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sophygurl · 6 years

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Wiscon 42 panel Lighter Side of the MCU

Okay, the rest of my panel write-ups are not going to be quite so dramatic as the Killable Bodies one thank goodness. And I’ll be typing the rest up in chronological order - excepting the ones I was on since I don’t take heavy notes for those, so will add a bit about them at the end.

The first panel I went to was Lighter Side of the MCU

Reminder that these panel notes are only my own recollections and the things I managed to write down - my notes are incomplete and likely faulty in places. Corrections and additions are always welcome. Especially please do correct me if I get names or pronouns wrong!

Also I name panelists as that’s publicly available information but not audience members unless requested by that person to have their named added.

Panel description:

In 2017, the Marvel Cinematic Universe gave us 3 movies that were lighter, funnier, and a bit different from their normal fare: Guardian of the Galaxy Vol 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok. All three of these movies felt like a year-long palate cleanser after the darker path the MCU has been on. However, with movies like Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War coming next, are we back to serious business, or is there still room to play?

Moderator was Christopher Davis. Panelists were Jess Adamas, V. Greyson, and Carrie Pruett.

Chris talked about Thor: Ragnarok as having a shift from the other Thor movies, not just due to Taika Watiti’s influence but the writing and acting as well.

Jess said people figured out that Hemsworth can do comedy and is not just ridiculously good looking, but also willing to make an ass of himself.

Jess and V. agreed that they almost can’t even remember Thor 2. Thor should be funny and silly - the comics are. There are still real feelings and relationships in there, but every scene looked like it should have been painted on the side of a van.

Carrie said the movie found the right tone for including the Led Zeppelin song. The use of Bruce/Hulk in the movie also used more comedy than earnestness. She compared it to Deadpool as far as pointing out the ridiculous parts.

She also talked about her desire for Darcy to interact with more MCU characters.

V. talked about Kenneth Branagh’s Thor 1 and that she liked how serious it was. But she enjoyed the comedy of Ragnarok even more as a contrast. She brought up an article that talked about the Maori flavor of the comedy in the movie, the deprecating aspect and poking fun at the earlier movies (example: “the sun is going down”).

Carrie liked the calling out of Loki as Odin as a reminder of how Thor 2 ended, but doing it in such a funny way.

Jess talked about Korg and the hilarity of how his revolution failed because he didn’t print enough pamphlets. She brought up the Grandmaster - Carrie asked who? - Jeff Goldblum - oh yea! (lol)

Chris discussed the heavy 80′s nostalgia and Jack Kirby aesthetic in the visuals and musical choices. For example, the Pure Imagination song while going through the tunnel.

Jess and V. joked about their husbands not getting why certain things were funny (IIRC this was because they weren’t as familiar with some of the references to earlier Marvel movies?).

Chris said that Goldblum was the perfect choice for that role. He asked the panelists what their favorite bit of his was.

V. said the meltstick part. Carrie added - accidental killing is hilarious. Jess brought up the part about Bruce looking for a button on the ship for a weapon and getting the song and lights - the discovery that it’s an orgy ship. Carrie added that Bruce’s whole life is a series of wondering how he got here.

V. talked about the deleted scene of the Grandmaster engaging in tentacle porn. Chris said in Watiti’s director’s cut, he filks the Marvel logo at the start and it just goes from there.

Chris moved on to the Guardians movies - a part of Marvel that’s not well known outside of the deep fandom. This gave them more freedom in their choices. They mostly take place outside of the MCU world, but still did well.

Carrie compared Guardians to Deadpool 2 saying that there is such a thing as too many ironic music cues and Guardians had just enough while D2 went too far.

Carrie also added that the Guardians/Thor part of Infinity War was the best part. The bit where Thor keeps calling Rocket a rabbit (I added from the audience that this somehow didn’t make Rocket mad) and Carrie agreed saying he really responded to Thor as an authority figure in ways that he usually doesn’t do with anyone.

Jess said that she has James Gunn issues and especially didn’t think Guardians 1 was that well written, but that G2 did a good job of balancing the serious with the funny. She was really resentful about crying at the end. She really bought the Peter/Yondu relationship. Jess tears up talking about the scene with Rocket at the funeral and how he noted that Yondu yelled a lot and was mean but that people still stuck with him. [I teared up a lil too, that part hit me hard]

Jess also added that the rainbow glitter aesthetic of the Guardians movies seems to be responding to the darker superhero greyscale we usually get.

Carrie said that they did good with the Ego stuff, as well. She knew that a twist was coming, but not what the twist was going to be. It called out toxic masculinity in a unique way. Kurt Russell was used well in the role. Peter has his own sexist issues, especially in G1 - which is not interrogated - but in G2 he’s clearly trying to be better than his dad.

Jess said Russell was great in the role because the audience sees him as his oeuvre.

V. didn’t like G2 as much as G1. G1 had a lot of lampshading of Peter calling himself Starlord and the group the Guardians of the Galaxy. Also - so many Groot-based tears. She didn’t like the start of G2 with the team all fighting and being mean to one another. But G2 and Thor:R both used that rainbow glitter aesthetic well and showed that you can have serious issues going on even if it’s sparkly - things don’t have to be all grey with just some blue.

Chris brought up that lighter movies can still have some very serious issues and still be funny. The characters and relationships can grow and change, for example Thor finally acknowledging that Loki is going to keep tricking him.

V. talked about how Spiderman: Homecoming’s humor is more of the #relatable type. Peter is “just like us” and we identify with him.

