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beomglocks · 4 years

Text

unlikely allies ; txt x reader

part: two ,,,, next chapter / previous chapter

plot: when a zombie apocalypse breaks out in your town, you’re forced to team up with a group of boys from very different social standards in your school.

genre: fluff, angst, horror i guess?, not really that scary but alright, some funny moments

w/c: 4.2K (was in a writing mood)

warnings: blood, gruesome scenes (kind of really detailed), cursing, everyone hates each other, definitely some major injuries, zombies duh, everyone kinda pining for mc

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"we're alive, you're alive, it's gonna be ok."

usually, when people say those words, everything ends up going completely wrong. the phrase gets jinked and turned over on its head making the situation worse. in your case, that didn't happen. if anything the situation got better somehow.

"after we met in the hall i headed to the gym to get the bat you suggested," beomgyu explains softly. you and him were seated on one of the benches in the locker room.

after what happened earlier with the zombie, you distanced yourself from yeonjun and taehyun who were currently exploring the locker room for other resources. luckily, none of the other zombies outside knew you all were in here so it was safe to say you were in the clear for now.

"actually if it wasn't for you, i'd probably be dead," he laughs looking down at his hands. you noticed there was a lot of blood on them but didn't bother to ask where it came from. after all, you all seemed to be in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. "i could say the same," you chuckle. you honestly don't have to energy to talk but you figure a new face to converse with who isn't someone you despise is nice.

"no but really," he suddenly turns serious. "if it wasn't for you, i would've never gone to the gym in the first place. i probably would've been turned into one of those monsters while in the hallway, unsuspecting." you don't argue with him. if he thinks you saved his life then so be it. "i'm grateful seriously," he mentions softly. you look up at him bewildered, "you're grateful? if anything i'm the one who should be grateful," you laugh a genuine laugh this time hoping to lift the gloomy mood. "if it wasn't for you i would be the living dead right now," you smile bitterly.

you can feel him staring at you but you don't look at him. you don't want this conversation to turn into a battle of who saved who and thankfully he doesn't continue it.

"uh i-i think just last week we were working on a lab together," he scratches the back of his head nervously. you lean back on the bench, "oh yeah, i remember. wow it's crazy how things can change so drastically in a matter of days." you look around the locker room in thought, "i wonder what happened to everyone else, i mean how can something like this happen?" you continue.

he sighs, "i really don't know...like i said, i headed to the gym after we saw each other. everything seemed normal. i was in the batting room looking for a metal bat then i hear the locker room door burst open. i figured the baseball team was about to start practice so i walked out while trying to hide the bat under my shirt." he looks at you sheepishly as you laugh at his attempt at stealing. "well one of the members of the team was in the corner of the locker room just scratching his arm like crazy! i'm talking deep wounds with blood dri-" you cut him off, grimacing. "r-right well, i asked him what happened and all he told me was not to go out there. i was confused so i look into the gym and see people eating each other than coming back to life and doing the same to others."

he closes his eyes but winces as if remembering a bad memory, "it was crazy, i was so starstruck that i didn't even realize the guy from before had already turned. it's a good thing i heard him making those weird noises or else i would've turned too. unfortunately, i had to kill him using the bat." your eyes fall on the bruised and bloody bat by his side. it must've taken beomgyu a lot of hits to figure out where exactly to aim to kill. "how did that other one that attacked me get in?" you ask.

"well apparently the one that attacked me wasn't the only one to come in earlier. he must've been hiding or something," beomgyu sighs, looking at you again. "look y/n, im really glad yo-"

"we didn't find anything useful other than the bats and some paddings," yeonjun strolls into the main locker room with taehyun looking dejected behind him. you glance at them then look back at the ground. you're not sure why you're angry at them, it's not like they could've done anything at the moment. suddenly the sad realization hits you: yeonjun is a self-centered asshole who doesn't care about anyone and taehyun barely knows you so why would he risk his life.

beomgyu mutters something silently to himself but you don't hear it. "so what are we gonna do now? we can't just stay here forever," yeonjun sits on the bench opposite of yours with his arms perched on his knees. you stay silent, not really wanting to talk anymore. beomgyu ruffles his hair, "let's see... we have bats and the baseball teams protective gear somewhere around here but I don't think going around killing all the zombies in that gym is a good idea. we will definitely not make it out alive."

taehyun sighs angrily, "damn it, we can't just stay here. we're bound to get hungry or worse; wanna use the bathroom. we need to find a way out to find more people. i still believe we're better in numbers." he notices you haven't pitched any ideas yet so he looks at you expectingly.

when you don't answer, yeonjun groans, "cmon y/n how long are you gonna keep acting like this?" you look up and see he's looking at you with a bored expression. "look sorry we couldn't help or whatever but honestly what did you expect us to do? no offense but you're acting like a child." you don't wanna give him the satisfaction of knowing that what he said got to you so you bite your lip and glance at the ground.

"yeonjun when you put 'no offense' in front of an offensive statement it doesn't make it any less offensive,” beomgyu rolls his eyes. "plus, they almost died. do you really not have any empathy oh wait i forgot you're a selfish jackass who probably wouldn't think twice about throwing us to the wolves." in all the time you've known choi beomgyu, which is a couple of months roughly, you don't think he's ever stood up for himself or others for that matter.

"beomgyu," you warn silently. you guys already have enough problems as it is, you don't need a fight breaking out. "oh look who's getting bold," yeonjun chides. "you save one person and suddenly you're the hero of the story," he rolls his eyes. "news flash, y/n doesn't like you."

beomgyu's eyes widen and you see his ears turn red. "shut up yeonjun," he says through gritted teeth. "oh yeah y/n by the way beomgyu has an embarrassingly massive cru-" before yeonjun can finish his sentence he's on the floor with beomgyu on top of him.

"guys!" taehyun shouts. he wanted to break up the fight before the zombies outside were alerted. none of the boys on the floor were listening though and you had a huge wave of deja vu hit you.

unfortunately, this wasn't like the last fight you witnessed because yeonjun was far stronger than his opponent this time. although beomgyu had the advantage of throwing the first punch, yeonjun had the advantage of actually being able to fight. "y/n doesn't like you! they'll never like you no matter what you do!" yeonjun shouts in between punches. "fuck you!" beomgyu retorts, trying to shield himself. you see taehyun conflicted on whether or not he should break up the fight since his wrist is still damaged.

"guys stop!" at this point, both boys are in a blind rage. both shouting at each other and throwing wild punches. you all hadn't heard the banging on the locker room door. until it was too much to handle. the lock was busted open in a flash causing all of you to whip your heads towards the door.

the force of all the zombie's dog piling on the door after hearing the commotion of the living on the other side must've been too much for the door to handle. "run run RUN!" taehyun grabs you and bolts towards the second doors of the locker room leading towards the girl's side. you didn't even have time to look back and see if yeonjun and beomgyu had time to get off the floor and run because before you know it you're in the hallway again.

"we have to get to the first room we see," taehyun pants. you both run past all the strangler zombies in the hallway and you're glad taehyun takes the brunt of the force. since he's the one that picked up some of the equipment his arms are paddled so it's fairly easy to take some force from the zombies jumping at a chance to bite him. you run close behind him grasping his hand tighter than you'd ever held anything.

you suddenly remember all the times you'd scream at a character in a horror movie when they trip and fall. sympathy rushes through you because it definitely wasn't easy.

"in here!" taehyun rushes towards the nearest room and barges through it. it took a bit of force since there seemed to be stuff blocking it from the inside but you both managed to get through it before the horde caught you. as soon as you get in the room you heave for air, you'd seriously never run that fast in your life. you turn around towards the now-closed door and to your dismay, beomgyu and yeonjun are not there.

"damn it we got split up," you mumble through deep breaths. you sincerely hope they're both ok. you turn back around but before you could get a chance to discuss with taehyun you see he has his hands up in surrender. "wha-" that's when you hear a gun click.

your eyes widen when you see soobin appear from the shadows of the room with a gun in his hands. that's when you realize where you are, the principal's office.

"soobin!" you're confused as to why he has a gun pointed towards you guys but you're glad he's alive. "get any closer and you'll end up like the principal," soobin spits. you finally look towards the floor where the principal's desk is located and see what looks like a body but it's unmoving.

"oh my god," you mumble. "dude what the hell," taehyun steps forward and soobin turns the gun towards him. "get away from me! i don't know if you're infected or not!" you're very worried because soobin looks like he's not mentally capable of wielding a gun at this moment.

you finally survey him and the room. his hair is an absolute mess and he has more blood on his face and body then you remember. his clothes look pretty normal except for the scratches and blood on them. they didn't seem to go that deep just enough to rip his clothes. the room on the other hand was a total mess. the bookshelf was on the floor and the chair in front of the principal's desk was flipped over, there were books all over the floor and the couch that was used for lounging was turned upside down. that's probably what was blocking the door.

"soobin," you warn. he points the gun at you. "we're not infected." you hope you sound calm. you don't want to give him a reason to think you're a zombie. "there's no way," he mumbles. "everyone's dead! there's no way you guys made it out alive."

"it's true!" taehyun encourages. "yeonjun, beomgyu, y/n and i are alive from what we know." soobin eyes you both, "where are they then?" you sigh dejectedly, "we got split up."

"look, we promise we're not infected! we haven't gotten bit or scratched or anything, please put the gun down," you step closer to him and when he doesn't wave it at you you grab it from him and throw it on the floor.

soobin steps back towards the wall and sinks down to the floor holding his head in his hands. "damn it! i hate this!" he mumbles. "what the hell happened in here?" taehyun asks. he walks towards the principal's body and cringes.

soobin sighs, "he was already one of those monsters when i got here, it was a struggle trying not to get eaten but i found a gun hidden under the desk. i guess it's a gun meant for self defense so that's what i used it for." you look down, processing his words. he was in here alone with a zombie. you're amazed at his ability to stay alive in such a tight situation.

"do you have any wounds, we have a first aid kit," you motion towards the bag on taehyun's back. he gives you a grateful smile, "thanks." you take the bag from taehyun while he watches you closely. he feels weird but he can't explain it. he doesn't want to watch you patch soobin up but he doesn't say it out loud. he decides to busy himself with looking around mindlessly instead of thinking about that.

in the meantime, you kneel down to help soobin. he watches you take out everything from the first aid kit. "sorry," he bites his lip. you chuckle dryly. this is one of those times when soobin looks and acts soft. you've only interacted with him a couple of times before with the extracurricular activities and fundraisers your school held. you knew he could be nice when he wanted to, he just got into fights a lot.

seeing him up close made you realize why so many people in your school fawned over him. he had looks that could rival yeonjun's. the only thing differentiating them was that soobin was actually kind of nice. "it's fine, you were scared," you say softly. instead of responding he opts for watching you silently. he's seen you around school and during the fundraisers and whatnot but never thought much about it. were you always this cute? sure, you had remnants of blood on your face but it didn't seem to take away from your looks.

he shakes his head at the thought. he shouldn't be thinking that about you, he barely knows anything about you other than your name and that you were seemingly willing to go out your way to help people. you give him a confused face and he just looks down at the ground. you cant tell what he's thinking and don't really dwell on it. you wet the cotton ball in your hand with alcohol, "this might sting." he doesn't say anything seemingly lost in his thoughts.

"god, why are these boys so weird towards you," you think to yourself. you gently dab the cotton ball on the cut on his face and he flinches violently. his hand flies up to grab your wrist and he looks at you with wide eyes. "i told you it was gonna sting," you shake his hand from you and sit back waiting for him to regain himself. "sorry i didn't hear you. i wasn't ready for that," he groans, cracking his neck. "ok now."

after you finish patching soobin up, which including him flinching a lot and you telling him to calm down, you let him rest on the floor. taehyun has been seated on top of the principal's desk this whole time just spaced out, looking out of the window. you join him but wince when you see someone on the floor getting eaten. you turn back to him but he's still looking outside.

