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lilliagradiewrites · 4 years ago

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evermore (jj maybank)

Summary: Y/N is in a depressive state, but refuses to tell her boyfriend. After she walks out on a party, JJ realizes that something is off, and rushes to comfort her.

*based off of the song “evermore” from Taylor Swift’s new album!!

WC: 2.2k

WARNINGS: Mentions of depression/ symptoms of depression, mentions of anxiety & panic attacks, mentions of suicide/ death. (The reader is at a very low point during this. Please proceed with caution of mentions of depression triggers you.)

A/N: Hey my lovelies! I have a new piece for you. This is a one- shot, and is on the shorter side. If you don’t know, Taylor Swift released a new album on the 11th. I have been so obsessed with it, and one of my favorites from the record is the title track “evermore.” I knew i had to write something based off of that song! This is inspired by that song, and I encourage you to listen to it while you read.

Much love to you all, and happy holidays! I hope you enjoy!!

LET’S DO IT!

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The night was cold as you walked quietly down the street, the old cardigan your best friend gave you wrapped tightly around your shoulders. You weren’t dressed for the mid-october weather, your shorts and tank tops providing little warmth on your shivering body. As much as you hated the cold, it felt good to feel something again.

November was approaching quickly, and as you walked down the street that cold october night, you realized that you hadn’t had a true spark of happiness since that July. Of course, there were moments of joy, but it was never consistent, and lasted a day at the most.

You couldn’t seem to pinpoint the exact moment where everything went wrong, no matter how many times you’d tried. Countless times, you’d retraced your footsteps to find the moment your despair began. Unfortunately, this only resulted in distant memories from better times becoming fresh in your mind, pushing you deeper into the dark hole you were trapped in.

For a while, no one noticed a difference. Your group of friends, whom you adored, didn’t bat an eye when you left a party early because you were ‘tired’ or ‘not in the mood’, despite the fact that you loved parties. It hurt a little that they didn’t see a problem, and that only made the problem worse.

The first person to notice was JJ, your loving boyfriend. The blonde boy was the light of your life, but as your own issues began to overtake you, you found yourself pushing him away unintentionally. He would send texts, asking you to come over and see him. He'd invite you to come out to dinner with the pogues at The Wreck. He’d beg for your permission to show up at your house because he missed you so damn much.

Time after time, you replied with perfectly crafted excuses that left him concerned, but with no questions. That’s all you needed to accomplish, really. If he didn’t ask any questions, then you’d be fine.

The routine was working out pretty well for you in the beginning. JJ and the rest of the group would accept your excuses and go along with what you told them, even if they found it slightly suspicious.

But, after a while, your constant absence finally hit them. It was concerning, especially when it came to someone like you. Your parents weren’t strict, so it wasn’t an obedience thing. You loved parties, and were quite social, so it wasn’t a social anxiety thing. They wondered at their hangouts what could be wrong, but none of them could come up with a viable explanation.

Texts from your friends were lighting up your phone at a constant rate, but you trained yourself to ignore them. Your mind had convinced you that all of them hated you, and were only messaging you as a joke, or because they felt bad.

Though your brain tried to tell itself that JJ didn’t love you either, you were fighting hard against that idea. Even the slightest notion of your boyfriend no longer being interested in you broke you down into tears, so you tried to allow the thought to cross your mind as little as possible.

He texted you every day, asking if you were okay and trying to make plans. He texted you good morning, and goodnight, as well as a few other times throughout the day. He was a wonderful boyfriend, and you appreciated him, but you didn’t have the energy to show him the attention he deserved. You texted back for a while, but eventually gave up, leaving him on read almost every single time.

For the last few weeks, JJ had been broken up with worry. He worried that you were mad at him, that you hated him. He worried that you were leaving him. So, he showed up at your house.

As soon as he walked in your room, he could tell that something was incredibly off. You were normally a somewhat neat person, but your room was in complete disarray. Clothes littered the floor, empty plates and half-eaten bags of chips tossed absentmindedly to various locations.

And you. You looked like you hadn’t changed or bathed in weeks. Your hair was messy, and your face looked as if you’d been crying for years.

When you saw his face, your mask slipped on without a second thought.

“JJ! Hi, babes!”

“Hi, angel.” He replied, concern evident in his voice as he spoke. “I haven’t really seen you in forever. Are you okay?”

You nodded immediately, concealing your true feelings. “I’m okay. I’ve been taking up extra shifts at work because I need money for college soon. I’m trying to save up early. I’ve been so busy and exhausted, I just haven’t had the time or energy to see anybody.”

Lie. You got fired from your job a month ago because you called out ‘sick’ too many times.

JJ was still suspicious, but went accepted your story just as he had many times before.

“Alright, babe. I just miss you a lot. Take a break soon. Are you working tonight?”

“No.” You couldn’t bring yourself to lie to him again.

“Well, then, you’re coming to hang out.”

You shook your head quickly, pulling your hands away from his. “No thanks, JJ. I had a late shift last night and I’m exhausted. Plus, I have an early shift tomorrow morning, and I refuse to go in hungover.”

JJ took your hands back into his, meeting your eyes. “You don’t have to stay late, and you don’t have to drink. Just come for a little bit. Like, literally for an hour. We all just miss you so much.”

When he was looking into your eyes like that, you couldn’t help but say yes. Though you knew you’d come to regret it, the smile on his face after you agreed made it all seem worth it at the time.

“Yes! Okay, my love, I have to go deliver some stuff for Pope’s dad. The party starts at ten, so I’ll pick you up at nine-thirty.”

You didn’t say anything, simply nodding to indicate that you’d heard him and understood what he said.

“Bye, baby. I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” It was barely a whisper, but it seemed to be enough for JJ. He gave you one final wave before exiting your bedroom and closing the door in his wake.

When he had gone, your anxiety began to cover you. You had come to hate gatherings and parties, despite the fact that they used to be your main source of happiness and excitement. How were you going to make it through this party?

Sighing, you turned to your bedside table, moving around empty cups to peer at the time on your alarm clock. It was hard to read due to the tears in your eyes blurring your vision slightly. After a moment, you were able to decipher the numbers on the screen. 8:06 PM. You had approximately an hour and half to get ready before your boyfriend would be there to pick you up.

The first half hour, you decided, would be used for praying you were able to make it through this night.

---

About 70 minutes after your boyfriend’s visit, the clock on your bedside table read 9:12 PM. You sat at your vanity, brushing on small amounts of makeup. You didn’t want anything too crazy like you used to do; it just didn’t feel right anymore.

The same thing applied to your outfit. After almost an hour of trying things on, you went for something simple. A sage green tank top, your favorite blue jean shorts, and a basic oversized white cardigan kie had given you. The outfit was basic, but cute nonetheless. You completed the look with your pair of slip-on vans that were so beat up they could barely be classified as white anymore.

Your hair, which you normally would curl or style for parties, had been brushed through and left down. That was all you had the energy for. The party hadn’t even started yet, and you were already exhausted.

At least you had showered. It had been over a week since you last bathed, and this party gave you incentive to take care of yourself. That’s the only thing you were grateful for when it came to this party.

As you finished getting ready, you promised yourself that you would try your best to enjoy the night.

JJ had come to pick you up as he told you he would, at nine-thirty on the dot. He was always careful to be very punctual when it comes to you. He said you looked pretty when you got in his car, and the small compliment warmed your heart significantly.

The party was smaller than your normal ones. The pogues were all there, and they were all happy to finally see you again. You greeted them kindly and took your seat beside JJ, wanting to make the night go by as quickly as possible. You had hardly even arrived and you were already anxious.

As the night went by, your anxiety only got worse. You began to zone out, not paying attention to the conversation. You snapped back to reality when the whole group laughed at some joke someone told, and you just chuckled nervously along, hoping nobody noticed you weren’t being attentive.

A few hours went by, slowly but surely, and you decided that you had to be done for the night. You had been on the brink of a panic attack for the last hour, and it was getting harder to fight it off.

“Alright, guys, I’m tired. I’m probably gonna head home. I’ll see y��all later.” You announced, standing up from your seat. Immediately, JJ stood up with you, leaning into your ear.

“I’m too drunk to drive, babe. Do you think you can wait a little longer for me to sober up?”

You shook your head lightly, pushing him away. “No, it’s ok, babes. I’m just gonna walk. I don’t want to pull you away from the party anyways.”

A look of concern took over the blonde’s face. “I don’t like that. You can’t walk by yourself at night, it’s not safe.”

“I’ll be fine, J.” You assured him. “I live, like, a five minute walk away from here. We’re super close to my house. It’ll be okay.”

JJ continued to insist that you wait, but you insisted on leaving. You reassured him multiple times that you’d be alright, kissed him, grabbed your cardigan and left.

That’s how you ended up in your current position, sobbing into your cardigan sleeve as the night grew colder and colder. You were still walking along the road to your house.

You hadn’t realized how cold it was when you left. Maybe it’s because you;d been sitting up against JJ, his body heat mixing with yours to help keep the both of you warm. Now, you were all alone, with nothing but your thin cardigan to protect you from the chill of october night.

As you walked, and cried, you wondered what it would be like to just stop breathing.

Your thoughts were halted by the sound of footsteps pounding the pavement behind you. Immediately, you tensed up, suddenly scared. Who was running on the streets late at night, besides her? Who had a reason, other than kidnapping or killing someone?

You turned slowly around, and your body relaxed as you realized you recognized the person barreling towards you.

A familiar blonde boy was running in your direction, seemingly desperate to catch up with you. You stopped walking, giving him time to meet you.

“JJ?” You were talking as soon as he was close enough to hear. “What are you doing, babe? You’re supposed to be at the party.”

“I’m walking you home. I’ll go back once I know you’re safe.” He explained. He looked almost triumphant at the fact that he’d caught up with you, but his expression changed to one of concern after he got a good look at your face.

“Y/N… have you been crying?”

You shook your head, almost in instinct, but he saw right through you.

“Yes, you have. Baby, what’s wrong? Did one of us say something? What happened?”

As you looked in his eyes, those beautiful blue orbs as rocky and deep as the ocean, you felt your mask begin to slip.

“I’m not okay, J. I haven’t been for a long time.” Your voice cracked as you spoke, and the tears came almost immediately after you’d finished.

JJ took you into his arms and held you close, and for a moment, the two of you just stood there on the side of the road.

JJ let you sob for a little while, just holding you and murmuring sweet words to you. Eventually, he pulled away and looked directly into your eyes.

“I’m here for you, okay? We’ll get through this, my love. I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet, but we’ll figure it out. Together. I promise. I love you so much, Y/N. So fucking much.”

He pulled you back into his chest, and in that moment, it dawned on you.

This wasn’t the end. This pain wouldn’t last for evermore. It would pass, and JJ would be there with you when it did.