Carrie said she has a complicated relationship with Spiderman. She saw the Toby Maguire movies before she got into comics and didn’t realize that Spiderman was supposed to be funny. Andrew Garfield did okay but still didn’t really feel like Peter. Tom Holland does Spiderman/Peter better. But the movie changed around some of the characters from the comics. Also - why is it appropriate for Tony to have this relationship with a high school student? On the other hand, Tony’s use as a side character is funny and done well.

Jess added that Tony makes terrible decisions but doesn’t realize it until someone else points it out to him - like, maybe don’t take a minor out of the country for combat-related reasons?

Jess went on to say that all Marvel movies have some humor, and it often is that relatable kind, but it also comes from the fondness for the characters and their relationships to one another. It’s not just references (V. - like The Big Bang Theory).

Jess talked about how Thor:R addresses colonialism and anti-colonialism while being funny. Spiderman:Homecoming culminates in a homecoming dance. Jess always wanted a Marvel high school movie. Also Michael Keaton did well in the role for similar reasons as Russell in G2. Both actors bring their career history with them into the role.

V. talked about the humor of Spiderman in the pratfalls. Heroes already have such exaggerated physical movements, so this leads well to physical humor. Holland is a good physical actor in both senses.

Carrie lamented the lack of funny women in the MCU. (I spoke from the audience again pointing out MJ)

Jess said that Gamora did not get a lot of comedy - a lot of her character is wrapped up in drama with Nebula. Mantis is a character we laugh at and she is not comfortable with that. Valkyrie gets to be funny. Cate Blanchett as Hela was very campy but in a straight-faced way. She does tell jokes, but they’re terrifying.

Carrie discussed the issues with Mantis a bit more. The jokes were mostly about her fitting the submissive Asian trope. Black Panther has women who got to actively do stuff and be funny! There should be more little sisters in superhero movies. Lupita Nyong’o was used better as a funny character in BP than she was in more serious roles. Jess added that Okoyo was used in humorous ways too.

Carrie said BP was not just about found family, as many of these movies are, but is actually a family movie.

Chris said that Hela got some of the best lines in Thor. Examples: “Whoever I am?” and the bit about the executioner to execute plans ... but also people.

He added that BP did have a lot of humor. It also had a similar plot as Thor, but with a very different tone and narrative.

Carrie said BP makes you care about Wakanda. Asgard feels more distant. While watching Infinity War, her concern was for Wakanda - why are they bringing the fight there?!

Thor:R builds on the other movies for it’s worldbuilding, whereas BP is introducing us to this world for essentially the first time. There is a sense of wrestling with what is the right thing to do. An audience member added - it’s a less mythical world.

Jess talked about BP having lots of joy - you get the sense that the cast and crew just loved being there and making it what it was.

V. talked about Thor 1 having more of a fish out of water type humor. The humor in BP comes from investment in the character relationships.

An audience member brought up the M’Baku vegetarian joke. Someone (another audience member maybe?) brought up how the Grandmaster was queer-coded and a villain and funny but it was not offensive.

Jess said that was just Goldblum being Goldblum. It also works because Watiti is queer, so he’s aware of the tropes and it’s not a mean-spirited laughing - we’re not laughing at the queer-codedness of the character. Contrast this to Mantis, where we are supposed to be laughing at the racial and sexist stereotypes.

Chris brought up that Mantis literally personifies emotional labor.

An audience member said that the Grandmaster reminded them of Tim Curry’s characters - he’s using himself in the role, so we’re not laughing at someone’s depictions of an other.

V. said in Thor:R the gags are at everyone’s expense - it’s equal opportunity joking. We’re not just laughing at say, the one campy character in the entire movie.

Carrie talked about not liking Drax as much in G2 because he was so mean to Mantis - we were expected to laugh at this one character.

An audience member talked about Drax’s actor being hilarious. The MCU and DC are mostly white and male, so they appreciate when this is not the case. The Drax/Mantis issue would have been better if they’d addressed his crush on her. It felt like a third of movie was cut out because they skip right over his meanness to acceptance. Mantis is the first Asian character in the MCU.

Carrie said there is a representation problem. A friend of hers who is Asian said her kid told her she looks like Mantis, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with that. There were no other characters for the child to compare her to.

Jess said this was especially bad because outside of the Mantis thing, Drax is the best of them as far as emotional expression.

Chris said - as a white dude named Chris, I’m getting lots of representation and I’m getting tired of it. (lol)

Valkyrie came up and someone said their headcanon was that she lived and took the half of the Asgardians who live off to safety. I shouted out from the audience that this was confirmed as canon. V. said her theory is that she took the sex space ship!

An audience member brought up how some people found Asgard as a flying disc in space as being more relatable than a non-colonized African country. This is partially because you have to set up the seriousness first and then introduce humor. Thor could be funnier right away because it was the third movie.

V. said that both Thor and BP had interesting things to say about colonization and Chris laid it out as: Killmonger wants to start conquering and Hela wants to go back to doing it.

V. talked about BP as having to engage white Marvel fans, black audiences who aren’t as familiar with the comics, and of course the Venn Diagram of black fans of the MCU. Discussed the use of both Wakanda and Oakland scenes to accomplish this.

An audience member asked about the evolution of Hulk as a comedic character.

Chris said Ruffalo was able to pull off the humor well on Thor. The physical comedy of when he tried to pull the Hulk out and then splat! The movie used both Bruce and the Hulk for comedic effect.

Carrie related back to the comment about starting off with the serious backstory and then adding in the humor - Bruce himself has learned to take himself less seriously over time.

Jess said that he does get to be funny here and there in the other movies, but it’s more of humor as coping mechanism. In Thor:R he gets to do more slapstick stuff.

And that’s all I got! Overall this was a fun, funny panel which also hit on some serious themes in these lighter movies.

