#yeah you’d like the movie about the guy who abandons everything else to travel across the world to see a hot japanese guy he deeply admires.

[shootingst4rpress]

yuri!!! on ice came out in late 2016 which was peak ‘kenny isn’t over kota’ era so i 100% believe kenny omega watched all of yoi while it was coming out and cried so hard he threw up

[dreamescapeswriting]

Chemical Spill ~ Seokjin X Reader

A/N: I’m working on a series of imagines where it’s based on all of their ZIP photos and I’m super hype about it! Here is Jins!

Word Count: 5,003

Warnings: mentions death, swearing

Genre: Fluffy|| Au|| cute

Summary: You’re living in a zombie apocalypse, everyone who was anyone has been taken underground to survive while all of the “normals” fight to stay alive but Jin isn’t like the rest, he was supposed to go into hiding but stayed behind to help others around him, he finds you in an abandoned hospital distract and takes an instant liking to you

Who would have thought a chemical plant leaking some strange unknown substance into a graveyard would have created the zombie apocalypse, well every person who worked there, the chemical plant was a danger to everyone and everything around it and when it finally spilt its contents into a graveyard creating zombies that walked around eating people whenever they could find them,  the only problem with these zombies is that they looked almost human,  sure the older corpses that were effected looked as though real zombies should look, or at least how to movies made them look, but the fresher bodies looked almost human if it wasn’t for the grunting and green ooze dripping from their mouth, the ooze was the same chemical that changed their bodies, to begin with, one drop of that in your bloodstream and you were a goner, people wouldn’t tell the difference, which is why it was so hard to move around city spaces or find a group of people to stay safe with, it was hard to trust people you didn’t know, the first stages of being turned from a small cut or bite were normal, you would just act as though it was a common cold or flu, only when you started to crave brains would people be able to tell, or when you would start to leak the substance from your mouth.

You had a group, you have a group of close friends, you’d been together for the first three years of the apocalypse, running together and surviving together as a group, but one by one they all began to get sloppy or give up on the fight and you watched every single one of them leave or die, even having to kill two of them after being bitten, that was the problem, one bite/scratch and it was all over, you had to be put down or you would become one of them, which no one wanted. You’d been alone for the best part of a year now, you’d backpacked across most of the country and were now heading for an abandoned distract close to the accident site of the chemical plant, which many people warned was dangerous but if it was closer to the start of the damage maybe it was like a tornado and would be better to start in, go towards the damage is what your mother always told you.

You’d managed to get into one of the hospital buildings in the abandoned village, there were three around the site but the first two were too boarded up to even try to break into, meaning something was locked inside that no one wanted to get out, this hospital was around half a mile away from the chemical plant which was still leaking out the ooze that started this mess, everyone important in the world was taken deep underground where the top governments had been preparing for something like this to happen, which meant no one was bothered about the chemical leak because everyone who was anyone was already in a safe place, they were waiting it out until the zombies ended everything around them and the important ones could start again.

“Keep out,” You scoffed at the signs on the hospital door, you used some bolt cutters you kept in a backpack and opened the door, inside was a cafeteria area, stocked full of rotting food, flies flying around it and creating the most gruesome smell you’d ever smelt, you groaned walking further into the back finding a working freezer, a jackpot because inside were different cans of food, enough to feed you for at least five months before you would have to go on another run or until you had to move on again, you didn’t want to stay in one place too long.  You were staying nearby in an old treehouse in someone’s old garden, whoever had lived their had young kids, it was packed full of old teddy bears, pillows and blankets which was good for you but you couldn’t help but feel bad for the family who had to leave everything they owned behind, the treehouse was accessible through a thin ladder which you pulled up once inside,  the zombies weren’t smart enough to work ladders or door handles but it was better to be safe than sorry.

You’d been in the hospital all day and it was starting to get dark out, you didn’t want to risk going back to the house in the dark, zombies were unpredictable enough during the day they’d always been good at hiding, sure they groaned but they didn’t constantly do it, it was only when they could smell humans or were starving, you knew you could stay in the hospital but you wanted to get to the highest point of it, just in case anyone else managed to come into the hospital and wanted to start a fight, you knew how people could get in these situations, everyone was crazy, you’d met someone who was just on a killing spree for the fun of it, the apocalypse made everyone unpredictable.

While you waited for the night to pass you went through your bag, you’d managed to get enough food to live off for a while, as well as some first aid supplies you were running low on, back at the treehouse, you didn’t get hurt much but you didn’t want to be short or anything, anything could happen after all.

“Are you alive?” You groaned moving away from whoever’s voice it was and opened your eyes to see a man dressed in black jeans and a brown shirt which was folded up to his elbows, he was carrying a gun and had two pistols also attached to his belt. You looked out of the nearby window and saw it was bright out meaning you’d made it through the night in one piece without being attacked or found by zombies, your eyes travelled back to the man once again.

“Yeah, I’m alive.” You said getting up on your feet and looking around, his shirt was covered in blood, some of the ooze and mud, he’d clearly been out for a while because he had a small cut on his cheekbone, looked like he’d scraped it along a wall somewhere, you picked up your bag and looked at him, he was staring at you and it was now you took in his appearance, he had to be the most handsome man you’d ever seen, even before the apocalypse, he looked as though he belonged with the important ones.

“Good, we should get going before this place gets packed by zombies, I saw a herd coming this way.” You stared at the man before you and he smiled at you, God even his smile was perfect, he noticed you staring and his ears began to turn a little red so you looked at the ground instead.

“We?” You quizzed, walking behind him as you both made your way out of the hospital building through a set of stairs.

“Well…I didn’t think you would want to be alone.” You scoffed at his ignorance, just because you were alone, you couldn’t manage? You’d gotten this far hadn’t you? You looked around the corner in front of you, in case any zombies had managed to make their way inside like he’d said but it was clear.

“I can look after myself I don’t need anyone.” You said taking out the machete you carried around with you instead of a gun, a gun drew too much attention everyone knew that a machete was silent.

“So thanks for the offer and all but I’m fine.” You said, not wanting to sound mean but you didn’t want to risk getting close to someone only to lose them again, especially someone that good looking it could be bad news, someone that good looking wasn’t just nice for being nice, you knew you had to be careful on who to trust in this day and age. So you left without another word to him, sprinting towards a convenience store that was nearby

He followed you in silence, wanting to watch how you worked your way through the small city, he watched as you broke down the front door to the convenience store in almost silence, the only noise being made was the wooden panel hitting the floor beside you, he smiled you were good at what you did which meant you obviously did this a lot and were used to this type of situation, he wanted to keep an eye on you, having someone like you could be good for supply runs.

How hard could it be to find some pads you thought as you went down another empty aisle, it was practically all empty except some old out of date fruits, you grumbled lightly kicking a shelf but it caused another to fall and crash against the floor, it was like an alarm system for nearby zombies, a few of them coming through the door you’d opened and another coming from behind another shelving unit, grumbling at you, you took your machete ready to start hitting them, you knew to aim for the head and not to stop until they were gone for good, but there was ten of them and only one of you.

“Down!” You heard someone scream, you looked over the shoulder of one of the zombies, you spotted the same man from the hospital and dropped down onto the floor, laying flat against your stomach as the man from the hospital began spraying bullets out, hitting some of them in the legs, them hitting the floor was your cue to hit them in the head while they were down, he had incredible aim which was fantastic.

“I don’t need anyone,” The guy mocked, helping you stand to your feet and smiling at you, you smiled back ignoring the mocking tone he’d given you and wiped the zombie blood from your face, holding out your hand for him to shake.

“Y/N.” You said, he took your hand and shook it

“Jin.” You were looking at him again, the way his jaw looked sharp enough to sharpen knives upon it and how his eyes were sparkling, even in the dull light of the darkness of the store, the only thing really lightening up the area was the sunlight peeking through the window.

“I have a base nearby, you should come with me. It’s safer there than anywhere else.”  He spoke to you, you blinked at him for a second before thinking of all the things you had left at the treehouse.

“I have supplies in a treehouse nearby.” You spoke, trying not to seem nervous in his presence, you figured they could be useful to him somehow.

“Is there anything personal with them?” He questioned meeting your gaze, you shook your head and he looked over his shoulder as if telling the time by looking at the sun.

“It’s about a three-hour walk from here to our base,  I’m sure you’ll be fine without the small bits, we have clothes and such at the base you can have.” You nodded in agreement not wanting to argue with someone you had just met and who had just saved your life.

“Let’s get going then.”  

The walk was filled with conversation, you were trying to get to know each other better, well you were trying to find out if he was a secret serial killer and was planning on killing you, you found out he was one of the important ones, meant to go into hiding but refused because he wanted to help people above ground by trying to stop the zombies.  

“That explains it then…” You said with a small laugh behind your voice, he stared at you as he helped you climb over a fence.

“Explains what?” He questioned as he joined you on the other side taking the bag you’d been holding for him.

“You’re too good looking to be one of the normals.” You blurted out without thinking, he chuckled, a deep red blush on his cheeks, you were blushing as well from the comment you’d said.

You’d talked for most of the way about who he was before the apocalypse, he was in some kind of band with his friends who were also staying behind to help others,

“What about you? What did you do?” He questioned looking at you as you rounded another corner, the sun was starting to set which meant you were almost at his safe place.

“I was just an office clerk.” You laughed nervously, you hadn’t thought about your old life for a long time, it wasn’t something that many people wanted to talk about, you would just push forward and ignore the past, what good was looking back on it? Nothing could be done about it now, nothing could change it.

You told him why you were so hesitant about going with him, you explained what happened to the first group of people you were with and how uneasy it made you around new people, it made him laugh when you mentioned about thinking he was a serial killer, his laugh made you smile instantly, it was so warm and bubbly, but he explained how he understood, he didn’t think he would make it through without his friends by his side.

“Here we are,” Jin said you looked up from the ground to see a giant brick wall, he walked over to some metal gates and hit a code on a nearby pad, the gates sprung into action and opened up.  

“Welcome,” Jin said as he walked you through your eyes didn’t know where to look first, everything was so different from the outside world, there were houses that were fully built, none of them was rotting away, missing windows or shot up, they were beautifully kept, the gates shutting snapped your attention away and then you looked at a giant tower next to the gates, someone was standing on top looking out over the view,

“That’s Namjoon, second in command,” Jin spoke, walking you down a large pathway further into the village, that’s what it had to be, it had to be classed as a village, it had homes in rows, a small farming area, another building with “Hospital.” written upon it, there was more but you couldn’t see it all at once.

“We started building the giant brick fence when the spill happened, it took seven of us, about a year to make progress but others began joining in, in the end, we ended up with this.” He was walking over to a blue house, you stared around, in front of the house was a small little farming area, growing different produce.

“We all have a job here, I’m a runner along with Taehyung and Jugkook, we go out once or twice a week on the look for others to come home with us and for supplies…I was on a medical run when I found you.” He stated, walking with you towards the hospital building and greeting an older looking lady with a hug, handing her a bag full of bandages, you took your bag off your shoulder and handed over the supplies you’d swiped from the hospital.

“We’ll talk to Namjoon later but I feel pretty confident in you being a runner with me, you seem like you’ve been doing well and I have been looking for a running buddy,” You nodded following him over to a set of houses, eight of them all in a row and he pointed at a white one.

“You can stay there, it has 4 bedrooms but we don’t have overcrowding so you’ll be alone for a while until more come if that’s alright?” You nodded along, still unable to form words.

“I know it’s a little much, but I promise you’ll get used to it, you should go wash up, Yoongi will be starting meals soon.” You frowned a little confused by who Yoongi was,

“Yoongi?” He walked with you onto the porch of the house you were going to be living in and opened the front door.

“The main chief of the camp, there is also Hoseok, he’s the main gardener here, likes to make sure we have enough food.”

A month had passed and you were having a wonderful time, you’d taken up gardening to help grow some fruits and vegetables when you weren’t out on runs with Jin, you went out together twice a week on the hunt for mostly medical supplies and canned food, but the village was pretty much stocked full all the time, enough to feed everyone more than five times over. When you weren’t gardening Jin would steal you away to teach you how to shoot, he wanted you to get used to carrying a gun around, yes it was louder but it was easier than trying to slay a bunch of zombies with a small machete.

You could still remember the first lesson you had with him, you were more nervous about him being so close to you, then you were to shoot the gun;

His arms were wrapped around you, you were standing so close you could practically hear his heartbeat, he gently rubbed your arm because you seemed nervous.

“You’ll do great, it’s just practice.” He put your arms in the right position and aimed the gun, his head close to your neck as he looked down the barrel of the gun to make sure the aim was right, you felt his breath against your skin and it sent shivers up and down your spine.

You hit the target on your own and began jumping up and down excitedly.

“I did it!” You yelled putting the safety back on and making sure it was fine, Jin was just as excited as he stood behind you, without a second thought you threw your arms around his neck, and he instantly linked his arms around your waist, maybe it was the adrenaline you were experiencing but you didn’t care the embrace felt like the world had stopped on its axis, there was no time, no wind, no other person in the village, no zombies, your mind was at ease. How could one hug be like this? He stroked your hair as you stayed together, the feeling of being this close to another human being made you happy, it made yo both happy and craving more, but neither of you spoke about it, you pulled away and acting as though it was an exchange of pure joy between two old friends.

