#AND EVEN THAT IS A SYMPATHY PLAY BY RICK THAT IS NOT CANON IN THE ODYSSEY WHATSOEVER

[threecatsinpajamas]

Next person I see applying Percy Jackson logic to the odyssey or Epic is getting punched in the mouth

[medusapelagia]

22 Not a murderer

written for @steddieangstyaugust (prompt: Missing scene ) and @augustwritingchallenge (Prompt: Orphan ) Rating: Teen and Up Relationship: Steve/Eddie, Wayne & Eddie TW: mention of canon character death (Chrissy) Words: 1673

(I totally borrowed the Corroded Coffin’s names from @thisapplepielife because in my opinion they are the best CC writer and I’m too lazy to look back at my fics and look at what names I used before XD! Sorry! I hope you don’t mind! And in the meantime check out their work because they are incredibly good 😉)

In his forty years, Wayne has never had to attend one of those parents' things at school. No school play, or teachers parent meeting, or being part of the organization of the school trip, because, for forty years, he had no child to take care of. And he wasn’t exactly expecting to get a scrawny kid knocking on his door with a policeman on one side and a beaten backpack on the other, but as soon as their eyes met he knew he would have done whatever he could for a kid he never saw before in his life.

Wayne was vaguely aware that his oldest brother got married somewhere in Kentucky, that’s how far he made it from fucking Indiana, but that’s all he knew. He could have suspected that having a wife, Al was destined to have kids sooner or later, but he never really thought about it. At least not till the moment Edward, or Eddie as he preferred to be called, stepped into his life.

Weary like a stray cat, it took a long time for both of them to get used to one another. Wayne knew nothing about kids and Eddie knew nothing about Wayne. 

Loving Eddie wasn’t easy.

Not that it was unloveable, but he was harsh and cruel, always ready to use his witty intelligence to hurt Wayne. 

And Wayne endured all of that. 

He endured the screaming, and the fights, and how he kept pushing and pushing eager to prove that Wayne was going to leave him like everyone else. Like his mother. Like his father.

But Wayne stayed.

He took time off from the plants to go to those stupid meetings with the teachers just to beg them not to flunk him, to give him a possibility because Eddie was clever and he deserved more than what he got.

When teachers were particularly unfriendly, Wayne wasn’t ashamed to remind them that Eddie lost his mother, that his father was in jail, and that he deserved at least a little bit of sympathy. But there was just so much Wayne could do when Eddie spray painted the word SLUT on the Maths teacher's car. Or when the neighbors called the police because on the nights Wayne was at the plant Eddie played his music so loudly he kept everyone awake.

Having kids, Wayne decided, was way too exhausting, and he didn’t even ask for one.

The first time Eddie flunked senior year Wayne wasn’t surprised, the kid kept missing classes to hang out with that scumbag of Reefer Rick and nothing Wayne told him made him change his mind.

The second time Eddie flunked senior year he came home declaring that he wasn’t going to attend school anymore because it was just a waste of time, and that was the first time they actually fought.

Wayne never yelled at Eddie, not when he came home much later than the time they decided, not when he hid his test results or forged his signature on some school papers, not when he was pulled over by the police for driving too fast. But leaving school was something Wayne couldn’t tolerate.

Noe that Waybe’s sitting at the police station, chain-smoking, he asks himself if he made a huge mistake. If he should have let him quit school and start working at the plant with him instead of leaving him at the trailer that fateful night.

Eddie didn’t kill Chrissy, Wayne is sure of it, and he knows his kid. He is loud and touchy and too sure about being able to get away with it every time he is in trouble, but he isn’t a murderer. That’s for sure.

The police have already examined the entire trailer but all the fingerprints they found were theirs: Eddie’s and Wayne’s. Because Eddie was ashamed of their place and he never invited anyone home.

Chrissy hasn’t touched anything. Not even the front door because, Wayne is sure of it, his gallant nephew must have kept the door open for her. And now a sweet girl is dead and his nephew is missed.

“Do you really don’t have any idea where Eddie might be?” Powel asks again, and Wayne drags some more smoke.

“I don’t know. I told you. It’s not like we have many relatives he could ask help for.”

“His father? Could he have gone back to him?”

“Still serving in Kentucky. Call the county jail if you don’t believe me.”

“Listen, Wayne, I know you’re a good man, but what Eddie did-”

“He did nothing!” Wayne yells standing up so abruptly that the chair falls to the ground with a loud thump, “My kid did nothing! You have no proof he did it! I heard your fucking phone calling, Calvin! You have no fucking proof! Only suspicions!”

Callahan stands up, one hand on the butt of his gun, but Powel lifts his hands quietly, “Let’s calm down, ok? If you listened to the phone call you know that there aren’t any other fingertips in the trailer. Only yours and Eddie’s. And if you are adamant that he didn’t do it you’re the only other suspect. Do you understand that?”

“I was working! At the stupid plant! Everyone can confirm it.”

“So we are back to square one: Eddie and Chrissy are in the trailer. Chrissy’s death and Eddie’s missing. What am I supposed to think, Wayne? I know you’re a smart guy.”

Wayne stomps the cigarettes angrily in the ashtray.

“He didn’t do it, Calvin. I know he didn’t.”

“Are you telling us Chrissy did it to herself?” Callahan chuckles.

“I already told you who did it.”

“Yeah, yeah, an old man who’s staying in a psychiatric hospital. Try another one, Wayne.”

Wayne doesn’t like the tone Callhan is using, so he turns toward him, leaning over the table, “It’s Mr. Munson to you, piece of shit.” he hisses in perfect Eddie’s style.

“You’re offending a public officer! Calvin, he offended me! I’m going to put him in jail and throw away the fucking key!”

“Calm down! Calm down!” Powel tries again while the two men glower at each other, “Ok so you have no idea where Eddie is, all you know are the names of his friends: Gareth Jones, Jeff Williams, Charles Goodwin, and Dustin Henderson. Someone else?”

“Eddie isn’t exactly a popular kid. That’s all he got.”

Wayne’s fingers twitch with the desire to grab another cigarette but he wants to leave the fucking station, so he stares at the chief of police and asks him, “If we are done I’d like to go home.”

“You can’t go back to the trailer, it’s a crime scene. But I booked a room for you at the motel.”

How fucking kind.

Wayne nods and turns his back to the two policemen when Powel calls him again, “I’m sorry.” he says after a long moment of silence, “I know you did your best with him. But an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Wayne doesn’t dignify that with an answer, he slams the door close and leaves the fucking station, already thinking about where he could get the money to pay for Eddie’s lawyers if they catch him. Or worst. For his funeral, if he’s dead.

He curses under his breath, fishing for the van’s key, when he sees a young man, covered in dirt, standing near to his van.

“Mr. Munson? Mr. Wayne Munson?” he asks, stepping closer.

“Aren’t you the Harringtons’ kid? What the hell do you want?”

“I was looking for you. Can you come with me? Please. It’s important.” the boy begs, but Wayne shakes his head.

“I already had a complicated day. Let me fucking go to bed and…”

That’s when he sees it, around the neck the boy has a very familiar guitar pick and he’s holding his polo open, “He said you would have understood.” he whispers.

“Is he… is he ok?”

“Alive. Beaten, scared, but alive. Please. Come with me.”

Wayne nods and follows the burgundy beemer to Lock Nora, a part of Hawkin he never really frequented.