So, for the first time in a while, you finally felt okay.

~~~~

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Reblogs are super helpful and super appreciated. LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Happy holidays! - Lillia

#jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank fanfiction #outer banks #outer banks fanfiction #jj maybank fanfic #outer banks fanfic #jj maybank one shot #jj maybank angst

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minjiwritesstuff · 4 years ago

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Gentle

Pairing: Leedo x fem! reader

Genre: angst, sad?, smut!!, fluff

Summary: A misundestanding in between you and your boyfriend leads to a long night

Words: 3k+

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Gunhak had been pretty distant lately and it scared you. You knew that he was busy with schedules and everything an idol must do, but habitually, even with the busiest schedule, he always found time for you. What also scared you was the fact that he was distant even if you guys lived together.

To make a long story short on how you started dating, you both met before he debuted. He was still a trainee at YG entertainment and you were working at your mother's café, where you were still working to this day. He came in on a small day, the café was really silent and he came to grab himself a fresh juice to start his day. It was the first time he came in this café and he got stricken by your beauty, but Gunhak being the shy man he is couldn't get to talk to you, at least not yet. So that's when he made the decision to ruin his wallet just so that he eventually could gain the courage to speak to you and hopefully get to know you a bit better. Luckily for him, his technique actually worked and when you asked him on a date after the tenth time serving him, he was pretty shocked but happy about the whole situation. Since you started dating before he debuted in his group, you both took a flat together after a year of dating. So of course, he would still be by the dorm on days when he had no other choices but to sleep there, but otherwise, he would be at your shared flat, which coincidentally wasn't this far from the dorm.

Today was a day like the others that recently passed. You came home from work early and decided to work on a few things for your university classes. Gunhak would come home late, way later than you, and you could see he was exhausted. On normal days, he would look for you and bring you to bed with him so that he could cuddle you, his head resting on your chest as he'd listen to your heartbeat as a way to relax. He then would let you go prepare dinner and would come downstairs after you woke up from his little nap so he could eat up.

But today was not a normal day. As soon as Gunhak entered your shared home, he would go straight to the bathroom to take a long and steamy shower. When he entered, you were preparing dinner as you thought it would be great for him to have an almost, if not completely ready meal when he would arrive. Not wanting to disturb him or anything, you let him shower and when the meal was ready, you simply lowered the fire to just let the food simmer and put the lid back on so that the food could stay nice and hot for Gunhak when he'd be done showering. In the meantime, you took advantage of your alone moment to clean a bit around the flat, sweeping the floors and dusting the furniture.

As soon as you noticed Gunhak was out of the bathroom, which means about an hour later, you let him know, with the smoothest and loveliest voice possible that his favorite dinner was ready.

''I'm not hungry.'' he answered on a bit of a rude tone, making your heart drop in your ribcage.

To this answer you nodded and looked down, as you were once again sadden by the distance your boyfriend was putting in between the two of you. You didn't understand why he was literally ghosting and avoiding you these past days, dare you say weeks. It was more than unusual for him to do this for a period of time this long. It happened before that he would avoid you for at max two days due to busy schedule, but he would be feeling so guilty for distancing himself from you that he wouldn't make it last long. This time something was different and you couldn't put your finger on what exactly was different.

So you came to the idea of asking the boys if they noticed anything wrong with your boyfriend. You went into the group chat you had with the five other boys, group chat you created for a surprise birthday party for your boyfriend earlier this year, and asked if they noticed anything wrong with Gunhak, saying briefly how you thought he wasn't being fully himself for the past few weeks. Sadly all five of them said they didn't notice anything wrong with Gunhak. They even said that he was laughing and smiling with them, which made you come to what seemed to be a clear conclusion. You made something wrong and Gunhak was mad at you.

Yet again, you couldn't get your finger on what you possibly could have done wrong. You knew how to admit your mistakes but this time you couldn't find what could be the source of your boyfriend's anger. You didn't recon being rude to him, how could you ever be? You literally had an angel for a boyfriend. You could've never made a joke on one of his insecurities, this would have just been pure disrespect and everyone knew that respect was the base of your relationship.

Then something came to you. You weren't sure if this was the cause of it, but you knew that it was a possibility. About two weeks prior, you were cleaning around your shared residence and decided to clean Gunhak's studio he had at your flat so he could work on some songs in the comfort of his home. You thought that you probably mixed some sheets that weren't belonging together and that this was the cause of your boyfriend's anger. Although you thought it was weird he would hold rage against this for so long, you knew that it could be something that would deeply anger him.

So you decided once and for all that you would end this anger of his and decided to go talk to him. You knew that he'd either be in his studio or your shared bedroom so you decided to head for the studio. Luckily for you, you found him instantly. He was sitting at his desk, his head phone over his ears so you knew he wouldn't hear you if you talked. Instead, you walked up behind him and as delicately as possible, you put your hand on his shoulder, hoping you wouldn't scare him too much.

Gunhak of course would jump a little bit, definitely not expecting you to come and see him. As he turned his head a bit to see who it was, even though he more than knew it was you as it couldn't be anybody else, he removed the headphones from his ears and lowered them so that they could rest around his neck.

''What?'' he asked a bit more coldly than he would've wanted to.

''I was just wondering if we could talk…'' you said as you tried to not let the emotions gain on you.

Gunhak sighed and then completely removed the headphones to put them on the desk, spinning his chair around so he could face you as you sat down on the couch beside his desk.

''Look, I know that you haven't been feeling well these past days, it shows and I want you to know I'm sorry. I shouldn't have got into your things, I know that this room is yours and I should've stayed out of it, but I saw how messy it was and I wanted to help out by cleaning it and -''

But you were stopped on tracks as you saw Gunhak raising his hand so you would stop talking.

''What are you even talking about?'' he asked, yet again a bit colder than he wished his tone would've been.

You then proceeded to explain to him how you thought he was angry at you because you cleaned his studio and he frowned, making his eyebrows almost connect. Seeing that he didn't seem to understand you continued explaining your point and before you could even finish Gunhak understood what this was all about.

''Look, I'm not mad at you, I don't even see where you could've gotten that idea.'' he said.

''Are you kidding me? Gunhak you've been avoiding me for days, almost weeks! You barely talk to me, yet again barely touch me. It's almost like you do everything to be in a different room than me.'' at this point your emotions were getting closer to winning against your will to hide them and your voice became shaky.

''Every time I lay down in bed you turn around to back face me and…'' you had to take a break to take a deep breath.

''I just feel like you're growing out of love for me.'' you said at the exact same time tears fill your eyes.

Gunhak looked at you and realized how wrong he was. He was so blinded from work that for the first time he realized how bad of a boyfriend he has been. He didn't know what to say. Of course all of your thoughts weren't true. Gunhak could never grow out of love for you, but you couldn't say the same at the moment.

'' y/n… I...'' he sighed again before taking your hands in his.

''I'm so sorry… this is no excuses, but work really has got into me these past weeks that I even forgot to take care of myself. I shouldn't have neglected you, I should've seen that what I was doing was wrong, but I just thought you needed some space because I knew I wasn't really easy to live with…'' he sighed again this time looking down as all the remorse hit him.

''I'm sorry you thought I was mad at you. I truly wasn't I swear. Actually, every night when you fell asleep I turned back around and stared at you.'' he chuckled softly, a little smile cracking on his lips.

''I know it sounds creepy but, just the sight of you seeming so peaceful was enough to make me feel better. But yet again, I thought you needed space so whenever you were looking I was trying to not get in your way.''.

At this point, even him had teary eyes and even let a single tear fall down his porcelain cheek.

''I hope you can forgive me… And if you do I promise I'll make it up to you like never before.'' he said, still looking down.

You looked at him and noticed the tear falling down on his cheeks so you put your hand on his cheek and wiped the tear with your thumb, making Gunhak look up at you. At his turn he noticed your soaked cheeks and he decided to take the sleeve of his dark gray long sleeved shirt in his hand and wipe your tears away with it. You smiled a little as he dried your cheeks and you spoke up.

''Of course I forgive you Gunhak. How can I not? I love you more than everything on this Earth. I'm sorry for giving you the wrong image of myself'' you admit with your hand still on your boyfriend's cheek.

Gunhak then shook his head to say it was fine and then looked at the hands you kept intertwined. Seeing him looking at them made you look at them too and then after about 30 seconds you both looked back up at the same time. Gunhak took this opportunity to kiss you softly, bringing himself closer to you, sitting on the chair still. With the hand he used to wipe your tears, he held your neck so that he could bring you closer to him even more. Then with his other hand, he gestured you to come sit on his lap, still not breaking the kiss.

The both of you stayed that way enjoying the feeling of each other's lips since they haven't danced in unison in so long. It wasn't long before your kissed turned into a make out session as you both have secretly wanted each other for so long.

Soon enough, the chair got out of comfort for Gunhak so he got up, holding you as if you weighted nothing. Your arms wrapped up around his shoulders for better support and your boyfriend carried you to your shared bedroom where he carefully laid you on your soft bed. He then broke the kiss for less than three seconds just for the time he could place his legs in between yours as his torso was above yours.

Gunhak's hand soon began a journey to explore your body and he started with your sides. At first caressing on top of your shirt but soon realizing it wouldn't be enough. His hot hands made its way under you shirt and he then started caressing your bare skin, sending shivers down your spine.

Gunhak's mouth than moved to your neck and left small pecks on it, making sure you knew how much he loved you in each kisses he left on your skin. He also made sure you would enjoy every bit of it, not wanting to rush as you had all night ahead of you.

''Gunhak…'' you said as a soft moan left your lips as you felt your boyfriend's mouth kissing the sensitive spot on your neck.

You felt you boyfriend smile as he kept going, slowly starting to suck on your skin to leave a mark. After leaving a hickey, or two, or three, Gunhak placed one last peck on the last hickey he gave you and then looked at you. He softly kissed your forehead than your cheeks before pecking your lips.

''Tonight I'm gonna make you feel even more loved than before, baby'' he said in a sweet tone, wanting you to know he would take his time making love to you.

Many people thought that Gunhak was the rough guy who fucked you with no mercy, and even if nights like these happened, he was sweeter than most people believed and he often simply made love to you to make sure you know how much he loved you and your body.

That being said, Gunhak than took the lead and slowly started undressing you, revealing even more of your beautiful skin to him with more pieces of your clothing hitting the ground. At every item he'd remove, he'd plant a soft kiss on the exposed skin. This was his way to show you how much en enjoyed every inches of you.

He would then make his way down on you and spread your legs, kissing the inside of your thighs before making his way to your core. Your breath would start increasing as he would get closer and as his lips connected to your sensitive parts, your eyes would shut. Gunhak told you earlier, tonight he would be taking his time. There was no rush so he could do everything he wanted in the time he wanted. His tongue did wonders, as it always did, and you felt in heaven already. He, of course, would take peeks up at you to see how he made you feel. Even when he was being gentle on you he wanted to see the pleasure in your face, and he was served because you couldn't hide it. After looking up at you for a good minute, he closed his own eyes and just kept going, sucking slowly and gently on your sensitive spot before kissing it gently, earning a moan from you. He kept going like this for another three minutes and then he stopped to come back up to your neck and started kissing it again.

As he did so, your hands tucked down on his shirt. You thought it was unfair that you were completely naked and that he was still wearing each and every single items of clothing he had on him. Gunhak understood fast enough and took off his shirt, throwing it in with your own clothes. Your hands traveled to his shoulders and then his biceps as he kept kissing your neck so good it made you moan again.

Tonight was all about you so he wanted to make sure he did everything perfectly. He didn't kiss your neck for too long before getting rid of his other pieces of clothing, leaving the both of you naked.

Gunhak looked at you in the eyes as he placed himself so that he could line up with your entrance and he grabbed you hand in his, intertwining your fingers together.

''Ready?'' he asked softly.

You nodded and he entered you, slowly to be sure he wouldn't hurt you. He also made sure to kiss your neck at the same time to ensure that if it hurt in any way that you'd be able to focus on something else. Of course it didn't hurt, you were used to his size by now but whenever Gunhak made love to you he was the more precious boy ever, just making sure you are comfortable at any given time.

After being completely in, he gave you some time to adjust before starting to slowly move out before moving back in, making sure his trusts were slow and passionate. Gunhak would then pick up the speed a little but not too much because he wanted this to go really slowly, he wanted to make you feel good after all. Your free hand would move back to his bicep as his would go to your side, hold it gently as he was trusting in and out of you.

Soon enough you couldn't help the moans from leaving your lips, making it sound just like music to your boyfriend. A music that no one else could ever make sound so good. His lips would leave a trail of kisses from your neck to your collarbone, making sure to not miss any spots, which would get you to moan more. It wouldn't take much longer before Gunhak also started moaning from how good you felt around him. His moans were deep and short, but they were enough to send you over the edge by themselves.

Although this night would be taken slowly, only one round would've been made. Gunhak wanted this to be romantic, so he didn't need more than one time to show you how much he loved you. As you both reached your high, you moaned together. You squeezed his bicep as he squeezed your side, careful to not hurt you with his strength. When you were done, Gunhak kissed the side of your head before saying how much he loved you and how he wished you'd be his forever, to which you responded:

''Eternity with you is not even long enough.''.

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So I’ve been quite in a oneus mood lately and I decided to write smt for leedo to fullfill my leedo hours HAHAHA. I hope you will enjoy it as much as i did while writing it.

Thank you guys for everything you doooooo. BYE xxx!

#oneus #oneus leedo #oneus imagines #oneus smut #leedo smut #oneus scenarios

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jonsa101 · 4 years ago

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Helen Sharpe: A Deep Dive Into Her Wants and Needs What it Means For Sharpwin in Season 3

I feel like in more ways than one this week’s episode revealed so much about where Helen is at mentally after the worse of the pandemic but also solidifies where Sharpwin is heading this season. We finally got a first look at Helen and Cassian’s relationship and also learned a little bit more about her family. I’m so glad they incorporated Freema’s Iranian heritage in the show and I can’t wait until we get an introduction to her Ghanian side as well. Helen having a Ghanian mom is literally chef’s kiss and as a fellow Nigerian, I know west african mama’s don’t play so I hope we get to see her on screen. As for Cassian and Helen I loved the fact that he was able to truly support her in her time of need but the chemistry is severely lacking for me. I usually don’t mind seeing HeIen with someone else because it’s usually fun and entertaining and I obviously know who her endgame is. Panthaki and Helen where hot and fun to watch. I just feel like the showrunners hyped Cassian up to be this edgy, “bad boy,” arrogant type who’s supposed to give Max a run for his money but I’m not seeing that at all! The chemistry is just flat y’all. It’s just not giving what they said it was supposed to give...

Anyway, despite the lack of chemistry, Cassian is playing a role that we honestly haven’t seen from Max yet. He’s truly being there for her and doing his part to support her in her time of need. In Max and Helen’s relationship it has always been the other way around with Helen supporting him. He has never truly stepped up to meet or even think about her needs. Not really anyway. Furthermore, in the midst of her vulnerability, Helen revealed that she feels like “she keeps running out of time.” These two aspects of this episode are so important because it tells me two things.

1. Helen is clearly at a breaking point and desperately wants to make her relationship work with Cassian because she feels like she’s “running out of time” in every area of her life.

2. Max has too and unequivocally will meet Helen’s needs in more ways than one this season.

From everything we know so far about Helen this is how I would summarize her. Helen is a beautiful and incredibly talented doctor who cares deeply about her patients and wants to be respected for more than just being a “celebrity doctor.” She was previously engaged and lost her finance suddenly to a brain aneurysm. She desperately wants a child and is considered “geriatric” because she’s over the age of 35 and in the midst of her fertility journey she realizes that she doesn’t want to raise a child on her own. Ultimately she actually wants love and a family. Being vulnerable has never come easy to her in any of her relationships, romantic or otherwise and there are so many things about her life that we still don’t know yet.

So based off what we know, when Helen says she feels like “she keeps running out of time” there’s depth to that statement and we have to assume that when she said that she was referring to EVERY aspect of her life. In a sense she ran out of time with her fiancé Mohammad when he passed unexpectedly and though she isn’t “old” Helen no doubt also feels like she’s running out of time to have a baby and a family of her own. These are two things that Helen wants more than anything else in the world and the fact that it hasn’t happened yet is clearly getting to her. Professionally, I feel like Helen is at a place in her life where she’s content and is learning how to balance putting her patients first while also upholding her press commitments. In her personal life it’s a whole different story and I definitely think Helen is spiraling. The ripple of effects of the pandemic are definitely still affecting her and in a sense Cassian is more like a means to an end to help her feel like her personal life is “on track.” Even Helen herself said that “I don’t want to make excuses anymore about you” to Cassian which clearly indicates that she has her doubts about him and the relationship but she’s going to jump in anyway because she doesn’t want to waste/run out of time!

I know a lot of people think that Sharpwin probably won’t come into fruition until season 4 or season 5 but I could not disagree more. To me, Helen’s fear of things running out of time in her life and or feeling like she’s had missed windows of opportunities is the BIGGEST INDICATOR that Sharpwin is about to come to fruition RAPIDLY! The writing is on the wall! She is not trying to wait for anything or anybody. She’s seen the worst of the pandemic, she knows first hand how life is so fleeting and how quickly things can change and she’s had ample amount of time to reflect on what she wants and needs in her life. She hasn’t truly dealt with her trauma but she is jumping all in for her sanity.

For Max and Helen, this is a make it or break it season for them where they decide if they want to be together or not. The will they won’t they stage has long passed because it no longer make sense in the storyline for either of them to still be confused about what they want especially after the worst of the pandemic. They clearly have feelings for each other and are in love. It was indicated in season 1 and damn near established in season 2. After a year in a pandemic where they saw thousands of people die a day and so many people have had time to reflect on their lives, for them to come out of that still dragging their feet and being indecisive about who they love and what they want is not a realistic storyline. It could have worked if the pandemic never happened but it did and the pandemic changed everything for everyone.

So with that said this brings me to Max. Cassian is here for one purpose and that is to ignite Max into action. Helen last season has practically already put her feelings on the line with her declaration of “Everything I’ve done I’ve done for you” and a year later Max hasn’t done shit about it. For the past two seasons she has been his support system and this season he needs to step up and be hers. This is the season where Max needs to go above and beyond for her like she has done for him countless times in the past. Time is clearly of the essence, especially for Helen and he needs to get his shit together quickly. I personally feel like he’s going to supersede her expectations and then some and his actions to me just scream that he’s preparing for a new chapter. He’s already told her he’s trying to build something better for her and Luna, he’s moved out Georgia’s things and at Helen’s encouragement, brought Luna home. The only thing left that he needs is a partner and clearly Helen is his partner!

Also there’s a level of emotional support that we haven’t seen Max give to Helen and I think we saw this play out as well with Georgia. Max has a tendency to be caught up in his own world a lot of the time and sometimes he’s not really present with the people he cares about. I think this season Max is going to become more self aware of that and actually be there for Helen when she needs him the most.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts what I see for Sharpwin this season! Here’s to hoping these things actually come to past. Let me know what you think is in store for Sharpwin in season 3!

#new amsterdam #helen sharpe #sharpwin #max goodwin #max x helen

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spencerreidshortstories · 4 years ago

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The Team Found Out About You

Description: The team finds out about the girl Spencer has been spending time with. There is slight teasing from Morgan, but that’s the be expected, really.

Rating: Teen

Warnings: None really, just light-hearted teasing amongst friends.

Spencer's team didn't find out about her until he'd known her for three months. He was a pretty private person, and he hadn't planned on telling them yet, but the team had all made plans to go out on a Friday night after work since they didn't have a case. The thing was that he already had plans and since he never had plans, they all wanted to know what was going on.

What was going on was he was in the middle of Star Trek and he wasn't watching it alone.

"Pretty Boy has himself a girlfriend," Derek said, grinning, teasing like he always did. It didn't really bother Spencer anymore. He knew Derek would never tease him with a harmful intent behind it.

"No, I –"

"Oh, who is it?" Penelope broke in. "Do we know her?"

"No. We met at the library, and she's not my girlfriend. I haven't known her that long."

"But you've invited her into your apartment?"

"Well, yes, to watch Star Trek."

Spencer knew what they were talking about, though. He had a thing with his personal space. He didn't let just anybody into it. For him to let her in his apartment meant that he felt some kind of attachment to her.

He regretted telling them her name, though, because Garcia literally pulled up her personal history and a background check, which Spencer was not okay with even if he was curious. He could just ask her and she wouldn't mind telling him. She was an open book.

"You sure you don't want to know?"

Derek and Spencer had followed Garcia to her tech room and she'd gotten done in less than five minutes. There obviously hadn't been much to find, which was good. That meant there weren't any skeletons in the closet.

"As long as there's nothing bad, I don't need to know."

"Well, there's no criminal record. Not even a speeding ticket."

"She's a very safe driver."

"You've let her drive you around?"

"Sometimes . . ."

He began to fidget. This was why he didn't let people in on his business. They always had questions and they wouldn't leave him alone about it. It really wasn't a big deal. Okay, it kind of was, but still . . .

"What's she like?" Derek asked.

"She's . . . I don't know – our first conversation was about books. She was having trouble reaching a book on the top shelf because she wasn't tall enough, so I got it for her, and she had a basket of books she was checking out and – "

"A whole basket?"

"She likes to read," he said and shrugged. "We talked for a while and we went out for coffee that weekend. She didn't treat me like a freak when she found out how many I have or how many Bachelor Degrees I have."

Neither Derek nor Garcia said anything about the freak thing, because some people did have an adverse reaction when they found out how smart Reid was.

"Does she know what you do?"

"Yeah. We – we try to hang out when I have time off. Or when she does. She stays pretty busy. She has two jobs."

"She runs a youth center and works at a Jr. High as a guidance counselor," Garcia supplied for Derek.

"She calls it her baby," Spencer said. "Anyway, we just – we just get along. We can talk about anything and she doesn't mind when I don't know when to stop talking, so that works, and she's smart –"

"She was one of the highest scorers for her college entrance exam. Top five percent," Garcia said, looking at one of the computer screens. "She took five, sometimes six, classes at a time, and still kept an A average in most of her classes."

Okay, so Spencer hadn't known that part, but he didn't need to know every little detail of her life. They were just friends.

"That's – stop. I'm good not knowing. I didn't need to know that to know she's intelligent. She can keep up with my train of thought, so –"