"i don't think calling for help is gonna work," he says emotionlessly. you sit on the desk beside him. "hey don't say that, there could be people alive out there." you sound like you're trying to reassure yourself more than him. "what if there's no one?" he turns to look at you. "this is so messed up y/n." you see the unshed tears hidden in his eyes and you wanna comfort him but also don't wanna make it awkward. you opt for taking his damaged hand in yours and rubbing it with care.

"i know the situation is really messed up and everything but so far we've managed to save like three people including ourselves. if we keep going maybe we'll be safe and find anyone out there that can help us," he watches you trace his bandaged wrist like you're in a trance. a sudden realization hits him out of nowhere: you're cute... and super caring. he bites his lip, changing the subject, "sorry for not doing anything, back then."

you look up at him and give him a tight lip smile, "it's fine. i guess i might've been expecting too much from you guys, i mean we didn't even have anything on us. beomgyu was the only one with a weapon." you're not mad anymore since he did manage to get you both to safety afterward. you sigh, letting go of his hand. you don't notice him visibly deflate. "i hope yeonjun and beomgyu are ok. i didn't get to see what happened after the door busted open."

taehyun lays back on the desk and covers his face with his arm, "i'm sure they're fine." you hear a groan from somewhere in the room and you flinch, instinctively shuffling closer to taehyun. he bites back a smile from under his arm. you look around and sigh when it's just soobin trying to stand up again. "what are you guys doing?" he goes to sit next to you but there isn't any more space on the desk since you're sitting and taehyun's laying down. he frowns and goes for the principal's seat instead.

"just looking outside, feeling hopeful...others hopeless," you smile at him, hoping to lift the mood. soobin hums, spinning around in the swivel chair, "i'm pretty hopeless." you frown and suddenly soobin feels guilty that he made you upset. "i mean i'm just saying that since i saw a bunch of innocent people in the hall get eaten alive, that's all. there might be some hope outside of the school."

there's a silence that falls upon you three and you're not sure what to say. thankfully soobin speaks up and he hopes it doesn't sound awkward when he says it, "how long have you two been...together?" this causes taehyun to sit up, "what do you mean by that?" soobin raises his hands in surrender. "i was just wondering when is it that you two met up."

"yeonjun and i found him in the nurse's office. that's when everything went to shit," you mumble. "yeonjun? that prick is still alive?" soobin scoffs. "hey, he may be an asshole but his plan got us out of that office," you chide. taehyun stares at you, "you're standing up for him when he called you childish and started that fight?" he says quietly.

"what's wrong with standing up for yeonjun? i know he's a dick but i think he might actually be helpful. he could've left us back at the nurse's office but he decided to stick around. that's commendable, i think," you don't even know why you're suddenly sticking up for him when he hasn't really given you a reason too. maybe it's because you feel bad that he's not actually here to defend himself.

"great another one," you hear soobin mumble under his breath. "another what?" you narrow your eyes at him. "another person that only exists to suck up to yeonjun. here i was thinking i might actually like you," he chuckles flatly. "excuse me?" you can feel embarrassment and anger bubbling up in you.

soobin and taehyun look at you with wide eyes. "let me get one thing straight, i don't live to suck up to anyone, especially with the way things are. if you have a problem with me sticking up for people who aren't here to defend themselves then i'll leave. i don't care if you like me or not," with that you walk up to the door. the hallways seem pretty clear so you go to open the door.

"y/n," taehyun whisper shouts at you. "don't go out there alone, i'll go with you." he frantically moves to pack up his bag once again. you see soobin move to stand up and walk over to you too but you remember what he said. "i don't want anyone of you around me, i'll find other people on my own. wouldn't want you to think i'm sucking up to everyone who tries to help me."

"that wasn't what i meant, i just- fuck y/n- wait," he reaches out towards you but you close the door quickly. you start walking down the hallway, not really knowing where to go. "this was a very bad idea," you think to yourself. so far there's no zombies in the hall you're currently on but you can't shake the fear that's lingering behind you.

you figure taehyun and soobin didn't follow after you or just didn't get a chance to see where you went. you kind of hope they stay put at the principal's office for when you come back with more people. you're pulled from your thoughts quite literally when you're yanked into the janitor's closet.

you go to scream but a hand covers your mouth. you blink a couple of times for your eyes to adjust to the dimness of the tiny space. this is a tiny closet only meant for brooms and mops so your body is very pressed up against whoever is in here with you.

you look up and see yeonjun smiling down at you. he has blood all over his face from the fight that kind of looks like he tried to wipe it off but failed. "oh my god yeonjun," you whisper. you're not sure why your being quiet but you don't want any potential zombies passing by to hear you two.

"hey y/n," he whispers. "how the hell are you alive?" you ask him. "well considering the fact that taehyun is a baseball player which makes him a fast runner, beomgyu and i couldn't keep up so we went into hiding in the girls locker room since it was dark. the zombies followed you guys so once we heard no more commotion we left. beomgyu didn't wanna hang around me so he went around tryna find you." yeonjun rolls his eyes at this.

"you should've stuck with him asshole. im worried about his wellbeing," you bite your lip in worry. you really don't want anything to happen to anyone you've met so far. yeonjun keeps looking down at you, "y/n."

you look back up at him and see his face riddled with worry, "am i really that unbearable, that people would rather die than be around me?" you shake your head viciously. "what? don't say that! i mean sure you're a dick but anyone can change."

you both don't break eye contact for a moment and it kind of starts to feel stuffy in the closet. yeonjun suddenly speaks up, "do you like beomgyu?" your eyes widen and you start to feel heat rise up your neck and cheeks. "n-no, well i don't know...yet. i-i really don't know. i guess he and i are friends and maybe if we talked mor-" in that moment of you stuttering over your words, yeonjun leans down, as best as he can in such a tight space, to place a gentle kiss on your lips.

your eyes widen and you realize you aren't really doing anything so you decide to kiss back. you're so confused right now but decide to let the moment flow. he nibbles on your bottom lip and you let your mouth drop open for him to use his tongue. he somehow manages to push his body closer to yours and wraps his arms around your waist. the kiss isn't rough or needy and is nice but it feels wrong and weird, especially given the circumstances.

you pull away and lick your lips. yeonjun tries to chase your lips but you push him back gently. "why are you kissing me," you ask him shyly. "do you even like me?" this is the part where he hurts you. you wouldn't say you had strong feelings for yeonjun but you did think he was good looking. even though he was mostly mean to everyone you hoped he would change and be a good link to the tiny group you all formed.

"i think so, i don't really know yet to be honest," he answers you. you nod and sigh, satisfied with his answer towards you for now. "sorry for what i said earlier. you weren't being childish, i'm sorry i couldn't help you back then, and im sorry for starting that fight."

you reassure him that its fine but you still feel a weird pit in your stomach worrying about beomgyu. you hope he's ok.

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adolanables · 4 years

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Flame - Part 10

Masterlist

Today was the day you had to fly back to school and Grayson hadn’t responded to any of your texts. Granted, you had only sent about three after he didn’t respond to your initial message letting him know you had landed safely. Part of you thought about reaching out to Ethan to make sure everything was okay, but you refrained. Surely Grayson would’ve told you if something was wrong and probably just wanted to take some time to himself with his family. At least that’s what you kept telling yourself.

The break was uneventful - your family didn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving as it is mainly an American holiday. Both of your parents are vegetarian and don’t see the point in stuffing yourself until you feel like you could vomit. There were a few dinners throughout the week that ended in your father telling you he was disappointed in your lack of effort in school and your mother shushing him softly. Truthfully, his words didn’t bother you all that much anymore.

The flight back to school was quick and painless, Grayson initially had told you he was picking you up, but considering you hadn’t heard from him you weren’t expecting much. The Lyft app on your phone told you your driver was three minutes away as a familiar voice broke your attention.

“Get in the car.” Grayson’s voice sounded deeper, his face certainly looked like he had aged about ten years in the last week. His glasses were gone, a scraggly beard on his chin - hair unkempt.

“Oh - hey.” Cancelling the Lyft and shoving your phone in your pocket, you tilted your head at him in confusion. “I didn’t think you’d be here-”

“I said I would pick you up, didn’t I?” He quipped, jogging towards you and gripping your suitcase before throwing it into the back seat. Ethan was nowhere to be found so you slid into the passenger seat.

“Yea, I just thought you changed your mind.” You nodded uncomfortably, feeling the tension in the air as Grayson sped back to campus.

He didn’t respond, his jaw clenched tightly as his foot was pressed to the floorboard. The thirty minute drive turned into ten and soon enough you were parking in the lot behind your dorm. As you went to let yourself out of the car, Grayson’s hand caught yours, drawing your focus up to his eyes surrounded by very dark bags.

“When were you going to tell me you fucked Ethan?”

Have you ever seen a scene in one of those movies where everything freezes except for the main character? Like the whole world stops turning for a second so that person can have a few seconds to gather their thoughts before speaking. That’s what you felt was happening as Grayson’s hand held your wrist tightly, his eyes trained on yours, pure hatred searing through you. As everything unfroze, you opened your mouth to speak, but couldn’t get out a single word.

“You have nothing to say?” He gawked, dropping your hand and sinking back into his seat. “Figures.”

It felt like he had just kicked you in the chest-. Every second you were trying to breath properly so you could get out just one word to tell him that you were at least sorry - maybe explain yourself a little bit. Nothing was happening. You felt your chest tightening as he got out of the car and slammed the door, pulling your suitcase from the back and walking around to your side. He threw the door open, reached down to unbuckle you and stood with his hands on his hips. “You have to get out so I can lock the car.”

His words were muted, but you heard him, your fingers haphazardly reaching around for your phone as you managed to pull yourself out of the seat. The concrete felt like jelly and soon your knees were connecting with the black asphalt. Grayson let out a conflicted sigh as he watched you try to gather yourself on all fours, the lights in the parking lot the only thing illuminating you having a mental breakdown. He didn’t know what to do. The angry side of him wanted to walk away and leave you to fend for yourself, but the more prominent side of him - the Grayson side - knew he couldn’t do that. So, instead, he stood there as you tried and failed to catch your breath, the rocks on the ground digging into your hands were not nearly as painful as what felt like direct stabs to your heart.

“Logan, come on.” He sighed, after nearly ten minutes of watching you have a panic attack he couldn’t take it anymore. “We have to go inside.” Seeing you weren’t responding to him, he leaned down to grip you under your armpits and force you to stand up. “Just lean on me, I’ll pull the suitcase.”

His arm wrapped around your waist sent chills down your spine because you knew this would be the last time you felt his hands on you. As he helped you upstairs to your room and unlocked your door, you were grateful you had come back a day early so Bridget didn’t have to see you like this.

“You need to lock the door when I leave, okay?” He explained, helping you sit down on the edge of your bed. Honestly, after Ethan had told him this, the rage that ran through him was other worldly. He had never been that angry at someone - at two people. After a much needed talk from his mom, she convinced him it wasn’t rational to move out of the dorms just because he was furious with Ethan. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t - so he decided to shift all that anger to you. He thought he was going to be able to rip you a new one the second you got in the car - that’s the only reason he still picked you up. He wanted thirty minutes to scream at you in private. When he pulled up and saw your messy hair and bright pink lips that you surely chewed on too much for an entire week, he faltered. When he watched you just fall apart at the seams he truly thought for a moment if perhaps he was being too harsh.

“Logan, please breathe.” He begged, a whine in his voice as the girl he was sure he was in love with two weeks ago continued to struggle to get in a full breath.

