#i feel like. keanu is too old for shadow

[munchboxart]

Source (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/keanu-reeves-joins-sonic-3-shadow-1235874487/)

[bridoesotherjunk]

why do people even like the sonic movies? they're not even good, people probably just like the feeling of having cyberbullied a movie studio into compliance.

the movies completely mischaracterize sonic, turning him from a confident, somewhat rebellious, independent cool-kid figure to a weird lonely outcast who spouts a hundred cringey pop-culture references a minute and befriends a *cop* of all people. that's like the last person sonic would associate with. he's against the establishment and for freedom.

jim carrey isn't even recognizable as dr. eggman, he's just 90s jim carrey, tails is the "friend in distress", knuckles has a very unfitting voice that just sounds really weird and borderline racist because 'haha indigenous-coded character is the dumb one' and shadow is just some kind of fancast to appease the 'oOoOo kEaNu' fans. aside from tails all the voices are celebrities who sound nothing like the character, they couldn't even be bothered to give the original voices like jason griffith back as much as possible. the third movie in particular was literally just a worse version of sonic adventure 2, you're better off just playing the game again because the movie felt like yet another overly-hyped nostalgia cash-grab.

This is going to be such a hugely nerdy response, I love Sonic. I've played a bunch of the games, I've watched a bunch of the shows- I genuinely love the Sonic franchise. So I apologize to anyone who follows me that doesn't care about Sonic.

Look, you can have your own opinions on the Sonic movies, I know I have mine and i CERTAINLY have opinions on fucking Paramount, but I Completely disagree on the over-hyped nostalgia cash grab comment. The director of these movies literally has been working on the Sonic games since the early 2000s. (Shadow 2005 my beloved) He very clearly LOVES these characters and clearly puts a lot of love and care into these movies. I've seen videos from Sonic youtubers pointing out all of the little things he's added to these movies from games HE WORKED ON. The man has posted online about Sonic statues and figurines he's bought. The writers and the many animators/animation studios also all have worked with Sonic for YEARS. Several of them help animate the games on a regular fucking basis. The only person who genuinely has not seemed to be a massive Sonic fan has been the composer.

Putting the rest of this under a read more because it got real long real fast

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""""the third movie in particular was literally just a worse version of sonic adventure 2, you're better off just playing the game again"""" --- not everything needs to be perfectly lore accurate, dude. reLAX. Sonic's got such insane lore, I honestly never expected them to make ANY of the movies 1 to 1 with the games. When I saw the second movie I was shocked they even did the Chaos Emeralds! Sonic's lore is WEIRD. It's not simple to try and translate into movie form.

Take this from the perspective of someone who is very very fucking white, but dude.. your comment on Knuckles completely took me the fuck out - borderline racist- Knuckles has been supposed to be black since the very beginning. from his very first game. His character has been a questionably racist issue for YEARS. - they originally had him Jamaican in the old games. He was supposed to have an accent and everything. ((The old games and their manuals were probably way more fucking racist than anything they've done with him recently, but I digress. His name was going to be fucking "Dreads" for crying out loud. Just... yikes, Sega.)) ALSO Knuckles is probably smarter than he's been IN A WHILE, in the movies, too. In the shows and games he had become an absolute shell of who he used to be. Like, sorry but you're just straight wrong about him being dumb in the movies. Yeah he's not as intelligent as Tails, but he's not stupid. I'd argue that he's smarter in the movies than he's been in fucking years in the games and shows.

Tails is the "friend in distress" - Sonic Forces would like a word, my guy. Nothing will ever be worse than that shit.

Jim Carrey... Literally with Jim Carrey as Eggman - the fucking VA for Eggman in the games is also a piece of shit, so there is no winning with this one. Both of them suck. Who else would you have picked to play him, though, honestly? Like, I wouldn't even picture Jim Carrey, but I genuinely have no idea who the hell I would pick to play Eggman. He's not really a character I've ever pictured in live action before.

And I'm sorry, again, your opinion on the movies is your own- but they really did not mischaracterize Sonic as far as being cringe - he's always been fucking cringe. He's always made references to current pop culture shit. (Some mediums are worse for it than others, but whatever.)

Now I WILL give you --- Him being friends with a cop- yeah, that one is absolute dogshit. Sonic would fucking never. That's ass.

I have no strong opinions on Keanu, like... at all, so I dunno. I would have absolutely preferred Jason come back, but Hollywood's gonna Hollywood now. When I first heard they kept Tails's VA from the games I was honestly shocked as hell. Hollywood does not do that anymore. It's ALL fucking celebrities. (((But you really can't say shit about Ben not sounding 'like Sonic' because Sonic's voice has varied WIDELY from the games and the shows and shit. Sonic's voice has really not been consistent. NONE of the characters's voices have. Ryan and all the cast that have been working since Sonic Boom have been doing it the longest, so I mean, they're the closest to a standard we're gonna get.)))

[edgy-ella]

SONIC 3 WAS SO GOOD!!!

Extended thoughts below:

The action scenes are by far the best they’ve ever been in the whole series. They’ve really improved how they visually represent Sonic’s speed. The only exception is the gravity scene at GUN HQ, which I think dragged on a little too long and overall wasn’t as impactful as, say, fighting a GUN mech with those same gravity abilities would’ve been.

Keanu is ok as Shadow. If you’ve seen the trailers, that’s about the level he keeps it at for the whole movie. I think I would’ve been more sold on him if he gave a bigger “MARIA!!” when she died.

In the first act, I felt like the movie was kind of on autopilot. Things just kind of happened without a ton of buildup, and the script kind of lacked flavor for the expository scenes. For example: when Sonic asks Olive Garden Guy™ about Shadow, he just starts expositing Shadow’s lore without anything like “this information is top secret, tell no one else about this” or “it’s painful to think about…I wish I could just act like it never happened” or even Sonic questioning how/why Shadow came from a meteorite. Just lore exposition without flavor from the rest of the cast. Throughout the movie, the dialogue felt very on the nose. I wish it was a little more subtle, but it’s a kids movie I get it.

On that note, the movie feels like it just has a checklist of SA2 iconography they had to tick off rather than more naturally integrating that kind of stuff into the plot. For the larger story it works well, like with Shadow and Maria, but stuff like the Chao Garden and “talk about a low budget flight!” just kind of felt…tacked on. In the moment it’s fine because I’m too busy aggressively pointing at the screen, but for someone not as invested in the series as I am, it feels a little random and clunky.

The movie really kicks up when Shadow starts having Maria flashbacks. The little montage they have with them together was so good. The cold cut to the record player stopping was so well done.

In retrospect, when just looking at this movie and not the rest of the franchise, I think Maria and Gerald’s relationship could’ve had some more focus. They never mention anything about Maria being sick in the movie, so it’s not clear why she’s there at the research station to begin with. That being said, Gerald telling Ivo “you’re no Maria” towards the end was gut wrenching. My theater audibly ooh’d.

@allshaftsfall and I were betting that the reason Gerald is still alive would’ve been through time travel shenanigans (which would set up the next movie), but, bizarrely enough, it just seems like Gerald is genuinely that old. He mentions he’s 110. But…how? Did he just survive that long? Did he use Shadow’s quill to expand his lifespan? It’s never explained.

I’m glad they had Knuckles and Tails continue to be proactive and do things instead of just being relegated to cheerleaders and/or comic relief. Knuckles in particular wound up hard carrying Sonic and Tails through most of the action setpieces.

There’s a scene where Tails talks to Agent Stone about being Sonic’s friend and not his assistant like Stone thinks he is, and Tails asks Stone “aren’t you and Eggman best friends too?” Stone replies verily sorrowfully “yeah…friends. Totally friends.” I know it’s meant to read as Stone wishing Eggman treated him better but I could not see it as anything other than Stone thinking “he’s my lover!” but thinking he can’t say that to Tails bc he thinks Tails is homophobic.

YET ANOTHER GOD DAMN CASPER REFERENCE. I cannot believe that both this and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, my two most hyped movies of the year, both had Casper references in them. I’m losing my mind.

I am so mad they didn’t actually kill off Tom. The setup was right there. They even parallel Sonic grieving him to Shadow grieving over Maria! But noooo he survives. When will we be free of human cop dad.

DUDE. The Super Sonic/Super Shadow fight was SO FUCKING GOOD. Worth the price of admission alone.

I kinda figured Live and Learn was gonna be in the movie going in from how much everyone’s been #KnowingSmile posting about it, but honestly? I was more hyped hearing Eggman’s theme from Unleashed start playing. It was way more of a “oh my god, it’s the thing!” moment. That being said HOLY SHIT LIVE AND LEARN PEAK!!!!!! The movie’s OST had a lot more of a rock influence and I couldn’t be happier.

I have some miscellaneous “I liked this better in SA2” stuff (pissing on the moon, Shadow’s heel-face turn, etc.), but all of them I understand why the filmmakers did what they did so they’re just nitpicks.

The end credits scene is kind of insane because it’s super long. It just feels like a scene from the next movie. Metal looks a little rough, but I’m sure they’ll polish him up for the next movie. They’re probably going to lean into Amy being a magic fortune teller girl given how she shows up in a dark cloak and floats in the air. I hope she’s gonna keep the fangirl energy, but I doubt it. Very interesting choice to do multiple Metal Sonics, though, especially since Sega only likes using the one Metal Sonic rather than having different copies running around. My prediction for the next movie is that Neo Metal Sonic will be the main villain and he’s controlling all the other Metal Sonics from afar.

[nwheregirl]

My content is usually for Keanu Reeves and his characters, but @gea-chan96 requested some Mads Mikkelsen’s characters as yanderes and, being one of my favourite actors, I couldn’t say no! So…

P.s. I apologise for the delay, but my personal life kept me away from tumblr. For this reason, I will close requests and just write whenever I feel like it.

YANDERE MADS MIKKELSEN CHARACTERS (DARK CONTENT, ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE, MAYBE TYPOS!):

-Would marry you, then show you their yandere side:

I imagine them being very elegant, old-fashioned men. Yes, they are still violent but they would never show that side to their lovely wife. Being rich, and having everything always ready for them, they would probably court you and take you to dates until you naturally fall in love with them. After your marriage, they would start to show how possessive and jealous they can be. They would probably make you move into an isolated house, with all the luxury of course… kept away from the outside world, like a bunny in a cage. They would spoil you like a princess and if you dare to show sadness towards this lifestyle, they would make you feel guilty. The only time they give away their true nature, is in the bedroom.

A little bonus: with Le Chiffre, 007 would notice the toxicity of your marriage… it’s up to you to decide to stay with your husband, or run away with James Bond.

-Would kidnap you:

These two are both very carnal and violent man: the only difference is that, while Nigel is completely unhinged, do to being a street mob boss, Hannibal has to keep a certain type of composure. The cannibal who take the whole kidnapping process very slow: making you trust him, becoming your therapist, even. And only then, he would tie you up in his cell… keeping you close to the meat… just to scare you even more.

