The story of Bob Marley and how he overcame adversity and propelling himself to become a reggae icon, with his revolutionary music.
⭐️⭐️
Continue reading Bob Marley: One Love (2024) Review
The Silent Twins (2022, dir. Agnieszka Smoczynska) - review by Rookie-Critic
The Silent Twins is a film about the fascinating story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, identical twin sisters who were dubbed "the silent twins" because they only ever communicated with each other, and only when others weren't around. This was one I was incredibly intrigued by just based on the premise alone, and while I wouldn't call this a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, it's definitely not a great one, either. This is mostly due to the fact that, while presenting the story in a manner that's easy enough to follow along with (intercut with animated sequences that are based off the real-life sisters' stories and poems), the film makes absolutely no effort to dive into the true motivations of the twins' vow to each other. It seems so utterly determined to not make any declarative statements about the sisters that ultimately, by the time the credits start rolling, you don't really feel like you're any closer to understanding the why of it all, only the how. The film, while very well made from a technical perspective, plays out like a sparsely detailed, bullet-pointed list, even with those very artfully done animated sequences. The film's true upside is the dual lead performance by Tamara Lawrance and Letitia Wright as the titular twins. You feel that, even with the limited breadth they were given by the film's script, the actresses were able to embody the spirit of the Gibbons twins as much as they possibly could have. I feel about this how I felt about Elvis (although this was a better film than Elvis was); all it really did was spark an interest in the real life story of the twins and made me want to look up as many interviews and articles about them as possible. Which, from a certain viewpoint, means the film succeeded on some level, and I respect that.
mile9 Quantum Leap S2 Ep 211
“The Outsider” directed by @deborahmpratt and written by Rammy Park and Margarita Matthews
This was such a special episode to work on, it was great to finally collaborate with Deborah, creator of the original Quantum Leap, her passion for story telling, for emotion and for this episode to be QL in essence was fascinating.
Thanks to Margarita M and @theadtraylor it was for sure one of the episodes we worked the most as a team it couldn’t have been done without them.
Thanks to the cast and crew, as always the most grateful to the Camera department and the G&E crew, each episode is its own, and for this one I tried to do something very different and it was possible thanks to them and their support. Color by @chrisboyer.colorist
Marshall Lee and Gary Prince x reader dating hcs? NSFW and sfw plssss (can either be together or separate IDM)
Assjdhdhjd finallyyyy, thank you so much for requesting this! I’ll keep it sfw for now but I’ll post some nsfw headcanons for them later! Hope you enjoy!
(Also there are a few references to Adventure Time characters in the beginning, so if you recognize those you get a cookie!)
TW: Mentions of abuse, skip the section marked with “***” if you want to avoid these, mentions of homophobia, rich people
Poly! Marshall Lee x Reader x Gary Prince Relationship Headcanons
***
• Since we already know a bit about Marshall, I wanted to touch a bit on Gary’s backstory just for funsies. This is where the TW comes in so skip this part if you aren’t comfortable with that
• His parents died when he was very young, so he was given custody to his Aunt Griselda and her family.
• He also has a little sister, Nadine, who has autism and is nonverbal.
• Sadly, he and his sister were verbally and sometimes physically abused by them, so at the age of 16 he got emancipated and started to live on his own while taking care of Nadine.
• He’s currently enrolled in Community College classes and hopes to improve his financial situation to help support them both.
***
With that out of the way, onto the headcanons!
• Gay gay homosexual homosexual gay-
• Y’all are that totally-in-love queer couple throuple that make homophobes that see you in public clutch their pearls (the lemoncarbs).
• You all make sure to spend time together individually as well as all together so no one feels left out.
• Gary’s dates consist of taking you to a cozy café or sneaking into the bakery after hours to make you all kinds of sweets.
• Marshall is much more unorthodox in his choices, taking you to a bar on the other side of town or exploring a vacant building before chilling on the rooftop.
• Marshall will also steal his mom’s credit cards and take you two out to fancy restaurants, ignoring several missed calls and dozens of texts from her while the three of you try everything on the menu.
• If you want to learn how to play guitar, Marshall would be happy to teach you, or have a jam session if you know how to sing or play another instrument. As for Gary, there isn’t a musical bone in the poor man’s body. Karaoke night is always a struggle to get through with him, but you both love him anyway.
