* 𝐙𝐎𝐎𝐌 !

Knives Out (2019) // Glass Onion (2022)

" hey , if you can dream it , you can do it . " vivi nods her head earnestly , and then — " it's about time we take these carnies down ! " laughter bubbles up from her chest . she's not even sure that's worth writing about — but shit , a pulitzer prize winner just might be able to make it interesting . that's a hell of an accomplishment . " no , i totally agree actually . i don't want a mid - life crisis OR a crazy filler face . it seriously frightens me how normalized that shit has become . i mean , sure , that's your business , but i just think people need to think more about injecting stuff in their face . that's your face , hello ?! "

          “  i  can  totally  try  but  there’s  a  chance  i’ve  already  peaked  and  i  don’t  think  i  can  live  up  to  it  again  .  ”  trix  will  sigh  dramatically  .  there’s  some  truth  to  their  words  .  because  what  more  can  one  achieve  in  their  journalistic  career  after  winning  a  pulitzer  at  such  a  young  age  ?  “  crazy  filler  face  terrifies  me  .  truly  the  stuff  of  nightmares  .  it’s  bordering  uncanny  valley  .  do  you  think  that’s  how  horror  movies  get  their  inspo  ?  but  i  totally  agree  with  you  .  it’s  their  business  but  you’d  think  doing  some  research  before  making  the  decision  to  inject  something  into  your  face  would  be  common  sense  ?  do  you  think  fillers  are  just  the  new  mid-life  crisis  ?  it  feels  like  it  .  ”

                    “   ha   ,   you’re   probably   right   .       but   i   mean   ,   we   were   kids   ,   everything   felt   faster   ,   right   ?       faster   ,   louder   ,   and   more   intense   .       but   hey   ,   don’t   knock   the   old   timer   !       it’s   still   got   some   kick   left   in   it   .       yeah   ,   maybe   it’s   not   hitting   that   sixty   ,   but   it’s   hitting   nostalgia   pretty   hard   for   me   .   ”

          “  thank  you  !  honestly  ,  childhood  memories  are  probably  heightened  due  to  nostalgia  .  can’t  blame  us  for  wanting  to  go  on  one  of  the  fastest  coasters  here  .  but  hey  !  i’m  not  saying  it’s  time  for  the  cyclone  to  retire  .  i  think  it’ll  stand  against  the  test  of  time  .  and  i  have  a  feeling  that  even  if  they  decide  to  close  it  ,  we’ll  see  people  protesting  its  closure  .  y’know  for  nostalgia’s  sake  .  ”

“  um  .  .  .  i  thought  you  said  we  were  going  out  tonight  ,  “  she  gives  [ name ]  a  quick  scan  with  her  eyes  ,  one  of  them  clearly  must  have  misinterpreted  the  dress  code  for  tonight’s  plans  .  “  when  you  said  out  i  thought  you  meant  like  to  dinner  or  to  the  club  or  something  ,  not  out  of  the  bed  and  onto  the  couch  .  .  .  “  ( @nepofmstarters )

         “  what  do  you  mean  ?  this  is  definitely  the  perfect  ghost  hunting  outfit  .  good  enough  for  the  cameras  but  also  good  enough  to  break  out  in  a  sprint  in  case  anything  goes  wrong  .  ”  they’re  joking  about  the  running  away  part  .  mostly  .  “  if  you’re  not  up  for  that  ,  i  can  change  and  we  can  grab  dinner  ?  ”

" i can't honestly say that i've been on the cyclone since i was in high school . definitely sounds like you can build a case for false advertisement with the right measurement tools and expert witnesses though . now . if you want to go that route , i know a good lawyer . i'll give you their number . " vivi winks — she's only JOKING , of course . " i don't know how you ride that thing without getting a kink in your neck ... god , i'm getting old , aren't i ? "