Nigel doesn’t need all of that: he stalks you, tries to understand your routine for a few weeks and then, when you’re finally walking home alone…it’s over, baby.

-Would use black magic on you to make you fall in love, be completely obsessed with him, adore and serve him:

I mean… I’m not sure if in the universe of Dr Strange doing this type of magic is possible… let’s just pretend it is. He’s a sorcerer, right? And a villain, so an evil one. He doesn’t need anything but his Book of Shadows and his hands to make you fall in love with him. And that’s exactly what happens: you were supposed to be Dr Strange’s apprentice… but for some reason, you betrayed him and teamed up with Kaecilius. When Stephen understood why, and what had happened… it was too late, you had already made a blood path with your “lover”.

[salamispots]

sonic 3 thoughts/spoilers below

not too bad? (I mean the main reason I went to watch was Shadow LMAO) and I might need a rewatch when it releases out of movie theatre because I might've zoned out/focused only on Shadow in the earlier scenes hshhs

-trailer vibes felt a little more serious compared to the overall tone of the movie

-the intro arrhghghg gOOD also shadow in stasis and him remembering Maria playing

edit: pls I want the live and learn guitar version ahhhrh is there no official release for that?

edit: OH I found a cover by trey nobles/emi jones on youtube and the guitar intro is super close to the movie one (also oh man the like underwater sound/shadow in the tank going to the unmuffled guitar sound scene is absolutely living rent free in my brain right now) I wish the movie had more little quiet moments like that

-akhjfgjhd the more I'm thinking about it the more emotional I get like....either shadow's starting to wake up and that's the first thing that comes to mind OR that's what's been running in his head while he's been in stasis oUAGH

-waas neat to be able to pick out some familiar songs in the soundtrack haha

-agent stone :'D and eggman's last livestream to himmmm >:'D

-there were a lot of eggman/gerald bits? or felt a little long and was kinda wanting them to switch back to sonic

-also that's the third dance sequence haha there's now been a dance scene in each movie

-but also damn gerald's comment of 'you're no maria' HJKSD jesus

-gerald calling maria and shadow kids awwhhh

-maria/gerald/shadow backstory felt a little muddled?

-shadow thawing out of his little meteoroid with his eye showing was a cool shot

-shadow looks so grumpy all the time >:'D

-knuckles is endearing hahah

-Keanu Reeves as Shadow was not bad? like...the voice acting got better towards the end/during that big fight scene with sonic (like I can't tell if it was just kinda flat like actors who aren't voice actors acting or holding back/being kinda reserved due to you know being in stasis for 50 years/little socialization story wise)

-sonic tails knuckles dragging an old ass man to the chao garden chucke cheese hAHAH (it didn't click it was referencing chao garden till I actually saw the scene)

-A+++ for hte fight scene of sonic against shadow + with shadow aHHHHH and them ending up on the moon and looking at the stars gross osbbing

-speaking of I feel like for me most of the emotional beats didn't really quite hit minus the intro/eggman livestream/sonic going more on revenge side

-I did actually really like sonic's arc of someone he cares about getting hurt and him wanting revenge

-also I missed the second credits scene of Shadow being alive >:'D got spoiled about it being Amy but I didn't mind that BUT was cool seeing there was also metal sonic haha

-maybe will add to this when I rewatch it

[tophthedaydreamer]

ok my scrambled egg thoughts on the sonic 3 trailer:

- it seems like GUN is recruiting sonic and co. to fight shadow, which is interesting considering they were not on good terms in the second movie lol. I feel like when the olive garden general guy is giving them shadow's backstory, he's not telling them the whole truth. I think near the beginning of the movie we'll get GUN's version of events, while later on we'll get the true story from shadow. and that may change team sonic's allegiance with GUN, especially bc they're teaming up with robotnik for backup later on.

- speaking of which, he's back!! and so is gerald??? how?? the ARK incident happened 50 years ago, how is this old man still kicking? was he put in stasis too? or is robotnik talking to a hologram gerald made for his descendants? much to think about. I'm a little iffy on him still being alive (possibly), but we'll see how the film pulls it off.

- nice to see an homage to shadow the hedgehog (2005) with his teleporting moves!!! ive loved the opening cinematic since I was a teen watching it on youtube, imagining a sonic movie. now it's for real 🥹

- keanu reeves' voice for shadow is better than I expected! good pitch, nice lil bit of gravel. I'm glad he doesn't talk a lot, it makes whenever he does say something very impactful. I hope that he can deliver for the emotional scenes, fingers crossed!!

- only one lil glimpse of maria 😭 but from what I saw of her, she looks very 70s. I also noticed that the technology behind her and shadow in that glimpse was also evocative of the 70s (the buttons make me think of classic star wars).

agh, I'm so excited!!! I've watched the trailer four times already!!!! can't wait to see more tv spots and posters in the coming months!!!

[97keanu]

Premise: You were born a Slayer. It's in your blood, you've been trained to kill monsters your whole life. You have no mercy especially when it comes to Vampires, those blood sucking nightmares that lurk in the shadows. You've had no problems as a young Slayer so far, killing mostly young Vampires as well. That is until you meet John. He's so much more powerful than you, and he wants you for reasons he may not even understand. All John knows is that he's drawn to you, beyond even the sweetness of your blood. All you know is that he won't leave your dreams and you ache for his touch despite yourself. The strange connection between the two of you perplexes you both, and in a game of cat and mouse you end up more confused about your place as a Slayer than ever before...

With the help of some friendly faces, you can conquer anything.

Tags/CW: KEANUVERSE (multiple keanu characters in one), Vampire!John Wick, Slayer!Reader, enemies to ???, hunted/hunter dynamics, prey/pred dynamics, age gap (21/???), dubcon, power dynamics, John Constantine is your best slayer friend, asshole!Constantine, protective!Constantine, love triangle?, roommate!Ted Logan, himbo!Ted, sensitive!Ted, Best Friend!Ted, childhood friends ted Logan x you, loser!neo, witchy!neo, past lives, reincarnation troupes, part one.

Author's Note: That's it. We're doing it, folks. Full Top 5 Keanuverse supernatural AU. We got Vampire!John Wick, Slayer!Constantine, Roommate and ???!Ted Logan, Demon!Kevin, and last but not least, Hacker!Neo to help you along the way. This is the Halloween 2023 finale of the ages. Hope to see you all there ʚ♥︎ɞ

You could sense it. You knew you were being hunted. That's what made you different from all the other humans that walked this city alone at night, like helpless sheep or cattle grazing about from one place to the next. Instead, the hair on your neck raised, the tingle on your back reverberated throughout your body, and you could feel the cold stare like two little pin pricks on your shoulder blades. A vampire was hunting you.

You know not to fret, not to show any sign that you know it's back there, the monster that seeks you out. No, you must play pretend, act as if you're no different from the other humans that walk sporadically alongside you on this chilled October night. The leaves play along, rustling with your step, crunching despite the fact that you know, if you really wanted, you could walk as silently as the night. You let your body stay fluid and calm, walking and looking ahead towards your destination, an alleyway. You turn into it, and you feel the coldness spread across your shoulders, knowing the vampire is nearer than ever before. You slide your hand into your leather jacket, pulling out your wooden stake and turning, aimed and ready.

You see him, the monster that's hunted you. He's older, at least by his human looking age, but you have no idea how old he may be in vampire years. He wears a black on black suit, and his eyes gleam red at you. You can see the bloodlust in his eyes, and by the lack of surprise at your stake, he must have known you were a Slayer. You lower your stance, ready for his attack, but he looks at you with intrigue.

"I have never smelled a Slayer so...delectable..." His voice is deep, husky and mature.

He raises an eyebrow at you while you grit your teeth at his comment, clearly taking this much more seriously than his nonchalance.

"Too bad you won't get a taste." You chide, trying to make your own voice sound as in control and threatening as his.

You watch as your breath materializes in the cold of the night, while the Vampire across from you shows no such signs. The moments tick by as you consider what to do, questioning if you should strike first, but knowing that's what he wants.

"Go ahead, Slayer, take your best shot..." He tempts you, and your body stiffens, rigid and ready to strike.

"You first," you throw back.

"If you insist..." The Vampire replies.

Before you can say any other snide comments, he's dashed forward, so fast you can barely detect it. You let out an aggravated breath and launch back, away from what's chasing you. The Vampire laughs and before you can fight him off, he's grabbed your neck, pressing you into the brick wall of the alley.

"I like a woman who tells me what she wants..." He whispers into your ears, a deep chuckle resonating.

The feeling of his cold breath across your neck sends chills down your body, you feel as if it's just you and this creature, your vision tunneling to the two of you. The way your throat is being held sends butterflies to your stomach, and you squirm in his grip. You usually aren't defeated so quickly. He must be very old, and very powerful, that much is evidenced by how fast he was able to move and pin you. You can't believe you underestimated him. You hope you won't pay for it.

"What are you waiting for..." You grimace, knowing the Vampire is so close to your neck, but making no move to bite.

Your only hope now is that if he does bite you, maybe he'll be distracted enough by your taste for you to use the stake you still grip in your hand. Your hand hurts from how tightly you're holding it.

"I like to play with my prey, dear..." You hear his deep voice answer finally, a cold hand stroking the side of your cheek. You flinch away, but he keeps going, looking deeply into your eyes.

"Why don't you just submit to me..." his voice is smooth like velvet now, his red eyes mesmerizing.

Slayers are harder to hypnotize than regular humans, but with a vampire this powerful, you feel his mind probing yours, dancing along the outside, looking for a way in. You've trained enough to know how to keep your mind locked, but your stomach turns while you squirm, wondering if it's enough. You're young for a Slayer, only just turned 21, and you're certain a Vampire this old will use any trick he has picked up over the years against you. You turn your head, trying to look away from that sultry red gaze. Your heart quickens and your breath gets away from you.

"I love it when they resist...it makes it that much more entertaining." He keeps your head in place, a grip on your chin now, stopping you from looking away.

You shake, your body frightened, unable to control the fear that courses through your veins right now. You can't believe you were stupid enough to let this happen. You try to keep your eyes away from his, but the world behind him darkens until there's nothing but him holding you to anything. You feel as if the universe has floated away, and the creature before you is your only hope to stay grounded. You blink as much as you can, trying to get away, but it's happening, he's found a way in. He begins to flood your mind, and you want to scream when you sense what he's doing to you.

"I want you to like this as much as me..." His voice is no longer coming from his mouth, instead directly surfacing in your mind.

The Vampire tightens his grip on your throat just so, in the perfect way, and you can't stop the moan that escapes your mouth.

"I can tell every little thing that turns you on...so predictable for a human such as yourself to want to be dominated. I don't know why you resist so much when even your most basic instincts want this..." You want to thrash against him, yell out, spit in his face if you could.

Instead, you find yourself growing wetter between your legs as the Vampires hands move to roam your body. One draws all the way down your neck to your breast, sizing them up and enjoying the feel of them. Another moan escapes you, floating up into the night air quietly. The worst part was, somewhere deep down, you knew you have craved to be touched like this. You fight the thought, you hate that he can hear them, and you hope with anger that he knows it was never a monster that you wanted to be touched by.

