Simba Gano

SIMBA GANO: 44 years old, professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, cis-male he/him, friendly and charming and a total dad. Originally from France. Moved to Roswell for his wife Adrienne, they now live together with their two daughters. Lives in Greystone Complex.  penned by Nico

“i like halloween,” riggs hummed, head cocking to the side just a touch. “and horror movies. but my taste is much more… slasher or otherwise blood and guts than cute or fun… you know?” not even the classics interested him - a few years before, after people had gaped at him for never having seen hocus pocus, he’d sat down and watched it, and promptly decided it was a waste of two hours of his life.

Simba nodded, though it was thoughtful. “Ah, well, I don’t think I should show that type of movie to my kids, though they’re old enough for it, I fear it may still give them nightmares, and I’m a responsible parent,” he said, perhaps a little too proudly. But he really was. He really wanted to be.

Looking at the plastic pumpkin, she looked over at the price and then the thing. “I do believe it’s old but they’re making new movies. I think a new one came out this year or a few years ago.” She couldn’t remember but she did know something related to school had come out recently. “It’s cute tho and it isn’t a bad price at all.”

“Oh! Well, that should show you how old I am,” Simba said with a laugh. “I did not know that.” Though he would definitely look it up when he got home. “Ah, alright, wait, what was the competition again?” He smiled. “You recommending me a good movie?”

as soon as the name was dropped , ender’s expression faltered . “ — and why am i only just hearing that marvel’s going through it ?? i thought i told you that whatever that girl wants or needs , you text me to help out . if i like it , she’ll totally like it . i mean , what’s not to like about witches ?? “ it was no secret that the woman had become some sort of guardian angel for simba’s daughter . whatever she could do to help , so long as it was within her meagre budget and didn’t risk getting her louboutins ruined , was no skin off of her nose whatsoever , especially when the spirit of halloween whisked through the air — her favourite season of them all . “ something tells me we’re way overdue a girl’s night , me and her . “ 

Simba chuckled. “I think she is trying to be cool around you,” he said. Though it was in Marvel’s attempt to be alright that he saw she wasn’t. “Witches are great, I’ll invite you over, maybe you can get her to open up about how she’s feeling, I get the ‘no dad i am fine’ treatment. In real life and in text.” Though he loved hearing his kids call him dad, he hoped that would never end. “Don’t tell her I send you, though. I may have to hand in my ‘#1 dad’ mug, and I got far too attached to that thing,” he said. “Have you picked out a costume yet for Halloween?” He asked.

“I dunno I’ve heard a lot about the new Halloween movie. It’s either really good or it’s terrible.” The movie was fresh on her mind because everyone around her was talking about it. “I refuse to see the Smile movie. I can’t vibe with faces being messed with. And hocus pocus 2 came out recently.” They weren’t on dvd or blu-ray so her answer might have been a little useless. “If you’re looking for a dvd, I enjoyed It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. The first Hocus Pocus should be on dvd or something too. The Scooby Doo movies too, those are a classic.”

Simba smiled at all the suggestions, of which one didn’t even ring a bell. “Charlie brown? I have never heard of that one before, what kind of movie is it?” He asked. He too refused to see the smile movie, mostly because no way his daughters wanted to see it with him, and he was too scared to watch it alone. “Ah, the scooby doo ones! That’s a good suggestion, those were definitely always fun!”

nora wasn’t the biggest fan of halloween, truth be told she was a bit of a scaredy cat. so when simba asked the question, she shook her head, “i don’t think i’m the best person to answer that” she tells him, “elena showed me those youtube videos, don’t hug me, i’m scared? they creeped me out for like a week”. 

-

Simba chuckled. “Okay, fair, though I have managed to avoid things such as that. It can also be fun halloween movies, like… ah, Nightmare Before Christmas and such. Though we’ve see that one a hundred times, and while I love it, I don’t want to see it again,” he said.