All the lights are off, and before opening the door, the Harringtons’ boy knocks on his own door. A quick rhythm of three knocks, two knocks, three knocks.

“If you are making fun of me…” Wayne threatens, but when the door slowly opens he sees a pair of familiar dark brown eyes.

Wayne isn’t a hugger. He never was. Not even when he was a kid. But as soon as he recognizes Eddie’s face he steps inside and hugs him tight to his chest, hot tears streaming down his eyes.

“You’re okay. You’re okay.” He whispers in Eddie’s hair. He’s filthy and smells like a dump, but Wayne doesn’t care.

“I’m sorry I worried you, old man.” Eddie whispers in Wayne’s jacket, “Things got… complicated.”

“What the fuck are you doing at Harrington’s? I didn’t even know you were friends!” luckily, so he didn’t give the name to the police.

“I promise I’ll explain everything. But for the moment all you have to know is that he’s Steve, and I trust him with my life.” Eddie replies, smiling brightly at the other man.

Wayne gets the feeling that there’s something more between the two of them but he doesn’t inquire, he just holds his boy until he complains that he’s hurting him. When the two young men move toward the kitchen to grab a pack of chips and a couple of sodas Wayne promises himself he will never take his eyes off his boy again. No matter what.

“So… we have a kind of a situation,” Eddie says, gulping down the soda, and when he ends his tales, waiting to see if Wayne will believe him or not, there’s only one thing Wayne is sure about. Even if a monster that kills with psychic powers seems impossible is still way more believable than Eddie’s being a murderer.

“What’s the plan?” Wayne asks, and Eddie elbows Steve, that’s the other boy’s name, in the stomach.

“I told you he was cool.”

[omegatheunknown]

AEW Double or Nothing 2021

In which the spirit of WCW is alive in confusing and delightful ways and we are left to parse whether overbooking and extracurriculars are offset by having actually very good wrestling happening at the same time.

- Lessons learned from Revolution on the production side? Maybe just cool it on pyro, though the rappelling adventure in the Stadium Stampede showed some of that now-characteristic 'trust us it'll look better on TV' flair. Hot crowd tends to paper over most woes, and the crowd was pretty hot. My one gripe is that the casino theme is hanging around like yesterday's takeout containers. Nothing wrong with clinging to a theme, I just think it's time for season 2. My suggestion? Under the Sea.

*Pre-Card Serena Deeb (C) v Riho for the NWA Women's Championship (***1/2) - Serena Deeb's star has finally risen. She's a remarkably consistent technician and she can get a match out of anyone at this point. She's working at the level of Mercedes Martinez or Madison Eagles at this point, it's amazing that she was overlooked or considered fit only to be a coach for so long. With the NWA belt she has this new swagger, she's basically everything Tessa Blanchard might bring to the table with none of the downsides (Serena has a lot of friends and seems like a lovely person, even!) - Riho's back and here to stay. Her time in Stardom didn't do much for my evaluation of her, which is that there are many better wrestlers that would be better representatives of the joshi style and she's merely pretty good. - The match was very good. Serena showcased a champion's aggression against a sympathetic Riho, they really work well against each other, Deeb's technical prowess against Riho's flexibility led to a very dynamic finish.

*Main Card Hangman Adam Page v Brian Cage (***1/2) - Here the shenanigans start. Brian Cage is on Team Taz, Team Taz has nothing else much to do tonight, so why wouldn't Team Taz flex their muscles, bait us with HOOK, etc? (Because it would be nice to have some variety in the card in terms of a match where one competitor stands across from another competitor?) - Hangman is (checking notes) yeah, still over as fuck, as befits the Anxious Millennial Cowboy. Cage terrifies me, he's a child's drawing of a body builder. He do be very agile for a man of his immense musculature tho. They match up well, Page is biggish for a flyer, Cage loves to play catch. Nothing much to write home about, other than Hangman's beautiful moonsault to the floor and what was overall a very good curtain jerker. - Okay fine, I am curious about Cage's reluctance to lean on the goons, Starks can't come back soon enough.

The Young Bucks v Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston (***) - I will not be referring to Mox & Eddie as (The) Wild Things because it gives me 'he calls it the wacky line' flashbacks for some reason. - The Bucks have to cheat and abuse Rick Knox's attention span constantly to be on even footing with Mox & Eddie, which is a clever sort of thing that gets washed out by the appearance of LG and Karl Anderson, which again, is cool in a vacuum but was the story of the evening. - Pace was weird - repetitive in eliminating Eddie, then Mox fights back, failed hope spot, Bucks team up, Eddie saves x2/3 in a row. - Mox, unlike Cody (in so many ways,) will probably actually be taking some time off with Renee, which is the kind of thing I would prefer not to know in terms of booking, but they really uh, put him down on the canvas here, and it felt pretty finale-esque.

Casino Battle Royale (n/r, but on the balance pro) - Any changes to the theme of the PPV would likely include changing up the nonsense suit format of these largely joyless slogs. - Obviously anticipating a NJPW talent, or... I dunno, actually -- Lio Rush was a surprise. Got in a quick demonstration of his otherworldly quickness, and you know what, there's probably a fun place for him in AEW. He'll need some friends, of course, feel like Team Taz might fit his temperament. I wonder if he was aware of the Mark Henry news... - Christian does not need to win this kind of match to get a title shot, obviously, but that said it was super lovely to use him to give Jungle Boy the shine. Jungle Boy would be a license to print money if he was even as big as Hangman. - Could register some continued griping about how Penta is not getting his due in AEW but he also literally was dressed as the Joker so I'm low on sympathy on this one particular night.

Anthony Ogogo v Cody Rhodes (*) - I did not like this. It's hard for me to read jingoism as a face move to begin with, and Cody's was egregiously tone deaf and kinda silly yet delivered without a trace of irony because Cody doesn't do irony on purpose, ridiculous neck tattoo aside. - Great argument to be made that Ogogo just isn't experienced enough to be winning matches against Cody. But like, what are we doing here? Cody needs to take some time off, maybe. I thought that's what was happening when he had his mini feud with Penta that really just ended in quick decisive Cody win. I though maybe Cody was being turned when QT and The Factory snapped-- sure, they're a group of impotent player 2s, but Cody is an out of touch elitist with a callous and manipulative streak. Alas, also no. America #1. - Cody is approximately 8 times as tough as Billy Gunn based on his weathering of the one punch man. Match ran a bit long given how little there was to go on. Cody gigged? Quelle surprise. - Cody had the best match on the card like, 3 out of the first 4 AEW events or something, and that was all booking and storytelling. I do hope Cody follows Moxley's lead into a little sabbatical.

Miro (C) v Lance Archer for the TNT Championship (**1/2) - Card's hossiest hoss match, a quick burst reminiscent of a car wreck. Absolutely hit on what it should've hit on but a little slow moving considering it went all of 10 minutes. - I will not complain about Jake the Snake, who I love. And also the gimmick spot, with Miro very astutely yeeting what was definitely a snake in a bag (surely.) back down the tunnel.

Dr Britt Baker, DMD v Hikaru Shida (C) for the AEW Women's Championship (***) - Picked up a lot of steam toward the end but seemed a little toothless (heh) until the last five. - Shida 'deserved' some more time as champion in front of crowds but also it's time to let heel Britt reach her peak, I can't even imagine how obnoxious she can be as the champ, it's going to be great.