"That's a miracle right there, Boy Genius."

Spencer grinned and shook his head. "It's great. She's letting me explain the science behind Star Trek as we watch it."

"That's – that's commitment right there. When can we meet her? Why don't you invite her out tonight?"

"How about I don't? I don't know how she'd feel about me just springing this on her last minute." Then, "I'll ask her how she feels about it and maybe we can do it next time. Just . . . don't embarrass her."

"Is she easily embarrassed?" Garcia asked. And then, "You know, I can't find this girl on social media at all. What's up with that? There's her professional email for the school and that's it."

Spencer remembered she'd told him one time that she hated technology. She could type on the computer and that was about as far as her knowledge went. The kids at the youth center had had to show her the different apps on her phone and how they worked.

"She's not great with technology."

Garcia seemed offended, and Spencer shrugged. He wasn't great with technology either.

"To answer your question . . . she's not easily embarrassed, exactly, but she does blush a lot." When Derek's eyebrows shot up Spencer was quick to say, "Shut up, and you're not allowed to tease her if she decides she wants to meet you guys."

"We would never make her uncomfortable, Reid," Derek said, serious now.

"I know that, but you tease people. It's part of who you are. Just . . . wait for her to get to know you first, so she knows you don't mean anything by it. It's how you show affection."

As if Derek had to prove Spencer was right, he said, "Have you kissed her yet?"

"What? No!" And then, "She's not my girlfriend!"

He decided now was the time to leave. He felt like he was in a bad teen movie – not that he'd seen many of those – and he was confused as to why he hadn't extricated himself from the tech cave sooner.

As he was walking back to his desk, he wondered how long it would take for the rest of the team to find out about her. There was no way Morgan and Garcia were going to keep their mouths shut about it.

As it turned out, Garcia was the one to spill the beans and everyone knew by the time they went out that night. None of the others made as much of a fuss about it and Spencer was grateful. They all seemed interested in meeting her though.

When he asked why, Derek said, "Because she's gotta be special if she caught your interest, Pretty Boy."

"Yeah, we have to meet her now," JJ said. "From what you've said, she sounds amazing."

He didn't say it, but he did think she was amazing. She was kind and bright, and had nothing to do with his job. She brought him a kind of peace that he hadn't known for a long time, since before he'd started working.

He loved his job and he couldn't imagine doing anything else, but that didn't mean the cases didn't bother him or stay with him, sometimes keep him up at night or bring him nightmares when he did sleep. He didn't have to think about murder or rape or kidnapping when he was with her because she wasn't part of the team. She was something far from them, set apart from his job. That was one of the reasons he hadn't thought to introduce her to his friends. He didn't want to mar his friendship with her by maybe bringing that part into it.

He would, however, ask how she felt about meeting his team members. He had said he would, and he didn't like lying. He hoped it didn't change anything between them. He still wanted her as his TV show buddy. As she had said when they'd had coffee, it wasn't fun binging a show on your own.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x ofc

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monkey-network · 4 years ago

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Why Shrek IS The Best

Tastes can change, you know? And it’s less about “What’s good about this now compared to before”, more of “Why would you like this now as opposed to before”? Unless allergic, you didn’t get why dark cola or hot chips tasted bad to you as a child, but when you grow up you can come to understand and appreciate it. Shouldn’t pressure yourself, that makes things worse, but things can certainly align in helping this newfound respect you get for something you’d believe you would never want again. That really is where I stand with Dreamworks’ Shrek. As a kid, while Toy Story left me traumatized for a while, Shrek left me side-eyeing with how crass and ugly it looked and I never wanted to think of it. But, as I grew up to respect animation a lot more, 2018 was where I looked back at Shrek and soon come to understand how wrong I was and how much greatness it has that I now consider it an all time great. And with it getting inducted into the Library of Congress, I thought it was finally time to present what I see in this film. Let’s do this right with...

The SOMEBODY

Now this frame has been meme’d to death. If there’s anything iconic about this film, ‘bout the franchise as a whole, it’s the exact moment when our main character charges out of his outhouse as Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’ gets going. But this honestly just says a lot about Dreamworks’ direction from its previous films where compared to Disney that’ll take their time making the setup before getting into the hype point for its lead, Shrek gets going in one minute if we don’t count the logo intro. Not even The Emperor’s New Groove, which was going for the same tone before Shrek even released, took more of it’s time with the fairy tale aspect of it in its intro. Shrek literally wipes his ass with the fairy tale aspect before giving us the SOMEBODY, all around a minute. This frame really shows that this is sticking to the Disney formula in some way because it’s wasting no time getting into it. It represents the more brisk pace Shrek has with pulling you into what it’s gonna be about. This overall frame works in its thematic and parody aspect and I’ve yet to see anything top this exact moment, not even the greatest films I’ll ever remember.

But enough about the fact that I made a whole paragraph about this one frame of the movie. Let’s dive into what I say is a piece of the heart for this film.

The Earnestness

Speaking of Disney, you probably notice that their films have some cushioning in their presentation, like they generally don’t show things with a straightforward lens; there’s some theatrics in the way their best movies present themselves. That’s not a problem, mind you, but that helped me understand how Shrek does things very differently whether you consider it parody or not. While it throws mockery at the played out conventions associated with fairy tales, especially its most subtle jab at copyright, it doesn’t full on say fairy tales are annoying and bad. Hell, the film IS a fairy tale adapted from a fairy tale about a fookin’ OGRE that can eat lightning and kills with farts. But, it’s an accurate and earnest way to view a fairy tale from a somewhat realistic lens. Let’s take Shrek’s journey for instance.

Typically, the main character would want to experience something more; explore new horizons, prove themselves, find their calling. Shrek off the bat doesn’t need or desire any of that. He’s content with his life, beside the angry mob he casually scares off, and throughout the film he’s not interested in anything else outside getting the squatters out his swamp. He happily makes a deal with the villain of the film to exile those innocent refugees off his land so he could then build a wall to keep everybody out. Bringing up Emperor’s New Groove again, Shrek and Kuzco are the few characters I know that are actively antagonistic even when they’re forced into their situation from outside forces. However unlike Kuzco that gets to be emperor again but learns humility, Shrek is in the same spot as before but learns that there are people out here that can love him for who he is. I can’t say there’s anything grand about that, but it doesn’t need to be unlike the many Disney or any film that tries to shower you with the grandest themes. The relationships Shrek has with Donkey and Fiona are the most grounded I’ve ever seen because they’re not only natural, they’re hardly dolled up with the bells and whistles made to either drum up the biggest laughs or tug the heart strings viciously. When I think about it, I honestly could see myself in Shrek. He isn’t made to be a legend, he isn’t some secret genius or lost prince, he’s just an every-man ogre that wants to live peacefully or meet SOMEBODY that doesn’t treat as someone to be feared or disgusted at. Everything Shrek says is something anybody could or would say if they were his shoes because he, and the film in general, is the most grounded without making it all distractedly meta or genre-savvy. This is generally helped by...

The Dounkaey

Everyone’s talked about how Donkey is the best confidant for Shrek and Fiona. How he’s most true to himself to where he’s the most openly musical character in the film, and how he’s the most balanced here with his comedic vs serious moments. But I gotta say it too: Donkey is one of the greatest sidekicks ever. He’s a motormouth, but is never annoying to where you wish he left the film. The couple times he is purposefully annoying, not for a joke, is when he knows Shrek isn’t being truthful. He truly gets to know Shrek on this journey, and is the character Shrek gets to capacity to actually loosen up to, so it’s fitting that he’d be the one to push Shrek when the ogre’s sounding more vague than usual. Even when he’s harshly insulted, Donkey doesn’t take it as bad as when Shrek kept trying to shut him out again in the 3rd act after the Hallejulah sequence which is the scene in every Shrek movie where’s there a super sad song because Shrek is alone and yadda ya. I’ll get to it in a bit, but he is as much responsible in providing Fiona that seed of doubt that Shrek wouldn’t love her as the ogre she is. Donkey is the greatest friend because he wants to be there for those who are okay with him being around, and while you could give and take sidekick animals in your notable films with them in it, this film really wouldn’t have happened without him. Speaking of Fiona, I won’t retread what’s been said before like with Donkey but I did want to bring up something I haven’t seen many talk about,,,

The Love for An Ogre

I’ve seen many say the scene where Shrek overhears Fiona talk about “Who could love an ugly beast?” and misinterprets that as her talking about him as a cliched or contrived downside to the film, but I feel that a defense can be made. It personally makes sense that Shrek would misinterpret that and take it personally because 1) Who else would Fiona be talking about? 2) How would he know she was talking with Donkey? 3) Why would he just barge in on her? 4) Has no one considered that this moment is parallel to when Fiona overhears Shrek’s conversation with Donkey the night before?

Fiona is very much the antithesis to Shrek’s character where she can very much be open about what she wants but is scared at the idea of anyone figuring out who she really is. She’ll gladly be gross, kick ass, eat the young of a bird she let explode, but won’t let anyone see her true face. That’s why her curse makes sense, and why Shrek would take a fondness to her despite her initial disdain of him rescuing her. Fiona’s a character where the surface level beauty is her weakness as opposed to Shrek where it’s internal. Which is why when she overhears Shrek open up to Donkey about his societal isolation, she’s soon more comfortable around him. And it’s why when she opens up to Donkey about her looks, Shrek would unfortunately take it personal enough. I ask again, why would Shrek barge in on a conversation he wasn’t aware of or who she was talking about to not take it about anything else but him when what he heard such a cut so deep, especially from a character that bears his similar issues? It also helps that Donkey was in on it, as Shrek feels reasonably betrayed by the only other person he’s come to appreciate in his life. Contrived as it seems, it’s thematically important and appropriate to the conflict of Shrek’s character and the film overall. Don’t know how this could be conveyed any other way because it adds up at least.

I just wanna know how Shrek got to Faarquard’s and back by sunrise like did he run cuz that looked like a huge distance to travel on foot but anyways...

I’m sure things could’ve worked out if Shrek knew, either by barging in that night or through Donkey, but I think it’s fitting that the climax takes place at the wedding. After Shrek and Donkey understand their friendship, after Donkey reciprocates the Dragon’s love (more ways than one), and when Shrek grasps the mistake he made to charge over to Fuccquad’s chapel, we get to...

The End

After everything, we get to the moment where Shrek and Fiona get to share their first kiss, Fiona permanently transforms into an ogre, and we get this exchange. One of my favorite exchanges in the whole film:

Shrek: “Are you all right?” Fiona: “Well yes. But I don’t understand... I’m supposed to be beautiful.”

Shrek: “But you ARE beautiful”

We don’t need any other vows to understand their relationship was built up to this. This moment where Shrek can reaffirm Fiona’s feelings of being able to be herself in every way, because she allowed him to be himself in every way before. That’s that mutual love, baby, that just gets me every time and makes this film one of the best romance stories I know as well, even when it isn’t solely about the romance. This is Shrek’s story, and there’s nothing more touching than seeing this outcast not only get another to view him as a friend, not only someone to love, but people, if only a couple, to actually wanted to get to know him. I know Shrek 2 expands on this more, and it’s considered a golden sequel, but I will always cherish the first movie for how much it tells us off the bat while appearing as a “Take That” to Disney films. This is the genesis of Shrek feeling more accepted for himself and society and it just bears so much good commentary while being a good adventure nonetheless. Like you could say this film indeed has... dimensions? “You were trying to meme about la-”

The Conclusion

Mentioning it, I always had this thought with the conversation Shrek and Donkey had of why Shrek didn’t just “be an ogre” and pillage Fuccnut’s fortress. It’s possible Shrek could’ve taken out Faarquid himself, but that would mean being the beast he knows people have shunned him for, grabbed the torches and pitchfolks for, made him feel worse for. Shrek enjoys being an ogre, but he doesn’t like how society makes him feel lesser as an ogre. That really is what the four films have been about for him and what I’ve come to appreciate about these films personally. It can be easy to love yourself even when there are others out here that stand against you, but it’s hard to consider that anyone else could love you for who you are in spite of how you try to present yourself. But if there’s anything Shrek showed me, it’s that it’s possible. There can/will be people out here who appreciate the real you, will be there as much as you want to for them, and can help you realize more about yourself as opposed to suffering to silence eternally. Generally ideal, I know, but this film in the least offered me that thought in the most balanced way possible. It’s incredible how much of a tightrope this film has in its parody and sincerity and that makes its induction in the National Film Registry and being the first ever Best Animated Award winner pretty justified all things considered.

I know this film, the character, has been a meme over the years. As Schaffrillas mentions in his video, the direction Dreamworks made because of Shrek’s success kinda turned it into a heel people clowned on because, in theory, it was nothing but a joke with the onions and the swamp and IT’S NEVER OGRE. Then again, like I said in the beginning, tastes change. I’d say with Schaff’s masterful analyses on the film series and 3GI’s Shrek Retold and Shrekfest, the perception of the film sure enough shifted like the perception of Megamind. It’s one thing for a movie to blow people away or leave them thinking it’s horrible beyond belief, it’s another to take the time to then look back and see how those feelings have changed. For Shrek, it’s a film that was able to trudge out of the meme era to be a film many consider a strong, rewatchable, and unique. Like the beauty of Spongebob, Shrek is a considered a classic because as in the times as it appeared when it released, this film actually stood on its own with the most enjoyable and meaningful timelessness, exploring the desired love for the self, that deserves to be recognized. What else can I say, people?

It’s The Best

#Shrek #dreamworks #dreamworks animation #animation #movies #cartoons #reviews #analysis #long post #Good Stuff

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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May 4, 2021: The Host (2006) (Recap)

NO NOT THAT ONE

Stephanie Meyer goddamn sucks. I realize that I’m not exactly the first person to say that, but she’s terrible. Not only is she not a good writer, but she also has some very disparaging views about science fiction and its fans, which led her to make her own science fiction book and film. ANd yeah...it’s terrible! No surprise there.

So, no, not the 2013 critical and commercial flop known as The Host. No, this post is about 2006′s The Host, AKA Gwoemul, AKA 괴물. I haven’t ventured to far into the world of Korean cinema, and with this film, my repertoire includes only the films of director Bong Joon-Ho. And if that name sounds familiar...it should.

Bong Joon-ho DESERVEDLY made headlines last year when his film became the first non-English language film to win for Best Picture, and the first time Asian writers won for best screenplay! His Oscar speech in accepting best director is genuinely one of the best and most sincere speeches I’ve ever heard from a director, and I love the dude.

Oh, and if you’re wondering which film it was, then, like me, you also really need to watch Parasite. And because I’m terrified of spoilers, I’m not gonna look for GIFs of that movie. Instead, I’ll put in a GIF of one of my favorite sci-fi films, and the only other Bong Joon-ho film I’ve seen.

God, I love Snowpiercer. And if this is anything like that, I’m probably going to love this movie. Now, I don’t really know much about this film, other than the fact that it’s a monster film. And if there’s any science-fiction subgenre more iconic than monster films, I don’t know it. Well...OK, aliens, robots, and more, but monster films are still a big part of the genre. But where does that begin? Is it here?

Definitely an argument you can make, since Frankenstein’s Monster is a creation of science gone wrong, from the book to the movie. Fun fact, Mary Shelley based it on a real-world experiment by Italian physiologist Giovanni Aldini, who used a corpse to illustrate the connection between electricity and muscles. Neat, huh? So, yeah, that’s a solid launching point.

But that’s more of a horror story. What about something a little more monster-y? Well, from the UK to Japan we go!

OHHHHHH YEAH, THAT’S THE GOOD STUFF

Toho’s 1954 film Gojira is one of the most classic monster films ever made, and singlehandedly launched the kaiju genre in Japan. And it’s really well-known that it was made as a response to post-World War II tensions about nuclear warfare. Which, in Japan, is kind of understandable, no? But nothing demonstrated the destructive power of science more than that moment in history.

So, Godzilla arrives. And the US also makes more monster movies, most of which take place in contemporary settings, making many of them lo-fi sci-fi. Now, some dipped into horror or fantasy, but the science fiction roots were there. Which eventually would bring us full circle to films where monsters were made and go loose. You know, like this:

It’s a franchise that defines the ‘90s, and lab-grown monster movies exploded around that time as well. At the same time, environmental concerns REALLY started to build by this point, and those concerns leaked profusely into film all over the world. And by the time we get to 2006...well, let’s get into it, huh?

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

In a mortuary, a U.S. military doctor (Scott Wilson) instructs his assistant (Brian Lee) to dump bottles of formaldehyde down the drain of the facility, which goes directly into the Han River. The assistant protests, but the doctor insists, despite the risk of polluting the river. AAAAAmericans.

In the river about two years later, two fisherman see something strange looking in the river. Then, four years later, in 2006, a suicidal man is about to jump into the river, when he sees something dark in the water below.

Later that year, we meet Park Hee-bong (Byun Hee-Bong) and his son Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho), who run a food truck and snack bar near the river. Gang-du’s not exactly a hard worker, to his father’s chagrin. His daughter, Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung), is a student who comes home from school, where her drunken uncle Nam-il (Park Hae-il) comes to her chagrin. She and her father watch TV, where his sister Nam-joo (Bar Doona) can be seen competing in archery.

As he’s bringing food out to customers, he joins them in observing something strange and massive hanging off of the bridge. And at this point, I would be running the fuck away. Literally, the news just said that there was a body found with the legs missing, and these people are throing cans at it after it plunges into the water. One girl asks if it’s a dolphin. Mother...HAVE YOU SEEN A DOLPHIN BEFORE?

NOT THIS

Yeah, this thing just comes bounding along the shore, slapping people into the water with its tail, and batting aside others. Doesn’t look like its actively killing anybody yet, but it’s definitely hurting people at least. That is, until it goes into a trailer where a bunch of people have gathered, and appears to eat a bunch of them. So, yeah, dangerous.

Gang-du, to his infinite credit, actually attempts to confront and hurt the creature, with the help of Donald White (David Joseph Anselmo). And it works, but at the cost of the creature aggro-ing onto him. Back at the snack truck, his sister’s lost the title, much to the chagrin of Gang-du’s daughter and father. She goes outside in frustration, only to be thrown into the midst of the chaos with her dad. He grabs a girls hand in the chaos, only to find that it’s a different child entirely. And...unfortunately...

The creature grabs her with its tail, and leaps back into the river, disappearing. Fuck. Poor Hyun-seo, and poor Gang-du. Gang-du IMMEDIATELY goes to get her back, jumping into the river, but the creature takes her across to an island, out of reach. That night, an impromptu funeral is held for the victims, at which Hyun-seo is being honored as well. There, both Gang-du’s sister and brother also attend, and all four of the break down dramatically and publicly.

Nam-il blames his brother for letting her die, which is unfair, but understandable. The family eventually calms down and discusses the circumstances of Hyun-Seo’s birth and death, both of which were accidental. As they do, a man in a protective suit comes out, and asks who was at the river incident. Nam-il protests this, and asks what’s going on. The man doesn’t explain, and the room is instead gassed, as everyone is ushered towards the entrance.

In the process, Gang-du (stupidly) reveals that he was hit by some blood splatter. He’s immediately stuffed in a bag and kidnapped by the authorities. Meanwhile, the news reveals that the creature is carrying a virus, and anyone who has been in contact with it has been infected. Because of this, the entire family is taken to a quarantine hospital, which oddly has very few actual quarantine procedures in place. And additionally, Gang-du is feeling a bit itchy.

That night, in the hospital, Gang-du gets a call on his cell phone! It’s Hyun-seo! She’s alive! And she’s trapped, in a sewer somewhere near the river. Meanwhile, a group of men in protectve suits are outside patrolling the river. One man finds money on the side of the road, and goes to pick it up, only for the men to be attacked by the creature. But it’s then that we discover that the creature is not killing or eating people, but simply taking them own to its lair. Also in said lair is Hyun-seo, trapped and with a now dead phone.

The next day, the family tries to get an officer to look into the call, only for the officer to be, frankly, an absolute piece of shit to this grieving family. Gang-du tries to explain, and his explanation is ENTIRELY RATIONAL, but the officer and doctors are absolutely terrible about it.

Because nobody’s listening, the family manages to escape from the hospital in order to try and save Hyun-Seo, and they hop into a van, taking it and running. This is a good place to mention that, despite this being a monster movie, it's also...weirly funny sometimes. Like, that whole scene is pretty great. After bartering with a group of gangsters for supplies (and after Hee-bong basically gives away all of his credit cards), the group manages to get a map and a new car. But they pretty quickly get stopped at a checkpoint into the city, and are nearly caught, but manage to escape and get to the riverfront. Once there, they begin searching the sewers to find Hyun-seo. And I gotta say; this may be an extremely dysfunctional family, but they’re a devoted family all the same.

Of course, that eventually gives way to arguments within the sewer itself, but that’s interrupted by a noise heard somewhere around them. They fire at it, using weapons obtained from the gangster but conclude that it was nothing. What it actually is is two brothers, older Se-jin (Lee Jae-eung) and younger Se-joo (Lee Dong-ho), homeless kids who are foraging the sewers in the abandoned city. But, of course, they eventually run into the creature, which attacks them. Meanwhile, an asleep Hyun-Seo dreams of dinner with her family, only to be woken up by the arrival of the creature, who deposits the bodies of the two boys in the sewer with her. Se-joo has survived, but Se-jin hasn’t, sadly.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family is gathered at their snack bar for the night, and prepares to set out or the morning. The to younger siblings appear to not give a single shit about Gang-du, but Hee-bong attempts to set them straight, talking about how he blames himself for the way Gang-du is now. However, the two just fall asleep during his speech. Poor Hee-bong. Also, he can apparently identify Gang-du’s health condition based on his farts because they spend so much time together, it’s dumb, and funny.

Also, poor the rest of them, because Gang-du wakes up to see the creature just waiting outside, watching them. Hee-bong fires at it, but the creature attacks and knocks over the bar. However, Hee-bong manages to hit it directly in the head, knocking it off, but not killing it. The family goes out to finish the job, but it runs away before they can kill it. They run after it, and are almost completely out of bullets. Hee-bong volunteers to go after it himself, but in the process...

Hee-bong doesn’t make it. The creature kills him, and the commotion attracts the military to their location. Gang-du is again captured, while Nam-il and Nam-joo escape, only to later be separated regardless. Meanwhile, the virus kills Donald White, the sergeant from earlier, and it continues to spread across Korea. To kill the creature, the government plans to release a chemical into the river called Agent Yellow, which feels...controversial.

Nam-il meats a colleague, “Fat Guevara” (Yam Pil-sung), who is easily able to provide a location for Hyun-seo using the number, which the cop earlier insisted was nearly impossible to do. Plus, both the sergeant and Gang-du encountered the creature together, and he seems to be just fine. Which probably means that something very wrong is happening now. Even worse, though, is the fact that Guevara’s appeared to trap Nam-il, as a massive reward is sought for his arrest. A gang of people surround hi, with the plan to capture him, but he VERY cleverly escapes by causing an electrical short, and AFTER having found Hyun-seo’s location! Nice, man! He takes off, now knowing exactly where his niece is.

Nam-joo, meanwhile, is literally living inside of the snack bar, and she gets a text from Nam-il with her location. He tags out, and she tags in, running to the location where the call came from. But she immediately runs into the creature, which knocks her down and unconscious. She manages to call Gang-du, who is currently about to be sedated. Now knowing where his daughter is, he tries to escape, only to be tackled by the doctors. He tells them where she is, but they don’t appear to listen. More importantly, the anesthetic doesn’t appear to work, much to the confusion of the doctors. Something is verrrrrrrry wrong here.