Beth tries picturing those awkward years, her eyes narrowed as she considers her own. Vastly different, she supposes, to Simba’s kids: The solidity and stability of a loving family, with inside jokes and endless memories, from toddler clumsiness to those first shocking words muttered from a pudgy baby’s mouth. She shrugs, her fingers faltering a little as they pluck the case from the shelf. “It’s not scary. There’s this one bit that’s sorta, like, really claustrophobic?? It’s all about being seen. And spectating. And how invasive or profitable that is, y’know? Which kinda goes hand in hand– anyways. No, not scary. Just… creepy.”

Simba nodded, not sure if those were the type of feelings he wanted his kids to experience, but they were old enough now, they probably dealt with enough scary things already in their life, watching a cool horror movie with someone that looked like them in the lead might be just what they needed. And he was sure he could find something like Haunted Mansion as well. 

“Claustrophobic? That sounds interesting, I did like the trailer a lot,” he said. “Creepy my kids can handle, I think,” he offered with a smile. “Are you celebrating Halloween.”

“fun? i don’t do fun when it comes to halloween,” riggs laughed lightly, giving a small shake of his head. “i know halloween ends is coming out, like, soon. but if something is fun and halloween-y, i don’t typically watch it. it’s not really my thing… or interesting. not for me, at least.”

Simba nodded, though while he could agree to the statement - when he had been twenty - right now it was a little confusing to be honest. “You don’t like Halloween?” He asked. Though he almost wanted to ask if Halloween had hurt the other in any way. “Not even horror movies?” He asked.

halloween in the states was a different level . it was as though everybody was on the theatrics , obsessed with the spooky and the strange ; ender herself was strange and unusual , and so when pumpkin spice began filling the air and cinnamon wafted on the wind she was ready . that afternoon the girl was out shopping , picking up the last few bits for her costume — her nails had just been decorated a lilac by juniper at the salon , and in a plastic bag she carried a purple headband and green scarf . deciding to poke her head in a few other stores , never one to refuse a shopping spree , she caught simba’s eye once he questioned her , barely hesitating before announcing : “ hocus pocus 2 !! “ 

Simba turned to the voice, a smile on his face regardless if he had heard it was Ender right away, though it turned a bit softer. “Yes, I saw some advertisement for that one, do you think Marvel will like it? She’s the one currently going through it, very hard to keep happy,” he said with a joke. Though it was true, puberty was hard on her, perhaps harder on her than most of her classmates. Meanwhile Bijou was going through some kind of punk-rock phase, straightening her curly black hair and wearing almost all black. Or beat up jeans. It looked cool on her, though Simba would never admit to it.

         𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡  𝗔𝗡𝗗  𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗬  𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡  𝗜𝗡  𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟  𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘  𝗠𝗘𝗜’𝗦  𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘  ,  although  romantic  at  heart  —  at  least  when  it  came  to  literature  —  when  it  came  to  movies  ,  there  was  nothing  like  curling  up  to  a  good  horror  flick  after  the  kids  were  down  for  their  sleep  .  she  had  been  that  way  since  she  was  a  little  girl  and  it  carried  out  until  now  ,  maybe  she  would  eventually  stop  once  she  lived  alone  ,  but  that  wouldn’t  happen  for  at  least  seventeen  more  years  .  she  had  left  the  twins  with  their  nanny  that  morning  to  run  some  errands  ,  with  the  31st  approaching  fast  and  her  well-known  intentions  on  raiding  the  neighborhood  with  their  cuteness  in  tow  and  getting  candy  for  none  other  than  herself  ,  she  had  a  bag  filled  with  what  was  some  of  the  additions  needed  for  their  costume  .  maya  would  be  the  cutest  chucky  doll  and  yan  the  cutest  michael  myers  .  after  all  ,  as  a  mother  ,  she  needed  to  take  full  advantage  while  they  couldn’t  pick  their  costumes  for  themselves  .  waiting  in  line  for  a  steaming  cup  of  coffee  ,  she  was  a  bit  startled  when  a  voice  ,  apparently  addressing  her  ,  came  from  her  side  .  pondering  on  the  question  ,  she  pressed  her  lips  before  replying  .  ❝it  depends  ,  smile  just  came  out  this  week  ,  but  there  is  a  ton  coming  out  lately  ,  hellraiser  ,  if  you’re  into  classics  ,  barbarians  ,  if  you  want  something  new  ,  could  i  know  what’s  this  about  ?  ❞