"So busy, learning how to kill creatures like me, never having any time to make the connections necessary to get this far with anyone else." He teases you, a smile showing just how large his fangs have grown.

His long, dark hair tousled by the chilly night breeze, he and the night are both uncaring for your torment. You hate how hot your body becomes from his freezing touch. You can only melt there, like liquid in his grasp, whining out as he touches you more and more. You feel a hand snake between your thighs, and your eyes waiver from how good it feels.

"Submit, and I will make this all be over..." The voice commands, asking so perfectly you consider agreeing. The vampire's mouth opens, fangs inhumanly long, claws wrapped around your neck, eyes glowing red, hungry for you.

Just as you're on the verge of it all, the edge looking so comforting to jump from, you hear a voice call out. A tiny voice, that of a child talking to their mother.

"Mommy! Look! A monster!" The child has spotted the vampire, and as you look to see the creature's reaction, you see that there's no one holding you to the wall anymore. All presence of the Vampire is gone, only the shadowy memory of his grip on your mind remains.

"That's not very nice to say about her." The woman responds to her child after seeing you in the alleyway, still a bit dazed.

The woman ushers the child along, and disappears, onto her own life. You try to regain your body. The world is becoming brighter and bigger all at once, and the feeling makes your stomach sick. You feel the vertigo from the experience wash over you, but you know you have to keep going before he comes back. You stumble forward, each step becoming more controlled until you're breaking out into a run towards your apartment, mind not thinking over if that's a good idea or not. You head inside feeling more lost than ever about what's happened.

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

"I don't know, it's like nothing I've ever faced before..." You whisper across the coffee table, not wanting to admit your defeat tonight.

Your confidant about the slayer world, Constantine, sips his black coffee thoughtfully. He's the only other person in this new city you moved to that you know you can trust with such things. Unfortunately, he had a tendency to be an asshole as well.

"I don't know why you would go into that alley by yourself," he chides. "You should have called me at least..."

He adds the last part, and you remember that as much as he can be a dick about things, he also tends to be quite protective of you, in his own way.

"I know, I just..." You pause, looking for the right words. "I didn't think it would be such a powerful Vampire, I haven't seen one in the city since..."

You begin to speak, but the words fall in the air.

"Since," Constantine finishes. "Since the night we met..."

It was a disaster. You ended up accidentally messing up Constantine's biggest kill of his career. He has hunted the Old One for almost a year before you decided to move, and here you are, waltzing in at the wrong time. Constantine had to choose between saving you, a Slayer who was a stranger to him, or finally finishing off what he had started.

You owed him big time.

"Well, in the spirit of not having it end like last time, maybe you better let me take over the case." He says sarcastically, his voice gruff to try to get his way.

"I prefer it if we work on it together..." You admit.

"And you get your ass almost chewed up and spit out again? I don't think so." He scoffs.

"I doubt he will stop hunting me, you could even use me as bait if you really wanted." You were always great with coming up with ideas, but acting on them was a different matter.

"Hm..." Constantine thinks for a moment. "We'll see about that one."

He stands, walking over to your kitchen, which was basically in your living room of the tiny apartment, and pouring out his cup in your sink. He walks towards the door and grabs his long black trench coat, getting it on.

"I'll look into this vampire, see if I can't get a read on who he is in the monster world." Constantine says.

"I want you to make sure you stay inside tonight though." he continues, then looks at you before leaving. "And please, next time give me a call if something like that is going on."

He leaves before you can respond, and soon enough you're left all alone in your tiny apartment.

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

You toss and turn in bed all night, sweaty despite the cold October air slipping through your bedroom window. You try to sleep, but every time that darkness takes you, you dream of red eyes. Red eyes that hunger for you, sharp teeth that desire your flesh, you feel as if you're on fire from the touch of such cold hands.

You wake once more with a jolt as you dream of those fangs piercing your tender neck. As you look about your dark bedroom, eyes unfocused, your breath seizes in your throat as you think you see him. That long hair, well kept beard, tempting eyes. You blink, rubbing sleep from your tired eyes, and when you look to the corner of your dark room, nothing is to be found. You think for a moment, and wonder if that gust of cold air was just the wind, or...?

You shake your head, trying not to be silly, and slipping from your damp from sweat sheets. You check the clock, and can hardly believe it's only half past 4 a.m.

Your bare feet pad across the cold wood floors of your apartment, and as you flick on the light in the living room, you hear the front door jingling.

You immediately feel your heart pick up, and you search the room for something to defend yourself with. You settle on a giant encyclopedia you keep on the bookshelf, wielding it and hiding just out of sight as the door opens.

As the intruder rounds the corner, you take them by surprise, your hands clutching the book and aiming for the head. You let out a yell as you go, and the intruder yells back, hands already out and grabbing the book from yours.

"Jeez! What's gotten into you?" You hear the familiar voice of your roommate, Ted.

You stare at him, the sleepless fogginess of your head starting to clear as you see him. You could cry after the night you've had, and Ted can tell just from looking at you. He takes the book, gently and softly, and places it on a nearby table. Then he slowly, ready for you to say no at any time, wraps two big arms around you, his sweatshirt soft and comfortable, his warmth radiating.

"I'm so sorry, Ted..." Your voice quivers and tears begin to flow from the stress and how kindly Ted is treating you after almost bashing him.

"Shh..." His voice is deep, soothing. "It's okay. You don't have to talk right now."

And you don't. You let Ted lead you to the couch, settling into him and his musky scent. You have always been able to count on him, even though he knows nothing about the slayer world you live in. He's been your best friend since forever, meeting you as children in school. He is no stranger for being a shoulder to cry on, and he never expects anything in return besides your own support and friendship. That's what you've always loved about him.

And now, you're glad for his presence more than ever. For some reason, despite Ted being only human, you feel so safe in his strong arms. You always have.

Ted relaxes you, petting your back and hair softly. He puts on your favorite movie, knowing it by heart by now, and let's you slowly drift back to sleep while laying on his chest. Listening to his deep, rhythmic breathing soothes you more than you knew you needed it. You fall back into a dreamless sleep, no nightmares of fangs or flesh to be found, and you are grateful.

You don't know when, but sometime near sunrise, Ted gently picks you up, taking you back to your room, and tucking you in. You sleep well despite how late in the day it's gotten.

When you awake, it's well past noon, and you groan, stretching and shaking off the deep sleep. Your body thanks you for taking it slow this morning, or afternoon really, and you once again pad back out to the kitchen. This time with less nightmare fueled stress.

When you do, Ted is eating the largest bowl of cereal you can imagine out of a mixing bowl. When he sees you, he grins, trying to swallow his mouthful of Reese's Puffs.

"Hey, Sunshine!" He greets you using the nickname he gave you as a kid.

"Morning, Moonbeam..." You reply with a yawn and another stretch you didn't know you had in you.

You feel better in Ted's presence, even now. You shine his goofy smile right back at him and hop up on the counter next to him.

"So, any plans for the day?" Ted asks, still housing his bowl of cereal.

"Not really, taking it easy I guess." You lie, knowing that in reality, you have to prepare after last nights attack, but Ted can't know that. Even if you wish he could...

"Sounds like a plan! Me and Bill are going down to the arcade later if you want to join!" He always offers to let you get in on his "bro time" with Bill. Sometimes you accept, but you have a lot of work to do today.

"You guys go on ahead, I think I need to recoup after last night." Ted nods, and you know he won't ask, but you can tell he's curious about what happened. You keep your mouth closed, instead hopping off the counter to start some coffee.

The two of you enjoy the rest of breakfast talking about normal topics, like how Ted is ready to finally get that high score in Tetris. You enjoy being able to talk about such things with someone, it makes you feel normal again, if only for a few moments.

Soon enough, a knock comes to the door, and you jump, despite yourself. Ted looks at you with a sympathetic smile, and starts off to the door.

"I'll get it, Sunshine..." Ted says softly as he walks by you.

You know immediately as the door opens, it's Bill. The two boys woop and woof at each other, practically barking like dogs as they amp each other up to finally win at this or that game. Ted bounces back into the kitchen, grabbing his keys as he does.

"You call me and let me know if you need anything, okay?" Ted says, waiting for you to nod, then smiles and says his goodbyes before excitedly heading out with Bill.

You can hear them bolting and howling down the hall until the sound fades away to silence.

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You've spent the rest of the day trying to find anything to keep your mind off of the vampire and what he might be doing right about now. You would say sleeping, as the day wanes on still. It's hard to imagine such an evil creature could sleep, though. You watch out the window as the sky turns to orange, the fall season setting the sun so early now. Orange turns to pink, and then purple, and before you know it, darkness has set upon the world once again.

You hate waiting around. You feel restless, and as you pace your apartment, you begin to feel strange. Your body feels so different, as if it's not even your own. You decide to go to the bathroom, flicking on the yellow light, and walking before the mirror over your sink.

You catch sight of your face, and how gaunt and thin it looks. It's you, you know that's you looking back at yourself. On a deeper level, you know that's just not true. You feel so confused, and reach up to touch your face when you see the other woman in the mirror move.

You stumble back, and as you do, she mouths something at you. You can't quite catch what she's trying to tell you, but you think you see her say, "Help him..."

You rush from the bathroom, and your eyes try to stay away from anything reflective.

You call Constantine, even as your stomach clenches from the idea.

"What?" His voice answers and you feel the strangeness start to subside.

"I just...I thought I saw something." You blurt out, not knowing what to say, or how to explain.

"Saw what? The vampire?" He asks, and the concern is obvious in his voice.

"No, not him..." You bite your lip, holding the phone to your head with a grip, your body curling up into the couch. "I thought I saw...well, it doesn't matter."

"Alright, well, I'm still working on figuring this all out, I'll be back over when I can." You can tell he's trying to be reassuring, but it's not really helping.

"It's okay...I think," you pause on what you want to say next, feeling conflicted inside. "I think I just needed to hear your voice..."

Constantine's line is silent for a moment, then he speaks.

"I'm glad it helped then. I'll be back soon." He seems genuinely surprised by your comment, but happy to have made things easier on you either way.

You hang up, and sit there on the couch, dazed and unsure of what to do with yourself. Eventually, you turn on some television, and find yourself falling asleep, despite how hard you try to keep your eyes open.

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You don't know when it started, but you're walking, moving with your eyes closed, and your body finding it's way towards the door of your balcony. You want to wake up, will yourself to stop, but you continue, and the hold on your mind is such an iron grip that you know you're too weak to stop it. You can only just barely open your eyes, seeing through your long lashes as you unlock the balcony door, the wind picking up and opening it.

Outside, in the night, he stands there, looking for you.

