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fortheloveoffanfic · 3 years

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One More Weekend With You

Keanu Reeves x Reader (A/n-Was gonna post another one from this set of fics, but this was oh so conveniently edited and forgotten in my drafts)

Summary- Inspired by Tis The Damn Season of the Evermore album

Masterlist

Warnings- Angst

It was hard to tell, it had been so long and maybe he'd cut his hair and started wearing his beard lower. Maybe he'd changed the way he dressed- no, not really. Did he always keep his hand in his pocket when he walked? He did, it was definitely him, and there wasn't a chance that her heart was going to let her avoid him. He still had a place there after all.

Rubbing the cool metal of the key between her fingers, Y/n inhaled deeply, trying to brush off her nerves before making her way through the department store to where Keanu stood. "Ke?"

And of course, he'd know her voice anywhere. So instead of just turning to see who it was, Keanu smiled despite the wave of pain that usually accompanied the thought of Y/n. Even if their end had been bittersweet, she was still his 'one.' One true love. One person he wanted to see after a bad day. One voice he wanted to hear when he picked up the phone. "Y/n?" He tilted his head, temporarily abandoning the shelves lined with glassware he was looking at, to hug her quickly. It was short, though, not short enough for it to mean nothing. "You're back”.”

"I'm back," she nodded with a soft huff, righting herself and pulling away from their awkward embrace. He’d felt different and the same; like returning to an old playground and realizing that the magic had gone from childish wonder to aching nostalgia. "Just for the holidays though, after New Years its……"

"Back," he determined as his face fell. Why'd he even let himself think she'd come back for good. Out there was her dream…..L.A…..was just him. And he wasn't enough. "Uh…how-how are your folks? I saw them a couple months ago, they were grocery shopping, but I was in such a hurry, I didn't really get a minute to catch up." What he really meant was that he didn't want to see the look on their faces when they had to stand in conversation with the son-in-law they never had and worst yet, he didn't want them to talk about her, so he could hear how well she was doing without him.

“They’re good. What about your family?” As she spoke, Y/n tried to fight the twinge of regret that accompanied Keanu’s presence. Regret because every time they spoke, the dormant love for him was always reawakened. He told her, a long time ago, that once you started loving someone, if it was real, then it would never go away. And she had learned that he was right the hard way.

Nodding absently, he stuffed his hands into his pockets again, just to occupy them, “They’re good….” they still ask about you. He inhaled softly, not knowing what to say next. It was uncomfortable, before, just a few years ago, Keanu always knew what to say to her, because he could say anything to her. “So how have you been? How’s work? The job?” The job that you left me for.

“I’ve been okay,” Y/n shrugged, trying to muster up a smile, only just realizing that she wasn’t half as happy as she’d been when they were together. “And work’s……its good, the job’s….” not everything it was cracked up to be, especially since it took me away from you, “Its amazing, still can't believe I got it. What about you?” She stuttered, moistening her lips.

Keanu observed her curiously, noting how Y/n’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes and how she’d kept anxiously toying with her car keys. She always fiddled when she was nervous. “You sure everything’s okay, Y/n?” It was quite likely that it was no longer his place to ask, worst yet to try to fix things if something was wrong, but Keanu hated knowing that something was bothering her.

He always knew when she was lying. “I…..” Taking a deep breath, Y/n prepared herself to lie anyway, “You know, I’m just….it’s weird to be back, its been a while.”

“Yeah okay,” it was obvious that Y/n wasn’t going to tell him what was going on, not that Keanu could blame her, they had been over for a while by then, she wasn’t obligated to tell him anything. Still, he craved her company and wasn’t willing to let their interaction on such a flustered note. “I don’t know if you have the time, but if you do, maybe we could grab coffee or something, catch up a bit.”

Staring up at him with agape lips and sad eyes, Y/n contemplated for a minute before submitting, she couldn’t imagine saying no anyway, “Sure, okay. I’d like that. The place we usually go to?” She cleared her throat, realizing her mistake as heat rose to her cheeks, “Went to.”

Grinning fondly at her comment, Keanu tried to shake off the memories that the mention of that little coffee shop brought up, they’d had some great times there. “Great,” he determined, deciding that gift shopping could be put on pause for a bit. “It’s not too far from here, we can walk if you’d like.”

“Sounds great.” As they walked, Y/n and Keanu kept a comfortable distance between them. It wasn’t much though, she could still compare his warmth to Los Angeles heat, which had toned down significantly since the start of the holiday season. For a while, the only thing traded between them was silence, though, when they got to the coffee shop, Keanu surprised her by remembering her order to the letter. “You remember,” she mused with a soft soiree, in awe of how he’d held onto the smallest shred of their past.

How was he supposed to tell her that he’d never forget? That he sometimes ordered it for himself, just so the smell could dreg up an innocent memory or two. “You ordered it every time we came here,” he shrugged, glancing away, “And we came here a lot.”

Her gaze weaved through the patrons, eventually finding a wicker table for two near the back of the establishment, with a window view. It was the perfect place for couples to get cozy without receiving judgmental glances and lingering stares. It used to be their table but that afternoon, it was occupied by two strangers who’d never know the history shared between two lovers that had let something so precious escape them. “We did,” she agreed absently, watching the pair share pecks between sips from steaming mugs. That used to be them.

Noticing her far away look, Keanu found what she’d been looking at. The reminder that holding Y/n in his arms like that was now nothing but part of the past stung and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous of the unknown couple that sat where they once did. “Do you want to walk instead?”

Reluctantly, she nodded, “Sure, lets go.” As they left the shop, Keanu placed his hand on the center of her back in an unconscious gesture and Y/n suppressed a shudder, caught off guard by how instinctively her body had responded by leaning in before her mind could even permit it. “So,” she eased as they walked along the busy streets, shoppers and pedestrians too caught up in their own busy lives to notice that they were brushing shoulders with a celebrity. And it helped that he was wearing sunglasses. “What have you been up to?”

Shaking his shoulders, “You know,” he took a punctuating sip of his scalding coffee, thinking up ways to make his life sound more exciting than it actually was, “Work, hanging out, dating around, that kind of thing,” he offered nonchalantly, subconsciously trying to show her he’d moved on since their split. At least, he’d tried to.

At the mention of dating, Y/n almost choked on a mouthful of coffee, brashly replacing the cup at her lips with a napkin so she wouldn’t make a mess. Dating around, that wasn’t something she was expecting to hear. It was something she particularly wanted to hear either, because what was a casual mention for him brought a landslide of panic for her. Keanu was moving on and one day, he was going to find someone that would choose him in a way she hadn’t. One day he’d be someone else’s. “That’s…..uh….” exhaling loudly, she mustered up a fake smile, “That’s great! I’m….I’m happy that you’re- you’re um...that’s great Ke,” Y/n stuttered.

“Thanks, I think,” he huffed shyly, “But I’m…..I’m not seeing anyone right now.” Apparently he’d developed a habit of oversharing since he’d met with Y/n merely an hour earlier. Perhaps it was solely because telling her everything used to be habitual.

Her head snapped towards him, eyes wide and lips agape. “You’re not?” She breathed, hoping she didn’t sound too eager. When he confirmed, Y/n proceeded without thinking, “That’s great,” internally kicking herself as soon as she heard the words.

“What?” Keanu halted abruptly, only moving once more to step in front of Y/n. His brows were furrowed and he was starting to wonder if he’d heard her correctly.

“I mean….it’s….not great,” taking a deep breath, Y/n desperately sought to slow the erratic thumping in her chest, finding that the quickest remedy was meeting his whiskey orbs. “It’s….fuck,” she sighed, overwhelmed by the surge of buried feelings that had started welling up since they’d hugged. “I mean…..” Again, Y/n trailed off, at a loss for words, “It’s……”

Bringing his hand up to cup her neck, Keanu leaned down, kissing her slowly, letting instinct take over. He knew what she liked; the slow introduction of his tongue, the way it occasionally glazed over hers and a little nibble on her lower lip to keep things a bit rough. She was liking it then too, Keanu could tell by the way she’d stumbled closer, grasping a fistful of his jacket. “Is that what you were trying to say?” Keanu whispered as they broke.

“Yeah,” a glimmer of a smile tugged at her lips as an idea brewed. “What are you doing this weekend?” She asked softly, the tips of their noses still brushing as they held each other close.

“I’m supposed to spend Christmas at my sister’s,” his words said in a tone that was meant to protect their moment, “Why?”

Dragging her lower lip through her teeth, Y/n debated on whether or not she was about to make a fool of herself. But she had to try; returning to Los Angeles had left her craving Keanu’s company and the fact that they were both single had to mean something. “Spend it with me. We could be like this again….just for a little bit.”

“That’s not a good idea,” he resisted, not really wanting to but knowing that it might be in both their best interests if they didn’t go down that road again; she was leaving after the holidays anyway.

“I know,” Y/n sighed wearily, “But don’t you want to anyways? We could pretend that nothing’s changed,” her free arm rounded Keanu’s neck and her fingers twirled the ends of his hair. “Please, just think about it, okay?”

Conflicted and caught between wanting to be with her, if only for a bit and doing what was best for them both, Keanu took a step back, taking his hand off her and consequently urging Y/n to retract her hold on him. “You can’t come here and just expect me to go along with this.”

“I’m not expecting anything,” she argued, “You were the one that kissed me, and I’m just asking you to consider it. Don’t you miss me? Cause I miss you, Keanu.”

“I….” Mulling on her question, Keanu hit his fist to his thigh, shaking his head, “Doesn’t matter, Y/n,” turning, he walked away without saying goodbye, waving dismissively as he melded into the crowd.

Christmas Day Y/n had tried forcing herself into forgetting how things had gone down with Keanu earlier that week, when she’d asked him to spend Christmas together, the way they had when they were both convinced that they were going to be each other’s forever. But she couldn’t, he’d been on her mind constantly, and every time her phone rang, she’d snatch it up in hopes that he’d changed his mind, and every time, when it was work, or even on of her friends, Y/n felt the sting of disappointment dig at her heart.

Five whole days had passed and she was even starting to get used to it; accepting that she had crossed a line and Keanu was right, when on Christmas day, while she was caught in conversation with her father over very strong eggnog, her mother entered the sitting room, grasping the arm of a familiar figure. Her parents had always adored him, they’d hoped she would marry him, let him be the one that fathered their grandbabies and they were so disappointed when it hadn’t worked out. “Look who’s here!” She announced, squeezing Keanu’s bicep affectionately, broad smile plastered on her face.

“Keanu, son! Look who’s here Y/n!” Her father nudged as if she hadn’t already seen him, standing giddy in the doorway, flashing the room with that movie star grin.

“Yeah dad,” she breathed, not believing her eyes. He’d actually come, even after the way things had ended a few days ago. “What…..what’re you doing here?”

“I’m here to see you sweetheart,” Keanu beamed, slipping away from her mother, approaching Y/n and then bending to kiss the side of her lips. “I thought about what you said,” he whispered, only loud enough for her to hear, “And I miss you too,” he ended his words with another peck, easily wrapping an arm around her shoulders as her family eyed them with confusion. “Y/n invited me, and I was just wondering if that invitation is still open.”

“Of course it is!” Her mother cheered, clapping her hands excitedly, “You know we love having you here Keanu!”

“I’m glad you came,” Y/n shifted in his embrace, standing on her toes so she could peck his cheek, hugging Keanu at the waist. After that, things fell into the way they used to be; like Keanu was part of their family, and for the rest of the evening, he and Y/n had acted as if nothing had changed between them. As if they were still that couple that was so in love that it was hard to believe they’d ever break up. And it was easy to return to being those people too; within an hour together, it was easy to pretend that nothing had changed, to act as if there hadn’t been a fight a few nights before Y/n got on a plane that would whisk her out of his life or Keanu hadn’t called her a week later, drunk out of his mind only to pour his heart out and beg her to come back. It was as if a day hadn’t passed since their last good one and they were still each other’s future.

When presents and dinner was through, and after Keanu had brought a duffle bag up to Y/n’s room and the cool sun had set making way for the glowing moon, he and Y/n had slipped away from the family festivities to go on a walk around the block. They’d shrugged light coats on over their clothes and had linked arms as they strolled up the desolate street, absently staring at the homes illuminated with colorful lights and Christmas decorations. “What made you change your mind?” Y/n probed, nuzzling his arm, subconsciously hoping he wouldn’t change it again.

“I don’t think I did change it,” Keanu mused, keeping his eyes forward, “I was always gonna come. You know me; I can’t seem to stay away from you,” he gently tugged her closer. Being with her like that, it felt like right, like things were finally the way they were supposed to be, “I miss us, you know?”

“Mm hmm,” he she hummed, resting her head on her bicep, letting Keanu guide them forward with complete trust, “I miss us too. You’d like it there,” she said, referring to where she’d started building her new life, trying to keep them from lapsing into silence.

“Yeah?” He kicked a pebble absently, wondering what it would be like if he ever did move. Could he do that? Leave his family back in L.A to be with Y/n? She was worth it, after all, she was the only woman he’d ever seen himself having a future with. “I think you’re the only person I’ve ever met that wanted to leave Los Angeles to make it big,” he changed the topic, too fearful to let the thought of leaving behind everything he’d built for himself in California cement itself. Maybe they were selfish, Keanu thought, that was why things couldn’t work out for them; cause neither of them was willing to adjust what they wanted outside of each other.

“I think you might be right,” Y/n chuckled and it wasn’t long before they'd fallen into what she’d dreaded; silence. Back at the house, she had the cover of menial chatter, but on the barren sidewalk, where there was nothing to shroud the heaviness of things that were kept guarded, it was different. The atmosphere was clumsy and she felt a way she never had around Keanu; uncomfortable.

“I’d gotten you something,” he broke the quiet, sounding unsure of himself, “Before you told me you were leaving for the job, I’d gotten you something. Well, technically, it was given to me, for you, I guess.”

Throwing him a curious glance, she urged him to slow down, “I don’t understand,” knitting her brows, Y/n silently pleaded with him to elaborate.

“Your mom,” he explained, “She gave me your grandmother’s ring…”

“You were gonna….” Maybe if she’d known before she would have changed her mind.

“Yeah,” he sighed heavily, reminiscing on how that night had gone. How’d they texted each other excitedly on their way home, how he’d insisted she go first, only to hold himself back when she broke the news that the job might threaten to tear her away from him. Long distance wasn’t for them and Keanu knew that moving wasn’t in the cards for him. “Were you mad at me?” She probed meekly.

Huffing a dry chuckle, Keanu shook his head, “No, when I saw how your eyes lit up when you told me about it, all I wanted was for you to be happy, even if that meant it wouldn’t be here, with me.”

“I was happy with you,” they stopped, and turned to face each other, hands still tangled, and unchecked tears threatening to spill over as her voice broke, “I think I was happier with you.”

“I know,” his tone was low and husky as Keanu stepped closer, muting the few inches of space between them. She didn’t need to ask how he did and Keanu had no cause to explain; they knew each other better than most ever would; he could pick up on her faked smiles from a mile away. “Would it be wrong if I asked you to stay?”

Still trying to fight the wave of emotion, Y/n looked at their interlocked fingers, frowning at how well they worked together. No other hands would ever feel like that, and she’d long made peace with the fact. “Would it be wrong if I asked you to wait?”

Closing his eyes, he bent lower to press his forehead to hers, letting her scent tickle his senses. It was as if he was trying to freeze himself in time, so he’d be forever basking in the sweet smell of her perfume and the comfort of her touch while the warmth that radiated between them, tethering him to her was one he was sure he could never remember to its exact perfection. Why couldn’t things be easier? “I’m sorry,” he shuddered, letting his breaths be captured by her quivering lips.

“It’s my fault,” Y/n exhaled, sniffling, “But at least we have right now, right?”

Keanu hugged her low at the waist, burning his face in Y/n’s hair while she sought refuge in the crook of his neck, “Yeah,” hot tears made their slow journey down his his cheek, and he could feel moisture soaking his t shirt where Y/n had buried her face, “At least we have now.”

Even if it would never be enough, for now, it was all they had.

*****

Tagging- @harrisongslimited @magnificentclodpiebanana @keandrews @greenmanalishi @rdjloverxxx @danceoftwowolves @planetkt @wheretheriversrunintothesea

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves x you #keanu reeves fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #tis the damn season #angst #john wick #holiday fic #kind of

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ficsnroses · 4 years

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Shower - Keanu Reeves x Reader

Hope you like it!

Word Count : 4690

Warnings : NSFW, Smut, Shower Sex. 18+ only. Fluff.

Summary : After Y/N returns from lunch with friends, and Keanu returns from training, they decide to have a *steamy* shower session together.

A/N : There is plot lol I swear. Also side note, this is my first actual smut centered one shot & I’m still trying to learn how to write smut pls be nice :(

The lacy bra you were wearing had begun to really pierce into your skin, as you had finally pulled into the driveway of your home. You had just returned from a small brunch get together a couple of your friends threw in their home. It was a semi formal affair, you had opted for a long sleeve short dress best suited for the January cold, and some classic heels.

Keanu hadn’t been able to come with you today, which did upset you minisculely, although you knew he would have been there with you, had it been in his power. He was currently in the training paradigm, getting prepared for upcoming projects; possessing an immense passion for the craft, nonetheless, and that was enough to keep you happy. Knowing he was happy.

A few people had inquired on his whereabouts, why he hadn’t accompanied you to the party. Keanu was a private man, translating to much of the industry populace being unaware of your relationship. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean it hadn’t been speculated by the mass of the tabloids. Whether it was a cradle of hands during an evening city walk, or candid portraits clicked at dinner, it had been a frequent in Hollywood news. It was bound to happen, you had been in a committed relationship for a little over three & a half years now.

Regardless, both your friend circles and acquaintances knew. Everyone you’d regularly socialized with knew how smitten you were by each other, and how well things were progressing. Needless to say however, much like today, there were plenty of times Keanu couldn’t company you to events hosted, due to his jam packed schedule. You didn’t mind, he’d never let the thought of you not being his biggest priority cross your mind. You knew just how much you meant to him. He showed you that in private, to the only person who really mattered. It was irritating when people constantly pressed on your relationship, asking where he was. You didn’t like feeling compelled to prove how inviolable your relationship was to the world.

Stepping out of the car, you felt small beads of water begin to pepper your skin. The news reported a storm approaching, the gray clouds, as big, somber balls of cotton in the sky proved right. With a scamper, you bolt to the door, your need desperate to get out of the rather uncomfortable outfit. With the auburn and earthy dead winter leaves propelling themselves through the atmosphere, and a wind chill, cold and arctic practically roaring at your exposed skin, you sighed relief once you reached the front door.