Simba’s face lit up at the sight of Mei. “Well,” he started. “I try to delegate the halloween preparations every year, and somehow I get stuck on the movie front each time,” he said, a smirk on his face. “And now I would really love to show my kids the latest Halloween movie, something they can remember for next year when they try to take over the tradition again,” he said with a laugh. “Of course, they’re fourteen and sixteen, so sometimes I worry I might be showing them things that are too scary,” he added.

“Scream?” She didn’t know if that was the right answer or not but she’d seen an advertisement months later when her tv worked. The old television fucked up and rather than try to fix it, she decided to keep her monthly subscription to Netflix and just do that. It wasn’t like she had the time to do much more than that. “Is that wrong and what do I win? You should have told me that first cause I would have taken it more seriously.”

Simba chuckled, shaking his head. “Sadly I have no price, unless if you’d like a plastic pumpkin,” he said, producing one from his shopping bag, price tag still on it. “Isn’t Scream two decades old?” He asked, perhaps a bit over on the year count, but he felt like he had been in his twenties when he first saw it.

“  bodies,  bodies,  bodies.  ”     spoken with not even an ounce of hesitation in her voice when the question was asked.  that movie, to adiya, was fucking legendary.   “  or that super sexy vampire movie that just came out. ”     all she knows is neither would be found in the DVD section of an appliance store.      “  did you expect to find anything later than the first scream movie here ?  ”   she asks,  fingers perusing the disc cases themselves.    “  professor gano,  ”    she starts,  the name used as a term of endearment from someone who was never his student.     “  i did my research,   your RATEMYPROFESSOR profile is,  like,  way too poppin’  for you to be acting so lame.  i didn’t even know they still made dvds.  ”

Simba laughed. “Ah no, I usually use this to spur my imagination,” he admitted. “I usually get a few older movies here, and then watch something new later. Like… Nightmare before Christmas was nice the first four times, but after the fifth it got kind of old,” he admitted. Then his face lit up at the RATEMYPROFESSOR. He knew he was on there, he sometimes risked a peek. “It’s mostly blu-ray now,” he threw back, pretending to be cool. Though if she’d read his profile, he was a genuine hoot. His students thought he was cool, though it was the few comments about him being fair and a good professor that truly got to him. He enjoyed reading it out loud to his family, to which all three of them cringed. “I perform a strict separation between work and private,” he joked. “I’m a cool professor but a lame dad.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

An odd, elongated noise leaves Shiloh’s throat, one not unlike, “G’rraaauugh…” as they scramble for an answer to the impromptu question. Of course the word, “quick,” has rendered their mind utterly blank.

“’Monster House!’” they blurt out at once, cringing at themself as their eyes slip shut and their head shakes from side to side. “That’s not even remotely ‘the latest,’ um…” Their lips flap around a slow exhale, the sound not unlike a whinnying horse. “I gotta be honest, I think the last, like, decent Halloween movie I saw was ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,’ and even that was a minute ago. But if you ask me, you can never go wrong with ‘Cabin in the Woods,’ so…”

Simba grinned in reply. “At my age, all years blend together anyway, as long as I know we’re in the 21st century, I am good,” he said, squinting his eyes at Monster House, he had seen that one, he thought. It was scary, but also animation, which made it less scary for his daughters. “Cabin in the Woods? I think I’ve heard of that one, but I’ve never seen it, appropriate for a fourteen and sixteen year old?” He asked.