Sting & Darby Allin v Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky (***1/2) - Such is the power of STING that I feel like I might be underrating this match... I mean it was an okay match about very simply getting some revenge and the sixty year old man did a very subdued Code Red and a slightly less subdued dive. He's also Sting. They missed an opportunity in calling it the 'Scorpio' Death Drop, but the main takeaway here is you see something like this where it's The Icon and you start to understand why WWE trots out their legends to come out of incredibly still kick ass without bending their knees. - The difference, I guess, is that Sting is absolutely being used to build up Darby Allin, whereas it's not like the fed brought back Goldberg and his attendant aura to pump up... anyone but Goldberg?

Kenny Omega (C) v PAC v Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship (****) - Off the top I have to say I'm very sad that the rest of the Galaxy's Greatest Friends were seen only very briefly, nice of them to bring OC's backpack. - Also have to point out that PAC's promo featured one of my favourite jokes, that Kenny must be short for Kenneth as a sort of legal/birth name belonging to a professional wrestler. (See also: Samoa Joseph) - And Mr Cassidy certainly did try in this match, ragdoll sells and all. Kenneth and PAC are absurd talents who bring aerial, power and technical maneuvers in equal measure and OC is not doing any of those on the same level, but he picked his spots, showed his genre savvy and hung in there to the point that he wasn't just the fall guy. - The extracurriculars continue in a match that was already a little overboard for silliness due to asymmetry... I think if you're the Invisible Hand it would've made sense to save up all your tricks for this match, but who am I to question the golden goose? - Sure, Kenny and Don ran the classic heel manager interference spot and taking out the ref in desperation spot but having to take out the ref because PAC wouldn't break the hold is fun, as is the stupid/inspired sense in running the 'smash opponent with the belt' spot four times so as none of your heavy gold prizes feel left out. (I love that AAA Mega Championship, they weren't on TV so we get to see it?) - "Fuck You, Don," indeed.

The Inner Circle v The Pinnacle in 'Stadium Stampede II' (***1/2) - This one had to grow on me for two reasons, first that it's usually pretty unforgivable to co-opt the main event spot from the championship match, and second to law of diminishing returns on dumb gimmick matches. - But grow it did. There's a full on meat locker? Commentary will refer to a cardboard cut-out of Shahid Khan as Tony Khan's father (that's canon now,) and Jericho will lovingly pat it? Konnan happened to be the DJ at whatever night club there is a Jaguar Stadium? Spears surrounds himself dramatically with chairs and his hoisted by his own petard? - Ultimately it comes down to letting Sammy shine. His involvement with the Inner Circle has sometimes come at the cost of being able to showcase that prior to AEW he was an ascendant talent in PWG, on his way to Ricochet level feats of acrobatic excess. Still feel like Sammy could've/should've been the one tossed off the cage a few weeks ago, but even better is being the guy getting the pin in the ring.

[thefreakydeaky]

Call Out My name

Part Seven Title: Pretty

Characters: Negan, Reader, A stupid little prick named Rick Grimes, Garbage pail kid Daryl Dixon, Tanya and Frankie, Gregory, Mentions of Simon, Dwight,Sherri, Amber, Ezekiel, Maggie Rhee, Wives: Tanya and Frankie, and Lucille.

Summary: You belonged to him.Try as you might to pretend indifference, Negan’s very presence has awakened feelings in you that you believed had died with the old world.Is the ruthless King of the Sanctuary still human enough to fall in love?

Warnings: Language, Canon Typical Negan BS, Canon Typical Violence, A bit of gore, Angst.

Word Count: 3,557

“What did I miss?” Negan inquired as the door shut behind him.

"I dunno what you mean.” You struggled to remove your panties.

“Sin-since when do you get into cat fights?” His eyebrows raised as he watched you hop around clumsily. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Taking off my bra and panties.” You huffed pulling one arm into your dress to work open the clasps.

“Stop it.Here let me.”Negan shook his head in exasperation as he came to stand in front of you.

His long fingers gathered the soft material of your dress.He lifted it up over your head and slid it down your arm.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why are you gettin’ undressed?”

“I’m too hot for clothes.”

Negan grinned. “You sure are.”

“No.That’s not what I mean.Meant?Mean?”

“How much did you have to drink?” With one deft movement, he unclasped your bra.

He made it seem so easy.You pouted, glaring down at your exposed tummy pensively.

“I should be able to do that. I’m the one with boobs!” You complained.

Negan chuckled a smooth melodic sound.His warm hands slipped the bra straps off of your shoulders, freeing your arms, exposing your breasts.

“Panties too.” You reminded.

The hint of a smile played around his lips as he slipped the waistband of your slightly skewed underpants off of your hips.He knelt down.Something occurred to you as you watched him slide the thin fabric to your ankles.

“How come you’re home so early?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” His index finger tapped the top of your foot. “Lift.”

You leaned forward to sturdy yourself, hanging onto his leather clad shoulder as you raised your foot.

Negan unhooked your underpants from around one ankle, guided your foot back to the floor, and repeated the process with your left foot.

“Are you trying to start a mutiny of the wives or did you get bored enough in there to start shit for no reason?”

Knowing eyes looked up at you.

“I didn’t start it! Sherri did!”

“Did she now?”

“She could start an argument in an empty house.”

“You act pretty high and mighty for someone who sucks the same cock we do.” Negan quoted watching for your reaction.

“Well she does! She was being a-a-a judgey mcjudgerson!”

“A what?”

“A jerk.” You amended.

“Sherri is always “a jerk”.What was different about today?”

You frowned. “The vodka?”

“No.” He replied standing slowly back up.

“...the me?” You mumbled guiltily.

Negan cupped his hand behind his ear gazing at you expectantly.

“Me, I was different, because I got mad.”

“Mhmm.”

“I was angry so I egged her on.”

“That’s not the Y/n I know.” He admonished, taking your chin in his hand.

He tilted your face up and looked you in the eye.

“She said somethin’ mean.”

His brow furrowed. “Mean?”

“We were playing Never have I ever...”

“Mhmm...”

“And Amber said ‘Never have I ever wanted to sleep with Simon.’ Obviously I took a shot.” You recognized the spark of jealousy in his eyes.

“It’s the way the game works!”You defended. “Then Sherri said “Simon?” And I was like 'What’re you surprised?' And she said 'Not even a little.'”

Negan took a deep angry breath.

You jumped back into your case to keep him from yelling at you.

“It was the way she said it.” You emphasized.”Like like I was dirty like I was below her.”

The corner of his lip pulled back in a near snarl.

You could already see how his needless anger would play out.

“And not just me.”You back tracked, “Tanya and Frankie too! I mean how can you blame me?Honestly, she freaking implied that we were sluts or whores or-or worse just cause we’re married to you.She forgets that we’re equals and talks down to us. What was I supposed to do, let her??No no no.”

Negan ran a hand through his hair.His anger had gone down from a boil to a simmer.He struggled to adjust.

“Ugh, I knew it!You’re stuck on the Simon part.You just don’t get it.”

“You were fightin’ over another man! How the hell do you think that makes me feel?”

“It wasn’t about Simon.I was giving you context so you would know how I went from putting up with her to wanting to kick her ass.” You explained, annoyed with his one track mind.

“What the fuck is so great about that scumbag anyway? What’s got y’all so obsessed?”

You sighed loudly.

“Nobody is obsessed! Amber was making fun, cause she thinks he’s ugly.”

“At least one of my wives is smart.”

You rankled at the bitterness in his voice.

“Well I can’t tell you why Tanya and Frankie wanted to sleep with Simon! I can only tell you why I did!”