With a jingle of your keys, you let yourself in, immediately rushing up the wooden stairs as you kick your heels off. The house was hushed, peaceful, everything left untouched. Keanu wouldn’t be home for a few hours, presumably. Sighing, you run a hand through your now tousled hair, letting yourself into your shared bedroom, the white framed door creaking in the process. You swore your eyes must have lit up a golden hue, seeing Keanu unpacking his gym bag by the dresser, throwing dirty clothes into the wash hamper. His eyes find yours, spotting you walk into the bed room.

“Hey, beautiful.” He smiles, eyeing your outfit. Anytime Keanu saw you in a dress, he felt his breath hitch. He loved how astounding, staggering your legs looked, velvety and silken. How perfectly crafted your body beheld, the dress perfectly embracing each curve, highlighting your femininity in all the right ways.

“Hi. You’re home early?” you say, as you walk up to him, enclosing your arms around his neck, stowing a kiss on his cheek. His arms wrap around your waist immediately.

“Finished early. How was it? You look stunning, hun.” he replies, observing your lips, smoothing his hands over your hips. You run your hand through his hair, ruffling it a little, before sighing.

“It was alright. Everyone kept asking where you were.” You tried your best not to frown, intending to refrain making him feel bad. You knew he wanted to be there with you. “It’s alright though, work is important.” You smiled, cupping his cheek, assuring him.

“I’m sorry, baby. You know I’d be there in a heartbeat if I could. You’re not upset, right?” he asks, grabbing the wrist of your hand caressing his cheek, pressing a feather light kiss onto it.

“No, of course not.” You promise. “Why are you so warm and damp?” You chuckle, rubbing his shoulder.

He begins to back away out of your touch. “I’m all sweaty and gross. Sorry.” He frowns. You grin back, turning to walk away from him as you throw your hair into a messy bun.

“You know I don’t mind, love.” As you walked to your vanity, you began taking off your earrings in the process. “How was training? You’re not too sore, are you?”

“I’m alright. Could really use a shower.” He speaks from the other side of the room. He’s browsing his side of the walk in for a fresh pair of shirt and pants. Sauntering out, his favourite gray Arch t-shirt in hand, paired with black sweats, he catches a glimpse of you sat on your vanity, wiping off your makeup. To him, you looked divine, beatific, bewitching. In moments like this, when you were quite frankly just doing you own thing, existing around him, he found himself immensely in awe with you. How deep he’d fallen in love with you over the years. You seize him staring through the mirror. “Care to help me with my zipper?” you smile.

“Of course.” He walks up behind you, crouching slightly to reach the top of your zip. As he brings it down steadily, gradually exposing your back, your skin looking so seamless and smooth, he finds his pants grow a little tighter than before. As the sleeves of the dress fall gracefully off your shoulders, leaving them bare, you wince slightly at the cold air that brushes them.

Keanu can’t help himself, as he brings his hands to rest on your waist, his head finding comfort in the crook of your neck. His tender lips are browsing the skin, placing delicate kisses along the surface. Every now and then, his tongue softly grazes your neck, nibbling, causing butterflies to quiver in your mid. You bring your hand up behind you, to tangle in his soft, lengthy locks. “Baby…” you gasp.

As Keanu’s hands begin to lightly move, massaging your hips, you know he’s in the mood for a quick…or not to quick rumble. Truthfully, you wouldn’t mind being with him right now, having him. Despite your busy lives, together and apart, your sex life had never suffered, your desire for each other still as strong since the day you met. As you turn around, faintly touching, facing him, his lips are now on your jaw, tugging at the dress that still rests above your chest. “Can I?” he asks, asking permission to discard it off you fully.

“You know you don’t have to ask…” you bite your lip, staring him right in the eyes, your own orbs suggestive. Keanu doesn’t linger a second longer, skillful fingers beginning to peel the material off your delicate, exquisite skin. As he finds your breasts, covered with the lace bra, he immediately begins placing open mouthed kisses just above the fabric, stocky fingers working at the hook. “So beautiful, baby. Just for me.” He breaths, as you palm his now very distinguishable bulge. You nudge him gently, raising yourself to stand as his hands refuse to leave your body.

“How’s that shower sound?” you say breathlessly, gripping his nape.

“Sounds fucking amazing.” He smiles, capturing your lips in a searing kiss. You disconnect briefly, taking hold of his hand as you lead him into your master bathroom. With the lights flickering on, his hands are right back on your hips, as he gently guides you to the counter.

“Wait, you’re not too tired or sore for a round, right?” you ask quietly, cautiously scratching his beard, your noses barely touching. He loved the way you always made sure he was okay, and cared for him, no matter the situation.

“Oh baby, I’m never too tired for you.” He smirks. “I’ll never be able to say no to you. For anything.” He stares you intently right in the eyes, for a moment. You knew each word escaping his lips was true, coming right from the honest depths of his heart. He’d do anything for you.

With a gentle prop, he places you on the granite counter, you moan as his lips find their way back to your neck, beginning to fiddle with the hook of your bra again. As the material falls, he glides the straps off your shoulders, his ruff beard gently scratching your skin as he takes a nipple into his mouth. You can’t help but moan at the feeling of him so close, all his attention diverted on you, pleasing you. He always knew just where to touch you, just where to dance his lips across your skin.

Sometimes you thought he had memorized your body just as well as a bass guitar he would play on stage, knowing by heart exactly which strings to pull, exactly how to play the rhythm, which riffs would provoke a melody. His breath is warm, tantalizing, as he brushes, nibbling the delicate skin just below your ear.

You snake your hand into the waist band of his pants, sliding it into his boxers. Your lips curl at how hard he already is for you. Taking his length into your palm, you stroke him, mid shaft to tip. “Feel good, baby?” you ask, looking down at your hand pumping him inside his pants.

“So good. You make me feel so good, sweetheart.” He moans, his head tilting back, his own large palm coming down to grope over your hand inside his pants.

“Take it off, babe.” You tug at his sweats, urging him to pull them down for you to remark him in his entirety. He obliges, tugging at your waist to pull down the sheer tights that accompanied your dress, along with your panties. His cock has grown bigger, and its began to throb, each vein becoming clearer, more prominent. It’s only inches away from you, practically poking at your thigh as he stands between your legs. Your mind races, aching for him to be buried deep, deep inside you.

You resume stroking Keanu’s member, his hooded eyes watching as he slips through your grip, dewdrops of pre cum seeping, helping him glide in your hand. A few hoarse moans sashay out his lips, teeth biting the skin in ecstasy. He brings his large hands to cup your breasts, gently massaging them, watching how they bounce in his grip. You tug at his shirt, urging him to take it off. Once he’s pulled it over his head, you reach down to run your fingers softly over his large stomach scar. He’d got it years before he met you, on a motorcycle accident. You always enforced him to be careful when he went on bike rides, the thought of him getting into another accident so big never truly would leave your mind. He’d assure you he was careful, always bound to find his way back home to you.

Cupping his face between your hands, you bring your lips to kiss his once again. Something about kissing him was so, so intimate to you. The way his tongue felt; tasted against yours, an after hint of smoked tobacco always lingering, his taste so uniquely intoxicating; way you could sense each steady breath. His hands roamed your body, making it their alter, which only turned you on more by the second. As his hand travels down further and further, it ceases where you needed him most. He gently rubs your folds, that have gradually grown wetter and wetter, two fingers slipping inside briefly, curling, preparing you to take him. You swore you didn’t mean for your lips to let out such a sultry, louder than intended moan as you watch him bring his fingers up, licking them clean, eyes never leaving yours.

You grab his shoulders, hopping off the counter, grabbing his hand once again to lead him to the shower. As you turn it on, you test the temperature quickly, slipping a hand under the steady stream. “Ah! Cold cold!” you whimper, jumping back slightly.

He’s amused, watching you. You make sure to sway your hips a little, sticking out your ass a little more than usual. He brings a broad hand to slap it gently. “Peachy.” He grins, as you smirk. You heard a deep rumble of his chest, as he brings your entwined hands up to his lips to place a kiss to your palm. “You’re so adorable. I love you.” He grins.

“Oo! It’s ready.” You chirp, stepping into the shower, Keanu following behind. Once both in, he situates himself behind you, steady stream of steamy aqua cascading water droplets down your skin. He’s got his sizeable arms wrapped around you, pulling you into his chest, your back pressing against him. There was something so right, so emitting of being home, when his arms were wrapped around you like that. The warmth, the security of his embrace, capturing you. He rests his chin on top of your head, both closing your eyes, sulking in the moment. It was nice to be in such a vulnerable setting together, feeling each other’s bare skin, knowing there’s not a single barrier between you two.

As you palm his length once again, remembering what you were in the middle of, he sneaks his hand down to your heat, rubbing at your sensitive bundle of nerves. ‘Let me taste you, darling.” He whispers lightly into your ear, gently nudging you to turn, lips on your neck. As you follow suite, he guides you to the shower wall, kissing your lips briefly, before trailing lower, and lower, as he’s kneeled down in front of you, his hands on your hips. “Can you lift this up for me, darling?” he asks, gently nudging your leg to drape over his shoulder, allowing him better access to your basically drenched cunt.

Hoisting your leg up, placing it over his shoulder, your hand tangles in his hair. Within seconds, his face is buried between your crotch, his skilled tongue lapping at your clit, licking long strokes across your heat. He slips in a finger, adding two gradually, pumping in and out as his breath is so hot on you, sucking feverishly on your clit, your hips bucking in his favour. Your eyes close, incoherent moans escaping your lips as you tug on his raven mane.

“Keanu…oh gosh…harder, please.” You gasp, widening your legs to allow him better access. “Harder, sweetheart?” he suggests, pumping his stocky fingers in and out of you faster, curling them more now, making sure to rock his hand so skillfully, his tongue doing wonders on your clit. You were practically squirming under his touch. The determination to bring you to your edge was intense in him, visible in his hazel eyes, perceptible in the way his hands moved on you. You could feel the pit in your stomach building, as the steamy air lingered on your skin, the water vapour so gently kissing your body, your gentle, gaspy moans muffled by the shower spray. “Yes, baby. Just like that right there, please don’t stop.” You begged, eyes closed, head tilted back against the shower wall. Within seconds, Keanu has you coming loud, moaning his name, your release coating his fingers.

“You sound so beautiful, love, saying my name like that. Don’t think I can ever get tired of this.” He smiles, raising himself up, making sure to hold onto you tight, as he can tell your knees have fallen weak, your breath heavy from the mind blowing orgasm he just gave you, so effortlessly.

“You got another one in you for me, baby?” he asks, his forehead pressed against yours now, pressing a kiss to your cheek. He tucks your dripping strands of hair behind your ear, pressing kisses wherever he pleased. You nod frantically, rubbing his nape. He’s still got you pinned to the wall, his overlong hair dripping at the ends, tiny turquoise globes of water peppering his face. The beauty of his features, the exaggeration of just how perfectly sculpted he was, was so prominent in that moment. You couldn’t help but appreciate how beautiful he looked. Handsome, sure, but the word didn’t do justice to the man who held you tight in his grip right now. He was beautiful.

Fingers ghosting his chest, you begin to lower yourself in his grip, ready to satisfy your man on your knees. Keanu tightens his grip on you, however, delicately stopping you. “No, princess. I won’t last.” He chuckles. His fingers are back on your cunt, slowly, sensually massaging. “This is where I want you. Where I can feel you.” his voice is deep and sultry, alluring, and it’s making you lose control.

You stare him right in the eyes, your gazes never faltering from each other. “Ke?” you say in a low, barely audible voice.

“Yeah?” he replies, his hands rubbing up and down your sides as you pull him closer by his nape. “I love you.”

You needed to say that to him.

“I love you more.” He smiles, pressing a few needy kisses to your lips, sensory, and affectionate.

“Take me. I need you.” You stroke his rock hard length once again, gently pulling, urging him to make home within you. You prop your foot up onto the edge of the tub, one leg holding you steady on the ground, although much of the work was being done by Keanu’s herculean arms holding you tight, fixated.

Keanu brings your leg that rests on the bathroom ledge to wrap around his waist, in attempt to pull you closer to his skin. Grabbing his cock, he guides himself into you, entering inch by inch, slow, gradual, allowing you to adjust to the first few inches.

He’s big, beautiful, and warm, the sensation so good, stretching you, but leaving a burn. No matter how many times you’d had time, he always took getting used to at first. He smiles big, knowing he had that effect on you. You can tell he’s proud of himself. “Tell me when, princess.” He whispers, making sure to press a kiss to your bottom lip.

You nod when you’re ready, eyes closed shut, as you place both hands on his ass, urging him to move. With one hard thrust, he’s fully in, setting the pace as he thrusts in and out slowly at first, the pads of his calloused fingers nipping into your hips, keeping you in place. A string of moans escapes his lips, as his head falls back, his cock twitching within you. “I can’t believe I get to do this. Can’t believe I get to make love to you, whenever I want. Fuck you, when I want.” His hoarse voice fills the shower room walls. He opens his eyes to look at you, your eyes still closed, flustered, taking in shallow, moany breaths as your swollen breasts bounce beautifully to his pace. Your skin is glowing, glimmering in the humid bathroom walls from all the steam.

“Do you want me to make love to you, sweetheart? I can go slow if you want.” He breaths, watching himself slip in and out of you so easily. His cock is glistening with your slickness, the sounds of him moving in and out turning both of you on more and more. “You sound so sweet, so tender, so drenched for me.”

You smile, eyes still fluttered closed, your head resting on the wall behind. “Just the way you like it.”

“Give me a little of both. Show me what you got, Reeves.” You grin, your wet hair clinging to your silky, smooth skin. He’s burying himself gaping, deep, profound inside, fully, each time. His thrusts are moving in and out leisurely, focusing on just making each other feel close, connected by each other’s bodies. You don’t think you can ever get over this, ever get tired of feeling him so deep inside of you, knowing you’re the only woman in the world who gets to feel him this way. The sounds that leave his lips are only an added ecstasy. Your favourite sound in existence.

“Fuck, Y/n,” he mumbles, eyes shut tight, burying his face in the valley of your breasts.

“Is it good, baby? Do you like how needy you’ve got me wrapped around you?” you moan into his ear, one hand holding onto his shoulder, the other massaging the back of his head that’s made camp between your breasts.

“So good baby. You’re so good for me.”, is all he manages to get out, before his lips are attaching to your skin, placing sensitive, wet kisses all over your chest. As he continues to pump in and out, he brings one of his hands from your hips up to cup your cheek. “I love you so much, baby.” He breaths, thrusts becoming needier by the second. You can’t bring yourself to reply, although, a particularly loud moan echoes from your mouth, bouncing off the four walls. He grabs a fistful of your hair, tugging lightly. “So fucking much.” He reiterates.

“Can you go harder, Ke? Please?” you ask, your tone stifling, grabbing both his shoulders for balance.

“Harder?” he asks, placing a kiss to your collarbone. “Do you trust me, sweetheart?” he asks, between moans.

“Of course.” You reply, fingernails now raking into his biceps.

“Then I need you to do something for me, princess.” He asserts, staring you into your glossy eyes. It wasn’t that you were crying, your eyes had filled. Keanu was fucking you so good, so well, it made a few tears threaten to fall. It felt like the best feeling that could ever be felt. Too special, too precious. “I need you to wrap your other leg around my waist as well. Can you do that for me, love?” he asks intently, tone full of affection, adoration, and care, as he lifts your chin up with his index finger.

You swallow, nodding. You trust him. “Gimmie a litte jump then, sweetheart.” He says, grabbing the back of your thigh to support you, as you raise your feet off the ground with a hop, wrapping your other leg around his waist as well now. He’s got you pinned against the wall, completely levitating off the ground, both legs wrapped securely around him as he’s buried entirely inside your cunt. You loved how he had complete control over you in this moment, granted permission to do whatever he wanted, however fast, however hard he wanted. You were entirely at his mercy, completely wanton, so voluptuous.

He begins thrusting hard, and faster into you, holding you steady in his arms and the wall. His hands are definitely leaving bruises on your skin, but you don’t mind. You only wrap your arms tighter around his neck, clinging to him as his thrusts have become more rapid, urgent.

“Do you like that?” he asks, voice low and grumbly, full of lust. You only manage to nod and bite your lip, speechless and out of breath. The familiar pit in your stomach is rising again, and you fear you wont be able to last much longer, Keanu so expertly thrashing, hitting all your right nerves, he’s begun to fuck you senseless against the wall.

“Oh god, fuck baby. You’re making me feel so fucking good.” He’s biting his lip as well, trying to keep from screaming your name.

“You’re so vocal today.” You smile at him, bringing a hand to tangle in his hair.

“I can’t help it. You feel so fucking good today, Y/N. I can’t praise you enough, honey.” He moans, his voice shaky now. He’s shuddering, cock twitching, you can tell he’s nearing release. Rocking his hips, he begins rolling them to flawlessly hitting all the right nerves in your mid, you feel they’re going to snap at how expertly he’s bringing you closer and closer to the edge. The sound of his skin slapping yours is filling the room, and it’s killing you. His skin, slapping yours, hastily, senselessly.

Holding tighter to your waist now, Keanu begins pouring all his might into giving you some final hard thrusts. He’s pushing as much as himself possible into you, and you can’t help but scream, bringing your arms tighter around him, your lips attaching to his shoulder, biting, trying to muffle your yelps.

“Where do you want it, baby?” he asks, thrusting still, hasty.

“Inside. I wanna feel it.” Your breath hitches, anticipating his warmth spilling inside you any second now. You bring your hand down to lazily rub a few circles on your clit. Normally, Keanu would do this for you as he moved in and out of you, however, his arms were full holding you up. Within a few more particularly forceful, ridged thrusts, you’re unravelling around him, screaming, shrieking his name, as your nails rake across his back, definitely leaving marks.

“Ke, oh my gosh, Ke. You’re so good to me baby. So fucking good.” You’re breathless, collapsing on his shoulder, trying to steady your breathing as he’s still thrusting diligently. You’re riding out your high, as Keanu moans louder than he’s moaned the entire session, buried deep, heavy inside, as you feel him shoot creamy ribbons of his seed into you. He’s moaning your name, eyes clasped shut as his face is buried in your chest, your breasts providing him a safe haven.

You let him finish, stroking his hair, placing delicate, kind, heartfelt kisses onto his head, as he manages to collect himself once again.

You gently tap his hand to let you down. He does, and you immedietly hold onto him again to steady your balance. He chuckles, grasping your waist tight again. “You good, love?” he asks.