The vampire is on your balcony now, his dark hair whipping in the wind. He wears his dark suit, and he reaches out a gloved hand to you. You want to run from him, but your body betrays you. You come closer as he coaxes you with two fingers. It's as if something else has taken over your mind, and is making the decision to go forward for you. You hate how helpless you feel, as if your own body is just a shell that you're residing in. As you get closer you can see him clearly standing there, as if he was some sort of prince of the night, coming to rescue his fair Juliet.

You feel his arms snake around your waist, bringing you in. He smells of pine and metal, a smoky scent mixed somewhere in the middle. The one holding your mind swoons for the smell, and you can't help but feel enchanted as well. You find your body leaning into his, holding on as if he could be your salvation.

But when you look up into those red eyes of his, you know you have everything to fear in his presence.

"My sweet...have you returned to me?" His voice is tender, but he looks at you hungrily.

You open your mouth to say something, and what comes out is not your voice, not your words.

"Yes, my love..."

The vampire grins, and you feel as if the spider has truly captured the fly, unable to unweave yourself from his web.

As you try to will yourself to wake up, wake up, wake up...

John dips you lower, moving your hair from your neck, and his fangs baring sweetly.

"And now, we shall never be apart again..." His eyes look deeply into yours, and it feels as if he's speaking to your very soul. You gasp and he leans in, dragging his teeth across the sensitive flesh of your neck.

Just as he's prepared to bite, you jolt awake. You're still on the couch, the TV still running, and you try to find your bearings. You have no idea how it felt so real, how you felt like a prisoner of your own mind. You tell yourself it was just a dream, but you're scared to fall back asleep at this point, despite being so exhausted by the whole situation.

You look about the room, still feeling so watched, and see that the balcony door is ajar, just slightly, letting the cool breeze in.

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You hear a knock at the door. You stand cautiously, and carefully tiptoe to see who's there through the peephole.

It's Constantine, standing in his usual dark trench coat and suit, finishing the end of a cigarette.

"I know you're there, let me in already." He grumbles, and you remember that he's a much older, more trained Slayer than you.

You sigh, your small piece of a normal morning fading away as you unlock the door.

"Good morning, Constantine." You say with a smile, and he stops and takes a long look at you.

"Rough night, huh?" He assesses then, without waiting for you, barges into your apartment. Typical.

"Oh yes! Please after you!" You say sarcastically past the fact, rolling your eyes.

"We have a lot of work to do, and you're still in your pajamas. Please save the sarcasm for someone who's not helping your sorry ass, Princess." He throws the last word at you, a nickname he's been using on you to your great displeasure.

"Fine," you grumble under your breath, your arms folding across your chest. "What have you got for me?"

"So," Constantine starts, already in your kitchen and helping himself to his own black coffee. "I talked to Neo and he got me some info on the vampire who wants to take a bite out of you."

Constantine says the last part as he sips on his drink, obvious now that he's as tired as you.

"And?" You sit in the living room and Constantine joins you before continuing.

"And you're lucky to have made it back with your skin, Princess." he scoffs.

"That bad?" You look at him with sheepish dread.

"You seem to have drawn the attention of John Wick. A vampire they nicknamed Baba Yaga, or The Boogeyman." You feel a chill run through you at the name, Constantine continues.

"Looks like this vampire is pretty old. Almost getting near a 1000 years if our research was right. We looked into what people are saying about him, and it seems he is an overly skilled hunter, usually working as an assassin within the vampire hierarchy. What he wants with you, I have no clue." Constantine takes another deep sip as you digest what he's told you.

"So why call him the Baba-? What was it again?"

"Baba Yaga, it's Russian." Constantine interjects.

"Yeah, Baba whatever, Boogeyman and all that."

"Because besides being a nightmare to fuck with," Constantine starts with a scoff. "He also is highly skilled in mind manipulation, particularly dreams."

That explained the dreams you've been having lately, at least. The fact that he can so easily manipulate your mind makes your stomach churn. You stay quiet for a moment, contemplating all this new information. You're happy you had a light breakfast, your stomach now turning at the thought of how easily you could have died last night. It sours more as you think about what Constantine has told you.

"So...." You start, afraid to speak it.

"So, is he after you?" Constantine speaks it for you, and you nod, afraid to know the answer.

Constantine's face drops a little, concern sullying it.

"I'm afraid so. It looks like whatever this vampire begins hunting, he has a near perfect track record of obtaining." His voice is deeper, softer, lacking any sarcasm or wit that he usually holds. You watch as he swallows hard, looking at you with pity.

"What, you're already giving up on me?" You say with dismay at his attitude. You've never known him to be one to act like this.

"No! Of course not!" He seems to try to snap out of the somber tone. "But, it's not going to be easy. We will have to think up a perfect way to either kill him or at least get him to stop hunting you."

"How do we know he's still hunting me now?" You blurt out, wanting this to already be over.

"I could smell the scent of him even a block away. He's been patrolling your apartment all night." Your stomach drops. You can't believe you didn't pick that up. What lousy Slayer skills you have in comparison, you're suddenly very grateful to have Constantine on your side. Even if he is an asshole most of the time.

"Right. So...what do we do?" It's the only thing to say at this point.

"First off, I don't want you anywhere at night alone, you got that?" You can tell Constantine is going into protector mode as he talks, his voice stern and his face gravely serious. You nod.

"Second, Neo gave me some runes and tools to try out. From his research, it seems that these should work for warding off vampires and evil presences. We'll start with that today, then head over to his place to do some more research." You feel better knowing Constantine has this planned out.

You trust him enough to keep you safe, especially since his saving of your life is what your whole relationship is built on.

You two get started, etching runes and sigils in the wood work of the doorframes and floors. You pass smoldering herbs around the apartment, and take the time to say all the Latin spell work correctly. By the time you're done, the house smells wonderful and you feel a bit more at ease.

You change into a more acceptable outfit for a Slayer, consisting of thick blue jeans, and your signature black leather jacket. Your jacket, of course, has all you will need should you encounter another vampire. You made sure to packet properly this time. You hope you won't need to use it.

As soon as you're ready, Constantine takes you to Neo's place.

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Apartment wasn't really a good word to describe Neo's place. It was more of a hovel. It was cramped, and placed in the sub sub-basement of a real apartment complex. You were half sure it was only there for storage and somehow Neo had taken up residency without anyone's knowledge. He had it packed with computers and tech, the other half scribbled with sigils and runes across the walls. It was somewhere between a witchy tarot shop, and a one man internet cafe. The lights from his computer displays cast a neon green glow across the cramped hole, and you had to watch for stacks of old tomes as you walked in behind Constantine.

Like Constantine, Neo loved cigarettes, one hanging out of his mouth, one behind his ear at the ready. He leaned back in his computer chair, looking at the two of you with deep bags under his eyes but a grin on his face. He looked like he needed a month's worth of sleep and a clean shave at the very least, his stubble's shadow well past 5 o'clock.

"Hello, hello, my Slayer friends...what brings you here this afternoon..." He yawns between a few words, stretching and standing from his chair to greet you.

"Same as last night." Constantine says gruffly, he's never really had the time for Neo's antics.

"Ah, yes. Baba Yaga..." He says with fake fright of the name. "What do you wish to know?"

"How to get rid of him!" You speak up, more than ready to find a solution to all of this.

"Hmm...and what do you mean by that? You want to know how to kill him? Stake through his heart, you know that much, Slayer." He chides you and makes a 'tutting' noise.

Constantine slams a hand down on his desk.

"You know what she means, now what else have you found out about the bastard? I didn't pay you to work all night for nothing." He growls, but keeps his teeth at bay. He's not ready to get completely on Neo's bad side.

"Alright, alright." Neo lifts his hands up in defense, and continues. "I found only one other slayer who had come in contact with him and lived."

"And..?" You don't think your eyes could get bigger, you look at Neo with such hope for a good answer.

"And...they're dead now. Not from John Wick however, natural causes..." Neo gives the bad news with sympathy.

"Great, so you've learned nothing." Constantine grumbles and takes out his own cigarette to anxiously and stoically light.

"Not nothing." Neo informs. "I think from my research I may have found some field notes about the encounter. It seems that Wick had hunted this slayer, but was finally deterred from killing them. I have no clue how, but supposedly I know a guy who might just have that journal. It seems the other Slayer was really big on keeping notes, thank god..."

Constantine seems to have simmered down with that reveal, blowing out a long held puff of smoke.

"Alright, so who's got the notes?" You ask, once again starting to feel hopeful about the whole situation.

"Kevin Lomax." As soon as Neo utters the name, Constantine is swearing again.

"Not goddamn Kevin fucking Lomax..." He grumbles as he begins to put on his trenchcoat.

"You know the guy?" You ask quizzically.

"Know him? I've tried to slay his demon ass for the past ten years. Fucker always gets the better of me..." He's already headed out the door, tossing Neo a money clip as he goes.

"Hey! Wait up!" You say, quickly headed for him as he continues to curse this Kevin Lomax character under his breath.

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Midnight's bar was somewhere Constantine has banned you from, both verbally and with the bouncer. You'd tried before to go and found yourself more than embarrassed when the bouncer laughed at you. Constantine scolded you, telling you it was no place for a slayer so young. You knew this is where the best tips came from though, and were eager to get a look inside.

As Constantine walked up to the bouncer, he held a card, not facing the two of you. Constantine clearly spoke what was on the other side of the card, he was so much better than you at using his slayer powers. When the bouncer tried to stop you at the door, Constantine stepped in.

"She's with me."

"Alright, you sure she's ready to head in there?" He asked, looking you up and down with a face of disbelief.

"She's going to have to be, no other choice..." Constantine said simply, and the bouncer nodded, on to better things.

The bar was seedier than you imagined. You walked in, and saw so many different types of supernatural's mingling. You were surprised that they were allowed to coexist here. You spotted demons, horns and tails all out in the open, greedily drinking at the bar. Angel's sat next to them, soft feathery wings flapping gently as they spoke. Vampire's danced and a few turned to look at you, smelling the air as you walked in.

"Is it safe for me to be here...?" You asked, now seeing why Constantine didn't want you to come earlier.

"There is a strict rule of peace here. That doesn't mean a demon or a vampire couldn't tempt you into saying 'yes' to whatever sick ideas they cook up." He says over his shoulder at you as he walks.

"So if they say yes..." You say as you eye a vampire slowly draining a young angel in a dark corner of the bar.

"Then you're free game." Constantine says with distaste for the sight you're looking at.

"Oh..." You say nothing else and follow him into a back room.

He goes through velvet doorways until he comes to one with the words "Mr. Lomax" printed on them in gold. It must be his office.

Constantine pounds on the door.

When it opens, you're surprised to see that the demon is younger, maybe early thirties by his look. He's well dressed, a black, expensive looking suit with snake skin cowboy boots as well. He smiles widely, a toothpick hanging out of his mouth.

"Well, howdy there Constantine, come for another round?" His speech is filled with a southern drawl, the sound warm and full. He seems cocky, especially with how he meets Constantine.

"Not now, Lomax." Constantine seems put out by the demon. "I've come to ask you a favor."

"A favor! Out of my dear old slayer friend? From little ol' me? Why...I never!" He sure was dramatic. He really was ready to make this hard on Constantine.