• You and Marshall have a never ending supply of sweets and pastries to try, as he has you two sample all of his pastrymanchen(?) before he starts selling them.
• Now that you’re all dating, Marshall will usually crash at either your or Gary’s places instead of Fionna’s. This means Ellis P is also around sometimes, but if he gets too annoying (which he often does) just let Marshall know and he’ll gently but firmly kick his ass out.
• You all sleep in a big pile with Marshall and Gary on either side of you, basically this but with you sandwiched in the middle
• Sometimes Marshall takes you out for drives in his van, parking by an overlook and just watching the sunset with y’all.
• In the winter you guys will go to the ice skating rink! Gary is a really good skater, so he’s the one guiding you both while you and Marshall hold onto the railing and try not to fall
• Marshall wants you all to get matching tattoos, and Gary is kind of hesitant about it, but if you want it too then he’ll agree to getting a small one.
• Although it would seem like Gary does most of the cooking, Marshall isn’t bad at it either and he’ll help out in the kitchen quite often (his Dad taught him how to make a few dishes when he was a kid)
• Both of them are very supportive of your goals in life and will help you to achieve your dreams in whatever way they can.
i was thinking about fionna and cake’s version of jermaine, and drew her this morning!! i posted her to r/adventuretime and she didn’t do too bad there, so i started writing stuff for fionna and cake world lol more headcanons below the cut :)
i originally posted her under the name “jasmeen” but i think corrine would be better suited for the sibling alliteration with cake :) huge thanks to some of the users in the reddit comments who helped brainstorm some of this!! lemme know what u think lol
fionna was adopted at birth by a (human) couple, cynthia and marlowe. cynthia works in the city’s forensics department and they both own a funeral home/cemetery. they have big hearts, and have a hard time charging folks for caskets and burials. they owned two cats, corrine and cake, and fionna took cake with her when she moved out, leaving corrine at her (now elderly and retired) parents place. if corrine could walk and talk like cake in this world, she’d be running the funeral home and going after people for the money they owe her elderly parents. it’s shitty work and they aren’t hurting for money, but things in this life aren’t free, right? her true passion is sculpture, and eventually she learns to let the debts go and focus on her work.
fionna’s biological parents, milton campbell and mallory mertins, had a nice relationship in the beginning. but when mallory gave birth to fionna, she disappeared from the city with her. having always struggled with her mental health, mallory’s post-partum depression became post-partum psychosis and she left fionna at a safe surrender site in her daze. her psychosis spiraled and she was sent to prison before escaping into homelessness. milton died not long after their disappearance, after serving as a nurse for his entire career and saving thousands of lives. he even had a newly built hospital named after him after his death.
gary prince was on his own at a very early age, leaving the abusive home of his aunt georgia, uncle larry, and cousin chantal. georgia goes on and on about all the wonderful things she was meant to accomplish if she didn’t have to take in gary and his sister, and chantal goes along with it all. larry at least is sympathetic and sends money to them when he can. as a result, most of the money gary makes goes towards taking care of his special needs sister, nadine.
marshall lee was extremely close with his father, elijah, before he died. elijah wanted nothing to do with hana’s money or work, and raised their son in a small home in the forest. marshall grew up knowing how to rough it in the outdoors, before his mother took him away from that life and into a stuffy, proper one. she sold the house he grew up in and he never forgave her.
flora never knew where she came from. her favorite activity is catfishing dudes online. she hates her appearance, and feels like she’ll never truly know who she really is. after the events of the show fionna and cake, she learns all she can about fionna by stalking her online. she adopts fionna’s backstory as her own, and even commits a few instances of identity theft against her. this torments her and she hates doing it, but feels like she has no other choice. her and fionna look strikingly similar, and it has made her actually start to appreciate her own appearance and feel whole for once.
phoenix fleming hates his mother, she’s a big preacher in the local church and raised him as strictly as possible. he was barely allowed to leave the house until he moved out as soon as possible, and discovered his love for raves and DJing. he now devotes all his time to being dj flame, and his mother refuses to let him be. his next door neighbor, miss bundy, is kinder to him than his own mother ever was, and brings him treats every day.