“Never been better.” You grin, cupping his face with both hands, to place a tender kiss to his lips. “Thank you so much, babe. That may have been the best you’ve ever fucked me. It was new, I liked it.” You smile lovingly at him, gently stroking some wet hair out of his eyes. He still looks dreamy, his skin flushed, red patches on his neck and chest. He sure knew how to treat his lady.

“I liked it too. You were so good, Y/N. I’m proud of you.” He hugs you close to his chest, pulling you in, positioning you both under the temperate spray of the water.

”We should try out new places more. Its a lot more exciting than our bed.” you giggle.

“Anywhere for you, doll.” he presses a kiss to your lips, his hands stoking, palms soothingly running up and down your back. Keanu was just as amazing during aftercare, as he was during the deed. He basically made your heart flutter with how loving, gentle, and caring he would always be after sex.

Good thing you were already in the shower, the mess you both would have left on the sheet would have been quite the task to clean. You could still feel his sticky release coating the inside of your thighs, trickling down.

Your eyes dart to his shoulder, where you’d left a very prominent bite mark from when you had reached your end, the sensation too much to endure. “Oh my, shit. I’m sorry.” you trace your fingers over the scar, frowning. “Does it hurt, babe?”

“Not at all. Kinda sexy, actually.” he declares. You ruffle his hair, laughing.

You rest your head on his chest, closing your eyes. He rests his head on top of yours, closing his earthy eyes as well, arms holding you close. You both enjoy the moment, holding each other in your embrace, feeling each other’s heartbeats finally calm down, your skin sticking together. After a few moments of very comfortable silence, resting with your love, Keanu speaks.

“Hey, sweetheart, I hope you’re not too upset over me not being able to make it out today.” He frowns. You move your head back to look at him, brining your hand to rest on his bearded cheek.

“Baby, I’m not at all. I promise. I know how much you love me, and I know that when something truly significant comes up, you’ll be there with me. I trust you fully, Keanu.” You smile, kissing the corner of his mouth. “Please don’t upset yourself. I love you so much.” You restate. He brings your wrist to place a kiss to the side of it.

“I love you too, Y/N. So much.”

You grin momentarily, a smirk planting itself on your lips. “If only I could tell all those… inquisitive people at the party just how much, how good my man loves me. How well he takes care of me. Treats me like his queen.”

Keanu lets a laugh out of his chest, with a rumble. “Aren’t you a feisty little vixen.”

“Can’t help it. You just felt so good today.” You smirk, repeating his words from earlier. Keanu presses another closed mouth kiss to your lips, and another to your forehead. Subsequently, he grabs the shower cream off the lip of the tub to lather into his hands, before massaging it over your back, your shoulders, your breasts, pressing kisses to your nose and your cheeks in the process.

“Shall we wash up?” he smiles his dreamy smile at you. You laugh, before pressing a kiss to his chest, rubbing it soothingly. “Yeah.” You reply, grabbing the shower gel, to lather into your hands, so you can enjoy a nice, long, intimate shower with the man of your dreams. The love of your life.

And you needed to prove that to no one.

No one but him.

*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

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omg-imagine · 4 years

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⊱ Forget Me Not (1/15) ⊰

Pairing: Keanu Reeves x Reader

Summary: After you wake up from a coma and realize that your memories from the last five years have been erased, Keanu works to bring back what you have lost.

Words: 2k

Warnings: Mention of car accident, injuries

A/N: This is my first attempt in doing a series and I’m super excited/nervous. Everything’s mostly outlined already and I’m hoping to post a new chapter every Sunday. If you’d like to be tagged in this, let me know!

As always, I hope you enjoy!

The heavy rain poured down from the dark skies, battering against the roof of Keanu’s Porsche like a hail of bullets. Loud roars of thunder filled the gaps of silence every few minutes, followed by bright flashes of lightning that illuminated the world outside. The wipers moved impressively fast as they tried to sweep the droplets of water away from the windshield. Still, they could barely keep up with the torrent of rain hammering the city of Los Angeles.

Turning down a corner, Keanu cursed under his breath when he realized that the road was flooded. He quickly made a U-Turn back onto the main street, his tires skidding across the wet pavement. He searched for an alternative way that he could take, but the chaotic storm only made it more difficult for him to do so. He could hardly see what was ahead of him, and he was beginning to lose his patience.

Fortunately, Keanu was able to find an access road leading to the freeway. He knew it wasn’t safe going twenty miles above the posted speed limit, but he had already lost too much time trying to navigate through the storm. All he cared about at that moment was that the faster he drove, the quicker he got to you.

He could still remember every word of that phone call from nearly an hour ago. It was from an unknown number, and initially, he didn’t want to answer it just in case you decided to call him back. But something in his gut told Keanu to answer, and he did. It had been a nurse on the other line saying that you were in an accident, and you were rushed to the emergency room in critical condition. As soon as he heard that you were hurt, he was already running out of the door.

His eyes glistened as he thought back to the moment before you had left your shared home in such a haste. Keanu blamed himself for giving you a reason to leave the house while a storm raged outside. He should have held back his tongue, took your car keys, and convinced you harder enough to stay. If only he had done just that, you wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

The rest of the drive to the hospital was a blur. After driving for fifteen minutes when it should have taken Keanu at least thirty, he finally arrived in front of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He parked his vehicle in a nearby lot before rushing towards the entrance, the pitiless rain soaking his hair and clothes in an instant. Reaching the glass doors, they parted for Keanu to step inside, and he immediately headed to the main desk ahead.

“Hi, I-I’m here for my partner, Y/N Y/LN,” he managed to say as he caught his breath.

The nurse nodded, checking her system for your information. “Yes, I was the one who called. Your name was listed as Y/N’s emergency contact. According to the last update on here, it says that she was wheeled into surgery about thirty minutes ago, Mr. Reeves.”

“Is she going to be alright?” Keanu asked wearily, hoping that her answer was what he wanted to hear.

It wasn’t.

“We don’t know yet, sir,” she replied sadly before placing a clipboard on top of the counter. “You can sit in the waiting room until the procedure is over. In the meantime, we need you to fill out these papers on her behalf.”

With a nod of his head, Keanu walked down the hall with the paperwork and a pen in hand. The waiting area was stark and quiet. The television mounted on the wall was playing a movie, not that there was anyone paying attention to it. There were a couple of other people scattered in the room, though most were asleep due to the late hour of the night.

Keanu took a lone seat in one corner of the room, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of his drenched clothing sticking to his skin. He then pushed his long hair back, letting out a deep sigh. The adrenaline had finally subsided, and he had the opportunity to just breathe. He already knew that this was going to be a long wait, and he didn’t want to spend the whole time mulling about the things that he could have done to prevent this. As a start, he decided to concentrate on filling up the paper with your information first.

Most of the questions it asked were basic, nothing that Keanu couldn’t answer. After being together for nearly five years, he knew everything there was to know about you. He knew all of your favorite songs, the foods you liked and disliked, the names of your closest friends, and more.

You had been nothing but kind and understanding to Keanu from the moment you two met. It wasn’t an easy life living under the public eye because of his job as an actor, but you’ve always handled it so well. No other person he has ever dated had made him feel so happy and complete. To him, you were the most precious thing in the entire world, and he has never loved someone so deeply until you came along.

God, why did he have to screw up so badly?

Keanu set aside the clipboard and buried his face in his hands. He needed to call your parents and tell them what had happened. With a sharp exhale, he fished out his phone from his pocket and called your father. As the phone rang in his ear, he planned inside his head how he was going to break the news.

“Hi, Keanu,” your father greeted. He sounded as if he had just woken up, which he probably did. It was only five in the morning where they lived on the east coast. “Is everything okay, son?”

Son. Keanu was very close to your parents since the day you introduced him to them. They had quickly taken a liking on him, seeing that he was the first man you’ve dated that treated you right. Your parents loved Keanu as if he were one of their own, and it broke his heart knowing that this was all his fault.

“I’m sorry for waking you up, but...” Keanu began, his voice starting to break as he tried to find the right words. “It’s Y/N.”

“What? What happened?”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Keanu told your father about your current condition. As expected, your parents would be taking the first flight out of New York to be with you. After an exchange of reassuring words, the call ended, and Keanu couldn’t hold back any longer, letting his tears finally fall.

An hour went by, then another and another. The clock on display made time felt as though it was moving much slower, making the wait much more unbearable. Keanu would glance up, and in every instance, he swore that the second hand would linger an extra minute at every passing second.

The padded chairs didn’t bring much comfort throughout the night. Every so often, he would walk around the room, stretching his legs for a bit before returning to his seat. Despite exhaustion threatening to take over, Keanu pushed it aside for as long as he could. He was afraid that if he dared to shut his eyes, he would see the nightmare that was already haunting him even while awake.

Keanu did whatever he could to pass the time. He texted his mother and sisters about where you were, not expecting an answer right away because he was sure they were still asleep. He then attempted to read some of the outdated magazines available and watched whatever was on the television. He even resorted to simply staring at the window and watching the rain as it pelted against the glass.

But none of them were enough to distract Keanu. All he could think about was your well-being, and how you didn’t deserve to go through this. He didn’t want to lose you, and the mere thought of it was scaring him. You had so much life left to live, and it wouldn’t be fair for the universe to suddenly take it away.

Eventually, the storm relented, and the skies that were black shifted to blue, signaling a new day of life. The sun rose slowly yet surely, its natural light bringing a sense of calm to Keanu. For a brief moment, he basked in the peacefulness, only wishing that you were there with him to enjoy it.

“Mr. Reeves?”

Keanu turned around, his eyes catching sight of a doctor standing before him. He instantly pushed himself up from his seat, extending his hand for a shake.

“Keanu, and you must be Y/N’s doctor.”

“Yes, my name is Dr. Henderson,” the older gentleman introduced. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing alright, I guess,” he replied with a slight shrug. “How’s Y/N?”

“Well, when Y/N first arrived, she was in bad shape, but we managed to stabilize her. The car accident caused a lot of internal bleeding that we were able to stop during the surgery,” Henderson explained as Keanu took in every word that was said. “Unfortunately, she’s not out of the woods yet. She did sustain severe head trauma, and as a result, she’s currently in a coma. We won’t know the extent of her injuries until after she wakes up.”

Keanu lowered his head, releasing the breath he was holding. “And when will she wake up?”

The doctor sighed, and that’s when Keanu looked up, seeing the uncertainty painted on the other man’s face. “I’m sorry, Mr. Reeves. We don’t know how long it’ll take. It could be days, weeks, maybe even months.”

“Okay,” was all that Keanu could say after a while. “Can I see her?”

Dr. Henderson gave him a sympathetic smile and a nod. “Of course.”

Henderson led the way as Keanu trailed closely behind. The walk to your room seemed endless. Every hallway they turned down to looked the same as the last. The blank white walls of the hospital felt cold, constricting and unwelcoming, it was becoming a place where a person like you shouldn’t belong.

Soon, they reached the foot of your door, your last name printed on a placard just below the room number. All Keanu had to do now was push down on the handle and open the door. His mind prepared him for what he was about to see. But as soon as he entered inside, it was worse than what he could imagine.

He crossed the room with cautious steps, afraid that if he were loud enough, it might disturb you. Your body was hooked on many machines, none of which he could possibly know what for other than they helped keep you alive. Once he reached your bedside, Keanu saw your delicate skin littered with the reds of your scratches and the blues of your bruises. Seeing you this way made his chest tightened, and if he could, he would trade places with you so that you no longer had to suffer.

Your body laid very still, and it was unnerving for Keanu to witness. Bringing a chair closer, he then sat down beside your bed, reaching out to hold your uninjured hand. He asked himself how you could look so peaceful after experiencing so much pain. If you had been awake, you would have surely given him a smart answer, and the two of you would then laugh about it.

Keanu felt the tears pricking his eyes as he continued to grasp your hand in his. He would do anything in the world just to hear the sweet sound of your laughter again. Though he was unsure of what tomorrow and the following days would bring, he knew that he would be right there by your side, waiting for you to wake up from your deep sleep.

Because despite everything that has happened, Keanu loved you, and he made a vow that he would never give up on you no matter what.

Part 2

Tagged: @penwieldingdreamer

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves x you #reader insert #my fics #rpf

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in-this-body-of-mine · 3 years

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To The Bone (2017) - Analysis and Charting

Let’s go! I’m NOT excited because life is hard but what better way to distract myself than to do this kind of shit. No one cares, anyways.

Since this is the first one, let me tell you what we’re gonna do here. I’ll include the IMDB summary, a summary with spoilers, the placements in the chart, we’ll go over each item (also, spoilers abound) and finally my review and final thoughts. Yes, it’s gonna be long. Read at your own risk.

IMDB summary: A young woman, dealing with anorexia, meets an unconventional doctor who challenges her to face her condition and embrace life.

Summary with spoilers: Lily Collins plays Ellen/Eli and from the start of the movie she is on the brink of her disease. She was just kicked out of a recovery center and she gets an appointment with a ~cool unconventional doctor~ played by Keanu Reeves. She goes into ANOTHER inpatient treatment home to be treated by him. Shit happens, she seems to be getting better somehow, but then she spirals down, runs away, and after a... near death experience (I wish this was an euphemism) she decides to try recovery again and goes back to the treatment home. That’s where the movie ends.

Chart placements!

Now for each item:

White: Ellen or Eli is played by Lily Collins, who once played Sandra Bullock’s daughter in that movie were she was a Karen. It doesn’t get whiter than that.

Female: She changes her name to Eli mid film (which is how I’ll be calling her here bc we respect chosen names in this household) but she still seems to identify as female and be referred to as such, so here we have it. We do have a guy in the treatment home, but we’ll come back to him later.

Teenager/Young adult: I’m pretty sure she is 19 but every review I see says she’s 20. Either way, she dropped out of college even though she just started it. The actress, however, was 28 at the time the movie was released.

Wealthy/seemingly well-off: Her family has the money to send her to inpatient a bunch of times, and they make a point to mention how they have connections so she didn’t have to wait in line to see this new doctor. Case closed.

Skinny actress from the start: As we know, Lily Collins is already thin and she did struggle with anorexia in the past. Why, however, did she lose weight for this movie? They said it was her decision “to make the character more authentic”. As if not being skin and bones wouldn’t be enough. As if eating disorders don’t come in every size. They shouldn’t let her. The need to shock people is a very dangerous sign to me.

No distinctive personality or hobbies/interests: I’m glad Eli has a thing she loves. It’s not super present, but it’s there, and it’s plot relevant. She loves art and in the story, she had a tumblr (look, it’s us!) where she shared drawings related to her ED and a girl liked her drawings so much that, when she killed herself, she mentioned Eli by name in a note. But that isn’t really explored too much and I kind of got disappointed by that.

Good student: We don’t really know about that... and I don’t think it matter, it’s ok.

Seemingly irrelevant love interest: Why? Just why do we need Luke? Luke is the only guy in the home, and we can SEE that he’s only there to be Eli’s love interest. He wasn’t needed. None of the important plot points have anything to do with him. Make her date a girl. Make her date NO ONE. This is about eating disorders. She could have closer friends in the house. Why was this necessary. Her whole speech about how love is a lie could come from a friendship but no. They had to shove pretty white boy there.

Daddy issues (sometimes coupled with mommy issues): I find this extremely funny but her dad isn’t in the movie. At all. He’s alive and well, but he makes a point to never come home when Eli is even awake. I don’t think they cast an actor for that. As for mothers, she has three, and it’s a trip. Her stepmom on her dad’s side is very out of touch but she wants what’s best for Eli, but she really hates Eli’s biological mom. Bio mom, in turn, is described as a “bipolar lesbian” and the stereotypes are just... ugh. Bio mom has a wife and she is a bit weird too. They sent Eli to live with her absent dad bc “they couldn’t deal with it anymore”. This brings us to a great scene where we can see Eli shrinking in her seat and when the psychiatrist asks her what she is feeling she says “I’m sorry I’m not a person anymore. I’m a problem.” And that’s great to see. But at the same time, I hate that her whole issue in this movie seems to come from her family and anorexia is just a thing that happened, with some vague references to control.

*Triggering event*: We never see it and it’s okay - but I kind of wanted some more explorations of motives because we have ZERO.

Anorexia as diagnosis: As I always say, what is even the point of making a cool looking movie about EDs if your protagonist is not only anorexic, but also terminally anorexic? Ugh. That’s the only portrayal of anorexia that happens in media and I’m fucking tired.

Checklist of habits (manual for those looking for one): I mean, I mark this down but as I always say: everything is a manual if you’re looking for one. But if you’re doing more than not eating or purging or exercising I’ll judge it as a new tip. A lot of us already thought of/did most of them probably. But the marking remains.

Inpatient treatment (or extended hospital stay): As I said, she is kicked out of one treatment center and goes straight into another. What fucks me up is that the movie HAS other characters with other diagnosis, but we never see anything about them. We don’t see their journey. We only know Luke is a dancer bc he is the love interest. We only know Megan is pregnant and then she’s not bc this sends Eli in a spiral. We only know Kendra is not straight bc she makes a joke about it (and Doctor Beckham follows with a horrible joke about conversion therapy). Did you notice Ciara Bravo was in this movie? I didn’t on first viewing. She has like two lines. The whole movie is centered around Eli and every scene in the house feels like all the other patients only care about her too.

Emotional tipping point: Megan loses her baby and for some reason this affects Eli. Luke kisses Eli and for some reason she’s pissed. At that point, I was annoyed. She has a bad session with Doctor Beckham who basically tells her to grow a pair and stop complaining (which is insensitive as a doctor, but as a person I wanted to do the same) and she decides to quit and leave. She has to go to her mother’s home and I’m supposed to care. Stepmom is mad but doctor says she needs to hit rock bottom. She weights like 70 pounds dude. Rock bottom was about ten pounds ago, next stop is a coffin, mate.

Mom hugs: And here we have the emotional turn around of the movie and it’s just... make it make sense. She goes to her bio mom’s ranch. Her stepmom # 2 tells they’ll have therapy with horses (?). Eli goes sleep in a tent and bio mom cries and says she accepts if Eli wants to die. Very supportive I guess. They have this weird bonding moment where the mom feeds her a bottle like a baby and look, if you liked that, good for you, but I don’t get what I was supposed to feel about it (but that’s mom hug #1). She goes on a hike next morning and... dies? Either way she has an out of body experience where she talks to Luke and sees how she looks - which is weird to me. Didn’t we go over this in the beggining of the movie? Didn’t we establish that she does know what she looks like and doesn’t care? But still she seems shocked and they have a cryptical conversation and she wakes up. And just like that, she’s ok now. She meets up with the other stepmom (mom hug # 2) and goes back to the home.