"It's not for me, it's for her." Constantine nods to you, and you see the demon's eyes run across your body. You shiver as your mind finds itself fantasizing about what's under that suit of his, then shake it off, knowing his black eyes are making the thoughts dance around in your pretty little head.

"Well, anything for a pretty woman such as yourself, darlin'..." He winks and let's the two of you into his office.

It's black, with shades of brown and red sometimes making it into the design. Gold accents any metal and you get the sense Mr. Lomax enjoys the finer things in life. You sit down next to Constantine in chairs across the desk. The demon props those cowboy boots up on the desk and leans back in his chair, hands behind his head.

"Well, what can Mr. Lomax do for you?" He says, seeming relaxed and cocky.

"We have the need for a journal. I know you love collecting different magical items, and I heard you might have it." Constantine speaks as if he's playing a game of poker with the other man, never quite letting him see everything.

"And what journal might that be?" Mr. Lomax raises an eyebrow and chews thoughtfully on his toothpick.

"That of a slayer who had an encounter with John Wick." Constantine says carefully, unsure if he is giving away too much.

"Please tell me you haven't gotten mixed up with thee John Wick, Constantine..." The demon sits up, taking his feet off the desk and leaning in with concern. He puts the toothpick down in a nearby golden ashtray.

"We just need the journal." Constantine tries not to get off topic.

The demon then looks at you, and looks back at Constantine, then doubles back to you. A grin swipes across his face. He slaps his knee and laughs.

"Don't tell me...SHE'S got John's attention!" Kevin laughs and Constantine says nothing. "She DOES! Oh my..."

Mr. Lomax looks at you with pity.

"Oh, dear. You've barked up the wrong tree, one that you can't even see what lurks at the top, haven't you?" He scans your face with interest. "Of course Wick is after you, you look just like her..."

He says the last part softly then sighs. Constantine seems to be getting irritated by the whole thing.

"Look, we need the book. That's all. Not your commentary." Constantine's words are pointed.

"Constantine...you'll need more help than just a book. Let me see what I can do for you." Suddenly, the devilish man is much softer as he speaks.

He picks up his phone and rings for someone, then when they answer, asks for the journal to be brought. He sets the phone down carefully and looks at the two of you with concern.

"It won't be easy, what you're going to need to do, darlin'..." He addresses you again, his hands neatly folded on the dark, wooden desk.

"And what is that...?" You say with confusion, glancing at Constantine for help, but he's lighting another cigarette angrily.

"Well, you'll have to find his soft spot. But doing that to someone like John Wick is no easy task." He seems to be trying to gently tell you.

"What are you on about? Just get it out!" You've become fed up with the games and running about. You want to know how to defeat John Wick and now!

"Well, my dear...You'll have to seduce him." He says plainly with a sigh, as if there's no other answer.

"SEDUCE him? What kind of advice is that!" you spit, throwing your hands in the air. "Oh yes, let me go ahead and seduce thee Baba Yaga!"

You say the last part with sarcasm that could rival Constantine's, and they both look at each other before Constantine sighs.

"I was afraid this might happen..." He starts, smoke slipping out of his lips slowly.

"What!" You look at him with fury, your face reddening. "You're kidding me, you knew??"

"When I found out it was John Wick, and he had let you go...well, I had heard of this happening before, but only under one circumstance." Constantine says, his voice regretful from not confiding in you sooner.

"And that is?" You growl back at him, still so confused and angry.

Before he can respond, there is a knock at the door, and Mr. Lomax gets up to answer. A young woman hands him a book and he thanks her with a smile. He turns back to you two, holding up the book.

"This might answer your question... It's the diary of Elena, a once fellow slayer..." He says, holding out the book to you. "Flip until you find the photos..."

You do so and you heart drops. You look up at the two men, more confused than ever before, staring back down at the picture when they offer you nothing. What you see is, well, yourself.

That is to say, if you had been photographed in the late 1800s. And when you turn the page, there you are again, in a different decade. It continued on, until the last one, in the 90s. It could have been your mother, or a sister you didn't know you had, the women all looked so close to you. But you had never seen any of them in your life. What was this supposed to mean?

"I don't..." You start, then look up again to see the pity in both men's eyes, Constantine's more than just pitiful, but frightened as well.

"Do you believe in reincarnation, darlin'?" Mr. Lomax speaks, being able to break the news to you better than Constantine could ever.

"You've got to be kidding!" You say, standing without realizing it, completely in disbelief.

"Afraid not..." Mr. Lomax clears his throat before continuing. "You see, John Wick once took a wife. Her name was Helen. They lived a life of happiness, or so I've heard. That was until she was taken from him."

"And then what? She's just been reincarnating since?" You still can't believe what's being shared with you, and Constantine stands to steady you, your body shaking without realizing.

"Yes..." Constantine's rough voice whispers next to you. "And now that he's found you again, he won't let up until he has you..."

"But why would he want to harm me if that's true?" You say softly, looking back down at the photographs.

"A life of eternal pain and damnation can drive a man mad..." Mr. Lomax begins. "Believe me, I know."

You feel yourself sinking into Constantine deeper as the reality of all of this hits you harder. His body is lean, and chillier than you expected. He wraps an arm around your waist and holds you up.

"So, you're serious then. I have to seduce him and find his weak spot..." You whisper to no one in particular, your thoughts running from your mouth.

"If you need any help figuring out how to seduce a man, I am always at your service..." Kevin smiles and winks once more and Constantine shoots him a glare that could kill.

"Thank you for your help, but we will be on our way." Constantine said through gritted teeth as his hands moved to your shoulders to guide you out.

"Suit yourself! You were more than welcome to join in, Connie!" Kevin calls from his desk, once again alluding his incubus tendencies.

You two are already out the door however, and Constantine is grumbling about how he could kill "that idiot" in a heartbeat. You vaguely wonder about their history, but are more preoccupied with your place in all this.

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Constantine drops you back off at your apartment, and of course, goes off on his own to try and figure all of this out. You're not surprised he thinks you're too fragile to bring with him, but you wish he would let you handle your own fate a bit more. You also wish he wouldn't leave you alone right now when you need him so much. You wish you could tell him how deeply you feel for him, and how safe he makes you feel, but that's not something you think you can talk about with him. You're scared, and worst of all, you're scared if you show it too much and lean too heavy on him, Constantine might just run off. You know in your heart it's unlikely, but any attempt you'd made in the past to get close to him than the arms length he keeps you at, has been met with a frosty nature.

You sigh, trying to get your mind off Constantine.

You end up at your computer desk, your desk lamp illuminating the journal, and you begin to look into what Elena may be able to tell you...

"October 24th, 1992.

My heart is beating so fast, even now, as I write this. I know what I am doing is wrong, but John is irresistible. That man, no monster, has overtaken my mind, body, and soul. I feel such a deep connection with him, and I know Slayer's are not to mingle with the creatures they're supposed to kill, but how could I not?

He floods my mind, even when I sleep, and I dream of being her once more. The real Helen, the Helen that John originally fell in love with. That's the only reason he continues to torment me as such. If only there were a way to exorcise her spirit from my body, or split our souls from one another. I wonder still, if he would have nothing to do with me after, or if he can truly love the me I really am..."

You feel chills run down your spine. You wonder if Helen had the right idea. Are you two souls fused as one? Or are you simply Helen's soul that has forgotten where she came from? You wonder if Neo would be able to help with this at all, but read on nonetheless.

" October 27th, 1992.

My worst fears have come true. John feels for me, my soul, my mind, nothing. He only desires to break into my mind to restore his former love, Helen, into me. I feel so used. But I still feel love for him all the same and it hurts even more to know this. I need to talk to someone who knows about all this past life stuff, then maybe I can find my answers.

Either way, he beckons me, every night polluting my dreams with promises of love that I know are not true.

I need to speak with Helen. "

You wonder if John plans the same with you, and you feel sick. How easy it has been for him to play with you. And you have done nothing to stop it.

You go to the last entry.

"October 31th, 1992.

I held a mirror in front of the candle, just like the old witch informed me to do. I watched as the light flickered over my face, and finished the incantation she had told me. What I saw frightened me to my core. I saw my face change, subtly, then all at once I was someone else. Someone who was breathing different breaths, and thinking different thoughts. I called out to her, and asked her what she wanted from me.

She said "Do not be led into temptation, for my husband's heart hath grown wicked with grief and time. Save him, or save yourself. You cannot do both in this lifetime..."

I chose to save myself."

You stare at the page, then reread it to make sure you've truly understand what's being said. You wonder what she could have meant, and something deep inside of you stirs, it already knows.

You must decide the same for yourself.

Your curtains flutter at your window, and you feel a pull in your heart. You walk slowly over, peeking out into the cold night, and you know he's calling you. He can feel it, the part of you that's awakening after so long. And he wants you all the more for it. You gaze out into the darkness, and think you see the shape of him, of glowing red eyes that watch you with a thirst that's been building for ages. When you look deeper, you can only see shadows, and John's presence in your mind fades and dulls, but doesn't vanish.

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

That night, you dream of him. His hands are on your body, but they don't take from you. They touch you softly, sweetly, and when you moan, it is in her voice. You see the memory, and see how different John used to be. His face holds no darkness, only love, and he whispers such sweet things to you as he kisses up your body. You don't feel the terror in your flesh as you did the night you met him. Instead you feel a love that seals up that hole inside of you. You've been searching for this your whole life. That's why you never ended up with anyone else, you couldn't. Not when half of your heart was taken by another. Not when her half of you will always be in love with John.

You dream of tenderness and light filled touches, and when you awaken, you feel so confused on what you're supposed to do.

You know John Wick is not going to go back to that, not easily at least.

And a part of you feels guilty for how much you wanted that feeling, that feeling of being so wanted and loved by John, when you know you also love another. You lay there in bed, contemplating what to do.

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

You go to Neo on your own. He's the only person you know who wouldn't question your morality on the matter. You arrive at his apartment once more, and he looks you over with curiosity.

"You're different." He says plainly, eyes searching over your body.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Your hands cross over your chest as you ask.

"Nothing." he starts with a raised eyebrow. "Or maybe everything depending on your view."

"I don't have time for games, Neo. Please just help me with what I called you about." Your anxiety rises by the minute, and you start to feel like Constantine the way you're short with Neo right now.

"It's just...your aura's different." He keeps inspecting you and you remember that he is, indeed, apart of a long line of witches. "It's as if there's two colors dancing for dominance right now."

"I think I can guess why..." You say, looking to the floor as your fears are being realized.

"Ah, yes. The reincarnation you talked about on the phone..." Neo looks about his computer, the stands, trying to find something specific in his room.

"Here, come, sit..." He motions to a small table topped with a velvet cover.

You sit in a chair that's since better days, and finally Neo returns, sitting next to you. He lights a candle in the middle of the table and pulls out a deck of cards.

"I said I don't want to play any more games-" You begin, and Neo cuts you off with a look.

