#76: Believe In You
It was Christmastime, and as usual, the seasonal celebration started early and was filled with many movie nights. Classics (It's a Wonderful Life was always a staple), modern films (Scotch loved Elf), and even cheesy Hallmark films peppered each gathering.
"I'd never think Scotch would willingly watch a corny romance movie," Radley chuckled when one such venture into the latter concluded and the Bunch stampeded into the kitchen to make snacks. "But the kitties make all the difference." The Nine Kittens of Christmas had been a fairly cute but predictable film about the guy and the girl needing to find homes for nine kittens and discovering romance along the way.
"He'll probably watch anything with cats," Kalin grunted.
"Unless they're the bad guys," Radley said. "Biff still can't get him to watch Napoleon for that reason. He also refuses to touch the first two Cats and Dogs movies. I'll admit I'm kinda annoyed myself that there isn't one good kitty in those films."
"That would be annoying for cat lovers," Kalin had to admit. He idly picked up the DVD of the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol as he spoke.
Radley looked at it too. "You know, I wonder why it is that people mostly remember Scrooge being a big jerk and not that he changed for the better."
"He committed too many offenses to ever be forgiven," Kalin said flatly.
"That's the whole point, though," Radley said. "He didn't! The whole story was about him finding redemption. But when people think about him, usually the first thing they come up with is what a creep he was. They even call people Scrooge like it's a bad thing. It's kinda sad, like they're missing the beauty of the whole thing."
"I wonder if everyone really believed he'd changed," Kalin said. "Maybe some kept waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"Kinda like you feel about yourself, huh?" Radley remarked.
Kalin set the DVD down. Radley knew him too well. "Yes."
"I'm guessing some people were suspicious and worried for a while, but it didn't last," Radley said. "I think Dickens intended that everyone realized Scrooge really had changed."
Kalin sighed. "They were too good to him then. Although of course his sins were nothing like mine."
"And even in your case, most people realize you've changed," Radley said. "I think the only ones who might still wonder never really knew you at all."
"I'm sure there's a lot of people in the Satellite who have never forgiven me," Kalin said. "Some didn't like me way back when I led the Enforcers. Others no doubt came to hate me when I tried to destroy everything as a Dark Signer."
Radley frowned a bit. "Why would anyone have disliked you as an Enforcer? Aside from the Duel Gangs you were fighting, of course."
Kalin shrugged. "Some people didn't like my personality or my ultimate goals. Those friends of Yusei's he made after the Enforcers broke up . . . I know at least some of them didn't ever like me. Word got around."
"You mean Rally's group?" Radley didn't know much about them, but Kalin had mentioned them once or twice.
"Yeah. Rally himself might not feel that way, or maybe he didn't until the Dark Signer mess, but his older friends felt differently," Kalin said. "Sometimes I wonder what might happen if our paths ever accidentally cross."
". . . I guess all you could do is tell them how sorry you are for everything that went wrong and that you've changed," Radley said. "If they still didn't believe you, you'd have to just leave them alone and hope they'd soften in time."
"I wonder if Yusei ever has much contact with them anymore," Kalin said. "Once the City and the Satellite were united, he seemed to fall out of touch with them."
Radley sighed. "That happens a lot with people," he said. "If their paths lead them away from each other, they don't always make the effort to stay in touch."
"Sometimes I wonder why that is," Kalin said. "If they cared in the past, they should still care enough to stay together."
"Yeah. People don't make much sense sometimes, do they." Radley's smile was sad. "Sometimes they get so caught up in what they want to achieve that they don't think enough about keeping old friendships going. Or sometimes there probably really isn't any time left to work on them."
Kalin nodded. "I hope that will never happen to you and I."
Radley squeezed his hand. "It won't," he insisted. "We both wanna stay together too much to let anything come between us. And I know that's probably what all friends say to each other, but some people really do put in the effort."
Kalin smiled a bit. "True."
Radley glanced at the stacks of Christmas DVDs all around them. "I wonder what film Scotch is gonna want to see next."
Kalin caught sight of another cat-related romance movie, The Nine Lives of Christmas. ". . . Probably this."
Radley chuckled. "Oh . . . maybe. He's ranted at me before that he likes the sequel better for various reasons. Except he's really ticked off that they killed off the girl's original cat in the sequel when there was no reason for it. I can't fathom why they did that myself. If the original cat actress had died, they could have surely found another who looked similar enough.
"On the other hand, since Scotch brought it out with all the others, he must be at least considering it."
"Yeah," Kalin said.
"Well . . ." Radley winked. "It wouldn't be too miserable to watch it, would it?"
"Maybe not," Kalin said. "The cats are more interesting than anything going on with the humans."