An American doctor (Paul Lazar) comes, and asks what’s wrong, and he tells him exactly what’s wrong. However, despite his words SEEMING to be heard, they once again call him crazy and delusional, and decide to give him a lobotomy to isolate the virus once and for all, like FUCKING ASSHOLES. Turns out that the virus? Yeah, it doesn’t exist whatsoever! It doesn’t exist even a little bit! Which means that this entire thing is a wild goddamn goose chase for a virus that DOESN’T FUCKING EXIST!!!

And the best thing is that Gang-du, despite not actually knowing English, still understands the words “no virus”, and know he fucking knows! However, because he knows, they now have to give him a lobotomy. Fuck me, man. Panicking, he cries for them to stop, and cries for his daughter, who’s still alive in the sewer.

Speaking of, Hyun-seo and Se-joo are bonding in the sewer, as they work to make a rope from things they find there. But in the process, they’re attacked by the creature, who know is actively eating the bodies, and presumably other people. Whoof. They manage to escape, but barely.

Back with Gang-du, who’s just gone through the lobotomy, which...hasn’t worked at all. Holy SHIT. Not sure what the hel is UP with this dude, but that’s a question in and of itself. He escapes by taking a nurse hostage, threatening them with a syringe of his blood, full of a virus that doesn’t exist!

Nam-il wakes up at the same time, not accompanied by a homeless man (Yoon Je-moon), who agrees to take him to the bridge to find Hyun-seo. In the sewer, the two kids have survived, and the creature appears to be asleep. Like a GODDAMN BOSS, she runs up the creatures back, and jumps onto a rope that she had made, and that was hanging far out of her reach. Unfortunately...the creature catches her with its tail. Fuck. It sets her down, and...lets her go? But as soon as she runs, it attacks bother her and Se-joo.

Just then, Gang-du gets to the lair, and uses the rope to climb down. Below him is a pile of bones, and no kids to be seen. The creature goes by, and Hyun-seo’s hand is dangling out of its mouth. And once again by coincidence, that’s when Nam-joo wakes up and reunites with her brother. The creature runs to the waterfront, only to be greeted by...a crowd? They’re gathered there to protest the release of the dangerous chemical into the river.

It all collides at once. The creature swims towards the crowd, Gang-du runs towards the creature, Agent Yellow is released over them both, causing the creature to faint. Gan-du runs up and grabs the bodies of his daughter and See-joo from its mouth, apparently too fucking late. Shit, man. This would’ve been avoided if they just HELPED him. Fuck. He carries her body away as more chemical is released onto the flailing creature, and the chemical causes everyone else in the area to violently hemorrhage as well. Meanwhile, Nam-il and Nam-joo arrive to see their deceased niece, grieving all over again. It’s...fuck, man, it sucks.

And Gang-du is fucking PISSED NOW. He grabs a street sign and attacks the injured creature, fueled by pure rage. Nam-il joins in with Molotov cocktails as it runs away. The homeless man douses it with gasoline, and that makes it easier for Nam-il to set it on fire...until he drops the bottle. And then, Nam-joo uses it to light an arrow on fire, hitting the creature with it, and setting it ablaze. It runs to the water, only for Gang-du to stab it through the head with the street sign, finally killing it in revenge for his father and his daughter. Fucking bad-ASS. And also quite tragic, given the circumstances.

And despite the tragedy, there is one happy circumstance: Se-joo lives! In fact, Hyun-seo died saving his life, like the real goddamn hero of this story that she is. Fuck. That’s terrible, but I’m happy that her sacrifice wasn’t in vain. From here, we fast-forward to the winter, where a clean-shaven and well-kept Gang-du is is now caring for Se-joo. The news is on in the background, but the two ignore it, happily eating together after the ordeal they’ve been through.

Whoof. That’s The Host, or Gwoemul! And yeah, that’s one hell of a movie, I tell you what. For a monster movie, it’s quite dramatic, and they don’t try to humanize the monster AT ALL. And honestly, I really like it! A Pyrrhic victory at the end, but nothing wrong with that! I’ll elaorate a bit in the review! See you there!

#the host 2005 #bong joon-ho #song kang-ho #byun hee-bong #park hae-il #bae doona #go ah-sung #gwoemul #괴물 #science fiction may #sci-fi may #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #korean cinema

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halstudandruz · 5 years ago

Text

Addiction

*Not my gif*

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Requested: Yes

Prompt: Jay finds comfort in his partner during his failing marriage

Warnings: Swearing, cheating/affair

How did you get here? How did you let this happen? How could you keep letting this happen? The self deprecating thoughts ran through your mind as you laid next to Jay Halstead, both panting heavily.

“Wow. That had to be one of our best. I did that thin-“ He started still trying to catch his breath.

“We can’t do this anymore.” You hurried out.

“What?” He asked turning towards you.

“You have a wife, Jay. A wife!” You exclaimed leaning up to search for your bra and panties that were scattered around the room.

“Yeah, barely.” Jay scoffed.

“The existing marriage license begs to differ.” You spit back, slamming his underwear to his chest.

“[Y/N], come on.” He looked at you like you were over reacting.

“How are you okay with this!? How can you think this is a decent thing to be doing?” You yelled tying your robe around you and slipping out of your bed.

“You’re saying what we just did was not decent? I would definitely have to disagree and judging by the sounds-“ He continued to joke which made you angrier.

“Get the hell out Jay.” You shook your head walking into the bathroom and slamming the door. By the time you came back out your apartment was empty. Sighing heavily you collapsed onto your bed, face in your mattress, scent of him still strong on your pillows. Here’s to hoping tomorrow wouldn’t be too awkward.

————-

Walking into the district you had to compose yourself. This had been going on for over 3 months. It first happened after a hard case. You went into a little bit of a spiral as it took you back to your teenage years. Jay, being the good partner he was, was there for you, but a couple too many drinks later and here you were. There was always something about Jay that drew you towards him, but he was married. You weren’t going to let anything happen. Until it did, and then you couldn’t stop it from happening. You had sufficiently gotten a dose of Jay Halstead and without a second thought became addicted. The couple times you had woken up in his arms right before your alarm went off you found yourself wondering how it was going to end. Because there was an inevitable end for the two of you. He would call it off because he felt guilty. Kristina would find out and he would convince her to stay, promise that he wouldn’t do it again. Someone in the unit would find out and blow it up (even though you had a sneaking suspicion Trudy already knew but that’s besides the fact.) Logically, there was no way it would end well for you, and yet you kept going back. Falling into bed, begging for more. It was suddenly a regular occurrence. So the whole walking into the district the morning after, the memories of his lips, his hands all over, was something you were used to, but this time it felt different. Like maybe it really was over. Maybe it really was the end and you didn’t know how to feel about it.

Walking upstairs was nothing different. Everyone was at their desks sipping coffee, Kevin and Adam screwing with each other. Just like every other day, but for you the tension felt thick as you locked eyes with Jay. Taking a deep breath you headed towards your desk sitting your stuff down, where a hot coffee already sat. Glancing at Jay you mumbled a thank you as he gave you a small smile. It wasn’t long before you were in Jay’s truck headed to question a suspect. After 10 minutes of awkward silence Jay decided to break it,

“So..we gonna talk about this?”

“Nope.” You simply replied in a second.

“[Y/N]-“ He tried sighing heavily before you stopped him.

“We have more important things to be worrying about right now Jay.” You crossed your arms across your chest. He looked over at you annoyed, “I just..can’t talk about this right now, okay?” You bit your lip looking away from him. Guilt took over his features as he nodded focusing his attention back on the road.

————

A few days full of avoidance and obvious tension later you and the rest of the team sat around a table at Molly’s. Quietly you stirred your drink around in the bottle thoughts spaced out as you avoided Jay’s eyes. You were in withdrawal and with even the slightest bit of alcohol in you, you knew if you looked into those baby blues you would be absolutely without a doubt fucked.

“So, where’s the mrs. tonight?” Adam asked turning to Jay who was being suspiciously quiet as well.

“Not here.” Jay shrugged not looking over.

“What does she look like? It’s been so long since we’ve seen her I’ve seem to forgotten.” Antonio raised an eyebrow at Jay.

“Yeah bars aren’t really her scene I guess.” Jay answered.

“Come on man what’s going on with you two?” Antonio nudged.

“I don’t know. Just hasn’t been...for a long time.” Jay sighed.

“Seriously dude when was the last time you got laid?” Kevin joked. Jay’s eyes locked with yours before he quickly looked down at the table shrugging as he took a chug of his beer. “You don’t even know? Bro I was just joking, but clearly you need to figure some stuff out.” He looked at him pointedly.

“Look I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to break her heart and go through the whole process, but I just don’t want to be with her anymore.” He admitted, and at the words you swallowed hard.

“Marriage is hard you have to work at it.” Kim included.

“No it’s not like that. I don’t want to work at it with her. I don’t love her anymore.” He admitted.

“How do you just fall out of love with someone?” Kim asked.

“I don’t even know if we were in love. At least on my end. I mean I thought I was, but now... I don’t really know anymore. We were young, I had just gotten back and was in a bad way. We thought we knew what we were doing. Thought everyone was wrong. I don’t think I had the right idea of what love was.” He explained looking at you again.

“I need another drink. Anyone else?” You asked voice squeaking before you hurried towards the counter. Letting a deep breath out once you felt you had enough space.

“So, how long has that been going on?” Kim asked beside you make you jump.

“What?” You asked nervously.

“I’m your best friend [Y/N], I’m not a dumbass.” She gave you a look as you groaned head falling into your hands. “Look I’m not here to judge. I’m not here to make you feel bad about yourself. I’m just here to help.” She promised. Looking at her the guilt bubbled even further in the pit of your stomach.

“I’m in love with him. I’m in love with a married man. With my partner.” You stated, disbelief in your voice. “How did I let this happen. I’m a terrible fucking person.” You groaned running a hand down your face.

“You didn’t do it to hurt anybody.” She rubbed your arm.

“Do they know?” You looked over at the table making Kim chuckle.

“I could give Adam a literal ticket to Rome and he would still say it wasn’t a good enough hint. They’re clueless.” She promised.

“I gotta go home. I just don’t have the mental capacity to be in his presence right now.” You admitted weakly. Smiling sympathetically she nodded hugging you quickly,

“I’m here for whatever you need. Always.” She stated before grabbing a few drinks and heading back to the table. You followed behind her grabbing your purse to sneak your way out.

“Whoa what are you doing? It’s like 10 o’clock.” Kevin caught you. Rolling your eyes you made an excuse,

“I got a thing tomorrow so..” You tried, but trailed off when you met Jay’s eyes, and what looked like pain..? inside of them.

“Alright bye.” Kim pushed you towards the door snapping you out of it, giving you a pointed look. Anger, sadness, guilt, need, want, were all so mumbled together in your body you didn’t know which way was up. Once getting home you quickly fell into bed hoping sleep would help you gather your thoughts a little.

You were later awoken by your phone ringing beside your head.

“Hello?” You groaned not bothering to look at the caller ID, eyes still closed.

“Can I come over?” The voice on the other side asked hesitantly.

“Jay..” You whimpered suddenly wide awake, heat immediately coursing through your body at his question, looking at the clock you realized it was 4 in the morning. “This is hard enough-“ You started to lecture, but his soft husky voice cut you off.

“Please, I just..I need to see you. I need to talk to you.” He practically begged, slight whine in his voice.

“The door will be open.” You answered after a few seconds of contemplating before hanging up. 20 minutes later you were joined in bed by Jay.

“Hey.” He whispered sliding in next to you to bring you into his chest.

“No, no, no.” You pushed him away despite every bone in your body telling you not to.

“I talked to her. I told her everything.” He informed you looking away from you.

“Wow..okay. And?” You pushed.

“She wasn’t mad. Weirdly enough she wasn’t mad. She was hurt, which is understandable, but we were on the same page. There was no yelling. No fighting. It just...ended.” He looked confused as he said it out loud.

“Well...how do you feel about that?” You asked.

“Happy.” He answered simply looking at you.

“What?” You looked eyebrows raised.

“My marriage didn’t end because of you [Y/N]. It was over long before you came into the picture. We haven’t even slept in the same bed in over a year. She got..annoyed with my dreams and episodes waking her. This isn’t on you, I need you to know that.” He took your hand in his.

“Jay, that doesn’t make any of this right.” You huffed.

“I know and I know it isn’t ideal, but I love you.” He looked at you seriously.

“You said the same thing to her.” You replied.

“You’re right. I did, but this is different. I’m not some 20 year old trying to push away problems I refused I had. Trying to sink myself into alcohol and some girl that was dealing with all of it too. If you can wholeheartedly look at me and tell me this isn’t what you want, that you’re not in love with me. I will leave right now and try my hardest to pretend this didn’t happen and that I’m not head over heels for you.” He clenched his jaw, lump clear in his throat through his voice.

“You know I can’t do that.” You stated softly all the fight you had in you seemingly disappearing.

“We’re filing this week. As soon as we talk everything out. Sh-She actually told me it was okay if I wanted this,” His eyes met yours hesitantly, “and there really isn’t anything I could want more.” He admitted shoulders tensing a little waiting for reaction.

“Jay, this is a lot, it’s 4 in the morning, I’m exhausted, and this is going to involve a long conversation.” You chewed at your lip nervously.

“I understand.” He nodded swallowing visibly hard.

“Can you just stay so we can talk about this in the morning? I don’t know how this is going to work or how we’re going to make this work, but all I know is I want to wake up next to the man I love in the morning and see what happens next.” You admitted linking your fingers with his. At your words a soft smile appeared on his face as he reached out to pull you into his body.

“I’ve never been addicted to something like I am to you.” He laughed in disbelief flipping you underneath him, leaning down and kissing you with a love you didn’t know existed. One feel of his lips on yours and your addiction was fueled once again.

#jayhalsteadxreader #jay halstead imagine #jay halstead x reader #jay halstead #one chicago #chicago pd x reader #chicago pd imagine #chicago pd

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iaintyourbro · 4 years ago

Note

What’s your take on Cloud’s depression during AC? People on twitter are suddenly talking about this, again. This matter was brought up by those antis saying that we Clotis should accept the fact that Tifa wasn’t the one who “healed” Cloud and that she was also being mean and not considerate whatsoever. The funny thing is that, they also accused us of denying his depression and not understanding it. TF. Let’s be real, Tifa played a major part, in fact she gave him morale thx to her “scolding” lol

Hey anon..

Yeah, Twitter has me depressed today. I think it started last night. I was enjoying it for a bit, but the last week or two have been so bad over there with bullshit that I’m about to just take a break from the entire fandom.

My Take on AC Cloud:

I watched AC when it first came out, and I barely remember it. I remember I didn’t like what they did. Why was Cloud so depressed and brooding? Oh Aerith is in this? Interesting. I felt like it was disjointed and removed a lot of the great progress Cloud made in OG. They kept this depressed, brooding guy in KH as well... It just didn’t seem right to me. I was young, too.

At this point we also didn’t have On the Way to a Smile, Crisis Core, or anything else, really.. None of the Ultimanias were in English at this point. I also was not interested enough in going online. It was a weird time when I was playing other things and was meh on FF7 for a while. I was always a FF8 fangirl, so was jealous of FF7 at times hahaha. It got so much more attention and love.

It took me a long time to watch it again. I remember my husband watching it before Remake came out and I felt mad or sad. It was like an emotion from memory, and I didn’t know why. I can’t describe it. I saw it on the TV and was like why is this on here...

After playing Remake, I bit the bullet and ordered AC Complete, which had things tweaked and added. I also am now in my 30′s and have a lot more life experience.

Antis like to say Cloud is depressed solely because Aerith is dead and he wants to be with her. This may be one of the reasons I didn’t like AC, because when I did happen to come across some FF7 thing online, I’d see this shit and be like whatever, that makes no sense.

I enjoyed ACC. My heart was actually pounding and I was nervous/intrigued by what was going on even though I knew the story. I haven’t read all of CoT yet, but I’ve seen the excerpts online, so I know the general gist of things.

Based strictly on ACC:

Cloud is really upset that Denzel is sick. He’s obsessively looking up medical stuff to figure out how to cure it - this is shown with everything all over his desk. He’s closed in on himself to do this. I did the same shit when my dad had cancer. I did it for three fucking years while he was alive - from the time he got diagnosed to the day he was dying. Every damn day I looked up articles, research, and theories. It’s not healthy. It’s depressing and I closed myself off from the world half the time and didn’t realize it. Thank God my husband is a patient saint.

Cloud does care a lot about Tifa. His reaction alone at seeing her knocked out in the church is heart wrenching. When they’re brought back to Seventh Heaven, Cloud pops right up when he sees Tifa there. He then stays with her until she wakes up. This is a pretty good amount of time. The sun is up when he’s looking over her, and when she wakes up, it’s dark outside. He could have slipped out again without her noticing if he really wanted to. I’m sure he may have contemplated it.

She calls his ass out on how he’s acting. She knows he’s sick at this point. This was huge for Tifa who’s not confrontational. He clearly doesn’t want to completely disconnect, or he would have gotten rid of his cell phone voluntarily. He doesn’t. They actually show him checking his messages.

Ultimately Cloud leaves because he ends up with Geostigma. That’s the last straw. He can’t face the fact that he’s going to die and what it’ll do to his family, so he leaves. Listen, I think the only reason my dad didn’t try to leave when he was diagnosed was because he had nowhere to go and by time he started verbalizing wanting to leave, he was physically unable to. Yes, I remember him being angry because he was hospitalized again and he told my mom he was going to get an apartment by himself so she didn’t know when he was getting bad. It’s very hurtful to even think it, and even worse when you know they don’t actually mean it... They do it because they don’t want to see their family hurt.

The setup he has at the church as his “living” area is super depressing. It looks like something a homeless person sets up. He legit was going to wait to die. He had a lot of knowledge about this, so he figured there was nothing he could do.

Marlene calls Cloud out on his bullshit too. Cloud admits to her he doesn’t think he can take care of anybody. Marlene Barrret quotes him and it’s cute. I think Cloud appreciated it and I think it made him think.

In ACC, Cloud has a short conversation with Aerith. Aerith seems almost annoyed with him like “wtf is your deal, dude” kind of attitude. Zack shows up when he’s bloody and half dead fighting Sephiroth to encourage him. There are scenes with him talking at Zack’s grave and saying he couldn’t keep his promise to him. He flat out tells Aerith he wants to be forgiven. He doesn’t say I miss you, I want to be with you, none of that happens. In fact, it’s mainly her telling him HE needs to start doing some forgiving - ultimately to himself.

When Cloud is in limbo - between living and dying - Cloud says “Mom.” Very romantic, I know. Then Zack and Aerith have a conversation very similar to a couple that’s going to adopt a child and they tell Cloud he’s too big for them. This is the “I see the light” and the person on the other side is like “nah bro go back, not your time yet.”

He wakes up, Tifa and crew is there, he smiles at Tifa... and it’s a happy ending. He sees both Zack AND Aerith at the end, and they walk off in to the light together all cute and shit.

Adding in Things from the Novels/Interviews/Thoughts:

The devs have said Cloud was happy with his family and that scared him. The happier he got, the more scared he got. We know he cherishes everything. He especially cherishes the family he has.

Cloud’s depression spiral started from the high anxiety of having a happy life and Elmyra asking him to deliver flowers to Aerith’s grave. Now, I have my feelings about this, but when I look at it logically, I don’t think Elmyra ultimately does this out of spite. I actually don’t think Elmyra thinks Cloud and Aerith were a thing - so it wasn’t that either. I think she knew Cloud was friends with her and maybe he’d want to deliver some flowers - to give him some business.

This flower delivery reminds Cloud of what he thinks is his failure to protect somebody else. At this point he has his memories of what happened to Nibelheim, his mother, Tifa, and Zack. The Sector 7 plate drop and Aerith are the most recent “failures”. So this brings up Aerith.

Then Denzel comes along and he’s an orphan because his parents were... yeah... killed during the Sector 7 plate collapse. Double ouch. But Cloud and Tifa are going to take care of him.

Tifa herself has a lot of guilt because of the same reasons, she just deals with it very differently. Tifa tells Cloud to bring Denzel right home. She can make amends by adopting him in to her family and caring for him. Cloud thinks Aerith brought Denzel to him (Tifa corrects him). This is a Cloud thing, it’s not romantic. Cloud doesn’t know the guilt Tifa feels. He legit thinks all of this is his fault. Tifa’s guilt stems from the fact that Shinra drops the plate because Avalanche was in Sector 7 - she was in Avalanche. She feels guilty about Aerith because she thinks its her fault Aerith followed them to Don Corneo’s mansion. The thing is, Aerith doesn’t blame EITHER of them - I just wish they’d cover a Tifa/Aerith conversation about this as well...

Cloud and Tifa do have fights in the novels from what I understand, but it’s because he’s acting weird. He feels bad hiding the fact that he’s been going to the church a lot, and I think that does turn in to a whole LTD debate. So you can take this as Tifa is jealous that he’s going to the church all the time or she’s upset that he is hiding from her.

In the novels, Tifa has a breakdown when they go see the church after they defeat Sephiroth. This is where you get to see how badly Aerith’s death impacted her. So my thought is... Cloud thinks bringing her to the church hurts her because of her feelings, not because she’s jealous. I think Cloud is oblivious to the jealousy thing, honestly. Don’t think it’s a thought in his mind.

I honestly don’t know the real reason why he goes to the church to hide. I think this is another point of fight with both sides. My personal take is there was nowhere else he could go and be alone. Most of the stuff had been destroyed. It was still close by, so he could still do his work and keep an eye on things/be nearby.

There is a quote that is taken to be literal, but I think it’s just a way to say it wouldn’t have mattered who Cloud was “with.” Yes, Tifa and Cloud have issues, and I believe the quote goes “Perhaps it would have gone better with Aerith, but I think her responsibility is too great. Maybe the children will help them with their issues.” This isn’t exact, but it’s the jist of what they said. The children do help them - that’s the point of the scenes with Marlene, to slap him silly with reality.

“Oh but he sees Aerith when the building is falling.” Yes, you know why? Because he thinks that’s going to happen to Tifa. This is a “NO I’M NOT LETTING THIS HAPPEN.” moment. On top of it, I don’t think anybody would be right again if they saw this happen. If my neighbor was impaled by a large sword in their back, I’d be messed up from it. I don’t really know my neighbors. He’s not replaying this death scene in his head cuz he misses Aerith, he’s playing it in his head because it’s traumatic and he doesn't want to see this happen to Tifa. Especially Tifa.

It’s been put in Ultimanias time and time again that Cloud’s feelings are for Tifa. I went through my Ultimania - which only covers OG - and it doesn’t say anything about Cloud’s side of the CA argument. It does say how he feels about Tifa in the Lifestream, though.

The “He wants to die for her, see, that’s why he’s going to the church and waiting.” No, he doesn’t want to die or else he wouldn’t be so depressed. Just thinking this is fucked up on so many levels. If he really wanted to die and be with her, he’d be happy he got an incurable illness, I’d think... Cloud leaves Tifa and them because he doesn’t want to hurt him with him dying and not being able to stop it.

The other thing that would be... weird... Zack is in the Lifestream with Aerith. They walk off together for a reason. I don’t think she’s going to just drop Zack for Cloud since the whole reason she was initially interested in Cloud was because of the similarities to Zack. He had the same sword, the same clothes, and in OG had some of the same mannerisms. I noticed the dropped the squatting in Remake - the random squatting.

The ending of ACC implies that now that Geostigma is cured and Sephiroth is (hopefully) gone for good, Cloud can be happy. I’m not saying that his smile fixes everything. I’m sure that him and Tifa had to work on things, but you can see in DoC that things seem to be much better - he’s more upbeat and happy. He’s more dorky, like he should be.

Sorry this is long. I have a lot of feelings about all this stuff today. I’ve been seeing the fights over on Twitter about it and.. yeah. Cloud is depressed because of the fact he’s dying, his kid is dying, and he can’t seem to do anything right in his mind.

Thanks for the ask.

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spnreactions · 4 years ago

Text

15x15: Gimme Shelter

Alright guys! It’s time!

Just a heads up, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, these posts usually come out later in the day, because even if I watch it live, I tend to do my reactions live, but then write up the full review later. In case you were wondering why the posts don’t usually come right away.

Anyways! Let’s get down to it!

Oof. Yep. We’re definitely on the serious track now, with a then like this.

Also, I didn’t say this before, but I really love the “then” and “now” openings for this season. It’s beautiful with the Impala like that. <3