“I should go help Yoongi cook,” You lied rushing off leaving a stunned Jin behind in the field alone.

But it was time to go on another run now, you’d had many lessons since the hug but none of them had ended the same was the first one had, you and Jin were going to find a hospital again, you were hoping to stock on some painkillers, Jin had been complaining of headaches and so had Namjoon, and since they were in charge you didn’t expect anything less, they were under an intense amount of stress a lot of the time.

“Jin I want a quick and easy run, no detours, right there and right back,” Namjoon ordered as the gates opened up, Jin laughed pulling you out of the gates and into the streets, Namjoon was being a little overprotective over a run that had happened previously, someone had gotten hurt and it had shaken the entire camp up a little.

“You didn’t even let me get breakfast.” You whined to him as you walked in a new direction, they’d found a hospital closer to the chemical plant and Jin insisted on exploring it with you, which meant leaving earlier than usual to get there. It was 4 am and the sun was barely starting to rise.

“I had Yoongi make us something for lunch.” He laughed as you dramatically rubbed your stomach as if it was empty trying to act more dramatic.

“You’re such a baby!” He yelled poking your cheeks and taking your hand in his and pulling you along, you felt heat rush to your cheeks at the small action and looked at him, his ears were red which meant he was also blushing, you pushed your arm into his playfully and let go of his hand, rushing ahead towards some shops and looking around. Things with Jin were nice, it was easy to get along with, he was like an old friend and you found yourself telling him anything and everything, it felt like having a best friend, it was nice to spend time with someone and not feel like it was the end of the world, but at the same time, you still felt a little uneasy around him, since the hug you’d not been 100%. All he had to do was look at you and you would turn into a blushing mess, he made your heart skip a beat, small things like holding your hand, hugging you or even complementing you platonically, like friends would normally do only it made your heart flutter.

“This hospital is insane.”  You whispered to Jin as you walked up to another flight of stairs, you’d been walking for four hours when you finally found it, the place looked like no one had been inside in years, nothing inside was boarded up,  drawers were still stocked full of supplies.  The only sign that it was abandoned was that the wallpaper was starting to peel off at the walls and some of the parts of the ceiling were starting to leak

“I guess people are too scared to get this close,” Jin said from behind you, it was true, people you’d run with before didn’t want to get this close in case anything could happen, you glanced at him for confirmation before opening up the door in front of you, you were on another floor full of rooms.  

“Split up?” You questioned him, he nodded and walked down one end of the hall and you went in the opposite.

You found an operating room, stocked high with different medicines,  needles, and other first-aid items, you just packed everything into the backpack you carried with you, you entered the next room finding painkillers and headache relief, you made sure to fit in everything you could before going to find Jin again.

“Jin?” You whispered going down to his end of the hall, a door creaked open and you looked inside to see nothing around, you walked further inside to see Jin on the ground, your heart began racing, you failed to breathe, it was as if someone was choking you, all you wanted to do upon seeing laying there was curl up into a ball and cry but you knew you couldn’t do that, you shut the door behind you and walked over to his body, to check him over for anything that could have happened.

“Jin? Jin, wake up.”  You pleaded, tears springing to your eyes, you cleared your throat trying to find something to indicate why he was on the ground, but there was nothing, no blood, no scratches, no bite on his skin that was visible

“Jin seriously…You promised you wouldn’t die on me.” You whimpered out, he did, he’d promised you on the first run together nothing would happen to either of you and you didn’t have to worry about it. You let a tear run down your cheek, ready to leave him when he grabbed your wrist tightly, you let out a shriek and slapped him across the face, backing away and leaning against a wall.  

“JIN!” You screamed at him, throwing a nearby box at his head, missing by a lot, he began laughing uncontrollably, it started as a small silent laugh but he slowly began laughing harder and harder even clapping a little at your reaction, normally you adored his laugh but this time you wanted to crawl into the corner and cry about it.

“I hate you.” You mumbled getting up from the floor and looking around the room for something to distract you from him, he was still laughing when he stood up on his feet, coming up behind you and trying to get you to talk to him.

“You’re evil Seokjin.” You said folding your arms across your chest and trying to act a little mad but it was hard because he looked so sad, he was giving you puppy dog eyes so you would you talk to him.

“You almost cried.” He said, you pushed away from him and over to the door ready to leave but it was stuck, you frowned trying to pull on it a little harder.

“It’s stuck.” You said, trying to push it and then pull but it was as if someone had jammed you inside, or something was blocking it from opening.

“Nice try,” You stood back raising an eyebrow as he tried to move the door as well, you began laughing as soon as he failed to do it as well.  

“This is your fault.” You said coming over at trying to pull it some more but it wasn’t budging.

“Mine?” He yelled playfully at you, looking at you with a raised eyebrow.

“If you hadn’t scared me by pretending to be dead we wouldn’t be stuck!” You yelled at him, giving up and sitting against the door.

“Why were you so upset in the first place?” He joked but you ignored him and he felt bad because tears sprung to your eyes once again, he turned away from you taking out the emergency radio and getting it ready to phone home.

“I’ll radio Taehyung and get them to save us.”  

“We’re going to have to get comfortable, Namjoon won’t let them out until morning,” Jin said coming over to you, you were sitting in front of the door staring at it as if that was going to magically be able to open the door for you.

“We still have some food left from our lunch.” He said coming down to sit next to you, he took out some containers from his bag and offered you some but you weren’t hungry, he laid down a blanket he’d carried in his bag so that you would both be comfortable for the night.

“Come on, you can’t still be mad at me.” He teased poking your cheek but you folded your arms across your chest and kept your eyes forward, trying not to cry in front of him, the thought of him being gone made your heartbreak

“I’m not.”  You whispered you couldn’t be mad at him, he thought it would just be a joke, he didn’t know it would practically break your heart seeing him like that, but now you had seen him that way you realised your feelings for him were strong and weren’t going to go away any time soon, maybe it would be good to stay away from him for a while, to make the feelings go away, stop being around him so much all of the time.

“Maybe I should stop coming on runs.” You blurted out to him, his attention was pulled away from the food and he stared at you,

“It was just a joke, I didn’t think it would hurt you so much.” He continued rambling on but you were ignoring him, drowning it out, you just stared at his lips as he spoke, wishing they were on yours, wishing his hands were around you.

“It’s not the joke Jin…I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”  You managed to say while he paused for a breath.

“Why?” You looked up at his eyes, he was tearing up now, something you didn’t expect.

“I just- I don’t think I should be out here…It’s-” You couldn’t lie to him, it was hard to lie to Jin, he’d taken you in and cared for you for so long, it was hard to lie to someone you had liked for so long.

“I just can’t stop thinking about you.” You admitted.

“After the day in the field, your arms around me, being that close to you, it made me realise I like you…then just now…seeing you like that…gone. I just don’t think I should be around you anymore, It’s clear you don’t feel the same way I do.” An awkward silence filled the air, then the sound of metal hitting a concrete floor. His lips were slammed onto yours, it nearly knocked you over onto your back, you didn’t even have a second to react before he pressed his tongue along your bottom lip, you allowed him access. It was a sloppy kiss but it as full of passion on both sides, your arms reached up and tangled into his hair tugging a little, letting out a giggle as he groaned into the kiss. His hands made their way down to your waist, he pulled you close and against his chest, his other hand running through your hair.

You both pulled away and stared at one another, you were straddling him now and he smiled up at you, pushing a strand of hair out of your face so he could look at you better.

“I’ve been wanting to do that the moment you hugged me.” He stated leaning up and giving you a small peck on the lips, you blushed bending down and connecting your lips once again.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment you saved my life.” You admitted the next second your back was against the floor, your arms were pinned above your head and he was leaning down to kiss you once again, you didn’t care that you were stuck in the hospital now, you had Jin to keep you entertained all night, Tae and Jungkook could take as long as they wanted coming to rescue you.

[sheridans-dynamos]

She’s A Killer Queen, Young And Sweet, Only Seventeen Part 1

Pairing: Roger Taylor x reader (past and eventual) Brian May x reader (past) Freddie Mercury x reader (past) John Deacon x reader (past)

Summary: It's 1989. Jamie Y/L/N is 19, and she's getting married in 2 weeks. She's spent her entire life on a small island in Greece, Kalokairi, with her mom Y/N. She's never met her father, she doesn't even know his name. She's always felt like there was a piece of her life missing. One day, she finds something in her mom's journal that may be the answer to the question that has been on her mind for as long as she can remember. Or it may just raise plenty more… 

A/N: This is an idea I had a little while ago and I just couldn’t get it out of my head, so I started writing it. It’s pretty much the plot of the movie Mamma Mia!, but with the Queen boys. I’m really excited about this, I hope you guys like it! Let me know if you want to be tagged in the next parts! (I put a gif of the real Roger, but it works with Ben!Roger too)

“Jamie! Can you bring me my drill? It should be in the first drawer of my desk. This stupid hotel is crumbling down.” Jamie nodded and headed upstairs to her mom's room, smiling at her mom's complaints. True, the hotel wasn't at its best, but Y/N did love it, no matter how much she complained. It had been her dream to open a hotel on the island ever since she set foot on it for the first time. Jamie had been born here, rarely ever leaving. She loved it dearly, the island, the hotel, her life. It'd had always been just her and Y/N. She was okay with that, cause her mom was the absolute best. But she couldn't help wondering about her father. Where he was. Who he was. Did he even know she existed? Probably not, she thought.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she reached her mom's room, trying to remember why she was up here in the first place. She clicked, heading towards the desk and opening the first drawer. And sure enough, there was the drill. She picked it up, and underneath she noticed a journal. She knew she shouldn't look at it, it was her mom's and it was personal. But her curiosity took the better of her. She set the drill down on the desk and reached for the journal, opened it carefully and started to read the first page.

~

July 30th, 1969

You had just gotten to Greece a few days ago. After graduating high school in America last year, you decided to take a year off, with the intent of traveling the world. You didn't get to until now, but you were determined to make the most of the time you had. Greece had always been the place you wanted to see the most, so that's where you headed first. It was beautiful. And so full of life.

You were wandering in the streets, not quite sure what to do with your day, when you spotted a ferry that was headed to a little island nearby. You decided to go check it out, it couldn't hurt.

The ride didn't take too long, and soon enough, you were stepping onto the island. Greece was beautiful, yes, but this was something else entirely. You had never seen anything so gorgeous. You'd been there only 5 minutes and you already knew you never wanted to leave.

The wind was strong here, but it was warm, so it wasn't bothering you much. You made your way up a hill, to get a better view. You spent some time there, admiring everything, when, out of nowhere, rain started pouring. You were taken aback, not expecting this at all. You were frantically looking around for a shelter, when you spotted a little cabin just a bit further down the road. You rushed towards it and opened the door, walking in and sighing as you closed the door behind you. You closed your eyes and leaned against the door, catching your breath, when you heard someone clear their throat and you jumped, your eyes opening quickly. A gorgeous blond man was leaning against the wall across from you, staring at you.

“Oh my god!” You exclaimed. “I am so, so sorry! I didn't think anyone was in here! And the rain just started so suddenly and it's the first thing I saw and-”

You stopped your rambling when he chuckled lightly, a slight grin forming on his face.

“It's quite alright, love. Wouldn't want to get you wet now, would we?” He teased. He was looking you up and down and didn't even try to be subtle about it.

You blushed and looked away. That boy was gonna be trouble. He had way too much of an effect on you.

“I'm Roger. Roger Taylor. Feel free to stay in here as long as you want.” You looked back at him at that, a grateful smile gracing your lips.

“Thank you,” you said softly. “I'm Y/N Y/L/N,” you added after a pause.

“It's nice to meet you, Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you too, Roger.”

~

It took about half an hour for the rain to stop, and you spent most of that time sitting at his table, looking anywhere but at him. He had an intense gaze, and you refused to get lost in his deep blue eyes.

He was sitting on the couch, not very far from you. But nothing was far from you in the cabin, really. It was fairly small. You could feel his eyes on you. He'd pretty much been looking at you the whole time while you were dead set on ignoring him. At first, it was because you felt intimated. But that feeling quickly faded away. You realized he was harmless. Well, harmless as long as you didn't give him the opportunity to break your heart. Because you knew he could. Easily.

“Are you really just gonna sit there without saying a word?” Your head snapped up at his words. “You haven't even looked at me since you sat down at that damn table. Am I really that intimidating?” His tone was coy.

“You wish.” You rolled your eyes, trying to hold back the laugh that was threatening to escape.

“Well, what is it then?” he asked, more seriously.

You looked him over, he was really handsome. And weren't you here to have fun, anyway?

“It's nothing.” You decided to throw caution to the wind, and motioned for him to come sit with you, and he gladly obliged.

“So, what'd you wanna talk about?” you asked, a small smile on your lips.

“What are you doing in Greece?”

“I always wanted to travel, see the world. And Greece just seemed like the right place to start I suppose.”

He nodded at your response.

“How long are you staying? Are you staying on the mainland or here on Kalokairi?” he asked.

“Woah there, so many questions,” you laughed.