#wiscon #wiscon 42 #mcu lighter side #mcu #thor: ragnarok #guardians of the galaxy #spiderman: homecoming #black panther

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clarkesablake · 6 years

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Thankyouthankyou @pamshalpurt for tagging me! <3

tagging: @bellamyisinlovewithclarke @solarclarke @is-a-bele @bookblake @bellammy @beautiful-rebellious-sunflower @clarkescrusade

colour(s) i’m currently wearing: black and gray

last band i saw live: umm wow idk, I haven’t been to a lot of legit concerts because I live far from any place big bands come, closest is Atlanta which is Far. But anyways, I went to my sister’s band concert last week.

last song(s) i listened to: Home (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), I’d Look Good on You (Ernie Halter), Michigan (Ed Prosek)

lipstick or chapstick: this is tough but I always forget to wear chapstick so lipstick

last movie i watched: Overboard with Kurt Russel lol it’s bad but it’s so good

last three tv shows i watched: Timeless, the Bachelorette, Deception (which is canceled and I’m emo about it)

last three characters i identified with: um again this is hard because I don’t often identify with characters. I’m usually attracted to the characters who are completely different than me, but that I have a ton of empathy for (Bellamy Blake). But these are the exceptions. Also, this is more of an all time list and I’m putting way too many words into this:

Harry Potter- Harry is just, ugh idk he’s written so that everyone identifies with him, but we share a MBTI soo. But yeah, idk I relate to how he just feels so Ordinary, so average, and he’s okay with that, he wants it, he just wishes everyone would just see him that way. He also doesn’t need a ton of friends or attention, he just wants that sense of belonging with his chosen family. And as much as he hates the pressure of doing it, he can’t live with himself unless he does what’s right. We also share the general disdain for corrupt government and authority.

Season One Clarke Griffin is so me in so many ways it hurts. I relate to how much she loves her dad. How she cares about doing the right thing, but is maybe a little lot naive sometimes. She is powerful in many ways besides just physical strength. She often is drawn to help people, sometimes putting those she cares about above herself. She may not be optimistic about general circumstances, but when it comes to people, she believes in them, and tries to make them believe in themselves. She finds herself surrounded by people who grew up differently than her, people who actively use that fact to discredit her, but she doesn’t let it stop her from saying what she thinks, and she’s quickly willing to forgive Almost anything. She’s a “if you expect something to be done right, do it yourself” kind of girl.

Pam Beesly - Shes a quiet, reserved person with a secret sense of humor. Someone who has to work over time to learn to stand up for herself. Someone who dislikes conflict, and can sometimes stay quiet about what she thinks to avoid it. Someone who can seem uptight to some, but is so fun and carefree around the right person(s). She’s not necessarily a typical leader, but she leads by building people up when they need it, (like with Michael more times than not), even people who annoy or disrespect her sometimes.

book(s) i’m currently reading: Nothing sadly, but the last I read was How to Train Your Dragon (which is way better and more appropriate for a 19 yo than the movies fyi). I want to read the second one next.

#clarkesablake

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kimtotes · 3 years

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Oh my!I think it was so disrespectful to Maggie and Tara and to her fans they spent the AA just making excuses to make Gemma a victim of the circumtances😒Maybe this is a controversial opinion😂but the AA were a mess more times than not,I wanted to die from second hand embarrassment multiple times,the host was😬🤐it was like a circle jerk with Sutter at the center,where they talked about how amazing and genius all of them were,especially Kurt,I remember the one after Bobby died was so jarring🙈,he looked like he didn’t want to be there🤣Charlie tended to get carried away by Sutter most of the time in s7😭it killed me they invited Jarry and Winsome to the final one,please🤣I think Sutter really loved Inbar Lavi,he posted more than once the pic of her in Jax’s bike wearing his kutte🤐he also loved Drea but at least he hadn’t caved to people who think she was better than Tara🤣

Thank you!! I thought I may have been being a little petty, but that AA should have been all about Maggie! Instead Kurt and Katey spent a majority of the time pleading for people to forgive the murderer?? While Maggie is sitting right there 😳! Idk that just doesn’t sit right with me at all and it really makes me side eye Kurt and Katey. They were!! It’s funny because he really tired to be The Talking Dead, which is also a mess and kind of annoying in it’s on way. I swear Sutter wanted to fit in so badly with the popular shows that were airing at the time. He’s like a high schooler praying to be asked to sit at the cool kids table 🤣. I don’t even remember who the host was! I know Russel Brand did it at least once and it was weird. They also had the most random guest stars, like why is Winsome on there?? Lol they really had no one else to bring on the show 🤣!! All the other actors probably wanted out, like did Theo go on it?? He usually would do those type of things, so it really says a lot if he didn’t. I 100% agree with that!! I think Sutter definitely loved her more than the character, it’s so strange that she would be on the show over other people though. Like at least Drea would have made a little more sense? Or Ima? Idk you can tell they were really reaching for the bottom of the barrel at one point 🤣

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xhudgenssistersconfessions · 3 years

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Look i am not saying austin didn’t loved her or made her happy, but I think he knew after dating for few years that he didn’t wanted to marry her for whatever reasons. But he really stalled her and just leave her when he got his getaway car with elvis role, because guys knows after dating someone for years that they want to marry that girl or not. So he just was in that relationship until v became more serious about wedding thing and he can’t stall her anymore so they just called it quit

Yeah he’d have to be a really good actor to stay with Vanessa for 9 years if he didn’t love her and like.... anyway I do think he did but I also feel like he should’ve known by year 3 if he saw them getting married and I get some people don’t want to get married and are fine just living together (like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell) but if he would’ve dropped on one knee V would’ve said yes so lol

#answered

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sassasquashedgrapes · 7 years

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Another Story: A Glee x Kissed by the Baddest Bidder Cross-over

It’s me again! Your friendly neighborhood, Squashed Grape.