Oof. Interesting flashback to Jack breaking out of the Ma’lak Box.

...ew. Maybe it doesn’t taste as gross as it looks, but it looks gross.

Jesus girls, chill.

Okay, I already like the pastor.

I’m watching live this week, and I’m in a FB group that’s commenting as we watch, and someone just pointed out that the pastor is Dr. Sexy MD!! Man I love when actors return like that.

Ope. Connor’s gonna die. Poor kid. He seemed nice.

...that teddy bear definitely wasn’t there when he was walking over before, but okay.

UMMMMM...TALKING TEDDY!

NO THANK YOU!!!

I HAVE A DOLL THING!!! NOT COOL!!!

Hmmm...gotta be honest, I’m not sure how I’m feeling about Cohen’s directing on this one. :/

It had a talking teddy bear. I bet it is.

Darkness. Nice pun.

“He’s not that funny.” XD XD

Dean you just want to go to Atlantic City whether Amara’s there or not don’t even deny it. XD

Cas’s confused face will always be one of the cutest things ever. <3

I love the way they’re all walking down the hallway together. It’s such a simple thing, but I like the way they’re positioned and everything. Point: Matt Cohen.

SCENE FROM THE PROMO!

Sure they can.

“She and I used to have a thing” DEAN!! XD XD

HIIIII JACK!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Dude, let me tell you, I am so ready for some quality Cas and Jack content.

I love all the different reactions here. Dean is trying to get Cas and Jack out of the house, which Jack is super excited about, and Cas is very not into. XD

...wait, did they not tell him about Mrs. Butters? Or did they just not mention her name?

Cas looking at Sam like “help me out here” and Sam being like “sorry but no”. XD

Oh come on Cas. Look how excited Jack is! I love how enthusiastic he gets over every hunt. It’s adorable and I love him. (Yeah you’re gonna be hearing that a lot. XD)

Cas is like “you’re kidding me right?”

“Highway to Heaven” XD XD

THE SCENE!!

MY BABY IS SO EXCITED I LOVE HIS LITTLE SMILE AHHHH!!!!

No matter how Cas is against going to deal with something so small fry when they’re in the middle of something so huge, he will still smile affectionately at his son, because he loves him. <3 <3 <3

“Blue’s a good color on you.” XD XD <3 <3

“Agent Swift.” XD XD XD XD

“Agent Lovato.” I’M DEAD THESE TWO ARE THE BEST!!! XD XD XD XD

HE’S HOLDING HIS BADGE UPSIDE DOWN JUST LIKE CAS DID ON HIS FIRST HUNT I’M DEAD!! XD XD XD <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

A BABY YODA REFERENCE?! This show oh my god. XD XD XD

“I just graduated from CSI.” JACK OH MY GOD YOU ADORABLE LITTLE BEAN!!! XD XD <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Okay, I love watching Cas and Jack together, and I love watching them go on a hunt, but guys, could you at least TRY to be subtle? “Did you find tiny bags with chicken bones? Smell any sulfur? Feel cold?” Like, NO you two. XD XD

The cop lady is just like “what the heck is wrong with these two?”

Oh. “Liar” isn’t a seven deadly sin thing. Maybe I was wrong about that.

“For my stepson, Ronald.” JACK!! XD XD XD <3 <3 <3 I love him so much oh my god.

For someone who’s new to hunting, that was actually an awesome cover. <3 <3

Wait...speakers? Maybe it isn’t something supernatural after all?

“Almost demonic.” Okay so that was a little more subtle.

Okay Cohen, I take back what I said about your directing. That was a good shot of the stop sign.

I love the way Jack’s sitting in the back of the truck. <3 <3

Learning from Sam. <3 <3 <3

Cas, there is no such thing as too many cats. His face when he says that though. XD

THAT ENTIRE SEQUENCE ABOUT PARENT/GUARDIAN PERMISSION I’M DYING HOLY FRICK!!! XD XD XD XD <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

That was both the cutest and funniest thing ever and I just...I LOVE THEM AHHHH!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

I feel like Cas is upset though. Like, he’s extra frustrated with the whole Amara and God thing. Not that I blame him of course. He’s just got a certain...coldness to him in this episode. But I like how it disappears whenever he’s talking to Jack. <3 <3 Good acting on Misha’s part.

For example, that little soft smile when he looks over at Jack logging in to the social media account is so sweet and so cute and so undeniably fatherly. <3 <3

Okay, gotta be honest: British demon? Totally hot.

"Why is he talking like that?” he whispers, very loudly in a way that the party he is speaking of can definitely hear him. XD XD <3 <3

“Because Zack has style.”

WAIT!!!

He’s not ACTUALLY British??!!

Oh my god that shouldn’t have made me laugh, but it TOTALLY did.

AND he made the “Highway to Heaven” reference just like Dean did!

I love this demon holy frick. XD XD

Cas’s and Jack’s confused expressions at his sudden change. XD

“I would watch that show.” XD XD

How this show manages to introduce a new character, however brief, and give him so much personality when we’re six episodes from the end is beyond my understanding, but man, it is one of the many reasons I love this show. <3

Ha! “Demons are get, humans are just crazy” ring a bell?

Ha! Of course Rowena has that philosophy. God I miss her.

“You’re a deviant soul corrupted by Hell.” Ah, Cas, ever quick with the logical wit. XD

Cas’s “and we’re done”. XD

Zack is so desperate.

And now, Zack is all of us during COVID. XD

I love Zack. Take him with you. XD <3

Oof. Too true, Cas. Too true.

Awww...Jack.

AWWW! Cas!!! Knowing his son wanted to be busy and help people. I LOVE THEM!!!

THOSE SMILES AT EACH OTHER OH MY GOD SO CUTE!!! <3 <3 <3

She’s gonna steal the money.

Yep. Classy lady. *eye roll*

Ope. And now she’s gonna die.

AHHHH!!

OKAY I TAKE THAT BACK!! BRING THE TEDDY BEAR BACK!! SCARY MASK IS WORSE!!!

My mom and I both screamed jesus christ.

“Focused.” Interesting phrasing, but okay.

I like the way this phone call is happening. The back and forth is cool, and I like their easy talk with each other.

Dean can’t just give straight advice. Ever. “Drink the Kool-Aid and sign up.” XD

Oof. Jesus.

Clearly Dean wasn’t talk about the Amara thing.

Wait, this was over a two-day timeline? Huh. Okay then.

Dean that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you stop.

“Messengers of God’s Destruction”.

No, but did any of us?

“Least this time it’s not you or me.” Yeah, yet.

That look Sam gives him means he had the same thought I did.

Okay sorry, I am super not religious, and the God speak makes me want to barf.

HA! JACK! XD

See, this is why you have to give straight advice, Dean. I know that’s hard for you, being your chaotic bi self and all, but angels tend to take things literally, bud. XD

Jack you dork. XD <3

Geez girl. Be nice.

Jack whispering again to try to be sneaky I love him. <3

So that’s a yes then.

Jesus. She’s a b***h. I don’t like her.

That little head nod OMG!! <3 <3

I LOVE THE CAS AND JACK TEAM UP THEY’RE SO CUTE!! <3 <3

Oh. That was a sweet hug.

My Mom: It’s him. It’s the pastor. He’s the bad guy.

Oh! Greed! So this is a seven deadly sins thing!

Ummm....that’s a little weird. Maybe this is as monster after all, with the tech working like that?

But if it was a monster, why is she set up like that?

Okay no, I take that back. I watch Criminal Minds, and this totally looks like something a serial killer would do. Especially the timer thing.

“The new guy’s hot.” MEEEEE. That girl is me. XD <3 <3 <3

EVERY. SINGLE. THING. JACK. DOES. IS. SO. STINKING. ADORABLE. <3 <3 <3 <3

Boyfriend and girlfriend, I’m guessing?

Awww...baby. :(

Awww...Jack. :( :(

Okay but, like, we’ve learned now, right? Don’t give her your whole story please and thank you.

Oh okay. That’s okay.

This girl is...off. Is it the acting, or is the character actually weird? I honestly can’t tell.

Oof. Daddy issues alert.

“I have more dads than most.” AWWW!!! XD XD XD <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Wait baby no, you’re not letting them down stop that. :( :( :(

Ew. “Put your trust in God, not people.” Now I hate her. Trust me honey, the last person Jack--or anybody, for that matter--should be putting his faith in is God.

Oh okay then.

Ha! I love Cas’s subtle little sass with the “faith-based community”.

Oh. A.V. and tech. TV screen. Bingo.

Yeah I don’t think it’s the pastor. He seems too innocent.

...except he’s definitely not getting any father-of-the-year awards. But what else is new with this show.

“It’s complicated.” What are you talking about?? Just say yes, Cas.

Awww...soft side of Cas. <3

Yeah no. It’s not the pastor. There’s no way. It must be that Brother Rudy dude.

Ha! Awkward. XD

That’s actually really nice. I like that idea, having a church community (sorry--faith-based community) helping other people like that. It’s sweet.

Oh. Connor was gay. That honestly totally makes sense. Poor guy. :(

I’m glad the pastor was accepting of him though! <3 <3

Awww...that’s a good line. “A saint is a sinner who keeps trying.”

I really hope it’s not the pastor. I like him.

My Mom: Wait, have we just never seen them put gas in the car before? I had no idea it was behind the license plate!

I’m thinking back and I didn’t know that either, so this must be the first time we’ve actually seen them, like, open it, and that’s HILARIOUS to me. XD

OOOOH WAIT!! This is where they see Amara, according to the promo photos!!

Oh heeeey girl.

Wow she looks really pretty with that snow in her hair.

She...she...smelled them?

“You have a very distinctive musk.” “Thank you.” ARE THESE TWO STILL PINING FOR EACH OTHER? XD XD XD

I like this Amara. She’s fun.

My family and I always make kielbasa with our pierogis (I had no idea that that was how that was spelled, btw), so pierogis without the kielbasa feels wrong. XD

Jensen’s facial expressions say so much all the time and I love it. XD

Oh boy.

NOOOOOO!

WHAT IS IT WITH SUPERNATURAL AND FINGERS ON THIS SHOW JESUS!!

Okay, WHO is the timer for?? Like, is it just some form of slow torture?? Because it’s not like it’s being shown to anyone other than her.

Ooh. I like that he’s listing off all of the different names for God. Good pastor. Please don’t be a bad guy.

HIS FAMOUS “hello” OH MY GOD I LOVE HIM SO MUUUUUUUUCH!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

...oof. Ummm....

Awww.... Poor baby. :( :( :(

AWWW!! Dad Cas to the rescue!! <3 <3 <3

Jack looking at his dad omg. <3 <3

I already like this speech from Cas. I can tell it’s gonna be good.

“I guess I found a family.” <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

JACK’S LITTLE SMILE!!!

“And I became a father.” THERE IT IS!!! THERE. IT. IS!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

THE WAY JACK LOOKS AT HIM AFTER HE SAYS THAT AHHHH!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

AWWWW!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

GOOD SPEECH CAS!!! GOOD SPEECH!!! WAY TO MAKE YOUR SON FEEL BETTER!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

Awww...I really like this pastor. <3

FRIIIICK.

Oh sh**. There’s the time for everyone else.

JESUS!!!

Yeah okay. This is 100% a human being’s doing. A monster wouldn’t bother.

Jack running over to turn it off right away. Ever the hero. <3 <3

The pastor seemed too surprised to have done it, which, for me, puts pastor in the clear. Thank goodness.

True, but also he sucks, so help us out Amara.

Okay, I’m sorry, but quick side note. Everyone keeps saying he’s “very nearly done”, but when Dean looked in the telescope, he didn’t see anything. I thought that meant he was done. Unless it only reaches so far? I guess it probably only reaches so far in terms of other dimensions.

Sure there is.

“Our pal Jack.” That’s such a weird thing to hear him say, but okay. XD

Also I’m not sure how I feel about them telling Amara about Jack. Like, I like her, and I feel like she’s gonna help, but what if she doesn’t? She could, whether intentionally or unintentionally, wind up seeing Chuck and mentioning Jack to him, and if she does, that ruins the whole plan. But, on the other hand, I guess they have to earn her trust, and keeping details from her would definitely make that harder. But I still don’t like it. It puts my baby in danger. Again. But anyways.

Oh. Just like that?

“I get he’s your brother” Dean says oh so casually, as if he hasn’t literally moved heaven and hell to protect and save his own brother.

“Squirrely weirdo” XD XD

Oh. The Big Bang. New theory. I like it. XD

Sure he can.

Ummm...yeah, Amara. You’re a fool. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Maybe he cares about you a little, but definitely not as much as you’re giving him credit for. Not right now anyways.

Wait...she actually said no? No way. I thought they were gonna be able to convince her. Guess my initial theory was wrong... What does that mean though? Like...what now?

Jack’s gonna come slamming through that door, according to the promo.

Called it!

Wait...why did Jack slam through it while Cas is just...casually standing there? You’re an angel, Castiel. XD

“Lust” It is based on “Seven”! I love it!

Welp...guess it’s not him.

Wait, so we are walking away with a no? That never happens to us!

THERE we go. Go get her Dean.

Is it just me, or has Sam been, like, really not involved this episode?? Jared’s had, like, six lines. XD

OH! Okay, the “then” makes sense now.

Oof. You tell her, Dean.

That she sucks. That’s what she wanted. Because she does.

Wait NO WAY! That’s what I said! Kind of, anyways.

Woooow. That’s actually pretty messed up, Amara. But it makes sense for why Mary was such a terrible character and why I hated her so much. She is only human. A sucky human, too.

Is it, though?

“That you could finally start to accept your life.” Okay, that’s actually kind of cool, and that’s awesome on the writers’ part for adding in that explanation of why everything went the way it did. Nice.

But also, that’s pretty messed up Amara.

Oooh. We’re about to get some awesome Jensen acting, aren’t we?

Jensen’s trying not to cry face is so incredible wow.

Awww....poor Dean.

Jesus Amara. A little sympathy?

OOF. I love that quiet fury that Dean has.

OOH! He got her!

YES DEAN!!! TELL HER!

“Well now who’s living in a dreamworld?” ...ouch. But true.

...oh boy. That was a bold-faced lie. But so brilliantly told, Dean.

After ALL THAT, you’re going to THINK ABOUT IT? Really??!!

But hey! I KNEW IT!! BEAUTIIFUL acting moment on Jensen’s part!! AWESOME scene. <3 <3 <3 <3

Oh! It’s the girl. I’m calling it.

Yep. Daughter.

I KNEW SHE WAS BEING WEIRD!

See?! Super religious people are crazy!!

Go Cas and Jack go!

Ope. Cas is gonna heal, and Jack is gonna attack. Go boys go!

Cas is gonna heal in front of all those people oof.

Girl has ISSUES.

Wow, this girl is WAAAAY too religious. Chill.

Yeah, cause you need help.

HEY!!! NOT COOL SYLVIA!!!

Oof. Yeah nice try, but that’s not gonna work.

I love how Jack just takes it and then heals all bada** like “yeah sorry but no”, but then he still looks up with the kindest and most innocent expression and I love it. <3

Meanwhile Cas is like “yeah I’m not having any of this.” XD XD

Does...does he always have to say sleep when he does it? Cause he didn’t used to, and for some reason, that was hilarious. XD

Jack’s little nod. So cute. <3 <3

Fixed her fingers, but couldn’t wash the blood off. XD

Yeah ummm...how you gonna explain that one, Cas?

At least pastor dude seems nice. And, like, being the good kind of religious, he’ll probably be totally cool with the angel thing.

Wait, pastor dude is still processing this when morning hits? Okay then.

“Not a very good one.” WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! You are literally the BEST angel, thank you very much.

Man that girl is MESSED UP.

And Jack still feels sorry for her, my baby. :( <3 <3

Ah. Nothing like your daughter becoming a murderer for you to finally step into a proper role of fatherhood.

WAIT A SECOND! IT’S ZACK!!

Dude waaait. What does that mean?? That’s, like, a really random thing. Does that mean she’s gonna come back? Or that Zack is gonna come back? I’m not sure what that means. That seems so random! I DEMAND ANSWERS SUPERNATURAL!

The way Cas looks at Jack after the pastor says that about looking after her better. Cas I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re the best father Jack could’ve asked for, okay?

Awww! Cas and Jack talk time!! <3 <3

Cas is trying so hard to help him I love him. <3

NO YOU DON’T STOP!! THIS IS WHAT FAMILY IS FOR!! WHHHHYYY are all you Winchesters like this.

Wait. WAIT! He was hiding something?! I hate it when Sam’s right.

Wait WHAT?!

HOLD ON!!!

NOOOOO NO NO NO NO NO!!! NO! JACK NO!!! That is NOT ALLOWED!!!

HOLD ON A SECOND!!! NO!!! THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING WTF??!!!

Wait wait wait. A bomb?? Like, just like S11?? Because no. No no no. We’re not doing this again. JACK YOU ARE NOT GONNA DIE WTF??!!

THIS THROWS ALL OF MY THEORIES OUT THE WINDOW NOOOO!!! IT CAN’T BE JACK!!! I REFUSE!!! :’( :’( :’( :’( :’(

WE JUST GOT YOU BACK!!! WE CAN’T LOSE YOU AGAIN!!! :’( :’( :’( :’( :’( :’( :’(

Cas’s face is all of my emotional screeching right now.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN “Don’t tell Sam and Dean.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME JACK??!! THESE ARE YOUR DADS!! THEY NEED TO KNOW!!! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!!! CAS WON’T LET YOU!!!

JACK NOOOO!!! STOP IT WITH ALL OF YOUR GUILT! GOD you’re such a Winchester!! NO!! DEAN BAKED YOU A DANG BIRTHDAY CAKE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! YOU DON’T NEED TO DIE FOR HIM TO FORGIVE YOU!!!

I’M HAVING SUCH A HARD TIME TYPING RIGHT NOW WTF IS THIS SCENE??!! :’( :’( :’( :’( :’( :’(

Me too, Cas!!!

SEE JACK??!! YOU CAN’T!!

NO! WHAT IS THAT?!

NO!! STOP IT!!! STOP IT YOU STUPID IDIOT NO!!! YOU CANNOT SACRIFICE YOURSELF LIKE THIS!!! THEY WON’T LET YOU!!!

Cas tell Sam and Dean. Please.

Oh WAIT! We have, like, two minutes left craaap. This is the scene from the promo. Cas is gonna say Sam and Dean need to know something and then it’s gonna end. I’m calling it right now.

YES CAS!! GO CAS GO!! SAVE YOUR SON!!!

Yep. Here it is. It’s gonna cut off.

GODDA**IT!! I HATE IT WHEN I’M RIGHT!!!

WHY YOU GOTTA DO ME LIKE THAT SUPERNATURAL??!! You can’t just...DROP A BOMB like that and then NOT RESOLVE IT GOD DA**IT!! SCREW YOU WRITERS!!!

AHHHHH!!! I NEED NEXT WEEK RIGHT NOW!!! AHHHHH!!! THIS IS SO NOT OKAY!!!!

If I deny it ever happened, then it didn’t happen, right? Jack and Cas solved the case, Sam and Dean got Amara’s help, and they all went home and had family dinner, okay? New ending. There we go. Problem solved. Because NO!

Well...f**k. I guess it’s review time?? But JESUS CHRIST!!! Okay, okay, I need a minute. Please hold.

(Several Hours Later)

Okay. I’m back. Let me start with something kind of amusing. Several minutes after the episode ended, while I was still trying to process everything, this interaction happened:

Me, breathing heavily and dying inside: Mom, you do not seem as distressed about this as I am.

My Mom: I am never as distressed as you are about anything in this show. It’s impossible for me to reach that level of distress. I don’t know how you do it.

So...if you didn’t already realize how emotionally connected to this show I am, now you do. XD

That said, let’s get down to it.

God, there is soooo much to unpack with that episode, and even crazier, it honestly all comes from that last five minutes. Let me start with this:

I really enjoyed this episode! It can’t quite beat last week’s episode--but, honestly, I don’t know if any of the other episodes will be able to, except for maybe the finale--but it was good! I had a few qualms about Matt Cohen’s directing, but he definitely had some strong moments, so it wasn’t bad. And, admittedly, at first, I felt like the pacing of the episode was kind of slow, and switching back and forth between the Winchesters and Cas and Jack felt kind of choppy for a bit, but as the episode played out, I realized why. This was a full-on set-up episode. While last week gave us a chance to be silly with the boys and see some beautiful family bonding, this was the one that set us up for what’s sure to be heavy and plot-filled coming up. (And yes, I know next week’s episode is much more of a monster-of-the-week, but 15x17 is when things will likely really get down to it, so I’m sure there’ll still be some important plot stuff next week--especially since we need a resolution to the Cas and Dean talk). Between the boys having to find and trick Amara, and Cas and Jack bonding and working with each other again, plus that big reveal at the end, it’s setting up the next string of episodes to be fast-paced and intense as they finally start to take on God.

With that said, I really loved being able to see Jack and Cas together again. It’s been so long since we’ve seen them really spend time together and bond, and watching them play off each other and be father and son was adorable and hilarious. Plus, I just love Jack with every fiber of my being, so that makes everything better. XD <3

I also really loved Dean’s interactions with Amara. I mentioned this already, but that scene, where he’s talking about Mary...that was some INCREDIBLE acting on Jensen’s part. He’s always been really good at that subtle rage, especially when it’s also filled with sadness, and this scene was no different. And I’m glad that they did finally get Amara on board; however, I’m a little concerned with what she’s going to do when she finds out he lied. Especially after how worried she seemed to be. AND SPEAKING OF LYING!!

THOSE LAST FIVE MINUTES! HOLY SHIT!!

Okay, so I’ve had some time to think about this and talk it out with some people, so I’m just gonna roll with the thoughts as they go through my brain. First of all, that is a big no a thousand times over. Jack, you cannot die. Second of all, that reveal was very well done on the writer’s part. After such a nonchalant episode--in terms of pace, that is--to have that in the last five minutes, AND to end with that cliffhanger, was a beautiful way to keep us fans guessing, invested, and wanting more. But also, SCREW YOU!

That said, as freaked out as I was--and honestly, I’m still pretty worried--I really don’t think Jack’s going to die. There’s no way. Initially, my theory left Cas and Jack standing at the end of all of this. After CW said that thing about one of the main characters not surviving to the end, I thought it was gonna be Dean, but I can also see how it could be both Sam and Dean. However, in any case, Cas and Jack, in my various theories, always end up on top. So Jack saying he’s going to die in order to kill Chuck and Amara TOTALLY threw me. BUT! After talking it through with someone else, I seriously doubt it’s going to happen.

First of all, Cas is about to go look for another way, and, as we’ve seen in the past, they always find another way. After all, this is the Winchesters (and yes, Cas counts, obviously).

Second of all, they’re telling us this five episodes before the end, but Jack is, supposedly, completing his final ritual in 15x17. That leaves three episodes of unaccounted time, and if Jack is really going to die to kill Chuck and Amara, there’s no way they can stretch that over three episodes. Therefore, his dads are bound to stop it. To FURTHER that, 15x17 has Jack and Dean heading out together to complete Jack’s final ritual while Sam and Cas stay behind, which means that, once Jack does whatever he’s supposed to do, Dean is bound to find out what Billie’s true intentions are, and I’m convinced that he’s not going to be okay with it. Because here’s the thing. Between Sam and Dean, Jack is the one that Dean still needs the most forgiveness from. And, kind of like what happened in Last Holiday, the second Dean realizes Jack is in actual danger, he’s not going to let anything happen to him. And I’m hoping that the resulting protectiveness will give Dean the chance to tell Jack that he does forgive him, which will hopefully release some of Jack’s guilt complex and give them the ability to find another way.

THIRD of all, (and I mentioned this in my reactions), this whole “becoming the bomb to kill the cosmic entities” is an exact mirror of what Dean tried to do in S11, and we saw how that went. But the thing is, why would the writers play the exact same storyline again unless they were intending to parallel it and connect it to Jack and Dean’s relationship now? When Dean didn’t detonate in S11, he got his mom back, but then Jack killed her. Now, Jack is ready to detonate himself as a bomb because of having killed Mary, and Dean’s bound to stop him, especially after that conversation with Amara. Maybe this is all wishful thinking, but I really, sincerely feel like (and hope) that Jack isn’t going to make that sacrifice. Because, on top of all of that, while I love the family that is Team Free Will 2.0, this show still is, as it always has been, about Sam and Dean, and, as such, it should end with them too. So the odds of Jack being the “be all end all” without Sam and Dean’s help? Super slim.

So, to sum that up, as worried as I am about my baby, I really really really think (and god I hope I’m right) that that’s not the way this story will end. There has to be more to it.

With all of that addressed, let’s talk about WHATEVER it is that Cas is about to tell Dean. For me, there are two things it could be:

First, there’s the obvious answer based on the episode itself. Cas is about to tell Dean that Jack has to die in order to kill Chuck and Amara. However, I don’t think that’s it, because that seems too easy and unrealistic. If Cas tells Dean that now, then why would Dean take him to do his final ritual in 15x17 (I guess this is what happens when you read too much promotional material lol)? And even if he does, the next episode seems to be very Sam and Dean centric, and Cas dropping a bomb like that would not allow for a Sam and Dean centric episode, at least not when it’s putting their whole big mission in a different light. Plus, on top of all of that, that Cas and Jack conversation is an exact parallel of the conversation the two of them had about Cas making his deal with the Empty back in Season 14. Cas told Jack not to tell Sam and Dean, and Jack never did, even though his life is at risk. So Cas telling Sam and Dean about Jack now, knowing that Jack kept that secret for him, might break a certain level of trust between the two of them, and I don’t think Cas would do that. Which brings me to my second and, in my opinion, more likely theory.

Cas is about to tell Dean about his deal with the Empty. While this would also be a huge bomb to drop in the middle of this big fight, and in the middle of all this chaos, it technically doesn’t directly correlate with their fight with Chuck. However, if something does happen to Cas, that’s something that Sam and Dean do need to know, because it’ll affect how they handle things and what they do, in a lot of ways. At the same time, I feel like, if Cas is gonna do a whole “go it alone” thing, it’s important that he tells them before he leaves, because there’s no telling what could happen, to any of them, when they’re not all together, and being as open as possible before separating like that tends to be a good idea. It seems like Cas might finally be learning.

That said, I could be wrong all around. It could be neither of those things. It could be both of those things. Honestly, there’s no way to know for sure until we get to next week. However, after a crazy ending like that, I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Supernatural has in store for us next.

My Rating: 8/10

#my review #my reactions #spn #season 15 #spn season 15 #spn spoilers #15x15 #gimme shelter #sam winchester #dean winchester #castiel #jack kline #cas and jack #sam and dean #spn 15x15 #spn reactions #ratings #personal

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longitudinalwaveme · 4 years ago

Text

The Amazing James Jesse

The Flash stars in: The Amazing James Jesse

Dramatis Personae

Barry Allen, the dorky, chronically late police scientist who is secretly the Flash

Patty Spivot, Barry’s coworker, who is just as awkward as he is

Mirror Master, the larcenous Lord of the Looking Glass, alias Sam Scudder

Heat Wave, a dimwitted, loyal pyromaniac, alias Mick Rory

Captain Boomerang, the rude, crude, and socially unacceptable Australian appropriator, alias George “Digger” Harkness

The Trickster, a charming con artist with weaponized yo-yos, alias James Jesse

Script

Act I

(Enter Barry Allen and Patty Spivot, from opposite directions. Barry is on the phone, and Patty is carrying a tray full of things )