“Why did you?” He wore a guarded expression.

You rolled your eyes.

“Mostly to piss you off. He’s got the whole second man in charge thing going for him and that works for some people, but for me, it was about how mad I was at you.”

Negan blinked, processing your words.

“You wanting to sleep with Simon was about Me?”

“That’s ... one hell of an over simplification, but yes. It was.You acted like a total dickwad from the second we met to the night I almost slept with him.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but you put your finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

“Yes, me wanting to sleep with Simon was about you.Ninety-five percent of the time I was talking to him, I thought of you.”

“And the other five percent?”

“You gotta be kidding me! Is ninety-five not enough?”

“Why wasn’t it a hundred percent of the time?"

“I hadn’t had sex in years!”

“Hmm...”

You interrupted his thinking with a slow languid kiss. He kissed you back savoring your affection.

“I don’t like drama,Doll.I’ll forgive you this time.You girls got sauced after all, but don’t you go making trouble again.”

“What about Sherri?”

“Collateral damage.”

You exhaled sharply at the sympathy in his voice.

“Dwight needed to learn his place and the only way to do that without cracking open skulls was to threaten him with Lucille.”His thumb stroked over your jaw lightly.

“That doesn’t make a lick of sense.”

“Sherri offered herself up in exchange for his life.That just so happened to fit my agenda.So, ‘mean’ though she may be she was telling the truth.” Negan looked down and away for a minute.The deceptively charismatic smirk he wore like armor returned to its place.

“Not for nothin’ but not one of us became a wife because we were lookin’ to put our feet up, except for Frankie.” You pointed out.

“Amber went through some really bad shit.She feels indebted to you for saving her.Tanya’s mom was sick, in a lot of pain, and needed morphine.We both know how I ended up here-“

“Sherri doesn’t know that.” He interrupted.

“That’s my point, she shouldn’t talk about what she doesn’t know.Talk shit.Get hit.Just sayin’.”

“You are impossible...Why don’t you go on and get that gorgeous bottom of yours in the shower? It’ll help you cool down.” He suggested.

“Won’t you come with me? You tried, entwining your fingers with his.

He brought your hand to his lips and pressed a small regretful kiss to it.

Negan’s sigh was bone weary.

“I’d love to, Darlin’ ,but Daddy’s got work to do.” He waggled his eyebrows at you.

Your face heated at the memory of your sarcastic remark.

“It was a joke.” You groaned.

“Not to me. I think Daddy might be my favorite nick name yet.” He taunted, watching you saunter to the bathroom to start your shower.

You heard his easy laughter receding as he left you to your own devices.

Not far from The Sanctuary, a militia made up of rebel misfits made their final preparations to dethrone the self-professed king.

Once upon a pre-apocalypse time, Rick Grimes thought of himself as a simple man.There was right and there was wrong,very seldom was there anything in between.When there was, it simply meant the situation needed resolving. Once resolved it would fall into one of those two basic categories and all was well with his world again.

However, that was before the apocalypse. Before his family’s survival twisted his morality into something neither black nor white, but a stormy weather grey. The many traumatic situations, trials and tribulations he and his chosen family had faced, forced his grey morality to stain a little darker, but no crisis had pushed him so close to the edge as Negan. Abraham and Glenn, along with so many others had lost theirs lives to the violent sociopath and his merry band of murders.He’d sworn vengeance on their oppressor.Now that vengeance was finally coming to fruition.

“...Those people who use, take, and kill, to carve out the world and make it their’s and their’s alone, We end them...” His soulful blue eyes took a moment to gaze meaningfully into the face of each member of his ragtag army.

“There’s only one person that has to die tonight”His gruff voice assured them, “and I will kill him myself.”

He could see his words already taking affect, giving their anger the justification of righteousness and their thirst for savior blood conviction.Rick kept watching, patiently as Ezekiel roused them with brotherhood and as Maggie Rhee gave them hope.Unlike Negan, it gave him no pleasure to manipulate minds like this.The ends he reminded his conscience would justify the means.

For the greater good!

His inner voice declared.He accepted the words as gospel.

The caravan barreled through the fences taking the few saviors, who weren’t out checking the far perimeter, by surprise. Four shots were fired into the air breaking up an impromptu meeting Negan was having with Hilltop’s incompetent leader.He and his men strolled out onto the platform to gauge the situation.

“Well I’m sorry” Negan apologized insincerity in his voice. “I was in a meetin’’.”

Upon laying eyes on Gregory, Rick Grimes snorted.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

Negan’s sharp eyes roved over the caravan of misfit warriors, taking in the army, the battle ready vehicles, their many firearms. All of this would not have given him pause, except for one thing, the determination and fury on their faces.

“Now, I don’t see a reason why we should have us a shoot out,” He snarked, wondering anxiously if you were at the window of his bedroom right now.

Hoping you had heard the warning shots and taken cover, he resumed his performance.

“I have to look out for the safety of my people. I can’t let myself get wrapped up in playing cops and robbers just because you want to find out if my dick is really bigger than yours.” He paused like a comedian building suspense before a punchline, “It is.”

He smiled confidently. “We all know it.”

“This isn’t a game.” Rick Grimes intoned, his solemn countenance causing Simon to mutter an epithet under his breath. “This is a reckoning and your time has come.”

The shoot out that followed was a chaos of ricochetting bullets, screams of pain, and shouted orders. Minutes passed like seconds. Simon called out to Negan, they had reinforcements coming.

As it turned out, so did Rick Grimes.Of all the surprises Negan imagined the colonies to have under their sleeves, not being able to count on his silver tongue to buy time or get him out of such an impossible bitch of a situation wasn’t one, the colonies using the entirety of their separate communities, young and old, wasn’t one, and a heard of the dead filtering into his God damn Sanctuary sure as fuck wasn’t one.

Rick the Prick’s first spray of bullets missed Negan by a second.He dove out of the way and down a flight of stairs. When he reached the bottom he was a little worse for the wear, but his body was still in one piece.He was also resourceful enough to pick up the gun of a fallen Savior and stay out of the crosshairs for a bit.

His brain went into survival mode, pushing him to shoot back, pulling him back behind the dumpster before he could get himself shot. Negan’s gun ran out of bullets all too soon.

“Sonuvabitch!” He ground out, running to the nearest port in the shit storm, a rusty old trailer.

His heart beat so damn loud, he’d forgotten how terrifying a herd could be when you had nothing, but your will to live and your flight response to get you out of it.He heard glass breaking.

Y/n

His pulse jumped in his throat.Of all the days for you to drink you had to choose today.He couldn’t bear the thought of them getting to you.They could hate him all they all wanted, he’d done his share of fucked up shit. He deserved it. What he felt he didn’t deserve was for the consequences of his actions to effect you.

Another spine chilling thought circled in his brain.

“Everyone of you go to your rooms!!”

Had he doomed you all? Like he’d doomed her? A memory of bright blue eyes and a very expressive face loomed over him ominously.

Different time.Different situation.Different woman.He told himself pushing her memory away, down deep in the coffin shaped box where he kept his grief.

A newer memory arose unbidden, He took your hand in his, kissed it softly, and looked into your eyes.All trace of bravado and falsehood dissipated as he let you see him. The real Negan and the effect one night with you’d had on him.

"Can I trust you, Y/n?”

“Yes, you can.”You laced your fingers between his.

“How can I be sure you won’t think my love for you is a weakness?”He watched your face cautiously.