“I don't know how long I'm staying, as long as I want I guess? And I was staying on the mainland, but, Kalokairi you called it?-” He nodded. “-It's so amazing here, I might just have to find a place to stay, at least for a little while.”

“You should, it's great here. Plus, I'm here. Big advantage for Kalokairi,” he grinned.

“Hmm yeah sure,” you huffed.

“Ouch, you wound me, love,” he said, putting his hand over his chest in a dramatic gesture.

You couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped your lips.

“So um, the rain's stopped. I should probably go,” you said as you raised from the chair.

“Hold on!” He got up hastily and you paused, looking at him.

“There's a place not far from here I know you'd love!” He said excitedly.

“We've met less than an hour ago, how could you possibly know what I'd love?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“I just do. C'mon, trust me, won't ya?” He said, trying to look annoyed at your lack of enthusiasm, but you could see that he was hoping you'd say yes.

“Alright, fuck it. Lead the way,” you gestured towards the door. He grinned at you and took your hand in his, heading outside. You froze at the contact, his hand fit so well with yours. You shook your head slightly, pushing the thought out of your head and followed him.

~

You were sitting with Roger on one of the balconies of an abandoned hotel, your legs dangling off the edge. The view was truly incredible. It was hard to focus on that with having Roger sitting so close to you though. He'd made you laugh with his stupid jokes the entire way here, and you found yourself quickly letting down your defenses, feeling very comfortable around him.

You got up and walked back inside the room, Roger's eyes following you as you went.

“Okay, you were right.” You twirled around, making Roger laugh softly. “I absolutely love this place!”

“Told you you would!” He beamed at you.

“It must have been so beautiful when it was open!” you exclaimed, a dreamy look in your eye. “Can you imagine?”

“Yeah, must've been quite something.”

“One day, I'll fix this place up and run it! I'll make it the number one destination in Greece!”

He got up and made his way over to you. “That's quite the plan you got there.”

“Just you wait and see, it'll happen,” you said confidently.

“Oh I believe you, love. I wouldn't put anything past you.” The look on his face told you he actually meant that. It made you smile.

“Wanna grab a bite? There's a little restaurant not far from here that's pretty good, and I'm starving.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” You smiled at him, and this time you were the one to take his hand in yours.

~

You’d spent the entire day with Roger, and it had been one of the best days of your life. Now you were in front of his cabin, staring at each other. His hand softly brushed a strand of hair out of your face, lingering there a second longer than necessary. You leaned into his touch slightly. He leaned down, his face a few inches away from you. You closed the distance between the two of you, pressing your lips softly against his. He used the hand that was already on your face to cup your cheek, his other one resting on your waist. He gave your waist a little tug, pulling you closer, a soft gasp escaping your lips and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. You ran your hands through his hair, reveling in the sensation.

You kissed until you had to pull away for air. You rested your hands on his chest.

After a short, comfortable silence, he spoke up.

“So, want to come in for the greatest shag of your life?” He suggested with a grin.

Your eyes widened and he panicked a little, putting his hands up in mock defense.

“I was kidding! Well, not really, but I shouldn't have said it, sorry,” he mumbled.

“Well-” you trailed, tracing your finger along his chest. “-if it were just a shag… but the greatest shag of my life? Who could say no to that?” You said with a sly smirk.

“Indeed, who could?” He grinned and took your hand, leading you into his cabin.

~

“So, Roger Taylor, I've told you why I'm in Greece. But you still haven't. What're you doing here?” you asked him quietly. You were laying in his bed, your head on his chest and his arm around you. He was a cocky son of a bitch, but he had a right to be. He really was amazing. Not that you'd ever admit that to him.

He hummed, gently rubbing your shoulder. “Just had to take a break from London. The city, Uni, and all that shit.”

“What are you studying?”

“Dentistry. But that's not what I wanna do.” He paused, and you looked up at him, prodding him to go on.

“I wanna be a rockstar,” he said with a grin.

The look on his face made you think his dream was probably gonna come true, one way or another, and you rested your head back on his chest.

“A rockstar, huh?”

He hummed in agreement.

“Do you play anything?” you queried.

“Yeah. I'm a drummer.”

“And I'm really good,” he added after a beat, and you laughed.

“Well, that's good to know. You'll have to play for me sometime.”

“Definitely, love.” He kissed your hair, and shifted a little under you, moving into a better position for sleeping. He pulled you closer and you snuggled up to him, sighing softly.

~

August 13th, 1969

The last two weeks with Roger had been the best of your life. You had fallen head over heels in love with him in such a short amount of time, it was crazy. And even though neither of you had said it, you knew he loved you, too. You'd spent the last week talking about how you should both just stay here forever, and everytime you did he would just pull you in for a hug or a kiss, distracting you so that he wouldn't have to tell it wasn't possible. You knew it was a ludicrous idea, you both had responsibilities back home, but you didn't care. Not one bit. To hell with school back home. You didn't even know what you were going to study. And you hated school. The idea of going, learning something you didn't even care about, just to please your parents made your skin crawl. No, you wanted to stay here, forever. With Roger.

You walked back into the cabin, having just come back from picking oranges in a tree nearby. You smiled at Roger's shirtless sleeping form on the bed. You walked over to the kitchen counter with your bag of oranges, trying to remember where the juicer was. You opened a drawer and there it was. As you reached for it, your fingers brushed against a file, part of a picture slipping out of it. You could see it was a picture of Roger, so you pulled it out to look at it properly. Your smile faltered when you saw that he had his arms around a beautiful girl. She was beaming at him. You turned the picture over and read the inscription. “Engagement picture, June 30th, 1969” Your eye prickling with tears, you turned it over once again, to look at the girl's hand. And sure enough, she had a ring on her finger. You couldn't believe this. You let the oranges fall to the ground, threw the picture on the floor and rushed outside, slamming the door loudly behind you.

“Y/N?!” Roger shot up as he heard the door slamming. He looked around and saw the oranges on the floor, he got up hastily, concerned. He bent down to grab his pants, and that's when he saw it. The picture. Fuck. he thought as he rushed out after you.

“Y/N!” He was calling out to you, but you kept running, ignoring him. You had no idea where you were going, but you didn't care. You just needed to get away, as far away from him as possible.

Without even realizing you were headed that way, you found yourself in front of the abandoned hotel. Once you were inside, you finally allowed yourself to stop and catch your breath. But that was a mistake, cause Roger ran in not long after.

“Y/N! Y/N please just listen to me!” He panted.

You turned around, staring him down.

“I'd love to,” you said, trying to hold back your tears.

“You will?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah. I'll listen while you answer 3 questions. “Are you engaged to that woman in the picture?”

He hesitated for a second before nodding slowly.

“Yes.”

“And did you tell me about it?”

“No.” Tears were forming in his eyes now. You looked away, taking a deep breath and bracing yourself.

“And do you seriously think I could ever forgive you?”

“Please don't-”

“Go.”

“Please, please just listen to me Y/N,” he pleaded, getting closer to you.

“No!” You put your arm up, stopping him from approaching. “That is enough listening! Go!”

“But-”

“Go, Roger.” You turned away from him, letting your tears flow freely now that he couldn't see you. You heard a choked sob, and then he finally left.

You cried for hours. That was it. The love of your life, gone, just like that. But knowing you and knowing Roger, there was nothing you could do.

@mazzelloplots @rogerinatrash @silverofthunder @perriwiinkle @sniktorthwip

[blueboycal]

Give Love A Try - Part 1

REQUEST: Can you write another Calum imagine where he's loved you for a long time and Ashton finally gets him to tell you but you don't feel the same but days later the boys help you realize that you actually do love him and then fluff 

WARNINGS: none

PAIRING: Calum x poc!reader

WORD COUNT: 1,785

 Calum sat at the bar observing the others around him. A blonde took the seat next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see she was wearing a lacy black top, blue jean shorts and thigh high boots.

 "Hey handsome." She flashed him a smile while tossing her hair over her shoulder. He turned his head to get a better look.

 "Want to dance?" 

 "No thanks." Calum replied. He watched the blondes smile disappear. She stormed away into the crowd.

 "That girl was totally into you." He turned to see Ashton looking bewildered. He was occupying the seat the girl had abandoned. Calum shrugged his shoulders and drank the shot that sat in front of him. 

 "Let me guess, you're still hung up on __." 

 "No." He lied.

 "Cal, you're an awful liar." His friend called out to the bartender and ordered two more drinks. 

 "When are you going to tell her?" Ashton asked turning towards him. 

 "Tell her what?" Calum furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

 "That you're in love with her." He stated. 

 "Never." 

 "Why not?"

 "Because I don't want to ruin our friendship." Him and Y/N had been friends for over a year. He could clearly recall the day they met. Her long brown curls spilled down her shoulders. She was standing next to a box full of vinyls. She wore black jeans and a grey t-shirt. He watched as she pushed up her black framed glasses. She reached down and began restocking the shelf. He was captivated by her. Somehow he remembered to move his feet and they carried him in her direction. He had no clue what to say.

 "Hey." Calum blurted out. She turned around and looked up. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Calum Hood was standing right in front of her.

 "Hi." She squeaked out. 

 "Uh, how can I help you?" She stammered out.

 Calum was suddenly tongue tied, just like she was but for a different reason. "I uh, need help finding a record." He gave her a smile. 

 She put on hand on the step stool beside her praying her knees wouldn't give out on her. Her eyes darted towards the box on the floor. Her cheeks were turning red. 

 "What's it called?" Calum scratched the back of his neck. His brain felt like mush. "That's The Spirit." 

 "Its closer to the front." 

 "Oh." 

 "Can you show me where I'd find it?" He asked. 

 "Yes." She grabbed the box and set it on the table.

 "Follow me." Her sneakers squeaked on the checkered floor. She ran her fingers over the stack of records near the front, she pulled out a black one with a white umber all on the front.

 "Here you go." Calum gently took it from her His eyes traveled to her name tag. 

"Thanks, ______." Butterflies filled her stomach at the sound of him saying her name.

 "Your Welcome, let me know if you need anything else. Calum."

 "How'd you know my name?"

 "How do you think?" She shook her head and walked back to the box of records she was shelving. 

 Calum sighed at the memory and drank another shot. He kept going back to that record store to see her.Most of the time he’d ask her a bunch of questions in order to keep talking with her. He eventually had the courage to ask her to hang out outside of work. They'd been inseparable since then.

 "You'll never know unless you say something. I mean you only-." He began.

 "Don't finish that sentence." Calum interrupted.

 Ashton took a sip of his drink. "If you don't tell her how you feel, you won't be able to get over her."

 "I don't want to be over her." He twisted the ring on his finger. 

 "Then do something. Please. I can't watch my best friend pine after a girl for the rest of his life." 

 "Just saying." Ashton said shrugging.

                                                         *** 

 Calum raised his ring clad hand and knocked on the apartment door. He repeated his actions several more times. The music that had been blaring from inside had been turned down. The door swung open revealing Y/N. She had on grey sweatpants, and a black 5sos hoodie. Her curls were pulled up into a bun on top of her head. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face upon seeing her. God she was beautiful.

 "Hey Cal." She smiled up at him.

 "Can I come in?" 

 She stood back and watched as he crossed the threshold. She closed the door and plopped down on the couch. He sat on the other side of the couch. Calum cleared his throat and messed with the strings on his green empathy hoodie. "Uh there's something I want to tell you." He looked over at her. 

 "Okay what is it?" She bit her lip in anticipation. Calum sat up straighter. It was now or never he thought.

 "I love you."

 "I love you too Calum." She giggled.

 "I mean as more than a friend." He held his breath waiting for her to respond. Her eyes went wide. She let go of the curl she was twirling. Calum loves her as more than a friend. She couldn't wrap her head around it. It made no sense. Why would he like her? 

 "Please say something." He whispered.

 "Um." She stammered, lost for words. 

 "Um?" Calum echoed.

 "I'm not sure what to say." She admitted. Her brown eyes met his. They were full of hope and confusion.

 "How long have you felt this way about me?"

 "A while."

 She sighed. Words lingered in the back of her throat. She was very surprised that he had romantic feelings for her. She didn't want to break her best friends heart but she didn't have a choice. 

 "I'm sorry, I love you but not in that way." Calum nodded his head and stood up. 

"I'll let myself out." He clutched the doorknob desperate to get out of there. He needed to put distance between them. Once he was outside of the apartment complex, he let the tears he'd been holding in fall. 

                                                      ***

 The doorbell rang and she let out a groan. Getting up from her spot on the bed she ran to the door. "For the last time I don't want to buy any steaks!" She began while opening the door. Instead of the guy who was their earlier Ashton, Luke, and Michael were standing in his place.

 "Oh it's you guys." She let out a sigh of relief.

 "Steaks? I want some." Luke said. 

 "Yeah you should've bought some. You never have anything to eat." Michael pouted.

 "That's because you guys eat everything that isn't nailed down." She shut the door as the boys made themselves at home in her apartment.

 "So what have you been up to?" Ashton asks.

 "I was catching up on Wynonna Earp, why?" 

 "Just curious. We haven't seen you in like three days." 

 "I've been working. I don't have to spend every waking moment up your ass."

 "I thought you liked it up there." Luke chuckled. She rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen. She began to dig through her fridge for a soda. She grabbed three and headed back into the living room. 