You didn’t want him to leave, but the way he stood at the door with his hand on the doorknob and pained look on his face told you he needed to go. He wasn’t going to leave you like this and you knew it, but you truly weren’t able to say anything. Instead, you held up a thumbs up and forced a soft smile, shooing him out the door with your hand. As the door clicked closed, you let out a guttural moan you had been holding in since he had parked.

Grayson made it one step away from your door before you let out your cry. He stopped in his tracks, heart racing as he used every ounce of strength in his body to keep walking.

“You good, bro?” Ethan’s voice was the first thing Grayson heard as he re-entered his own dorm room.

“Yeah.” Grayson just nodded, not really wanting to talk to his twin about what he was thinking. As much as he had promised he wasn’t mad at Ethan anymore, he couldn’t help but feel some of that lingering. Ethan had always been the popular twin - the one all the girls wanted. Grayson wasn’t surprised when he found out that Ethan couldn’t let him have you - he needed to claim everything for himself.

Ethan didn’t press his brother, knowing their relationship was still trying to recover from him being an idiot. He did want to ask how you were. There was no way you weren’t furious - or really sad - or maybe a mixture of both. He knew the two of you had planned on telling Grayson - or at least he thought that was the plan. Honestly, he probably should’ve given you a heads up that he was going to let Grayson know, but he didn’t feel like he owed you the decency. Truth be told, Ethan was insanely jealous of his brother and didn’t want to have to watch the two of you be together constantly. If he couldn’t have you, Grayson couldn’t either.

When Bridget got home Sunday evening, she was shocked to see her best friend curled up in a ball in her bed at 6 PM. You weren’t the type to spend all day in bed unless you were sick, so she assumed you were contagious with some sort of illness. “Log… you sick?”

“No.” You squeaked, after a few hours you had managed to calm down. The constant anxiety hadn’t subsided, but you could at least breathe now.

“What’s wrong…?” She pressed, slowly unpacking her suitcase from her week at Kyle’s.

Contemplating whether or not you were ready to unload everything that had happened or not, Bridget let out a sympathetic sigh and walked over. Her tiny frame soon joined you in bed, her body wrapping up next to yours - a calming feeling she always brought to your life. The two of you had been friends for years and she was the only person who could handle you and your crazy - sometimes stupid - decisions.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but whatever it is I’m here.” She assured you, her fingers brushing the unbrushed dark hair from your eyes.

With a shaky breath you started to speak. “Grayson broke up with me… it’s my fault. Ethan and I hooked up… a few times before I even knew Grayson liked me. I was too scared to tell him and Ethan never said anything either - I guess until now.” Taking in a breath and letting it out slowly. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Oh, Logan…” Bridget sighed, shaking her head softly. “I’m sure that isn’t true. Grayson is head over heels for you.”

“I know… but I really fucked up.” Picturing the rage in his eyes when he picked you up from the airport made your stomach flip again. “I’m pretty sure he hates me.”

“What about Ethan? Didn’t Ethan know he liked you?” She reasoned, her fingers still smoothing over your hair. She always knew the right things to say - you were grateful she didn’t bring up the fact that you hadn’t told her about Ethan when it had happened.

“I think so… but who would side with me over their twin brother?” Another shaky sigh and a nuzzle into your pillow later, you paused. “I guess he could be mad at him too, but he can’t just break up with Ethan like he can with me.”

“It’s a fresh wound… just give him some time and maybe things come around.” She spoke softly again, taking a second to get up and turn the lights off, switch into pajamas, and crawl back into bed with you.

“You fucked Logan?” Kyle’s voice rang through campus as he caught up with Ethan on his way to class.

“Jesus…” Ethan muttered. “Who’d you hear that from?”

“Bridget…” Kyle rolled his eyes as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “Didn’t Gray like… have a massive crush on her?”

“Yea.” Gritting his teeth, Ethan glanced around before turning to Kyle. “Please stop talking about it for fucks sake. Logan is in this class, if you forgot.”

“Oh, she’s not coming.” Kyle shrugged, pushing the door to the building open as the two of them headed into the classroom.

“What do you mean?” Raising an eyebrow, Ethan slid into his regular seat as Kyle did the same. “We have like four classes left before finals.”

“Bridget said Logan can’t even get out of bed - she had to brush her teeth for her and force feed her applesauce to get her to eat something.” He sighed, letting out a puff of air. “Kinda wild, I never thought I’d see her even slightly sad.”

Honestly, Ethan didn’t even know what to say - thankfully the professor started talking before he had to answer. Kyle was right - you were such a life force that hearing you were sad threw Ethan off. He knew you cared about Grayson, but he really didn’t think you were that serious about it. To be honest, he had thought that maybe you had some sort of kink about how wimpy Grayson was - he had never thought you genuinely liked him. Either way, Ethan didn’t regret telling Grayson about what happened. It was eating him alive watching his twin fall for you knowing what he did - on top of that, he wanted you and couldn’t have you.

“Hey… Gray?” Ethan hesitated to interrupt his brother who was very clearly studying at his desk.

“Yes?” Grayson turned around, an obvious look of annoyance on his face.

“Uh…” Thinking twice on whether or not to bring it up to him, Ethan let out a sigh. “Have you… uh… heard anything from her?”

“No.” Turning back to his desk, Grayson chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Why… have you?”

“No, no - of course not.” Hands held up in defense, Ethan climbed up onto his bed. “Kyle just mentioned something because of Bridget, ya know.”

“Are you going to tell me what he said...or?”

“Uh, yeah.” Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ethan stared down at his fingers. “Kyle just said she is… um… not getting out of bed or anything? Like she isn’t going to classes or eating…” Ethan waited for Grayson to respond, when he didn’t he continued to ramble. “I just didn’t know if you wanted to know because it’s not like her to act like this… and kind of concerning because she’s Log-”

“If you’re so concerned, why don’t you go check on her?” Grayson snapped, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his pen. If he was being honest, he wanted to run downstairs and hold you - assure you that everything was alright. He didn’t really know how to react - hearing you weren’t even eating was just… strange? Ethan was right, you weren’t the type to be so sad. Grayson was sure he’d never seen you actually care about anything in the nearly four months he’d known you. He wasn’t even sure you cared about him; sometimes just thinking you liked the attention - maybe he was wrong.

With a roll of his eyes and a scoff, Ethan rolled out of bed, clearly annoyed with his twin. “Ya know what, I will.” He slipped his shoes on and glanced down at a bewildered Grayson. “I know you want to and won’t… so I will - don’t worry no funny business.”

As Ethan slipped out the door, the pen in Grayson’s hand exploded - the top popping off and spring flying across the room. He wanted to tackle his brother and tell him to never look at you again, but he didn’t have the balls - if he was being honest. Maybe this way, he could hear how you were doing today - maybe you were doing better than Kyle had heard.

Taglist:// @dolan-bliss @graysavant @justordinaryjen @rainethan

#ethan dolan #grayson dolan #the dolan twins #ethan dolan fanfic #grayson dolan fanfic #the dolan twin fanfic #dolan twin fanfic #grayson dolan fluff #grayson dolan smut #adolanables #nerd!grayson #flmae #flame

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disruptedvice · 4 years

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Hey Stranger

Starmora AU - Prompt: "Hello stranger, you don't seem very good at hotwiring a car. It's the blue wire you should use. Or would you like the keys instead?"

Gamora cursed internally, cracking the door open a bit, unable to take the heat of the car any longer. She had wanted to keep the door closed- less suspicious that way, but she was already sweating like crazy and felt like she was dying. She didn't want to wait for the symptoms of heat exhaustion to set in. And if she could just get these damn wires right, she'd be able to turn on the AC and get out of here.

"You don't seem to be very good at hot wiring a car," a voice said from behind her, and Gamora's head slammed into the underside of the dashboard, cursing as she was caught literally red handed- there were so many colored wires, she'd pretty much been trying to find the right combination by process of elimination. With absolutely zero success.

"It's the blue wire you should use," he continued. "Or would you like the keys instead?"

Double shit. The car owner. No chance of convincing a gullible person she had lost her keys and had no way of contacting someone. Though a good samaritan probably would've called the cops when they saw what she was doing, not approach her and start talking to her.

She slowly brought her head out from under his dash to glare at him, kicking the car door open a little wider so she could bolt if necessary.

The man looked totally at ease, coffee in one hand, and far too amused by the situation. He should have been angry, confused, or scared. Maybe a mix of all three.

Not smiling like this was some friendly conversation.

She still had sweat dripping down her face, but she didn't say a word. She was still analyzing the situation, weighing all her options.

He tilted his head to the side, a thoughtful hum that might have sounded concerned. "You've been working at this for a while, haven't you?"

He had parked a block away from the shop, one of the side streets that didn't get much traffic, and was much easier to find a place and pull out of than the busy main street. Besides, walking to his car was gonna be his exercise for the week.

He had been amused and maybe a little thrilled to see his car door propped open, someone's foot still on the ground and digging around inside. Cause seriously, of all people, him? His car?

Once he got closer, he could see it was a woman, who very clearly had no idea what she was doing. She kept pulling and trying to connect different exposed wires at random, and after two minutes of standing by his bumper and watching more or less over her shoulder, he decided to interrupt. She was clearly working on movie knowledge; not an experienced car thief in the slightest.

But now that she was looking at him, he wondered how long she had been working in his car with all the doors closed. She was wearing all black too, and Peter had gotten an iced coffee today for a reason- it was hot as hell.

"Yours was the only one unlocked on this block. First one I found, anyway," she explained with a tense shrug.

Which yeah, makes sense. Peter didn't really lock his car much. Didn't have anything to steal in it anyway.

"Got somewhere you need to be?" He asked casually.

"Anywhere but here," Gamora said with a bitter laugh. Of course when she finally had an opportunity to escape, the one illegal skill Thanos hadn't taught her was the one she needed. Their rides were always provided for them when they were sent to do his dirty work. She had never needed to steal a car before.

And now she was in this city with no contacts, no safe houses to lie low in, and her best bet was getting as far away from here as possible.

The man starts reaching for his pocket, and before Gamora can react to him possibly reaching for a weapon, he pulls something out and tosses it to her.

She catches the keys in her hands. Gamora blinks down at them, absolutely dumbfounded.

"Are you serious?"

He shrugged. "You aren't exactly a criminal mastermind," and oh, how wrong he was there. Not for this type of crime. "I mean, you really suck at stealing cars. If you're desperate enough to try and hotwire a car for the first time for god knows how long in the middle of summer, figure it's probably for a very good reason. Besides, it's not mine anyway."

Gamora hissed. "It's stolen?!"

"Eh," he waved his hand in a so-so gesture. "No one's looking for it, if that's what you're asking. The vin number doesn't match though, but state's only do their own registries for that stuff, so as long as you don't get pulled over in Nevada, you'll be fine."

She looked doubtful, her jaw clenched, obviously conflicted as she cast her eyes between him and the keys, and back to him. Definitely didn't have many people to trust.

"Really," Peter promised, his voice soft but sincere. "I know what it's like to steal a car because you're desperate. Trust me, you're it," he said, a wry smile at his lips that seemed more self deprecating than anything. "Whatever you're running from- you can have the car and go as far as you need to go. You probably picked the best car to steal, honestly. It won't get traced back to you, and won't even get traced back to me. The papers in the glove box check out, you won't run into any problems. Except if you get your oil changed in Nevada. Literally any other state runs the vin number and you're good. Anywhere else, you're golden."

Gamora closed her hand around the keys. "Thank you," she said quietly.

The man nodded and stepped back as she turned them in the ignition. If she was alone, she might have cried in utter relief at the sound of the engine starting.

She quickly closed the door and pulled out of park. She adjusted the rear view mirror, seeing the guy who just gave her the keys to his car wave goodbye.