You keep your mouth shut and wait for him to help you. He lights a stick of incense, the smell deep and warm, you watch as he waives it across the deck, then himself, then you. You don't question him this time.

He whispers something to the deck, then knocks on it three times. He closes his eyes and speaks to you.

"I want you to think about what answer you're looking for. Think on it long and hard, and I will channel the answer for you." He seems so different than the computer nerd you're used to seeing. You're surprised by his skill.

You consider things carefully, then begin to think of your question. Neo waits, and finally he pulls some cards and places them around the candle.

"She wants you to know that if you're willing, she is as well." He mutters, and you listen carefully, the candle flickering as he speaks.

"That if it's love you seek, you may find it within him, but she can sense your heart feels safe elsewhere as well."

"You will have to make a choice, do you desire to be loved for an eternity, an immortal love that lives on within you. Or are you ready to break the tie and go forward on a new path with a love you may not know has bloomed or not."

You consider the words, and you feel just as lost as when you walked in. You know you should listen right now, but you have to speak.

"Please, Helen if that's you, I don't know what to do here..."

Neo's voice changes, and you feel as if Helen herself is speaking to you now.

"I am a drift, caught between the living and dead, my spirit living on within you, as a part of you. Some of you is me, and some of you is all the choices you've made in this life, all the mistakes and right things that have made you who you are. Please decide if you are ready to join as one and go forward, or if you wish to sever my connection to you so that you may be free. I cannot go on in this limbo, this purgatory, no longer..."

The sadness in the voice is overwhelming, and you feel it in your own chest. You watch as Neo comes down from his channeling, and he looks at you gravely. He says nothing, but looks at the cards laid out before him.

"You are in for a hell of a time, kid." He says, shaking his head.

"I think I know what she wants from me..." You whisper out and Neo nods.

"You do. Now, tell me what you will choose." He looks at you, and you can tell he cares for your opinion the most.

"I am a slayer after all." (Slayer route.)

"I have always felt as if I was missing something." (Sacrifice route.)

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Taglist: @emacarrigton @sunnythebunny7 @worldsgreatestsinner @discoscoob @nwheregirl @slutforsoldierboy @sughcashsaiki @sebastianstanisahotmf @iovesia @brooxie3 @generalkenobee

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[gamerdog1]

Post-Theater Thoughts: Sonic 3

Unexpected.

For better or for worse, that's what this film felt like for me. Not its existence (Lord knows how many of these they're going to make with how successful they are). More so in terms of expectations and then reality going into this, I have very high expectations and they were certainly met, but I don't know why, maybe something was missing.

Strange, because this film was very, very fun. As a Sonic fan, I was delighted to spot Easter eggs and nods to the games, but even as a regular movie goer, you can't really deny the sense of whimsy in this film. Everything has this surrealism to it, something that a lot of live- action-talking-animals kids films try to do these days, but not to this degree of execution. The film really plays with this surreality and instead of over-explaining everything until it becomes science mumbo-jumbo, just lets go and plays by Rule of Cool to great success.

Nowhere is that more in how the human characters are in this film. Sonic's adoptive family are , on the surface, the most bland normal heterosexual couple, yet get involved in wacky hijinks even more than the previous film. Eggman is, well, his usual eccentric self, but doubled with his newly discovered grandpa, played both by Jim Carrey. The human characters in this film are taken to silly heights, something which I think more movies like this should be doing. It's a world where talking hedgehogs and evil geniuses exist, its okay to get wacky.

All the major characters return here, building off of previous films smoothly while adding new elements that continue their overall arcs. The film finds a way to have interpersonal dramas with the main trio, even with their already established bond, allowing for a greater exploration of it and what each wants from the other. It makes the main trio feel less like a corporate mandate, and more like a group of real friends.

But the main star of the show is Shadow, voiced by the ever lovely Canadian treasure Keanu Reeves. Much like Knuckles, his voice feels a bit too harsh at first, but it grows on you after a bit. God, Shadow is so cool in this film. His motorcycle though only shone for a short chase in as well as him using a gun were few things that I didn't expect this film to actually do.

I also certainly didn't expect the film to give him so much time to talk about his feelings and his back story. I mean, we all knew his story with Maria would be shown, but the film goes into a lot of depth about how his grief has affected him, which is actually the central theme of the film. Shadow is more than just the edgy loner here, and I really liked that. It's important for films like these to dig deeper into their source material to really understand it, and the filmmakers' knowledge on his character is really shown here.

I really want to praise this film for taking something so fun and carefree like Sonic the Hedgehog and using it to talk about processing grief. It sounds like a joke, but the film handles the subject really well, and for a film this big, with a target audience of children , it's a smart way to impart a valuable lesson to those who might benefit from it.

If I had any gripes about this film, I'd say that the dialogue did make me cringe a few times. Sonic is cool and all, but not everyone of his one-liners and catch phrases really landed, and made me feel my age. I don't want to see Sonic and feel old.

Otherwise, a really fun and good looking film just in time for the holidays. What's not to love?

8.75/10 (ish)

[bambiraptor9blog]

Crush 40--On Shadow the Hedgehog, Keanu Reeves, and Grief

(and maybe an impending mid-life crisis)

I will be 40 years old soon.

Somehow, I feel like I am 40 going on 14. My obsession with the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has yet again reached a zenith with the release of two amazing things: Shadow Generations, an add-on to Sonic Generations focusing on my favorite character, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic Movie 3, one of the highest grossing video game films of all time.

I can’t stop listening to Crush 40, the band that plays for the 3D Sonic games (and whose song, ‘Live and Learn,’ was featured in Sonic Movie 3), and revisiting that back catalogue of songs and game titles. I feel like part of me has been revived—reawakened—as I let Sonic music, movies and games guide me on my own healing journey.

In addition to this, I have developed a crush on Keanu Reeves. At 40.

I know what you’re thinking: Whoa. Wait. What? I know, I’m going too fast. It’s kind of my thing. Let me back up a bit to give you some additional context. Just try to keep up with this stream-of-consciousness blog post in the meantime. 😉

I also know what you’re thinking: Hey. That was a bit from Ben Schwartz, the charismatic voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. Stealing others’ lines to write is the wo-o-o-o-o-rst!

Well, yeah. I enjoy using echolalia to communicate how I’m feeling. Deal with it. *sunglasses emoji, CGI explosion in the background*

*blows ash off the laptop screen, wipes keyboard with sleeve, keeps writing*

Silliness aside…it’s been a rough past few years for me, personally. I’ve experienced a lot of loss in a myriad of forms. And while I have managed to do some incredible things—I’ve self-published a dinosaur fantasy novel, I’ve solo traveled to Australia, and I’ve got 15+ years of teaching experience under my belt—writing and creating in general have taken a back seat thanks to anxiety and depression…and grief.

I’ve been in and out of therapy for years, I’ve been managing my symptoms with medication, dietary changes, journaling, even walking places when I have the energy. I have my beloved gray cat Mochi too, with her insistent chirps, yowls and purrs to help me feel present and grounded and most importantly, loved. And my online/offline friends and family—you know who you are—are here for me, too.

Still…I keep yearning for more in my life. For fulfilling my creative destiny, as it were. And my heart is begging me to open up again.

Is it gonna be alright? Therein lies the question that plagues me night and day.

After I finished my novel, I found myself in a creative rut, in a desert of epic proportions with a looming storm on the horizon. It’s like I’m sitting there in my computer chair, the dust swirling around me, and the Word document page is there on my laptop screen, bright white, screaming, For God’s sake, write something! I think I took the wrong pill, I want to tell whoever my Morpheus is. I think I don’t like this freedom you’ve promised me. So I sit and stare at the screen…waiting…waiting for inspiration to strike like a lightning bolt before the flash flood.

And…nothing. No white rabbit to follow, no magic to chase, no one has come to my rescue except me. Sitting there, some nights unable to sleep well, some days I struggle to eat. And yet, probably due to sheer stubbornness of will, I move on. I keep going, I keep trying, I keep putting myself out there on forums, on Discord, on so many applications and message feeds. I walk away from the computer chair out of frustration, because once again—my energy has gone elsewhere instead of the place my heart so desperately wants to be. Wherever that is, I am uncertain. And this uncertainty eats at me worse than the wind and water erodes the coastline.

I go to the beach on weekends, I feel the wind and admire the ocean, only to smell and taste the ash from the beloved towns near Hollywood burning, and again, I think in song:

Is it gonna be alright?

Instead of writing, I’d turned to Sonic video games and rewatching the first two movies to cope. This is a lifelong habit of mine, ingrained in me since I was young. When my world has crumbled to chaos, the only certainty I can salvage is in a blue blur and his black and red nemesis. The blue rat is a source of comfort, familiarity, and attitude that I deeply enjoy. Reciting the lines from Sonic Adventure 2 since its debut in 2001, bouncing joyously to the music, reveling in the teenage me that I never fully appreciated nor understood—these things kept me going at low ebbs in the tides of life.

I was binging Sonic and Shadow YouTube videos late at night when I saw it: a comic by a Sonadow shipping artist. A very well made comic, sourced from tumblr. And when I saw Sonic and Shadow kiss passionately, something stirred within me. Something was not the same. I was tired of playing by the rules of society’s game…

Unfortunately, I could not defy gravity, but I could decide to start somewhere with my writing.

And on hearing Shadow’s new voice, I felt a similar thrill. So I started again. I decided to write fan fiction based on the Sonic movies, in particular emphasizing Shadow from Sonic Movie 3.

I admit I didn’t think much of Keanu Reeves in a crush kind of way decades prior. Oh yes, I knew of his work—there was no doubt there—I, like Sonic, loved him in Speed, and enjoyed teasing everyone I knew when I took the bus back and forth to school and work that it couldn’t go faster than 55 miles an hour, thus the reason why I was perpetually late (ADHD? Pfft, what’s that?).

I loved his voice in Dracula and in Shakespeare’s works, because I too have the dreaded SoCal accent—what some typecast as Valley Girl or Skater/Surfer Boi—and I thought he was rather handsome then as well. I remember his smile, too, that brilliant grin that made me smile back.

But my heart in my teen years was stolen by an Aussie knight in shining armor—Heath Ledger—so I let Ted from his Excellent Adventure days slip from my mind. Yeah, I know—bummer.

The Matrix was a film I barely remember seeing, probably because the body horror still makes me squeamish—even though comics and writings with such scenes don’t detest me in the slightest. But I do remember the trenchcoats and the sunglasses, how popular that look became. I rewatched the film recently, and I enjoyed it, although its messages have aligned very well with my internal quicksand of existentialism.

I couldn’t place why I liked the toy stuntman Duke Kaboom when I saw Toy Story 4, but I really liked his character, and then I found out Keanu voiced him—well, shoot.

And when I learned about his personal tragic backstory, with glimpses in the entertainment media channels—well, this is interesting.

Why is it that people who create my favorite things—musicians, voice actors, writers—all share a similar trajectory traumatically with me? I’m sure there’s some psychoanalytical thing here. Maybe an energy thing, like a vibe check. Who knows—but oof. The resonance intrigues me.