          “  oh  i’m  sure  i  can  .  maybe  i’ll  shake  it  up  and  take  you  upon  that  offer  .  or  even  write  a  whole  exposé  .  i  definitely  smell  a  second  pulitzer  in  the  making  !  i  can  see  it  now  :  beatrix  wang  ,  two-time  pulitzer  prize  winner  .  gotta  keep  everyone  on  their  toes  .  ”  laughter  expels  past  the  journalist’s  lips  .  “  listen  ,  i  have  my  moments  .  and  the  fact  that  the  cyclone  is  a  wooden  rollercoaster  ?  those  things  can  be  BUMPY  .  besides  !  i’d  say  we  should  embrace  getting  old  .  i’d  hate  to  turn  into  one  of  those  people  that  have  mid-life  crises  because  they  fear  aging  ,  y’know  ?  ”

"well, yes. but i think it's also because we were kids, small, and so the speed used to just throw us around, and like now we're like big. adults. and the speed probably just doesn't feel the same to our older people bodies." she chuckles, "it being a basically rusted old machine definitely doesn't help."

          “  i’m  sure  we  can  get  a  physicist  to  prove  that  .  or  the  cyclone  really  is  slowing  down  with  age  an  we’re  being  gaslit  into  believing  that  it’s  always  moved  that  fast  .  sixty  miles  per  hour  in  a  car  feels  very  different  when  the  car  isn’t  absorbing  the  impact  .  but  i  guess  we  gotta  give  the  rusted  old  machine  some  credit  .  it’s  still  live  and  well  !  no  pending  lawsuits  ––  i  don’t  think  .  ”

"honestly, i'm just impressed that it's still goin' strong and is in as good of shape as it is." gemma commented. especially for a wooden coaster that was close to being a hundred years old. "i'm sure sixty probably felt a lot faster when we were kids, too." if it even goes that anymore, who knows. "been a while since i went on the cyclone. wanna go with me?" she asked with a hopeful smile. finger pointed in the direction of the small line forming to get on the roller coaster.

          “  i  have  a  feeling  it’s  still  around  because  it’s  got  historical  landmark  status  or  something  ,  ”  trix  muses  .  the  cyclone  was  the  big  draw  of  coney  island  ,  right  ?  “  like  think  about  it  ,  if  it  weren’t  ,  it  would  not  be  getting  the  amount  of  upkeep  that  it  does  that’s  for  sure  ,  ”  she’ll  add  on  before  turning  to  face  gemma  .  “  but  sure  !  i’m  down  .  i  can  never  get  tired  of  rollercoasters  .  ”  starts  leading  the  way  to  the  line  .  “  have  you  gone  on  the  other  rides  yet  or  are  you  starting  off  strong  with  the  cyclone  ?  ”

" sixty miles per hour is kinda lame when you think about it, " laurie pointed out. " i mean most people drive, like, at least eighty on the highway everyday — if not one-hundred. dunno. maybe i'm just a hater. "

          “  i  won’t  deny  that  you’re  being  a  hater  .  those  are  your  words  !  you’re  also  forgetting  that  cars  isolate  you  from  the  sound  ,  vibrations  and  whatever  else  so  going  eighty  to  a  hundred  doesn’t  feel  that  fast  .  the  cyclone  is  a  wooden  coaster  with  a  cart  that  does  absolutely  none  of  that  so  you’re  bound  to  feel  everything  .  but  hey  ,  maybe  it  is  slowing  down  with  age  .  ”

                     she   ponders   for   a   moment   before   shrugging   ,       “   if   you   do   a   pub   you'll   either   be   too   drunk   to   be   scared   or   so   drunk   everything   scares   you   ,      either   way   you   get   your   money's   worth   .      a   haunted   tour   doesn't   sound   as   fun   .   ”       

         “  i  think  there’s  fun  in  either  .  just  depends  on  the  mood  ,  y’know  ?  i  think  a  haunted  tour  would  really  add  to  the  vibe  if  it’s  around  halloween  .  but  i  will  say  there’s  just  something  about  being  drunk  and  thinking  you  can  communicate  with  the  spirits  ,  ”  trix  laughs  .  “  have  you  ever  been  on  a  haunted  tour  ?  ”