“You aren’t weak.Neither am I.We have both put survival above everything else.”

You were resourceful.You were unbelievably resilient. Negan resolved to trust you to keep yourself alive.At least until he could reach you.

The trailer door blew wide open.Negan fisted the black material attached to whatever dickhead had been dumb enough to enter his refuge and pulled the door shut. The wide doe eyes of Alexandria’s creepy bald clergyman found his face in the dark.

The firing of live ammunition sounded from somewhere below you. In nothing, but a bra and a fresh pair of panties you ran to the wall of windows.Simon and a few of the saviors had taken cover and were taking their best shots at hitting something other than the corrugated steel the invaders were using as shields.Your mind went into over drive.You couldn’t see Negan out there.No sign of his black leather clad back anywhere.At least you knew he was alive.He wasn’t lying on the ground or you’d surely have seen him. A borage of bullets hit some of the panes of glass below.You dove to the ground and began crawling behind the nearest piece of furniture you could.Unfortunately, the closest was a sofa.Cushions and plywood wouldn’t be enough to keep you safe.You lay as flat against the floor as you could as the gunfire reached your floor.The cacophony out there went from loud to ear splitting within seconds.

A sharp angry pain caused you to cry out, but you weren’t willing to risk getting shot again to check the wound.Soon afterwards the shooting died down.They’re running out of ammo, you thought.They must need to make every bullet count.Your heart felt so heavy.Please Lord keep him safe.You prayed.You knew he wasn’t perfect by any means nor was he innocent, but you loved him.You couldn’t fathom a world without him.A moment of quiet passed as you reflected on your husbands many sins.You found yourself struggling to maintain your composure.You wanted so badly to fall apart, but there wasn’t time for that.There was no doubt in your mind that he would eventually come for you, but you couldn’t stay here and wait.It wasn’t safe.

You got onto your hands and knees and clambered to the closet.You cursed Negan’s stupid wives club bullshit for robbing you of your jeans.You only owned two outfits.A black dress with spaghetti straps or a white grass stained sundress.You silently fumed as you pulled the dress on.You owned exactly one pair of shoes these days and they were a pair of black flats, not made for trekking through the forest. You decided to take a pair of socks and Negan’s red kerchief from his night stand.The long tube socks you used to stifle the bleeding of your wound.You tied the kerchief around your wrist. As you left your bedroom behind, you quickly began assessing the damage.You found the parlor doors were wide open. Sherri was long gone, but Tanya and Frankie seemed to be waiting around for...something.

“He isn’t coming.” The statement left your mouth reluctantly.

You knew deep inside that he would come back, eventually. However, seeing the girls fall apart spurred you to action. “We have to go.”

“We can’t leave! We won’t make it!” Tanya cried, her eyes frantic.

“We will! We can!” They looked unconvinced.

“I’ve led a group before.” You sighed exasperated with their dithering.

Frankie’s eyes darted from the room you had just left to the parlor doors.

They’ll probably drag us out of here if we stay.” She said slowly to Tanya, “and who knows what else they’ll do to us.” She swallowed nervously.

“She’s right.” You told Tanya.”We don’t know who or what we’re dealing with here and we shouldn’t stick around to find out.”

Tanya nodded slowly accepting the dire straits you were in.Trying to ignore the fear and anxiety she was radiating, you lead them to the doors.The empty hallway was not at all inviting, but you had no choice except to slip quietly into it.Frankie and Tanya followed.There was shouting and shooting in the distance.The further you walked the closer the noises sounded.You peaked around the first corner.

An arrow whizzed toward you.You ducked back behind the wall, your breathing sharp and quick with shock.You stayed as still as possible, waiting for another arrow to come, but none did. Instead there were heavy angry footsteps.The face of a man appeared, haggard sweaty and holding a cross bow in front of him.Tanya and Frankie yelped holding each other tight.

“Weapons?” He demanded.

“W-we don’t have any.” Frankie stuttered.

“Bullshit!” He barked and demanded you put your hands up.

You complied, more for the good of the wives than for your own.Stout fingers and a large palm invasively explored any place you might be hiding a gun or knife.

“Get on the ground.”He commanded and moved on to check Frankie, then Tanya.

“Who are you?” He asked suspiciously.

“We’re...wives” Tanya sniffed between sobs.“Negan’s wives.”

He grunted more to himself than to you.Static crackled from the walkie on his belt.

“Darryl, You find anything?”

“I found the wives,”He sounded disappointed. “They’re unarmed."

“Go ahead and bring ‘em with you.”A deep voice intoned.

“Sure.”Darryl replied.

“Anyone else back there?” He nodded toward the direction you came from.

“No.” You stated evenly.

“Get up.” He grabbed onto Frankie’s arm and pushed her ahead of him.

“Ladies first.” He mocked, making you go back the way you came.

Daryl stopped at every room.Checked every space a person could possibly hide.When you got back to the parlor, he tore the place apart looking for any one hidden. He found no one. He checked the other rooms found them empty and called to someone on the walkie.

“All clear.” He informed him.

“Good.Meet us on the first floor.”

[aquagenesis]

i cant stop talking about seifer.

like i just don’t understand, in everything it’s emphasized that seifer is the parallel to squall.  the game opens up and everyone and their mother is telling squall he doesn’t care, he’s cold, he’s abrasive.  zell and selphie specifically comment on how rude he is; when he goes after rinoa following their inability to get into the broadcast station one of them tells him to back off because he’s going too far.  cid tells him strength isn’t enough to be a SeeD.  laguna is another parallel to squall (as his father) because while laguna throws himself into things because he thinks he’s doing the right thing, squall holds back and would rather criticize others for not doing enough.  laguna has kiros and ward, seifer has raijin and fujin, neither of which are “worse” than seifer.  both friendships involve the “friends” supporting their main character friend wholeheartedly and consistently being worried over them.  raijin and fujin don’t accept seifer would be executed and are the only ones to bother to go looking for him, out of concern for what he might be experiencing alone.  when seifer turns away from them it hurts them because they just want him to come back and abandon garden and everything together, because seifer has never been one to obey authority and now he IS.  even though laguna gets them lost in esthar and ward loses his voice entirely, ward and kiros spend their last (known) minutes apologizing to laguna for not being able to keep traveling with him.

everyone else in the game who isn’t just A Party Member and is otherwise observed to be “fine” has people they are friends with and close with.  squall doesn’t.  he’s an outsider and when people attempt to be friends with him, he shuts them out.  the only other party members who don’t have anyone are irvine and quistis; irvine is alone because of some heartbreaker sniper garbage (you’re a womanizer OH) and quistis is alone because she can’t connect with her peers due to being an instructor of people not much younger than her but too young to be close to more mature faculty.

squall intentionally goes after people about things he thinks they should be insecure about and gets angry when they don’t “realize” what they’re doing that’s wrong.  squall falls into the same Toxic Masculinity/Don’t Idolize This category that characters like rick sanchez and walter white fall into, where they’re successful but for all the wrong reasons.  rinoa is like eighteen and she was born into a galbadia-occupied world where resistance members are being tried and persecuted for trying to get timber’s independence which was taken from them.  squall takes her inability to know what to do when she SAYS she never imagined they’d be able to get this far as an individual fault, never apologizes, and it’s written off as “well she needs to learn how to do whatever” when in reality squall had no right to talk to her like that.  because she’s right; he just blindly follows orders and puts himself on a pedestal of moral superiority because “he isn’t the one who messed up”, because he doesn’t DO anything he’d have to take personal responsibility for.  he tells rinoa what she SHOULD be doing and then when she’s like “oh really?  okay i’ll go with that” because he has combat experience and training he takes that opportunity to rip into her because “she can’t make decisions on her own”.

