We go strong

I am a huge sucker for great lines. The ones that make you stop and stare off into the middle distance for a long moment before shaking yourself out of the unexpected contemplation of the universe and trying to go back to life as it was before. The problem, or blessing, depending on your mood is that as a writer these come up all the time. I spent a large part of the months following the release of Gladiator in 2000 contemplating getting "strength and honor" tattooed somewhere on my person. (I didn't) The tail of end of 2009 thinking about Joan of Arc's: "I am not afraid. I was born to do this." (which I did) And Captain America's "with you until the end of the line" lodged itself in my head like brick and refused to go away. (I got that done not 10 days after seeing the film and my best friend has the same one on her opposite wrist)

Great lines aren't limited to great movies. One of the best - "You cannot kill me in a way that matters." is from a Tumblr shitpost.

It's wild when people quote your own stuff back at you because in all honesty I don't remember even a tenth of the things I've written until I look back at the books. (wilder still when you see people quoting your fan fiction)

All that to say a friend recommended The Gorge to me a few days ago. I watched it and it was great.* Solid plot, excellent pacing, great dialog - for all that the heroes spend a good chunk of the movie communicating via large signs across aforementioned gorge. The movie survives the necessary time skips and you even feel a believable connection growing between the pair of snipers.

When the two of them inevitably end up in the gorge and are fighting for their lives at one point Drasa says to Levi "we go strong" and yeah, I had to pause it for a minute while I collected myself. Because while this is an action film about two warriors, there are layers to it all (that I won't get into for those who want to watch it), the kind of depth I really appreciate with characters. It makes them believable, whole human beings in a way that frequently gets screwed up by writers and screenwriters alike. (though, Drasa, my darling, it is winter, you are in a dangerous position where you might be attacked at any moment, put some pants on please?)

So awesome movie 13/10 recommend. Annoyed I can't own it. (but that's a whole other newsletter rant about digital media and me getting old * laughs *)

*Bestie is reading this right now going: "Wait? You actually watched someone's recommendation right after you got it? Who are you?" 🤣 She's not wrong. I'm pretty notorious for shelving watch recommendations into the legendary "Sure I'll put it on the list!" ... spoiler, there is no list. But, once in a rare while I do actually check out whatever it is.

I've had a pretty rough go the last ten days. I managed to injure myself lifting (a thumb sprain of all things) on the previous Friday and ended up having to spend most of the week babying my left hand after I didn't take care of it properly durin the weekend. (yes, I know don't yell) No lifting, no Helldivers, very little work. I did get some books read at least. But I was decidedly grumpy about the whole affair. Saw the doc on Friday and she's confident I didn't do any major damage, so I'm supposed to "take it easy" for this week. (we had a spirited negotiation about what that meant 😆) It is sore, for sure, and on top of that doc says that given my description of symptoms I probably also have arthritis in both hands. There's not a lot to do about that beyond some mitigation, stretching when my thumb is healed, and pain management. * shrugs * As I told a friend the low grade chronic pain is just a background radiation you get used to when all the things you love to do don't love you back.

So I'm back to work this week. Will attempt lifting tomorrow and see how much of the class I can do without reinjuring myself or if I need to just workout on my own for a month or so until it's better and then go back to class. Helldivers is the low man on the schedule, even though it's important for so many reasons. Mostly I have to just see how my hands feel at the end of the day and if I can spare a bit for some missions. It's been okay the last two days, so that's something.

I hope everyone had a lovely Pride and that you're taking care of yourselves and your communities as best as you are able.

Love,
K

Currently Reading: 
Kaikeyi by Vaishavi Patel
Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation edited by Kate Bornstein & S. Bear Bergman 
The Essential Rumi translation by Coleman Barks, with John Moyne

Currently Listening: 
Wolves playlist

Where you can find me these days:
Bluesky: @kbwagers.com
Instagram: @midwaybrawler
Discord: @greenskywarning
Patreon: kbwagers