It’s been a while since I got into the fanfic (or any literal stuff) and decided to do some fan service today. This is an old post but a goodie. You see, I’ve been a fan of Glee during the early days and was also a huge Otome player (lol. the closest to player I’ll ever be). And made this fanfic cross-over of sorts inspired from the Voltage Inc story, Kissed by the Baddest Bidder. Actually I *might* have switched the names a bit and the plot line is from the intro except for a few tweaks. Anyway, I just wanna lay it all down there so nobody starts yelling bloody murder.

After all, wasn’t 50 Shades like some fan service to Twilight, so haters can just move along now, Nothing to see.

So without much further ado, a short story cross-over for y’all!!

By the way, be prepared for a series of long fanfics of Glee coming at your way. This is only just the beginning of the Hargreave brothers.

click below

Another Story: Kissed By The Baddest Bidder/Glee Fanfic.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the otome game and the delicious notion of having someone used up for bidding, using the Glee characters seemed absolutely too good to resist. How could I? So shall we? Elian “Ian” Hargreave – Eisuke Ichinomiya Mike Chang – Soryu Oh, the cool mobster Noah Puckerman – Mitsunari Baba, the philandering theif Kurt Hummel – Ota Kisaki , the artist. Lol I know, Ota doesn’t swing that way but I always pegged Ota as a closet anyway. Cooper Anderson – Mamuro Kishi, the lazy detective and of course: Lucy Quinn Fabray – MC

Quinn Fabray is different in this storyline. I made a parallel universe of sorts, changing a bit of her past to make her come to her present future. So instead of moving to McKinley High, Lucy Q. Fabray’s father, Russel, dies of a heart attack and thus her mother remarries another man who worked as a hotel concierge manager in one of the most prestigious hotels in New York, the fictional hotel/casino Wyndham, (loosely based on the Waldorf Astoria) which is owned by then the family of Elian Hargreave’s grandfather who eventually takes over the hotel after graduating from high school. Quinn has grown up in the hotel, pretty much understanding and loving every detail and aspect of it, treating it as if it were her own family since she pretty much lead a lonely life in New York, being a small town girl from Ohio who turned out to grow into a beautiful young woman. This storyline is inspired by the Otome route of Eisuke Ichinomiya, whom I think was the best storyline for someone like her. I’m way too biased that I don’t think I want to share Soryu Oh with her, hahaha. Fast forward to the present, Quinn just graduated from Yale, but is now working he as a chambermaid in the hotel to earn extra cash at the same time pay for her college loans while she looks for a job.

Prologue: As I feel a trickle of sweat behind my back while being in the middle of the spotlight, I start to wonder as I stare into the crowd facing me “how on earth did I ever come to this?”

12 hours earlier

“Good morning,” I greet cheerfully as I swing open the door in locker room of the female changing hall as if I’ve done so many times over. I’m working during the summer as a maid at a hotel owned by the Hargreave Group, which is a large company that owns banks, trading companies, locally and overseas.

“Good morning, Lucy,” greets Marley, one of the maids who also works part-time in the hotel. I know for a fact that she looks old enough to still be in highschool, but I’ve never bothered to pry into matters like gossip. As long as they keep to their business, I keep to mine. But despite it, I feel like I could confide in her because she seems so open and nice.

“The VIP convention starts today. I am super excited,” Marley grins as she mentions one of the annual big events the hotel/casino throws.

“I’ll bet you’d be way too busy to get excited since you’ll be working at the casino floor,” I grin back thinking how exhausted I’m going to be once this convention is over. I’ve been living in the Wyndham since I was 15 after my dad died and my mother remarried. I’d come to love it as if it were my own family and was familiar with its daily routine until 4 years ago when it underwent a massive renovation into becoming the first hotel/casino in New York. It had been quite a scandal at first, with government officials opposing the idea of bringing “Las Vegas” to the metropolis, but the whole issue died down after a while and for the last two years, the Wyndham, became New York’s first legal casino and hotel.

“Don’t you wish you could work at the IVC?” Marley was referring to the International VIP Convention, one of the newly annual conventions frequented by Hollywood A-list stars, World leaders, socialites and big time businessmen who gathered once a year to play at the casinos and have a go into dabbling in a world of glamour

“Yeah, that would be great.” I agreed quietly.

“Well, that’s the goal of everyone who works here.” Marley sighed as she hunkered on the bench and rested her elbow on her knee as she propped her head on her hand. “I’ve been dreaming about it ever since I saw it on TV. Seeing movie stars, top athletes, and other super famous people all over the world gathered here in this party. I even heard Perez Hilton was so pissed that he didn’t get an invite.” She pursed her lips conspiratorially.

“You know, when I applied for this job a few months ago, I didn’t think I was going to be hired that I thought I was dreaming when I actually did.” Marley grinned happily. I smiled feeling how infectious her mood was, she was so upbeat by the whole thing, I didn’t want to look like a kill joy so I agreed.

“Oh my god.” She stopped suddenly as if she had thought of something of real importance. “What if some rich, famous guy falls in love with me at first sight?” I hope he knows you’re barely 18, I mentally think and almost utter it out loud but I stop myself and….

“Haha, keep dreaming.” I just say instead.

Whew, that was close. Our VIP guests are important, but I also value working for our regular guests, too. I had just graduated in a Marketing degree at Yale, but with the recession, jobs were scarcely handed and I didn’t feel the need to dabble in doing freebies as an Intern in a big corporation, when I could be earning much more doing it here in Wyndham. It really isn’t so bad. I really didn’t care that much about image anyway since moving to New York. Somehow the anonymity of it all had liberated me from the confines of the shallowness that I had experienced living in Lima, Ohio that I didn’t give a damn anymore.

