Holy Mother of CRAP!!! I know I wanted Mike to clue in but this is a trifle drastic. If this is set in the same continuity we've seen up until now, we're in for his ham-fisted attempts to make up for being an idiot. If it's a rebbot, I look forward to seeing what's really gone on.
Awesome! Maybe that Crock-Pot Cream of Barbecued Chicken or whatever was helpful to Deanna and Mike's marriage after all, as it obviously disagreed with him while he tried to sleep. :-)
It does make up for quite the Wham episode, horrible dream or not. It's almost too bad that Lynn didn't think to end the strip this way; if she had, she'd be the patron saint of the Author's Saving Throw.
Oh, man ... somebody needs to rewrite the Mary-Sue vomit that was the final Sunday strip with Elly saying how she wishes this had all happened instead of the tears and shattered lives following Mike's death by smoke inhalation.
...Mike's death by smoke inhalation.I've often thought that same scenario, or something similar, like imagining how everything fell apart after they lost April in the ravine. John and Elly's inability to communicate at the best of times turned into a pattern of hostile outbursts and recriminations, eventually leading to their divorce. Connie tried to be supportive of Elly but could never shake her feeling that Elly was responsible for April's death because Elly knew how April was getting out of the yard and did nothing to prevent it, and their friendship deteriorates. Elly eventually returns to Vancouver and moves back in with her parents in what they thought was going to be a temporary arrangement that turned permanent, and she eventually develops some common sense and some empathy, and looks after them in their old age.
John remains in Milborough. He has some sympathy from people once it becomes known that Elly never did anything to prevent April from unlatching the gate. He works all day and plays with his trains every night. He eventually retires and buys the little house down the street, building a ride-on railway and little village on the huge lot, and is happy to let the neighbourhood kids go for a ride. They remind him of his little girl, whose grave he visits every weekend. He has planted daffodils and tulips there, as they bloom every April.
Mike goes on to university. He writes about April's death, but only in his private journals. Weed's desire to travel and record the world is infectious and, with nothing tying him down, Mike finds his niche as a travel writer.
Liz struggles to come to terms with April's death as she often resented April for usurping her place as the youngest and cutest, and she can't admit to anyone that she continues to resent the attention April still gets. With her parents distracted by their divorce, Liz dabbles in drugs and petty crime. Her grades tumble and she fails her final year of school. She drops out rather than re-do the year and moves to Toronto, but can't afford to make ends meet on minimum wage. She straightens out eventually, when Auntie Bev and Uncle Danny invite her to stay with them and get her high school diploma in Manitoba. She learns a lot about farming during her time there, and begins to imagine taking over the family farm, once owned by her grandparents, when Danny and Bev retire. She knows it's a lot of work, and a challenging and difficult profession, but she wants to do it, so proposes this to Danny and Bev, who accept. Liz spends years learning as much as she can from Danny, and completes a business administration course at Red River Community College. It's not quite what she expected, but she has found a place where she's happy and at peace with herself and her choices.
I've also played around with a fan-fic world involving April's death. I have the same idea of John and Elly's differing reactions. However, I have Mike not really caring that much--he wasn't close with her, had left home when she was still a toddler, and struggled to relate to his mom and dad during this difficult time. He marries Dee, has children he resents, and is the same asshole he always was, until Robn gets sick, and he has a better idea of what his parents went through. He then actually, seriously devotes himself to becoming a parent and a full time father; his writing is on the backburner, and he becomes a decent human being.
Liz blames herself for years; although she still resents the attention April is getting, even in death, she forces herself to become the ultimate Good Daughter, as if, in April's absence, she has to become as good as two girls in order to make up for it. She and Anthony drift apart; not only does she just not have time for a boyfriend (what with making good grades, and being active in school activities), she just feels like he doesn't get it. She excels in college, does the Mtigwaki thing (although actually takes it seriously, not treating it as some grand adcenture), and never, ever returns to Milborough.