 "Well how are you guys?" 

 "Not so great actually." Ashton said. He cracked his knuckles.

 "Why's that?" She set the sodas down on the coffee table.

 "Oh maybe because you broke Calum." Luke chimed in.

 "Correction, you broke Calum's heart." Ashton stated. 

 "Yeah." Michael added as he slurped his soda. 

 "I knew something was up." She shook her head and sat in the empty chair. The boys usually came over to her place to eat and watch movies. This visit was too formal. Like she was being interrogated.

 "What happened between you and Calum?" Luke asked. 

 "Why do you think I broke Calum?" She fired back avoiding the question.

 "Because he came back from your place all sad and mopey." Ashton explained.

 "Wait, did you know that he liked me?" Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. 

"Yeah, everyone knows. It's pretty obvious." 

 "Obvious to everyone but me." She slumped back in the chair. The thought of making Calum sad made her feel awful. When she first met Calum she did have a huge crush on him but over time it faded. She got to know him and she came to appreciate his friendship. She never thought in a million years he'd see her as anything but a friend or even pretty. He was on the road a lot and long distance relationships of any kind always failed. She'd lost friends and family relationships because of it. He was just Calum Hood. Her best friend. She couldn't understand why he would be in love with her.

 "I'm confused. I thought you liked Calum." Michael said 

 "I did at first but I don't anymore." She shrugged.

 "Why not?" 

 "I got over it." She shrugged. 

 "So if he asked you out on a date, you'd say no?" Ashton asked. 

 "Because I'm not his type!" 

“How do you know?” Ashton asked.

Because Calum wouldn’t date a girl who looks like me.” She had never said that out loud before, maybe it was her insecurities getting the best of her. It was in the back of her mind anytime she had a crush on someone, she was always out of their league.

“He doesn't care about what you look like, he’s clearly hot a thing for you.” Luke said. 

“You don’t understand! Every person who’s asked me out either wanted to piss off their racist parents or thought dating a black girl would somehow be different than dating a white girl. I was just an experiment to them.” Her voice echoed off the walls of the small apartment, she quickly wiped away tears that had managed to escape. 

Michael had silently gotten up from the couch and engulfed her in a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

“I’m sorry you have to go through that (y/n).” Michael spoke softly. He broke the hug and stepped back. 

“Calum wouldn’t treat you like that, he likes you for you. Just give him a chance please.” Ashton pleaded.

“I’ll think about it.” She sat back down. 

“Yeah sad calum isn’t very fun to be around.” Luke declares. 

The boys had each given her a hug goodbye before opening the front door and trailing out into the hallway. She waved them off and shut the door. Returning to the couch she dropped her head into her hands and was thankful that she was finally alone again in her apartment. 

                                                     ***

A/N: This took way too long for me to write and a part 2 will be up at some point. Let me know what you think!

[jordoalejandro]

The Seventh Annual List of Movies I Saw the Past Year

Boy, let me tell you, I saw some movies this year.

And here they are, all the movies I've seen that have come out since-ish the last Oscars ceremony (2/26/17), ranked into a neat little list.

40. All Nighter - I didn’t hate this movie or anything, but there’s definitely not enough comedy or story to really be worth it. You sorta get the idea pretty quickly: an unmanly guy pairs up with his ex-girlfriend’s manly dad and the odd couple goes on an adventure from place to place. The problem is, every place they go, nothing really funny or unique or particularly entertaining happens. The characters don’t have a ton of interesting growth. There are subplots and side characters that don’t add anything. J.K. Simmons delivers a few good, sarcastic one-liners, but that’s about it for the whole thing.

39. Roman J. Israel, Esq. - This film doesn’t really go anywhere because it seems like it doesn’t know where it wants to go. It feels like it wants to be a legal drama and a morality tale and a societal commentary and a thriller (plus, it includes a romantic subplot) but it just kinda rolls along, not committing to anything, not even, really, a story. I was about an hour in when I checked the time and realized: I have absolutely no idea what this movie is about. And I don’t mean thematically. I couldn’t put into words a summary of the plot at that point. (I'm honestly not sure I could put into words a summary of the plot at this point, either.) It gains only slightly more minimal focus in the back half but the film as a whole never achieves any sort of traction. Denzel Washington saves the movie from being a complete loss by being compelling, as always, but otherwise, there’s just a lot of surface level dramatic ideas and not much else.

38. Baywatch - I will say it at least has a couple of good laughs, maybe even a few more than some of the other comedies higher on this list, but it doesn't have nearly enough to make up for its shortcomings. The story is generic and its connective tissue is fairly weak -- you just kind of hop around from one thing to the next. The whole thing comes off more like a loosely stitched together series of skits and vignettes than a cohesive story. The humor is often uninspiring or just plain cheap, lowest common denominator stuff, and it rarely feels organic to the plot. The character motivations are unfocused. The action isn't really clever or well-directed. To me, at least in terms of writing and filmmaking, this just read like a lazy, lazy movie.

37. The Florida Project - I don’t care for Dead Poets Society. I find it overdramatic and dull, but whenever Robin Williams shows up, he gives a little life to the movie and sparks my attention enough to keep me going. That’s Willem Dafoe in this movie. He’s the almost-saintly manager of a motel who cares far too much about his tenants, many of whom often don’t deserve his level of patience. He's the best part of the film, or at least the most bearable part, but he’s on screen only every now and then. The majority of the film is following rambunctious children around as they try to make the best of their dreadful, near homeless situation. It's not that I hate kids, but I just don't find everything children do to be delightful. Quite frankly, I found these ones annoying. And if you don't buy in and want to spend time around these energetic tykes as they spit on cars and eat ice cream and burn down abandoned apartment buildings, then you're not in for a good time, especially because the rest of the film is about the harsh realities of being an addict caught in a cycle of inescapable poverty while caring for a child you can barely support. On the bright side, the film looks great, and it does have a very natural feel to it that leads to, at times, some good performances (though it also leads to some scenes where you are starkly reminded that this is still, with the exception of Dafoe and a couple of scenes with Caleb Landry Jones, a cast full of very novice actors at work). The movie feels like it's trying to evoke empathy for its characters, but for me, the whole thing was just exhausting.

36. Rough Night - The film moves well, at least -- it doesn't ever really feel like it's lagging -- but there just aren't a ton of laughs here, and it's not like the story is incredibly original either. Honestly, the funniest scene actually happens in the middle of the end credits, which isn't a good sign, but at least I was laughing out loud at something. The movie's entertaining enough to get through but still not great.

35. Their Finest - The first of three British films I saw this year revolving around the Dunkirk evacuation. It's fairly slow and not very funny for what is, ostensibly, a comedy-drama. Also, there's a very strange act three choice that doesn't ruin the movie, per se, but does cast a weird shadow over all the proceedings. This all sounds bad. It's not as bad as what I just wrote about it. There's some stuff to like in here. It's just not good either. It's... okay.

34. Going in Style - A serviceable heist comedy. It’s well put together. Flows fine. The humor isn’t particularly sharp and the story follows pretty predictable beats. There’s just nothing really spectacular or unexpected about it. Everything just feels sort of phoned in, making it feel fairly unnecessary as an exercise. I caught it on HBO, which is a fine place for it. You’re flipping around, you come across it, you can waste 90 minutes being mildly entertained and then immediately forget about it. 

33. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword - Guy Ritchie’s energetic filmmaking is able to make even nonsense stories at least watchable (though I felt some of the action scenes relied far too much on CGI and became cartoony). And the story is pretty much nonsense. It's filled with a lot of dull mystical stuff that doesn't add enough mystique to really be worth it. I know Merlin and all that magic is part of the Arthur legend, but it's not like this film is a faithful execution of the old lore anyway. Ditching that stuff and going a more grounded route might've helped, or at least allowed the story to be streamlined a bit. Another way to help the story might be to drop some of the film's many side characters, none of which are compelling enough to truly stand out, and developing some of the remaining ones better. But really, at the core of it, there just isn't a strong enough plot here. The good guys and the bad guys run around, and fight, and run back, and fight some more. It feels like it might possibly be going somewhere but then it sort of peters out and ends. Like this review.

32. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - It's not horrible, but definitely the weakest entry of the series. The directing and writing are just not up to par. The dialogue and humor often felt forced, and there were a lot of unnecessary plot elements. The film looked great, but the action sequences were not as crisply directed as I’d like, doing a poor job of establishing and tracking action and relying too heavily on CGI. Also, sadly, the Captain Jack Sparrow character is starting to feel like diminishing returns a bit. He was such an enthralling character when we first met him, but now, five movies in, he doesn't have the same life to him. (It doesn't help that Johnny Depp seems to be sleepwalking through things at this point.) There’s still some inventive stuff here, and fun locales, and the film is entertaining enough as a whole, but it's just not as good as you want it to be. The world that was established in the first entry of this franchise was so great, with tons of potential in it. I wish it could get back there and tap into it.

31. Fist Fight - This was funnier than I thought it was gonna be. The story doesn’t work great but the film still flows based on its performances. Most of the heavy lifting is done by Charlie Day -- who can seemingly elevate and sell any quality of comedic material with his physicality and energy -- though Ice Cube turns in a solid performance as the no-nonsense counterbalance, and Jillian Bell and Tracy Morgan, who have smaller supporting roles, add something each time they're on screen, too.

30. Downsizing - An interesting idea in search of a better film plot. The setup is clever -- it raises a lot of fascinating hypothetical questions -- but then the story wanders. It touches on a lot of other subjects that could be interesting in their own right (the inevitability of class systems in utopias, abuses of new technology, end of the world vaults) but have very little actual connection to the idea of downsizing itself. Reading a synopsis of the back half of the movie sounds like the first draft of a better end product film. Like, imagine an alternate universe where Downsizing is a really good movie, getting awards and such, and I tell you, "Did you know in the first draft there was a whole plotline where he meets a political refugee and they travel to Norway and there's all this stuff about a doomsday vault?" and you'd say, "Oh, wow, that's weird. I'm glad they changed that and Downsizing became the beloved film we all know and love." And I say, "Yeah. It was good catching up with you. I like talking about behind-the-scenes facts of popular films of the time." And you say, "Agreed. We should talk again soon," and we go our separate ways but we don't really talk again for months. I mean, you know how it gets with our schedules. Who really has the time? ... Anyway, Hong Chau, though her character is the aforementioned, strangely included political refugee, does excellent work with her role, bringing humor, strength, and some real depth to it.

29. Handsome Devil - A decent, charming, coming-of-age story with some good cinematography, fine music choices, solid acting, and a few laughs. The story is a little too formulaic, though. It treads on familiar ground without offering too many surprises, and comes to something of a flat ending. It also felt a little rudderless at times. It could've used some more focus, especially in terms of some character motivations.

28. Snatched - Though the plot doesn’t offer many surprises, it’s entertaining, with a handful of laugh out loud moments. Goldie Hawn is great, delivering that combo of sweet and funny that reminds you why she was one of the biggest comedic actresses in the world for a while there. Amy Schumer gets a few laughs herself and there’s a good supporting cast here (namely, Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack, and Ike Barinholtz) that made this an enjoyable watch.

27. Darkest Hour - The second of three British films I saw this year revolving around Dunkirk (you might be able to guess what the third one is going to be), and boy, was this film verrry British (read: dry). Still, it's shot well -- some shots look like beautiful paintings -- and it's better and more entertaining than it deserves to be seeing as it mostly feels like a vehicle to showcase Gary Oldman’s acting. He does an excellent job, though I think he's aided tremendously in some scenes by makeup and prosthetics. I say some scenes because I found myself waffling on his look. Half the time, he looked like Winston Churchill, the man himself. Other times, it very much looked like Gary Oldman in an Austin Powers Fat Bastard suit. Chalk it up to lighting and camera angles in certain scenes, I guess, but it often pulled me right out of the movie.

26. Kong: Skull Island - Visually interesting, though not wholly interesting as a story. It's sort of a paint-by-numbers, people-dying-on-a-monster-filled-island film, not dissimilar from the first two-thirds of Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong, except John C. Reilly is in this one, delightfully reprising his role from Step Brothers (he's the best part by far and makes the movie worth it almost by himself). One thing the film does that made it sit a little weird with me was make nearly all of the characters good people. They're a mostly likable bunch, and, at worst, confused about their horrible situation -- John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson are the de facto human villains, but they never feel like bad guys enough to root against them -- so it's less than enjoyable watching them die horribly. (Toby Kebbell's character is particularly, almost pointlessly tragic). I know it's weird saying I want less character development in a film, but if these characters are meant to be fodder, then less is more. Giving them depth doesn't make me root harder for them -- I'm always going to root for humans to not be eaten -- it just makes me more depressed when they're inevitably torn apart by birds.

25. John Wick: Chapter 2 - I feel about this one the way I felt about the first one: a few cool world elements, not really any story to speak of, and some really well choreographed and shot action sequences. Which is all to say: John Wick: Chapter 2 is a fine sequel. The problem is, without story, you can kind of just watch all the action scenes on YouTube and not really miss anything. This isn't to trash the film. It knows what it's here for and it does it exceptionally well, but for me, without a strong story to go with it, it's never going to be in my upper echelon of action films.