I thought about the IVC, the International VIP Convention, Wyndham’s largest annual event is today and the international publicity with the media hanging around the area was totally insane. Unlike Marley, I had actually dreaded this more because I knew things were busier and a lot more tense than usual. My step-father, Charlie was one of the managers of the hotel and was in charge of the VIP guests lounge and had direct connections to the owner, Mr. Elian Hargreave. I heard a lot about the new owner, how accomplished he was despite his young age. He was featured in Forbes magazine as the most successful businessman under 40 years of age (rumors had it that he couldn’t be more than 30 years old.) He reminded me of a true-to-life Bruce Wayne, ridiculously handsome in a dark, mysterious way and was always surrounded by beautiful women. I knew my sister, Fran was crushing on him big time that she even begged Charlie for an introduction, but to no avail.

As we left the locker room and head to the hotel lobby, where a crowd of reporters and onlookers gathered, people whom I’ve only seen on TV or on a movie screen started appearing, strutting as if they were meant to walk down the red carpet and enter the magnificent lobby as if it were from a Hollywood movie scene.

“Oh. My God.” Marley’s mouth literally hung wide open. “Look who just got out of that limo.”

I crane my neck and look around thinking that she just saw the famous TV actress who was in a popular teen show. What was her name again? Elena Davenport? She was famous for being in this TV show about a love triangle between a vampire and a cyborg. It was insane how people were shouting her name as if it were part of her entourage. She looked stunning with her black hair and her golden skin that had obviously seen the tropics recently. She was then accompanied by an equally handsome young man who stood well over six feet tall and had a shock of black brown hair.

“That guy’s always on the VIP list. They call him the King,” Marley whispers as if we’re in church.

“I thought that was Elvis,” I quipped chuckling at her disgruntled look. I knew what she meant. I wasn’t one to get caught up in celebrity gossip, but that King she was referring to was no other than the owner of the Wyndham, Mr. Hargreave. He gallantly bowed offering his arm to Elena who gave him a dazzling smile as she took his arm. Hanging on the other side of his arm was also someone famous. I heard she was the new Broadway superstar and her name was Rachel Berry. Behind him was another famous model who often graced those ads in Vogue and a famous British reality show actress.

All the women around him are famous, I think dully as I look down in my frumpy uniform. For some odd feeling I felt a pang of something that I couldn’t understand wash over me. Before I had time to even think about it, Marley again interrupted my thoughts by whispering again on my ear.

“He’s been living in the penthouse suite for a while now.” “Of course he does, he owns the hotel.”

“But it costs tens and thousands of dollars to stay there for the night.” Marley argued.

“Maybe it’s a lot more convenient to keep tabs of work here than living on Park Avenue or at the East Side.” I shrugged watching as Mr. Hargreave pays no attention to the huge crowd and walks straight ahead.

I realize that I can’t take my eyes off him. I’ve heard the how the female hotel staff would gush about how hot he was, but seeing him in the flesh just took my breath away.

“Aaaah!!! Over here, Elian!!!” one of the women from the mass crowd screams holding a phone camera hoping to get a picture of him.

Suddenly, a group of women, thinking about doing the same thing start running towards him and bump into me and I feel myself being pushed right into the crowd and on to the red carpet.

SMACK!

I feel like I just hit a wall and close my eyes bracing myself for the pain to follow after the impact. Instead I feel a band of steel arms hold me close, as if to steady me from the madness. I then pry my eyes open and find myself staring into a pair of steel gray blue eyes that were placed like jewels on a handsome chiseled face.

Mr. Hargreave!!

“Aah, I- I’m so sorry,” I stammered, feeling the rush of blood flow straight at my face and into my brain as I continue to look at him, almost mesmerized yet horrified by what had just transpired. I still feel his arms around me and I could just tell that this multibillionaire really does work out because he’s practically hugging me right now.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a haughty voice belonging to the new Broadway ingénue pipes up beside Mr. Hargreave. She sounds almost disgusted by the sight of me. I can see from the corner of my peripheral vision that Elena Davenport was smirking as if amused by what was happening. God, I didn’t think she was such a bitch until now.

But instead of voicing that sentiment out, I knew I had a job at stake and right now it was totally hanging in the balance. I had just publicly humiliated myself in front of the owner of the hotel and his guests and was drawing unnecessary attention right now and it was more than I could honestly bear. I swallow and gather myself before bitchy Quinn Fabray comes out and try to mutter an apology again but am cut short by a curt, masculine and surprisingly sexy voice.

“Get out of the way,” Mr. Hargreave says as he suddenly pulls away from me, and pushes me not quite gently aside.

“What?” I mutter in disbelief as I lose my balance and fall flat on my butt to the ground.

Owwwww..

I look at slight disdain at the man who apparently was also my boss, but his muscular, tapered back was the only thing that could see that look on my face as I watch walk further away. He brushes off his suit as if he had just encountered a speck of dust and before I thought he had finally dismissed me, turns his head and shoots me a glare and then suddenly disappears into the casino hall.

I suddenly realize with a shock that I still had that look of displeasure on my face and grimaced as I rubbed my lower back, trying yet again to stead myself as the crowd disappeared into where Mr. Hargreave and his entourage were headed. Marley quickly comes rushing over to my side.

“Are you okay, Luce?” She asks me, totally concerned as she called me by my nickname. I haven’t been called Lucy for a while, I had been using Quinn since I had come to New York, but somehow there was a comfort in still being known as Lucy while here in the confines of the Wyndham.

“Yeah, my butt and my pride are fine,” I say.