Radley laughed out loud. "That's what Scotch thinks too."
"Are there any Christmas movies Scotch doesn't like?" Kalin wondered.
"The demented ones," Radley said. "He's a horror buff, but he hates slasher films taking place at Christmastime. Of course, I don't care for slasher films in general."
Kalin looked through the rest of the DVD stack. ". . . They made a movie of this?" He held up Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.
Radley winced. "Oh yeah. Funny thing is, the movie version is actually palatable where the song just isn't. Scotch showed it to me one year in spite of my heavy protests. The problem is actually treated mostly seriously and the grandma doesn't die. She gets amnesia and is taken by Santa to the North Pole so he can try to help her." He finally chuckled. "It's actually pretty cute."
"The complete opposite of the song, then," Kalin said.
"Pretty much," Radley agreed.
Kalin spread out some of the other choices. "Santa and Pete?"
"Oh, Scotch loves that one," Radley said. "I like it a lot myself. You know those legends some countries have about a guy named Pete who goes with Santa and is the one to punish the naughty kids?"
"I think so," Kalin said.
"This movie has him as a much different person who encourages parents to treat their kids with love, even if they're being a handful," Radley said. "It takes place around the time Dutch pilgrims were first sailing to America. It's one of the only films I've ever seen that has both Santa and God in it. They have it that God is the One Who gives Santa all his power and Santa is always wanting to help the kids grow close to God. But it's all handled in a really sweet, natural way, not preachy at all."
". . . That's definitely different," Kalin said in surprise. ". . . What's this one?" He held up An American Christmas Carol.
"Well, it's basically the story we all know and love, but it moves the time period to Depression-era America," Radley said. "It's pretty interesting. As Christmas Carols go, it's probably one of the more unique versions."
"Changing the time period and location makes a big difference?" Kalin grunted.
"Oh, not really in the story they want to tell, but in the details of how they get there, yeah," Radley said.
"Isn't there a musical version too?" Kalin looked over the DVDs. He would be very surprised if Scotch didn't own such a thing if it existed.
"Two or three, actually," Radley said. "There's the one that has Christmas Present singing I Like Life and a really trippy, disturbing sequence where Scrooge sees himself in Hell. Then another one came out in 2004 with different songs, I think. And there's the Muppet version."
Kalin wasn't surprised at all to soon find the Muppet one.
"Scotch has all of them, but he likes this one the best," Radley said, tapping it.
"Of course he would," Kalin remarked.
"And he has the All Dogs Go to Heaven version," Radley chuckled. "Which is also a musical."
"Did every franchise make a version of it?" Kalin flatly wondered.
"Sometimes it seems like it, doesn't it," Radley said. "There's even a Barbie one."
"Don't tell me Scotch has that." Kalin brushed several more DVDs aside and then stared blankly at a collection of three Barbie Christmas movies.
Radley burst out laughing. "Well, he does like magical girl stuff. Scotch swears these movies are good. He even said the Christmas Carol one is darker than the original story in some ways."
"How is that possible?" Kalin gawked at the very pink cover.
Radley sobered. "In the Future segment, the Scrooge-like girl discovers her Cratchit-like assistant has become as selfish and cruel as she herself is through most of the film. The nice girl was trying to help an orphanage, but when she lost her job and couldn't help them anymore, the place closed down and the kids were all turned out in the street to try to survive on their own, including a crippled little girl. That embittered the nice girl and she adopted the policy of being self-serving."
Kalin frowned. ". . . That is dark. It's far worse than Tiny Tim dying in a loving family. That sounds like something that could have happened in the Satellite. Only not, since Martha wouldn't have allowed it."
Radley nodded. "Thankfully, that awful future doesn't really come true."
"I wouldn't have thought it of a Barbie film," Kalin said.
"I was pretty shocked too," Radley said. "Scotch said it's his favorite of the three, then A Perfect Christmas, then The Nutcracker. He said The Nutcracker didn't do as well as A Christmas Carol. He was kinda sore because they made Drosselmeyer a jerk when he wasn't in any other version. Except Princess Tutu." He smirked.
"Maybe they used that as their inspiration," Kalin deadpanned.
"Maybe," Radley chuckled. "Scotch did like that the film had Stacie's twin brother, though. He's annoyed that the kid has been completely forgotten in all current toy lines and TV shows."
"Some people would probably take that cue to come up with dark explanations of what happened to him," Kalin remarked.
"Probably," Radley said. "Scotch doesn't wanna, though. He just figures the new stuff is not the same verse and the kid never existed there."
"Next you're going to tell me Scotch has Barbie dolls," Kalin remarked.