She held up her hand in a weak thanks, and drove away.

She didn’t even know his name. ____

Gamora made it two blocks. Before circling back around to find him again.

He hadn't made it very far, just walking on the sidewalk with his iced coffee like that was his plan all along, like he didn’t just help someone steal his admittedly shady car.

Maybe if he had been a normal person, she would’ve left. Just taken the car and never looked back, rather than risk someone who was just trying to help her getting caught up in all of this.

But he obviously had criminal ties of his own (as did she). And Gamora was so tired of running.

She didn’t have anyone to trust in this city, but whoever he was- he had less than legal connections, and that was safer than trying to outrun a shadow.

Peter was surprised when he looked up and realized he recognized the car that had slowed down next to him, and recognized the person driving it.

She rolled down the window. “I’m on the run from the mob!” She called out. “You wanna get involved in that?”

It took Peter a second to realize it was an invitation, then, he smiled. “Sure, why not?”

He climbed into the passenger seat of his car without a second thought. ____

"I hope you have some place to go, cause I sure as hell don't," Gamora's nervous chuckle was only slightly forced, the impulsiveness of her actions starting to catch up to her. This wasn't part of the plan. She didn't have a plan.

The only plan she had was run.

This was so far out of bounds of anything she'd ever done. And she didn't regret it at all.

"Yeah," he said, and proceeded to rattle off an address.

She paused, "uh… you know I'm not from around here, right?" Maybe she should've let him drive his car she just stole.

"You'll be driving along this road for the next ten minutes or so, then take a left on Magnolia. Only a few streets on from there. I’ll tell you when to turn.”

Gamora breathed out a sigh of- relief? Something, at finally having a plan, a place to go, even something as simple as literal directions to a destination. It was more than she’d had since she broke away from Thanos. More than she’d had in a long time, really.

Peter looked over at her, not really sure if this was the right time, but he’d never had much impulse control. “So, you mind me asking how you got mixed up with the mob?” His elbow rested near the passenger window, fingers idly tapping the car interior, going for casual instead of curious like he really was.

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened. “I used to work for them.”

Now that got his attention. When he heard her problems were mob related, he expected something more along the lines of a troubled family member, maybe some bad business with a loan shark- you know, normal people reasons for getting involved with the mob. If he had to take a guess, he’d go with medical debt that a loan shark was intent on collecting upon. That was getting more common these days. People borrowing from less than reputable sources to pay hospital bills, and the interest rates on mob money- you couldn’t get out of that. And if you went to the cops, you’d find your house burned down that you put up for collateral six months later, all chalked up to an electrical fire. Pretty good reason for wanting to get away.

But working for them- now that… that he was not expecting.

He hadn’t pegged her for a criminal- she was so bad at stealing cars.

“What’d you do for them?” He asked before he could stop himself.

She tensed all over, her jaw tightening, and kept staring straight out the windshield in silence. Definitely the wrong thing to ask.

Peter cringed, slumping back in his seat, ready to shut up for the rest of the ride. Just when she seemed like she was starting to trust him.

Gamora breathed out slowly. He should- he should know. He might decide not to help her, but he deserves to know the truth. He would be getting ‘mixed up’ with the mob too cause of this, just because he was… kind. Whatever car thief/chop shop operation he at least had some ties to didn’t mean he deserved to die if Thanos ever found her.

“The worst of it?” She said with a forced levity. “We had guns for that. And we used them.”

She had no desire to be more blunt than that. She was sure he got what that meant.

He didn’t react. At all. She kept waiting and waiting for something- anything, but nope. Nothing.

“That a problem?” Gamora tried to keep her tone as bland as possible. Hearing someone heavily imply they used to kill people for the mob- it didn’t exactly inspire confidence if they sounded like they were one wrong move away from snapping.

Peter hesitated. Then, “Not so long as I made a good first impression.”

Gamora laughed, surprising even herself. She took a quick glance over to see him still looking at her, seeming genuinely delighted at making her laugh. She quickly refocused back on the road.

“Very good,” she assured him. She was more hesitant to say this next part, because sharing made you vulnerable, and any vulnerabilities could be exploited, but- she really didn’t want him to think badly of her, that she killed people by choice.

Still, she chose her words carefully. “My time with them was less than voluntary.”

“Kinda figured,” he said with a lopsided smile that was actually kind of charming. “I’m Peter, by the way.”

“Gamora.”

She still didn’t know what she was going to do next, but she knew she wasn’t going to have to figure it out alone.

He was right. She really did pick the best car to steal today.

#starmora #gotg fic #gamora #peter quill #guardians of the galaxy #Fanfic #fanfiction #mcu #AU #marvel #my gotg fics #my fic

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venus-says · 4 years

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Kamen Rider Zero-One Episode 29

Dreaming of becoming yourself.

From all of the shows I cover that are still airing Zero-One was probably the one I was needing a break the most because it was the one that took more energy out of me since it was a wide rollercoaster when it came to me liking or not the episodes. So this break was very much needed.

And while I can't attest that the mindset in which you watch something can affect your enjoyment of said something or not (since I'm not a scientist), I can say that my experience watching Zero-One now, two months after I last watched the show, was much more enjoyable than before. I still saw the flaws, and the things I didn't like before are still there and I still don't like them, but in comparison with months ago, I walked away from this episode with a lighter heart.

But enough of personal babble, let's talk about the episode itself.

I gotta say, I was gladly surprised by this episode. I was expecting that some bullshit would happen and everything would be fine at the end and I would just completely hate the results of this, but what happened was completely the opposite! Hiden did lose the referendum, Gai is really in control of Hiden now, Aruto did come out of this with a meaningful loss under his belt. Not even in my wildest dreams I thought that this could happen, and you know what? This was pretty good.

Even though the side we're supposed to sympathize with came in a bad position at the end, it somehow felt pretty rewarding as the end of an arc? I don't know how to put it, but I think this was really needed, and if the arc had ended in any other way it just wouldn't work. I think what I like the most is that in the end this didn't come up after a fight? Like, Zero-One and Thouser did fight in the last episode and that was what lead to Hiden losing, but in this episode, the main fight we had wasn't to determine the end or change the results of the competition, and maybe I'm being crazy here, but I do think that this makes it more emotional. Because this wasn't a thing Aruto's powers could solve for him so it hits harder I feel.

I'm also very glad that this dreadful arc is over and we can move on, hopefully to something nicer.

But the main thing of this episode for me wasn't even the macro, the bigger plot. It was the micro, with Fuwa and Yua, this episode was all theirs and I hope we'll get either some DVD specials or a movie for them in the future because they're definitely way more interesting characters than Aruto and Gai. I still call bs in this thing of Fuwa having brain chip, I still think this was something that didn't have enough amount of foreshadowing for me to buy it when it was dropped. But in the way this was used in this episode, it was pretty good so I'm fine with it, for now.

Talking first about Yua, throughout this entire arc she was put in the backseat, she pretty much did nothing other than being a keychain charm for Gai, and it was really frustrating seeing the show give us signs that there was something that they wanted to do with her but never actually going ahead and doing. I feel like what we saw in this episode was more or less the same, I mean the things she was confronted with and the struggles she had weren't much different from what had already been shown before in this arc, but I feel like they're finally ready to move on with it and things are actually about to happen.

Do I think it did take too long? Yes, I do. But I'm glad we're at least finally going there (apparently). From the preview, it doesn't seem like it will be happening right away since it's the beginning of a new arc and they'll probably take this first episode to lay down the new status quo and this will end up being delayed even further, but in an effort of trying to be more positive, I'll just take it and wait for it with an open heart.

Fuwa is an interesting case, while I didn't like the reveal, I admit that I really enjoyed seeing the chip on his brain messing up with him, being either by Gai's control or Jin's hacking, and I'm curious to see what will come out of this in this last arc because it seems that Jin wants to kill Fuwa to free Naki, while Horobi is saying that The Ark wants Fuwa alive so there's an interesting conflict there that I'm eager to see.

I'm also curious about they adopting the dream thing for Fuwa, because this was dropped back in the episode where Jin returns and it didn't appear again so I thought they would discard it because on my eyes the thing about finding yourself fits more with him, especially now with the reveal that he has been a puppet all the time. But I like that they merged both as being the thing that will become his motivation, the thing where he draws his power and will to fight from. I'm here for this, I wanna see this guy go through a journey to find himself and be happy, he deserves it. (who would've thought I'd be here rooting for Fuwa, the me from 8 months ago would be shocked by it).

The last thing to talk about now is Rampage Vulcan. As power-up, I gotta say I'm pretty tired of the upgrade that allows the user to gather the power of all gimmicky toys of the season, but I like that this time around this is happening to the secondary rider and not the main one, and I also like the suit design despite looking a bit too busy in a few parts. I'm just disappointed that this is another power-up that Gai just handed to his enemies like if he was giving candy to kids in Halloween, like, for a guy that thinks so highly of himself he does some pretty dumb shit, not gonna lie, Gai has sunk down very deep in my concept.

And I think that's it, I'm glad I could come back to this series without being salty for once. What did you think of the end of this arc? Let me know in the comments down below. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thank you so much for reading, and until the next time, see-ya~

#Kamen Rider Zero One #kamen rider

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theonceoverthinker · 6 years

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OUAT 2X12 - In the Name of the Brother

Brother (Or sister, or any other sibling, real or metaphorical), can you spare the time...to read my latest review?

Great! Head below the cut!

Press Release Dr. Whale is tasked with mending Hook’s wounds and performing surgery on the stranger whose car crashed upon entering Storybrooke. But some of the townspeople fear that the stranger may have seen magic – which could expose their true identities to the world – and think that leaving him to die would be the best solution. Meanwhile, as Mr. Gold tries to reunite with a despondent Belle, Cora attempts to reunite with daughter Regina; and in the land that was, Victor desperately wants to prove to his disapproving father that he can, indeed, bring back the dead. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past This is one of the most visually appealing segments in the entire series. The World of Black and White is such a crazy concept, but it absolutely rocks. The style and the use of color make it so hard to forget and it really makes for a world that feels like none other, something that the other realms aren’t always able to do. And when Rumple appears, it’s such a contrast. Like, had this not been done so carefully, the mix of a technicolor Rumple in a world like this would’ve looked sloppy, but instead, it’s as every bit as magical as one could imagine or want it to be. I also like how the acknowledgment of this distinction is never too much of a distraction for the characters. Rumple (And his gold) definitely pops out from the rest of the crowd, but they never stop to think about that in terms of the schematics of their world. I’m glad about this because it doesn’t invite a feeling of distraction away from the story. Finally, let’s talk about music because the music here definitely delivers on the dark gothic atmosphere of the world, and it starts to blend with our world as Rumple shows up. As for the story itself, it’s pretty basic -- good, but basic. It’s essentially a darker “Aladdin” and a gentler Frankenstein story mixed in to one. And it’s cool! Really, it is! The unique take on Frankenstein is cool and having Rumple be what amounts to a jerk genie in it gives a fun spin. However, there’s not that much that’s worth touching upon apart from the style. Present So, the present segment finds itself pretty divided among our main cast and as mixed as the plotlines get, so are my impressions of them.

Emma and co don’t really have much of a story, per se, but act as passive reactants to everything else at play, and to be fair, that’s the most that could be expected of them in this scenario. I found that the debate over whether to let Greg live or not compelling enough, but thankfully not made to be such a big deal, especially when the main players generally don’t harm innocents. Still, it was nice to have Grumpy and Gold to list off the problems that Greg’s existence could present as something to think about (And to be fair, I guess it was something to do before the crazed Plot Hole Police arrived to badger A&E over for years, if they hadn’t already at this point).