Happy ending: In the last scene Eli is back to the home and we understand she’s going to try to recover for real this time. I’m okay with that specifically, I think it would be bad if they pretended she just got better with no relapses and everything is fine, but it’s a hopeful ending. Despite the fact that we have no idea if she won’t have a fit and leave in two days and that we never know anything about anyone else and Megan, who lost the baby, never comes back. It’s fine. At that point, I didn’t expect much.

Analysis: I was hesitant to be critical bc this movie was based on the real life experiences of the director and Lily Collins. But fuck it, this is my circus and I’ll clown as much as I want. While I do understand that, I have a lot of thoughts.

Mainly, I need to say that while I understand this is her story, this is a story that was told so many times. I’m tired.

The general public that wants to defend the movie says “well you can’t tell ALL stories”, and while I agree, these people probably only saw this movie about the subject. If you HAVE (or had) and eating disorder, you probably saw tons. And they ALL tell the same story. Which is why I started that chart in the first place.

This movie does have good moments. I do like the acting, I saw people complaining about Keanu Reeves performance - but I do know these were people who disliked the movie entirely. I think his performance was great, Lily Collins performance was great, and their chemistry was great. The best scenes in the movie happened between the two of them. The one thing that I LOVED was their first interaction when he calls her on her bullshit. “You’re not thin, you scare people, and I think you like that.” YES. I never heard anyone talk about that. And I guess I’ll never will, bc the movie itself never talk about this again either. Also when she justifies the tumblr where her art triggered a girl so much, she says that she was just drawing what she knows, he calmly tells her that she can draw, but she doesn’t have to share it online tho. I liked their interactions because often ED patients are treated with silk gloves (is that the expression?) and sometimes there is a need for some though love. I also love Liana Liberato who plays her sister and that’s about it.

The problem with the doctor ends up being: what’s his method? How are you going to cure her? The method makes no sense. I don’t see the reasoning. I don’t think anyone does. And somehow it works and she goes back there.

I think my major problem with the movie is that it has the same issues every ED portrayal before it. It’s the same story again. I think it shines the most in the whole “it’s not about food, it’s about control!”. It IS about food though. For a lot of people, it is. Maybe not for this director or for Lily Collins, but for so many people it is about food. It’s about control as well, and it is possible that there is other factors related to it, but you can’t chalk it all up to a control issue and pretend it’s just whatever. If the food didn’t matter, it wouldn’t be an eating disorder.

Because of that, we have this heavy focus on her family issues and nothing to do with food. We have people trying to rationalize - maybe it’s bc your mom is a lesbian, maybe it’s bc i didn’t bond with you as a baby - and all that does is to make her lesbian bipolar mother seem like a crazy asshole and her dad seem like an absent asshole as if this is the only factor here. Give me SOMETHING. Any connection to food. Any sense. Nope. She just won’t eat bc her family is fucked up. Hoe, that’s all of us.

And I think the movie unintentionally DOES glamourize anorexia. Subtly, yes, but it does. Eli has SUCH an easy time refusing food. She doesn’t seem to think about food as much as she thinks about herself and her family and Luke and being annoying. She knows a bunch of calories and she overexercises. Idk. Not to mention that moment when Kendra asks her about purging and she says “it’s not her thing”. I mean. It is no one’s thing. No one likes it. It’s a compulsion. And if you have anorexia that severe and you are not with a feeding tube, you do eat every now and then, and you do have purging mechanisms. If she had said she prefers overexercising as a purging mechanism than to throw up, I would believe her. But the movie acts as if she just never eats ever and somehow she’s still standing. Give her a feeding tube then. It would be more believable.

I know it sounds kind of ranty, but my point here is: this extremely anorexic girl, that looks like a sack of bones, and gets that by never eating and doing crunches all the time, it is the wet dream of a fatphobic society with a 71 billion weight loss industry. This is the dreamy and frugal idea of anorexia that people have when they are deep into the illness - not when they recovered as the people involved say they did. I get that this is a very personal project. But it’s flawed. It doesn’t do anyone any favors. It just tells the same story, for the millionth time, but since this time it was in a big platform, more people saw it, and it was better done, with a better budget and with a good enough resolution so I can see every bone in Lily Collins body.

Anyway, that’s it for today. If you read all of that, thanks. Since this is Netflix, I’m assuming everyone saw, but the other movies are out there and if you need liks, hit me up. Be back soon.

#eating disorders #eds #pro ana #not pro and you know the rest #to the bone #thinspo #thinspiration #ed things #eds in media #thinsppi #anorekcia

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facelessfrey · 4 years

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The 100 was back tonight so it’s time to yell again...

I mean...some positives: We got some actual main character action tonight. Indra didn’t completely sacrifice herself. Damien Darhk is dead (yes I finally learned his name Anders but I don’t care). Octavia ditched Levitt. And Miller got hugs!

But wow I still do not care about Sheidheda...Malachi?? I mean I’d like to know how he got that new hairstyle but other than that....my god just die already. Other than like...giving those characters something to do this season, I really don’t understand why this Sheidheda plot exists. And why can’t all those random grounder extras be useful and just kill him already. There’s no flame anymore. They don’t need to follow him. Who cares?! But no..leave it to Indra to almost get herself killed and a child to come in and save everyone. I mean...go Madi. Thanks. That was the one worthwhile moment other than Murphy helping to ease Madi’s panic attack.

Anyone remember where Gaia is? Because I don’t. But I’d like her back.

Anyway...off to the other planet. I’m glad we got to see the story actually progress forward a bit. I’m glad Clarke and Raven were actually on screen this week. I’m extremely glad Hope slit Damien Darhk’s throat because wow I didn’t want to listen to his nonsense anymore. Someone should do that to Bill and Sheidheda too. Stupid useless cult leader men.

However, and I really don’t hate Echo as a character completely. I don’t. I didn’t even completely hate the Bellamy and Echo relationship when it first started in season 5. But I’m pretty tired of it now because he’s never really focused on her ever and it’s dumb at this point. His arcs are always intertwined with Clarke or Octavia and she’s always sort of the afterthought. But anyway, this whole season has put her sort of front and center and given her this whole grief arc for Bellamy. Even more so than Octavia or Clarke which is just...sort of silly. But her whole trajectory this season has sort of been proving everyone right about her. She’s been ruthless and cold and vengeful just like the Echo of old and it felt like sacrificing herself to save the main characters, to save the people she’s come to love despite screwing them over many times, would be a fitting end for her character. Because she’s always sort of been a self serving character for the most part. And I get it, she’s had to be to survive. She’s nothing if not a survivor. But sacrificing herself to save everyone else, even though it was technically committing genocide (but really who cares about literally any of those non characters), would have been such a fitting way to close out her character.

And instead, they sacrificed Diyoza. Sigh. I didn’t want to lose her. I liked her. And now Hope has lost her mother again and Octavia has lost the one person who stuck by her. And I mean, I get that she’s also done terrible things and she did go out sort of saving her daughter and everyone and maybe that atones for some of what she’s done in her life. But I don’t feel like that’s really been as strong of an arc for her as it maybe has been for Echo. I mean who knows, maybe Echo will still get a chance for sacrifice but I’m gonna be mad if she gets some big emotional reunion with wild mountain man Keanu Reeves Bellamy while Octavia and Clarke just stand there to the side and then she gets to live happily ever after with him. Or if Bellamy sacrifices himself for her after all of this.

I just...really want this damn show to be about the characters that started it all off and that’s Clarke and Raven and Octavia and Bellamy and Murphy and Miller (and Jackson) and well... Echo really just doesn’t fit into that equation for me.

I don’t know. I just find this whole season maddening.

Also...did Monty really learn Korean on the Ark? And retain enough of it to teach Jordan? Ah well...at least maybe this means Jordan will be useful for once.

#the 100 #the 100 reviews

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ladyreapermc · 5 years

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Fic: This isn’t a rom-com 4/?

Author’s notes: Catch up here Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Any feedback is appreciated!

Part 5

Wordcount: 2759

Warnings: have I mentioned oblivious idiots?

Keanu had trained for four months before they began shooting for this movie. He’d been rehearsing every weekend after they began so most of the fighting choreography came to him as easily as breathing. But as he tried for the fifth time to disarm his sparring partner doing the full body grab and pull out his gun for a couple of shots, he faltered once again, the movement feeling unnatural and awkward.

“Can we do it again?” Keanu asked, wiping sweat off his forehead. The double training with him grimaced and glanced at Chad.

“Why don’t we take ten?” his friend said, and everyone filed out of gym, leaving only Keanu and Chad behind.

With a sigh, he got up and moved to the benches set at the end of the training area, grabbing a Gatorade from one of the coolers.

“I keep messing up,” Keanu said with a sigh as Chad sat next to him. He felt guilty because they were all wasting their Saturday to rehearse this and the longer it took him to get it right, the longer they had to stay. And if he didn’t get it right, they’d have to postpone the shooting.

“You’re not messing up, Ke. The move looks fine,” Chad assured, patting his back. Keanu glanced at him sideways with an arched eyebrow. “Is it perfect? No. but no one’s gonna notice.”

“I’ll notice,” he sighed, combing his hair away from his face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I know I’ve got this, but…” he sighed and shook his head. “Fuck!”

“Your head isn’t in it,” Chad pointed out. There was no accusation on his voice, no annoyance. He was just stating a fact. “This is about that girl, isn’t it? Did you ask her out yet?”

Keanu sighed again and studied the mat between his bare feet. Sometimes Chad just had a way of seeing right through him and he hated it.

“Yeah. We met up for coffee at Central Park.”

“How was it?” Chad pressed and he sighed again.

He knew it would be pointless to fight Chad on this. His friend would probe and push until he got the truth out of him so he might as well come out and say it. But that knowledge didn’t make things any easier, or Keanu any less embarrassed.

“I thought it went well,” he confessed, gulping down his sports drink.

“But…?” Chad prodded.

“She said she would love to hang out again,” Keanu admitted, and his friend winced. “Exactly.” He sighed.

“Maybe…” he trailed off when Keanu glared. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s pretty bad.” There was sympathy in his tone, but also a hint of amusement.

“What was I thinking?” Keanu complained, lying back on the bench and staring at the ceiling.

“At least now you know,” Chad commented. “And you can move on.”

And Keanu knew Chad was right. He really did. It was the wise thing to do. If Lilah didn’t see him like that, he just had to suck it up and deal with it. It wasn’t a problem. Keanu could do the friend thing. He was grown man. He could do it.

But first he would need to stop staring at her every time she talked and fight off the urge of touching her whenever she was near.

“Too late, huh?” Chad asked and Keanu realized he’d been glaring at the ceiling. “What is it about this one, man?”

“Honestly? I don’t know,” he confessed.

Keanu had been trying to answer that same question for the last couple of weeks since he met Lilah. There was just something in the way she was so open and genuine and seemed to have zero expectations of him that was very appealing. It almost felt like a magnetic pull of attraction that he couldn’t ignore. It had been a very long time since Keanu felt something like that and he really wanted to explore it. Even if it was just as friends. If that was what Lilah wanted.

“So, what are you gonna do?” Chad asked, bringing Keanu out of his musings.

“Be her friend, I guess,” he shrugged with a resigned sigh. “Can we pick this up tomorrow? I have a feeling I won’t land this today.”

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow at eight.”

Keanu nodded, heading off to the showers and changed back into his street clothes, before going back to his apartment. He paced around the room too restless to actually get anything done. He had scripts to read and the ARCH prototype to review, but whenever Keanu tried to do something on those lines, his attention wandered straight to the book sitting innocently on his bedside table.

He had finished in only a couple of days even though his shooting schedule had been full. Keanu found himself pulling it out in every possible break so he could enjoy yet another fascinating tale of betrayal and disaster.

He wasn’t expecting to enjoy it so much, but he did and with each finished story, he itched to send Lilah a text, comment what he thought of it with her, but Keanu managed to stop himself. He wasn’t sure if that would be ok.

As matter of fact, even though he finished the book days ago, Keanu still hadn’t called her because he didn’t know if he was ready to be just friends. But it was time to just face the music. He stood on the balcony of his apartment overlooking Central Park and dialed her number.

“Hi there!” her voice was full of excitement and it made something warm spread through his chest. “I was beginning to think you’d be joining EL James in hell.”

“Sorry. It’s just been a long week,” he said with a smile. “But I’ve finished it.”

“Yeah? What did you think?”

“How about we meet up tonight and I tell you all about it?”

The words were out before Keanu could stop himself and he winced at how desperate he sounded to his own ears. Did he really miss her that much? Could you miss someone like this when you’ve only known them for a couple of weeks?

“Tonight?” he heard the hesitation in her voice and wanted to kick himself. “I promise to help out at Novelsy for this soiree thing, but how about tomorrow? I did promise to brew you some real coffee, didn’t I?”

“I think you did.”

“It’s settled then,” and Keanu thought he could hear the smile on her voice. “Five?”

“That works.”

The next day, after rehearsal, Keanu found himself at Novelsy once again. He was a little confused on why Lilah would want to meet him there, until she led the way to the studio apartment upstairs.

“I share it with two friends,” she explained, leading the way inside. Keanu noticed the gathering of shoes by the door and paused at the doormat to take off his boots.

“You don’t have to,” Lilah hurried to say.

“I don’t mind,” Keanu replied, before shrugging off his jacket and handing her book back.

“So, you liked it?” she asked, moving towards the opposite wall, where a floor to ceiling bookcase stood crammed with books.

“Yeah. It was amazing,” Keanu said, his attention shifting to books in front of him. “Not all yours I presume.”

“These three, yes,” Lilah gestured at the center shelves. “Got a few more in my room too.”

“May I?” He gestured at the bookcase and Lilah nodded.

“Make yourself at home. I’m gonna start that coffee.”

Keanu browsed the titles, noticing she kept her books in pristine condition, and that she had a few comic books as well. Keanu smiled when he saw a few of Hellblazer editions. There were also hard covers for American Vampire and Dark Tower, two titles he didn’t recognize, but he noticed Stephen King’s name on both, and he realized he was the main author of in her shelves. As he paid closer attention, Keanu counted at least five different editions of The Shining. One of them in a different language.

“Safe to say you’re a Stephen King fan,” he commented looking over his shoulder and Lilah grinned.

“What gave me away?” she joked as Keanu moved to the open kitchen where she slowly pouring hot water over the ground coffee beans, filling the room with the delicious smell.

“Can I ask why you have so many different editions of The Shining?”

“It’s my favorite book so I collect them,” she replied with a shrug and Keanu just hummed noncommittally. “What?” Lilah asked with a frown.

“I didn’t say anything,” Keanu said hands raised in surrender as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“You have a very expressive face. Are you judging my choice of favorite book, Reeves?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied with a chuckle. “I’ve never been much of a horror guy, but I guess it is good for a horror book.”

“Good for a horror book?” she repeated with a horrified look “You need to read it again, because you clearly did it wrong.”

“How do you read a book wrong?” He asked with a grin. Keanu liked this. The teasing and the playfulness.

“You just do!” Lilah exclaimed with a wild hand gesture, nearly knocking over the coffee carafe. Keanu reached over and held it still and she winced and giggled, covering her mouth as she met his gaze.

“Tell me what I got wrong, then,” he asked, chuckling.

“Well, for one, it is so much more than just horror!” Lilah declared, her voice taking an excited edge. “It’s thriller and psychological and a great exploration of human nature. Yes, there are fantastical, supernatural elements, but he never makes a big deal out of it, you know? It’s just there, it exists, and people can’t really explain it, but they don’t dwell on it either, because there are much more to it. And he’s so good at building tension, because things don’t happen all at once and the way he writes, it makes you feel like you’re standing right there with the characters waiting for the next thing to happen. It’s amazing!”

Keanu couldn’t help but stared as Lilah talked, noticing how excitement made her entire face lit up. It almost made him wanna go and read all of them. Get a sample of the same thrill she seemed to have, but something told Keanu it had very little to do with the books themselves and everything to do with her obviously passionate nature.

“Sorry,” Lilah said with an embarrassed little chuckle and Keanu frowned in confusion.

“For what?”

“I tend to babble. You can just cut me off when I start to go overboard.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Keanu declared with a smile. “I can see exactly how much you love whatever it is you’re talking about and it’s really nice.”

Lilah flushed pink at his words, looking away from him and Keanu fought off his wince. He might be a little farther into this thing than he first thought and obviously unable to really fight the attraction he felt to her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, huffing an embarrassing laughter. “I wasn’t…”

“I know,” she replied with shy smile. “But thank you.”

“And maybe I did read it wrong,” Keanu added with a small smile, making her expression shift into one of triumph, so he counted as a win.

“Coffee’s ready.”

She poured it in two mugs, one was blue and had the words ‘trust me, I’m the doctor’ in white letters, forming what it looked like a booth. He knew of Doctor Who, but it wasn’t something he watched. Hers was white, with the words ‘never sleep again’ topped by a red, bleeding gash.

“Milk or sugar?” she asked, and he shook his head, taking a sip and wincing. Felt like he had just taken a gulp of battery acid.

“Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to warn you,” Lilah smiled sheepishly. “It’s pretty strong.”

“No kidding,” Keanu commented, reaching for the milk. “You always drink it like that?” she nodded. “How come you don’t have an ulcer yet?”

“I’m just used to it,” she commented with a shrug and chuckle, bringing over a plate of cookies. “After six years of grad-school my blood is mostly caffeine by now. Anyway, tell me more of what you thought about the book.”

Keanu followed Lilah as she moved to the couch and they sat together, cradling their respective mugs and it was his time to babble and gesture widely as he shared his thoughts. Just like that day in Central Park, conversation flowed easily between them. It quickly shifted from the book to other titles, to movies and music and so much more and by the time Keanu noticed the time, over two hours had passed and the remains of his coffee had long gone cold.

“I think I should get going,” he said, rolling his shoulders, his muscles still sore from the rehearsal.

“So soon?” Lilah asked, glancing at her phone and wincing. “Shit. I missed a couple of messages from my advisor.”

Keanu took advantage of her distraction, to gather her mug, which she left on the floor by the couch, and the plate and head to the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Lilah asked with an alarmed tone when she finally looked up and found him by the kitchen sink.

“The dishes,” he replied over his shoulder with a smile. “It’s only fair.”

“Not when you’re a guest,” Lilah said, moving to stand beside him reaching for the dishwashing sponge, but Keanu just raised it above his head with an amused smirk.

Lilah jumped once to try and reach it, but she was too short to be effective. However, the movement made her body press against his and Keanu froze in surprise. She must’ve realized it, because she stepped back with wide eyes.

“It’s two mugs and a plate, Lilah,” he said, trying to break the awkward tension between them. “Just let me do it?”

She finally relented and stepped back. He proceeded with cleaning the dishes, all the while feeling her gaze on his back. It made him a self-conscious and a little uncomfortable.