Because Keanu, a very private man, embraces grief in every role, in every creative thing he does. It’s an outlet for his pain, for his personal growth. And he works really hard, too, to bring that message of hope in chaos. I admire that deeply. Because unlike Keanu, I tend to run and hide from my own healing process, tend to dismiss the impact grief has on me right now. And I struggle with channeling my grief into my writing beyond journaling and therapy homework.

An even more interesting parallel, is that Keanu is a writer too. He recently published a comic series and then a follow up novel about an ageless man who becomes a weapon of war, with…get this…a thirty-something scientist WITH MY RL NAME that revives his memories and well…!

Spider-Man pointing meme is activated!

And so too was my storytelling.

Days before Sonic Movie 3 was released to theaters, I challenged myself. At first, I thought, ugh. No one is gonna want to read my goofy Sonadow story. So I slept on it. And then, I thought, what the hell. And I published the first chapter to Archive of Our Own.

Within hours, dozens of kudos notifications hit my inbox. I had set off a deluge in my personal creative desert. And my heart began to pitter patter in a way I hadn’t let myself feel in years.

Holy shit. What have I done?!

John Wick: "Yeah. I'm thinking I'm back!"

The more I wrote the story, the more I referenced the Sonic Movie 3 actor interviews after seeing the film in theaters twice. Is that research? I guess. I don’t know, I tend to think of it as, oh look! Another form of my obsessions taking place—neat!

And I admit I love the Shadow the Hedgehog video game from 2005. Yes I played it, yes it was fun. I mean, come on, I get to be the cool guy on a motorcycle—which in reality, my ex was into that stuff for a time, to try and impress me I guess? Never me haha—with a gun—which I will never wield, I’m more of a pacifist than that—and I get to sass Sonic into submission while I kill aliens?! I mean, sign me up!

Shadow as a character is also meant to be voiced by Keanu Reeves. His gruff demeanor, his anger, his fear, the volatility of his emotions—it’s there, in his character arc, as well as held nicely by Keanu’s inflection. Shadow is the quiet rebuke to Sonic’s effervescent chatter, the sobering steel of his gaze and voice merging to tone down Sonic’s wild, rebellious, fun nature. While Sonic represents young boyhood—all over-confidence, bragadocious sass—Shadow represents maturity when he wasn’t ready for it. Shadow is suspicious of the world, and given his upbringing, he has every right to be. When we experience loss at a young age—before we can talk and think for ourselves—it makes healing from depression an arduous mountain to ascend. Add to that later moments of trauma, and it’s like you lose a foothold somewhere on the way up, only to land on your ass in the pouring rain, wondering why in the hell you decided this was a good idea in the first place. Get outside and see Nature, everyone says. Feel the sunshine! Touch the grass! All that stuff. Oh yeah don’t forget yoga, meditation—that will keep the internal horrors at bay. At least, for a little while.

What really helps in healing is connection. Connection in parasocial ways is just as valid as connection in the real world, though it is rare the two shall meet. I’m honestly just happy to be creating again, and finding meaning in my stories and making connections through it too. The connections I’ve made through seeing the Sonic Movie 3 actors, in seeing the passion the director and writers brought, ignites a fire in me that I’ve denied for a really long time. And for that, I thank them. Always.

My wish for the year ahead is to continue forging new connections, to strengthen the ones that matter most, and for me to continue on in my journey of self-discovery through creativity. Because at my heart, at my core, I am an artist.

And in connecting to my younger self, in writing again and seeing the response to my work, I’ve decided yeah.

It’s gonna be alright.

[fersauce47mediatalk]

About Sonic 3

I know I said I’d talk about Doja Cat, but that can wait.

So I went to see Sonic 3 in theaters with my gf yesterday. I have a few things to say about it here. My first impression of it was CG5 on his shorts tab like “I’m bouta go see sonic 3! =D” and then it cuts to him utterly flabbergasted. I liked it, but it wasn’t THAT good. 

After I saw it I texted the homie BakedToast and he said “Was it good? Yes it was, you don’t need to answer that.” and I was like “It was fine, Jim Carey was good.” and then he lost his mind over me saying it was just fine. Sonic fans are wild.

I’ll go ahead and go over the acting since I’ve already mentioned Jim Carey. He was GREAT. I think that he was the best part of the movie, as usual. The 4th wall joke he did was my favorite joke. Having two Jim Carey’s was the best Christmas gift. 

The first scene where Shadow spoke I did NOT like Keanu Reeves. I know that he’s a national treasure and all that, but he doesn’t have much acting range. With that being said, after I got over the fact that all I could imagine when Shadow was speaking was Keanu Reeves, I was able to enjoy the movie. Despite him not having much acting range, I think that he fits Shadow really well. 

They’re really the only two actors I cared about, but right before the movie started three actors came on screen like “Thanks for coming to see sonic 3, we appreciate it!” and two of the actors were the ones who play Tom and Maddie, but I didn’t recognize the third one. My gf was like “That’s Blake Roman!” I doubt it was Blake Roman, but she was very sure it was. Was he in the movie? 

I mentioned CG5 earlier. I couldn’t take the plot seriously at all, especially Shadow’s parts. I would either be cheering over the little girl dying (Kwite reference), laughing at Keanu’s voice, or saying “Is bro gonna find Maria?” CG5 has given me severe brain rot. I made a video about Finding Maria. I might have said that I’d make part 2 once it came out, but tbh I don’t feel like doing that. 

I have to talk about the plot too, it literally shows up in a helicopter in the middle of a conversation. Wtf? They could have wasted just a little bit more time getting to the point. Agents show up like “Hey. This alien is terrorizing Japan, come fix shit.” and then team Sonic is like “Oh okay” and then they get in the helicopter. Gang what? No hesitation? No prep time? Damn. I like how Shadow was handled though, after the sudden exposition I’d say the pacing worked well.

One more thing, the comedy. Jim Carey was good, his jokes were funny, but come on, it’s Jim Carey. I might be a little too old for the jokes. It is a kid’s movie, but why can’t kids movies have good jokes too? I’d say that about half of them were. Most of everything Sonic said was lame, but he had a few funny lines. I don’t remember most of them though. Either I have a shitty memory, or the movie had shitty comedy.

Actually, the “Konichi-what?” thing made me want to blow my brains out. 

That’s about all I have to say here. Do I think you should watch the movie? Yeah, but only if you’ve seen the other 2. This one ended on a cliffhanger, but don’t bother watching a fourth one if it comes out, because Jim Carey said that he will not be in it. Therefore, yucky. Overall, Sonic 3 is anywhere from a 6/10 - 8/10.

Happy New Year's eve! Hope you have an original New Year’s resolution, because I don’t. I don’t have one at all.

[nianderful]

overall though i’m feeling alright about sonic 3! though i do have some beefs

i share a lot of people’s disappointment in the lack of rouge and amy; i didn’t have a lot of expectations for them admittedly (and it’s not too late for us to be surprised) but it’s kind of a kick to the pants as a female fan to not see these characters—in an adaptation of a story featuring them—but like. the chao get to make cameos (moom i’m sorry if you see this this isn’t a jab at your Lil Guys)

still not sold on keanu shadow; my concern that he’d sound too old was unfortunately proven correct.

like i said in my previous post: ewww team sonic are the avengers now. no i didn’t expect the most copaganda pilled iteration of sonic to put gun in the quasi-antagonistic role they were in in sa2. yes it’s still annoying. get that mcu chocolate out of my sonic peanut butter.

ugghhh “ew robotnik’s fat now” humor. expected it based on what i heard but still. i hope that’s the worst of it

i feel like as a whole i’m going to have some beef with how sonic 3 works as an sa2 adaptation but again! not too late to be surprised!

but overall i’m excited and definitely not feeling as negative as i feared i’d feel even if the hype’s a bit tempered this time around. there were lots of lines i giggled at and MAN shadow looks great. we’ve come a long way from 2019!movie sonic.

[sonknuxadow]

no offense to Keanu but I feel like his voice is too old for Shadow. That’s why I get bothered when people suggest him. Shadow is supposed to be the same age as Sonic

yeah i definitely think a lot of the people suggesting certain actors for shadow are forgetting that hes just a little guy . and i think a lot of people also forget that typically shadow doesnt really have a super deep voice and also that his original voice wasnt particularly "edgy" sounding either

[spookyserenades]

Hopping onto that other anons question about ghosts

I can so relate to those experiences of sensing when something just feels incredibly “wrong.” I’ve lived in so many houses, really old ones too, and that feeling of sudden danger never gets easier to handle! I’ve even had shit move on me, lights flickering, doors opening and closing, loud footsteps or running 😩😔

I’ve been rewatching Ghost Adventures (thanks for the recs <33), and its reminding me of the time my friends and I made a ouija board in our middle school math class. That thing went wild on us, and we ended up so scared we forced it to say goodbye and then ripped it in half.

0/10, would not recommend 🤧

EXACTLYYYYY like I describe it as a hmmmm. IK this isn't anxiety or anything of that sort something is Off. AH!!!! Yo my friends have seen shadow figures w red eyes in my childhood home, one of my friends saw an actual apparition of an old guy wearing a hat and shit. Its fr!!! IDK how you feel if you hate it but I love paranormal shit. Not only is it thrilling but its kinda a sweet reminder that life doesn't end after physical death...

AHHHHHHHh STOP. If I can do anything on this blog its to turn you onto Ghost Adventures and 2005 Constantine movie w Keanu Reeves. Also Twin Peaks and X-files. I hope you're loving it (good combo of kinda spooky and shitpost). Oh my childhood friend and I used to fuck w a Ouija board in grade school while watching ghost shows I'm so surprised we didn't get clapped by a demon LMAO. JESUS . your story sounds like a film fr. you gotta say "goodbye!" and toss that mf back in the box 💀

Tipsy ask Dana anything hours 🍸

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Dark City (1998)

Dark City (1998)

Rated R for violent images and some sexuality

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-dark-city-1998.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

Dark City is a film that failed at the box office in its time and, despite a critical reevaluation as one of the hidden science fiction gems of the '90s, still gets overlooked quite often nowadays, for one simple reason: despite its mind-bending plot and creative visual design homaging classic '40s/'50s film noir, it had the misfortune of coming out just a year before The Matrix, a sci-fi masterpiece with very similar themes about what we think of as reality being just an illusion designed to control us. This film was a much more cerebral thriller whose effects shots, while no less visually impressive, were a lot less punchy and action-packed, instead feeling like if the first half-hour of The Matrix got stretched to feature length, given a retro gloss, and focused mainly on Keanu Reeves slowly peeling away the layers of his world, saving the big action sequence for the very end. It's a moody, foreboding film that built up to a great reveal while slowly imbuing the viewer with a paranoid suspicion that their own world may not be "right", and while the finale wrapped things up a bit too neatly and conventionally for my tastes with a rather silly-looking confrontation, the meat of the film was still a slick and highly effective tale that I won't forget anytime soon -- ironic, given what the villains here like to do to people.