Watching Regina and Cora interact is the most uncomfortable thing in the world, and I mean that in the best way possible. Cora, whether true in her love for Regina or not, still manages to squirm her way into Regina’s heart where she knows she’s unwelcome. It’s honestly sinister seeing her apologize for things that we know she doesn’t mean (Making Regina marry Leopold and framing her for Archie’s “death”), but eventually convince Regina regardless. And to Regina’s credit, Cora only gets him by plucking the nerve of her most recent dilemma: Earning Henry’s trust back. Seeing Regina cradling in Cora’s neck is so awful, like seeing a spider ensnare her prey.

Finally, what the hell brought on Whale’s bout into depression? I guess it was seeing the watch which reminded him of his brother, but he was clearly drinking before he got the watch, so what gives? Was is because he couldn’t get sent back to his realms a few episodes ago because that wasn’t even in the “Previously On” section? Like, I’m sorry, but we see Whale on the verge of committing suicide. That’s a serious topic to show, especially for the very real way that Whale attempts it. There needs to either be more of a focus on Whale’s present situation to get to that point. I will say, there is a redemption here by Ruby because her speech at least connects more to the past segment in how Whale can’t change the past, but can change the future. Insights - Stream of Consciousness -As a victim of a car crash, seeing that again wasn’t traumatic at all! *nervous shudder* -Killian, this is the exact worst time to be an instigator! What the hell?! -This is also the filming spot for my OTHER favorite blooper. I’ll give you a hint: Anyone down for some crushed nuts? -Credit to Emma and David for knowing exactly how to tame Rumple! Small moments like these give a nice amount of payoff for the respective dynamics! -”From the outside?” I feel like if this had happened during the last episode, I probably would’ve put that Peter Griffin meme here about matching the titles in the dialogue. -I love the opening title card here! I normally love them all, but the distinction of color is just magnificent here! -Whale, don’t drink on the job! -”That’s your cross to bear, I suppose.” Victor, making puns is my schtick! -”He’ll cool off.” Gerhardt, your dad wasn’t even mad. I’d say Victor was madder. -Emma’s coming into Killian’s hospital room all confident and I am so here for this! And looks like Killian agrees! -Killian sees he’s chained. “You’re really into this, aren’t you?” Killian is just getting the best lines here and I am also here for this! XD -”If I had to pick dead guy of the year? I’d pick you.” Give it a couple more seasons, Emma. -I love how Ruby knew there were 10,000 combos right off the top of her head! She’s so smart! -”A LinkedIn account.” Not only is this dude a loser, BUT he’s now spamming the few people that can stand him with invitations to certify that he knows PowerPoint! He’s a MONSTER, I tell you! -”And he tweets pictures of his food.” Greg, torturing Regina aside (Which is also pretty fucking horrendous), you are just the WORST person! -Leroy’s apparently a movie buff. Who knew? -”We need to tell Regina’s she’s been framed.” Yesss! Thank you, Snow! I’m not mad at anyone for not immediately thinking of her given the crisis, but I am happy that someone did (Actually, some two because of Snow and Ruby!). Also, it enriches their dynamics going forward! Also, credit to her for understanding the internal danger Cora poses to Regina! I’m seriously loving Snow this season! -”You better hope he dies.” I like the strength of the writing in this line. It’s the driving force for the morality that Emma and co are tasked with thinking about, however inactively, throughout the segment. -”It’s not murder if we let him succumb to his injuries.” “I’m pretty sure it is.” It totally is! Look, for all the moral conflict of this episode, it’s totally murder and I’m glad that the character framed as the one closer to the audience is the one aware of that. -Gee, did Disney buy Star Wars at around this time? I’ve no idea! -”Rumple Von Stiltskin.” Imagine if that’s actually how his name was structured! XD -”Are you a philanthropist?” “Well, I’ve been called worse.” Rumple’s also gotten great quips! -*Rumple sees box* ...August? “Hello, Rumple.” Ah! Cora! What a fakeout! -”The Crocodile snaps at the little bird.” I guess Killian’s vernacular grew on Cora throughout their time together. Now though, I want to know what animal Killian is. What animal is everyone?! -A moment of silence for the deleted Jello scene that never made it to air. A-woman. -Cora, do not smell Regina’s clothes! That is fucking creepy! -Disguising yourself as Henry? Cora, that is a new low! And your former low already bonked Hades’ blue head! -Cora, go away! You’ve been in Regina’s sights for all of a quarter of a second and you’ve already given Regina a panic attack! -I feel like the only reason Rumple held up that magnifying glass was so that the effects team could show off just how well they did his eyes. -Regina’s hiding spot is so beautiful! She has a gorgeous albino apple tree, christmas lights, jewels all around, and gorgeous wallpaper! Fuck the monarchy! Go into interior design! -”Determination.” Cora, shut up, you are not an Undertale character. ...Actually, you totally could pass as Chara. -”Emma and Henry and the two idiots.” I love how small, but still funny that line was. -Okay, so I totally want Ruby to just run on her own in my “Wacky Races” dream fic because holy shit! She’s fast! -I’m not sure if Gerhardt beating the crap out of his father for verbally assaulting Victor is the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen or the most heartwarming. -”It seems that science does too [have a price].” Bro, do you even physics?! -I’m not going to write down Ruby’s entire speech, but I do like the concept of looking at bright sides to Regina’s curse. It’s definitely not an admission that it was a good deed nor should it be, but in this isolated incident, it’s interesting to see Ruby and Whale commiserate over things. -Also, serious props to Ruby for cutting Whale’s self-hate monologue to get to the situation at hand. XD -”These carriages are strange.” I wonder if Cora was actually serious when she says this! XD I mean, cars are probably intimidating to those not familiar with them. -”It’s one of my most treasured possessions.” Awww! -It’s so freaky seeing Gerhardt moving around in his undead state. He’s like a gorilla in the way he moves his arms and legs and the way he cowers and sits. What a cool take on Frankenstein’s monster! Like that, more than anything would make me interested in a follow-up Frankenstein flashback. -I feel so bad for Snow as she’s being let down about not going into Greg’s room, but I can’t help but laugh. Like Snow, the fuck, bro? -”It’s a cup.” Am I the only one getting a sense of deja vu from “A Bug’s Life” here? XD -Greg, you sly dog! You, Killian, and Cora could bag Best Acting Awards until you die! -”I was texting.” ...While not my exact situation, this was too fucking real… -I love that globe and wish we saw more of it! On topic, everyone in Storybrooke should keep a private sampling of blood just for safekeeping at this point for identity purposes. -Awww! Poor Emma! Henry, just let her sleep! And then Gold comes in! The poor woman! -”If any harm comes to Belle while I’m gone, I’m killing all of you.” ...Was anyone in that room trying to hurt Belle? For the wham line it was supposed to be, it doesn’t come back in a meaningful way and it’s so oddly aimed. I guess this was written before Colin got hurt and maybe Killian was supposed to go after her again? Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Rumple’s Redemption - As much as my inner sense of empathy is judging Rumple, his decision to essentially say “fuck off” to the request to help Greg is pretty in-character. Not only is he dealing with the anger over losing Belle and essentially letting Killian get away with it without killing him (Which is in itself a pretty great stride that holds through from his decision in the previous episode), but yeah, for as much as I like Rumple and think that the writing does an excellent job of painting him as not a complete fucking monster, I put the word ‘complete’ in there for a reason. Rumple still has a long way to go until he reaches a point where he can care for someone whose outside of his tiny circle of love, and for whatever can be said about his relations to Emma and David, they’re not at a point where they’re strong enough where he’d give them that much concern. Regina’s Redemption - “I have to let you know. I had nothing to do with Archie.” I almost feel like I can leave it there, but nah. You deserve more! So, just as much as Regina wants Henry to be by her side regardless as for as much as her attempted redemption had hurt her thus far, Regina’s still committed to doing right by Henry, and that’s amazing! Furthermore, Regina shows that even if she didn’t accept her treatment when the accusations came around over Archie’s death, she does accept that given the circumstances, it was a reasonable assumption to make. Honestly, the entirity of Regina’s scenes with Cora speak of how far she’s come, as she stands against Cora’s points over why she framed Regina. Obviously, part of what made Regina go as evil as she did was Cora’s influence, and seeing her work so hard to not let Cora control her again was just so impressive! Hell, even gives Cora an understanding of what she wants if she’s to trust Cora again. Greg Mendell - We get our first (Okay, second) piece of Greg in this episode. Definitely a good actor and I like how there was this subversion of expectations in this episode (until the ending, of course) while still raising all of the needed points about him and his existence here for later in the season where they would apply. Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Cora - I like how we get to see that Cora’s menace doesn’t just stretch to Regina, but how exactly it stretches to Rumple. Rumple and Cora are on equal footing in a way that Rumple and Regina only came to be during the final two seasons of the show, and that comes across so clearly in just how he acts around her in their one scene together. She’s able to push him a bit and even prompts a deal where he has to hesitantly accept it, and that’s so rarely done, especially by an enemy. Just look at the worry in Rumple’s eye and that bit of trepidation, but he still manages to keep most of his cool. That is how Rumple responds to a real threat. It’s almost karmic retribution for not bothering with Greg (Or trying so hard to keep Cora out of Stroybrooke that she’d let Emma and Snow die), but I don’t know if I would go so far as to say that for certain. Still, their one scene both establishes so much of their dynamic and sets up the board for later. Writer Jane Espenson is back, and she did a decent job here. I like how she balanced the screentime of so much of our main and supporting cast. No one ever feels like they got the shaft and what they were given to do fits their story so well. In addition, I feel like the writing is done very well, particularly with Regina and Cora. The way Regina speaks is a great reflection of the work she’s done as she deflects Cora’s points hit by hit and only succumbs to a situation that was well set up. Jane is really good when it comes to writing Regina, as “We Are Both” was also hers and the depictions of both her past and present character were marvelous! Also, as a side note, she wrote Emma and Killian much better here. There’s clearly animosity, but a level of concern and even flirting off of Emma’s side that is actually allowed to show up for a hot second. Rating 8/10. Style is the name of the game here. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the aesthetics weren’t impressive enough to bring the whole episode up a level. As for the other segments, they ranged in quality, but were more good than bad, though since Whale was the main segment, the shortcomings of that story stood out more. But thankfully, it wasn’t the only portion between the interesting broad strokes of the OUAT rendition of Frankenstein, the true horror story of seeing Cora take over Regina’s life again, and the small inner workings of Emma and co in the background as they react to all of this. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Rumbelle - I noticed that just as the episode started, Rumple was calling Belle “Beautiful Belle” as the authorities were coming for her. That’s small, but pretty cute! And you just gotta feel for Rumple as he tries so desperately to make Belle remember him. While I’m not really sure if I like or dislike the failed TLK, the cup scene absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do. Also, “do you have any spells to return memories?” Just look at Rumple here. He looks so nervous as he’s asking, as fragile as a young schoolboy! And he does that in front of CORA! That is adorable for Rumbelle! Captain Swan - Killian just gets hit by a freakin’ CAR and the first thing he says is, “Hey beautiful.” Killian, never change! ...Actually, yeah. You need to change a lot, but fortunately, you do! Hell, even Emma gives into the flirting a bit after a bit! Also, “everything else is still intact.” KIllian, could you be any more obvious?! Also also, Emma’s pretty keen on keeping an eye on Killian despite the fact that he’s handcuffed. Finally, Emma’s reaction to Rumple’s threat to kill Hook at the end of the episode...looks like she does care. Golden Heart - ”I’ve no reason to cheat you.” “Anymore.” Looks like we’ve got some angry exes! XD Also, notice how Rumple’s lingering juuuuuust a bit during that kiss! You dog! ()()()()()()()()() Finally! Another really good episode to talk about and get pumped over!! Thank you so much for reading and to the awesomesauce fine folks at @watchingfairytales for making like Frankenstein and bringing my creations to life! Bwahahahahha!