Radley giggled. "You know he likes the playsets. He uses a Barbie car to transport other 12-inch figures, like G.I. Joes and Star Wars characters. And he repainted a Dream House to use for them too. Like it or not, Barbie stuff seems to be the only thing in scale for that figure size."
"I wonder why that is," Kalin mused.
"Who knows. And Scotch will rant for ages on how badly done most figures of that size are these days. Hollow plastic, molded clothes, nothing really creative about them. Then he'll hold up a Joe from twenty years ago and point out all the real cloth clothing and the accessories and things like tables and life rafts that came with them. I've gotta admit, it seemed like toy companies cared a lot more back then."
Kalin considered that. "I wouldn't really know. I only had my Dyna Dude figures growing up."
"Yeah." Radley smiled sadly, then cheered up again. "Well, I always try to get him one or two Joes or other cool figures from bygone eras for Christmas and his birthday. He has a pretty big collection by now. And he actually does have a few Barbies and Kens. He wanted all of the special Harley-Davidson collector's line."
"What are those like?" Kalin asked.
"Pretty cool, I must say," Radley said. "One of the Kens has long hair, longer than mine, and a jacket like mine." He winked. "He has very good taste."
Kalin smirked a bit. "Did they make a motorcycle too?"
"Oh, of course. Scotch has several of them so each doll in the set can ride," Radley chuckled. "He also likes some of the holiday edition dolls. He has a set of Barbie and Ken playing pirates at a Halloween party."
"But not the one they make each Christmas in a fancy dress," Kalin deadpanned.
"Nah, he's not really interested in that," Radley said. "On the other hand, he has a set of Barbie and all her sisters going to do fun winter things, like sledding or skiing or something."
"That sounds like something Scotch would enjoy," Kalin had to admit.
Radley nodded. "They did several Christmas sets, but usually Skipper wasn't in them for some reason. Scotch will rant about that too. He hates when a character is forgotten."
"Is Skipper still dyeing her hair purple?" Kalin said with a completely straight face.
Radley chuckled. "I think so? Maybe? I was looking in Scotch's toy catalogue this year and there actually was a blonde Skipper in her toyline. I dunno if that was her or her friend. They've been having Skipper dye her hair brown and purple for years now and not offering other choices like they used to."
"At least it's something different," Kalin said.
"It is at that," Radley agreed.
"And I know Scotch loves stuffed animals," Kalin remarked.
"Oh yeah," Radley said fondly. "And he's always up for more."
Suddenly he gave a mischievous smirk. "What about you, Kalin?"
"Me?" Kalin blinked.
"Well, you never really had a decent Christmas as a little kid. Are there any toys you'd still like to have now that you can have them?"
Kalin went red, but smiled a bit. "What would I do with toys?"
"Oh, at the very least, display them?" Radley replied. "The adult toy collectors' market is very real."
Kalin smiled more, touched. "I'll have to think about that."
The Bunch trouped back in with big bowls and plates of cookies and Chex mix and peanut butter bars. "Okay!" Scotch said. "Let's watch another one!"
"Which one?" Radley asked with a smile.
"Let's all vote!" Scotch suggested, gesturing at the pile Kalin had been going through.
The Bunch promptly called out an assortment of votes, most for different things.
Kalin looked to Radley. "I'm not even sure what one to pick."
Radley winked. "You could go eenie-meenie-miney-mo? There aren't really any bad choices here."
Maybe not, but somehow Kalin couldn't see himself voting for a Barbie movie, even though now he was actually really curious about the Christmas Carol one.
Radley seemed to understand at least some of Kalin's dilemma when he saw Kalin's expression and his hand near the Barbie set. "You could suggest one of the Christmas Carols and then let everybody vote again to pick which version?" he suggested.
"Maybe," Kalin said.
"Or you could take the plunge and suggest your real choice," Radley added.
"Does Scotch ever have any success getting a bunch of college-age guys to watch stuff like that?" Kalin grunted.
Radley laughed. "Well, you know big, tough Virgil will."
That was still so strange for Kalin to think about.
"What do you want to pick, Kalin?" Scotch called now.
Kalin flushed. ". . . This." He held up An American Christmas Carol. No, he was absolutely not brave enough and not willing to abandon his pride enough to ever suggest Barbie. Anyway, he'd been curious about this one too.
"What about you, Radley?" Scotch asked.
Radley smiled at Kalin. "That, and this." He held up the Barbie set and pointed to the Christmas Carol one.
"Triple feature!" Scotch exclaimed in glee. "Yes!"
And that was it, no questioning of the choices or other objections. The Bunch of course would accommodate Radley's choices, and they seemed fine with Kalin's as well.
Radley leaned back on the couch. "There," he said with a wink.
Kalin had to smile. Radley was definitely comfortable in a way Kalin wasn't yet. But he was learning. Maybe someday.