“This is weird,” Lilah declared with a small laugh. “Keanu Reeves is doing my dishes. Feels almost like a comedy sketch. I’m kinda waiting for the punch line.”

“No punch line,” he reassured, drying his hands. “There. All done and nothing has fallen off,” Keanu joked.

He noticed as Lilah gave him a onceover, gaze lingering on his chest and arms, before moving back up to his face. Her cheeks were flushed as she bit her lip and Keanu pushed his hands inside his pockets to keep himself from reaching for her for a kiss.

“I think all of your fans appreciate that,” Lilah said, after clearing her throat and Keanu hid his chuckle behind his hand.

“Anyway, thanks for the coffee. You were right. It is different.”

“Good different?” she asked with a smile, which he returned.

“Very good.”

He moved to the door and turned to look at Lilah and maybe it was wishful thinking on his part, but she looked almost disappointed. Keanu picked up his jacket and put on his boots again and for a moment, they stood there in a tense silence.

“So, I guess it’s your turn to pick the next one,” Lilah said, thumbs hooked on the belt loops of her jeans.

“Next?” Keanu asked with an arched eyebrow and a smile. “Are we doing a book club now?”

“Why not?” she grinned and shrugged. Keanu took a moment to think, his eyes landing on the Doctor Who mug on top of the counter.

“You like Philip K. Dick?”

“Never read anything by him,” Lilah admitted with a grimace and This time, Keanu was the one with the horrified look. “I know, I know…”

“Scanner Darkly. It’s really good.”

“I did like the movie,” she commented, and Keanu grinned, ducking his head as Lilah opened the door for him.

“Well, goodnight Lilah.”

Before Keanu could register what was happening, Lilah moved closer, standing on her tiptoes as she pressed a quick kiss on his cheek.

“This is how we say hello and goodbye where I come from,” she explained with a flash of smile and color on her cheeks.

“That’s uh…” Keanu cleared his throat. “A great way of greeting someone.”

“Goodnight, Keanu.”

He nodded and stepped out of the apartment, unable to contain his smile as he moved towards the stairs.

(tbc)

Go to Part 5

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#keanu reeves #keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves x ofc #fanfic #original character #series #this isn't a rom-com

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breachtopology · 5 years

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prompt: we’re secret friends with benefits and you accidentally wore my shirt to to the party so you’re pretending you came as me and it turns out your impression of me is on point and you know me better than you know myself are you sure you’re not in love with me?? \\ requested by @hermannsthumb

sorry this is so late (but it’s still halloween on the west coast? did I make it??) some shatterdome-era, halloween-themed com dram.

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Newt cracks an eye open, waking from a nap he hadn’t realized he was taking. He lifts his head and looks where it had previously been resting—on Hermann’s bare chest. Newt’s eyes drag upward to Hermann’s face—eyes still closed, gently resting.

Reaching over to his nightstand without looking, Newt first mistakenly grabs his glasses, then his remote for the A/C setup he cobbled together from scrap jaeger metal (not officially approved, but no one has to know), Newt finally picks up his phone and checks the time. He bolts upright immediately. “Uh.” He glances down at Hermann. “Not to kick you out, but I’m gonna need to kick you out.”

Hermann props himself up on his elbows. “Oh?” He says coolly. “Plans this evening?”

“The Halloween party, dude!” Newt exclaims, leaping up out of bed, tossing the covers back so forcefully that they’re flung off Hermann as well. “It’s only like, my favorite holiday out of the whole year.”

With a yawn, Hermann reclines back onto Newt’s mattress and pulls the comforter back over himself. “In July you said Christmas was your favorite holiday,” he says up at the ceiling.

“It was in the heat of the moment,” Newt says, fishing through various piles of clothes—piles he insists are clean but just haven’t been put away yet. “We really do need some kind of mid-year holiday to break things up, you know? Why save all the good stuff for the last three months? Anyway.” Newt retrieves a white tank from one such pile and pulls it on. “I’d invite you to come,” he says as casually as possible. “But there’s a strict costume policy.”

“How gracious of you,” Hermann says, again in that cool tone. “I’m not interested in costumes.”

“Or socializing, or games, or fun. Yeah, I get it.” Newt hops into a pair of tan pants, belting them at record speed. “Now hurry up, will you?”

Hermann groans as he sits upright. His hair is mussed and sticking up at odd ends. Newt swallows down an impulse to run his hands through it one more time, to straighten it, to tuck it in place just the way Hermann likes it.

Instead, he tosses a discarded white shirt from the floor of his quarters, pelting Hermann squarely in the chest. “Here.” He follows up with a deep maroon sweater. “We’re burning daylight.”

---

They step out into the concrete hallway of the Shatterdome and start to walk toward the Mess Hall, the same direction as Hermann’s own quarters.

“You could have given me a bit more time,” Hermann grumbles, fussing with his hair, still sticking up a bit at odd ends. “I look...disheveled.”

“Hey, it’s working for you.” Newt steps in front of Hermann quickly, but continues to walk backward as he holds his arms out wide for display. “How do I look?”

Hermann looks him up and down. After a short pause, he says, “I can’t evaluate your costume until I know who or what you’re supposed to be.”

“John McClane!” Newt falls back to Hermann’s side. “You’ve seen /Die Hard/, right? Tell me you’ve seen Die Hard.”

“I’ve seen Die Hard,” Hermann says, deadpan.

“You’re lying. It’s okay. You’re forgiven. It’s unforgivable. But I forgive you.”

“Gracious of you,” Hermann murmurs with a small smile. He tugs at his sweater collar. “It’s bloody warm.”

“There’s an easy solution for that, Erdos,” Newt quips. “It’s what you get for wearing sub-zero-ready knitwear in a tropical climate.”

Hermann scowls and stops, handing Newt his cane as he proceeds to pull his sweater over his head. He looks down and lets out a groan. “Newton, this is—“

“Dr. Geiszler, Dr. Gottlieb!”

Mako approaches from the other end of the hallway, clad in a long black trench coat—clearly borrowed from someone who was at least a foot taller and broader than her—and thin sunglasses.

“Mako!” Newt waves. “Are you Neo? Dude, did you watch The Matrix? Amazing, right? That is so badass.”

She lifts her sunglasses and smiles broadly. “Keanu Reeves, he’s the best.” She lifts her sunglasses and considers Newt’s attire.

“Dr. Geiszler...Are you...someone whose clothes have been stolen?”

Newt twitches. “I’m John McClane. Die Hard? Don’t worry about it, it’s from before your time.”

Mako shrugs and smiles politely as she turns her attention to Hermann. “Dr. Gottlieb, you are a...Velvet Underground fan?”

“No, Newton is—“

Newt snaps his attention to his left and sees what Hermann had noticed—under his maroon sweater was Newt’s own Velvet Underground t-shirt, the iconic Andy Warhol banana print. Something that Hermann would never wear, on principle.

Hermann is wide-eyed in surprise. “Er, what I meant to say is...” He clears his throat. “That’s, er my costume,” he says simply. “Newton.”

“WHAT?” Newt exclaims reflexively, unable to stop himself. The corner of Hermann’s mouth twitch upwards. His expression is some bizarre distribution of mortified and smug. “I—...Yes.”

“That is cute.” Mako looks back at Newt, mildly disappointed. “I’m surprised you did not come as each other.” Before Newt can protest and explain, she lowers her sunglasses back down, strikes a pose of such genuine intensity that Newt feels momentarily frozen, before breaking out into a smile and gently leading the two of them, each with one hand, into the mess hall.

Tendo, leaning casually on the snack table, greets the two of them as they grab a couple of drinks—beer that had been snuck into the Shatterdome by some brave anonymous individual, he explains. “So,” he says to Newt. “What are you, a discount construction worker?”

Newt flips him off. Tendo laughs and turns to Hermann. “What’s your ‘stume, doc?”

Newt watches Hermann take another drink before responding, “I’m, er. Newt.” He laughs nervously. “It’s a shallow approximation—“

“Don’t sweat it, doc, no one’s got time to do anything detailed.” Tendo waves his plastic fangs. “You know. More important stuff going on. But—“ he pauses to put the fangs in. “You’ll also be amazed at how far an impression goes to sell it. I’m sure you’ve got some stories.”

"Well, yes, just the other day...” He glances quickly at Newt. Newt looks back at him and crosses his arms.

Hermann straightens up and starts speaking, more quickly and pitched than usual. “‘OSHA procedures are more guidelines than rules,’” he says, quoting—Newt realizes—something Newt had said the day before. A few near bystanders turn their heads to casually tune in. “‘So by extension, I’m the Captain Barbossa of lab safety.’”

A few scattered laughs. Hermann looks around, shocked, possibly by the getting any sort of reaction and possibly by his own delivery.

“Ha!” A nearby J-Tech officer exclaims. “That is legit.” He turns to someone on his left. “I heard the Marshall chew him out a couple weeks ago for—“

“Hey, asshole.” Newt shoots him a glare. “Shut up.” It’s not intelligent, Newt knows, but it’s enough to make a new officer wince.

Tendo lets out a laugh and claps Hermann on the shoulder. “Good one, doc.” He glances at Newt and smirks before taking a sip from his cup. Newt calls that glance and raises it with a death glare that fully transmits, Don’t you say a fucking word.

The initial bystanders disperse. Newt crosses his arms. “That’s not an impression. That’s just one single thing I said once. Taken way out of context, I might add.”

Hermann starts to silently fish through the candy bowl on the snack table.

Newt leans over to watch. “Lookin’ for something?”

At last, Hermann meticulously plucks a green Jolly Rancher from the bowl. “Green is the best flavor,” he says facetiously, delicately unwrapping it from the plastic. “Never mind that green isn’t a flavor but a color.” He pops it into his mouth and grimaces. “These are so sweet,” he says, returning to his usual tone. “Newton, how on earth do you eat these.

Newt rolls his eyes before taking a green Jolly Rancher out of the bowl for himself. “That green was wasted on you, dude” But when he looks back at Hermann he’s smiling slightly, albeit not looking in his direction.

---

For the next half hour, Newt tries to keep a safe distance from Hermann. He makes lap around the mess hall. One engineer, dressed as a pirate (basic, but effective) calls out, “John McClane!” And Newt makes a show cheering and giving her a high-five that is audible throughout the hall.

But the space is finite, and eventually his path leads him back to Hermann, who’s at the center of a small group of PPDC staff who are amused by his current monologuing. Newt slides up behind them and catches Hermann in mid-sentence.

“—and it’s an album from the point of view of a man who’s wretched, who is confronting his misdoings, his mistreatment of others, his skewed relationship with love, in this operatic way—“

In that moment, it strikes Newt that Hermann may have actually been listening. Through all the monologues, through all the rants. Newt flushes with equal parts embarrassment in the accuracy and another feeling he’s tried to push down for seven years.

“But the thing about Weezer,“ Hermann continues, emphasizing the band with an American emphasis on the -er, “Is that they created two perfect albums, so their next twelve mediocre ones are forgivable—“

“The White Album is not mediocre!” Newt finally exclaims from behind the small group, unable to stop himself. He pushes forward and softly grabs Hermann by the arm. Hermann looks up at him with a raised eyebrow, defiant. Newt turns around at the small group casually listening in. “Yeah, yeah, he’s great—excuse us for a sec, will ya?” Without waiting for a reply, he gently pulls his colleague by the arm to the hallway outside, promptly stepping in close, so Hermann is the only thing between Newt and the wall.

“What the hell, dude?” Newt hisses.

Hermann leans his head back against the concrete wall. “Being you is very easy,” he says scathingly.

With a short laugh, and Newt goes in for the kiss. Rough and agitated, how this sequence of events typically starts out. How things started hours prior in the lab, resulting in the change of location to Newt’s room to tear off one another’s clothes as quickly as possible. He slips a hand under Hermann’s/Newt’s own shirt and slides it up and beside Hermann’s ribcage, pulling him in closer.

“This is a new level of narcissism,” Hermann says breathlessly when Newt pulls away. “Even for you.”

“Says the guy who tastes like green.” Newt smirks. “You think you know me?”

“You are impossible not to know.” Hermann says, lifting his chin.

They lock eyes. Newt searches for some confirmation of something in Hermann’s gaze. There’s a hint, close, just behind his eyes, but it’s just out of reach. Despite his better judgement, Newt slips his hand out from under Hermann’s shirt, lifts it, hesitates momentarily, but proceeds to card it gently through Hermann’s hair, smoothing out the odd ends. From front to back, then around to rest on Hermann’s cheek. Hermann looks at him, wide-eyed.

“Newton,” he says softly.

Newt swallows. “Yeah?”

The faceless drone of the party on the other room extends the silence. They look at one another for a minute. And it strikes Newt that it’s longest either of them has gone in each other’s company without a word.

But as “Monster Mash” comes on the speakers, the mess hall erupts into cheers. The incongruity of it all breaks whatever was there, between them in the hallway. Hermann swallows. “I’ll be returning to my quarters, now,” he says, voice just above a whisper. Newt steps back, giving Hermann the space to collect his cane and step out. He gives Newt one last look, opens his mouth to speak, but closes it. He walks away without another word.

#i'm not funny enough to do this prompt true justice but...[ben wyatt voice] it's about the mutual pining #hermannsthumb #k sci

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angelofberlin2000 · 5 years

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In his 14 minutes of screentime in Always Be My Maybe, Netflix’s latest rom-com phenomenon, 54-year-old Keanu Reeves — now 30 years into his stardom — skewers and subverts the personas we’ve come to attach to him.

Reeves, playing an outsized version of himself, cuts an imposing figure in his introduction. Time slows to a crawl. All eyes gravitate toward the velvet-jacketed figure with striking beauty and prickly charisma. After his entrance — a show for everyone in the farcical restaurant Maximal — he slides toward Ali Wong’s celebrity chef Sasha, offering spiritual platitudes in the face of her unfettered lust. “I missed your thumbs,” she breathily exhales. “I missed your soul” is his reply.

It’s a maniacally delightful performance that both reminds audiences of Reeves’s place in Asian-American Hollywood history and allows him to flex improvisational skills as he cycles through the various masks we have grafted onto him. There’s the impossibly otherworldly Keanu, who says with utmost sincerity, “The only stars that matter are the ones that you see when you dream.” There’s action-star Keanu, who smashes a vase against his own head in a game of Icebreaker and easily puts the jealous protagonist, Marcus (Randall Park), in a headlock — fully committed, physically graceful, and beautifully dangerous. The Keanu of internet memes and viral threads is here, too, in the very fact that he’s playing himself.

Reeves is having a dynamite year with the success of Always Be My Maybe, the outrageously violent John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, and Toy Story 4, in which he plays Canada’s greatest stunt driver, Duke Caboom. (Another sly nod perhaps? While born in Beirut, Reeves — who is of Chinese-Hawaiian and British ancestry — was raised in Toronto.) The actor’s more recent evolution into a meme may flatten his complexities, but it does signal why he has endured all this time, despite the persistent claim that he’s a bad actor, or just a limited one. As I’ve contended in the past, this is a gross misreading of a great actor. In her tremendous 2007 masterwork The Star Machine, film professor and historian Jeanine Basinger praises Reeves amongst his generational contemporaries: “Reeves is a neo-star fighting the concept of stardom itself, working steadily against persona to the point where no one has a clear idea of who Reeves is onscreen anymore. This has hurt him, but it has also allowed him to maintain versatility that means more to him than fame. […] His career would have been limited, and thus short lived. Instead, he has used his freedom to move on and slowly force audiences to accept him as a real actor.”

Just take a look at the arc of his career — as a teenager going through an existential crisis in the blackhearted wonder River’s Edge (1986); the affably dimwitted Theodore “Ted” Logan from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and its sequel; the bodaciously supple and yearning FBI agent and surfer Johnny Utah in Point Break (1991); a bruisingly courteous SWAT officer in Speed (1994); the beatific savior Neo in The Matrix (1999); the violent redneck in The Gift (2000); an occult detective radiating self-loathing and suicidal yearnings in Constantine (2005); and of course, the titular tenderhearted and violently dangerous assassin of the John Wick franchise. In looking at all of his performances, I am reminded of what the great Roger Ebert wrote in his review of the Bill & Ted sequel back in the early ‘90s: “I have seen Keanu Reeves in vastly different roles (the FBI man in the current Point Break, for example), and am a little astonished by the range of these performances.”

Throughout his career, Reeves has eschewed obvious transformation in favor of something trickier and more subtle. What has allowed him to remain a star, 30 years later, is a blend of virility, vulnerability, and an aura of mystery, hearkening to a bygone era of stardom that contradicts the current moment, which requires stars to seem endlessly accessible; his sheer joy for the medium that makes him a cinematic sensualist; his racial dimensions as a star; and his gimlet-eyed understanding of the female gaze. These qualities are unique in the current market of stardom in Hollywood, allowing him to straddle various cinematic contexts with ease — mainstream romantic comedies, somber indie flicks, gloriously decadent action flicks.

They come through in one of his earliest films, My Own Private Idaho, a meditative character study about two young hustlers — Mike Waters (River Phoenix), a shy narcoleptic in search of a sense of home, and the strikingly beautiful Scott Favor (Reeves), a trust-fund kid slumming it until his inheritance kicks in at 21. Reeves and his late co-star imbue their characters with a particular mix of virility, vulnerability, and mystery. I’d argue that all the greatest leading men in the annals of Hollywood stardom have existed at this intersection to varying degrees — something I feel has been lacking from modern male stars, partially because they are being formed in franchises that lack interest in the visceral aspects of humanity. (It helps that Reeves has declined offers to join Marvel, even though they’ve been trying to woo him to their stable for years.) Humphrey Bogart’s cool is consistently undercut by his own anger and self-loathing. William Holden held something dark behind his megawatt smile and gleaming blond locks. Paul Newman always felt a touch remote, like he was hiding bruised aspects of himself from the audience. Marlon Brando, of course, epitomizes these qualities. Reeves is brimming with similar contradictions. He reflects this tradition by being at once beatifically still and emotionally expressive, defined by loneliness and a yearning to be saved from it.

In My Own Private Idaho, Reeves is the object of desire not only for Mike but the camera itself. Deep into the film, Mike timidly reveals his love to Scott while they camp out in the desert, a fire crackling before them. Phoenix plays Mike as wild with energy he has no real outlet for, leading to an awkward physicality. Reeves grants his character a languid brio. He takes up space, laying close to the fire, his head dipped back to study Mike as he timidly expresses his feelings. He’s outstretched, willowy, and aware of Mike’s gaze; he examines the weight of it. The scene reveals one of Reeves’s greatest skills as an actor: being an active listener. As he studies Mike, he invites and toys with his feelings. “I only have sex with a guy for money,” he notes offhandedly as if it were a random truth, not a response to a declaration of love. But just as the prickliness of his character comes into view (foreshadowing later betrayals), Reeves displays a burnishing sincerity. Arms outstretched, he says, “Let’s go to sleep,” and proceeds to cradle Mike.

