Lennie reaches out for her, and she looks back over her shoulder towards him] A subtle kiss that no one sees [The camera cuts to some kind of big family gathering. An older man, who looks faintly like Mal Richards, is sitting in an armchair with a very young Bas on his lap, grinning broadly, whilst Nel plays on the floor at his feet. Jonah’s mother brings in food, and an older man who looks like Rusty grins and accepts the first piece of chicken. Raph is sitting in the corner, throwing popcorn at Isabelle. The camera pans past this scene, to the hallway, where Lennie and Rio are kissing passionately] A broken wrist and a big trapeze [The camera spins around Lennie and Rio, and then break apart, and as the camera pulls back you can see they are standing in a small patch of woodland, quite alone. Rio looks like she is crying. Lennie looks shellshocked]     Oh well, I don't mind if you don't mind [Lennie steps forward, cupping Rio’s face in his hands, and gazing into her eyes.] Cause I don't shine if you don't shine [Rio looks up at Lennie, and for the first time you see a gleam of trust and hope in her eyes] Before you go, can you read my mind? [They kiss in the woodland, and the camera pans up to the sky again, where the stars seem brighter than ever]     it's funny how you just break down [The camera cuts to a dark and fairly dingy industrial estate. A teenage Isabelle is running through it, her face streaked with tears.] Waiting on some sign [The camera cuts to a fairly young Raph, probably in his early twenties, driving a police car very very fast, spinning around in a terrifying handbrake turn] I pull up to the front of your driveway [The car spins around, the camera focussing on the wheels. It pulls back to reveal Raph getting out of another car in front of a huge prison. The doors open, and Rusty, now older and far more battered, steps out from it.] With magic soaking my sign [Rusty and Raph’s eyes meet, dark and tense, both of them obviously ready to snarl at each other] Can you read my mind? [Both men begin to twist and turn, shifting into wolf-man form as they begin to clash] Can you read my mind? [The camera spins back, showing a wide shot of the two monsters fighting in a huge empty space in the middle of the now derelict and empty junkyard, with Rio running towards the two of them, trying to intercede. A small child can be seen sitting behind her – a very young Holly]     The teenage queen, the loaded gun [The camera cuts to the Serene, sitting in dock. Rio comes on board, looking tearful, with a bemused ten year old Holly wandering in her wake. Rio meets Karei, walking into the other woman’s arms, who tries to comfort her. In the background, up on the poop deck, the somewhat looming figure of Mal Richards shakes his head and turns away] The drop dead dream, the Chosen One [There’s another scene now of Rio, older now, dressed in black, walking into a room. Across the room, Jonah turns round; older, much better looking, also dressed in a black suit, and Rio goes a little pale] A southern drawl, the world unseen [A quick shot of Lennie and Holly, kneeling together in a woodland, with a dozen faint and insubstantial figures seeming to rise up about them, wisps in the darkness, like ghosts or spirits] A city wall and a trampoline [Another shot of the entire family – Rusty, Raph, Lennie, Rio and Holly all gathered together around a selection of cars and one huge Winnebago, glancing up at the camera.]     Oh well, I don't mind if you don't mind [The camera cuts to a shot of a door opening and Isabelle opening it. She’s dressed in black, and looks pale and tired. Her expression is one of pure surprise. The camera turns to show Mal standing in the doorway] Cause I don't shine if you don't shine [The camera spins around Isabelle. As it pulls back, she is now standing in her hallway opposite Raph who reaches out to take Isabelle’s hand, uncertain and tentative now.] Before you jump tell me what you find [Isabelle and Raph stand together, looking at each other for a while. Eventually they move together into a long slow kiss] When you read my mind [Another shot of three women sitting around a kitchen table – Holly, Isabelle and Rio, all laughing and playing cards of some kind]     Slipping in my faith until I fall [The camera cuts to a boat, pitching about in the storm swept sea. Karei stands, leaning against a masthead. The camera follows her gaze across the deck to Mal, her unhappiness palpable.] He never returned that call [Mal doesn’t seem to notice Karei’s gaze, and his look is distant and flinty. He stares out over the sea, the camera closing in to study his expression. He nods to himself, turning around. The camera pans back and suddenly it’s a brief and horrible shot of carnage, as werewolves run towards Breathstealer, the first casualties already being thrown back as bloodied heaps.] Woman open that door, don't let it sting [The camera cuts to a shot of Rio opening a door. Her face is white and drawn. She looks at Karei standing in the doorway, and they are both totally frozen for a while, stiff and pale with grief] I wanna breathe that fire again [Cut to a shot of Rio kneeling on the ground, head thrown back, howling in grief]     She said I don't mind if you don't mind  [The camera cuts to a shot of a grassy field, late at night. The Knights, Andersons and a couple of the Richards are standing around a funeral pyre. Holly bends forward and lifts a brand to the pyre, and the flames race up into the sky] 'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine [The holds for a moment on the group, illuminated by firelight, the flames dancing and leaping up into the sky, up into the stars] Put your back on me [There’s a quick shot of Nel opening the door, and blinking in surprise as Eve is standing there] Put your back on me [The camera pans back as Eve walks in, and you can see Bas watching silently from the landing. He stays in the shadows and doesn’t say anything] Put your back on me [The camera pans out and away and into the night again]     The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds [The camera spins through the night, coming down to a small patch of woodland, where Rio is standing, leaning against a tree, talking to Mal Richards. He catches her by the back of the neck and they stand there for a second, not quite kissing.] Cut out of the sun [Rio pulls away and walks to the edge of the clearing, her arms wrapped around herself. She looks up at the stars, with the same expression she had as a girl] When you read my mind [The camera tracks up, following her gaze into the stars, focussing on one in particular until the glowing white light of the stars blots out the screen.]

 

Comments

[akonken.livejournal.com]

I love you, you know. :)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

And I am now validated as a person. ;)

[kathminchin.livejournal.com]

wow ...

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I must give credit to lanfykins who first did this for ZG Garou, and who gave me the idea. She is the creative genius. I am a determined plaigurist who isn't above stealing a good idea when I see it.

[kathminchin.livejournal.com]

Oh I recognised the format. And I'm pondering similar ...

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I think everyone should do these!

[kathminchin.livejournal.com]

It's a question of a: which character and b: what song

[suave-steve.livejournal.com]

you'll be lucky :P

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Well, you could do one for a start.

(failing that, I'll accept any prose)

[suave-steve.livejournal.com]

If someone suggests some songs I can think about it.

[lslaw.livejournal.com]

Well, I've been tempted to try one since Changeling the Musical (but can I find two characters to fit 'My Eyes'? I cannot), and I finally gave in.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery. I feel all warm inside :) I think your camera work may well be better than mine, though...

[adze.livejournal.com]

Nah, I preferred yours, but I think the subject matter gave you something slightly more epic to deal with...

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

I never thought of spinning and tracking, though!

(Though it occurs to me that talking earnestly about the camera work on an LJ entry may be the sign that I've finally and definitely lost all my marbles)

[autumn-skald.livejournal.com]

My goodness...

That was awesome!

Well done hon!

(This is Mairi btw, from my character journal account :P)

[suave-steve.livejournal.com]

Very nicely done.

[sl4irl.livejournal.com]

I fucking hate this song.

Nice format, though.