24. The Shape of Water - The film looks great, features a wonderful score and some excellent acting, and has just enough humor to carry me through the very silly story. Listen, here's the problem: if you don’t quickly buy into the woman/fish monster romance and feel for the two characters, then the movie becomes ridiculous. In part because it’s all very silly, and in part because I don’t think it was presented well enough. By the time Sally Hawkins' character is making her grand plea for love, I just haven’t seen enough happen in the relationship to accept that she’s head over heels for a fish monster. I know you shared some eggs, but... dude's a fish monster, girl. It crazy to type that out, but that's the bar the film had to clear to continue on with its story, and, for me, I don't think it did. The movie's still enjoyable, but more in a “what the hell is going on” kind of way than a "this is a romantic masterpiece" kind of way.

23. Table 19 - Surprisingly decent. The comedy isn’t particularly sharp (though there are a few good laughs) and the drama is a little overwrought (though there are some touching scenes), but the movie as a whole is sweet and easy to watch. There’s some good character stuff here and really solid acting from all the leads, most especially June Squibb, who brings such easy, natural likability and vulnerability that you can’t help but feel fondness for her.

22. Logan - Hey kids! Remember Wolverine and Professor X, your favorite X-Mans? Beloved characters you've known and grown up with for the last two decades? How'd you like to watch them suffer for two hours? What? Why are you crying? We all die. More often than not, sad and alone. Why are you crying harder? ... Look, there's a lot to like here, including some interesting ideas about legacy and what being a hero means, and some decent action (though a lot of it is repetitive - a problem the Wolverine movies have all suffered from), but there's just so much misery. I get that it's a modern western about the gunfighter's last fight and that those don't end happy for most involved, but I don't know if these characters deserved such a glum farewell.

21. Kingsman: The Golden Circle - It's fun, just not as fun as the original. Maybe there was something surprising or exciting about the first one that made it work better than this one, or maybe it was just better overall in terms of story, directing, and originality. The action scenes felt even more CGI-y and less grounded, less clever, and sometimes less necessary or organic to the plot. And the plot wasn’t as tight or investing. As a whole, it just didn’t match up. That's not to say it was bad, just slightly disappointing. Bringing back Colin Firth was a great idea though. His charm and presence is, I believe, really the core of this franchise, and his absence would have left a large hole in this film.

Okay, documentary break before we hit the top 20.

Long Shot (IMDb link, which contains some spoilers right at the top of the page) is surprising, emotional, a little funny, and overall, a stunningly good documentary about a man charged with a crime he claims he didn't commit and the lawyer who works to clear his name. If you don't know about the interesting turn it takes about midway through, don't look it up, don’t watch the trailers, don’t click the link above. Just go into the film blind. It’s more fun that way. It's short (only 40 minutes), watchable, on Netflix, and worth the time.

Break over. Back to the list.

20. The House - The plot isn’t as fully baked as it could be and that prevents it from becoming a truly good film, and while it has a lot of funny scenes and moments, it doesn’t follow up enough to keep any kind of real comedic momentum throughout. I’m a big fan of the three leads (Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, and Jason Mantzoukas), however, and I’d watch them and the solid supporting cast do just about anything for 90 minutes. You put them in front of a camera and they’ll find something funny to do on screen, as they often do here.

19. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - At one point in the theater during the film, I leaned over to my brother and whispered, “This is the strangest Star Wars film I’ve ever seen.” I think I still stand by that. (And, considering the history of this franchise, that’s saying something.) The Last Jedi is such a weird Star Wars film in that there’s so much going on. There’s the classic Star Wars stuff done really well (your space battles and lightsaber battles and what have you). Then there’s like, by my count, maybe four or five new things added to the Star Wars lore, and each one, while they make sense if you stop and think about it after the film, is at least temporarily jarring in the middle of things. I mean, I try not to get too into the weeds with all the canon and such, but there are certain things we've come to learn from all the movies we've seen up to this point that when you just throw in a bunch of these new rules to the universe... I don't hate it. And maybe my reaction to it will improve on repeated viewings. I'm just saying that each time it happened in the theater, it pulled me out of the movie. So, you've got the good stuff and the weird stuff going on in this film. Then there's the just plain bad stuff. And there's a decent amount of it, too. For one, the entire casino subplot is ridiculous, feels pointless, and has an irresponsibly high count of goofy CGI characters. It's almost prequel-level bad. But the main plot itself is somewhat ridiculous: the idea that the entire Resistance's plan after things go awry is to slowly, defenselessly roll away through space for a very long time hoping to not get attacked is nuts. What's more nuts is that it works. There's no real reason the bad guys wouldn't have sent in some waves of fighters to wipe them out, or, I don't know, taken their giant ships and gone around? It's not a one lane highway. It's space. There's room. Conflict within the Resistance comes from a strange place, too. Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo is cagey about her plans for no real reason when there’s only like a hundred members of the Resistance left, which would seem like a good time to drop all pretense and just get everyone on the same page. Oh, also, here's another insane thing: the aforementioned casino plot falls apart and leads to the near wiping out of the Resistance because the characters double parked. Search your memory of the film's plot. You know it to be true. The Last Jedi feels sort of like it was written by one of those fans who has a dedicated YouTube channel of Star Wars theories, who loves the series but has wildly differing and/or new ideas about how things should work, and who then gets hundreds of millions of dollars to make his dreams reality. (It even weirdly feels in conflict with ideas from its direct predecessor, The Force Awakens, which leads me to believe this new trilogy was only lightly outlined ahead of time, which makes me worry tremendously about Episode 9, but that's for another day and not entirely on the shoulders of this film.) Listen, all this being said, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed some of the new things and some of the continued things. And the film looks and sounds fantastic. It just had problems. And, on a grand scale, well... it was strange, man.

18. The LEGO Batman Movie - I’ve always enjoyed the LEGO video games because they’re light-hearted fun and generally work as sort of parodies/meta-commentaries of big franchises. The LEGO Batman Movie absolutely works on that level. It’s well written: funny and somewhat insightful. It's well acted, too. Will Arnett, Ralph Fiennes, and Michael Cera all turn in great voice work performances. That said, here's a maybe unpopular opinion that sure makes me feel old: the LEGO movies are way too noisy. I don't care for the animation style. There’s so much color and fast movement that it’s very hard for me to really focus on these films without feeling like I’m about to get a seizure. I like the various pieces that go into these LEGO films (writing, voice acting, and such; pun absolutely not intended) but I find I don't like them as much as a whole because of that animation style.

17. Get Out - I'll just get this out of the way at the start: I'm not one for horror movies. I don't care for them. I don't like the feeling of being tormented for an hour and a half. I don't understand why people pay money to get that feeling. Get Out is more psychological horror, for sure, but even the few jump scares/violin screeches was more than I care for. Still, I powered through because this was an expertly done, tightly written psych horror film with bits of humor and social commentary. I'm glad I saw it. I don't want to watch it again.

16. Logan Lucky - Steven Soderbergh makes interesting films. Even if there are issues with the story, what you're getting from the film in shot composition, cinematography, editing, music and all that: it's interesting. The movie isn't perfect. The story isn't as tight as, oh, let's say, something like Ocean's Eleven, and it gains and loses its momentum a few times. But it's clever, and funny, and has a few pretty good surprises up its sleeve. Overall, entertaining, and it'll scratch that itch for a good heist movie that you get every now and then.

15. I, Tonya - An excellent, tragic, dark comedy. Fascinatingly directed: quick cut, stylish, constantly breaking the fourth wall, and told almost like a sports documentary with dramatic recreations. And because it’s framed like this, it becomes a fun example of the unreliable narrator (or, in this case, three narrators), plus a really captivating way to do a biopic while skirting some the clichés of the genre. Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, and Paul Walter Hauser all deliver strong performances.

14. Wonder Woman - Far and away the best DC Extended Universe film, on par with some of the early Marvel films. It's a pretty good origin movie, bookended by a sloppy DCEU tie-in. Some bits and pieces of the story don't work very well -- most of the attempts at comedy feel forced and unnatural, and there are some subplot threads involving her group of war buddies that are touched upon and then completely forgotten -- but the plot is otherwise solid. The film looks good and sounds great, too. The fantastic "Is She With You?" theme from Batman v Superman by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL returns here, sampled by Rupert Gregson-Williams and expertly employed during the excellent World War I battle sequence. The action in that sequence is done especially well -- it really is the high point of the film -- but the action in the rest of the movie doesn't match up as well for me. The final battle against the big bad in particular was sort of a letdown. Wonder Woman suffers from the same problem a lot of the action scenes in the DCEU films do: overuse of CGI, creating characters that feel way too cartoony and light. Now, if you'll indulge me even more than you already have for a second, I'm going to tell movie executives what they should've done. Man of Steel -- without getting into a discussion of the quality of that film -- should have been the first DCEU film, to establish the tone and style. Wonder Woman should've been second, to reintroduce us to this character and lay some groundwork for her arrival in the big crossover film to come. The third film should've been a Batman/Suicide Squad story, which would introduce this universe's version of Batman without being another standalone film entirely about Batman, and would lay some more groundwork for the crossover. Also, this film, unlike Suicide Squad, should be a good film. That's important, too. Now, after you've finally introduced Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, you can do your big Batman v Superman film, which doesn't even mention The Flash, Cyborg, or Aquaman (or, like, just a post-credits sequence, if you must). Hell, if the Joker in the Batman/Suicide Squad movie is well received, maybe he can even factor into the plot of BvS. Maybe he's even the villain? Creating chaos and causing the heroes to turn on each other fits well with the Joker's style. You could even still introduce Lex Luthor, planting the seeds for his inevitable evil turn as the villain in a later team-up film. Listen, we're just pitching ideas here. No bad ideas. Then you do a Flash movie, an Aquaman movie, a Cyborg movie, and follow that up with Justice League (which, as you might be able to tell from its lack of inclusion on this "Movies I Saw" list, I haven't seen yet, but which was met with such a resounding meh I'm not feeling super confident about). In this new version, Lex Luthor's been stewing in crazy since the events of BvS and unleashes his master plan. Better round up the team! See? Someone give me billions of dollars and creative control of one of the most valuable intellectual properties in the world. I got this! ... Sorry for hijacking this review of Wonder Woman to rant about the DCEU, but this is the only movie I saw this year from it and I had to get some thoughts out.

13. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - A darkly comedic, powerful movie about the pain of unresolved grief and the pain misguided anger from that grief can lead to. It does draw a little too much humor from the easy well -- like, too many jokes at the expense of Peter Dinklage’s height -- but it’s generally smartly written. Really, what this is is a movie that isn’t interested in painting any of its characters as black or white, providing a showcase for some really talented actors to portray characters with some depth and gray areas. Frances McDormand is a powerhouse, and Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson are getting their much deserved recognition, but Peter Dinklage, Lucas Hedges, Caleb Landry Jones, and Samara Weaving also turn in really great supporting work.

12. Black Panther - First of all, this film has some of my favorite production design of any film this year. The costumes, the sets, the hair and makeup: all fantastic. Wakanda feels like a real, lived-in country. It's very cool. I also love the use of music in this film, from the licensed songs to the score, it sets a great tone. As for the movie itself, I really liked the story, but I do feel like it was let down by its action sequences. The casino scene and its ensuing chase was excellent. It was well choreographed and clearly shot. But almost every other action scene didn't live up to that one. The others were overly dark, or made too frequent use of close-ups making them sometimes incomprehensible. The final fight between Black Panther and Killmonger -- aside from being dark and hard to follow, especially because both characters are similarly costumed -- was reminiscent of the poorly done, overly CGI'ed DCEU fights I've railed about before (like on this list a few spots ago). Also, while I think the film did a good job of surrounding Black Panther with a lot of unique, interesting side characters and villains, it didn't give him enough personality. He's sort of the emotional baseline of the piece, never really wavering too much, while more exciting character stuff happens around him. (Here's a quick list of characters upstaging Black Panther in his own movie: Killmonger, Nakia, Okoye, Shuri, M'Baku, and Klaue.) It's not the worst decision, allowing the supporting cast breathing room for growth, but I do wonder if perhaps he could've been given a little more to do.

11. The Post - Steven Spielberg got me again. I've been hesitant about most of his recent directorial pieces, namely Lincoln and Bridge of Spies, but like those two, The Post won me over. Well written, well directed, superbly acted by the whole cast and, in particular, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, who really shine in this. If I have any gripe, it’s that sometimes the film, through writing or filmmaking choices, is just too blunt in showing off its themes of female empowerment or importance of a free press. We get what the movie is about. We’re watching it.