Any guesses on what will happen next time? I’ll give you a tiiiiiiiiny hint: It’s one of my favorites. See you then! Season 2 Tally (104/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (29/60) Jane Espenson (25/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (24/50) David Goodman (16/30) Robert Hull (16/30) Christine Boylan (7/30) Kalinda Vazquez (10/30) Daniel Thomsen (10/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 2x12 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat #basically every character in this episode is discussed

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bristlepaws · 6 years

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i felt like writing my thoughts on the movie “Kin” down after i saw it today

be aware: i didn’t proofread this at all and it contains spoilers for the whole movie

The movie opens with a lot of interesting shots, actually — I was surprised and intrigued by the lingering focus on the mundane bits of Detroit. It moved to interspersed shots of a warehouse and alien noises, big flashes of clearly non-human-sourced lights. It showed a bit too much here, IMO — should’ve stuck with more mystery. The transition between that and moving to Eli’s daily life is choppy. It is established that Eli is a troublemaker, that he loves his dead mother very much, and that he does minor criminal work to make money (despite being fourteen) because his father doesn’t make enough to buy him a pair of shoes. He does this by wandering through abandoned warehouses and stealing wires.

The relationship between Eli and his father is clearly strained, but there isn’t much more to it than that. We are told, at some point, that the father is “hard on [him] because life is hard” which is the same bullshit excuse that many fathers have used before. We are also told, by the father, that he loves Eli — but we aren’t shown this. The dad just says some shit and has Eli do work, and barely spares him a loving, fatherly glance.

The third main character, Eli’s big brother, is introduced somewhere in here. Already I’ve forgotten his name, as I mentally referred to him as “that asshole” throughout the movie. He’ll be known as such from here on.

T-A has just gotten out of jail after six years, after some sort of armed robbery (this was picked up through little bits of dialogue throughout the first act, and it isn’t elaborated on any further, which is fine, but, you know). He’s established to owe some dangerous people $60k, which he does not have.

He tries to get the money from his dad, calls them “dangerous people” without elaborating on the fact that they WILL kill all three of them if he doesn’t pay up, and promptly gets kicked out.

Oh, by the way, Eli has found some crazy space gun in the warehouse we were shown earlier. There were some dead dudes in helmets, and one mostly dead dude in a helmet. Eli leaves (smart) the first time he encounters this scene, and then comes back after having some dream about the gun at 1 am with no backup (unsmart).

At some point, Dad finds out that Eli was taking wires from abandoned houses, yadda yadda bullshit reason they need to go to the dad’s office at 10 pm, he finds the dudes & T-A stealing from the office safe while Eli waits in the car.

For some reason this idiot father proceeds to confront the two armed robbers with a crowbar. He is, of course, shot. Eli manages to not hear this through the shitty apple earbuds that come with the phone. Don’t have that turned up too high, kid, you’ll damage your ears.

T-A tackles the main villain — oh, by the way, this dude is James Franco, it was wild seeing him play this weird gangster man — and causes him to shoot evil-dude’s brother. T-A then runs out and peels away with Eli in the truck.

T-A gives his brother some bullshit about how there was a bad cement spill, and their dad is going to be working around the clock on cleaning it up, and would he like to go on a roadtrip to Idaho?

And Eli presents a token amount of suspicion and resistance, but goes along with it after some prodding. So the chase begins.

James Franco is pissed about his brother being dead, so he’s gonna follow them at some point. Eli and T-A are driving across the country and do all kinds of cool brotherly things, like pee outside and go to strip clubs. Did I mention that Eli is fourteen?

They meet up with some cool dancer at this strip club who expresses concern for, you know, a fucking fourteen-year-old being in a place like that. She also gets along with T-A as he showers her with the money he stole from his father’s safe, and gets very drunk and disorderly. He starts getting wailed on by the club owners when he gets too disorderly, and Eli has to come save his ass with the big space gun. He shoots it at something and everyone’s all scared or whatever. Stripper decides to help T-A out and drive off with them. The only reasoning for this that we have been given is that the club owner called her a bitch & T-A said “That’s no way to talk to women” or something like that.

They go shoot some hay bales. The aliens that own the gun are also chasing them.

T-A realizes that he left the bag with all of his money in the club. They go to a motel and the stripper bonds with Eli and then tells T-A they should rob the club to get the money back. They do this, using Eli and his space gun to intimidate everyone, and run off to Vegas.

T-A almost tells Eli that their dad is dead, stripper interrupts him, so he goes to gamble instead while she gets Eli some food. Eli sees on the news that his dad is dead & T-A is wanted for his murder. Also Eli is listed as a possible suspect? Instead of as someone who was probably kidnapped?? Despite the fact that he’s fourteen????? Though maybe that’s how it is in America when you’re black. Shit be bad.

Eli screams at T-A and then they get arrested. T-A is put in a jail cell and very poorly tries to explain to Eli. Then… the bad guys show up. To the police station. And shoot their way in. All … 5 or 6 of them. One of the shot officers gives Eli a key so he can go get his space gun. Which is… an interesting choice….

Eli gets his space gun as James Franco threatens T-A. Eli shoots a bunch of people and it’s nbd. James Franco disappears somewhere in here, the alien dudes approach on motorcycles despite being shown to teleport somehow earlier, and the FBI shows up to circle the police station.

Eli and T-A go into the lobby and put down their weapons so they arent shot by police, which is of course when James Franco shows up with a gun. Then the aliens burst in with a grenade that temporarily stops time.

And you know, everything has been kind of straightforward up to this point. There are way too many threads in here, but they can all be followed pretty well. There’s a kid and his issues with his family, and his brother’s a terrible person who dragged him into a mess. There are these criminals that’re after them. And then another thread, where the kid found a mysterious sci-fi gun and the owners of that are after him, trying to get it back. Pretty straightforward! Not amazingly well done, but done well enough to keep things interesting.

And then the two masked dudes step in, and open up their helmets. And one of them is Michael B Jordon. Oh shit, that’s a human, is what I was thinking. Good twist! Didn’t expect it! Are they from another planet? The future? Mind you, this is at the end of the movie, so there’s gonna be no time to explain shit. But maybe some mystery with the humans will happen and that’ll be interesting (though not good).

But then Michael B Jordon starts talking! And he gives an entire monologue about how Eli is actually one of their race, and that’s why he can shoot the gun but no-one else can, and there were people here to kill him but Michael B Jordon got em first, and Eli wasn’t supposed to find the gun, and Eli is too young but when the time comes he’ll be important in the war on this other planet that he’s from. Oh, also, Michael B Jordon is this dude’s brother. Thank you for the gun, we’re gonna kill James Franco, and now we’re leaving through an ice portal or something? Bye!

The other masked person is someone I’ve never seen or heard of, and she says like three words, so I’m not really sure why she’s there.

And then time starts up again, T-A is arrested and shipped off to jail, and Eli supposedly leaves with the stripper who popped back up.

So! That all just happened! What the fuck!

The first act? Clunky, very clunky, but not bad! Set up everything it needed to and set up who the characters where. Was overall interesting enough to get me invested (not in T-A, but in Eli). Second act was a little bit messier, but it was still trying to hold its own and push on through.

The emotional climax of the movie — wherein Eli discovers his dad is dead — was flat. Very flat. It was built up for a long time, and didn’t have the punch it needed to land well.

And the… second? Climax? Where the bad guys show up… was very odd. What criminal gang of 5 people storms a fully operating police station with no casualties on their end & no hesitation at all? What police react the way these guys all reacted???

The third act was a mess. It really highlighted how there was just too much going on in the story — these bad guys and the police and aliens and brother conflict — and then added even more to it! By the way Eli, you’re an alien and we’ll need you later.

There was no setup to this! And Michael B Jordon just listed this all in one paragraph and then bounced! What!!!!!

Overall, I would say it was an entertaining movie, but not a good one. It had interesting bits and pieces. I liked the concept of brother conflict solved through road-trips. But the execution was sloppy, and the movie had way too many other things going on for it to be considered a “good” plot. Why was it even necessary to have an alien subplot? Couldn’t the kid have found some sort of other weapon — perhaps some advanced military-grade tech that registers to the first person who touches it. Or it could’ve NOT had him be the one with a big gun, considering he was fourteen and his older brother was the criminal. It would’ve been much more heartwarming if the older brother had given up criminal activity because he wanted to connect with Eli — but there was the outside conflict of James Franco chasing the two of them that they had to solve.

#long post #my stepdad loves Every Movie Ever so we see. a lot of them #ones i wouldnt normally see #and i make them more fun by critiquing them in my head as i watch #text #ramblings #kin movie

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briangroth27 · 7 years

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Legion Season 1 Review

FX's Legion, based on the X-men character, brought a fresh flavor to superhero shows last season; absolutely key to keeping the genre alive with so many series airing at once. All the acting was solid, the characters were likable, and it had enough classic mutant/human relations to feel like an X-men story even without the prejudice metaphor as a major presence. The production design was distinct and perfectly “off-kilter cool,” placing the show anywhere from the 60s to the not-so-distant future in the same way Batman The Animated Series blended the 30s and 90s. The direction and editing were masterful, seamlessly blending reality, memories, the astral plane, fantasies, and nightmares into an easy to follow narrative (if you paid attention; Legion refused to be a show you just have on in the background while doing other things). There were times the editing came off as just a bit confusing, with flashbacks, flashbacks within flashbacks, memory-jumping, hallucinations, and the like all happening at once, but that uncertainty served to put us directly into David Haller's (Dan Stevens) fractured frame of mind.

Full Spoilers…

As clever and ingenious as the visuals and editing were, however, I don’t think the story itself is was mind-blowing or groundbreaking as a lot of reviews have said. The first three episodes covered well-trod superhero ground: a shadowy government organization chasing/studying David, a “school” where he’s taken to learn about and control his powers, a mysterious villain who wants to use him for its own nefarious purposes, etc. It felt a lot like the setup of the first X-men film, swapping jumbled memories for confused flashbacks and the Demon with Yellow Eyes (Quinton Boisclair) for Sabretooth/Magneto (with Stryker’s military attack force from X2 thrown in for good measure). Once the show got to episode four, however, the focus on the villain and their unique plan of attack spun the show in another, much more original direction. It seemed to really take off at that point and didn’t stop till the finale.

David Haller is a compelling lead and brought a good balance of fun (though not one-liners or laugh-out-loud comedy) and bewilderment to what was going on around and within him. Stevens made what could've easily been a campy or "kooky" performance feel real, but not like he was asking for our pity. I also thought he was a good romantic lead and his relationship with Syd (Rachel Keller) felt real, even though we only saw them together for a short time. When he needed to be—when the Shadow King is in control—he’s also very unnerving, slaughtering Division 3 agents left and right with a smile. I will say David never seemed crazy to me. Maybe it’s because I knew he had telepathy and wasn’t just hearing voices, but outside of an inability to keep a handle on when "now" is he seemed relatively healthy. Perhaps that’s because mentally ill people in shows are often portrayed more over the top than David was. For a good chunk of the season, I thought this might be the story of how he goes insane. I later thought Lenny was sticking around because he was absorbing the powers and personalities of the people around him (providing the comics’ David’s multiple personalities with different abilities), but it doesn’t look like the show is going that route yet. I’m glad they never made everyone a personality of David’s, though; it seemed like that would be too easy and maybe of a waste of all these new characters. They did, however, homage that with David talking to his rational side in a great nod to his comics’ dissociative disorder (and his British accent!), giving us his origin story and the backstory on the Shadow King via animation. Now that he’s free of Farouk, I can’t wait to see how David responds to being alone in his head for the first time in his life.