The full-bodied listening Reeves exhibits in My Own Private Idaho is a hallmark of his work opposite women as well. Reeves is a great example of what Roswell New Mexico writer Alanna Bennett deemed The Look: “The number one thing a man in a romcom needs, TV or movie, is the ability to look at their love interest REALLY WELL. The man barely even needs to speak if he just knows how LOOK at a person.” Reeves has given that look in multiple contexts — his face is bright with awe when he looks at Carrie-Anne Moss’s Trinity in the Matrix films; it has a touch of admiration when he gazes at Sandra Bullock in Speed; and it is filled with unmitigated desire for Diane Keaton’s Erica Barry in Something’s Gotta Give.

Nancy Meyer’s 2003 ode to beachside property and an older woman’s sensual awakening stars Keaton as a successful playwright who finds herself falling for two very different men — Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson), who briefly dated her daughter (how this didn’t disqualify him immediately continues to baffle me) and has to go through a damn heart attack before he can see what’s attractive in a woman around his own age; and Julian Mercer (Reeves), a sweet doctor with a penchant for black turtlenecks who is immediately smitten when they meet.

In the film, Reeves is attuned to the female gaze in its most literal incarnation — an understanding of how women see the world, what they want from it, and how they make sense of desire. During a dinner scene with Julian, Erica’s face and neck are flush. She’s skittish and nervous in the face of his undeniable — but never disrespectful — sexual and romantic interest. Reeves’s face shows the depth and breadth of The Look, as he glides from teasing lust to a spark of genuine intellectual attraction. At one point, when their conversations turns to women his own age, he says, “I’ve never met one I’ve reacted to” — stumbling for a moment, as if shocked by the depth of his own feeling — “… quite like this. When something happens to you that hasn’t happened before, don’t you have to at least find out what it is?” He’s a man overcome and humbled by his own desire. Is there anything sexier? Then he leans in, his face going soft, gently kissing the groove where her neck meets her shoulder. “I knew you’d smell good,” he whispers. Only Reeves could pull off a line like that.

Many actors of Reeves’s caliber are too invested in being in the spotlight of a scene to play a romantic lead like this. After the fall of the studio system in the 1960s, Hollywood no longer looked at women as a viable market, and while romantic comedies continued to get made, going forward, there was a notable shift in whose desire was centered — and how little male actors seemed interested in exploring romance and desire. Reeves’s willingness brought another layer of intimacy to his relationship with his audience, offering a more flexible, vulnerable portrait of masculinity that sets him apart from other name stars.

That intimacy is key to Reeves’s longevity. It’s what makes him such a great cinematic sensualist. In 2009, Matt Zoller Seitz argued that directors Michael Mann, Terrence Malick, David Lynch, Wong Kar-wai, and Hou Hsiao-hsien were the “the decade’s best sensualists filmmakers.” He wrote, “They share a defining trait: a lyrical gift for showing life in the moment, for capturing experience as it happens and as we remember it. The sensualists are bored with dramatic housekeeping. They’re interested in sensations and emotions, occurrences and memories of occurrences.” I’d argue that being a cinematic sensualist is a distinction that can apply to acting as well. For actors, it is about bringing texture and complication to a film, existing wholly in the moment, and a keen interest in the human body.

When we watch films, the body keeps score as much as the mind does. Reeves demonstrates an understanding of this. This is apparent in the delicate neck kiss in Something’s Gotta Give; the careful way his hand skitters across broken glass before deciding on which shard to slit his wrists with in Constantine; the calm he engenders with merely the sound of his voice in Thumbsucker. But it’s most impactful in his career as an action star. In many ways, the John Wick franchise is the perfect marriage of director and star. The third film is a tactile feast. Consider a scene early in John Wick 3, in which Reeves methodically takes apart and reassembles a gun for a single shot. This scene is, of course, a testament to the character’s skill as an assassin. But it also acts as a reminder of how out of step John is with the world around him, betraying a desire for the quieter moments in life — despite the brutal milieu he finds himself in — and a strange empathy for the world around him, whether it be object or animal. This allows a humanity to glitter throughout his performances that often feels absent from many action franchises that sacrifice character on the altar of plot.

There’s another part of Reeves’s star image I suspect has played into our abiding fascination with him. Until Always Be My Maybe, the most under-discussed part of Reeves’s persona was his race. Late in his slim but potent book-length essay Mixed-Race Superman: Keanu, Obama, and Multicultural Experience, Will Harris astutely writes about a particular aspect of the 2005 film A Scanner Darkly that, metatextually, speaks to Reeves’s whole career:

“To be mixed-race is to exist in a state of paradox. Race is an illusion that depends on purity and singleness. […] In A Scanner Darkly, set in a paranoid surveillance state in the near-future, Keanu plays a government agent called Bob Arctor, who because he works undercover, has to wear a ‘scramble suit’ in the office. The suit projecting 1.5 million constantly shifting representations of different people — male and female, black, white, Latinx — keeps his identity cloaked. Even the people he works with have no idea who he is.”

Like his persona, Reeves’s face itself is considered unplaceable. Growing up, he never read as white to me, but he has read that way to Hollywood, which allowed his career to be mutable in ways that very few people of color ever experience. But for much of the moviegoing audience, seeing his face has always been a point of connection. It’s the undercurrent of why his turn in Always Be My Maybe felt like such a significant moment in his career. It was as though something had been revealed about him for the first time, even though it had been present all along. That it was such a joyful, brazenly comedic role added yet another twist on his image. There was a sense that, even after 30 years in the spotlight, Reeves can still surprise us.

#keanu reeves #why we can't stop watching keanu reeves #angelica jade bastien #vulture

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theantisocialcritic · 4 years

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Archive Project - October 24, 2014 - John Wick Review

I'm always fascinated by the work of Keanu Reeves. On one hand, he's one of the weirdest bad-actors that Hollywood has churned out but consistently gets movie roles. On the other, his personal filmography of movies consists of some of the best action movies of the last two decades. The Matrix, Speed and Man of Tai Chi, all range between good movies to among the best action movies of their respective moments in history. Now we've got John Wick, a rather offbeat action movie centered around one of the great action movie cliches of the modern age. The main character is John Wick, an omnipotent ex-hit man that has moved on from his life of crime to get married and live a happy life. Unfortunately his wife passes away from nature causes and he is left to greave alone. By chance, he runs into the son of the mob boss he formally worked for who wrongs him in a deeply personal way. Now John Wick seeks to take revenge on the son and any mobsters that stand in his way. On a surface level, John Wick sounds like the average plot to just about ever post-Taken action movie we have gotten. John Wick handles it however with a level of subtle and detail that most action movies don't have. The movie starts out completely calm and very quiet, emphasizing the life he now lives outside of the criminal world. As he gets sucked into that world again however the small details start showing up that poke fun at the nature of action movies by answering offbeat questions most people like to make fun of action movies for. Who cleans up all those bodys? Why doesn't he get noise complaints for all those gunshots? etc. Keanu Reeves sells the heck out of his role, relatively speaking. He still can't act very well but the movie works around it by centering his performance on his physicality and giving him very little dialog. Over the course of 90 minutes he has only a few conversations. Most of the dialog and exposition regarding his character and who he is is all done by the supporting characters. If I do have a problem with the movie its that John Wick himself is too over powered. The character is described as "The man that you hire to kill the Boogieman", emphasizing that he is so far above all the others that essentially nothing can kill him. This has the effect of making a lot of the action scenes lack a level of tension and you know in advance that John Wick is going to win, because he can't possible lose. I'll refer to Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Raid 2 as this years best action movies, and those did so by making the character very human. Yes, Rogers and Rama are both super humanly strong but they are still vulnerable to being stabbed, shot and beat up. John Wick's action scenes are brutal and fun to watch but he lacks that humanity and weakness. The movie also continues for about twenty minutes after the main story concludes, attempting to tie up loose ends. It really slows down during the segment, though the action scenes are decent. Once the relief of John's revenge story concludes the movie just ramps down a bit and I found myself really bored and hoping for the movie to end. Overall though i'd say John Wick is a solid action movie. Its smart and well crafted enough that I was entertained the whole way through and Keanu Reeve's fight choreography is as great as ever. The script comes with enough levity that the whole production avoids becoming too broody. I'd give it a recommendation! Thank you for reading! Live long and prosper!

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years

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633.

Benddd…and snap! So have you had any bread today?

Anyway, yeah.

If so, was it good bread? If you haven’t had bread, are you gonna eat some? >> It was good. It’s these round flat-ish multigrain buns that I use for my veggie burgers. Who sits in front of you in Math class? >> --- Tell me about the last time you spit (spat?). Why did you do it? >> I was done brushing my teeth. Who do you think makes the best surveys? >> I don’t know anymore. I just take whatever I can find.

How many cars can fit in your garage? >> One, but we use it as storage.

Do you know anyone who plays the harmonica? >> No. How high do you have to be to ‘touch’ the sky? >> Pretty high, I’d say. A bowl of some good stuff oughta do it, unless you’ve got a high tolerance.

Are you currently facing a wall or a window? >> No, but there is a window next to me. What was the last flavor of Doritos you ate? >> I don’t eat Doritos. Have you ever been hypnotized? >> No. How long do you tend to hold grudges? >> It depends on how wronged I felt and how unremorseful or uncaring the other person seems. Do you say ‘panties’ or ‘underwear’? >> Underwear. Do you know who Groucho Marx was? >> Vaguely. What is the least Japanese animal you can think of? (ex: roadrunner) >> Wh... at. Do you always sit at the same table at lunch or do you switch it up? >> I usually eat on my bed, because I’m usually in my room and that’s the only place to sit. My favorite question: Do you like Aerosmith? >> I like a couple of songs. Have you ever gotten to the center of a Tootsie Pop without biting? >> Yeah. What do you think of slang? >> I appreciate it as I appreciate any other facet of language. Which accents can you imitate pretty well? >> I don’t know. Have you ever hit an animal with your car? (I hope not) >> --- Do you remember what you wore yesterday? >> Yeah, I’m still wearing it. Do you believe there is such thing as unrequited love or is it just longing? >> Dude. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? >> Figure skating. Would you consider your voice high, low, or in the middle? >> On the low side. Have you ever been on a gondola lift? >> No. Do you know anyone who’s been on TV? If so, which show? >> I’ve been on the news and so have a couple of other people I knew. Do you make a lot of typos or are you pretty good with the keyboard? >> I usually make typos while typing that I just backspace and correct pretty quickly. I’m great with a keyboard but that doesn’t mean I don’t make errors. I just catch them pretty quickly because I’m looking at the screen. What is your favorite color gumball? >> --- When you see a pinecone, do you kick it, step on it, or leave it alone? >> Sometimes I kick it, sometimes I leave it alone. Are you ever tempted to step on the crunchy leaves? >> Sure. Did you ever have any unreasonable teachers? >> Most of my teachers were unreasonable to me. Any songs that make you laugh out loud when you hear them? >> Yeah, David Duchovny by Bree Sharp and like half of Aurelio Voltaire’s songs. Also, I Punched Keanu Reeves. Have you ever had pie smashed in your face? >> No. Do you have any lockets with pictures inside? >> No. Have you ever been used as a 'rebound’? How did it go? >> I don’t think so. What is your favorite joint to crack? >> Fingers, although I try not to do it frequently. When it comes to rappers, do you have any favorites? >> Hmm... maybe Kendrick Lamar. I wouldn’t say I have a favourite at all, but he’s one I listen to fairly regularly and I appreciate what little I know of his personality and the things he cares about. Do you have any favorite rockstars? >> No. Is music a big part of your life in any way? >> Absolutely. Have you ever fallen for someone purely based on looks? >> Have I ever fallen for someone at all, is the question. Which sport are you better at: basketball or tennis? >> --- Would you rather babysit someone weekly or tutor them weekly? >> I’m fine not doing either, thanks.

#surveys #survey #random survey

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the-rebel-shaman · 7 years

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Virgo Rising

This is the seventh post in the series on rising signs around the zodiac, I figured Aries gets to be first enough so I’ll be releasing them in reverse order.These descriptions are based on books, pictures,and interviews of people with the rising sign itself if you don’t know your rising sign go to (http://www.astro.com)and put in your information you’ll need your birth time which can be found on your birth certificate. Enjoy.

Overview

Wholesome, organic and au natural the Virgo Rising vibe is one of absolute honesty. From the beach to the midwest these folks comprise darn near every natural and wholesome vibe there is, From the California vegan to the Idaho country boy. And this is no coincidence. When you have the earthiest of the earth signs as you ascendant it’s darn near impossible to shrug off that down-to-earth quality, and why would you want to. In this world full of designer bodies and makeup-caked faces the Virgo vibe is a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Mannerisms/Behavior

Men:

Virgo Rising Men cue the montage of slow sidelong smiles, nights in truck beds, and hard sweaty (and for some reason shirtless) labor. These are the men for whom the cornfed country boy was created. Not to pigeonhole these men, because they seem to be able to find their earthy natural truth wherever they happen to be from boasting just as many indie looks, and surfer boys as good old fashioned country ones. Beyond their looks there tends to be a certain whole grain quality to their manner. No forced laughs. No frivolous conversation. They can be very well educated and still prefer a no-nonsense approach to communication. All of which comes together to create a presence that one could only describe as trustworthy. Wherever these earthy boys happen to be, expect them to be vibe natural and shoot straight.

famous examples(Keanu Reeves, Paul Walker,Alexander Skarsgård)

Women:

These are the women for whom those no-makeup looks are created. While some among their ranks who get swept up in the Hollywood glitz and go a bit overboard with the stage makeup(here’s looking at you Madonna) the majority of them know and show that no amount of makeup/surgery can hold a candle to good healthy living (Here’s looking at you, Jennifer Aniston). Again As the archetypal doe-eyed country girl in the big city, there is always a sense of unrefined honesty in their manner. While they may blanch at their little foibles, it is precisely these little idiosyncrasies that others find so endearing and trustworthy in them. Just like those good country girls in those old westerns of old. As another unconscious nod to their unofficial country girl status,they seem to carry with them that,“do I have to wear that frilly dress”, attitude from adolescence well into adulthood eschewing more frilly frocks for natural fabrics and toned-down looks. Again I do have to say that they like their male counterparts are also the rulers of the no makeup beach babe look–I mean Virgo Rising celebrity Brooke Shields practically invented it.

famous examples(Brooke Shields, Emma Watson,Jennifer Aniston)

Decans/Apperance

1st Decan(0-10 degrees)

Women: This first decan of Virgo boasts the smallest face and the sharpest chin of all the decans. A rounded hairline that is also peaked giving the face an overall diamond-esque shape. The eyebrows are usually full with a very subtle curve. The eyes are oval shaped and medium in size The nose is medium in width flaring at the nostrils. The hair and skin is often wheaty in tone and complexion. the jaw is heavy and the lips when together create a football shape with sharp corners.

Men: This decan has the smallest face of all the Virgo risings. The forehead is wide but not tall. The eyebrows while usually lighter in coloring is full and straight across. The eyes are usually large but hooded. The nose is straight and fleshy at the tip. The cheekbones are fairly low. The mouth is slim with the bottom lip being the fuller of the two. And the jaw, while heavy, is quite rounded giving the face a circular shape overall

2nd Decan (11-20 degrees)

Women: While this decan carries the characteristic heaviness of jaw associated with this sign the overall face shape is much less angular giving it a more oval appearance. The forehead is petite and curved the eyebrows are more slender than the first decan and as such appear to be longer and more curved. The eyes are the same shape as the first decan but slightly larger. The cheekbones and this decan are also more prominent, not so much in profile as when looking at the face straight on. And=d the hollows of the cheeks are more accentuated giving more curve to the face: out at the cheekbones, in at the hollow, out at the jaw—when compared to the more straight-lined cheek jawline of the previous decan. The nose is roughly the same size and shape as the first decan but the lips are much fuller.

Men: In this decan the face is elongated giving it a more oval look. The forehead is just as broad but is generally taller than the first decans. The eyebrows are fuller and distinct showing both a peak and a curve at the tail. The nose while just as even as the first decan is usually much less fleshy at the tip. The eyes though still hooded have more of a downturned almond look. The cheekbones are much higher in the decan than in the previous one lending the face a bit more structure to its look. The lips are just as thin but the chin comes to a blunted point.

3rd Decan (21-30 degrees)

Women: This last decan has a curved asymmetrical hairline and a compact forehead. This decan also sees the return of the fuller less curved eye brows. Underneath these brows are the largest eyes of the sign tending to big and rounded at the center and sharper at the corners. This decan also tends to have the lowest set cheekbones. While the mouth is fairly on par for the course. The chin is even more rounded than the previous two decans

Men: The last decan feels almost like a hybrid of the two previous decans blending the fullness and roundedness of the first decan with the structure of the second. This decan has quite a tall and broad forehead with a characteristic m shaped hairline. The eyebrows are usually fuller than even the other two decans and almost as straight as the first decan, save a sharp peak towards the tail. Beneath these brows, we find the slimmest eyes of this rising sign though they still keep their hooded allure and al one shape. In this decan we also see the nose bring back its fleshy tip and the cheekbones fall lower again. Coupled with the thin lips and elongated chin of the second decan this decan can look like the top half of his face is empty space while the middle and bottom hold all the features.

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#Virgo Rising #Virgo #Rising Signs #Natal #Astrology

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fortheloveoffanfic · 4 years

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Put Me In a Movie

Keanu Reeves x reader (A/n- And we’ve reached the end of this fic that apparently took on a mind of its on.)

Summary Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Warnings- Angst, kind of

Chapter 17- Movie Endings

Two dresses were laid out on the bed, both gorgeous, and just her style. One was simple and black, with a clean cut "v" neck with a fitted skirt, the hem falling above her knees and a bow adding detail to the low back. All in all, it was nice; a style anyone might be comfortable in, It was elegant and clearly the safe choice. But the other, that one was a bit racy, the kind that Grace, her stylist, had been nudging her towards. The champagne colored fabric sported an angled hem, and her legs would definitely be on generous display. The neckline was dangerously low and the whipsy fringe adoring the lower half of the garment was either going to be a hit or a miss with the fashion gurus. It wasn't exactly the safest option, both mechanically or when considering her new found reputation in the fashion world, but it was stunning.

Grace had left the final decision up to Y/n, and the team had prepared shoes and accessories for both. So, there she stood, in the bedroom of the hotel suite in London, just a handful of hours away from the world premiere of the movie that would be her introduction to silver screen. And Y/n didn't even want to go.