10. Call Me by Your Name - This was a very European film in that not much really happens and there’s lots of long shots of people riding bicycles and scenes of people chatting at the breakfast table and one of the biggest dramatic beats is a character getting a nosebleed. Which is all to say, it’s a really well-made film, very understated and beautifully done, but if you’re not able to get invested in a methodically paced, European, gay, romantic coming-of-age film, you’ll find yourself struggling through the two hours. I got invested and found myself enjoying it, even if just for the scenery and acting. And the film is well acted all around. Timothée Chalamet is fantastic, basically carrying the film on his shoulders, expressing subtle emotions or vulnerabilities often without even saying a word. Michael Stuhlbarg does excellent work in a supporting role, providing a sort of quiet, gentle presence through most of the film and then delivering a stunning, heart-wrenching monologue near the end that takes your breath away. Armie Hammer does very well in his role, but, to be honest, he feels miscast. His character is supposed to be 24, only slightly older than Chalamet's Elio and with only those handful more years of wisdom, but Hammer feels too much an adult. Social Network era Hammer might have been able to pull it off, but current day Hammer is unmistakably a grown man who oozes confidence without really trying, and it’s hard to fully buy into him in this role, even if he does a great job with it. You can perhaps chalk it up to the movie being told through Elio’s eyes, and in his view, Hammer's Oliver is that full grown man, but I think I still might’ve preferred a different actor for the role. This is a film for a very niche audience but that audience will love it. And I will add this: similar to last year's Manchester by the Sea, even if this isn't the best movie of the year, it's had some staying power in my brain. I'll find myself thinking about things that happened in it, or moments from it will pop back into my mind every now and then, more so than most of the films I've seen this year. What does this mean? Well, for one, it means this has moved higher up my list a few times now before settling here. Perhaps it also means I'm thinking of the movie more fondly by remembering just its highlights and if I watch it again, I'll be reminded of the slower parts I didn't care for. Or maybe it means I'll like it more the second time if I revisit it down the road. Not sure. But, at the very least, it doesn't hurt for a movie to be memorable.

9. Baby Driver - This film requires some buy-in that I think most of Edgar Wright's films haven't necessarily needed, possibly because films like Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz have a certain... British whimsy to them? Or possibly because this is the most real world of all his films. I'm not sure, but I could see how some people might resist its charm. I happen to think it's a really likable film, and I bought in right at the fantastic opening scene, which quickly establishes the tone for how the rest of the film is going to go. The movie as a whole is expertly put together. The music and editing flow perfectly, the action is shot well -- Wright is, I think, underrated from just a pure director of action sequences standpoint -- and the dialogue is snappy and clever. The story is maybe a bit simplistic but it's told well. Overall, and maybe most importantly, it's pure fun, all the way through.

8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - A truly excellent follow-up to the first film. It's funny, it has solid action, and, of course, it features some great music. Interestingly, as a sequel, it has a very Empire Strikes Back feel to it in that it's more interested in building and exploring relationships between the characters than really doing a thorough story. This even leads to it getting surprisingly deep and emotional at times. There's some great acting from the cast, especially Bradley Cooper, who continuously impresses me with his voice work as Rocket, and Michael Rooker, who gives gruff Yondu some depth and heart. The team has a wonderful chemistry, even with the new additions.

7. The Big Sick - Man, this was really well done. It touches on some compelling, rarely dealt with subjects, gets dramatic and emotional, and does so all while still telling a great, comedic love story. Very funny, very earnest, and very sweet. I'm not sure how you could not like this film. Great performances here from Kumail Nanjiani, Holly Hunter, and Ray Romano.

6. Lady Bird - Such a wonderfully done indie movie that feels deeply personal while being universally relatable. It's told with a humanist approach. There aren’t villains in this film, just people in different places in their lives, with different needs and desires and difficulties. And because the story is told through the eyes of a teenager -- an age where you often can’t see beyond your own troubles -- those others' difficulties are revealed in these beautiful, subtle little ways. It's smartly written -- funny, dramatic, and touching -- and excellently acted from top to bottom (not just Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf, who have, deservedly, received most of the plaudits, but down the list: Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, and Stephen Henderson all round out the cast and bring something to the table). Well done all around.

5. Thor: Ragnarok - So, I guess I'm a Marvel fanboy now. I try not to do that. I really want to be able to objectively critique things I watch or play, but sometimes it just happens, like with Rockstar Games, or James Bond films, or Judy Blume novels (I'm a big time Blumer, I hit up all the cons). With the MCU, I don't know for sure when it happened but I know when I realized it. It was last summer around Comic-Con -- not long after seeing another Marvel film that, spoiler alert: is going to appear shortly on this list -- when I was discussing with a friend the leaked Avengers teaser footage and the new trailer for this film and we were geeking out about both of them. It was then that I realized, "Oh yeah, I guess I'm all in on the MCU." Now, I like to think I'm not crazy, seeing as how most of these films are being met well by audiences and critics, and I still want to believe that if they release a stinker, I'll be able to recognize it. But, well, I have four MCU films in my top 12 this year, and if they keep doing a good job, I'm going to keep stacking the tops of these movie lists with them. Thor: Ragnarok is hilarious. Absolutely the funniest film of the year for me. Plus, it looks fantastic and the action is well done. It is at both times a Marvel film and a Taika Waititi film (read: oddball New Zealand-type humor) and the two meld together surprisingly well. It's charming, though it is maybe missing the sort of emotional core that elevates it to the top-top of the MCU list -- it's really more a straight comedy than any other entry -- but it's still near the very top.

4. The Disaster Artist - How should one feel about The Room? Should we respect that someone made an effort, no matter how bad the end results? Tommy Wiseau created something, which is more than a lot of people can say. Should we also take into account that we might be gawking at someone who isn't playing with a full deck, whether because he's an immigrant, or possibly not super bright, or possibly because he was in a near fatal accident at one point -- something The Disaster Artist acknowledges in passing -- that could've affected him in who knows what way? Then again, this is mostly speculation, and it might all very well be a post hoc attempt at trying to make sense of why Wiseau and his works are the way they are. And who am I to create a sad story for Wiseau? To declare, on his behalf, that it's not right to judge his work, and to protect him from the strange fame he's been handed? He is an adult, after all, who appears to have, if not full, at least more than partial grasp of his situation. Perhaps he's just an eccentric weirdo. Hollywood is full of them. Most just don't have millions of dollars of mysterious origin to allow them to see their plans go anywhere. This is some of my conflict with The Room, which is insane, and hilarious, and an amazing case study of all the wrong ways to make a movie, but afterwards leaves you with that slightly dirty feeling that you've been laughing at someone who isn't in on the joke. The Disaster Artist, which is an intentionally hilarious and superbly-made film, does a great job of playing with this conflict. James Franco, doing excellent work as both director and lead actor, invites you to laugh at Wiseau's absurdity while also asking you to sympathize with him as a man with the audacity to chase after a dream, even to such a preposterous degree. It wants you to dislike him when he acts like a raging egomaniac, but understand that he's doing it out of a place of fear and insecurity. When, during The Room's big premiere, it becomes an unintentional comedy and finds the entire theater audience essentially laughing at Wiseau, is that him receiving his just deserts, or an unfairly brutal moment for a tragic figure? Maybe it's a little of both, and maybe it's okay to accept it as such. (P.S. See The Room before watching The Disaster Artist. It's been said you don't need to, but to really appreciate what's happening, you need that frame of reference.)

3. Spider-Man: Homecoming - This was a delight. It excels at everything it tries to do. As a superhero movie? Yeah. It's very good, with several engaging action sequences. As a John Hughes style, high school comedy? It's great. The humor works and it really nails the vibe -- the kids are all well cast and do a fine job and there's a real air of authenticity to it. As a dramatic work? Yeah. The stakes, though not dealing with the end of the world, still feel important, and the film has some surprising emotion to it. Tom Holland is fantastic. He basically has to carry this high-budget, blockbuster film and does so with tremendous charm and charisma. Michael Keaton's Vulture is a strong villain -- menacing, grounded, and fascinating. Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau are used sparingly but the few times they pop up are always fun and useful for advancing the plot. Plus, on top of it all, the film features a great score from Michael Giacchino. I loved everything that was going on in this film. I had a smile on my face pretty much from start to finish.

2. Dunkirk - What a stunning film -- visceral, emotional, a powerful story about heroism, whatever that means to you in a particular moment. For some people, it's about rising to the occasion when called upon. For others, it's doing your duty. For some, it's just surviving. The film is wonderfully directed, with some spectacular cinematography. The acting is good, though no role is deep enough to really offer any actor a whole lot of meat. Kenneth Branagh gets a few good line deliveries in. Mark Rylance's character's main trait is his stoicism, and he does a lot without saying much. Tom Hardy speaks even less than Rylance, but he does a lot of outstanding acting without words and using just his eyes. The story as a whole isn’t very deep, either, but it's made much better and more interesting by the way it’s told and edited (similar to another Christopher Nolan film, Memento). Story isn't really the main selling point anyway. It’s more an event to experience than a full story and it works amazingly well as that.

1. Coco - A visually dazzling, beautiful story about family, love, and music. Clever, funny, inventive, and touching. Granted, I have a soft spot for themes of family, remembrance, eternal love and the sort but this had me tearing up several times including, and especially, during the finale, which is one of the most emotionally moving moments in any film this year. I haven’t done an official ranking or anything, but it’s one of my favorite Pixar films ever, and my favorite film of the year.

Let's do some individual awards.

Best Actor

5. Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick 4. James Franco, The Disaster Artist 3. Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour 2. Tom Hanks, The Post 1. Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name

Best Actress

5. Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water 4. Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird 3. Margot Robbie, I, Tonya 2. Meryl Streep, The Post 1. Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actor

5. Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me by Your Name 4. Bradley Cooper, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 3. Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water 2. Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 1. Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress

5. June Squibb, Table 19 4. Holly Hunter, The Big Sick 3. Hong Chau, Downsizing 2. Allison Janney, I, Tonya 1. Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Best Director

5. Joe Wright, Darkest Hour 4. Craig Gillespie, I, Tonya 3. Edgar Wright, Baby Driver 2. Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, Coco 1. Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

Best Screenplay

5. Seth Grahame-Smith and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers and Jared Stern & John Whittington, The LEGO Batman Movie 4. Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost, Thor: Ragnarok 3. Jordan Peele, Get Out 2. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird 1. Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick

I guess if there's one thing to be gleaned from this year's list, it's that I don't like action scenes with an overreliance on CGI. I get that it's a part of every movie now -- and for that matter, really almost every action scene uses at least some CGI at this point -- but this year, in particular, stood out as having a lot of bad examples. It's disappointing.

If there's two things to be gleaned from this year's list, it's that I don't like action scenes with an overreliance on CGI, and... The Last Jedi was strange, man.

Enjoy the Oscars, everyone!

- - - - -

Read More:

Annual Lists of Movies I Saw the Past Year

[orihime-maychan]

I Attended the Goo Goo Dolls Live Concert and Experienced Weird Stuff

I just found out last week on posters and billboards near the Trinoma area that the Goo Goo Dolls would be having their first ever concert in the PH on February 11, 2017. If you wanna read about this whole account, just click the Keep Reading break. It’s gonna be long, I warn you,so if you suddenly think TL;DR it’s all on you. =P And if you know where Trinoma is, Hi there ^-^

Yes, I live under a rock and I have no shame about that, but seeing that concert poster kinda made me think that I would very much rather go to that concert than accompany a work colleague to the International Hot Air Balloon Festival, which was something that she asked me to go with for the past month. After she backed out on the day before we were supposed to go, I was quite happy that I could now go to the Goo Goo Dolls concert, and not have to spend the day somewhere else. Yes, I do appreciate work colleague’s enthusiasm on going but to be honest, I pretty much have a gauge on whether or not I would enjoy having her as company on anything and, well, it’s a no. I’m not being mean, but it’s just that I prefer not to talk about work, or politics, or showbiz (unless it’s about the latest or best K-drama or movie or song out there), or even about other people that I personally know, and this person just likes to talk about such things. You’d probably have that kind of friend, the one who only mopes or brags or just plainly zaps your energy down and you just try to get away from such a friend as much as you can, and that’s how I feel about this friend so I just made up my mind that in the event that the original outing plan was to be abandoned, I’m gonna go to a concert. By myself. Because I can. And so I did. But it felt quite weird, especially with the events leading to the actual day and even after the concert has ended. I landed in places I didn’t even know existed, or even thought of going to in the soonest possible time. Therefore, after what happened to be the weirdest yet fun adventure I had with two total strangers (yes, I spent a lotta time with two people I have never met before, and lived to tell the tale), I shall write my account before I forget it altogether.