“Oh my God. Mr. Hargreave caught you in his arms. I am so totally jealous! Did he smell nice? Was he really as buff underneath that suit as they say?” Marley was acting like a puppy dog fawning over that jerk.

“I don’t know, I don’t even r-remember,” I lied because I had just mentally scratched Elian Hargreave off as a completely cold, aloof, unfeeling human being. The nerve of that man! He didn’t even bother to defend me while I, one of his staff members, was berated by that Broadway bitch Berry.

Hmm. That had a nice ring to it. I feel tons better knowing that the girl could have used a plastic surgeon as good as the one who did my nose.

Come to think of it, Elian Hargreave was actually pretty frightening. I’ve seen how New Yorkers glare sometimes, but that cold look was totally at subzero levels worthy of the Artic.

I smooth out my clothes and hear the click clack of high heels behind me.

“Just what were you thinking, making a fool out of yourself?” a cold, voice tinged with an Italian accent snapped me back to reality. “And in front of such important guests and even the owner of this hotel?”

“Miss Thelma, “ I say coolly plastering a smile at one of the hotel managers. Thelma Caparano has been on my ass since the day I started working at the Wyndham when she found out I graduated with honors on my Marketing degree from Yale. Perhaps it was that and because I’m Charlie’s kid that she thinks I deserve to be more ill-treated than a worn-out mule from a third world country. She stands imposingly before me, all dressed up in her expertly tailored uniform as she clacked impatiently on her Prada heels waiting for me to answer her.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. It was an accident…”

“You are at fault for not paying attention to what’s going on around you,” she clucked her tongue at me, looking at me disapprovingly under those heavy glasses that framed her would-have-been pretty-if-she-wasn’t-such-a-bitch face. She was probably a few years older than me, but the harshness of her demeanor just made her look like petulant and almost bratty for a woman in her mid-thirties.

“Aren’t you in charge of the regular guests, Fabray?” She asks with a smirk on her face.

Oh boy, she does enjoy torturing me.

“You have no business even being here in the lobby. Not unless you get promoted to handling the VIP guests. But you won’t get that chance, would you? Not even if you begged your stepfather.” She laughed as if she had just thought of that joke and it was funny.

Ugh. I am totally so close to slapping her but instead I reply setting my gaze downcast hoping that she won’t see me seething as I meekly reply “Yes, Miss Thelma.”

“Well, since you’re here,” she motions to one of her hotel assistants who was following her like a dog who hands over a box as she shoves it towards me. “Go to every floor and drop off these announcement letters while you’re at it. These are for the guests who wish to avail of the spa promo package we are having in honor of the IVC.”

“Okay,” I say since arguing about doing a herculean task is going to go nowhere anyway since this angry vampire is out for my blood. She’s always been a bully and since I would never dared complain of this to Charlie even though I could have, I decide I might as well just shut up and deal with it. I turn and nod to Marley, saying my goodbyes and head towards the elevators.

As I walk by, I see a man, about my age arguing with a young woman about something in front of the elevator. The woman is wearing a dress that looks like something from the recent Fashion Week runway as she throws a mask at the man at the same time spewing a litany of curses in fluent French.

“Connard!! Baise toi!” she screamed as the man looked back in her as if in shock. “You lying, cheating scum! I never want to see you again.” With that, she gave him a resonant slap in the face for added effect before she walked out of the hotel.

This is awkward. I turn my attention instead to the mask that looked as if it were something one wore to a masquerade ball. I suddenly got an image of 50 shades of Grey and find myself staring at the mask lying on the floor. I was about to pick it up when the man who was slapped earlier moves quicker than I could and in a blink of an eye was brushing it off as if were the only precious thing that mattered to him.

Wow, his hands were fast like those of a magician. I turn to look at him and realize that he wasn’t bad looking either. He was of above average height and was muscularly built, but a bit thicker than Mr. Hargreave. He also had dark hair and had the most dazzling pair of emerald green eyes I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t tell what his hair was like underneath that Fedora hat that just made him look like the epitome of 1920’s gangster cool in a modern way.

Fedora Hat sighs dramatically. “Great, now I don’t have a date.” He says as if talking to himself then realizes I’m watching him. When our eyes meet, I quickly look away self-consciously because I didn’t want him to know that I had been caught staring at him. I try to act cool despite the awkward tension but know that he saw me witness the whole thing.

“You saw that, didn’t you?” He smirks, as if reading my mind.

“Yeah. I-I’m really sorry.” I backed away slowly as if avoiding being pounced by some agitated animal.

“Aw, come on. Don’t run away,” Fedora Hat laughs as he gently takes my arm as he leads me towards the elevator, completely ignoring the fact that I’m in the hotel maid’s uniform with a box of undelivered fliers on the other arm. “I’ll explain everything when we get there.”

“S-Sir?”

Before I know it, the man ignores my protests and continues to guide me, half-dragging me into the elevator with him. We’re alone in the elevator and to be honest, this is the first time I’ve been to the basement area. I’m surprised that the basment’s elevator looks just as elegant as the regular floor elevators. It sort of reminded me of going into a secret lair of some evil villain but at the same time being cooped inside a glass bird cage of sorts. I tried to avert my attention to the man beside me and look instead at the buttons of the elevator as the blinking lights affirmed our descent to the unknown.

“Whew! I’m lucky I found you,” Fedora Hat grins at me, still holding onto my arm having no intention of letting me go. His grip isn’t painful nor in any way gentle, but it’s firm enough to hold me into place. As if wanting to distract me from thinking of it, he adds “coz there’s no way I could go to the party without a beautiful woman on my arm. That would be a total buzzkill.”

Buzzkill? Who says that sort of thing these days?

“Party? You mean, the IVC?”