She should have been excited, part of her wanted to be, but it was proving to be a trying task because as hard as she tried not too, all Y/n could think of was how hard it would be to face Keanu again. She couldn't avoid him that time, pretend she didn't see him or cling to someone else and act like she was okay. That night, they'd have to walk the carpet together, take pictures with broad smiles and pretend they were on good terms. But they weren't, and it was eating her up on the inside.

With a heavy sigh, Y/n plopped into an accent chair near the window, unable to help it when her thoughts inevitably strayed to worrisome ones of Keanu. Was he okay with seeing her? Would he ignore like he had at the restaurant? Or would he try to save face and act as if they were friends. Thankfully, Jackson had dropped the whole, selling them as a couple tactic after her publicist had worked in over time to get him to change his mind, eventually convincing him that it would be all too cliche for the stars to get together.

Part of Y/n was grateful that she wouldn't have to suck up her feelings and ignore the obvious. But some of her was disappointed too, because, even though they'd split, and she'd kicked Keanu out of her apartment after he tried to apologize, Y/n still missed him. She still loved him. Above anyone else, all she wanted was him. Maybe if they'd gone along with Jackson's plan, she could have been forced to put aside her pride and let him back in.

But alas, nothing of the such happened and Y/n wouldn't begin to know how to patch things up if she ever went back to Keanu. Hell, she didn't even know if patching was possible; they made a mess, left each other with ruins of what could have been a great romance. He'd broken her down to someone who was scared, now more than ever, to love again, while Y/n had pushed Keanu into uncharted territory which he wasn't ready for.

And still, she loved him.

She would always love him. Even with the bitterness that lingered in her throat when she thought of everything they'd been through. Even when she reminisced on all the terrible things he'd done. Even when all she could think of was how much she wanted to hate him, all Y/n could do was love Keanu. Love him till it hurt, love him till her heart became caught in a cycle of shattering and repairing itself, love him until that was all that made sense about what they used to be.

Maybe she'd always loved him, for the very beginning, before it all started with one kiss in her hotel room in Chicago. Maybe that was why she'd fought so hard.

Tears pricked at her eyes, and while Y/n knew that she'd have to go out into the main room in a bit, to let the team help her get ready, she let herself sink into emotion for a while. The tears falling freely, though silently, and her chest tight, with a burning ache in the center.

A knock on the bedroom door had Y/n jumping up from the comfort of her seat, grabbing a tissue on her way to the door. "Yeah?" It was her assistant, a red haired girl who was just about her age.

"Um," she shuffled her feet, avoiding Y/n's gaze, "Walter," her manager, "Needs to see you. He's waiting, out on the balcony, down the end of the hall." And just like that, without even waiting for Y/n to respond, she was scuttling away nervously, not even sparing a backwards glance. It was certainly suspicious behavior for her too, usually her assistant was one of those energetic spirits, employing the kind of optimism that Y/n wish she still had. That evening though, she seemed nervous, like something was wrong.

As the troubled feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, Y/n tightened the knot on her black, floral dressing robe, shoved her feet into the nearest pair of fluffy flip flops, she marched out of the room with purpose, not caring if she was sparsely dressed beneath the silk cocoon. Grabbing nothing more than her phone, she slipped out of the suite, evading questions of Grace and the rest of her team, all more than ready to finish prepping her for the premiere.

As she hurried down the hall, headed towards the open veranda doors, nearly stumbling on a kink in the carpet on her way. "Walter-" Gasping, Y/n cut herself off when she saw who was turning to face her, the only thing missing from his outfit being his suit coat, his shirt well fitted and tight around his biceps. "You," she stuttered accusingly, clumsily staggering backwards, “You’re the one that wanted to meet here, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t want to ask you assistant to lie,” Keanu released his grasp on the cool metal railing, fully tuning to face Y/n, though not yet making any move to approach her, “But I knew you wouldn’t come if I’d asked,” he moistened his lips, “And honestly? I don’t blame you.”

Taking a minute to absorb his presence, Y/n breathed slowly, letting her eyes settle on him. He looked so different, and just the same, all at once. He’d trimmed his beard and hair since the last time she’d spotted him at the restaurant, and Y/n suspected that his impeccable grooming had more to do with the red carpet they were set to walk than his own volition and he looked just as dashing as he usually did, though, there was a sadness in his expression and a slight hollowness around his eyes, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well. “What do you want?” It took a couple minutes to rediscover her courage, but from the minute she did, Y/n had decided that unlike the last time, she’d listen to what he had to say. She was just so tired of fighting.

Keanu’s eyes followed Y/n as she finally passed through the threshold, leaving some space between them, leaning her hip against the guard rail and folding her arms. “I want…….” to fix this, make you love me again, erase every terrible thing I’ve ever done to you. Words were hard to come by, and nervously, Keanu managed, “You, Y/n. I want you.”

Tears pricked at her eyes, and Y/n sniffled quietly, her throat burning as she spoke, “Keanu…..I,” scoffing, she tucked some hair behind her ear, swallowing thickly, “I’m not going back to living like that with you, and-”

“No,” he cut her off, not for a second wanting her to think that he wasn’t putting his all into shaping up for her, “I’m not asking you to. I want to be the man you deserve, and you deserve someone who’s brave and can tell you exactly how he feels. And I know right now that man seems like Luke, and I hate that I’m here asking you to leave the man that makes you happy for one that broke your heart way too many times,” reaching out, Keanu took one of her hands in both of his, his breath hitching hopefully when she didn’t pull away, “But I am, because I want to change, for you.”

“I don’t want you to change,” Y/n’s broke pitifully, and a lone tear trickled down her cheek, “I never wanted you to change, I just wanted you to let me in, so I could love you for who you already are, so we could love each other,” placing her hand on top of his, Y/n sobbed quietly, “Keanu I’m so tired of trying to be mad at you. Its so hard.” Her shoulders slumped and her hung her head, and not long after, she felt the top of Keanu’s head pressing against hers, their hands jumbled between them.

“I’m tired of living without you,” he sighed, as they both sunk into the familiarity of being close, “I’m so sorry that I hurt you.”

“I’m sorry that I pushed you,” she sniffed, breathing his scent; musky cologne, cigarettes and leather. Y/n didn’t think she’d ever missed a smell that much. “I should have waited till you were ready, not forced your hand.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Keanu stepped closer and Y/n did too, “You gave me so many chances, I never deserved them, or you, not when I was acting like that.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Y/n weaned her hands from Keanu’s cupping his face, letting her thumb graze the apple of his cheek, catching his tear before it fell, standing on her tiptoes, “You deserve every good thing that’s come to you, you’re a good man Keanu. Behind every wall you put up, beneath every nasty thing you’ve said, I know that you’re good in here,” Y/n placed her hand over his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat against her palm.

It barely took a minute of her touch for him to remember what it was liked to be loved by her, how whole he felt, like if all else faded away, what they had would be all that mattered. Why hadn’t he let himself feel it sooner? Resting his hand over hers on his chest, Keanu bent his head so his lips would graze Y/n’s. “Do you still love me?” Their noses were touching and he ended his inquisition with another brief kiss, using all his restraint to not crash his lips to hers. To say he missed her would be an understatement. He craved Y/n, every part of her; the parts that were so undeniably perfect and the parts that she hid deep within, her touch, her taste, her smell, her voice. Her everything.

“I will always love you,” she whispered, the palm on his face sliding to the back of his head, tangling in Keanu’s neat hair, neither of them caring if she messed it up, “I never stopped. But I told you, I’m not going back to the way things were before.”

“And I told you, I’m not asking you to,” he kissed her, deeper that time, arms winding around her waist, holding her flush against his chest, “I want it all with you. If you’ll have me,” he swallowed nervously, rearing back a bit to search her eyes.

Caressing the back of his neck, Y/n knew she couldn’t deny him, it was inevitable. Everything that had happened form the moment they’d met had led up to them, standing on the balcony as London’s late afternoon turned to dusk; the sun setting, the sky darkening and their affections reigniting, “I wouldn’t rather have anyone else,” lost in his trance, Y/n knew that every word said between them that day was nothing less than the truth. Everything felt different; renewed and realer, he was hers and she was his, truly and completely and for as long as they’d make it last. And they had every intention of making it last for the rest of their forever.

“What about Luke?” Just remembering that Y/n had gotten back with him, Keanu didn’t want to cause any more destruction than he already had.

“We broke up, for good this time,” Y/n shrugged, “I couldn’t do it anymore, force myself to feel something for him when all I wanted was to be with you,” she clung to Keanu, their embrace consuming and healing at the same time, “Tell me this is gonna last.”

“It’s gonna last,” he confirmed, “For as long as I’m alive, it’s gonna last. And even after that, it’ll last, I promise. In fact,” he paused, nervous as hell for some reason, wondering if he was expecting too much too soon after their reconciliation, “I was thinking, if you want, we could walk together tonight. As a couple.”

“Are you sure?” Y/n knitted her brows, knowing that going public was a big step for Keanu. It meant that they were solid, exclusive, committed. A couple with a future, who wanted the world to know that they were only for each other. “I don’t want you to feel pressured just because you want us to work out. We can take it slow.”

Shaking his head, Keanu rubbed her back affectionately, and Y/n burrowed against his chest, “I’m not doing it because of pressure, I’m doing it because I want to, for us. I want the world to know that its sweetest, most beautiful woman chose me. So, what do you say, be my exclusive girlfriend Y/n?”

Beaming, Y/n tilted her head to look up at Keanu, his smile hopeful, “I’d love to Keanu. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he smiled wistfully and and when he leaned down to kiss her, one last time, just before he’d walk her back to her room to finish getting ready, Keanu reminisced on Ester’s advice back at the hotel, maybe it wasn’t a movie, but they could still have their happy ending.

******

Tagging- @harrisongslimited @paanchu786 @thesadvampire @fanficsrusz @fickensteinn @ladyreapermc @babygirltaina @septimaseverina @snatchedbylele @omg-imagine @21stcenturyyfoxx @magnificentclodpiebanana @allie1804-fan @keandrews @greenmanalishi @rdjloverxxx @danceoftwowolves

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jasonmcgathey · 5 years

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Columbus References In Popular Culture

This page is dedicated to fictional works which have either been set in or referenced dear old Columbus, or else nonfictional ones which mention our fair city, though not entirely set here (if interested in documents which were actually created here, and/or by C-bus residents, see my “C-bus Artifacts” tab instead). Many of these occurred when the city was even more obscure than it is now, and therefore felt all the more bizarre:

100% Fresh – Adam Sandler (stand up comedy special). This Netflix offering was filmed in part at the Schottenstein Center. I haven’t seen it but the one pun I’ve heard about calling this the “Schlongenstein Center” sounds pretty lame. Amazingly, enough, however, considering it came out in 2018, this received some fairly strong Rotten Tomato scores – although the weirdest aspect might be that Paul Thomas Anderson filmed part of it. Then again, that could explain the robust reviews.

Family Ties – (TV series). Unless I’m missing something, they don’t come right out of the gate declaring where this sitcom family lives. Having said that, you’re immediately aware that the series has a very Ohio-ish feel to it – someone involved with the show’s creation clearly must have been from here. Many of us thought it completely mindblowing that there was a girl named Jenny Keaton at our school. Elise even kind of reminded me of my stepmom at the time. But I don’t actually remember anyone making a big deal of or for that matter even noticing at the time that this show was supposed to be set in this neck of the woods, probably due to this slow reveal.

As I begin binge watching the seasons, the first Ohio reference I notice at all doesn’t occur until episode 4. This older chick’s trying to seduce Alex and he’s attempting to cool her down with jokes about the Cleveland Indians (safe to say this was a suitably frosty topic circa 1982). And I don’t detect even an oblique mention of Columbus until the 6th episode, when one of Steven’s coworkers jokes about filming Woody Hayes’s house for half an hour. It’s a funny line on its own, but assumes a whole other surreal luster if you are actually watching the episodes in order and have no clue about their location.

Over time, it’s eventually established that Steven works at the Columbus PBS station. Though everyone in my family seemed to agree that he was the funniest character on the show, Alex became the breakout star and it probably explains why Michael J. Fox was the token celebrity here for Hands Across America. Rumors began to surface that the show’s creators had the Bexley area in mind when crafting this timeless family comedy, but, I don’t know, it doesn’t really look like Bexley to me. I’m thinking more like the older parts of Upper Arlington, or possibly Gahanna.

Other references of note:

Season 2, Episode 4 – Mallory receives a letter from the (fictional, as far as I know) Columbus Express newspaper saying she won this mother/daughter modeling contest, and will be featured in the Sunday supplement.

Season 2, Episode 12 – Steven says he hopes to catch the OSU-Iowa game on TV. This would have been the 1983 season. Just for entertainment value I looked up the result of this particular contest – the Buckeyes lost, 20-14, falling to a 2-1 record on the year. In the actual episode, OSU is down 16-12 on the final play of the game and this bratty kid Steven’s babysitting messes up his reception.

Season 2, Episode 14 – Tom Hanks guest stars for the 2nd time as Elise’s brother. Considering that he’s a wee bit too fond of drink these days, the family convinces him to call AA. Upon doing so, he initially makes a lame joke to the receptionist, about selling her a subscription to the Columbus Express.

This is as far as I’ve made it thus far with my binge watching research. However, this topic seems so urgent that I’m rushing to press with what I’ve got. Expect continual reports as I work through all 7 seasons.

Little Man Tate – (movie). While mostly filmed in Cincinnati, some Columbus footage is shot and makes the cut. Found among these scenes are the Wexner Center for the Arts, and downtown’s Ohio Theatre.

Our Towns – James and Deborah Fallows (nonfiction book): It’s kind of a murky, unformed premise, and I also found their writing style a little dull. But this husband and wife duo decide to fly themselves around, checking out what makes certain “small towns” in America tick. Of course even they admit it’s a bit ridiculous to refer to Columbus as a small town, although they usually don’t clarify what criteria made them choose which places, Columbus included. There’s a moderately informative chat with former mayor Michael Coleman, and the library director and a couple of other figures around town, but I wouldn’t really call this a highly engaging read.

Permanent Midnight – Jerry Stahl (memoir): This is a thoroughly engrossing read on its own, as a well-known screenwriter documents his struggles with drug addiction. The Columbus parts all occur early in the book, and are fun for different reasons, as he chronicles his early days working for Hustler magazine (I had no idea it started here, until reading this) while living at a YMCA here in C-bus.

Point Break: Who among us can ever possibly forget that Keanu Reeves’s character, the immortal Johnny Utah, is a quarterback for Ohio State before blowing out his knee, and therefore joining the FBI?

Ready Player One: The novel sets some of the action in Columbus, especially along High Street, but these references feel a little hokey and unnecessary. For the film version, Steven Spielberg decided to move the hero’s home to Columbus entirely, which might be arbitrary but is also less awkward. If I had to hazard a guess as to where The Stacks would be located, I’m going with Marble Cliff. Somewhere around that whole quarry area et cetera on McKinley Avenue.

Road Outside Columbus – O.A.R. (song). Of A Revolution are a curious case. The four original members formed this band and even released a couple of albums while still living in Maryland – and then all four of them moved here to attend OSU, adding a fifth member while doing so. They played out a ton while in school here, and were a popular draw, as I remember for example the girl who lived next door to us was majorly into them, she and all her friends. They were constantly going out to see this band play in bars all around town. Still, having said that, I don’t consider them a Columbus band. To my knowledge they never recorded any music here. I can see the argument both ways, but it feels more like an extended residency.

Road Outside Columbus has to be the best song I’ve heard from them. It’s a pleasant, catchy, Dave Matthews style jam from their 2003 album, In Between Now And Then. The subject matter is fairly obvious as Marc Roberge sings about having found his second home, though only living here a short while, even namechecking Riverside Drive and High Street in the process. And actually I think these lyrics even bolster my case that they are technically not a Columbus band, seem to be admitting as much themselves.

Roadshow – Neil Peart (nonfiction book): This really entertaining and in-depth document, written by the drummer for rock legends Rush, chronicles his decision to travel from show to show on the 2004 tour via motorcycle. He briefly mentions a show at Polaris, though no details are provided. Apparently has some family living just outside of Columbus, though, and he visits that Motorcycle Hall Of Fame in Pickerington.

The Simpsons – (TV series). Season 29’s Grampy Can You Hear Me episode is partially set at OSU. It mentions Brutus Buckeye and there’s a scene depicting the Oval.

“The Soul Is Not A Smithy” – David Foster Wallace (short story). In this tale from the Oblivion collection, a 4th grade teacher suffers a meltdown and takes hostages. I remember the kid narrating it mentions goofing around along the Olentangy River. Also trying to decide where this fictional school would be located, based upon the vague descriptions, and figuring that it must be in Upper Arlington, somewhere around Reed Road.

Teachers – (movie). This inner city school drama was filmed entirely here in town. It’s an okay if somewhat cheesy flick mostly recommended to those interested in spotting landmarks around town, and/or Nick Nolte fans. The soundtrack is probably better.

Traffic – (movie). Some of the scenes were filmed in Columbus, I think all of them downtown. Back in their snarky, pre-Dispatch ownership days, The Other Paper ran a pretty comical piece detailing how Michael Douglas successfully avoided them while filming.

Vitale – Dick Vitale (memoir). OSU had never enjoyed much of a basketball program as of this book’s creation in the late 1980’s. Nonetheless, Dick predicts that freshly minted coach Gary Williams will elevate the Buckeyes to regular top ten threats and national title contenders. Williams lasts three seasons, displaying very little of this alleged prowess.

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#books #movies #television #100% Fresh #Adam Sandler #David Foster Wallace #Family Ties #Jerry Stahl

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2wnikiangel · 5 years

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Ask game

Rules: answer 21 questions and tag 21 people. Because I always feel I little bit nervous, when I need to tag people I like or follow, I would like to see answers of everyone who found this game interesting!

Tagged by @kasielartist. If you don’t know her, just go to check her awesome arts. She’s very talented and I think we will hear about her more in the future. And she’s very kind and modest. Just a precious. :)

Warning: I love writing, so everything you’ll read by me is pretty long. Not Sorry.

Nickname(s): My father started to call me “Niki” when I was 4 years old and I’m so used to it, that I practically like it more that my real name. Some of my friends likes to call me “Angel”, because I like to help people. That’s why my full nickname is Niki Angel. And yes, my older sister calls me “špunt”, that’s a czech slang for “very small person”.