The Days (that lead to, and the Night) before the Concert

Since finding out about the concert, even if I was thinking that I had to go to the Hot Air Balloon Fest, at the back of my mind I really wanted to be somewhere else, so instead of trying hard to think about the original event, I just stopped resisting the concert urge and started imagining the kind of fun I was going to have while watching the concert by myself without distractions or negative tag-alongs with me. I was intending to ask my concert buddy and very good college friend to go along with me but turns out that she got tagged to the Hot Air Balloon event even if she didn’t really felt like going there at all. Apparently she also wanted to attend the Goo Goo Dolls concert as well but because of peer pressure (lol) she had to get up early and go someplace else. Seriously I think she had been one of the designated drivers so it’s not like she had a choice too, but her own travel got weird as well and she seemed to have enjoyed the weirdness that ensued so good for her, and bless her soul. =D

So, going back to my own experience, on the days leading to the concert, I was pretty much stuck and unhappy for some reason, mainly I was starting to dread going to the Hot Air Balloon Fest. I have nothing against it, it seems to be a lot of fun and there were drones and fighter planes and stuff but seriously, not really my thing, but I still tried my best to prep up like finding directions on how to go there, thinking of eating in the eateries before going to the actual place because I expect that everything would be super pricey and stuff. I could not, for the love of pizza fries find a decent post on the internet on how to get there from where I am, and it was super-frustrating AF because even the person who asked me to go to the event has no idea how to get there either, and it kinda sucked. Also, I had a strong and nagging feeling of ditching her once I find out if she would be bringing other people with her, so I won’t have to. Yes, I may sound like I’m a bad friend but seriously I’m the kind of person that actually avoids certain kinds of people like the plague because I wanna and because I have to. Introverts can relate to that statement, or at least some of them do (hugs you all yay). On the day before the concert I was asking everyone at home if they know of a way to go to the Hot Air Balloon event, and as expected, they didn’t know any other shortcuts except when using a private car. I have no license yet so going there via the expressways and other main roads is already a no-go. (I’m planning to get my license this year but for now, I just do my best not to get one while I’m still emotionally and psychologically unstable.) Just when I was about to give up, I found a blogger’s account on how she got to Baler, Aurora using the route that I was supposed to use to get to the site, and then back here in our house again. Seriously, that pushed me to text my friend if she still wanted to go. But she texted back that she can’t go, and would just meet up with me next time. LOL, all that worry went for nothing. But I was still happy because I learned a new way of going somewhere else (I might need that in the future) and now I can, by all means go to the concert and have fun and stuff. Yay ^-^ But as the day was starting to end, and I had already listened to nearly all of the songs online, my drive to attend was waning, and fast, like the speed of light. At around 9pm, I have already resigned to not leaving the house altogether and just spend the day stretching and flexing my hands so I could make my template drawing for my father’s souvenir program and finish it as well. I didn’t even try putting on extra-nice creams on my face to freshen up, I just washed and toned and moisturized and just fell asleep, thanking the universe for my uneventful day. But of course, knowing the universe, it throws curve balls when you’re not looking.

The Concert Day Itself…

I woke up around 2am and couldn’t sleep properly till 5am. Initially, I was quite frustrated because I wanted more sleep so I could draw and stuff, but weirdly after having lucid and non-lucid dreams till 5am I suddenly had a strong urge to go to Manila (yeah, obviously I don’t live there >_<) and watch Goo Goo Dolls as planned. I washed up, took leaks as much as I can, ate a bit of stuff, and went off. My father was in the driveway and asked me if I was still going to the concert, for which I just blurted out a “yes” and the next thing I knew he took me to the hi-way in his truck to catch the bus, which I did eventually after he circumvented the usual route and took me to another bus stop before the one I was gonna board on came.  I was almost left behind but the universe wanted me to watch the concert so I took it as a sign to shut the heck up and just go with it. I got on the bus and met a colleague, which is more of a sempai-kouhai relationship because I was the sempai and the kid is the kouhai who also works in the area where I live, bless his soul. I might have ruined his time because he seemed to be talking with another dude across the bus aisle and I just told him to move to the window seat and he actually obliged (but then again, they should’ve just sat together so I wouldn’t have ruin anything, but that’s just my thoughts so….). Anyways, after chatting for a bit and dozing off and waking up at the bus stop-over, then exchanging seats with the colleague so he could talk to the other guy again, dozing off due to traffic jams and finally saying goodbyes to the colleague, I finally reached the bus terminal full of anticipation, excitement, as well as plans on what I would do during the concert (like standing and jumping while screaming at the top of my lungs, singing along to whatever song I can, and waving my hands without any care in the world) as well as planning how I’m gonna get home later and the expected time I would go to bed. I bought the tickets at the site because I didn’t want to use my plastic to buy a General Admission ticket online, cause that’s reserved for the more posh concert boxes. =P After buying the tickets, I sat beside a grampa on the rim of a large exhaust thing which is probably where the AC of the concert venue releases the heat. But I got bored so I left the grampa and went somewhere to eat some grub so I won’t have to later, before entering the nearby mall to stare at the cute Koi in the pond, for the next 5 hours or so. But just after 3 hours I got bored so I went out again and sat somewhere near some food kiosks, but that didn’t last very long because just 5 minutes of sitting down and we were told to leave because they were gonna open in a bit. I went back to the exhaust thing and sat down…

Is when the Weird Things started Happening

After a few minutes sitting down, a chibi-sized girl (and I mean REALLY chibi because compared to my 1.54m height, she was like at least 30cm shorter, like srsly I suddenly felt tall like a model LOL) walked towards me and sat on the exhaust rim. She might have been sitting on the same food kiosk area where I had been before getting pushed off (sad face), and she started asking me if I was there for the Goo Goo Dolls concert. Had I said NO, I might have enjoyed the rest of my concert day and did the stuff that I was planning to do, but being quite open to meeting fellow concert goers at the venue, I said YES. Well, it went weirdly OK after that. We started chatting about the band’s songs, where we lived, our work, then exchanging names (because we just clicked without going through the usual pleasantries that other people do), then moving on to other stuff like how many kids today are so spoiled rotten and annoying and shaking our heads too much because srsly, we both found out that couldn’t stand ungrateful idiots and that if the parents didn’t stop spoiling their kids the future would be unbearably bleak (no pun intended, but srsly MAIKO FTW! LOL). We had so much to talk about, even when a mom suddenly appeared twice to find people to chat with while she was waiting for her son and his GF. No, he didn’t attend the concert, and when we saw the kid my brain was like “you’re still a baby lololol” even if he was taller and looked like a skater boy. Anyways, the mom and the kids left and Chibi-girl and I started chatting again.

After exchanging some life experiences, our ages, ideas, as well as being excited to see older people who would be watching the concert with us, an Oneesan who sat on my left (Chibi was sitting on my right) and was being a lot fidgety stood up to ask us if we were going to the concert. We both could have said no but we were already in the zone so we just said yes. This Oneesan asked our ages and when we told her we were both already 30 she jumped up shocked and said “Why are you kids going to this concert?” Major LOLs here because Chibi and I were both hoping to see older people and watch them get excited over seeing the Goo Goo Dolls as well as waiting to see if any teens would even bother to watch as well, and then here is this 40-something Oneesan who suddenly started fangirling out loud over John and saying over and over again that she had been waiting for 20 years to see them live. The even more amazing thing about this is that Oneesan VIP (because the bought a VIP ticket) rode a plane all the way from Davao City in Mindanao just to watch the concert in Manila, and would be going back straight home afterwards. Chibi and I were super-amazed, like, that kind of dedication was soooooooo daebak. I don’t know about you guys but srsly, if I could be THAT Oneesan ten, maybe 20 years from now, then I’d be super happy. =) Oneesan asked if Chibi and I both knew each other because we were chatting so much, like two friends who were catching up and stuff. I just told her that we just met two hours ago LOL. We three ended up bonding so much so we started to chat about our lives, likes, and loves, and our expectations for the concert, what we would be doing, and what could possibly happen to us (she wanted to watch more concerts in the future both here and abroad, and Chibi seems to oblige because she seems up-to-date with the concert scene. I was of no use, unless they wanted to know how to go to the various places in Manila then I could tell them that). When it was time to assemble, Oneesan gave us a hug, we promised each other to have a good time, and she left off to the VIP admission gate while Chibi and I lined up at the general admissions gate. So, to sum that up, I met two total strangers and after a few minutes of chatting we were now officially super-duper friends. And in today’s society where stranger-danger is an actual thing, I was quite happy to meet such nice people, and felt grateful to live to tell the tale.

During the Concert

It took another two hours of standing in line before Chibi and I got inside the gen ad area, and we stared at how spacious and somewhat vacant the venue was. She seemed to be photo-crazy as she kept taking pix like every 20-seconds. I just sat there and stared at all of the people, and took just a few shots of the place. We chatted for a bit, and we tried finding where Oneesan was in the VIP section, but the area was weirdly vacant.

But it didn’t take long before we got a text from Oneesan that she got to be in the meet-and-greet by accident. Chibi and I were so happy for her, I mean, she finally got a chance to meet and probably hug her idols after waiting for 20 years. She must be all giddy and breathless and stuff but srsly, good for her. =) We just replied that she now has to treat us with food after the concert because she got a stroke of luck she didn’t happen to expect. That got us all fired-up to enjoy the concert a lot more, even if we still had to wait till around 8:40pm for the concert to start. But once it did, I just couldn’t care any less. Aside from standing up and jumping, I pretty much did what I planned to do, even if most of the people around me were super-uptight and just took videos of the entire thing. After watching a lot of concerts, I have scratched that habit off and just try to enjoy the concert as much as I can, and also because I feel that by doing such things I am giving a disservice to the artists who are up on stage and giving it their all. Besides, I’d bet they’d want the audience to interact with them like how people actually did in the past. So I just let everything flow, screamed before a song started, screamed during the start of the interludes, and screamed after every song. The older women on my left side seemed to be enjoying themselves because they were screaming just as loud as I was, maybe even louder, and it feels like they’re just so happy to be there, so I felt that everything was well and good despite some people who uhm, seem to not feel the same vibe. I couldn’t care any less so I just enjoyed till the balloons dropped and the entire thing ended. 

Because the next concert would be in Thailand the next day and the whole band has to depart early (sad face). Well, at least I had a great time and I felt super happy. I wish my concert friend was there to see it with me, but she ended up in Baguio City through a series of weird events and was now feeling super-cold but I think she survived the night because she replied the next day, so all’s well and good. ^-^

After the Concert Ended (the Weirdness still continued)

The concert had finished, and we had to find Oneesan so she could tell us how the meet and greet went, but we couldn’t find where she was, and we kept thinking “Oh no, she got lost”, but she texted that she was at Starbucks but we didn’t know WHICH one so we just tried taking pics with the posters, but the only one available was the one with EXO’s EXO’rDIUM announcement (because remember, the major age demographic of the viewers was from 35 years of age and above) so I took a selca with Chanyeol (srsly let me have my moment since this may be the only selca I could ever take with my son. SRSLY.).

It sucks now but I like it, like a mom who takes a selca with her annoyed kid lol.  Also, I think SM might have finally accepted the fact that SuChen is a thing based on the layout: 

SuChen FTW! Lol so anyway after trying to find Oneesan we started pestering her on how the whole meet-and-greet thing went. Aside from being prohibited to take selcas with John and Robby, I think it went great because she was all smiles and she even got to hug them both like, twice or something. All in all, she had a blast of seeing her idols and even telling them upfront that she waited for them for 20 years. Talk about dedication =P We tried finding some grub but most of the places were starting to close up, which was weird despite it being just 11pm (the concert ended around 10:30 and it felt so bitin, like we were left hanging and we just couldn’t get enough. Like the entire coliseum felt that same way. But it still was great and we only talked about the nice stuff and Oneesan kept spazzing, it was so nice. =) Because we didn’t get to take a pic with the poster, we just made do with this tarpaulin across the road LOL now you’re gonna see my eww face T^T and I wasn’t kidding with Chibi lol

I just told Oneesan to hold on to that feeling because she still has a flight to catch and she would need all her strength to get there. Chibi and I decided to go to the airport with her because she doesn’t know her way in Manila, and I offered to find the hotel she was staying at because she forgot where it was. Not that I know where it was, but judging from how she described getting to the venue from the hotel I surmised that it was just nearby. So we walked for a while, got our bearings straight thanks to a security guard, and after walking on an overpass we finally got to her hotel. She just packed up quickly, took a leak, and after everyone got their heads together we searched for taxis to take us to the airport.

I did not expect to end up in the Airport, of all Places

Since the beginning of the year, I wrote in my bucket list to ride an airplane at least twice, because I don’t do that often. But I fear entering the airports due to my fondness for watching Border Security Canada and Border Security (Australia) and that the last time I had to walk through airport security I had to take a lot of stuff off. T^T But I never expected to even be NEAR an airport anytime soon, so once we got an honest taxi driver to get us to the airport (there were some unscrupulous ones about) thanks to Chibi who apparently goes to the national airport a lot and knows the tricks of the trade, my mind was already spinning so much with all the synchronicities that already happened to me within the last 20 hours. Or my mind was just starting to melt because my body was asking for sleep by that time.

During the taxi ride, we got to know more about each other’s true lives. Oneesan was studying to become a lawyer, and Chibi was suffering from severe insomnia due to an excess consumption of energy drinks, because she had to take care of her bed-ridden father in the hospital for two years before the Lord took his soul (may he rest in peace). As we were talking about the weird effects of Red Bull, the taxi driver suddenly quipped up about his own experience in drinking excessive energy drinks, how his kidneys got inflamed, and how he finally got well, kicked the habit, and even the use of cigarette and alcoholic drinks. He seemed better now, thank goodness and he even shared some of his habits like drinking tea with lemon juice and honey, or just drinking plain water to maintain his health. He dropped us safely to the airport and we said goodbyes, as Chibi started to tell us where we could enter the airport without having to show boarding passes, and we did, but not after I had been subjected to a somewhat intense scrutiny because I kept setting off the metal detectors, only to be frisked by the lady guard with a Hijab. Turns out my favorite denim moto-jacket’s stud buttons were 100% metal like wth that idea never occurred to me before. T^T But we still got inside and we took a tour, and Oneesan even got to print her boarding pass because she has no luggage. Then we walked along some more, because apparently Chibi knows the ins and outs of the entire area.