                    “   honestly   ,   i   have   no   clue   ,   my   dude   .       i   picked   up   snowboarding   pretty   easily   ,   ya   know   ?       but   then   again   ,   i’ve   been   surfing   and   skating   for   as   long   as   i   can   remember   ,   so   something   definitely   clicked   there   .       i   dunno   ,   you   gotta   give   it   a   try   ,   trix   .       if   you’re   cool   on   a   longboard   ,   you’ve   got   a   bit   of   an   edge   ,   right   ?       like   ,   balance   and   shit   …       ya   know   ?   ”

          “  exactly  !  surfing  and  skating  translates  .  finding  balance  and  muscle  memory  kicking  in  immediately  .  like  i  am  gonna  try  it  but  i  just  wanna  know  how  drastically  different  is  it  from  skiing  ,  y’know  ?  maybe  i’ll  turn  to  the  dark  side  and  next  year  ,  i’ll  be  snowboarding  instead  of  skiing  .  by  the  way  ,  i  haven’t  seen  you  hitting  the  slopes  .  sitting  it  out  this  year  ?  i  don’t  blame  you  ,  the  views  are  

“    but what if…    a ghost,    ”    he shivers at the mere mention of the supernatural,    “    hates christmas?    won’t they be grumpy and just start making a chaos,   like,   knocking over things and stuff…?    what if they hate my christmas hat and,   y’know,    yeet it?!    ”

         “  it’s  not  like  they’ll  outright  attack  you  .  they’re  not  inherently  evil  .  most  of  them  are  just  restless .  besides  ,  it’s  new  york  .  there’s  bound  to  be  tons  of  historic  buildings  that  are  said  to  be  haunted  .  the  most  you  can  do  is  say  a  prayer  ,  let  the  spirits  know  you  mean  no  harm  .  or  do  a  cleansing  ritual  .  ”  they’re  more  of  a  believe  it  when  they  see  it  kind  of  person  but  they’ll  still  do  these  preventative  measures  .  “  not  a  fan  of  ghosts  ?  ”

          "i think i'm team  pub crawl,  actually. it's easier to spook people who are intoxicated than annoyed with the holiday rush -"   and she's not speaking from experience,  eleanora swears.  well,  at least not her  own  experience !   "plus, i feel like it's easy to research the spooky history of grand central terminal. it's a bit harder to pin down which pubs around the city are truly haunted or not."

         “  you  just  get  it  ,  nora  .  it’s  so  much  easier  to  make  them  paranoid  .  like  is  the  chill  from  the  beer  or  is  this  place  really  haunted  ?  ”  and  no  …  trix  doesn’t  have  plans  to  play  such  tricks  on  the  innocent  bar  patrons  .  “  like  don’t  get  me  wrong  ,  i  love  a  haunted  tour  as  much  as  the  next  person  but  i  do  my  research  and  then  go  myself  so  it’s  nothing  new  !  ”

                    “   okay   ,   perhaps   i   didn’t   exactly   map   out   the   logistics   …       but   écoute   ,   j’te   dis   —   a   make - out   session   is   precisely   what   we   need   !       bold   ,   different   ,   and   let’s   face   it   ,   it’s   totally   us   .       will   boost   our   podcast   views   ,   trust   .       and   we   don’t   even   ‘ave   to   go   all   out   and   send   anything   too   revealing   to   nepoupdates   .       we   just   let   a   leetle   rumor   slip   ,   a   leetle   ‘int   ,   a   …       spotted   !       jus’   something   to   get   the   listeners   buzzing   .       and   for   the   record   ,   any   documenting   would   be   strictly   for   personal   archives   .   ”

          “  is  it  precisely  what  we  need  or  what  you  need  ?  sounds  like  you’re  really  scheming  to  get  that  pr  relationship  going  .  ”  and  who  is  going  to  believe  that  julien  grimaldi  will  get  into  an  actual  relationship  ?  trix  is  very  doubtful  .  they  like  to  give  a  little  more  credit  to  their  fans  .  “  if  you  just  wanted  another  excuse  to  kiss  me  ,  all  you  had  to  do  was  ask  ,  mon  ami  .  and  then  we  leak  a  tiny  bit  of  information  to  nepoupdates  by  staging  it  .  ”