The salt of life

What's the salt of life?

She's been told that you could only appreciate Life when you went through hardships. Without hardships you couldn't find yourself, if you didn't find yourself, you couldn't enjoy your life because it wouldn't be yours.

It sounded so pompous and so artificial that she didn't pay attention to the old saying until that moment when she got salt all over her hands. It was rough, it rubbed against her warm palm, it was coarse and abbrasive and yet she knew it was necessary. Without salt to season your food, it would be tasteless.

Did that mean Salt referred to troubles? to pain? To sadness? Maybe it did, maybe that was the meaning of this little proverbial sentence. "Learn how to take in the pain, so you could enjoy happiness when it comes." It sounded easier said than done, for Pain usually led to questionning, which led to overthinking and constantly worrying. It required a lot of work to soothe the voice in her head, to take away the constant fear of losing her loved ones to some threat. Yet, she learned to appreciate those moments and look back at them as moments of growth.

Well, she was still learning to do that.

Where was she today? At a much better place than she was a few years ago. Away was this little scared heroin, unable to figure out her place in this world. Away was the daughter of Gaea who kept thinking she was disposable and shouldn't even hang out with the x-men. Gone was the fear of being abandonned again because she found in the x-men, the family and friends she never thought she could have in her life. That allowed her to enjoy those get-together events where everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves. It also helped her enjoy more the moments they fought against their enemies.

So tears and cries might be uncomfortable, they were necessary. She now understood that. They were the salt of her life because past the tears she was now able to see how flavoured her life was. A soft smile crept on her lips as she washed away the salt that covered her palms and looked back up to the x-men who were playing and swimming at the sea. She wouldn't join but instead laze out on her towel on the sand, with a summer hat not to catch sunburn and an unbrella under which she would remain.

That was the salt of life, not always pleasant but oh so necessary.

Dear Bryan Singer

Dear Bryan Singer,

You know how to make movies, you obviously put a lot of work into it. I praise you for that. You simply don't know how to make x-men movies. I have been talking in length here and there about the atrocious trilogies and spin-offs you offered us and yet, the only movie I liked (despite the changes some characters went through and the tropes some others went through (Emma, Darwin?...) it still was better than the other 8 movies or is it 9 you made.

You don't care. obviously! You tease us with special effects and bunch of characters you wave at our faces but you don't care. Why do you want to add X, Y, Z faces we know you won't exploit, if it's only to have them killed or benched? why do you ridicule so many of them? (Storm for example? Cyclops for example? Psylocke or Jubilee too? Bishop? WOLVERINE for God's sake.)

I have been fooled way too many times by your tricks. I thought, "oh this movie would be different" but it's not. I would have been happier if you focused on these two characters you love so much, Charles and Erik. tell us a story about them instead. tell us a story that focuses on what it is to be a mutant, how the world perceives them (how their families, friends.. not just the world as a whole. we need to see the fear, the rejection or the acceptance. NOT BEING TOLD about them). I would have been happier. Build a team instead of throwing big names you don't give a shit about. give us the time to get to know them, care for them, go for something smaller.

But no. You thought, "oh Everyone loves and knows Apocalypse, let's go for him instead". you Ruined Mystique, sincerely. less in the first couple of movies (in spite of her pinning for Magneto and then Wolverine. sure, let's have her be weak for men. Have her want to be "loooooved" SURE! SURE! that's so Mystique right?) but you still managed to screw her up and what she embodies! thank you.. not!
I tried to look at your movie with a distant gaze, look for symbolism, for hidden messages, for something to analyze it but it lacks substance. it's just throwing ideas here and there and see what sticks to the wall... Nah ah. I can't like it.

I already decided not to watch any of your movies again. I might stick to Deadpool because he gave me in 1h58 more X-men vibes than any of your movies did. So I'll stick to this director and ignore you forever.

PS: Can you STOP with the Phoenix already? WHy are you so obsessed with this shit? you don't know how to tell that story, Give up on it. I beg of you. It already was so hard to go through Apocalypse without being angry and sad but the minute I saw Jean freaking Phoenix Grey... I lost it. Stop. please. And stop with your tropes too. it becomes too predictable. You have a wonderful source material, the potential to write great stories, to reach out to the core of your fans and maybe even, tell teach them a lesson or two about tolerance and self-acceptance BUT YOU MISSED THE POINT.

Stop making the x-men. I beg of you. Go make all the other movies you're good at :)

Sincerely yours,

An x-fan of yours.