EAST HAVEN'S 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVENT: THE WIND STORM
With the 1 year anniversary of East Haven's opening, we have decided to have an event that centers around a wind storm that is blowing it's way through town, inciting chaos where ever it goes. The event will start on January 5th at 12pm (noon) and end on January 15th at 12am (midnight). No new starters should be posted after January 10th.
You were placed into groups that are listed below. You will be expected to write with at least one character in that group that you normally do not write with. You are still free to do other threads with others in the group, but are required to at least one.
Participation for this event will be mandatory. Acceptances and checks will be held as usual. Reminder: Injuries need to be in by January 3rd*. You can find the form here. Details of this will be posted on the 5th.
Characters and locations are listed under the cut and will be updated with acceptances & unfollows. Please use the tag easthavenevent007.
East Haven Memorial - Maple Hills
Stevie Wagner - Kayla
Johnny Wagner - K
Sunny Hussan - Jennie
River Jackson - Star
Sarah Ruiz - El
Gale Peterson - Nadine
Callum Jackson - Madison
Alec Kincade - Justin
Aubrey Miller - Lital
Wesley Levitt - K
City Hall - Downtown
Nate Clairmont - Kayla
Brody Evans - Jackie
Aarin Duskin - K
Chantel Bedford - Katelyn
Ann-Marie Seigert - Jennie
Maggie Sommers - Kayla
Mallory Sinclair - K
Verity Wagner - Mat
Max Diax - Star
Isabella Castro - JimJam
Andrew Jackson - Nadine
Willow Springs Apartments - Downtown
Ashi Hussan - Kayla
Emre Ediz - K
Orion Blakely - Justin
Jude Sanchez-Khalid - Star
Amerie Chen - Mat
Dana Allen-Lopez - K
Apollo Williams - Desi
Riley Day - Marie
Celine Ediz - Gigi
Beyza Senkan - Kayla
Heywood University - Downtown
Liliana Santos-Blake - Nadine
Cami Quintana-Lopez - Marie
Cristian Hernandez - Dix
Asher Spring - Kae
Wyatt Wheeler - K
Prue Cassidy - Kayla
Marcus Reyes - K
Alex Fontenelle - Madison
Frederick Sullivan - Star
Genevieve Hernandez - Beki
Fire Department - Downtown
Connor Bowen - K
Penelope Ruiz - Nadine
Benjamin Jackson - Justin
Harlow Hanlon - S
Eddie Castro - Kayla
Ari Seong-Paterson - Katelyn
Keely Seigert - Desi
Brady Levitt - Jennie
Roman Rhodes - G
Javier Rivera - Dix
Renee Thompson - K
Mount Aston Lodge - Mount Aston
Josiah Huddington - Katelyn
Neena Wagner - Gigi
Dilara Baysal - K
Malik Farouk - Jackie
Travis Jackson - Kayla
Samuel Bradford - S
Cameron Hatcher - Dix
Mason Paterson - K
Josh Pryce - Nadine
Diego Castro - Star
Gas n Go - Sutherland Park
Shane Marshall - Jay
Alice Cheung - K
Bridget Levitt - Kayla
James Morrison - Sam
Quentin Levitt - Nadine
Hunter Renner - Star
Bee Bowen - El
Estella Harris - Lital
Julieta Alvarez - K
Alliannah Vaughn - Katelyn
Animal House Shelter - Maple Hills
Evren Osman - Katelyn
Morgan Fontenelle - K
Alaric Farrow - S
Lance Browne - Justin
Roberta Rhodes - Kayla
Gavin Gunther - Jackie
Chanse Ainsworth - Kae
Chloe Austin - Madison
Mateo Torres - K
Isla Ricci - Mat
South Pines - Primrose Heights
Abraham Wilson - K
Julian Heywood - Nadine
Luciana Medina - Kayla
Owen Bentley - Star
Ricky Thompson - Jennie
Luna Morales - Lital
Simon Heywood - Marie
Matt Wheeler - Kayla
Valentina Delgado - K
Rohan Belton-Stone - Justin
Old Maple Way - Maple Hills
Dean Walker - Dix
Nicole Peterson - Kayla
Haven Sinclair - Katelyn
Oliver Hensley - JimJam
Aster Moon - G
Hazal Senkan - K
Kanyon Webb - Jackie
Aindreis Blythe - Marie
Yasmin Ansari - K
Sydney Heywood - Gigi
Demir Ediz - Lisa
Tequila Cowboy - Sutherland Park
Donovan Morgan - Star
Marcel Vaughn - Mat
Amayah Fontenelle - Nadine
Abel Morgan - K
Teagan Weatherford - Katelyn
Jaslene Clairmont - K
Maverick Bennett - Dix
Sofia Carmichael - Kayla
Romeo Clark - Jackie
Graham Winters - JimJam
Maple Hills Mall - Maple Hills
Parker Campbell - K
Xia Huang-Clark - Kayla
Viktor Pierce - Dix
Lenny Clairmont - K
Nancy Lee - Kayla
Nora Sinclair - Beki
Tyler Day - Star
Summer Cassidy - El
Ali Webster - Sam
Daniel Kwon - Nadine
Harrison Lee - Jennie
Moose Lodge Rentals - Primrose Heights
Nick Wagner - Kayla
Eli Browne - K
Vivek Virani - Jackie
Charlie Davis - Star
Waverly Erickson - Em
Cael Montgomery - Nadine
Adem Sahir - Madison
Jeremy Lieberman - Kayla
Jo Spring - Marie
Logan Walker - K
*We did change this so we could have time to talk to and plan these injuries.