Barry: (On the phone) Don’t worry, Iris. I won’t be late, I promise. Mmm-hmm. Uh-huh. No, I didn’t forget that Bart’s going to his friend’s house. Mmm-hmm. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes, I remembered to water the flowers this morning. (Pause) That’s terrific, honey! I knew that article was a winner. You’re an amazing- (runs into Patty, knocking tray out of her hands and dropping his phone). Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Miss...um….what’s your name again? I’m sorry, I’m terrible with names. (Patty is on her knees, trying to pick up the mess. Barry joins her, and they clean up the mess as they talk.) Here, let me help you. I’m really sorry. That was my fault. I’m-

Patty: You’re Barry Allen, the chief forensic scientist of the CCPD!

Barry: Yes, I am. Actually, as far as I knew, I was their only forensic scientist. What’s your name? I know I should know it, but like my wife says, I’d probably lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on.

Patty: I’m Patty Spivot, the newest member of the forensics department. I’ve only been here for a week, so it’s not surprising you don’t know my name. I was just transferred here from Coast City.

Barry: Nice to meet you. (Stands up and helps her to her feet) Did we clean up everything?

Patty: Everything but your phone.

Barry: Oh. Right. I’ll get that. (Picks up phone) Welcome to CCPD’s forensics lab, Ms. Spivot. I promise, I’m not this much of a klutz most of the time.

Patty: Anything else I should know, Mr. Allen?

Barry: Well, I’m always late, Captain Singh’s bark is worse than his bite, Detective Chyre acts tough but is nice once you get to know him, and literally running into me is probably the most exciting thing that will happen to you in the forensics department. Central City doesn’t have much crime for such a large city, and the crimes that do happen usually don’t require much forensic examination, because the perpetrators often don’t try to hide their guilt. So before you ask, no, you probably won’t work on a Rogues case. I never have, and I know the Flash personally.

Patty: Is that why CCPD only has two forensic scientists?

Barry: Pretty much.

Patty: That would explain the fact that I was transferred to such a large city despite the fact that I don’t have a whole lot of experience.

Barry: Well, if you need help, you can just ask me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Ms. Spivot, I should probably call my wife back before she starts to worry about me.

Patty: No problem. Good-bye, Mr. Allen.

Barry Allen: Good-bye, Ms. Spivot. It was nice to meet you. (Patty exits, Barry pulls out phone) Hello? Iris? (Pause) Yes, it’s me. I accidentally dropped my phone. What were you saying about that article again? (Pause) Oh, that’s right, it got on the front page. Congratulations, sweetheart! Mmm-hmm. Uh-huh. (Pause) No, everything’s been quiet lately. Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. All right. I love you, honey. Good-bye. (Puts phone away) I really wish I hadn’t lost my super speed. It’s nice to know that Wally and Jay have my back, but I miss running around as the Flash all the time. Oh, well. I can help people as police scientist Barry Allen just as well as I did as the Flash. (Barry walks to chair, sits down, and starts mixing chemicals) Besides, now that I’m not the Flash, I can spend more time with Iris and Bart. This is good. This is fine. I am totally not upset that my nephew and my idol are better at being the Flash than I was. This is great. (Pause) Why am I talking to myself?

(Enter Patty)

Patty: Mr. Allen, the Flash is here to see you.

Barry: Which one?

Patty: I’m not sure. He’s younger than us, if that helps.

Barry: Oh. That’s Wally. Tell him I’ll be right out.

Patty: Okay, Mr. Allen. I will.

(Exit Patty)

Barry: Knowing Wally, he’s found a new favorite fast food place. But I can’t say no to seeing my favorite nephew. And who knows, maybe he has some useful information this time.

(Exit Barry)

Act II

(Mirror Master is onstage. Enter Heat Wave)

Heat Wave: Hi, there, Mirror Master! It’s good to see you!

Mirror Master: Hey, Mick. Where’s the Captain? I thought you were bringing him.

Heat Wave: Well, I was going to, but I couldn’t find him. I think they must’ve moved him to a different wing of the prison or something.

Mirror Master: Well, that’s unfortunate. Did you find anyone else?

Heat Wave: Nope. Piper tried to escape two weeks ago, but being the bleeding heart that he is, when he saw that one of his fellow-escapees was trying to kill a guard, he stopped him but got a broken arm in the process, so he won’t be out for awhile. Golden Glider and the Top are in Hawaii for the fifth anniversary of their first date, and Weather Wizard seems to have dropped off the map entirely. Nobody knows where he is.

Mirror Master: Well, that’s just dandy. I’m pretty powerful, but I don’t think we can pull off a heist with just the two of us.

(Enter Boomerang)

Boomerang: G’day, mates!

Heat Wave: Oh, that’s right! Captain Boomerang finally recovered from his broken leg! I knew I was forgetting something!

Mirror Master: Hey, Digger. Long time no see. How’s your leg? Boomerang: Never better, mate.

Heat Wave: Hi again, Digger. I’m glad that you’re feeling better.

Boomerang: Thanks. You’re a bonzer mate, Heat Wave

Heat Wave: Thanks. (To Mirror Master) That wasn’t an Australian insult, was it?

Mirror Master: No, you’re good. (To Boomerang) Why are you in such a good mood?

Boomerang: Two reasons, mate. First, I can finally fight the Flash again and prove to him that boomerangs always come back. Second, I’ve got enough coldies to get off my face.

Mirror Master: You will save that for after the heist, won’t you?

Boomerang: Of course I will. I’m a bloody professional, I am.

Mirror Master: All right. Do either of you have an idea for our heist? Because if you don’t, I was thinking that we could-

(Enter Trickster, disguised as the Flash)

Trickster: Stop in the name of the law!

Boomerang: Oh, no! It’s the Flash!

Heat Wave: You can’t show up yet! We’re not ready!

Mirror Master: Stop yelling at him and run!

Trickster: (Laughs) You should see the looks on your faces! (Takes off disguise) They’re priceless! (Laughs harder)

Heat Wave: (excited) Trickster?

Boomerang: (confused) Trickster?

Mirror Master: (annoyed) TRICK-STER!

Trickster: That’s my name, don’t wear it out!

Heat Wave: Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in months, little buddy!

Trickster: Oh, here, there, and everywhere. (Pulls out tacky souvenir) Want some memorabilia from Las Vegas?

Mirror Master: I think I’ll pass. (Pause) What were you doing in Las Vegas?

Trickster: What everyone does in Vegas: making stupid decisions that they’ll later regret!

Mirror Master: Meaning?

Trickster: I decided to use my airwalker shoes to sit on top of that big pyramid with a hundred balloons tied around my waist and while wearing bell-bottom jeans and a hot pink shirt.

Mirror Master: And you decided to do this because….

Trickster: I like attention!

Mirror Master: (Aside) Well, that much is obvious.

Boomerang: Why didn’t you take me, mate? I love Vegas!

Trickster: Because you almost died of alcohol poisoning the last time you went to Vegas, and that was kind of a downer.

Heat Wave: Did you go anywhere else, little buddy?

Trickster: As a matter of fact, I did! I went to New Orleans-Mardi Gras is fun!-and New York City and Hollywood and Chicago and Gotham and Star City and Metropolis and Coast City and Seattle and Paris!

Mirror Master: How’d you go to Paris? None of us would ever get approved for a passport.

Trickster: Paris, Kentucky . It’s got really nice people-why, I sold more shares for the Great Mississippi Bridge there than I did anywhere else.

Heat Wave: Oooh, can I buy a share, too?

Trickster: I’d love to let you, my shortness-challenged friend, but the Great Mississippi Bridge isn’t real, just my latest money-making trick. I don’t want to cheat a friend.

Heat Wave: Oh. (Pause) How’d you get so smart, little buddy?

Trickster: It’s a gift-just like my angelic cuteness.

Mirror Master: (Aside) Angelic my foot. (To Trickster) So you disappeared for six months to go on a cross-country swindling trip?

Trickster: No, I disappeared for six months to admire my country. The swindling was just an additional benefit. (Pulls out a wad of bills) Anybody want some cash?

Boomerang: Why, you little ripper! Have I ever told you that your blood’s worth bottling? ‘Cause it is, mate. Give it here. (Trickster hands him some bills) Thanks!

Trickster: No problem. Anyone else?

Heat Wave: Sure, little buddy. (Trickster gives him money) This really warms my heart.

Trickster: What are friends for? ( Pause) How about you, Sam?

Mirror Master: All right, what’s the catch?

Trickster: Oh, no catch, my suspicious friend. No catch at all. I live to outwit people, not to make money. I don’t need extra cash tying me down. (Pause) Do you want the money now?

Mirror Master: I’m good, thanks. (Pause) So, do you have an idea for a heist? Because if not, I was thinking that-

Trickster: As a matter of fact, I do! Central City’s First National Bank is receiving a new shipment of money, and I have a brilliant idea for how to steal it. I’ll create a distraction with my amazing bubble machine and my rubber chickens while you guys use the Mirror Realm to get into the vault and take the money. If the Flash shows up, he’ll be impeded by the large crowds and by my weaponized yo-yos, and even if he gets past me, he’ll still have to defeat both Captain Boomerang and Heat Wave to get to you-and since you can pick us up from just about anywhere, all we have to do is make sure that you escape with the cash. Am I brilliant, or am I brilliant?

Captain Boomerang: Sounds good to me, mate!

Heat Wave: I like it, too. You’re so smart, Trickster.

Trickster: I know. Mirror Master?

Mirror Master: (Aside) I’ll probably regret agreeing to this idea, but it’s not actually a bad plan, so I can’t really object to it. (To Trickster) It’s a sound idea. Let’s do it.

Trickster: I knew you’d like it. Now, let’s go get lunch and get ready for our heist!

(Exit all)

Act III

(Barry is onstage. Enter Patty.)

Patty: Hi, Mr. Allen.

Barry: Oh, hello again, Ms. Spivot. What do you need?

Patty: Well, normally I wouldn’t have bothered you, because I know that you’re really busy with that arson case, but I just got a really weird phone call.

Barry: What sort of weird phone call?

Patty: It was from somebody who was calling himself James Jesse. He said that you were the Flash, but that’s impossible because you said that the Flash was your nephew and…..

Barry: James Jesse?

Patty: Yeah. Kind of a strange name, I thought…..

Barry: Ms. Spivot, James Jesse is the Trickster!

Patty: But why would he be calling you?

Barry: Because I’m the Flash, too….or rather, I used to be.

Patty: What do you mean, you used to be?

Barry: A month ago, I was fighting Abra Kadabra, a malevolent magician from the 64th century, when he hit me with some sort of ray that took away my super speed. Luckily, Wally and Jay were there, too, and managed to defeat him, but I didn’t get my powers back, so I had to give up being the Flash. The Trickster doesn’t know about that, because he left Central City six months ago, so he still sees me as the Flash.

Patty: Well, what should I do? He really seems to want you to talk to him.

Barry: (Sighs) Give me the phone. I’ll come up with something.

(Patty exits, then returns with a phone)

Patty: Here, Mr. Allen.

Barry: (Takes phone) Thank you. (To Trickster) This is Barry Allen, Trickster. What do you want? (Pause) I’d advise you not to go through with that heist if you value your liberty. (Pause) I can’t say I expected you to change your mind. Just know that the Flash will be there to stop you. Mmm-hmm. Uh-huh. Good day. (Closes phone) He’s planning a heist at the First National Bank. Tell the police that they should be ready for the Flash to deliver some Rogues to them.

Patty: I will, Mr. Allen. Gosh, this is so exciting!

(Exit Patty)

Barry: Now to call Wally. (Dials number) Wally’s Voice: (From offstage) I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m fighting aliens. Leave a message after the beep.

Barry: Okay, I’ll try Jay. (Dials number)

Jay’s Voice: (From offstage) This is Jay Garrick, the original Flash. I can’t come to the phone right now, so please leave a message.

Barry: (Closes phone and sighs) Now what am I supposed to do? Jay and Wally are both busy, and I don’t have my speed. Who’s going to stop the Trickster and his teammates now? What am I going to do? The Rogues have to be stopped, but without my speed, I don’t know if I can stop them. Of all the times for the Trickster to show up again...wait a minute! That’s it! It’s time for police scientist Barry Allen to out-trick the Trickster! (Pause) Who am I talking to?

Act IV

(Enter Trickster, Mirror Master, Heat Wave, and Boomerang. Trickster is carrying a rubber chicken, a teddy bear, and his “amazing bubble machine”)

Mirror Master: Okay, that food was legitimately delicious. Good call, Trickster.

Trickster: Why, thank you, Sam.

Heat Wave: I agree. I especially liked their ghost peppers. They’re so warm and spicy.

Boomerang: And their beer is terrific!

Mirror Master: I thought I told you not to drink until we were done with the heist!

Boomerang: It was only one tinny, Sam. It ain’t gonna hurt me.

Mirror Master: That’s what you said right before that heist where you set off the burglar alarm because you were too drunk to avoid it, too.

Boomerang: But I mean it this time!

Heat Wave: Mirror Master, he’s good at what he does. He’ll be fine.

Mirror Master: I hope you’re right, Mick. I really hope you’re right.

Trickster: Besides, I called the Flash and told him about our heist already, so it won’t matter if he sets off an alarm.

Mirror Master: You did WHAT?

Trickster: I called the Flash and told him about our heist. I told you, I like attention-and I like the Flash’s attention best of all, because he’s a real challenge!

Mirror Master: But he always beats us! How do you expect our heist to succeed if he knows that it’s going to happen ahead of time?

Trickster: Because it’s the game I love, not the money! Didn’t I already tell you that?

Boomerang: Do you have kangaroos loose in your top paddock or what? I want money, not a beating from the Flash!

Trickster: Don’t worry so much, guys. The only person who has to get in the bank is Mirror Master. It doesn’t matter what happens to us as long as he gets away.

Heat Wave: See, guys? He knows what he’s doing.

Mirror Master: Forgive me if I’m less than convinced. (Sighs) All right, let’s get to the bank. Maybe we’ll get lucky and be able to salvage some of the heist.

(Cut to Trickster standing outside the bank, shooting bubbles everywhere)

Trickster: Bubbles bubbles bubbles! Fear my bubbles!

(Enter Barry Allen)

Barry: Hello, Trickster.

Trickster: Hi, Flash! Do you like my bubbles?

Barry: Indeed I do. They’re quite impressive.

Trickster: Really? Why, thank you!

Barry: Is there anything special about those bubbles?

Trickster: Actually, yes! The bubbles can stick to people and hold them in place.

Barry: And what else do you have?

Trickster: Ooh, I have an explosive teddy bear and a rubber chicken that sprays sleeping gas when I squeeze it.

Barry: Fascinating.

Trickster: Aren’t you going to try to stop me?

Barry: Why would I do that? Your new inventions are far too advanced for me to stop.

Trickster: Really? Well, that’s disappointing. The game isn’t fun if you won’t play.

Barry: I’m sorry to disappoint you, Trickster.

Trickster: Can’t you at least try to stop me?

Barry: Sorry. No can do.

Trickster: Please? Please? Please? Pretty please?

Barry: Don’t you want to win?

Trickster: It doesn’t count if you let me win! It’s no fun!

Barry: That’s terribly unfortunate.

Trickster: Stop that! Stop it stop it stop it!

Barry: Stop what?

Trickster: Stop not trying!

Barry: Good-bye, Trickster.

(Barry starts to leave)

Trickster: NO! If you won’t play, then I quit!

(He throws down his weapons and starts to leave)

Barry: All right, then you’re under arrest.

(Barry handcuffs Trickster)

Trickster: (Stunned) You….you tricked me!

Barry: Yes, I did. You see, I don’t have my super powers right now, so if I had fought you directly, I would have lost and you would have gotten away. Therefore, I realized that if I wanted to defeat you, I had to turn your own nature against you. You always want a challenge, so I knew that if I didn’t provide it to you, you would eventually try to leave, and I could then catch you off guard. Face it, Trickster. I just beat you at your own game.

Trickster: So you did...but since you don’t have superpowers, how are you going to stop my teammates from robbing the bank?

(Enter Boomerang, Mirror Master, and Heat Wave, all looking rather disheveled)

Barry: Well, you see, while I was on my way here to out-trick you, I managed to get ahold of Wally, and while I was distracting you, he stopped your friends.

Mirror Master: (To Trickster) I knew trusting you was a bad idea!

Boomerang: Yeah! I don’t know why I trusted you! I mean, you call yourself the bloody Trickster! And now, thanks to you, I won’t get to enjoy getting off my face!

Heat Wave: Aww, lay off the little guy. How was he supposed to know that we’d end up facing two Flashes instead of one?

Mirror Master: Because he’s supposed to be the smart one! He’s a con artist! Outsmarting people is his job! Are you telling me that it was too much for him to outsmart two people at once?

Trickster: Well, I may be a con artist, but I’m also a performer. If I don’t have an appreciative audience, I don’t see the point in going onstage.

Heat Wave: I appreciate your work.

Trickster: And I appreciate the sentiment, but you weren’t there when he showed up, so I was stuck when he refused to play along.

Boomerang: You coulda done something, mate!

Trickster: (To the audience) Some people have no appreciation for art. (To Boomerang) Done what? Attack a Flash who wouldn’t fight back? That was too easy! It would’ve been boring!

Mirror Master: More boring than going to prison?

Trickster: I like prison-in limited doses, anyhow. I love trying out my humor on new guards!

Boomerang: Well, you may be loony enough to like prison, but I hate it! I can’t get a coolie in prison! If you wanted to go to jail, you should’ve done it on your own!

Trickster: And miss the opportunity to spend time with you guys? No way! You’re way too much fun to mess with!

Heat Wave: Trickster’s right. As long as we’re together, it doesn’t matter where we are.

Mirror Master: Just stop talking. You sound like a bad Hallmark movie. (To Barry) Please, take me away already so I don’t have to deal with Mr. Small, Blonde, and Annoying anymore.

Trickster: Aww, I love you too, Sam.

Boomerang: (To Barry) And could you gag him or something? I’ve had enough of listening to his big mouth for awhile. (Aside) Cripes, I really need a tinny.

Trickster: Pot, this is the kettle calling. He wants you to stop calling him black.

Heat Wave: Yeah, Digger. If anyone has a big mouth, it’s you.

Boomerang: Why are you taking his side? He got us all arrested!

Heat Wave: Because he gave us free money when he didn’t have to, did 80% of the work for this heist, and hasn’t gotten mad that you two are yelling at him. Sure, we didn’t succeed, but we never do. It ain’t fair to get mad at him, and you blaming him for our failure really burns me up.

Boomerang: (Aside) He’s gone soft, he has! (Pause) I’m really startin’ to regret that tinny. My head’s aching something fierce.

Mirror Master: (To Barry) Can we go now?

Barry: I’m surprised that you’re so eager, but yes, we can.

(All start to exit)

Trickster: I guess you could say that this was a…. speedy defeat!

Boomerang/Mirror Master/Barry/Heat Wave: TRICK-STER!

Trickster: (“Innocently”) What? (Pause, then, to Barry) Great acting, by the way. I’m impressed.

Barry: (Confused) Um...thanks. I think.

(Exit All)

Act V

(Barry is onstage, talking on the phone)

Barry: (To Iris) Yes, I’m fine. Thanks for your concern. (Pause) Yes, Wally was great. You can definitely give him a lot of credit in your article. Mmm-hmm. Uh-huh. Yes, I’ll be home soon. Tell Bart I love him. I love you, too. Good-bye. (Puts phone away) Not a bad day’s work for a man with no superpowers, if I do say so myself.

(Enter Patty)

Patty: Are you all right? I heard you got into a fight with those awful Rogues!

Barry: I’m all right, Ms. Spivot. I’ve fought the Rogues often enough that I know how to handle them, even without super speed. But thanks for your concern. I really appreciate it.

Patty: You’re welcome, Mr. Allen.

Barry: Oh my gosh! I just realized that I’m off work now! If I don’t hurry, I’ll be late to pick up Bart! Gotta run! Bye!

(Exit Barry)

Patty: (Takes off lab coat to reveal a black leather jacket underneath, pulls hair out of bun) Ugh! Playing the good girl is hard! (Pulls out phone) Hi, Roscoe, darling! Our plan is working perfectly! Thanks to everyone thinking that we’re in Hawaii, he doesn’t even suspect that I’m not really “Patty Spivot”. (Pause) Why, thank you, Roscoe! I’m so glad you think I’m clever. After all, it’s true. And get this! Trickster called police headquarters and didn’t even suspect that I wasn’t really a novice police officer! I outsmarted the Trickster! (Pause) Oh, honeybunch, are you all right? I know you’re sick, but I didn’t think it was that bad. (Pause) Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to get your cure, too. If all goes well, I’ll be able to make you well, defeat the Flashes, and prove to Lenny that I’m as bad as he is all with one scheme! (Pause) Be careful, my little snuggle bunny. Don’t overexert yourself. I love you. Bye-bye. (Puts phone away) Central City, you’d better watch out-the Golden Glider’s on the attack! (Laughs)

#barry allen #flash rogues #dc comics #fanfic

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oikawas-bae · 5 years ago

Text

See You Never pt.2

Pairing: Oikawa x Reader ( BROTP of Iwa/Oik/reader bc I live for that 😚)

Word Count: 1669

A/N: this is very long ahah, kinda got out of hand but I had fun ahah!

“WOah!! SO COOL! Even better than Kageyama?” Shoyo gaped at the possibility of someone even more skilled than his meticulous teammate.

“And he’s a playboy!” Tanaka chimed in angrily, punching the air.

“So this guy is dangerous enough to scare his majesty, huh?” Tsukki snickered to which Kageyama glared at him. As you were about to go full on mom-mode with Sugawara on them, you caught sight of the figure finally approaching the net, free from his teammates’ horde of complaints. He was practically glowing, bouncing on the balls of his feet, another figure beside him with an expression that was absolutely done.

A beast

Star of the Show.

Grand King

Playboy

Dangerous

“Oikawa Toru.” You said just below a whisper but Yamaguchi read your lips as he was the only one not in distress or teasing Kageyama.

“You know him, (y/n)?”

You winced out of your daze when you heard Yamaguchi’s acknowledgment of your discreet recognition of the man chatting it up with the boys around him. The whole team turned to you. You blushed at the overwhelming attention.

“What? Did he break your heart? If so, I’ll break him!” You ducked behind Asahi before kicking Tanaka for bringing attention to the group by screaming.

“Shut the hell up, Tanaka.”

“Why are you hiding, (y/n)?” Nishinoya perked his head to the side and you couldn’t help but blush at his cuteness.

“He didn’t break my heart...I mean technically he did but not before I broke his but I mean he probably didn’t care. Iwa was mostly affected but I mean, look at them now, they’re looking just fine and honestly Toru is looking very...nice. He’s matured fully almost, it seems...wow I actually haven’t seen him in a while and omygod I miss him sooo much, I-” Daichi deadpanned at you rambling and kicked your calf lightly to snap you out of it. The boys were all staring at you in awe.

Realizing you had given them no context to the situation, you explained from behind Asahi. “OH yeah! I knew him in middle school too, like Kageyama...I musta not seen you around, huh? Well Iwaizumi, the one next to our Grand King, and the Grand King himself and I were close back in the day since birth practically but we separated when we went to high school.”

“Hey, losers! Ready to be crushed?” Oikawa raised his voice just when you finished. Asahi moved to turn and you were exposed...like a deer in the headlights and you just knew that the two- Iwa and OIkawa- had noticed you and to make matters worse, recognized you. You blushed deeply, hiding yourself once again behind Asahi to be out of sight.

“UH… this is really awkward for me so if you don’t mind...imma head out.” You pointed your thumb outside and quickly dashed out before even receiving a nod from the team.

The game proceeded as it was going to with or without you but you watched from the window, making sure To not be seen by anyone, not even your own team for fear of them reacting. You forgot what a thrill it was to watch Oikawa play, his serves had gotten even more theatrical, OLÉ! And then he swatted the ball in the air, majestic… You melted into the wall with a reminiscent and lovestruck smile, you had missed him so much that even just watching him get slapped by Iwa was enough to send your stomach into a fluttering whirl. The game had turned around since his entrance and not to Karasuno’s advantage. The game seemed to be over as soon as OIkawa stepped in front of Kageyama and brought him to a standstill.

The Karasuno boys walked way in defeat, you knew they wouldn’t let a loss get to them, they were relentless but you wanted to comfort them either way but this damn nervousness. You cursed at the thought of running into Oikawa and Iwa and striking up a conversation and about what? You imagined it…

“Good game huh?” no scratch that, maybe I could say “Long time, no see!” O shit that’s literally awful you would drive them away...again.

Before you could embarrass yourself further by reenacting any other simulations where you encountered the two or even just one of them, Oikawa spoke up from behind you, leaning against the door frame of the gym entrance. “What are you doing, (y/n)?”

You jumped so high Hinata would be proud and felt you heart leap out of your chest. You slowly turned around to see a taller-than-you-remembered Oikawa crossing his arms and smirking.

“H-How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to see you’re still the same (y/n) I knew.” He walked forward, examining you.

Slightly uncomfortable from the entirety of the situation, You gave him a sideways glace and mumbled, “I would appreciate it if you didn’t stare.”

To your surprise, he chuckled, “What do you take me for? A pervert? No, (y/n)~ I just haven’t seen you in so long and you’re looking just fine.”

Damn it, he still has a way with words. In truth, his way of speaking was different, he talked much smoother than before, almost as if he had trained himself in more than just volleyball.

“I take you for a dangerous playboy King.”

He crooked his head, maintaining his sly smirk. “Huh?”

“Your reviews aren’t very good you know? “Everyone knows about your reputation.”

“I’m still a full five stars, (y/n).” He chucked, closing the space between you gradually as if you wouldn’t notice. His smile was almost snake-like, you assumed underneath it he wanted to tease you to no end about what you’ve missed out on by going to Karasuno and not Seijoh and in truth, he did want that but not exactly right now. At this moment, he wanted to talk to you, whether it be in the broken riddles you were speaking in now or just as casually as you had in the past. He missed you so much his heart lurched out of his chest as yours did but he was so much better at not showing it.

Bravely, you took a long step forward and the two of you were practically nose-to nose; his smirk a polar opposite of your anxious stare. “Damn it...I can hardly look at you.” You admitted.

He confidently pressed his forehead against yours. For a second, you dreaded anybody exiting the gym and seeing you like this but his words kept you from straying too far from your fixation on him. “I don’t know why you’re so jittery right now. I’m feeling right at home.” When was he going to stop playing this confusing game? Was he trying to enchant you? Provoke you? Either way, you didn’t have a clue how to respond and at this point, you were just saying random stuff.

“Your house is next to mine.” He arched a brow at the blatant fact you spouted.

“Yes, that’s true. And yet you haven’t visited. It’s because it’s awkward, isn’t it? You’re not with Iwa and me and you might even have a boyfriend of your own at Karasuno...tell me, is it Tobio? Or maybe the shorty...No, you like em’ feisty, what was his name? Tsukki?”

You pushed him back with your forehead, “It’s Tsukishima to you. And no.” However nerve wracking it was to snap back at Oikawa right now, it didn’t matter. You had your boys’ backs, even if it was a jerk like Tsukki.

“Really?” He pulled himself back in surprise, “You’re not dating anyone?”