“The One and Only. Isn’t it obvious how I’m dressed?” He opens one free arm to show his expensive Italian cut suit. Definitely Armani now that I got a closer look. And definitely custom made as it fits him perfectly.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that you—“

“Hahaha. I’m kidding, babe. Man, you’re kinda uptight for a pretty thing. Were you raised in some Christian Bible thumping school or something?”

“Uh, that’s because I work at this hotel,” I say slowly almost as if trying to hint that I’m still in my maid’s uniform, completely ignoring the fact that he’s actually right about me being Christian. “So technically, I can’t go with you to the party as your date, sir.”

“What are you talking about? The reason why that woman earlier left was so you could be my date, Lucy.” He smiles in the most seductive, sexiest way possible as he finally noticed the name plate on my uniform.

Whoa, this one’s pretty dangerous. And a hopeless flirt as well. I try not to show my fear when grabs my chin and lifts it up to meet his face as he peers down, bringing it closer to mine. I can feel his breath grazing against me as he looks into my eyes.

“Definitely my type. Angel blonde hair, mesmerizing green eyes, and luscious lips…” he trails on softly as I sort of feel his face coming closer. He moves way to fast and I try to squirm away, backing off thinking now I understood perfectly why he got dumped in the first place.

DING! Saved by the bell of the basement floor. The elevator arrives at a full stop at the ballroom and Fedora Hat quickly backs off and casually straightens himself as if nothing of importance was about to take place. He could even care less whether he kissed me or not. Jeez.

“Let’s rock and roll, Princess.” He announces and gives off a broad smile as if putting on a game face. And contrary to his calm demeanor, he drags me out into the ballroom before I can protest as I’m lead into the glamorous ballroom that reminded me from a scene of a Hollywood movie.

I gaped in awestruck fascination, marveling how I could have possibly missed out the new renovations at the Wyndham. The renovations had still managed to maintain some of the old architecture, paying detail to preserving its original Art Deco state, but added with contemporary minimalist design, it’s mixture was astounding and beyond words. I had no means of any background in architecture, but this was like walking into the Hall of Fame on architectural immortality. I was shocked that everyone present were almost nonchalant of the genius behind the design and how lavishly decorated the ballroom was to the point that even the catering was handled in the most A-list of ways. I turn my attention to the gorgeous Swarovski crystals that were adorning the chandeliers that were hanging from the high ceiling.

The entire floor was jam-packed with the rich and famous that I wasn’t even sure if I was hallucinating because it was too much sensory overload to be true. I turn my head and notice Cristian Renaldi, the famous World cup soccer player from Spain to my right. And that’s the famous Hollywood actress, Julie Moore. And even the former President of the United States is over there? I feel like Alice in Wonderland being wrapped around the surrealness of it all being around these celebrities that it takes me a moment to get back to earth and finally notice that Fedora Hat who had dragged me here in the first place was gone.

Huh? Where’d he go?

Suddenly, I hear a womanly voice from behind me.

“Hey, do you have any champagne?” I turn around and am surprised that it wasn’t a woman, but a young man with an angelic face whose skin was as flawless as fine bone china. He had soft, brown hair and bright blue eyes. He looked so familiar because his face was on the cover of this month’s issue of People Magazine being tagged as one of the 25the most beautiful People of the World of this year.

“K-Kurt Hummel!!!” I gasp, recognizing the mega hyphenate National artist/ Pulitizer prize winning Children’s Novelist/ Socialite.

“Oh, you know who I am.” He smiles brightly, happy to have been recognized in a sea of famous faces. “Thanks!”

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll look for the champagne now.” I mumble apolitically frantically looking for a bottle of Dom Perignon and Mr. Hummel chuckles behind me, as if thoroughly amused.

“You sure you work here, Alice?”

“P-Pardon?”

“You remind me of Alice in Wonderland when she fell down the rabbit hole and stumbled into the Mad Hatter’s party.” He moves away from me and reaches over the table behind me and lifts a bottle of Moet et Chandon and pours himself a glass. He then thrusts his newly refilled glass towards me nudging me to take a drink.

“Here. You could use one more than me,” he grins. I was about to protest but there was something harsh in his eyes telling me not to defy him as I emptied my glass.

“T-Thanks,” I was about to take the bottle and refill his glass for him when he shakes his head and takes the glass from my hands and pours himself another.

“Now, go on to doing whatever it was and I hope you get back home safely, Alice,” was all he says as he raises his champagne glass, giving me a wink of good luck for whatever it was I was about to partake. He leaves with a wave.

He definitely was spot on about what I was feeling right at that moment.

I should definitely get out of here before I cause any more trouble.

But before I do, another man stops me from my tracks. He’s over fifty, overweight, and perhaps a bit slightly drunk as he grins at me and grabs my hand. Ugh, he also seems really sleazy. “Aren’t you a pretty one?” He slurs and I inwardly flinch from the smell of alcohol and sweat coming from him. “You wanna come with me and give me room service? I’ll make it worth your while and give you a big tip afterwards.

Ewww. His head is shaped like an egg and his pock-marked face is flushed as he looks me up and down.

“I’m sorry, sir but we don’t offer that kind of service here.” I answer politely, knowing that we had been trained beforehand on how to deal with rude perverts like this guest.

He completely ignores me and starts going on how rich he is and how much is net worth is.

To be honest, it wasn’t really much.

He then slips his arm around my waist and is about to pull me towards him when…

“This party just got really trashy.” A familiar masculine voice announced icily. I turn my head towards my savoir and realize that it’s Mr. Hargreave. He ignores my gasp of surprise and scowls at the sleaze holding me.