Thank you for making Bob Marley: One Love the Movie in America! Get tickets at bio link and see why this is the movie the world needs right now. NOW PLAYING in theatres everywhere.
lashanalynch:
No. 1 at the box office! And your reviews are making me feel some type of way. Proud and thankful for all the love for @onelovemovie. A movie for the people
One big job and they'd be home free. High risk, yeah, but high reward, hello? A near-priceless lost art piece from before World War II in, if her informant was truthful, near-immaculate condition. Chloe even had a fence lined up.
That didn't mean it was going to be easy to convince her.
The orphanage didn't look so bad from the outside. Chloe was even a little impressed at the new TV inside, where kids of various ages sat on the floor in a semicircle with Paw Patrol reflected in their eyes. The rug they were on was nice. The white-sponge-painted walls decorated with colorful murals here and there were nice.
Meenu saw her from down the hall. The time between her blinking in shock, gasping, flashing a grin almost like an emoji and then barreling into Chloe's midsection was approximately two seconds.
"YOU CAME BACK!"
"Hey!"
Chloe pushed at the girl's shoulders, but Meenu had wrapped her arms around her midsection and grinned up at her. She'd been so loud a couple of the little kids looked away from the telly.
"You have a black eye," Chloe said, gritting her teeth. The child finally released her.
Meenu snorted, affecting a smug pose with her hands on her hips. "It's no big deal."
"Oh really?"
Chloe wanted to choke on her own spit. She wanted to pick the girl up and run for the gate. Right now.
Not an option though. India did not mess around with out-of-country adoption and was one of the toughest places to finagle the paperwork mess of it all. And maybe Chloe understood that, but not all of it.
As a single woman, she could adopt, provided her background check came back clean. Which. Well. Chloe hadn't done any jail time, at least. But she had wanted to chew her arm off after reading the rule against gay couples adopting.
"What happened, Meenu?"
"What, my new eyeshadow?" Meenu fluttered her eyelashes, grinning. "I was trying your signature look."
"Very funny," Chloe said. "On just your right eye?"
"I was interrupted midway through my influencer makeup routine."
Chloe would have deflected in the same way when she was that age. She bit her lip and squatted down, the hem of her vermilion kurta brushing the floor.
"Listen, I don't have a lot of time. What happened to--to everything? Your store? Where's your parrot?"
Meenu's face didn't break its grin. Chloe knew it was a mask. Breaking the facade would allow the floodgates to burst open.
She sighed.
"Kid, you don't have to smile."
"You think I want to cry in front of everyone?"
Meenu said it in a quick, quiet, snappy voice that belied her years. It ached that it reminded Chloe of Nadine when she refused to discuss a pain point she was probably overdue getting off her chest.
"'Right then," Chloe said. "What happened to your face?"
Silence.
Chloe, for her part, knew no amount of gentle or pointed questions would have gotten through to her when she was that age either. The gauze of the hurt wound around itself until it became armor, a tough spot that was also a sore spot.