The film takes place in an unnamed city with vaguely mid-20th-century technology, aesthetics, and feel, specifically the kind lifted out of a Raymond Chandler novel, a place where the streets are always cloaked in shadows even during what feels like it should be the daytime -- and hey, while you may have childhood memories of sunny days, when's the last time you saw the sun, anyway? We start with a man who wakes up in a hotel room with no memory, only figuring out that his name is John Murdoch from the ID in his wallet, surrounded by the corpses of dead prostitutes that he probably killed, which is not a situation that most of us would want to stick around for so they can calmly explain everything to the police. On the run from the law and searching for both Emma, a cabaret singer who he finds out was his wife, and Dr. Daniel Schreber, who he finds out used to be his psychiatrist, John gets pulled into a twisted web as he's pursued by the Strangers, mysterious, inhumanly pale-skinned men in hats and trenchcoats who he soon finds aren't entirely human, and who seem to control the city from the shadows and regard him as a threat to their plans. Meanwhile, Inspector Frank Bumstead sets out hot on the tail of the suspected murderer, not knowing exactly what he's getting himself into.

I can't really go into much more detail about the plot. Like a lot of old-fashioned mysteries, this is a movie where part of the fun is piecing the puzzle together yourself and then the film revealing how close you came to the truth, albeit one that puts a sci-fi twist on the usual noir story. I can, however, speak to the production values and writer/director Alex Proyas' sense of style, and on that front, I was at once pulled into the film's world and wondering what awful truths lay outside it. The city is the kind of seedy place you'd set a hardboiled detective story, exaggerated to the point where it feels like a warped parody thereof and creating an unsettling feel that this place should not be. Some of the supporting cast members having spotty American accents (this was shot in Australia), something I'd normally ding a film for, only lent to the uncanny valley feel of the city, as did countless other little quirks that made the place feel like somebody trying to draw a picture of a mid-century East Coast metropolis without any reference points as to what that would look like beyond old movies. And that's before you get to the Strangers who are after John, who wear conspicuous trenchcoats and have names like "Mr. Book", "Mr. Hand", and "Mr. Sleep" that sound like somebody tried to come up with ordinary-sounding "John Smith" names to blend in and... didn't pull it off, on top of their general weirdness and stilted manner of speaking calling to mind the G-Man from Half-Life. While it takes a while to get to the "why" of the titular dark city, the film lets you know rather quickly that this is not a normal city, and even before we get to the big special effects shots, Proyas did a great job right off the bat heightening its artifice and pale imitation of humanity. More than anything, it felt like I was watching the darkest possible film adaptation of The Sims, predating the first game by a couple of years but otherwise, without spoiling anything, taking some of the series' central concepts and playing them for paranoid horror.

The cast also did great in making this world feel just the right mix of real and artificial. Rufus Sewell as John, Jennifer Connelly as Emma, and William Hurt as Bumstead all felt like they could've been lifted out of a real 1940s film noir, while Kiefer Sutherland played Schreber as a character wholly unlike the take-charge heroes he's been coded as since 24, a dweebish doctor who serves as the main characters' bridge between the world they know and what's really going on through his exposition. The special effects were not the focus, but they were astonishing to watch for a fairly low-budgeted '90s film, especially a key sequence where we witness the city's buildings shifting around as the Strangers' true power over the city is made clear. Only at the very end did it feel like Proyas ran out of ideas, as John's final confrontation with the Strangers after unlocking his true power ended with them shooting beams of light at each other with their minds while buildings crumbled around them. It all felt pretty goofy, like they needed to find a way to wrap this up and have the hero prevail, even though if I was writing this, there are some seriously dark directions I could've taken the story. The ending, I feel, underlines the big reason why The Matrix was the big late '90s sci-fi movie about reality being a lie that everybody remembers; when it did similar battles between the good guys and bad guys, they came in the form of epic shootouts and martial arts sequences straight out of Hong Kong.

The Bottom Line

Dark City is a film that doesn't get talked up nearly enough, even if I can't really say much more in a non-spoiler review. Ending aside, it makes a great companion to The Matrix as a more cerebral and noir-tinged take on very similar concepts, one that will, at the very least, make it very difficult for you to play The Sims the same way again. A big thank you to Popcorn Frights for screening it last week. Check it out.

[botmilf]

wanna quickly add to this because I've gotten a few snarky messages for this one lol. But not just because of that. I genuinely find this sort of interesting.

"Well he mirrors Sonic and Sonic in the movie is very clearly a child so--" they mirror each other in the game universe too, and they don't have ages there. When Sonic and Shadow were first designed they weren't done so adhering to some age group. Because all the characters in the Sonic Canon have the pretty much the same proportions lol. There is absolutely nothing about Sonic or Shadow physically that confirms them to be children/teenagers if you're going off of human standards and this is also true for the SCU because like, Knuckles looks almost exactly like his dad at whatever age he is now. And sure Sonic might be a kid in the SCU but we're not talking about him, we're talking about Shadow.

"Gerald referred to him and Maria as 'kids' and Walters said 'those are children!'" Yes, and all that was before Shadow was put in stasis for 50 years. Now, again, I interpreted this as more of a grouped-in sense because he goes along with whatever Maria gets up to. He's an alien. He doesn't know how old he is, or even what he is. It's safe to say that the people around him don't definitively know either.

ALSO based on what he says MULTIPLE times throughout the movie about having to live with the anger for 50 years, that suggests Shadow was at least somewhat conscious. He didn't quite know how much time had passed, but arrested development doesn't make you a minor lol and it wouldn't make him one either. Vi from Arcane is a prime example of this. She was thrown into a dark cell on a prison island for like 10 years starting when she was 14. She still does/thinks in ways, at times, that a teenager would rather than an adult, but that doesn't make her a minor. That just means she's deeply, deeply traumatized--as Shadow is.

Here's the thing too: We don't know what the aging process is like for Mobians in this universe. We don't know how similar or dissimilar it is from humans. Shadow doesn't make this any clearer because we also don't know if this SCU version of him is immortal like in the games. We also don't know if he was engineered as-is like in the games either. We just do not know and I think that in the case of Shadow, it's okay for there to be some nuance.

Lastly, I kiiiinda feel like if the movie had any interest on selling the idea of Shadow being a child in a very literal sense, Keanu Reeves wouldn't have been casted and they would've gotten someone who can at least be convincing as a kid lol. I can suspend my disbelief for some things but Keanu's voice coming out of a child? Nah bro come on lmao.

Look, The movie gives us no definitive answers. At the end of the day that's pretty much what I'm saying in a very long sense. Sorry for the long ass post I'm just being a nerd lol.

SCU Shadow the Hedgehog age discourse rant:

The Shadow the Hedgehog age discourse is kind of crazy because Sega retconned everyone’s age YEARS ago and Shadow never even technically had one because in the games he was created in a lab and in the movie he’s an alien that fell from the sky as-is. It’s not that he doesn’t age, it’s that he doesn’t HAVE an age.

Shadow in the SCU universe is referred to collectively alongside Maria as a kid because, like, bro he’s an alien that knows literally nothing about the world and he’s like 4 ft tall fluff ball. You WOULD treat him like a child, not because he IS physically a child, but because he needs the guidance and supervision of one in a world that he doesn’t understand. Also he’s with Maria, an actual kid, all the time just by way of her living at the laboratory, so it makes sense to refer to them both collectively as ‘kids’ because he goes along with whatever mischief she gets into. It makes sense that the soldiers around the facility would view him as a child too. Not because Shadow physically IS a minor, but because you’d have to treat him like one.

Also he’s voiced by fucking Keanu Reeves homie.

Idk man I’m just tired of seeing people’s comments section get lit up by a bunch of dickheads every time they post a thirst tiktok or make suggestive art/fanfic. People straight up saying shit like “ummm he’s 15” like no he literally, canonically is not lol wtf.

He has no actual age and he never will because he’s FUCKING IMMORTAL LOL

[igniakino]

My Own Private Idaho

Directed by Gus Van Sant (1991)

“I love you, and you don’t pay me”

I have so many things to say about this but it’s all jumbled up in more emotion than anything i can say in words so i have no idea how to write it down, but I’ll attempt to make some sense of my thoughts about this achingly beautiful movie.

My Own Private Idaho is one of the masterpieces of the 90s. It helped to kick start the earth-shattering New Wave Queer cinema movement that Gus Van Sant, along with many other talented queer directors, pioneered. Van Sant is a pro, always has been and always will be, but (in my humble opinion) this is his symphony. This film showcases his directorial abilities like no other as he crafts this strange, dreamlike world that still has a place in our own. This film is surreal, but somehow strikingly rooted in reality and I think that is what he is best at.

One thing that I am especially fond of is the dialogue. Like in most of Gus Van Sant’s pictures, it flows with such a natural rhythm that an audience member feels they are fully and intimately apart of the conversation. Unlike his other films, My Own Private Idaho is loosely based on a shakespeare play, so the dialogue has even more of a lilting tune to it. I find that, especially with River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves’ characters, it’s almost like a song, passing from one character to the next in a duet. Though they are on different verses, and can never quite keep in time, reflecting the unbalanced relationship between the two.

“They could drop a big old bomb on this city and you know what we would do?”

“Take shelter”

The way this film is put together is fractured and dreamy, like a broken mirror. It represents Mike Waters’ jumbled mind, plagued by his forgotten memories, afflicted by his narcolepsy, and presents his inner turmoil and emotions towards his unrequited love. It’s his murky solitude, a perfect reflection of the landscape he falls asleep and wakes up on over and over again.

Mike is a character that I feel deeply in my heart. River Phoenix is so unapologetically vulnerable, like he’s baring his soul on screen, and he brings such a quiet pain to Mike that it’s almost unbearable to watch. His voice and his gestures, everything about him feels so delicate and fragile, like he too is about to shatter into a million pieces. His story of love, loss and understanding is a wonder to watch unfold, as well as a tragedy. Phoenix is a massive inspiration to me, and the more I watch his films the more I understand how special he was. We were lucky to even catch a glimpse of his light as he passed by.

You can feel his touch and influence threaded throughout the stitches of this film. He ultimately decided Mike was in love with Scott and he wrote the most devastatingly beautiful scene in the movie. The scene that changed everything for me, that made some part of me click into place and make sense. And I can never thank him enough for it.

I feel a strong personal connection to Mike Waters. I know that feeling. The feeling of having something you can’t tell, especially to the person you want most of all to know. The burn of something unrequited. The love of a family you found instead of the one you were born into. The bone aching sadness that looms like a terrible shadow. The celebration of the life you are living right now. Being lost. Finding Home.

This film is about two prostitutes. It is about bisexuality, narcolepsy, drugs and sex. It is also a film about meaning, belonging and the melancholy realisation that nothing lasts forever. It’s about two flaming comets crashing together, colliding into dust. It’s about two people trying to find their place, losing and loving.

You will never see anything like it.