I called Shadow King/Ahmal Farouk as the main villain after the first episode, but was thrown off the trail for a while since one of the few things I knew about comics Legion is he’s got dissociative identity disorder; I thought the Demon with the Yellow Eyes might be a different personality of David’s. Nevertheless, this was my favorite depiction of the Shadow King so far and I loved how creepy they were willing to go with his various personas, particularly the World’s Angriest Boy in the World (Devyn Dalton). I’ve wanted a Shadow King appearance in live action X-media for years and this was an excellent introduction! Aubrey Plaza was fantastic as his favorite form, Lenny, and her ability to pinball from friendly to insane to creepy to funny was a highlight of the series. I loved that his backstory was more or less taken directly from the comics, and Xavier’s destruction of his body made revenge via stealing David’s the perfect plan. They did a great job giving David, who has so many powers, more than an equal as his nemesis. I did expect more from the Shadow King trying to fight for David’s body in the finale, but now that the internal conflict has been made external, I can’t wait to see what he does next. His escape from the facility, leaping from body to body, reminded me of the 90′s X-men Animated Series. I hope he’s off to track down Xavier next season.

The supporting cast felt authentically "off" and not like they were trying to be quirky or "insane" or anything. Over the course of just eight episodes, it was difficult to find time to explore most of them in great depth, but I enjoyed just about all of them and loved that the show never shied away from the presence and use of their powers. It was great that they used them in concert to free themselves from David’s mind; I love the X-men movies, but the times when their specific powers are needed and fit together to save the day have been few and far between. Thematically it’s stronger if your pseudo-family unit is the only one that can help work you out of whatever situation you’re in, rather than just any strong guy (sorry, Guido).

The best-developed and most likable of the supporting characters was Sydney Barrett. I loved Syd explaining how she sees the world and her concept of the soul thanks to her ability to swap bodies with people. It's always fascinating to me when superhero stories show us how the characters' outlooks are changed by their powers, so this was gold to me. Her talk with David about being in each other's bodies was fun and sweet, and allowing them to be intimate on the astral plane was a clever workaround to her inability to touch anyone. The one issue I had with Syd’s character was that it was a little unclear how her body-swapping worked, particularly when it appeared that her physical form would snap back to wherever her swapping partner was, rather than just her consciousness jumping back and forth.

I initially thought Carey (Bill Irwin) came off as crazy for the sake of being crazy, with him saying random words to "himself" that confused David, but I eventually enjoyed the unorthodox relationship he had with his other half, Kerry (Amber Midthunder). Kerry not knowing about the most basic components of human existence because she spends so much time inside Carey felt like a classic bit of X-men weirdness. The personality difference between them also felt note-perfect, as if Kerry took all the fight and assertiveness while Carey housed all the brains and trepidation from a single personality. Once Kerry decided she didn’t want to go back inside Carey, their relationship got even more interesting!

Jeremie Harris’ Ptonomy Wallace and his cool, calm attitude was a smart balance to the near-insanity of the other characters. His Inception-like dream navigating powers were cool and, given their low-tech application, allowed the show to use them often. I would’ve liked to get to know him better, so hopefully we will in Season 2. Melanie Bird (Jean Smart) was a solid Xavier stand-in for this mutant cell, but I wonder if her comment about humans being dinosaurs and going extinct in the face of mutants’ rise wasn’t just bravado, but a hint at something darker. I wouldn’t mind a twist where this team ended up being more in line with the Brotherhood than the X-men, or occupied a gray area between the two. Bird’s strained relationship with her husband Oliver (Jemaine Clement) was a tragic addition to the show and I hope that gets explored further next season. Oliver was an unorthodox delight, having spent so many years locked on the astral plane that he’d lost touch with reality. His interactions with everyone were fun, and I can’t wait to see him and Aubrey Plaza share scenes now that Farouk is in his head!

It was clever that all the heroes’ powers reflected the Shadow King in one way or another, but I wonder why it wasn’t made a bigger deal. We could’ve at least had a conversation between David and Carey/Kerry about living with another consciousness inside you. Maybe we could’ve gotten Kerry's perspective on being the other consciousness. Oliver being trapped in the Astral Plane as opposed to his body paralleled Farouk nicely and foreshadowed their eventual bond. Syd swapping bodies also reflected Farouk, so his opinion of her take on the soul would’ve been interesting to get. More importantly, her history with her mother’s boyfriend was a lot darker than I expected, and it’s essentially the same thing Farouk has been doing to David: stealing a body for his own purposes. Is it any better that Syd’s heist was only temporary? Ptonomy having the power to jump into other people's memories and the freedom to bypass boundaries could’ve given us insight into Farouk. Perhaps David will look for ways to get inside Farouk’s head next season and these parallels can be utilized then.

While the main mutants were engaging, if a little unexplored due to time constraints, the humans didn’t fare nearly as well. When she was kidnapped, I wasn’t concerned for David’s sister Amy (Katie Asleton) at all; her rescue seemed inevitable and I didn’t feel like I knew her well enough to be invested beyond “she’s a human in danger.” The government bad guys felt like stock X-men bad guys, and while that was fine for the pilot, they never really came together as a real threat or sympathetic on their own merits. David’s effortless thrashing of the entire Division 3 when he went to save his sister (and later, another squad of them at the end of the season) proved they aren’t any threat to the mutants. The Eye (Mackenzie Gray) was suitably imposing (if underutilized), but unless his power is “sensing astral projections,” I couldn’t tell you what his ability was. I wish they’d done more with him; killing him felt like a waste. Clark’s (Hamish Linklater) last-minute catch-up while we watched him heal from his injuries and learned about his family didn’t endear him to me (it was just too little, too late). I also don’t buy at all that we’d been watching David with the team for the several months to a year it must’ve taken Clark to recuperate from his injuries; it felt like the season happened over the course of maybe two weeks. Still, Clark agreeing to help the mutants against Farouk was an unexpected and enjoyable moment of common sense. I admired his rationality in that moment. I wonder if they’d spin mutant/human relations in a much less antagonistic direction then we normally see in X-men stories. In their earliest adventures (and First Class), at least some government agents were willing to work with them, so perhaps that’s where this is going.Maybe with more time to get to know Clark and his family, he’d be more sympathetic.

All in all, this was a solid season that really became something unique after episode 3, so I'm absolutely down for season 2. Using a typical superhero “recruit the hero, save the girl” setup to springboard into a battle for David’s psyche was a genius twist and propelled the show into unexplored territory. Few shows have the guts to go completely bonkers and still (a) make sense and (b) fully commit to the insanity, and this one absolutely did. Every single week my sister would text me going “why is Legion so WEIRD?” and she was absolutely right, in the best way. There were some standout sequences, like the noiseless horror film-inspired exploration of David’s childhood home and the silent film escape from his brain. I can't wait to see what Shadow King—and Legion—does next!

The eight-episode first season is on Hulu, and is definitely worth checking out!

What’s up with the orb??

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unpopularly-opinionated · 7 years

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Extensive Ramble/Rant Regarding How to Fix The Mummy (2017)

Forward:The movie wasn’t terrible, it just could have been (and should have been) a LOT better. These are in no particular order and wouldn’t all work together in the same movie, but are changes that I feel would’ve made the movie significantly better.

1: They never should have gone to London. Believe me when I say this, I am a HUGE England fan, like beyond fan-status to creepy-stalker-status. I'm an American born-and-raised but my room is entirely decorated in Union Jacks and other misc. English stuff. I'd pay a million dollars to have been born English. So believe me when I say they never should have gone to London.

It added nothing to the overall story save that it was where Prodigium (the fancy monster hunters club that Jenny and Dr. Jekyll are a part of) was located. This movie is called the Mummy, it should have remained in Iraq where the sarcophagus was initially found OR been taken to an off-site, maybe temporary, base for Prodigium in Egypt perhaps. It should have remained in a Middle-Eastern desert area to keep the setting.

The only real reason I can find for them going to London (beyond the plot point about the Crusaders that I'll mention next) is that every movie goes to London these days. Why? I don't know. It's an amazing place surely, but so is a million other places on the planet. Why they always choose London, I don't know.

2: The Crusaders shouldn't have been involved. Unless I've seriously forgotten, I don't believe it was ever actually explained WHY some random crusaders had Ahmanet's ruby OR her dagger. It just seemed so random and clearly was meant as only an excuse to take them to London.

I suppose it could be argued that they stole it during the Crusades however it makes very little sense why they would intentionally separate the ruby from the dagger and bury them in two different places, or if they somehow knew it was an artifact of evil then HOW do they know? It's never explained, and it should have been, or avoided altogether by just keeping crusaders out of the story completely. There's too much missing context and/or history that overall makes their addition fall flat.

3: The movie should have opened with sex. As is with pretty much all supernatural action movies, it's the power of love that drives the main character to win the fight. This is totally fine, completely expected, and sometimes strangely a welcome addition to a movie. Except, there actually needs to be a love connection for this to work.

Honestly, at no point in the movie do I actually feel that the love between Jenny (Annabelle Wallis) and Nick (Tom Cruise) is real. Frankly, I'm STILL convinced that before that scene in the beginning where she accuses him of stealing her map, they had never met and she was just making up the whole damn thing about the hotel room sex.

The movie should have opened up with them in the alleged hotel room having sex and then when morning comes he slips away with the map and him and Chris (Jake Johnson) go out into the desert in search of treasure. Even if it was just a brief scene chopped up into a 10-second clip, that still would have added some potentially significant character development to both Jenny and Nick, as well as some much needed relationship development.

Because there was little to no development for their romance, it made the scene at the end where she dies and he stabs himself with the dagger to become Set fall completely flat. She comes across as nothing more than an acquaintance throughout the movie, one not worth becoming the Egyptian God of Death to bring back to life for.

4: Jenny should have stayed dead. As I said, some of these may be conflicting and this one might conflict a bit with the last one but actually doesn't have to completely if you want to develop the relationship and then kill her off.

I should preface, it's not that I don't like Annabelle Wallis, she's a good actress, attractive, and someone I could in theory see a typical Tom Cruise character hooking up with.

However, Jenny is not a good character. In one scene she's telling Nick that she thinks they pissed off the old gods, something that if anyone said in the real life you'd think they were completely mental, but in the very next scene she's in, when Nick is telling her he's seeing Ahmanet and that he's cursed she think's he is the mental one.

Now if she's lying then of course the obvious question is WHY is she lying when she literally just mentioned something about pissing off actual gods just a minute ago, but if she's not lying and genuinely thinks Nick is crazy then again WHY when she works for an actual monster-hunting secret society that deals with crazy monsters and curses all the time?

This is a trope I see in Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Supernatural movies, shows, books, games, etc. ALL THE TIME and it's a really obnoxious one. You live in a world where you are completely aware that monsters, or magic, or other unbelievable things exist and yet when someone you know says they have seen something equally unbelievable YOU DON'T BELIEVE THEM. It's infuriating. You know monsters exist, so why would you be so surprised that your friend has seen one? You wouldn't!

5: Nick shouldn't have gotten away at the end. Given their casting choice (which I'll mention in the next one) this idea is definitely an unlikely scenario but just hear me out.

Assuming Jenny stays dead in this improved version, after Nick stabs himself with the dagger, becomes Set, and kills Ahmanet, he should have gone over to Jenny's lifeless body and been upset over her death, and then immediately have been caught by Dr. Jekyll and Prodigium with the movie ending with Nick being locked in one of their cells as Nick, possessed by Set, yells at the camera.

It was unlikely because obviously Tom Cruise is supposed to be the face of this upcoming cinematic monsterverse, but I think it would have been significantly better had he been caught by Prodigium. Hell, the next movie could open with Dr. Jekyll interrogating Set/Nick about Jenny's death. Who better to understand a man with evil inside of him than Dr. Jekyll himself? The next movie could be about finding a way for Nick to bring Jenny back but having to do so while helping Prodigium locate another monster, all while dealing with the literal God of Death inside of him occasionally possessing him for a time.