rinoa specifically goes through a LOT of shit because squall refuses to make the first move for the majority of the game.  rinoa is always the one who steps in to protect squall and squall has nothing to say but criticism because “she should have let him die.  she should have carried out the mission”.  seifer steps in to protect squall and instead of respecting his memory squall decides to make it about his existential crisis rather than the fact his classmate who tried to save his ass was executed.

and this would be fine; seifer is allowed to have negative character development.  but seifer never receives sympathy or empathy for the fact he was brainwashed and taken away from everyone.  seifer broke the rules of garden and everything for the sake of protecting people he didn’t think would be able to make it out alive.  seifer says, “they’re gonna get killed if they wind up against the whole galbadian army” because cid dispatched 3 new SeeD members into a situation he knew was far graver than “heehee just free timber” as though it would be so easy.  seifer knew garden was a sham from the beginning and even when the narrative flips to say “yeah garden is actually the worst thing”, it’s not “oh shit!  we were after the wrong guy!” it’s “well seifer should have done a better job of relaying that information”.

seifer knew squall wasn’t ready to be a SeeD.  seifer knew SeeD was basically a pass to do whatever you wanted.  seifer knew making squall the leader of a squad when he’s insufferable and difficult was a bad idea.  seifer told zell so many times to be quiet even before he threatened the president and because zell was so caught up on “god i fucking hate that guy” he led to seifer being brainwashed and the war getting more tense.

edea knew if quistis or anyone else would be able to talk to seifer the brainwashing wouldn’t work; that’s why she incapacitated quistis when she ran in on the scene.  seifer was taken advantage of against his will and then had literally no way of getting away; his “romantic dream” was with rinoa, not being edea’s “knight” or whatever.  the fact squall had the audacity to call him a lapdog and whatever else is just so fucking stupid because the game confirms brainwashing was happening.  squall has a massive fucking ego problem and he isn’t forced to come to terms with it until the world is literally ending and him and rinoa almost die in fucking space.  rinoa girl you deserve so much better than a man you need to teach compassion.

like it’s not even inherently bad final fantasy had a protagonist who was entirely self-serving because yeah squall does eventually learn he’s a fucking dick.  no wonder you’re worried about being a memory because what the fuck would anyone say about you.  seifer got called heroic and noble and it drove squall so crazy because it was all retrospective he stormed out of the room screaming “I WON’T BE A MEMORY” which is so fucking tasteless.  quistis is looking for just friendly support because she was demoted because of seifer and squall and squall tells her “well other peoples’ problems aren’t mine”.  squall finds out rinoa might have been looking for seifer and he really gets so worked up until he finds out she was looking for cid at the party, but then gets mad again because seifer introduced them.  but it just doesn’t make sense to have the antagonist be the parallel of someone self-serving.

like don’t even get me started on the fact that like, squall and rinoa wound up being together in the end, because yeah rinoa deserved better than squall.  she deserved better than to have her boyfriend who she was in love with dangled in front of her with no way to get him back.  she deserved better than to have to fight someone she loved for her life because her boyfriend was taken from her because of some stupid “preserve the garden!” agenda when garden didn’t take her seriously until seifer introduced her to cid.  rinoa had no obligation to stay with squall outside of he was assigned to her and he treated her like shit for so long.  she wanted seifer to be with her because seifer gave her courage and made her feel like she could do anything.  instead she had to help squall through several character arcs because “she needs to stand up for herself” or whatever and it’s like, your boyfriend SHOULD be giving you hope that you can do what you want to.  it’s not a bad thing seifer’s the one who gave her that.  she didn’t “rely” on seifer, he was strong and self-assured but canonically hates pity so he would not “pity” her.

and like as far as i remember and am playing, squall doesn’t even hate seifer.  he thinks he’s a dick and full of himself but boy are you sure calling the kettle black.  seifer didn’t respect quistis because she was a coward and relied on her role as “instructor” to berate and punish him.  that’s part of the reason she was demoted, because she couldn’t be fair.  seifer never missed and that’s why they had to shove him into the antagonist role, because they needed to take away the person squall was living in the shadow of for him to realize HE was the problem and not everyone else.

if seifer had been on the mission to assassinate the president they never would’ve gotten on the damn train because he would’ve been smart enough to say “hey rinoa if this is such public information i don’t think he’s gonna be on the train, let’s not put all of our energy into this as the main plan”.  squall went along with it and then got nasty because it didn’t work.  squall single-handedly let everything get so fucking bad because he was too scared to maybe be “wrong”.  he’s lucky so many other people were willing to go down for him to succeed like very genuinely because if i was on that boy’s team call me the next seifer almasy.

[margridarnauds]

Can you please talk about Imhotep x Anck Sun Amun. Anything. I’ve come back to one of my age old opts and I need your help

Oh my God, I’ll try! (Warning: Contains some salt for the second film, though it comes from a place of love and affection, and much rambling, which isn’t helped by the fact that it’s been a little while since I’ve seen both films but still have many feelings, also tw: for references to rape)

Like you, they were probably one of my oldest OTPs, and I’ve always been more or less consistent on them. (I remember being SO disappointed as a kid with the finale of the Animated Series when Imhotep just...walks away from her.) I absolutely loved how EPIC and tragic it was, and I was always rooting for them to get a happy ending. (And I was always disappointed, until I discovered the wonderful world of fanfic.) The Mummy is actually what got me started with my interest in history, and so I really do owe it a big one for that. It’s probably one of the single most influential pieces of media I’ve consumed in my life. I definitely think they were at their strongest in The Mummy; that’s the film that really DEFINES the ship for me, despite Anck getting relatively little time. Like, in the course of the introduction, we find out several things in quick succession: That Imhotep was Pharaoh’s high priest, that Anck was his mistress, and that they loved each other enough that "For their love, they were willing to risk life itself.” And then, after THAT, we learn that they were willing to kill PHARAOH, AKA the MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE DIVINE AND THE MORTAL REALM for the sake of each other. One of the things I actually realized while I was rewatching The Scene is that there’s actually a moment immediately after Pharaoh’s asked her who touched her where she looks at her arm and has a brief moment of surprise, starting just a LITTLE before she turns to look at Seti and then, behind him... 

She is TERRIFIED at this point. I think that killing Pharaoh was probably been something they’d considered, possibly talked about, but I have some strong doubts that this particular part was planned out. (Though I could also be very, very easily persuaded otherwise as well; it’s the kind of thing I’ve gone back and forth on over the years.) And then the two of them work TOGETHER to kill Pharaoh. Anck isn’t passively sitting by while her lover kills Seti, she’s actively participating in it, taking the first stab even before Imhotep gets to it, when he’s just drawn his sword. And, when the Medjai come, Imhotep was willing to DIE for her, only being dragged away by his priests, even though Anck had begged him to leave so that he could resurrect her. And then we learn a little bit about why she might not have hesitated to kill Pharaoh before Imhotep did...