I played a bit with bucket fills for the silhouetted parts
7 comments:
Holy Mother of CRAP!!! I know I wanted Mike to clue in but this is a trifle drastic. If this is set in the same continuity we've seen up until now, we're in for his ham-fisted attempts to make up for being an idiot. If it's a rebbot, I look forward to seeing what's really gone on.
Oh, it's the same continuity - Mike has just had QUITE the nightmare.
I figured posting the top & bottom as two parts would have been a bit too much drama, so I put them together
Awesome! Maybe that Crock-Pot Cream of Barbecued Chicken or whatever was helpful to Deanna and Mike's marriage after all, as it obviously disagreed with him while he tried to sleep. :-)
It does make up for quite the Wham episode, horrible dream or not. It's almost too bad that Lynn didn't think to end the strip this way; if she had, she'd be the patron saint of the Author's Saving Throw.
Oh, man ... somebody needs to rewrite the Mary-Sue vomit that was the final Sunday strip with Elly saying how she wishes this had all happened instead of the tears and shattered lives following Mike's death by smoke inhalation.
...Mike's death by smoke inhalation.I've often thought that same scenario, or something similar, like imagining how everything fell apart after they lost April in the ravine. John and Elly's inability to communicate at the best of times turned into a pattern of hostile outbursts and recriminations, eventually leading to their divorce. Connie tried to be supportive of Elly but could never shake her feeling that Elly was responsible for April's death because Elly knew how April was getting out of the yard and did nothing to prevent it, and their friendship deteriorates. Elly eventually returns to Vancouver and moves back in with her parents in what they thought was going to be a temporary arrangement that turned permanent, and she eventually develops some common sense and some empathy, and looks after them in their old age.
John remains in Milborough. He has some sympathy from people once it becomes known that Elly never did anything to prevent April from unlatching the gate. He works all day and plays with his trains every night. He eventually retires and buys the little house down the street, building a ride-on railway and little village on the huge lot, and is happy to let the neighbourhood kids go for a ride. They remind him of his little girl, whose grave he visits every weekend. He has planted daffodils and tulips there, as they bloom every April.
Mike goes on to university. He writes about April's death, but only in his private journals. Weed's desire to travel and record the world is infectious and, with nothing tying him down, Mike finds his niche as a travel writer.
Liz struggles to come to terms with April's death as she often resented April for usurping her place as the youngest and cutest, and she can't admit to anyone that she continues to resent the attention April still gets. With her parents distracted by their divorce, Liz dabbles in drugs and petty crime. Her grades tumble and she fails her final year of school. She drops out rather than re-do the year and moves to Toronto, but can't afford to make ends meet on minimum wage. She straightens out eventually, when Auntie Bev and Uncle Danny invite her to stay with them and get her high school diploma in Manitoba. She learns a lot about farming during her time there, and begins to imagine taking over the family farm, once owned by her grandparents, when Danny and Bev retire. She knows it's a lot of work, and a challenging and difficult profession, but she wants to do it, so proposes this to Danny and Bev, who accept. Liz spends years learning as much as she can from Danny, and completes a business administration course at Red River Community College. It's not quite what she expected, but she has found a place where she's happy and at peace with herself and her choices.
Oh, that rambled on quite a bit! Sorry!
forworse:
I've also played around with a fan-fic world involving April's death. I have the same idea of John and Elly's differing reactions. However, I have Mike not really caring that much--he wasn't close with her, had left home when she was still a toddler, and struggled to relate to his mom and dad during this difficult time. He marries Dee, has children he resents, and is the same asshole he always was, until Robn gets sick, and he has a better idea of what his parents went through. He then actually, seriously devotes himself to becoming a parent and a full time father; his writing is on the backburner, and he becomes a decent human being.
Liz blames herself for years; although she still resents the attention April is getting, even in death, she forces herself to become the ultimate Good Daughter, as if, in April's absence, she has to become as good as two girls in order to make up for it. She and Anthony drift apart; not only does she just not have time for a boyfriend (what with making good grades, and being active in school activities), she just feels like he doesn't get it. She excels in college, does the Mtigwaki thing (although actually takes it seriously, not treating it as some grand adcenture), and never, ever returns to Milborough.
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