She reached into the pockets of her dungarees and brought out Ganesh. The fabric of the kurta revealed him and the statuette caught Meenu's big, brown, sad eyes.
"Remember this?"
Meenu blinked several times at the elephant-headed god in her hands, then back at Chloe.
"You really wanted it, right?"
"Are you leaving me again?" Meenu shot back.
"What's all this then?" Chloe folded her arms, still squatting to meet Meenu's eyes. "Y'know that my father gave me that? It means a lot to me."
It looked like Meenu was realizing something.
"But I--"
"You know I'll be coming back for it," Chloe said, and stood up, her knees' lament finally having reached intolerable levels. "Take care of it for me, yeah?"
"Wait--miss--Chloe!"
Meenu's fist had closed over the little Ganesh and she had gripped Chloe's kurta with the other.
The girl was looking around them, as if making sure the little ones were engrossed in watching Marshall the Dalmatian save the day, and that the minder, an elderly woman with an inscrutable face watching them from a short distance, and the security by the doors wouldn't hear. She waved Chloe down again and whispered into her ear.
"They took BTS to a pet shop!"
Chloe took several points of psychic damage before connecting the dots. "Your bird--"
"Yes!" Meenu was frantic suddenly. Chloe was reminded of their first meeting, of how Meenu couldn't even let her go back then. "They have him in the window at the Woodstock Pet Shop in--"
"--is named after a K-Pop group--"
"--you have to get him out!'
Chloe blinked at the girl. Her mental to-do list of getting Meenu out of here and back home to Australia and its bulleted requirements was now straining under the weight of adding buy or, if Meenu's attitude is any sort of sign, possibly commit a pet store heist to rescue a small yellow-green parrot named BTS.
And that same to-do list had convince Nadine to join me in stealing back a famous painting from an alleged war criminal on it.
Chloe swallowed and put on a bright smile for the minder, whose glare could melt an American car right about now. The woman's sari was immaculate and she had gripped Meenu's arm above the elbow as a subtle sign of ending the visit.
"See you soon, kid!"
"Bye, Chloe!"
Meenu had tucked the Ganesh statue into her sleeve, Chloe saw as the minder led her away, back down the hall and around the corner.
Out on the street, finally exhaling, Chloe hunched over to look at her phone. Thank goodness that it seemed only one using-a-Charles-Schulz-comic-strip-character-without-license pet store appeared nearby as she panned around Google Maps with her finger.
Hello there! Thank you for choosing to follow my blog I only have a few rules that I wish you to follow:
Personal blogs please don’t interact with my content.
This blog is multiverse & multi-ship but I ship based on chemistry.
Mun is well over the age of 21 so NSFW & Triggering topics will be here although they will be tagged.
Please do not use me as a meme or image source, I've had problems with that in the past.
If we have an issue I ask that you be respectful and speak to me about it in PMS or unfollow me if you're childish.
I use big gifs/icons, resized icons, gif icons, and gif hunts or nothing at all based on the convenience and how I'm feeling at the moment. ( Blacklist: CW: large image ).
If you need anything tagged let me know okay? I will always tag flashing images, gore, bugs, drugs, guns, etc.
Lastly, I have dyslexia and ADHD so if I miss a cue in the writing or my reply has some grammatical errors be nice! I'm sensitive, thank you lol.
Affiliated with @soughtbirthright, @theolderh3nderson, @pogueland1a, @hawkinssongbird & @deermooses.
Icon credits: @tutorgirlcommissions, find out exactly who it is on my ( credits page ), and please commission them! They're lovely.