Beth’s eyes widen with ill-contained excitement, “I’m glad you asked.” Simba’s pressed the big red button in the depths of the youngest Lapointe’s mind— filmbro mode activated. She wonders how glad he might be by the end of her ranting; for now, there’s little control to be had over her tongue as her mouth shapes eager and earnest thoughts over the cases lined up along the shelves. “Okay, so–” she taps Watcher, where a scared-looking Maika Monroe stands at a window, clad in an elegant red dress, “–this one’s good. It’s slow paced and creepy, and sort of plays with your expectations, but if you’re not a fan of stalking, I’d steer clear. Speaking of steering clear…” She goes on to point out Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, eyes rolling in utter exasperation as she explains how lacking the narrative had been in the smarts department.

“But then,” Beth pauses by Nope, which sits beside the rest of Peele’s legendary trilogy, “you have these masterpieces. They’re not your traditional horror– I mean, if you just want some good old-fashioned spooks and jumps, you can’t really go wrong with the first Conjuring film, but Peele’s stuff gets you thinking while also freaking you out, y’know?”

-

Simba chuckled. He should’ve been more specific with the Halloween bit. There were Halloween movies, and then there were horror movies, and he wasn’t sure how much his two daughters could manage. He smiled kindly, figuring perhaps Watcher wasn’t such a great idea, but he had already watched Get Out and Us with the two of them, after all, they were important parts of black cinema, and they could not be ignored. Both his girls had been slightly uncomfortable throughout it, but also felt something, something important. Nope, he hadn’t seen yet. “Is Nope scary?” He asked. “And with scary I mean: scary for a fourteen year old. I don’t want a repeat of leaving my youngest scared two years back when I showed her The Ring.”

admittedly, matthew enjoyed the christmas season over he halloween season more but he was always the type of person to get into any seasonal festivities. “the latest fun halloween movie?” he repeats, thinking out loud, tapping his chin with his left hands index fingers fingertip. “what type of fun are you looking for? lighthearted family friendly or terrifying adrenaline inducing fun? personally, i’m always a sucker for the classic slasher movies around spooky time. if i’m even more honest i think the original nightmare on elm street is more humorous than scary in all honesty. in one scene you can even see robert englund kind of struggling to run with the glove cause it used to be a bit heavy apparently.”

“Oh, lighthearted family,” Simba said in response. “The family part is the most important! My youngest is only twelve years old,” he admitted. “Oh, I think they’re too young for slashers.” Simba was certain they would watch the movies behind his back anyway, but he liked to remind himself that he could have some control over what was being watched in the house. He had found a Pokemon app so they could watch the halloween episodes of the series. “I think I watched that movie, but I did find it pretty scary.”

“hocus pocus two!” zarina exclaimed, grinning widely, “if you’re a fan of the first one then you’re going to love the second one. if you haven’t seen the first one, well, i feel like you could still watch the second one and understand what’s going on.” spooky season was her favorite season, and both lighhearted/terrifying spooky movies were always something she enjoyed watching all year round, so it always made her happy to help anyone with anything spooky related. “unless you mean in theatres? in which case…i’m sorry i’m the worst to ask for recommendations. i can’t remember the last time i went to the show.” za laughed, giving a little shrug. “are you on a mission for a good spooky movie night or somethin’?”

“I have seen the first one!” Simba exclaimed in return, the excitement also in his voice. His parents still didn’t understand Halloween, because there was no similar French holiday. Well, perhaps there was, but Halloween certainly wasn’t a type of holiday they were used to. “I thought that movie was on Disney plus,” he said. “Or well, I suppose I figure it would be, given it’s from Disney.” He looked at the stacks. “Oh, I mostly meant the dvd’s, but netflix and all of that works as well,” he said with a laugh. “I always do horror movie marathons with my daughters the week before Halloween.”