You shook your head, “It’s a surprise huh...” You trailed off awkwardly.

“I mean yeah...look at you...” He stopped talking to shake his blush off, “I mean that- ugh...okay. I had a crush on you in middle school and since forever and seeing you again...it feels amazing.”

Iwaizumi poked his head out, catching the two of you in conversation. He crossed his arms at the sight of you.

“And you’re still mad…” You rubbed your arm shyly. “Iwa…”

“Hey! We were having a moment!” Oikawa smacked him and Iwa threatened to punch him before you intercepted...a familiar position the three of you had been in years ago. You looked at both of them before looking down, a small smile tugging at your lips.

“I guess you guys still act like immature little boys with each other…”They both calmed down as you continued. “I-I’m sorry for abandoning you guys. I could have fought harder to go to Aoba Josai...but I just didn’t want to be a hindrance to your volleyball careers...high school is your chance to go to the big leagues and I didn’t want to ruin that... the selfish part of me couldn’t stand the thought of you guys ignoring me either...but now...I don’t regret going to Karasuno. Those boys in there are my best friends! I joined the team as their manager because I wanted to help them and I’ve improved my own volleyball skills so I’m not...useless. That being said, I can be friends with you guys again...if you feel the same.”

Iwaizumi hugged you without another word said. Oikawa smiled and joined in on the hug.

“You were never a hindrance. You wouldn’t have been.” Iwa pulled away, making direct eye contact with you.

“And we’ll be glad to hang out again. We’ve missed you sooooo much!” Oikawa smiled widely.

Iwa scoffed, back to his usual self, “Yeah, this fool hasn’t stopped practicing his love confession to you since you left. They’re getting better though at least.”

“Shut it, IWA!”

“How about we do movie night with us and Shittykawa? Tonight?” Iwa offered. You lit up, eyes watery and pulling him into another hug, to which Oikawa jealously pouted behind you.

“New nickname huh? I like it.” Oikawa gaped at your positive response at his friend’s vulgarity.

“(Y/n)!”

#oikawa toru x reader #oikawa toru #reader insert #oikawa x reader x iwaizumi #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! x reader #my writing #my writes #ahshdjfjd i dont know if i should do anothe rpart?#iwaizumi #iwaizumi hajime

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hadestownmodern · 5 years ago

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Wedding

(literally nobody asked for a wedding fic but someone did ask for soft young parents and...technically...this fits that a little bit?)

It’s a night in the middle of winter; a fresh coating of snow coats the rolling meadow behind Demeter’s tiny farmhouse. She’d offered her house up for their wedding with a wholehearted excitement, borrowed mismatched sets of chairs and tables and set them all out on the lawn. From the moment the day had begun she’d been busy-tending to the animals and putting them away for the night, starting small bonfires and heat lamps to keep the night warm. Fairy lights were strung between the large trees, lanterns hung around the line of the bordering forest. Even the garden, sparse from the winter weather, had been decked in a soft glow of lights among its posts. Bunches of deep purple flowers and earthy sage were scattered along the tables, clipped to the lights. Eurydice had been over during the week, begging to help to no avail; everything was meant to be a surprise.

“Don’t lift a finger,” Demeter chastised lovingly. “You just take care of that baby of yours. Let us do something for you.”

Hades moved around with a happy display of his culinary skill, having already prepared a decent amount of food throughout the week. It was enough to feed the whole city, they’d joked, and he’d beamed with pride. He set appetizers on whatever sorts of trays he could find, poured drinks into glass jars, set them in a beautiful array around the galley kitchen that made it seem beautifully overflowing. From time to time he’d bustle over to Eurydice and Persephone, shoving spoonfuls of food toward them with urgency, eagerly awaiting the inevitable grins and thumbs-up that would follow. Junie had long since draped herself across a majority of the couch, her own lace-flowered dress a compliment to her head of big angelic curls and the crown of sage-colored leaves around them. Junie’s eyes have been glued to Eurydice since she’d seen her, her hand aching to hold hers, to follow her as she walked.

“You look like a princess,” she’d gasped, reaching up to touch the baby in her arms. Melody wore a matching rendition of the softly flowing lace, a purple headband bow covering the dark hair upon her own head. Eurydice had yet to put her down for more than five minutes-had held her wide-eyed baby proudly as she’d gotten her cropped hair brushed and settled into their natural waves, gone for an earthily toned makeup look, soft and simple. Junie played games with her, hopped up and down and twirled in her dress, entertaining the smiling infant with adoration and purpose.

The guests arrived nearly all at once; friends from work, some of the people Orpheus played music with…the crowd was small, but intimate. Each face knew another, each with their own story to tell of the day Orpheus had told them about this girl in the coffee shop, or her name is Eurydice-I love her more than anything, or we’re having a baby. We’re going to get married. The endless songs of love that came from Orpheus knowing her echoed throughout the crowd, was shown in the way they bustled amongst each other, spoke words of blessing and happiness for the young couple. They poured over the tablecards, each printed with heartfelt photos of the short time they’d spent together-seemingly sprawling, judging on the way the two clung to each other in a photobooth, posed behind the bar, wrapped themselves in each other at Christmas with an ultrasound picture between them. The sunset-evening was glowing with these small sentiments of love, which only grew as a nervous Orpheus stood under the handmade archway beside the garden.

He waited with his eyes trained to the back door of his amma’s house, hands fiddling with the hem of his suit coat. Hermes and Hades stoodd on either side of Orpheus, watching as he fussed around with impatience. Hermes lifted one arm, patting his shoulder with a chuckle. Orpheus looked out at the gathering of their close friends, sat in those same mismatched chairs, arranged from their tables in a haphazardly beautiful sort of crowd with an aisle in between. A pair of musicians played their instruments, a guitar and a fiddle respectively, and the door flung open.

Junie ran out first, in a sort of twirling dance that showed off the carefree flow of lace coming from beneath her warm woolen petticoat. She threw purple petals from Demeter’s greenhouse, petals she helped pick and pluck that morning to keep her occupied. Her feet left tiny tracks in the dusting of snow they’d received; just enough to bless the earth with a perfect white powder, seemingly decorative rather than by the nature of the winter. Orpheus kept his eyes trained on the door, listened as the crowd fell helplessly to the joy she spread. Nothing else mattered except the girl behind the door, which opened only after he heard Hades scoop Junie up in his arms, felt her pat his arm relentlessly.

Everything stopped when the door opened again; a flood of warm light hit the now darkened night, wrapped itself around Eurydice as she stepped out into the snow. Persephone and Demeter stood on either side of her, hands on her back. Flanked in support, Eurydice began her trek down the aisle, and Orpheus wiped feverishly at the tears that spilled openly down his cheeks.

She was ethereal beauty, clothed in a sheer white dress with bell sleeves and a deeply dipped neckline. There are small bits of embroidery, hand-stitched in gold thread to resemble a universe of constellations telling stories of a young Demeter, Persephone about to be born, practicing her hand at a hobby that kept her busy. The dipping neck is hidden by the baby in her arms-their girl, in tiny long-sleeved lace and a completely encompassing petticoat, tucked as close to Eurydice’s chest as possible. He attempted this stand-still moment as he watched all of the important women in his life walk toward him, but then Eurydice was grinning, pausing to gasp, open mouthed and cry with him. His feet move before he can think about the etiquette of it all, meet her in the middle of the aisle. Orpheus reaches his hands to her arms, rubbing her shoulders and kissing Melody’s head.

“Hi,” He breathed, an ear-to-ear grin encompassing all of his features, spreading his own unfiltered joy through the crowd. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” She giggled, shaking her head as he wiped the tears from her eyes. From the archway Hermes cleared his throat, rolled his eyes and called Orpheus’s name.

“Come on, you two. Come up here and get married.”

There was a chorus of laughter, Hermes shaking his head as they stood in front of the crowd, Orpheus with an arm on hers and a hand on Melody’s back. He was shaking, nerves and excitement bubbling within him like carbonation just waiting for its opportunity to meet the open air-for permission to overflow. Eurydice wasn’t much different, then, simultaneously thankful for the presence of their daughter snug against her chest and aching to reach out and fold herself over Orpheus. Her tender poet, soft and adoring, looked between them both with stars in his eyes, content in the moment until Hermes poked at his arm.

“Your vows?” He reminded, and Orpheus took in a deep breath. Feeling the presence of their friends-the bite of the winter air against the warmth of the bonfires and lamps and Eurydice’s soft, glowing smile, he began.

“I know that everyone thought I was crazy when I bought you a ring two weeks after meeting you. I know that they thought it was crazy that four weeks after we met we were engaged, we were going to have a baby. They don’t know what I know. They didn’t get to see the way you looked the night we met, talking about your classes and your degree and your passions. They don’t get to know what it felt like to be loved by someone with every reason to run after I said ‘I love you’ way too soon. They don’t know what it’s like to watch the woman you love tell you she’s pregnant a month in and just feel…joy. Excitement…I was taught from a very young age that love is something rare, and special. That you know when it’s right. I was taught to believe that souls are supposed to meet each other here, that we’re lucky enough to share a physical space for as long as we get. I knew from the moment I met you that you were it. And I didn’t want to waste any more time. You’re it-and I love you endlessly, forever.”

“I’m going to say it before anyone else does-we clearly haven’t wasted any time here.” Eurydice kisses their daughter’s head, their friends and family laughing, Persephone’s distinct agreement above them all. “But I’m glad, because I love you. I love you for speaking too soon-for loving me in a way I’ve never been loved before. I love you for teaching me what love really is, for being the most giving, kind presence of light anybody has had in their life. I love you for your heart; you gave us Melody. You poured yourself into work, you wrote songs and changed diapers and held me even when I was being stubborn. I am so happy that our daughter gets to grow up with a father like you-someone who loves so openly and unconditionally, who speaks with honesty and kindness…when I met you, I met my family. I felt like I was home. And now, I can truly say that. Orpheus, I love you-endlessly, forever.”

Eurydice passes Melody over to Persephone with haste, flies eagerly and wholly into her poet’s waiting arms. She can feel the squeeze of his hug, his hasty lips on hers. She brings both her hands to the back of his neck and presses herself as close to him as possible, the cheering of their friends and family merely a muted background to their own happiness. A tiny squeaking makes its way past them-past the bubble they’d created-and Eurydice pulls away laughing as she takes a fussing mama’s girl away from Persephone. She holds Melody between them, Orpheus kissing her head and holding them both. He’s still holding them as they walk back down the aisle-as their friends begin to move the chairs back around, begin playing celebratory songs, gathering around them to smother them in well wishes.

The crowd is wrapped in doubling of warmth as Orpheus bends over to kiss his wife again, smiling as they laugh through a new round of their own blissful tears.

#hadestown #hadestownmodern #orphydice #young orphydice #orpheus #eurydice #melody #danielle writes #wedding

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simsadventures · 5 years ago

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Better Like This- Chapter 1: The Squad

Chapter Summary: Reader is on her way to her new department, the SVU, or as people like to call them, the Avengers. She thinks back to her previous department and is introduced to the squad. Nothing can happen, right?

Warnings: I used one swear word, sue me, other than that: none, it is a police AU, beware

Pairing (in this chapter): Alpha!Tony x Omega!Bruce, Alpha!Bucky x Omega!Reader,

Word Count: 2121

A/N: This is really just an introductory chapter to get this thing going. Bear with me please, it will get better, I promise. More action coming soon! x

Series Masterlist __ Masterlist

Your feet carried you along the hallway. This was it, you were finally here. The one place you’ve dreamed about, the ones towards which all of your hopes were inclining. The special victims unit of New York’s police. Most people, however, called them the Avengers for the dedication to avenging the unfortunate victims’ souls and lives. You knew you couldn’t work for this team unless someone put a good word for you and your well-done job.

So you kept your head down, and after the police academy went to work for the missing persons unit to prove you were a more than capable of handling the job. One thing that stood in your way, and not only in the police work was your presentation. Ever since you presented as Omega when you were 17, your life changed dramatically. You were used to the stereotypes and aggressive and touchy Alphas by now, and with your training, you could take on most of them.

You could, however, see that most Alphas in the police academy and then later in your previous unit weren’t trusting your skills and they were undermining your every step of the way. But you came back stronger, more determined and definitely more than ready to show all those assholes that you were more than a womb for their seed or a pretty face. You were tough! And you were about to prove it!

The team of the SVU was a big one, the whole police department knowing that these were the crimes most common in NY and in this case, the more, the merrier. The unit was run by an Alpha, naturally, but from what you heard, he was one of the good ones.

His name was Captain Rogers, and from the photos you’ve seen from the numerous arrests you saw, he was really handsome, with that big bulky arms and enchanting eyes. Not really your type if you were honest with yourself, he looked like too much of a goody-goody, but, who knows, right? But looks aside, all departments knew that this Captain was fair, doing his job so well some people wanted to see him in a chair of a Commissioner, even though he was only 30-35, who could tell, right? You were actually really excited to work for/with him and most importantly, to learn from him. Hopefully, you’d get the chance.

Other than him, however, you didn’t really know anyone from the team. You could maybe tell one or two names, but that was it. You really hoped these people, even though most probably mostly Alphas, were not as horrible as your previous team. You didn’t mean to offend anybody, but they really were just bunch of knot-headed idiots…

All except the only Beta on the team, and your rock for the past two years. His name is Vision or short Vis, and he really was one of the main reasons why you stayed on the team and didn’t give up on your dream. It was him telling you almost every day that you were good enough and that you could do big things, if only you wanted and were determined enough to actually start doing them. Soon after you guys met, he introduced you to his fiancé, Wanda, also a Beta, who is an artist- she does everything from oil painting to creating sculptures from old washing machines (yup, she’s done that!).

Sure, you did have some friends from college, but you mostly lost touch with them, never really feeling as if you fitted between them. The Alphas really only saw you as a piece of meat, and the Omegas… well, they were friendly, and all but you could see that their only aspiration in life was to get mated, give their Alphas as many pups as they could and.. that was it.

However, there still was one exception (there always was, right?) and you were thanking whatever God was sitting upstairs for bringing her into your life. Her name was Gamora and, just like you, she wanted to prove to everyone that Omegas were as valuable in the society as any Alpha. She was now part of the fire department in NY, the only Omega in the whole unit, and you couldn’t have been more proud of her.

You stopped before the door to the office. You shouldn’t be thinking about your whole life right before you’re starting a new job. You cleared your throat, took three calming breaths and opened the door.

What you could already tell from just the one step you took into the open-office, was the lighter air that surrounded you. You could smell all three presentations mingling in the air, and the atmosphere could only be described as calm. Which is definitely not the word you would use to describe your previous job. Sure, stressful, constricted, too-much-testosterone, those words you could use, but calm? Friendly? Never.

Few people looked up from their works, slightly nodded their heads and smiled, but nothing really more than that as you continued on your way to the Captain’s personal office.

Knock, knock. “Come in,” you heard from the inside of the room. “Ah, detective Y/L/N. You are a little early, I like that!” He smiled, warmly at you as you shook his hand. “Captain Rogers, I’m really thankful for this opportunity and-“you couldn’t finish your sentence as he raised his hand and smiled again. “Don’t thank me, detective. It was your hard work and so many successful arrests and finding of the missing people that got you this job. We are thrilled to have you here.”

You released a breath you didn’t know you were holding. When he raised the hand, you really expected him to shut you up by saying that he had to employ you, or that he doesn’t expect you to last so you shouldn’t really be thankful. But the warmth which radiated from him, his friendly smile, those were not the things you were prepared for.

“So, to get to the work, I’ll pair you up with one of our senior detectives, Scott Lang. Give me a sec.” He went around you, opened the door and yelled: “Hey, Lang, your new partner’s here.”

Which was followed by a loud laughing howl by what you thought was Scott. “Excuse him, he is just a big child sometimes, but somehow, he is really good at his job.” Steve looked at you, half amused. “’s ok. I’m really used to pretty much anything, sir.” You smiled at him as you smelt an Alpha coming to the office.

“You must be Y/L/N! I’m so excited to meet you! I mean, sheesh, your stats? Unbelievable, you gotta show me all your secrets, dude!” He then grabbed you and pulled you into a bear hug. What the fuck is happening?

“I mean when I heard I was gonna be paired up with you? Man, I almost fainted! You are like a fracking legend thanks to that Rumlow arrest!” He was literally beaming. You couldn’t help your own smile as you watched the Alpha ramble on and on.

You giggled when Captain stopped Scott from going on with his outburst. “Alright, you can fangirl over your partner later, Lang,” he turned to you with an apologetic shrug, to which you just smiled and rolled your eyes playfully. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the squad, and after that, we got a job to do. Come on.”

“Listen up, squad. This is detective Y/N Y/L/N. Detective, this is your new squad, your new family. Detective Tony Stark,” he showed you a smaller Alpha, with a smirk on his face, obviously full of himself but he didn’t look at you like you were a piece of meat. Just amused look seeing a newbie, really.

“He is also like our IT genius, so whenever you have a problem, he is your person.” The Captain continued. You both just nodded at each other, and the introduction continued. “This is his Omega, doctor Bruce Banner, he is our forensic guy and pretty much anything science-going on, it goes through him.” Bruce hugged you, “It is so nice to meet you, it must be overwhelming to come to such big new squad, but these idiots are really fine.” He smirked at you, and you laughed. “Hey, who you calling an idiot, huh? We’ll talk about it at home, LOVE!” Tony’s voice beamed behind Bruce. He just rolled his eyes and shrugged, “Yeah, whatever you say, my big bad Alpha.”

You really laughed out loud and even snorted a little, which caused little laughs all around the squad. “With a laugh like that? You’ll be just fine here, sweetheart.” Said the only female voice on the team, a Beta who introduced herself as Natasha. You liked her immediately. “I haven’t heard such teasing between Alphas and Omegas in a long time, that’s all.” “Well, sweetie, get used to it because the teasing here? That’s a daily tea!” She smiled and winked. “Oh I can’t wait, bring it!” You all laughed when suddenly, the front door opened.

Before you could actually notice who was coming in, you could smell them. Two Alphas. One’s smell was very regular, and due to your suppressants (which you were really taking as a precaution in your line of work), all Alphas smell more or less the same to you. You can smell the testosterone and the “strength” if you could call it that.

But the other Alpha was different. You took another whiff of air, and it suddenly hit you like a tidal wave. This Alpha (you couldn’t yet see if it was a man or a woman, due to the squad surrounding you) smelled like heaven to you. It was a combination of sandalwood, the smell of forest shortly after rain and something else, like a spice which you weren’t able to identify. But you didn’t really care.

The only thing running through your mind was one word: MATE! MATE! MATE! Was it possible?

Not that you didn’t believe in true mates, your heart was romantic enough to keep that hope alive. But as you were growing older, and none of the Alphas you met ignited any fire in you, you started to slowly give up.

But now you were sure. He or she was here and though you would never say it out loud, the Omega in you started purring contently. You could remotely hear the team talking about something, a joke maybe? You weren’t sure as you went on your tip-toes to try and see who walked through that door. You could see 4 eyes looking your way, one pair brown and you felt that those weren’t those eyes you were looking for.

The second pair was icy blue and when you looked into them, you felt as if the Alpha could see right into your soul. You wanted to look away, tried not to be the stereotypical Omega, but you just couldn’t make yourself let go.

There was a scenario in your head, for when you’d meet your Alpha. You tried not to think of it, but it was there, in the back of your mind. You would look at each other, walk towards each other, touch each other’s cheek and smile and just be happy. You didn’t need a fairytale, just this little act of future love and affection.

Your feet, therefore, carried you towards this Adonis of an Alpha, still looking into his eyes. What you didn’t expect, however, was the Alphas loud growl. It stopped you in your tracks. You wanted to whine but stopped yourself. You were an adult with some self-control. Even if you could feel this control slipping away each second you were in the Alpha’s presence.

He snarled, shook his head and turned around to run out of the open-office and, probably, outside of the building too.

The whine escaped your lips however hard you tried to suppress it. What was this Alpha’s problem? You immediately started to blame yourself, for probably not being his type, or not being pretty enough, but you stopped yourself. You used to blame yourself for every little misstep, for every bad mood of your father’s, Christ, even for the rain pouring down too hard when you had to do something outside. But the longer you spent with good friends like Gamora or Vis you realised, other people’s issues had mostly nothing to do with you.

So you knew that this wasn’t your fault! He just left without even getting to know you, touching you… What was this Alpha’s problem?

Next chapter>

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#alpha bucky barnes #alpha bucky #alpha bucky omega reader #bucky #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #avengers #avengers a/b/o #avengers fanfiction #bucky fanfic #new fic alert #new fic #better like this #first chapter #policeau #a/b/o

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stereogeekspodcast · 4 years ago

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[Transcript] Season 1, Episode 3. What’s New – The New Mutants

We had thoughts about The New Mutants, few of them good. There were some enjoyable moments, which we discuss, along with sharing our thoughts on what could have been better.

Spoiler alert: we will be talking about the entire film.

Content warning: some of the content in the film can be triggering, please proceed with caution.

Listen to the episode on Anchor.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron: Hello and welcome to Episode Three of Stereo Geeks. Today we'll be talking about what’s new in pop culture.

Mon: I’m Mon.

Ron: I'm Ron.

Mon: And this week we’re talking about The New Mutants.

Ron: This is a spoiler alert because we’ll be talking about the entire film, including the ending, so if you haven’t watched it yet, please watch the whole thing and then come back and listen to our podcast.

Please note, we will be discussing some triggering topics as contained within the film so, proceed with caution.

Ron: This film was initially intended for release in 2018, having been filmed in 2017, but it languished in production hell till 2020.

Mon: This year, it finally hit theaters, but because it was in the middle of the pandemic, most of us didn't go and watch it. Now that it's out on digital, we have some thoughts.

The film begins with Danielle Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt escaping the decimation of her village. She wakes up in a rehabilitation center, which is for mutants.

She is one of five students being supervised by Dr Cecilia Reyes, played by Alice Braga. The other students are Illyana Rasputin, played by Anya Taylor Joy; Rahne Sinclair by, played by Maisie Williams, Roberto Da Costa, played by Henry Zaga, and Sam Guthrie, played by Charlie Heaton. Let's talk about plot!

The film follows Dani as she gets to know these other mutants around her, tries to figure out what her power is, and tries to survive Dr Reyes’ experiments. Ron: There isn't much plot to speak of. It's very much a setup film, though there isn't any reason for us to believe that there's going to be a New Mutants 2. The majority of the film is spent with Danielle getting to know her fellow mutants and exploring their relationships. Though I would say that even there, the film doesn't really do a great job.

Mon: Yeah, there's a huge focus on the central relationship between Dani and Rahne. But the other characters, they're more antagonistic or just in the background. So it doesn't really develop her relation with them.

Ron: Yes, it comes across very much like the new girl being bullied, especially by Illyana though, that really doesn't do justice to the character as she appears in the comics. So, that was a bit of a surprise. Speaking of the backstories of these characters, we would say that really Rahne is the only one who has a similar backstory to the one that she has in the comics.

Mon: In the comics, Rahne comes from a small, very rigid, very religious community, and they freak out when she turns into a werewolf, because of her mutation. That backstory remains the same in the film, except now she’s been branded as a witch.

Ron: I didn't mind that particular inclusion. I think that made sense within the scope of the story. The other characters, there is no similarity between their stories in the film, and how we got to know them in the comic books.