You can find a WIP collection of my muses below the cut:
Adeline Rudolph › Demons
Anthony Starr › Vergil
Anya Taylor-Joy › Stiorra
Ben Barnes › Lotus
Christina Nadin › lethe
Danielle Rose Russell › Cactus
Davika Hoorne › Nami
Dominic Sherwood › Yupo
Freddy Carter › Osteoporosis
Froy Gutiérrez › Carry
Hande Erçel › Ragg
Jeffrey Dean Morgan › Vergil
Jeremy Allen White › Chaser
Jeon Jung Kook › kai
Josephine Skriver › lethe
Kevin Pabel › electric
Kiernan Shipka › callisto
Kieron Moore › ricky morty
Lucy Boynton › Lu
Madelyn Cline › manzana
Mads Mikkelsen › Jean
Maeva Giani Marshall › Wira
Marco Pigossi › sugar
Matthew Daddario › Ruxy
Matthew Bell › Keats
Michael B. Jordan + King
Milly Alcock › mirage
Nathalie Emmanuel › Kitty Softpaws
Nicholas Angel › Alita de Pollo
Oliver Stummvoll › Lemon
Olivia O'Brien › andrómeda
Pedro Pascal › PyCharm
Phoebe Dynevor › Jessamy
Phoebe Tonkin › Luma
Robert Pattinson › Wolfie
Rudy Pankow › kali
Sasha Kichigina › ouveo
Scarlett Leithold › Lavender Haze
Shonali Singh › Demons
Taylor Hill › Grey
Tom Cornelisse › Muted
FAMILIAS
Familia Medina (mismo cupo que beta de Ipswich) › manzana
Familia Jensen* ›
Familia Valentine ›
Familia O'Donnell ›
Familia Shafik ›
Familia Macmillan (POC) ›
Familia Blackthorn* › callisto
Familia Brunneck* › Cactus
RANGOS
VAMPIROS
Consejero de Camilla › Lacrymosa
Consejero de Selene › Vergil
Consejero de Deacon › Lu
Guardia ›
Guardia ›
Guardia ›
Beta, parte de la familia Medina (mismo cupo que headcanon Medina) › manzana
Gamma ›
Gamma ›
SIRENAS
Caballeros de Poseidón
Consejero ›
Guardia real ›
Guardia real ›
Los Inquisidores
Lugarteniente ›
Sacerdote de Leviatán › sugar
Consejero ›
HUMANOS
Hermandad de Hierro
Consejero del Alto Mando ›
Encargado de la sede de Salem › Ruxy
Encargado de la sede de Ipswich ›
Líder de exploradores › Kitty Softpaws
Guardia ›
Guardia ›
Starring Letitia Wright, Tamara Lawrance, Nadine Marshall, Treva Etienne, Leah Mondesir-Simmonds, Eva-Arianna Baxter, Michael Smiley, Jodhi May, Jack Bandeira, Kinga Preis, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Tony Richardson, Declan Joyce, Ewa Rodart, Ian McQuillan-Grace, Martin Hugh Henley, Rita Raider, Jordan J Gallagher, Julian R. Booth and Jada La'Rue.
Screenplay by Andrea Seigel.
Directed by Agnieszka Smocynska.
Distributed by Focus Features. 113 minutes. Not Rated.
The Silent Twins makes for something of a conundrum for a viewer. It takes a look at a true story of two identical twins in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s (although in the film they are not played as identical twins, but by actresses who kind of look alike, but not really…) who were apparently quite brilliant, imaginative writers and spent much of their lives in and out of specialty schools and mental health facilities.
They were referred to as “The Silent Twins” because for the most part they refused to speak – although they certainly could speak – except for amongst themselves. They were shy, granted, but they refused to speak with their nurturing parents. They were bullied in school because of it. They were probably also bullied because they were the only black students in the school, although the film doesn’t really probe that aspect of the story very much.
Instead, they lived in a strange fantastical world of their own, one where they were chatty radio stars and lived among all sorts of odd puppets and dioramas. (These fantasy sequences look like they were inspired by the works of quirky French filmmakers like Michel Gondry or Leos Carax.)
In fact, an early scene over the opening credits where the twins, as little girls, play and chat excitedly while putting on their radio show was absolutely charming. The film could use more of this dynamic.
Instead, they were consciously, willfully antisocial – at home, in school, and most anywhere else. They had put together an odd, dysfunctional bonding of the two of them against the world, and the world was always ready to knock them down.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that these two women were indeed extremely disturbed, to the point that spending time in their company, even from the distance of the screen, was really rather unpleasant. And to be quite honest, they were often the cause of their own problems.
It’s a sad, tragic story, but it’s often hard to feel much sympathy for them.
The sisters may have loved each other, but honestly, they often don’t seem to have particularly liked each other. They often fought, were casually mean to each other, and quickly graduated over the years to fighting over boys, committing petty crimes and even arson.
They spurred each other on to bad behavior – specifically Jenny (Tamara Lawrence), the more powerful alpha of the pair, tended to push her shy and thoughtful twin June (Letitia Wright) into places where she should not be. In fact, through much of the film the audience is kind of hoping that June will break away from her twin and figure out her own life.