6: Nick's character shouldn't have changed dramatically by the end. This one might take some explaining, as I'm not saying he shouldn't have grown by the end of the movie because obviously he should. All character should, especially when they've just been introduced to the existence of monsters, dark magic, and real Egyptian gods.

What I am saying is that the character we are introduced to from the very beginning is not the same character we see at the end. From the beginning, we have a sleazy guy who slept with a woman to get a map that leads to ancient artifacts he can steal to sell online for profit. In other words, he's basically an overall bad guy.

He's also not implied to be very intelligent throughout most of the movie, not to say he's dumb as a rock but he isn't very clever or wise. He isn't the Indiana Jones or Nathan Drake type of ancient treasure hunter who deciphers ancient texts and follow history to find hidden artifacts to put in museums later, he's the Aladdin type of treasure hunter who stumbles across treasure or needs a direct map to it and when he finds it he immediately thinks to use it for selfish gain.

In the end however, this seems to change because suddenly he can put two-and-two together that stabbing himself with the dagger will turn him into a god so he can fight off Ahmanet, and that he can use this god's power to bring Jenny back to life, and that he has to run away before Prodigium sees him because he knows they'll capture and/or kill him immediately for being Set.

This could be argued as me being nit picky and if so then so be it. I don't think Nick's character as shown to us throughout a majority of the film is nearly smart enough or capable of the self-awareness required to be able to do all of those things. This is another reason why he shouldn't have gotten away in the end of the film, because he shouldn't have known that he should have run in the first place.

Yes, yes I understand that the signs were all sprinkled throughout the film that Prodigium would kill him to stop Set, that the dagger would turn him into a god, and that this particular god was the god of death. I still don't think his character should have picked up on those signs, or at least his character should have been described as more of an Indiana Jones/Nathan Drake type character instead of a petty for-profit thief that he's portrayed as.

7: It shouldn't have been called the Mummy. I don't actually have an idea or suggestion for what it should have been called instead, but it just shouldn't have been called the Mummy. Contextually it makes sense given the movie is about a mummy, however the obvious comparison to be made is to the older Mummy movies with the same name despite them not really being all that comparable.

The older films were significantly more comedic in nature and played off as more of an Indiana Jones film if Indiana Jones brought his whole family for his adventures (and no I'm not comparing Crystal Skulls to The Mummy movies). Calling this movie the Mummy, while it recruits hype from any fans of the older films, would ultimately harm this movie given that it's nothing like those movies and would likely garner spiteful ratings by those who saw it believing it to be like the older movies.

It'd be like if I made a movie about a sci-fi treasure hunter and named it Indiana Jones. The only direct links are that his name is Indiana Jones and that they're both treasure hunters, but obviously my movie is nothing like the old Indiana Jones movies because mine is set in space with a sci-fi setting. Ultimately I would just be shooting myself in the foot naming it Indiana Jones.

#random rant #the mummy #improvements

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attemptedfilmcritic · 7 years

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Spider-Man: Homecoming Review (Spoiler Free/Spoiler Talk Below)

Rating System:

buy it on DVD or digitally (legally)

see it opening weekend

pay full price at the theatre

catch a matinee if you want

rent it for $3-$5

I wouldn't recommend it

As someone whose lived almost their entire in life in love with this character and has been on both spectrums at one time or the other with the Toby-Andrew feud, it is safe for me to say this is the best interpretation put to screen yet. Said every tv spot and critic ever so far. And, they're right. Well admittedly in most cases.

For Peter Parker/Spider-Man, there's one thing I picked up on throughout the movie that I could not drop or forget for the life of me. It's that Tom Holland is beat for beat Marty McFly in some key moments in this film. And that's not a bad thing! The way he delivers when in panic or excitement of any kind just screams 1980s Michael J. Fox to me. And I dig it. He had such a youthful and comedic charm which translates well with this character. Which helps with their allusions to ‘80s classic films. That's what this Peter as Spider-Man is like. He's panicky and screams his confusion. And he's genuinely pretty nerdy and innocent. He's apart of an academic club and was in band. I was in band, I know these things.

Speaking of comedy! This film is full of it, as promised with any film slapped with a Marvel Studios logo on it. It's done very well and not really shoved in your face. Sometimes its situational and sometimes it’s through written dialogue. It doesn’t sacrifice sincere moments for the sake of an extra laugh (a gripe Doctor Strange received a lot). The comedy is where it belongs and the powerful climactic superhero moments are where they belong. Nothing messily meshed. Save one joke, that was totally worth it.

The suit in the film is really interesting. I’ve always loved the design itself, but the features it provides is insane. And it makes sense character wise because it was built by Tony Stark. Of course its going to be over the top and have insane gadgets. But l love the Peter has no idea how to use them or even a clue why he would use some. Some critics were getting antsy about 576 web shooter combinations. “That’s outrageous! What happened to plain and simple Spider-Man?” Well I can tell you Peter agrees! It’s a great touch to his character. He’s from Queens and isn’t used to high-tech luxurious super-suits. He just uses what he knows. And that’s all he needs. Though, when it’s time to take advantage of some features its pretty neat.

The primary love interest is Liz (who would be a loose interpretation of Liz Allan). Her character somewhat correlates to her comic roots. She's popular. They got that right. This Liz is also smart and apart of the academic decathlon club, something I would not expect from Liz Allan in the comics. But in all honesty that's pretty much it for her character sadly. Not a lot said nor done. She's not annoying but not compelling either. His friend in this film is a huge departure from Harry Osborn. Not Ned Leeds confirmed (later Hobgoblin) but just “Ned”. I thought he was a great addition and carried a good amount of the comedy from this film. Some claimed he wavered back and fourth from annoying to funny. I never felt he was annoying. A breath of fresh air, since both portrayals of Harry were quite angsty and “I will never be good enough for my father” territory. This is nice. Just a positive friend there to help. Basically also joining Peter on this cool, adventurous, dangerous ride.

Michael Keaton is a good baddie. He plays the part. Intimidating and has a motive, but sadly not really Loki tear of relevance and memorability. He's a good starting villain for Spider-Man. You are given an insight to why he does what he does. Granted, it's not Zemo level of tragedy. But he pulls his weight in the film. Not completely over-doing it into campiness but not phoning it in at all either. As for Shocker he's in a few scenes and is somewhat of a throwaway villain plucked from Spider-Man's rogue gallery. He's not a particularly interesting villain even in comic form so if he had not been there and was replaced with Bad Guy #2 the story wouldn't have lost a beat. I understand wanting new and never used bad guys adapted because “we have the rights now! Let's go crazy!” But I say quality over quantity. Vulture would've been—no, is plenty for the whole movie. And yes, Tinker gets a little bit too, but I argue he'll be more useful and brought back for future installments. Similar to what they're doing with Klaue. So he might actually have a pay off. Unlike Shocker, sadly. As for Donald Glover he's great! Only in two scenes, but cool. He's chill and even helps Spider-Man. I really want them to bring him back because he was criminally underutilized. The second scene with him is incredibly funny.

Right off the bat I will just say the ending is hilarious and made the entire theatre burst out laughing. I love the ending credits because it was new and thoughtful. It was youthful, yet again, and just made the part of watching the credits to get to the after credits scene more fun. It's colorful, which is what this movie is as well. It's bright and sunny. Marvel gets a good amount of flack for its gloomy cinematography despite its much more playful tones. Not all juxtaposition is good, translates well, or quite frankly makes sense. This movie breaks the trend. And it's fitting for a great summer-y superhero blockbuster flick. You want to have an exciting harmonious display to inflict a positive memory of seeing this movie on a relaxing summer day with your friends. You'll remember it with affection and ease. The stakes aren't as high with this film. The whole earth isn't in peril. There is conflict and tension but none too much that The Avengers themselves would have to come take care of. So it helps with the logic in that aspect of the universe as well.

Quite recently I've been big on spotting patronizing films with telling and not showing. Or worse. When they do both. They don't trust the audience to put it together, watch, or be intrigued. Invested. But we are! This film does hardly any of that, though it is slight. Sam Raimi is king of showing and not telling thus far out of all three Spider-Man directors. But overall it treats its audience with respect. The pacing is balanced as well. Some scenes are slow for development and even plot purposes and others a grand and big for a superhero film.

The theme of the film is slightly muddled and mixed for me to put my finger on. Overall it's to take responsibility. I mean, what else would it be? Do the right thing. When confronted with the Vulture, Peter is given a very clear and major threat on his life and his friends and family’s life. The whole scene he is clearly scared out of his mind. But he doesn't hesitate to drop everything and go after him the second he can. Knowing everything at stake. Because he has to. It's inspiring. He also humbles himself and feels the need to learn more and grow before becoming a full time Avenger. Ya know, go to school and stuff.

The musical score will have you smile with the opening theme. Otherwise, sadly nothing will top Danny Elfman’s. There aren’t any other distinct themes I picked up on could hum other than the iconic one everyone already knows.

Rating time. I would say both see this opening weekend and buy it when it comes out. It's truly great and a prime example of fun popcorn movies that can have quality. Quality acting, special effects, writing, you know the drill. I'd recommend it for kids (probably 10+), teens, and adults. See it with your family, see it with your friends to support watching movies as great as this in the theatre. And for Marvel to keep making fun movies that are all creating a bigger interconnected world. Or! If you just simply love Spider-Man and only care about him!

Either way, just see it!

Because it's honestly amazing.

SPOILER TALK

Now that the overall review is laid out I do want to give comments on…other things.

All I can say is I don't mind that Zendaya was/is “MJ” but I'm curious as to how they're going to play her out. Is her name solely just a wink at the character Mary Jane or is she going to be a genuine love interest? Time will tell, but personally I prefer the former. I'd really appreciate a plain and simple companionship between Peter and this character. I can't see these characters having a love for each other that isn't platonic. Let her be Michelle and let Mary Jane be Mary Jane. There doesn’t have to be some new spin or cross making of the sort. Preferable I’d say have this new character made be her own thing or adapt Mary Jane from the comics as well as you did with Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Because those two characters of Michelle and Mary Jane are absolutely nothing alike. Obviously.

I'm picky about Spider-Man love interests, okay.

As for the connection of Liz being the daughter of Vulture it is hilarious, but has very little impact emotionally. Yes it is funny but you don't feel bad for Peter in the way you should. You feel bad because he's in a bind and can be harmed physically. Not because this girls parental ties puts a burden on their love or relationship. It gives temporary tension, which is awesome, but in the long run the relationship between Liz and Peter went nowhere and is more or less one-sided anyways. It had no strain. If they really developed Liz to have more depth and a mutual love and admiration for Peter it would be more painful, in a good way. But the tie doesn't hurt. It pays off when she has to move to Oregon(?) and is given a gentle boot for MJ to step into the shoes of the love interest. To which I ask, why not just have MJ be the main love interest in the first place? And I don't mean have Peter fawn over her the way he did with Liz, but in build a strong friendship that clearly indicates room for romance in the future. Start with some chemistry first. They know each other but I can't say they're even friends right now.

Also, I'm so glad they brought back Pepper and repaired her relationship with Tony. Honestly, I really missed her.

Also also! With Donald Glover’s role as Aaron Davis, Miles Morales totally exists in this universe as well! He even references having a nephew. I just really don't want them to kill off Peter Parker after the trilogy is over for Miles Morales. Keep them both! We can’t lose the best Spider-Man put to screen!

And the last after credits scene is clever as hell. Nothing special or big. Not baiting anymore movies or characters or plots. Just simple and new.

#spider-man: homecoming #spiderman #movie review #movie recommendation

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