Zodiac: Acording to Horoscope, I am -- creative (yes), passionate (kind of), generous (yes!), warm-hearted (yes!!), cheerful (yes!!!), humorous (trying but failing), arrogant (well, yes), stubborn (more than anyone around me), self-centered (nope), lazy (ooooh), inflexible (yes, and I hate it) -- a summer and Sun child, Leo.

Height: Something between dwarf, human and elf -- 1.55 cm.

Hogwarts house: Traits: dedication, hardworking, fairness, patience, kindness, tolerance, modesty, loyalty and produced the fewest Dark wizards of all the four Houses. Who I am? I’m Jean Valjean Hufflepuff! I remember how sad I was like a kid when everyone thinked about me like a stupid person, just because I was in the Hufflepuff. But, after some time, I wear our colors just proud as other houses. Because we have nothing to be ashamed of! Just look at the traits! That’s something what can change the world in the most positive way!

Last thing I googled: Keanu Reeves. It was because in Czech republic he isn’t so popular and everyone around tumblr and youtube are just so crazy about him that I wanted to know why. Now I know and I watched two films yesterday with him in lead role.

Fave musician(s): I FREAKING LOVE MUSIC. My taste it’s pretty diverse. I wrote only favorite of every gender of music I listen mostly everyday, because otherwise we would be there for more than a week. When you click at the name of the artist(s) you can hear my favorite song made by them.

Kpop: Ultimate favorite is “TVXQ”. It was my first Kpop band back in 2007, when I started to listening Kpop. Then I love “VIXX” (+ “Leo” / “Ravi” / “LR)”, “4Minute” (+ “HyunA” / “TripleH” / “Troublemaker”) and “KARD”. Others I like to listen everyday:

Girlband: “2NE1″ (+ “CL”), “AOA” (+ “Jimin”), “BLACKPINK”, “Brown Eyed Girls” (+ “GaIn”), “CLC”, “EXID”, “Girl’s Day”, “Girl’s Generation” (+ “Taeyeon”), “Miss A”, “Red Velvet”, “Secret” (+ “Hyoseong” / “Jieun”), “SISTAR” (+ “Hyolyn”), “Stellar”, “T-ARA”

Boyband: “100%”, “B.A.P” (+ “Yongguk & Zelo”), “B1A4″, “BEAST”, “Big Bang” (+ “G-dragon”), “Block B”, “BTOB”, “BTS” (+ “Rapmoster” / “Agust D”), “EXO”, “GOT7″, “iKON”, “INFINITE”, “JJCC”, “MBLAQ”, “MONSTA X”, “Nu’est”, “SHINee”, “SS501″, “Super Junior”, “U-Kiss”

Solo: “Ailee”, “BoA”, “DEAN”, “HOLAND”, “Hyoshin”, “Jessi”, “Sunmi”, “YEZI”

Rock / Alternative: Tie between “Panic! At the Disco” and “The Score”. Their music helped me on every exam on university and inspireted one of my biggest Les Mis fanfic project (I think it will be done next spring). Others: “8 graves”, “30 Second to the Mars”, “Billie Eilish”, “Against The Current”, “Coldplay”, “Disturbed”, “Evanescence”, “Fall Out Boy”, “Five Finger Death Punch”, “Get Scared”, “grandson”, “Hurts”, “Imagine Dragons”, “Linkin Park”, “MISSIO”, “Nine Inch Nails”, “One Republic”, “Set It Off”, “SIAMÉS”, “Starset”, “The Cab”, “Thousand Foot Krutch”, “The Neighbourhood”, “Twenty One Pilots“, “Digital Daggers”

Classic: Favorite is our composer “Bedřich Smetana” His Moldau is still one of my favorite piece of work. Then “Beethoven”, “Mozart”, “Vivaldi” and “Wagner”.

Cover: Because this talented people matters too! “Chase Holfelder”, “Nick Pitera”, “Peter Hollens” and “ZEK”.

And many, many, MANY soundtracks and instrumental music for games, films, series, original works, etc.

Following: Les Misérables and Ao no exorcist artists, writers and fans. Some psychology blogs too.

Followers: 10! And I really appreciate it. I’m still new to tumblr, not so active and my fanfiction writing is still on start. Hope, maybe after some years, I will have more thank to my works.

Song stuck in your head: “Imagine Dragons songs battle - Peter Hollens vs. Chase Holfelder”.

Amount of sleep: 2-4 hours per day. I’m so used to live under pressure, stress and lack of sleep, that’s is weird to sleep more than 4 hours. That sometimes happens on holidays, 1-2 times in year. And I seriously don’t remember how much sleep I’m getting. Maybe 8 or 9. Irony -- I love sleeping, but we have some love-hate relationship.

Lucky number: 13. Stuck with me from my middle school years.

Do you get asks: Actually - no. And I need you to know, that I’m absolutely okay with them. So if you want to ask something or just chat or you have problem and want to help, just messege me. I’m open to everyone.

What are you wearing: Red summer dress. (And, yes, I’m not one of the fashionable person you want to know.)

Dream job: Soldier! But... Well, I’m too small and not 100 % healthy so I must give up this dream when I was 14 years old and my doctor told me that I will never be a soldier. It was pretty hard for me back then, but I decided to work for police in Special Victims Unit with focus on sexual abuse on children. I’m slowly getting there thank to studying and hard work!

Instrument(s): I played piano profesionally for 10 years. I stopped after some time on highschool because I could no longer attend courses in my town. I can still play it, but don’t have piano or keyboard at home, so I sometimes play on train stations just for the nostalgy. BUT! I want to buy my favorite piano for 30. birthday. Hope I will save the money, I have 7 years for it. OH, and I can play some songs on quitar.

Language(s): Motherlanguage is czech, so is absolutely normal for me to understand slovak. I speak english, even thoughs I have C1 certificate, I’m nervous and can’t speak or write without shaking, sweating and making stupid mistakes. I learned german on middle and high school, but can’t say a shit practically anything in this freaking language. When someone ask me something in croatian, polish or russian, I mostly understand but I blame it on Slavic roots. And I’m learning french for 6 months now, because I always wanted to speak and understand this language.

Fav song(s): “Hurricane by 30 Second to the Mars”! Mentioned already in the “Favorite musician(s)” ask.

Aesthetic: piano sheets, coffee, blue color, literature, music, theather, optimistic thoughts, deep thoughts, dogs, family, friends, love... <3

Random fact(s): My lucky number is 13, so 13 random facts about me!

MY FAVORITE book is “The Picture of Dorian Gray”; musical is “The Phantom of the Opera”; anime is “Yu Yu Hakusho”; manga is “Ao no Exorcist”; film is “The Shawshank Redemption"; series is “Game of Thrones” but not the season 8; band is “TVXQ”; color is blue in any shade; season is autumn; dogbreed is “Czechoslovakian woldog” and icecream with flavour of citrone or pistachio.

My biggest dream it’s make everyone on this world happy, satisfied, loved and accepted.

I’m coffe AND tea person. I can’t choose what I love more!

I love cleaning the house while listening (and stupidly dancing and falsely singing) to music.

My life motto? “Freedom. Beauty. Truth. Love.” Bohemian all the way!

I’m pretty shy and don’t talk much at first. I like to be around people, don’t get me wrong, but mostly I’m a listener. That’s maybe why I love writing so much.

I already know what song will play at my funeral! It’s “Lacrimosa from Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart”.

I’m romantic! If you’re my parnert just prepare to be woke up with your favorite breakfast, we will watch your favorite series and talk about it all the time, I will plan our vacation just to make sure it will be unforgettable for you, I will buy your favorite perfume, I will DIY presents for you, I will respect and love you with all my heart, I will praise your work, I will learn about your hobbies and support them... Yeah, my friends call it’s “annoyingly submissive” but who cares? That’s just me.

Even thought what I wrote here (^8.) - I fall in love only one time in my whole life. It was 2 months after my 18. birthday. He was tall, black-haired cishet man, witty, inteligent, humourus, gently, ironic, sarcastic and beautiful human being. And he’s my boyfriend for 5 years now and we have awesome 1 year old daugher.

I studied law and public administration in highschool and criminology on university. In Semptember this year (2019) I’ll start my master’s degree for public safety and 2 years long psychology practice. After this I’ll go to work and start my distance learning of psychology (A/N: 3 years for bachelor + 2 years for master + 4 years for doctor + 2 years of another practive - then exams and only AFTER ALL OF THIS you can become a psychiatrics with your own office! That’s why I wanted start studying this subject AFTER my police graduation).

I have emepthophobia - abnormal and very strong fear of throwing up. This is why I eat only things I know for long time (no raw meat, no sushi, no experimental cusaine); I don’t like eating at restaurants (I’m afraid that some guest can get nauseated and start throwing up); I don’t go to amusent parks and never was (and I'll never be!) on their attractions; I am abstinent (Don’t try to force, seriously); I don’t like to be around drunk people; I hate hospitals and doctors (even thought a deeply respect them, but try to get the tube into my mouth ONE MORE TIME AND WILL DESTROY ALL YOUR BLOODLINE) and I HATE films when they put throwing up like “comedic” aspect (mostly American comedies. That’s why I don’t watch them.). Actually, just writing it down makes me anxious because I imagine all the things I’m writing and it’s horrible... (I needed to stop writing, calm myself for like half a hour and even after this I didn’t wrote everything that I hate about this phobia).

I’m demisexual but still don’t see myself as a part of the LGBT+ comunity. Maybe because when I come out some friends of the comunity (namely gay, lesbian a trans female lesbian) they say that “demisexuality is nothing compare their fight for rights” and it’s “just another heterosexual made-up thing for which don’t want sex or want to judge others who love sex with no relationships including”. That’s why, when someone ask me why I support LGBT+ so much and have so many friends of them, I’m saying that I am a “Straight Ally”. Even though I know it’s not all the true (because I don’t identify myself like heterosexual at all), I just don’t fell I need to explain or “come out” like some others. I just live with it and I’m happy. To all demisexuals: Don’t ever think you are weird. You aren’t! You can fall in love. You can feel aroused. You can have fuctional relationship with no sex or sex including. You don’t need to have anyone to be happy. Just like have a family, child/children, husband/wife and be sometimes excited to be touched by your loved one(s). You can love or hate hugs. You can found someone attractive just INSIDE and be happy with it. Every demisexual it’s different. But still matters. Don’t ever think about to be ashemed by your sexuality. It’s your thing and NO ONE can’t say a shit about it.

Yeah, and I beat cancer when I was 17 by the way. And still not 100% healthy but living.

Thank for tagging and hope you found it interesting!

See you next time, maybe with my another Les Mis fanfiction!

#ask me #personal #me #sometimes it's good to open up #do it with the one you believe and trust #it's worth it #thank you all for reading

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jillmckenzie1 · 5 years

Text

A Man of Focus

Let’s begin with something that’s indisputable. On April 1, 2009, Alfonso Hernandez and Michael Edmonds thought it would be funny to shoot a dog dead. Why? All cruelty has ever needed to flourish is an opportunity. In this case, Hernandez and Edmonds saw a yellow Labrador puppy outside a home. They shot the dog with a .357 Magnum pistol, then stood over her body, laughing.

In addition to being evil, this was a seriously dumb move. The puppy’s name was Dasy. Her guardian was Marcus Luttrell, a SEAL team member awarded the Navy Cross for heroism in combat while serving in Afghanistan. He was the only survivor of a particularly vicious firefight. Dasy was given to Luttrell to help with the healing process. Her name is an acronym for the names of the men Luttrell served alongside.

Armed with a pistol, Luttrell snuck up on Hernandez and Edmonds. He took aim. They saw him, hopped in their car, and fled. Undeterred, Luttrell pursued them in his pickup. Across three counties. For 40 miles at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. During the chase, Luttrell was on the phone with a 911 operator, and he was quoted as saying, “You need to get someone out here because if I catch them, I’m going to kill them.”*

Does that sound a little familiar? This is how myths are born. A real event happens. A storyteller takes the core event and runs with it. Yet a great deal of our modern mythology is found in movies, and it doesn’t all have to do with the Avengers. One of the latest additions to American film mythology, 2014’s John Wick, told the story of a grieving widower who received a preposterously cute puppy as the last gift from his wife. Assorted scumbags kill the puppy and take the widower’s car. Did I mention that the widower is a legendarily lethal assassin? The film wasn’t just a hit—it cemented itself as a benchmark, a necessary addition to action cinema. Now, the maybe-or-maybe-not conclusion of the trilogy, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, has arrived. Holy hell, has it ever.

All three films are tightly plotted together, and in order to understand what the heck has happened, you need to either have seen the preceding two films or read this handy recap.

In the first film, Wick (Keanu Reeves) was able to get revenge for the death of his puppy Daisy by killing a lot of bad people. When John Wick: Chapter Two gets going, Wick is immediately dealing with the theft of his car. He’s also reluctantly drawn into a plot by Santino (Riccardo Scamarcio), a crook with dreams of ascending to the High Table, the ruling council of a global criminal syndicate. Things went sideways. Wick ended up killing the hell out of Santino. Unfortunately, he did this at The Continental, a hotel for assassins and safe ground. “Conducting business” is a no-no at The Continental, and Wick conducted business extremely enthusiastically.

So, does Wick get a slap on the wrist and a stern lecture from Winston (Ian McShane), the manager of The Continental? He does not. Instead, Wick has been declared excommunicado. There’s a $14 million price on his head, and every killer is crawling out of the woodwork just to take their shot.** This is where Chapter Three begins. Wick is a pretty sharp cookie, and he has both a short-term and long-term plan.

The short-term plan is to brutally kill anyone who comes after him, and he does so hilariously at the New York Public Library. The long-term plan is to head for Casablanca, track down The Elder—the head of the High Table, and make amends. To do that, he’ll need to first ask The Director (Anjelica Huston) for help getting him out of the United States. Next, he’ll need to find Sofia (Halle Berry), a disgruntled former associate, and ask for her help. Sounds like a cakewalk, right?

While all of Wick’s globetrotting and head smashing is going on, the High Table is making its own moves. They have sent out The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) to punish everyone involved with helping Wick in the past. Both Winston and The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) are informed they have seven days to relinquish control of their empires. The Adjudicator has the muscle to enforce this, as she’s brought along Zero (Mark Dacascos), a sushi chef/ninja who’s also a massive fan and rival of John Wick.

These days, action/adventure movies can be broadly separated into two categories. The first is FX heavy, consisting of your MCU and Star Wars films. By utilizing CGI, filmmakers can bring us everything from Daisy Ridley jumping over a TIE fighter to Josh Brolin throwing a moon at Robert Downey Jr. There’s an artistry to CGI that, when utilized by the right people, the results can be spectacular. Equally spectacular is the second category, films that lean hard into stunt choreography. These films are like a dance, requiring intense precision and training.

John Wick: Chapter 3 is directed by Chad Stahelski, one of the most talented and innovative stunt professionals working today. Watch how he shoots action sequences. Instead of dizzying edits, we can see long takes and appreciate the extensive training his cast and crew went through. His decades of experience brought us well-shot and innovative action scenes involving gunplay, knife fights, horse-fu, motorcycle chases, death by book, and a dog running up a wall to maul a luckless henchman.*** There is an exhausting amount of action here. Stahelski has also made a genuinely gorgeous-looking film. He’s got a knack for arresting imagery, everything from neon reflected in rainy streets to golden sand dunes. It all comes together to feel operatic, bigger than a regular action movie. I loved it, and my only criticism with his direction is that the pacing occasionally feels a little sluggish.

Returning writer Derek Kolstad, along with co-writers Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams, have delivered unto us a good news/bad news scenario. The good news is that Parabellum very nearly hits the sweet spot between the intensity of the first film and the fascinating world-building of the second. We learn more about the Continental, the High Table, and even a little of the origins of Wick himself. The script also feels like a meditation on fame and how it feels. Everywhere Wick goes, people recognize him and want a piece of him, and in the end, he just wants people to leave him the hell alone so he can grieve for his wife and play with his dog.

The bad news is that as much as we learn more about the world of John Wick, we don’t learn as much about how Wick and the other characters feel about it. During the first film, Keanu Reeves digs into a meaty performance—one of the best of his career. Ever had a loved one pass away, and while you’re trying to deal with their loss, the world keeps intruding? That’s what the first film is really about—a genuinely evil man who’s given a possibly unearned chance to redeem himself, and how that redemption falls apart. At this point in the series, so much has been taken away from John Wick. If an action scene had been trimmed and a bit more time had been devoted to emotional combat, we might have had a film that delivered an even bigger impact.

There’s never a moment with the cast where I was disappointed. Laurence Fishburne’s booming hamminess. Ian McShane’s worn-out elegance. Mark Dacascos’ nerdy enthusiasm. It’s all delightful. Anjelica Huston shows up for a minute as the sly head of a school for killers, and improv legend Jason Mantzoukas even appears briefly. I thoroughly enjoyed Halle Berry as Sofia, and she’s able to bring something real to a role that was a little smaller than I would have liked. Despite having won an Academy Award, I think Berry has never quite gotten the respect she deserves as a performer. Here, she’s put in serious tactical training, dog training, and on top of all that, she delivers an emotionally touching moment.

If the John Wick franchise is an ever-expanding wheel of bizarre rituals and crazy characters, Keanu Reeves is the still center. I’d love to get a look at the script, as I suspect he has no more than 200 lines of dialogue. It’s unfortunate that the kind of acting that Reeves is doing here will go largely unappreciated. Other actors would be tempted to go big. Reeves keeps things locked down, and his legendary blankness is actually a mask of professionalism hiding a grieving man in search of a little order. Consider an early scene located at the library. Wick has gone there to retrieve some necessary supplies hidden in a book, along with a photo of his wife. An assassin takes a shot at him. They fight, and Wick uses the book as a viciously effective weapon. Once the combat has finished, Wick takes the time to put the book back exactly where it goes. That moment tells you everything you need to know, and Reeves sells it perfectly.

Is the character of John Wick really based on Marcus Luttrell and the horrific night of April 1, 2009? I don’t know. While I’ve read in some places that he was an inspiration, I suspect it doesn’t really matter. What matters in a myth isn’t necessarily its origins. Strip away the guns, blades, and mayhem, and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum feels like an opera, myth, or folk tale. Heightened themes, a story told through violence, and a man forced to confront what he truly is.

*As a fast side note, Hernandez and Edmonds both pled guilty to animal cruelty. Hernandez got two years in state prison with a $1000 fine. They went a little easier on Edmonds, as he testified against his buddy and was sentenced to five years of felony probation.

**One of my favorite things about this franchise is the idea that New York alone is home to something like 600,000 professional killers. Think about that next time you stiff your server on the tip.

***This may look like a CGI pooch, but trust me when I tell you it ain’t. Click here to learn more about the stunt and the Very Good Boy who handled it.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/a-man-of-focus/

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