And for the life of me, I’m not sure how their parents – smart, caring hard-working Barbadian immigrants – put up with all the problems their girls caused.
However, yes, they did eventually become rather famous writers. (Many of the fantasy sequences are based on their writings, and most of the songs in the film are the sisters’ poetry set to music.) They obviously did have intriguing imaginations and talent. Which is probably the only reason why this story is being told.
It does not change the fact that they were both mentally ill and spending nearly two hours in their company is rather emotionally draining.
Janet Eastman, who lives in the Ashland area, periodically writes a piece about the PCT. Again this year she has documented the annual migration of PCT hikers through Oregon. This is an excerpt of her story that appeared in the August 21st issue of The Oregonian.
To me, the key comment included in this article is that of the PCTA's Scott Wilkinson who observed that, "uninterrupted end-to-end hikes may continue to be more difficult.” Although there will still be plenty who attempt the uninterrupted thru-hike, more and more hikers may be forced to consider section hiking the PCT.
By Janet Eastman
Ashland’s stars of summer arrive slowly, on sturdy legs hefting carefully stuffed backpacks, and introducing themselves by their trail names like Butters and Giggles.
By the time northbound Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers cross into Oregon, they have forged 1,720 miles from the bottom of California, through deserts, over mountains and out of unexpected situations, despite years of planning.
The majority of hikers who depart from the trail’s southern terminus, near Campo, California, and move through steep, snowy, soggy, windy and hot conditions at about 25 miles a day, show up in Ashland in August.
This year, many of these hikers were stopped in their tracks by the 55,500-acre McKinney fire in California’s northern Siskiyou County.
On July 30, around 60 hikers in the Red Buttes Wilderness were taken to safety by Oregon’s Jackson County sheriff search and rescue team and bus drivers with the Rogue Valley Transportation District while others gathered 100 miles south in tiny Etna, where they camped in the Johnson-Joss Park and pondered their future.
Their goal of entering the green tunnel of Oregon on foot was over.
Many were shuttled 66 miles on I-5 from Etna to Ashland in buses or by police driving vans, or in the back of cars driven by volunteers.
The endurance hikers, who are miserly with their few days off the trail — called “zero days” — were greeted by smoke and ash, red flag fire risk conditions and lightning, and frantic innkeepers at booked hostels and budget motels.
Thru-hikers Craig Marshall of upstate New York (trail name Butters) and Nadine Osterloh (trail name Giggles) of Bonn, Germany, said they had a mix of emotions.
They were grateful to be safe at the shelter, but they felt guilty taking one of the beds.
And like other long-distance hikers on a schedule to weave through the West Coast when the weather is in their favor were eager to get going.
“We are used to hiking and walking, and now we’re on hold,” said Osterloh.
Where to go?
On Aug. 2, the pack was ready to move again. But in which direction?
Dave (“Floppy”) Kim of Philadelphia started at Campo, steps north of the Mexican border, on May 4 and about 13 weeks later he was in Ashland, which is between exits 11 and 19 off of I-5. Here, he heard options from other thru-hikers.
Return to the trail, either near Callahan’s Mountain Lodge at exit 6 or head east on Oregon Highway 66 for 20 miles to the Pacific Crest-Green Springs Mountain Connector Trail, or about 35 miles northeast to Fish Lake in the Cascade Range to connect to OR-140 north to Crater Lake.
A trail north of Crater Lake is closed for roughly 60 miles due to the Windigo Pass and Tolo Mountain fires, and there was another closure near Mount Jefferson, which burned in the 2020 Lionshead fire.
The closures mean “this season’s thru-hikers will definitely get mixed up and even more spread out along the trail,” said Scott Wilkinson of the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
“Given climate change-driven drought, wildfires and other extreme weather events over the past few years, this could be characterized as the new normal and not unusual,” he added.
Trail closures are also caused by flooding and erosion, and used for habitat protection of endangered species, Wilkinson said.
Uninterrupted end-to-end hikes “may continue to be more difficult,” Wilkinson said, but “the PCT is still a spectacular wild and scenic experience” for day outings, weekend trips and multi-day section trips.