Mon: Let's start with Dani herself. Why is there no mother in the picture? Ron: In the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, which this movie is based on, Dani loses both her parents, and that actually does play a very large part in the conclusion. But the film only focuses on her father in the very opening scene, which was not edited very well, and we see him later on as well. Mon: Let's talk about Roberto.

Ron: I have to say I was so, so disappointed in Roberto Da Costa in this film. Sunspot was my favorite new mutant and the character in the film doesn't resemble the comic book character at all. Especially not his backstory which plays such an important part in not only his mutant powers, but the way he engages with the world.

Mon: I think the first warning that they wouldn't be doing ‘Berto correctly was the casting of Henry Zaga.

Ron: I'm sure Zaga is a very good actor. I haven't seen him in anything else, but I'm sure he's very talented. Unfortunately, he doesn't look anything like Sunspot in the comics. There is one integral part of his character arc that is completely missing from this film because Zaga has been cast in it.

Let me explain. In the comics, Roberto Da Costa belongs to a very rich family. He doesn't really understand his privilege. But he is also very dark skinned. Because of this, despite his privilege, he is bullied. It is while being bullied by fellow classmates that his powers activate.

Mon: ‘Berto in the comics is Afro-Latino, but they refused to cast character an actor who reflected the same heritage in the film, and that really does him a great disservice. Because race is an important part of ‘Berto’s characterization in the comics, but it's completely forgotten and the backstory that Berto is given in the film is boring. It is staid and it is another example of fridging.

Ron: In the film, Sunspot’s powers activate when he is having a romantic moment with his girlfriend, thus killing her in the most awful way possible. So, not only do they erase an extremely important part of his characterization, but they fridge his girlfriend who is then used as horror movie-material later on. Mon: Let's move on to Sam Guthrie. So, Sam is kind of the pseudo-leader in the comics. He's conveniently the leader because, I feel like the writers, at the time, weren't sure who they could give it to so they gave it to the southern white guy.

In the comics, he's very happy, he's a very positive guy. He's had hardships in his life, but he never lets it bring him down. He struggles with his powers, he's a cannonball, quite literally, and it's a difficult power to master. The film touches on the fact that Sam still struggles with mastering his power, but he's given this broody, overly dark backstory, which doesn't do the character any justice. Sam's storyline in the film really should have come with some kind of warning. Because Sam is essentially self-harming throughout. He's in a cast constantly, he is seen punching himself. Basically, it's quite disturbing to watch what happens. And it comes without context, and we'll come to the fact that a lot of what happens in the film is without context.

What we learn is that Sam was working in the mines with his father and several other men, and his powers accidentally activated and he killed, not only the other men, but also his father, and he's obviously struggling with what happened. And, and he's taking it out on himself. He's not able to grow, learn, or attach himself to anybody. So, this was a huge departure, again, from the comics.

Ron: And then finally we come to Illyana, whose backstory is also extremely different from the comics. When we first meet her, she is a very small child, who ends up in limbo and spends her formative years in that hellhole. But when she's rescued which is a few seconds after her disappearance, she's a teenager.

None of that, obviously made it into this film, understandably, because the budgets would not have allowed for it, though we do get glimpses of limbo. However, Illyana’s backstory appears to be about her being trapped somewhere and being abused. What did you think about her backstory?

Mon: I didn't feel like it was necessary to have that kind of backstory. What I will say is that this is the subtlest way of suggesting any kind of assault or abuse on any kind of character. They really worked hard to be sensitive to the topic, but at the same time I have to ask, why did Illyana need that backstory in the first place? Why can’t she just come from a poor Russian home? Why couldn't it be like a Dostoyevsky story? She didn't need that kind of background.

And I also felt like there were maybe one too many hints about what happened to her. I understand the need to pare down Illyana’s rather complicated, fantastical comic book origins, but they went the other extreme by making it a little too realistic.

Ron: They tried to marry some of the realistic elements of childhood abuse that we see in real life with the fantastical elements of her childish imagination of what these monsters were. I think that worked for them. But to keep coming back and for us to keep seeing small Illyana in that room, there were one too many moments that would have been triggering for anybody who has been in that situation in their life. So, basically there are two instances in this film where they should have added content warnings, and they had three years to do that, but they didn't.

Mon: And that's not the only thing they didn't fix in the three years. The CGI is terrible! When you're talking about a comic book adaptation, especially with the New Mutants, who are more fantastical, and have more imaginative powers, that requires a lot of special effects. I was disappointed with what we saw. We didn't actually see their powers in action as much as we saw some of the horror elements, and I'm sorry but that is the worst CGI I've seen.

After people have been shouting about how hard they've been working to make this product the best that they can, it honestly feels like this movie was made and somebody forgot about what to do with it. And then they just kept playing hot potato with it. They didn't embellish it, nothing. It's not like they tried very hard to make it the best story possible.

Ron: And I think the other problem is that from the very first previews, people had strong reactions to Zaga, to Heaton. There were a lot of people who were upset that an Afro-Latino character had been replaced by somebody who was lighter skinned. This is colorism and 2020 may have put colorism in the spotlight, but, in 2017, this was definitely something that people knew about.

There were also a lot of concern about Heaton’s casting. He was hot off the success of Stranger Things; it made sense to cast him in a movie like this. But he doesn't fit Sam Guthrie at all! I was extremely disappointed in Zaga and Heaton in this film. Not only did they not look like the characters, they had so little to do.

The burden of carrying this film really fell on Blu Hunt and Maisie Williams. They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

Mon: Yeah, I found that very disturbing and I didn't see any need for that.

Ron: Absolutely not. And 2017 was one year after Trump was elected. He made a lot of Pocahontas comments soon after coming into power. And a lot of people were very, very upset about that, and they were very vocal about that. Why would they put this into the film?

Mon: I think the whole ‘Pocahontas’ thing in the film is kind of reflective of how the director seems quite blinkered in his view? We have the Zaga issue. We have the racist comments against Dani Moonstar, as well. But there's a character missing in this film from the comics and she's integral!

Xi’an Coy Manh, who is the mutant Karma, is a Vietnamese immigrant who becomes the leader of the group. She is conspicuously missing from this film. Why is the Asian mutant, who was such an important part of the comics missing from the film?

Ron: I understand that for the majority of the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, Xi’an was not there. But if you're making a film which introduces this particular group, you've got to have her.

Mon: I completely agree with you on that. It makes no sense. We were talking about how Heaton and Zaga really don't do much in film. I have to say, this is probably the first time I've seen a genre film where the two boys spend most of the time cleaning dishes and washing clothes, whereas the girls seem to be driving the story forward. It's hinted at that ‘Berto and Sam are becoming close friends, but you don't really see much of the relationship; it's just one montage where they're having a little bit of fun, but the three girls, there's a lot more to their relationship, especially between Blue Hunt’s Dani Moonstar and Maisie Williams’ Rahne Sinclair.

Ron: I was pleasantly surprised that from nowhere, we got this queer relationship. And it comes off the fact that Blu and Maisie obviously have a lot of chemistry. So, the film just went with it. From the very first time that Dani and Rahne see each other, there's this connection. And it just grows throughout the film, and they become a couple.

Mon: I couldn't believe it because, in the books, they're pretty much written as straight. Romance isn't a huge part of their storylines. But in this film, it's there from the very beginning. There's a scene soon after Danny wakes up, and she's struggling to cope with the death of her father, the death of her entire village, and Rahne really talks her down. It's really sweet, this interaction between two young people who are struggling to find themselves in a world that doesn't make sense. And it’s also a little bit funny.

Ron: In any other film, one of the characters would have been a man. But here, it's two girls. And it's one of the nicest moments in the entire film. Once again, a trigger warning is required. But it's a great moment. Because we have seen so many superhero films, and we're still waiting for those queer characters. And it didn't feel forced at all.

Mon: It definitely because, as you mentioned, the actors had so much chemistry between them. It's a friendly chemistry, and the story doesn't try too hard. It makes sure that they come together because they understand each other. Because Rahne is such a kindly character and Dani needs that at that point, she needs somebody who can just understand. And she also needs to know that other people are also suffering in some way, they have their own pain, so that she can open up herself.

Ron: I also liked was there were no salacious comments, no maliciousness towards that relationship.

Mon: They were no gratuitous scenes.

Ron: Exactly, especially when the characters are young, you know, it would have been very disturbing to watch that. We anyway had the whole thing with Illyana’s backstory. One of the things that we really get to see in genre cinema, that even if you have queer characters, if everybody around them is like, ‘oh, you're queer, or gay or trans’, that ruins the moment, because that is again singling out the marginalized character. We also need to talk about how them being a couple isn't the only driving force behind their characterizations. It is a part of what makes them grow and brings them closer. But it also plays a part in resolving some of the issues in the plot.

Mon: So, here's the problem. While this beautiful little love story is fleshed out throughout the film, everything else got left behind. There isn't really anything else. Even if this was supposed to be a character driven story, or a relationship building story, those are also left by the wayside. Because Illyana is antagonistic, when she comes to Dani aide, it's supposed to be seen as she's coming to help Dani out of a newfound-love for Dani, but it's not true. And I couldn't actually read it that way.

Mon: When I was watching the film, I couldn't understand why Illyana suddenly had this change of heart. She'd managed to fight the monsters from her childhood that had come to come to life. But why did that make her feel like she had to fight for Dani? It seemed more like all the other characters, barring Rahne, were fighting for survival. Ron: I agree. Even Sunspot. When he's in the church, it doesn't seem like he's trying to save Dani, or he's trying to help the others. He's just trying to protect himself. And Sam seems to have so little control over his powers that whatever he does do is always by accident.

What I also feel is that we've been skirting around the issue of the plot. And the problem is that there isn't much plot here. The structure of the story goes something like this. Dani meets her fellow mutants. They try to get to know each other. Mysterious things seem to be happening, and they all seem to be related to everybody's worst fears. As the film continues, we realized that those manifestations have a connection with Dani. And then we finally learn that Dani’s greatest fear is the demon bear.

Mon: The final arc of the film is the demon bear attacking the facility and Dani is incapacitated, which leaves the rest of the team to fight off the demon bear and protect her at the same time. This brings the team together, but it brings them together more for their own survival than for the protection of Dani or for any emotional connection that they have to her.

Ron: Also, the stakes in some ways aren't very high. We are used to seeing the very formulaic superhero ending on this huge battleground, so many faceless people in danger having to be protected. And this is much smaller. The new mutants are fighting their own inner demons. And that works in some ways, but it's also not earned. Mon: I think the lack of payoff in this film comes from the fact that there is no context to what we've seen. The context always comes after the fact. We see Sam self-harming but why? We don't find out until several scenes later. We see Illyana being haunted by these scary creatures. But who are they? Why do they look like that? We don't get an answer to that. Most of the other manifestations, they do become more realistic. Whereas with Illyana’s, for some reason, it remains these otherworldly creatures.

Ron: I kept thinking that at some point, especially in the third act, that the monsters would transform into people we would see that the people who were harming her were actually real men.

Mon: Either that, or it was all in limbo, and that’s why they looked like that. But we don't know because limbo is just hinted at during the last section of the film. We get glimpses of a lot of hellfire but not much else.

Ron: The only remaining aspect of limbo in the real world is Lockheed. For the longest time, he’s just a stuffed toy and then randomly in one scene, he turns into a real dragon.

Mon: As real as bad CGI can make it, anyway.

Ron: It’s sad honestly. We love Lockheed in the comics, but also Lockheed belongs to Kitty. So, why is Lockheed here with Illyana? I don't know.

Mon: I'd argue that that was an Easter egg that didn't belong.

Ron: Yes, and seeing Lockheed look like that was super disappointing. They had three years to get this film on our screens, they couldn't fix Lockheed? They didn't actually do anything once it was filmed once it was packaged, once that first preview came out. They just put it on a shelf and waited for it to be released in theaters.

Mon: Disappointing indeed. What are the other comic book elements that you spotted in the film?

Ron: Well, when we saw Dr Reyes’ screen, we could see Essex Corp. It took me a second before I realized that Essex Corp meant Nathaniel Essex, aka Mr. Sinister.

Mon: And throughout, Dr Reyes kept hinting at how her supervisor was in charge and we knew that she was basically following his orders. Since this mysterious character is such a fan-favourite and a huge part of the X-Men comics, we were expecting, at the end, perhaps a little glimpse of the man himself?

Ron: There have been X-Men stories where Nathaniel Essex has been part of the background and then right in the very last panel, there he is standing there in all his glory. We were kind of hoping for that to happen and we waited till the end of the credits. Nothing.

Mon: The film is connected to the main X-Men film universe. There are glimpses of where these young mutants are going to be taken, and these are scenes from Logan. The corporation from which Logan rescues X-23. They were obviously hoping for a larger universe which would include the new mutants, but it never came to fruition.

Ron: Which is again making me wonder, what was the point of this film? It doesn't really give us an hoped for New Mutants 2. In fact, once they have defeated the demon bear, and they've managed to get rid of Dr Reyes, they're leaving the facility, but they have no idea where they're going. As far as they know, there's nothing around them for miles. So, what is the point?

Mon: My biggest struggle with this film is that the new mutants do not lend themselves to a film or a film trilogy. The new mutants should be a TV series.

Ron: Especially since it has a large cast of characters. And if you had added the other characters, you would have had a good number of people to follow. That'll make for great television. I'm thinking about The Gifted, which was an X-Men spinoff. Unfortunately, it was canceled after two seasons but I enjoyed it. Not everybody else did, but I did. And that showed how an X-Men story in television form could work.

Mon: The thing with the X-Men universe is that it's an expansive universe and new characters are constantly being added to it. So, you can't reproduce that universe in just a few films. While the X-Men films, some of them have been very successful, but several of the characters were underserved. Cyclops is the leader in the comics; he got short shrift in the films. Jean Grey is a very powerful character in the comics, and she spends most of her time standing and waving her arms.

While the main X-Men series can still be carried by a handful of actors, with The New Mutants, they are a group, they're a band of youngsters who spend a lot of time getting to know each other and build their friendships together. The whole point of these characters is not just that they have to explore their powers, they also have to explore their own youth. They are young people that are growing up; they need to find out who they are as people. For these characters, the film being a one off, or even if it was supposed to be a trilogy, it doesn't work. The new mutants need to have episodic stories, which were the central theme of the comics.

Ron: It shouldn't be a horror story. I understand where they were going with that. Even within the comic books, the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline does lend itself to suspense but it's also very tragic. I think we need to move away from instilling fear in the viewer, and more about instilling some hope.

Mon: I also feel like the final product didn't quite live up to the anticipation of the original previews. The first trailer that we saw, it really made it look like the classic horror stories that we are so used to seeing. They're stuck in an asylum and scary creatures are coming at them. That's not what we got.

Ron: This was ‘Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Especially that Sunspot scene in the swimming pool, with him and Illyana, which never happens in the comics, and it came off as super gross.

Mon: I still can't figure out whether that was Illyana or that was his imagination.

Ron: That's what I'm saying! ;Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Look, in a horror film, you can have your own kind of logic, but that logic needs to follow a certain pattern. That scene didn't follow any pattern. It seemed like just an excuse for Henry Zaga to take his clothes off, which is not necessary in this film at all. And to put him and Illyana together as a potential couple, which also didn't work because the two characters had no chemistry. And there was no reason for them to want to be together. Mon: Yes, it is just one of the many, many missteps. Surprisingly, I don't feel like this film was the worst film ever made. I would say that it was a poor choice of subject matter and poor execution.

Ron: It's not a bad film. It's just boring. It doesn't try to push any boundaries. The only area where they did something different was with the relationship between Dani and Rahne and but aside from that, the story is very limited in its scope. And for that reason, having just seen The New Mutants, we are struggling to remember parts of it. Mon: So, let us know, what did you think about the New Mutants?

Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]

Ron: We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Transcription by Otter.ai and Ron.

#new mutants #x-men #marvel #stereo geeks #podcast #transcript

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hockeybabestars · 5 years ago

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New Year, Same Us - Auston Matthews - Six

a/n: yall our girls spill the tea in this chapter. also i did not just make up the wags account, i’ve actually seen some different ones like this on instagram but i don’t know the @ so just a heads up lol, enjoy.

July 28, 2018

“Uh (Y/N)” Steph said from the living room. “You might wanna see this!”

“Hold on give me a sec!” I grabbed my mitts and pulled the rolls out of the oven, placing them next to the chicken on the stove, and ran into the living room plopping down next to Steph.

It was a girls night, which meant that Paige, Steph and I were making dinner and watching movies while the guys played video games at Mitch’s with some of their other teammates. It was nice catching up. I had been setting up for a fall internship in my department at school and was getting all the details ironed out before I went back. I hadn’t seen the girls in a hot minute.

“I usually don’t look at stuff like this, but it popped up on my explore feed.” Steph was sandwiched between Paige and I, as we looked down at her phone.

It was an Instagram post with pictures of Auston and I either from each other’s instagram page or pictures it looks like people have sent in from spotting us in public. One of which we are holding hands. “Gimme that.” I make grabby hands at her phone and she hands it to me. I scroll through the multiple photos of us again, and then look at the actual account. An NHL Wags account which has more than 10k followers. Holy shit.

I click on the Leafs highlight. It’s a bunch of listings of players and girlfriends/wives with the date of the most recent update. The first one has TAKEN next to Mitch and nothing next to Auston’s. But then the one from last year has TAKEN next to Auston’s. And the most recent one, which was updated a couple weeks ago, still says TAKEN.

I went back to the post of us and read the caption. “Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and (Y/F/N)! These two are adorable! All photo credits go to submissions and their instagrams.”

Under it were probably 50 plus comments.

“So cute!”

“They’ve been together since day one, just look at their accounts they go wayyyy back and the captions just get flirtier. We love an otp”

“Why tf would he go for her?”

“He could do better.”

And at that I shut it down. I knew people said horrible shit about me for being his friend but I chose not to directly look at it and I wasn’t about to start feeding the beast.

“That’s uh, interesting.” I said handing Steph her phone back. “And weird.”

“Wait why?” Paige asked looking confused. “Obviously not the fact that they have the info but like aren’t you guys together?”

“I forget you’re new.” I laughed, “I swore I told you-“

“I just assumed-“

“It’s not a big deal, literally everyone thinks we’re together at first.”

“So you’re not?” She raised a perfectly sculpted brow as I shook my head, “damn. I swore you guys were. Kappy never told me otherwise so I just thought- wow.”

“If it helps she wants them to be.” Steph shrugged and I glared at her. “What? Better to be honest and upfront. I don’t know why you two haven’t just come to terms with it all and told each other how you’re feeling.”

The timer dinged on the oven for the Mac and Cheese and we all made our way back into the kitchen. “Yeah that would be great and all but Aus doesn’t feel that way about me. And even if he did you see the girls he goes for. Polar opposite of me.” I pulled the Mac out of the oven as Paige started putting the salad together.

“Babe,” she started, “that boy is in love with you. I think he just hasn’t realized it yet.”

“Yeah,” Steph chimes in, “I don’t know if you realize but like, he never even mentions said girls to the guys when they ask.”

“Yeah but that’s just cause I’m around the majority of the time.”

“No- not even when you’re not there. Mitch asked him if he went home with a girl when we went out the other week? Ya know when you were busy sorting out that internship?” I nodded. “We went home early that night but Auston and Willy stayed out. You know what he said? He didn’t go home with anybody. And you know who he started talking about instead? You.”

My cheeks flushed, “All he went on about is how proud of you he was and how he wanted your internship to go well for you.”

My stomach was in knots, “you’re telling me that Auston didn’t go home with anyone that night? That’s so unlike him.”

I had thought about it before. Around the time that we first got to Toronto. That maybe he had the same feelings I did, but then it was a new girl every game and I figured that I better get over it quickly before my heart broke. I didn’t.

I guess I wanted to believe that if he really did like me then he would just come out and say it, or at least he wouldn’t sleep around. And he never did say anything. But he’s hot. And a professional hockey player. And a damn good one at that. He was sleeping around in high school. And it’s nothing to shame him for, it just sucked when I was harboring those feelings and I didn’t want our friendship to change if he didn’t like me back. I wasn’t ready to leave and give him up if that were the case.

“Sis he hasn’t been going home with anyone for like the past 3 months.”

“There’s no way he hasn’t had sex in that long. That’s just not realistic.”

“That’s what Mitch told me.”

“You live with him.” Paige said, fixing herself a plate, “wouldn’t you know?”

“We never bring hookups to our apartment. I’m always asleep when he gets home on those nights. I don’t wanna know how long he’s been gone. And even if I was awake I keep my door shut at night anyway.”

“Have you like, got any recently?” Steph asked wiggling her eyebrows and putting an unhealthy portion of Mac and Cheese on her plate.

“Uhh I hooked up with that hot bartender, but Aus doesn’t need to know about that. And also a guy that I had some classes with from last semester, I think about a month ago? But that’s about it. I went out on a limb with those, I’m not one to just hook up ya know? I would rather be in a relationship.” They nodded and I went on, “It was good with the guy from school but as soon as he found out Auston and I were friends it got weird. It was the one time I brought someone over because Auston was out of town. So after we hooked up, this dude was going through our kitchen cabinets at like 1 in the morning with just boxers on while I was asleep and Auston walked in. That’s how he found out I lived with him. That’s how he fucking met Auston.”

They were damn near cackling at this point and I just started making myself some food.

“What did Auston say to you when it happened and then like after?” Paige poured us some wine.

“He had just come home from a road trip and was so confused. He asked the guy to leave, but I guess he was awestruck that Auston Matthews was in my apartment and I kid you not, asked for a damn autograph.”

They were dying. “Glad I can amuse you ladies at my expense.” I laughed a little too.

“The whole thing was such a shitshow. Auston obviously said no and kicked him out. Then he knocked on my door. And like there I am with just a t-shirt and panties on. I was so fucking embarrassed. He wanted to talk then and we worked it out. But he was acting kind of weird about it. Honestly he seemed a little butthurt.”

“Of course he did. He was pissed off some kid at your college could get with you when he’s known you all of a semester and Aus can’t seem to catch a break after 20 years.” Steph stated.

I laughed, but Paige added, “Damn right!” She raised her glass and Steph and I did the same.

“To good friends.” I started, “I needed this, you don’t know how much I’ve missed you guys. So here’s to us!”

“To us!” They said at the same time, glasses clinking.

And it felt good.

#auston matthews #auston matthews imagine #hbsimagine #hockeybabestars #new year same us #nysu fic #friends to lovers #friends to more #toronto maple leafs

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