This is what she chooses as her LAST WORDS. A defiant statement saying, once and for all, that she’s never going to be violated again, her last action seizing agency for herself, killing herself before letting her fate being dictated by someone else again (and to prevent her from the painful, painful death that would have awaited her otherwise). All while letting the man she chose to be with, to love, escape while she took the full blame (it’s mentioned in the original script by Narrator!Imhotep that “For murdering Pharaoh, Anck-su-namun's body was to be cursed. And it was I, the High Priest, whose duty it was to curse it.” Which...holy ANGST Batman. Given how IMPORTANT the body was to Ancient Egyptian beliefs relating to the afterlife and how important the afterlife really WAS, this must have killed him, even if he might have justified to himself that he was going to get her back. 

I’ll never entirely forgive the second film for changing her from “mistress” to “fiancee” (which seems to give her more...security, than her just being a concubine, though realistically Seti has MULTIPLE wives, but The Mummy doesn’t MENTION them or Nefertiti’s mother, so...) and deciding that she was going to be an Obvious Dark Sexy Lady from the get-go, when this is pretty damn self-explanatory. But they’d decided that Nefertiti was going to be Evie, and Seti was now the BELOVED FATHER of our heroine, and so of course Seti has to be a loving, kind father whose death was a great tragedy. (Though...personally, I choose to go with Nefertiti as an unreliable narrator. Of course she’s not going to have sympathy for a common concubine who murdered her rightful king, she had to have been a scheming, manipulative woman from the beginning. Seti can be a loving father...who still treated Anck as if she was an object for his pleasure.)

It’s just...so, so important for me to emphasize that she CHOSE to love Imhotep, that he might very well have BEEN the only man she CHOSE to be with in her life

And I’ve focused a lot on this opening and how IMPORTANT it is because it’s literally the first thing we see, and it’s what sets up the entire series. “For their love, they were willing to risk life itself” and, as it turns out, their afterlives as well. Even while Imhotep’s been turned into a cursed figure, doomed to bring the Ten Plagues of Egypt, he has two essential goals (1) Get himself rejuvenated so he won’t run up a tree whenever a cat comes along and (2) Get Anck back. Like...holy SHIT. He was willing to tear down this world and the next just to have the life with her that they SHOULD have had, in another world. 

One of the things that really stood out while I was looking for sources to work with was something that Pete Hammond, a film critic said, which is that "people want to believe in a life after death situation," which is TRUE, and explains a lot of the appeal of figures like ghosts and zombies and mummies (who are kind of specifically Egyptian zombies, as far as their ties to imperialism are concerned, but I digress), but also with Imhotep and Anck-su-Namun in particular, it’s the idea of a star-crossed love so incredibly powerful that it lasts for MILLENNIA, in defiance of death and life. It’s destructive, to the society they live in, to the world at large, but it’s epic love at its finest and it was something they both fought like Hell for. 

And then we get the second film. And in the second film, there’s obviously the ambiguity between Anck and Meela, and which one is which. Still, I think that for the MOST part the person we see in the film is more or less meant to be the person that Anck was in the past, given that there are traces of that in the pre-canon flashbacks, such as the opposition of Nefertiti VS Ankh su Namun, Pharaoh’s daughter VS the mistress, light feminine VS dark feminine, which then is repeated throughout film with Evie VS Anck/Meela, though to be fair, I’m not sure that the WRITERS were 100% sure where one began and the other ended. Which is probably a consequence of defining Anck in the first film mainly as “a goddess” and “gorgeous” the latter of which the film notes EVEN AFTER SHE’S DEAD, but I digress. The novelization plays with it a little bit, having Meela be the one to desert Imhotep, not Anck, running as her identities collapsed in on themselves. The one script I was able to get my hands on that seemed like it might be halfway legitimate rather than just a transcript said that he “realizes that she never loved him,” which seems to swing the opposite direction, being more in line with the Animated Series which would follow it where Anck is a villain whose “Love” for Imhotep is entirely opportunistic. 

Personally, even though I waffle back and forth on this one, I think that Meela is slightly more outwardly vampy than Anck, slightly more pragmatic (Anck was always pragmatic, don’t get me wrong, THAT’S shown by her asking Imhotep to leave so he could resurrect her, but it’s...DIFFERENT, in that I can’t see Meela stabbing herself in the stomach either.) But, we did get some solid OTP content in this film: 

THE LONGING. HOLY SHIT. Like, we know so little about their relationship pre-canon, but obviously, with the whole “Body paint” issue, I honestly don’t see how they would have had TOO much time available for sexytimes, and so you have this situation where they have to try to repress so much around each other when they love each other so much, and sometimes they fail and there are those LOOKS (which cues Nefertiti in on it, so bad move guys, but...#YouTried). I don’t think that they were chaste, per se, given that they were going to do SOMETHING in Anck’s bedchamber before Pharaoh arrived, but I think that their time together was limited and always fraught with the danger of being discovered.  

Which also ties into one of the major THINGS in both movies, which is that almost-but-not-quite-touch. There’s such an INTIMACY there, so much mutual pining. Even when they kiss and everything is ruined for them, look at how they do it. 

It’s so SLOW and longing, the way that Imhotep’s hands just kind of hover for a little while before going to her shoulders as he angles for the kiss. I mean, this is some REGENCY level pining here. Albeit. In Anck’s bedchamber. But still. 

Honestly, I think one of the biggest dick moves the second film did was use them as a foil for the O’Connell’s One True Love. Like, at the end of the first film, there are two love arcs, and for Imhotep to fulfill his and get Anck back, Evie has to be sacrificed, while for Rick to succeed (and save the world!), Imhotep’s gotta go. There’s no real way around this. 

With the second film, though, it comes down more to the two ladies, with BOTH of them having the chance to save their respective love interests. Evie, obviously, goes to save Rick, but Anck...wavers? Suddenly? And you could make an argument that Imhotep wavers himself, given that he chose fighting the Scorpion King for power rather than staying behind with her, but...still. After all these years? The novel explains it as Meela coming back and reasserting herself, but in the film proper it really doesn’t make as much sense, unless you go with the idea that she was never in love with Imhotep, as mentioned in the script above, or at the very least, that it was somehow LESSER to the love that Evie has for Rick, which switches the narrative of the first film from World-Destroying, Epic Love of the Undead VS World-Saving Love of the Living to Fake Love VS Real True Love (With the appropriate child to show it, while Imhotep and Anck can...obviously not produce children. Which I wouldn’t want to bring up normally but given how MUCH of Evie’s identity in the film is tied to her being Alex’s mom, Rick’s wife, and Seti’s daughter...). Which...I fundamentally can’t believe. I can’t believe that after everything the two of them did for each other, how IMPORTANT they both were, that it was just an infatuation. It adds a pointless element to Imhotep’s arc that doesn’t really make sense with what we’d seen before. The tragedy, for me, with their relationship was never that one loved the other more or less; it was that they lived in a world where it simply couldn’t happen, whereas Rick and Evie DID.

The quote that I’ve gone back to time and time again is, “For their love, they were willing to risk life itself,” THEIR. Always THEIR. No matter what, they felt strongly enough for one another that they were willing to do anything so long as it kept the other by their side, and they did it TOGETHER. 

Tl;dr: Iconic ship, iconic characters, 100/10 will stan for eternity

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #238 - Men in Black 3

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes, #159.

Format: Blu-ray

1) For some reason it took ten years between the second and third films in this series, after five years between one and two. At this rate we’ll see Men in Black 4 in 2032.

2) The escape from Lunar Max is actually a very well done opening to the film.

It does well to re-establish this world which audiences haven’t seen in ten years. The sense of humor, the eccentricities, all of it. But more than that you get a sense for how dangerous Boris the Animal is.

3) Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal

(source)

There are two absolutely incredibly performances this film gives us and the first of them is Jemaine Clement as the villainous Boris. Holy crap, Clement is just amazing in the part. Nearly unrecognizable under Rick Baker’s masterful makeup, Clement embraces the prosthetics and otherworldly nature of the character to make Boris something truly special. Every scene he’s in Clement just commands. It’s hard to top Edgar the Bug from the first film but honestly I think Clement’s Boris is my favorite villain in the entire film. He is uniquely memorable and totally fun to watch.

4) I love that, even after 15 years on the job, J still has fun with the neurloizer.

5) The first scene of the film does well to re-establish the dynamic between J and K. We never really got to see them as seasoned partners in the first two films but now they’ve been on the job for ten-fifteen years depending on how you count. This shows in the as-always strong chemistry between Smith and Jones, making for a unique facet of the film.

6) Zed may be dead, but that doesn’t mean Rip Torn isn’t in this movie. Did you see him?

7) Emma Thompson as O is a welcome and fitting addition to the world. A remarkably talented actress, it feels like O has been here the entire time and I love it.

8)

J [to K]: “How did you get to be like you?”

Unlike Men in Black II, which I felt introduced a number of interesting ideas but didn’t develop any of them well enough to be interesting. This film on the other hand puts a considerable focus on the question of how K ended up where he is. It’s a very personal story and we can tell the stakes are higher because of how K acts. He loses it on Wu, he gets really upset by K standards, which shows the audience something is up. That’s important moving forward.

9) The Chinese restaurant shootout is a very classic Men in Black action scene. Fun alien surprises, a bit of the gross out factor, good action, solid laughs, everything you’d want from this film in one scene.

10) The conflict between J and Tommy Lee Jones K, however brief it may feel, is incredibly rich and interesting. It sets up the relationship with J and Josh Brolin K very well.

11) The changes brought on by Boris’ time travel are fun to see. The fact that the woman who lives in K’s apartment is the waitress from the second film, a different guard at the door, and a random but appreciated Will Arnett cameo. The added detail of those who have experienced a disruption in the time stream craving chocolate milk is a fun element also.

12) I love how J is able to recall super specific details about K when he’s proving he didn’t imagine him. It speaks greatly to their relationship.

13) We never FULLY get an explanation for why J can remember K but no one else can. I think it’s because J saw what K did at the very end or something, but it’s never really fully explained. And even if that is the reason, why can Jeffrey Price remember it?

14) Time Jump.

Visually speaking, this scene is the crown jewel of the entire film. The way time moves and changes around J as he falls is unique in the time travel genre and incredibly fun to watch.

15) I love, J.

J [after getting pulled over by cops in the 60s for being a black guy driving a nice car]: “Just because you see a black man driving in a nice car DOES NOT MEAN IT’S STOLEN! [Beat] I stole this one, but not because I’m BLACK!”

16) Josh Brolin as Young K.

Brolin is tied with Jemaine Clement as the best damn part of the whole movie. Because holy freaking shit, his Tommy Lee Jones is kickass. It’s beyond freaky how believable Brolin is as a young Tommy Lee Jones, but what makes his role as K so good is that it’s not JUST an impression. Brolin is giving a performance which matches Jones’ while also making it his own. He’s playing a younger K, a K who is a bit happier. This K is the same character that Tommy Lee Jones plays but a different version of him, a line which Brolin wakes with finesse and perfection. His chemistry with Smith matches Jones’ and he just has a fun time on screen. I freaking love Brolin in this film.

17) I’m surprised it took them three movies to make this joke.

J: “Yeah, I was an agent for three years before I learned all models are aliens.”

18) Bill Hader as Andy Warhol/Agent W.

Hader’s cameo is one of the best gags in the entire film. He has probably five minutes of screen time but it’s Bill Hader and he totally steals the scene. The entire concept that Andy Warhol is an agent of MIB who is just bullshitting his art is such a unique idea that it’s hard not to laugh at the scene that follows.

19) Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin.

Stuhlbarg is one of the finest character actors in modern day cinema, having appeared in such critically acclaimed films as Lincoln, Hitchcock, Steve Jobs, Miles Ahead, and most recently The Shape of Water. His work in Men in Black 3 is no less up to snuff as his performance/character adds a unique level of intelligence and wisdom to the film. Griffin is a hopeful, soft spoken, gentle creature who helps give the film an extra layer of sympathy and emotion. I think while we have absolutely stellar performances in Brolin and Clement, it’s Stuhlbarg’s Griffin who helps elevate the story as well.

20)

Young K [to J]: “Ask me any question. Anything you want.”

I love that. It gets to the heart of their relationship, a connection they didn’t have before, and further illustrates the difference between Brolin’s K and Jones’ K. It’s a great moment.

21) Griffin showing J & Young K the game.

There is one unique detail in this scene which I think helps make it so smooth and that’s the lighting. Anyone who sees the game Griffin is watching is lit in sunlight, but when J steps back he’s in darkness even though Griffin is still lit. It helps keeps the sense of place and action, anchoring it in physicality and reality.

Beyond the technique of the scene, Griffin’s entire philosophy on how miracles work adds a nice level of philosophy to the film which helps differentiate it from previous Men in Black movies.

22) The cycle chase is a great action set piece while the cycles themselves are a great addition to the franchise’s gadget canon.

23)

Boris [to his 1969 counterpart]: “You pathetic waste of Boglodite flesh!”

The scene with 1969 Boris and 2012 Boris just shouting at each other/shitting on each other is a unique and fun way to show the character’s self loathing. It helps you understand him a bit more.

24) I used this line in a paper I wrote for an AP English paper my junior year of high school.

Griffin: “But where there is death there will always be death.”

My teacher wrote something along the lines of, “I don’t think you should be using a Men in Black quote in this paper,” to which I ask: why not? I still got an A and it fit. Check your genre basis, public education system.

25) I ship K & O (OK? KO?). That is all.

26) Hey look! It’s Luke Cage!

The twist that comes about from Mike Colter as the Colonel makes the character extra important, but the fact that five and a half years later I know who Mike Colter is gives the scene an extra bit of rewatch value.

27) The Cape Canaveral climax.

The climax of the film plays with the idea of the two Boris-s in a fun way. The entire thing is well paced, well choreographed, and notably intelligent (especially in the way J uses time travel to his advantage). All in all, it’s just really fun to watch.

28) The truth about the Colonel.

This moment retcons a little bit of the first movie, of the relationship between J and K. But it packs a considerable amount of emotional punch to it, answering the question of, “What happened to K?” in a meaningful way. It’s remarkably sad, giving the film an extra layer of heart and emotion which makes me tear up a bit now for personal reasons. I love it.

29) It’s nice to see 2012 K with a little more heart to him, that he’s come out of this time travel adventure for the better and his relationship with J is strong.

30) The ending gag of the film does well to match the intelligence and organic nature of the marble gag from the first movie without feeling forced.

I really like Men in Black 3. There’s a chance it’s my favorite of the the trilogy (although objectively I think the first is the best). It moves past the problems of the first film to deliver an emotionally interesting, high stakes story. Jones & Smith’s chemistry is top notch but they’re joined by INCREDIBLE new additions to the film such as Jemaine Clement, Josh Brolin, and Emma Thompson. I definitely recommend this film, it’s a lot of fun and I think the most underrated of the trilogy.