Some thru-hikers in Ashland are throwing up their hands over the road blocks, and heading north on the Oregon Coast Trail. Or they are taking a Greyhound bus to Portland to cross the Columbia River on the Bridge of the Gods and continue on the PCT to the Canadian border.
“This will affect us,” said Candy Boerwinkle of the Ashland Commons hostel on Tuesday. For days, she said her phone was ringing off the hook, with calls from stranded hikers.
Her hostel is typically booked all of July and August, and she didn’t know how she could accommodate everyone.
Then she started receiving cancellations from hikers who decided to skip Oregon.
“There are 27 people checking out today, and only four are checking in,” she said.
The iconic Callahan’s Lodge, in the shadow of Mount Ashland and a short walk from the Pacific Crest Trail, is forwarding some thru-hikers’ mailed care packages to their new destination, said employee Forrest Eldred.
“We’re sending the care packages to towns near Crater Lake or to Bend, or returning them to the sender,” said Eldred on Tuesday. “Some hikers hope to circle back here.”
Callahan’s is still offering lodging, all-you-can eat pancake and egg breakfasts and spaghetti dinners, as well as $16-a-night camping; $25 for backpackers who want to shower and use the laundry.
“Floppy” Kim hopes to come back, to hike the 170-mile gap from Shasta to Ashland.
On Tuesday afternoon, he and Johannes (“Coach”) Popp of Frankfurt, Germany, returned to hiking at the Pacific Crest-Green Springs Mountain Connector Trail, elevation 4,940 feet.
“This hike is 90% mental and 10% physical,” said Kim, who averages 22 miles a day and has worn out two pairs of boots.
More than boots needed
Hiking 2,663 miles on narrow dirt trails from California to Canada takes more than stamina. Success relies on strategizing and adapting when reality dashes best laid plans, said Lauren (“Grandpa”) Schuster, 24, of Atlanta.
She made it from Campo to Etna before forest infernos instantly upended her goal to complete the entire Pacific Crest Trail on foot.
On Sunday, Schuster rode into Ashland and confessed she has been “obsessed” with the PCT even before she read Portland author Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir, “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.”
Schuster’s months-long trek was made possible by another dashed dream. She was unable to travel in the Peace Corps after she graduated from college in 2020 because of COVID-19. Hiking the PCT became her Plan B.
Two zero days in Ashland had Schuster and a dozen of her closest trail friends pacing around the city and their Airbnb rental, and considering their rerouting options.
Their decision: to reach Crater Lake in four days, then hitch past the Windigo Pass and Tolo Mountain fires closure and keep going north.
“It’s up in the air” how the group will eventually reach Washington state, Schuster said. Then she paused and added the traditional PCT mantra: “The trail provides.”
On Tuesday morning, she and Steve (“Funfact”) Jacobs of Salt Lake City, waited for the rest of their trail family, who started on this journey as strangers on April 5.
Jacobs will celebrate his 35th birthday on the trail Thursday and the tradition for this group is to receive a pastry with a candle, a golden paper crown and a Happy Birthday card drawn by Schuster.
The trail is about give and take, said Jacobs, who contributes “fun facts” to conversation such as mayonnaise can’t emulsify in a lightning storm.
PCT hikers’ star appeal
By the time northbound PCT hikers reach Oregon, they have faced daunting challenges and have succeeded, said John Kerr, who is one of the leaders of day hikes organized by the all-volunteer Ashland Hiking Group.
“PCT hikers know by now they will complete the journey of a lifetime,” he continued. “They are full of smiles despite what lies ahead of them, another 900 miles. And they are universally friendly, even when we break their stride as they step aside.”
PCT thru-hikers are mostly in their 20s and 30s.
“What I love most is seeing people, especially the young, who have gained the confidence in themselves to succeed in whatever else they may dream of doing,” said Kerr, who lives outside of Ashland. “They have no fear of what lies ahead. Last week we met a hiker who had done the journey wearing a prosthesis. Now that was inspiring.”
To Ashland residents, thru-hikers represent hard-earned athleticism, a deep appreciation of nature and the value of taking time off.
People often give thru-hikers a place to stay and rides to the trailhead, and even offer to pick up the tab for a meal or beer.
“They treat us like we’re heroes,” said “Coach” Popp. “But we’re just hikers.”