fandomhigh | Love & Romance, Hollywood Style [Period 4, Class 3]

"Last week we talked about happily ever after," Drake began when the students had all settled in. "But that's not always how it ends up. People die -- but that doesn't mean their love is gone. It lives on, and sometimes it can be powerful enough to bring a soul back from the dead to protect his or her love or avenge a death or complete some sort of unfinished business related to the loved one."

He snapped his fingers and started the projector, showing scenes from the movies Ghost (including the ending) and The Crow, which was a good bit darker than the first example. "So in ~~meta for~~ Ghost," Drake said, "the late great Patrick Swayze gets himself shot and dies. Quicker than you can say 'Carol Anne, don't go into the light!' he runs from the afterlife and sticks around to watch Demi Moore in the shower. Then he figures out his best friend set him up and now Demi's life is in danger. Once he kills his former buddy and is sure that Demi will be safe, he is able to pass on.

"Now, ~~meta for~~ The Crow has a somewhat similar story, but a lot more violent," Drake went on. "Eric and Shelly are brutally killed on the eve of their wedding. One year later, Eric crawls out of his grave and hunts down the people responsible for his and Shelly's murders. When they're all dead, Shelly's spirit appears to him and leads him into the afterlife."

Drake showed a few more clips, then finished up the lecture. "One of the characters in The Crow says, 'A building gets torched. All that is left is ashes. I used to think that was true about everything: families, friends, feelings. But now I know that sometimes, if love proves real, two people who are meant to be together -- nothing can keep them apart.' Do you believe this? Do you think if something were to happen to you and your love, you could come back from the dead to try to make things right? Could you accept a happy peaceful afterlife if you knew your love was in danger?"

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"It's happened," Didi volunteered matter-of-factly, because she had to creep people out once in a while. "It goes the other way, too. I had a nephew who followed his bride into the underworld. Didn't work out for them, but maybe..."

Maybe some people were luckier than Orpheus.

"No offense meant, should've added that disclaimer," Drake grinned. "And one way or another you're stronger in the end. Does it make you cranky when someone tries to come back, or do you just go with the flow?"

"I go with it," Didi said, tucking her hair back. "It's sweet if you look at it the right way, and it's usually pretty harmless. Besides, I don't control where they go, I just lead the way."

She added as an afterthought, "Remind me to tell you about the time hell shut down sometime."

"Oooh, I definitely want to hear about that," Drake said. "Did the demons go on strike? I wonder if that would work in my world...."

Didi shook her head. "No, Lucifer" -- hard not to look at Fiona, there -- "stepped down and threw everybody out of hell, and there was no one in charge for a few days. Some of the souls ended up back in my realm 'cause they thought I'd shoot 'em on up to Heaven."

Pensively, she added, "It was a crazy party ~~if you believe the manga~~."

"Sounds like it," Drake said. "At least it was a change of pace?"

"It was that," Didi agreed, realizing she was shamelessly off-topic. "And I think some of the spirits had a good time."

Love & Romance, Hollywood Style [Period 4, Class 3]

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