The last time I was inside Terminal 3 was 2010, and that was a heck of a long time ago. I was mostly on the outside waiting for relatives to arrive, but that’s about it. I simply did not think that I would be going there, much less standing inside and seeing all the queues of people checking in and stuff. It just felt so real that I promised myself there and then that I will write this account no matter what, even if I slept so much after the entire encounter. I’m gonna add some dumb pics to freeze the moment, and also so you guys could see my metal-buttoned jacket that caused me so much alarm, literally. =P

Lol turns out I didn’t get to take a selca that shows my jacket, but it’s there. >_<

Ok, so back to the sight-seeing, since there was still 3 hours before Oneesan has to board the plane. I saw so much renovations which were still on-going but alas, no couches O_o srsly please put more seating areas there, if not for the locals, for the foreign tourists at least. So, on to the chats, we talked about so much stuff about life, like how Oneesan appreciates not having kids despite being married since 29 because if that happened she wouldn’t be able to pursue law school and get decent jobs and stuff, since she believes that having your own source of income is a modern thing that gives independence to everyone, not just women. I couldn’t agree more because srsly, if my mother didn’t have her job we would be bankrupt now just to support her lifestyle, so it’s a good thing that she held own job (at the expense of not getting to take care of the kids. But then again, we had dad for that so I think it still turned out pretty well). Just when things were getting too serious, Chibi’s dead phone kinda lightened things up a bit (I kept telling her not to drain her battery but she just kept on taking pix and updating her FB status until her phone died on her), so we tried finding a charging station for her. The topic ended up with marriage and all that shit, and frankly both Chibi and I agree that we’d think about that once we gain financial stability in our lives. Weirdly, Oneesan told me twice that with my way of speaking and thinking I might end up marrying a foreign guy, and I was all like, NOOOOOOOOO but then I remembered that the guy I’m having a super-major crush on is TECHNICALLY and LEGALLY by all intents and purposes, basically in all such aspects a foreigner so I just shut up and LOL-ed in my head. We started chatting some more, but things got emotional when Chibi fully-disclosed her experiences with taking care of her father for two years, and really it was just so sad, but I tried to keep it all together even if I was thinking on what-ifs should my own dad (Heaven forbid) end up in that situation. I think she pretty much covered all the necessary things to do like going to a geriatric specialist and being 100% honest about medical histories, but then again I think honesty is always the best policy so why not. When the clock struck 3:10 and Oneesan has to board the plane we started to act like teenagers who were making eternal promises of meeting soon and doing fun stuff together and we were all having group hugs and beso-beso (the kiss where your lips don’t touch anything LOL) while thanking each other for the crazy day and the wonderful ride.

Evidence that we three were together that day. ^-^ I placed the watermark on mine. =P

Chibi and I stayed in the airport for a bit more, we chatted about the kinds of people we meet based on what province in the country they came from. I got a strong feeling that she is quite a judgmental person who likes to stereotype anyone, but then again I used to be one so I just held my tongue for most of the conversation. I just told her my own personal experiences with different kinds of people, and eventually summed it up in a small nugget: Some people will suck no matter where they come from, so we just have to be prepared either way. After assuring her that it’s worthwhile to think about the best in people you meet, we both finally left the terminal area when Oneesan’s departure time came. We walked around the airport some more until we decided to ask for directions on how to get on a bus to EDSA. We got to walk a lot, while I was reassuring Chibi that it’s safe to walk around (even if I was unsure myself). We tried finding the jeepneys and after seeing the U-turn slot where they appear, we rode one and got to EDSA. She then tried finding another konbini-charging station because apparently the one on the airport just sucked out her remaining battery life. >_< After charging, my head was starting to get really swirly and I actually tried finding some energy drinks but weirdly there weren’t any so I just walked around the food area till I woke up a bit. Meanwhile Chibi realized that she had been wasting a great deal of cash riding a taxi to and from the airport, surmising that if I didn’t push her to ride public transportation she’d still be paying a lotta cash. She told me that she’d still take the taxi whenever she takes someone to the airport, but would be going home via jeepney and bus. Speaking of bus, after finding the proper bus stop we rode a bus, chatted for a bit, and she got off to her stop, but not without the beso and the tight hugs. I bid her good night and be safe. Now I’m really alone this time, till I get home.

I got home safely after spending a lot of my time with two previously-unknown people (and I’m OK)

I finally felt reality after climbing the bus, and the first person that I texted was my freezing friend in Baguio, who seemed fine, thank goodness. Then I texted my two new friends, and during that time Oneesan’s plane just made a touch-down in Davao City, so she seems fine. Chibi texted that she was still lingering around the place she got off since she was trying to wait for the chapel to open, and I just texted them both that I might be too-dead sleepy to reply so I just thanked them and I slept like a baby in the bus, except during the time that I had to get my ticket and pay up. Oh, and also because the sun shone on my face at some point during the ride, I just stayed the heck up till I reached my bus stop. Then I walked home, like a zombie, but I had to greet the roaming security guard so I wouldn’t be too obvious. The parents were already wide awake and preparing lunch but I was sooo hungry that while I was chatting with them about how I got into the airport by chance I already snarfed half the bowl of boiled peanuts on the table. I suddenly remembered that I only had a Subway sandwich 12 hours ago and we spent a lot of time walking after that. But seriously, I was still on a high so I just continued inhaling the peanuts as I removed them from the shells. After cleaning my face with some makeup remover, I texted my new friends that I got home safely and thanked them with all my heart because why not, before sleeping like a rock. But because Chibi can function with just three hours of sleep I think she may have forgotten that some people can sleep for more than eight hours to catch a lot of lost sleep, and she rang me up to find my social media account. Of course we chatted a bit and she ended the call to find Oneesan and upload the vids and pics. And so, this ends more or less my adventure with two complete strangers during my quest to watch the Goo Goo Dolls live in Manila.

Epilogue (and the Tally of the Weird Synchronicities that Happened)

So many things happened to me in the past 72 hours, a whole lot more than I can count just staying here in the house or in the office/lab. And most of what happened, I didn’t even think could possibly happen, and I find that the universe works in weird yet mysterious ways. Like seriously. Because to be honest, if I didn’t say YES I’M ALSO GONNA WATCH GOO GOO DOLLS this whole adventure thing never have happened. If Chibi didn’t tell Oneesan OK I’LL TAKE YOU TO NAIA TERMINAL 3 then goodness knows how Oneesan could even navigate the streets of Manila at night. And if Oneesan didn’t even approach us I wouldn’t be able to enter NAIA terminal 3 in the wee hours of the morning. You guys might think I’m weird, but in a place where you have no idea what to expect or even how to do things, finding nice and true people who could help you with the navigation is the best gift that the universe can offer you. Just the fact that I got into an airport without doing anything was already a miracle to me. But shhhhhh don’t tell airport authorities, OK? >_< It’s not like I plan to do bad things, I’m just glad I got to experience what it feels like to board a plane, even without trying to, and for me that’s a super-big deal considering the fact that I wanted to ask someone to tell me what I needed to do if I go to the airport and, and not only did I have that but I actually GOT INSIDE and have the actual experience. It’s freaking crazy, I tell you.

I’ll Side-track a Bit because Something Weird also happened to me during the Concert

After everything that has happened, just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder, I also realized that something weird happened to me during the concert, but only processed what makes it weird this morning. Chibi told me that during the concert while I was screaming as loud as I can, there was a pair of guys behind us who kept complaining how noisy I was, like a lot. Normally I could hear such things even when I’m in a crowd, and considering the fact that I was sitting quite close to Chibi, I don’t get why I wouldn’t be able to hear a bunch of guys complaining directly behind us. But during the concert it was different, like something or someone blocked out negativity all around me so I could fully enjoy the concert experience, even the complaints of other people. Once I realized that something like this happened I immediately thought of just one person, a former group mate in one of my college subjects who used to be a bassist in a band, and he unfortunately passed away in an asthma attack around the end of the summer term after the semester we had a class together. I don’t think I’m at liberty to discuss how that happened so I’ll just pay respects to the dead by saying that he was an OK person when he was alive. But then again...

I was never really particularly fond of this group mate, in fact we always had an argument on which form of art is better: visual or performance arts. Of course, being a visual artist I always believed that visual art is the best because you don’t have to have ears to appreciate it. But this guy kept telling me that performance art, particularly music is better because idek I completely forgot his reasoning, and also because he was shouting at me as he explained his point. It was quite unbearable for me, and maybe even for the rest of our group. But srsly tho, we wouldn’t have gotten a fairly decent grade in our culminating activity if it weren’t for the combination of both the visual and performance aspects of our presentation. I designed a painted cardboard ark and he had to cut the whole thing so our other group mates could color it in, with my supervision of course. He then had to choose the songs we would be singing in our presentation and make the necessary adjustments so everyone could do it. Everyone else pitched in to prepare the script for our act, so all in all it was a great group experience for me. But I really just can’t handle him having at it with the need to debate about visual arts and music because I personally just couldn’t give a fudge about it. I can fairly sing, and I can draw shit so I just couldn’t care, but I dunno, maybe he is just the kind of person that picks fights with people he thinks he can elicit any reaction from. I was that dumbass. >_< After our semester ended, I felt relief that I won’t have to meet up with him anymore, but the universe can be a bitch at times and during the summer semester that followed, I practically saw him every day. But I think he mellowed down a bit because he just smiles a bit and waves whenever we met on campus. Or maybe because he was with his lady friend and wouldn’t wanna show his annoying side whenever he greets the devil’s advocate LOL =P Of course, I had no idea that would be the last semester I would be seeing him, but I still treated him quite OK by waving and saying hello each time I saw him, of course keeping it to a minimum because the lady friend might get angry at the both of us, or me judging by how her side-eyes look. Scary. T^T Then the summer semester ended, and I went home to my province.

While waiting for the enrollment period, and before I heard about his passing from another group mate via text, a brown butterfly had been hanging around our living room area and didn’t leave the room until I received my other group mate’s text. It felt creepy then because seriously, I always took light about the guy’s asthmatic condition but never really thought that he would pass because of that. I just prayed for the repose of his soul so he could move on, and from then on, weirdly around the time of his death anniversary I get a visit from a small, brown butterfly. As far as I know he’s the only non-relative guy I know who died a bit after my birthday, the other one is my father’s eldest brother but since he’s with my aunt now, it should be fine. In any case, I pray that may all of their souls rest in peace.

A year after this group mate passed, I met another former group mate from that same subject (the one I share my birthday and birth year with, basically my birthday twin) and we chatted for a while. Then we chatted about our other group mate who moved on, and I heard from my birthday twin that according to our group mate who passed, apparently I was a very difficult person to talk with, or at least that’s what my birthday twin was told. Srsly, I would have never guessed no j/k of course I know since I was the only one who had that much guts to slam my ideas against him, so I won’t disagree on that idea. Birthday twin was about to say something else about group mate’s opinion on me but he suddenly stopped and kept it from me, and because I wasn’t really much of a pushy person to pester, I never asked him to continue what he was going to say. I have been regretting that one, polite move because who knows what that information could have been. There are too many possibilities for what-if’s, and I can’t handle that much information. Well, too late now because right now I don’t think I’ll be able to interrogate birthday twin about it anytime soon because now I have no contact with any one of my group mates or other friends for that matter because I deactivated my FB and quite frankly I just tried living without so much FB drama. Of course I could still text those who actually cared to send me their nos., otherwise I’m just a peaceful island over here. (Hence, my tumblr account you have just stumbled upon. J/k I stayed here more than in FB so when I decided to deactivate FB I lived on tumblr full-time, or at least till I found some odd jobs.) But despite what happened to me for the past decade or more since the group mate crossed the other side, even if some of my memories of him were not as fond, I still try to pray for the repose of his soul, I occasionally tell his soul or whatever that is right now that visual art is better than music because visual art can last for eternity like the cave paintings in France, long after the artists have died, and that you need people to re-play music over and over again, or at least a device like a recorder to make it happen. I regret not telling him this when he was alive so I tell this to him if and when I remember to. At the very least, I ask him to protect me from harm in the event that I ran out of angels to ask help for. Yes I am a logical person but I don’t dismiss the possibility of things beyond normal because for some weird reason I have a strong belief on such things. Don’t judge me, OK? >_< Ok, that’s pretty much a long-ass explanation on why I had so much fun in the Goo Goo Dolls concert, and why my usually-sharp ears didn’t hear the complaining people at the back, who by the way I think are too prude to enjoy themselves in the concert, or maybe it’s their first time to attend one? Idek, and right now I just don’t care. I had fun, my new friends had fun, we all got home safely, and it was well worth it.

This is the end, for real

Well, I guess that’s about it. I hope I didn’t frighten you guys with my ugly pics, I had lack of sleep so I looked like that in the pics, and I had no touch-ups too. Also, I’m not exactly photogenic, I think I look better in person so… Yeah. X_x Thanks for reading my super-duper long raving and reminiscing and weirdly-formatted word-vomit, but please trust me when I say that this shit is real (despite changing the names of the people involved to protect their identities). I hope I made your day a bit better, somehow, in some way. =)

Hoping for you to have the best in life,

Orihime M.

PS. Here is a proper(?) selca before the concert. I tell you the truth when I say that I‘m usually prettier than this. >_< Lol ok gtg now baiiiii