“I’d rather appreciate it, sir, if you kept your attention from the hotel staff and settle instead for the bevy of beauties surrounding you,” Elian Hargreave grinned sardonically nodding his head towards a group of runway models who flirtly waved back. And just when I thought he couldn’t intimidate the sleazebag, he looked at me as if I were a piece of trash marring the ambience and added cruelly. “Besides, you could totally do better than THAT. This one’s hardly a raving beauty.”

“I-I’m really sorry, Mr. Hargreave, sir! Pardon me!!!” Sleazebag bows apologetically quickly letting go of me as if he had been burned and kept his distance from me like I was infected with Ebola or something. He furiously wipes away his sweat and runs off.

“T-Thank you, Mr. Hargreave,” I say, totally ignoring the pain that he had brushed me off as a ugly and unattractive. But then again, men like him are probably used to just dating models that even ingénues were all blasé for him.

“Let’s go, Elian,” one of the pretty models whom he nodded to a while back approached him and casually hooked her arm around his, totally ignoring me.

“I can’t stand people who don’t know their place,” another one of those long legged giraffes piped in hooking her arm around his other free one as if she were about to die in a desert and he was her oasis.

As if he didn’t even acknowledge my existence and hadn’t even heard me, he turned his back as if nothing had ever happened a few minutes ago before being led away by the Amazonian Brazilian bimbos. He starts walking still surrounded by women and I’m completely overwhelmed as I watch him walk away. I suddenly notice a purple handkerchief on the floor behind him. I remember this being a part of his suit and realize that he dropped it.

Almost without thinking, I picked it up and started going after him.

“Uhm, sir! Excuse me, I think you dropped this—“ I try to chase after Mr. Hargreave but he gets lost in the crowd and I can’t seem to find him.

Oh, wait! There he is!!

I make my way through the crowd and follow him as he makes an exit to the far end of the ballroom.

A long, deserted hallway stretches out behind the door that Mr. Hargreave enters.

“Wait. Where did he go?”

There are several doors on either side of the hallway and I didn’t catch up with him in time to even know which doors did he enter. However, I hear voices coming from the far end. But somehow, as I strain to hear from the distance I get the feeling the conversation wasn’t even in English. I shake my head, thinking that I really have to return this handkerchief back to Mr. Hargreave, I strengthen my resolve and make my way towards the door where the voices were coming from. I note the door is slightly ajar, which explains why I could hear them. I peek through the gap and see several briefcases lying on a table surrounded with guns and large sums of money being packed by three Asian looking men dressed in all black discussing where to put the money in perfect Cantonese and before I could see more, I feel a large hand grab me by the shoulder and roughly pulls me away, swinging me around and forces me up against a wall…

Fear and surprise of being caught seeing something I shouldn’t have take over that I feel like I just might have suffered my first heart attack.

But unfortunately, that doesn’t happen.

Instead, my heart starts pounding again in fear as I’m facing a tall, Asian man of slim, yet muscular build with broad shoulders and powerful muscles who is now glaring at me and asks in in slightly cold, yet scarily threatening voice. His hair is slicked back and even though I know he’s actually quite good looking, I’m paralyzed with fear to hardly even notice.

“What are you doing here?” He demands as he pins me against the wall as his sharp eyes look at me.

Oh dear, God.

It happened so suddenly my body starts to tremble as I start to realize that maybe he is one of those gun men and those men aren’t just hotel guests. But Mafia? Triad?

What on earth should I do?

I breathe and swallow but it’s way too hard to even do so. Instead I focus on his face and answer.

“I-I- w-w-ork h-he---“ He completely ignores me and says instead, “you’ve got give seconds to walk away, disappear and forget everything you just saw. Got it? Otherwise, I’d hate to think what would happen to you after.” He also said it in a way that sounded like he was talking to a five-year old. A not very bright one at that too.

I nod wordlessly over and over, desperate to get away and he immediately lets me go. I run so fast my legs get tangled up with each other at first and don’t even think of where I’m headed. I just run to the point of exhaustion and find myself at the basement storage room. I close the door behind me and try to catch my breath, relieved with the fact that I have just barely escaped with my life as I offer a silent prayer and make the sign of the cross in complete gratitude that the scary Asian Mafia guy just let me go.

I ruminate over the thought of how it was possible for the Triad, one of the notorious Asian Mafias could be tied up to an event like the IVC? Were those guys even part of the Triad? Maybe they weren’t even mafia.

Get a hold of yourself, Fabray. Keep it together. I have just realized right at this moment I had actually lost the box of flyers I was holding earlier. I wasn’t sure if I had lost somewhere from that struggle between me and Fedora Hat, or that Mad Hatter encounter with Kurt Hummel, or even with the Middle Aged Sleazebag . I try again to get my body to function properly as I compose myself thinking over again where I had last left it and realized that it was on the table where I had been with Mr. Hummel.

Just as I swing the door open, I hear a loud crashing THUD.

The door I just swung had collided into something and I could hear a group of men scream “Watch out!!!”

I see two mean-looking men peeking at the other end of the door looking helplessly as the box they were carrying drops to the ground.

“Shit! That was the Winged Victorian Angel!”

Oh no. I remember from the news that this 300 year old museum artifact was meant to be raffled off as the grand prize at the IVC. It had been shipped all the way from the Louvre in Paris as a gift from the newly elected French President to the United States. The proceeds of the IVC’s funding and the raffle were meant to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan somewhere in the Philippines.

I quickly open the crate box and find the statue was broken in half and my heart just drops to my stomach in nameless shock.

I am way too shocked to even mutter an apology. Not only did I just destroy what might have been a National Treasure, millions of homeless Filipino children were going to starve and suffer.

“Hey, this was a very important piece that was going to be auctioned off.” The slim mean-looking guy barks at me, ignoring my shocked state. Did he just say auctioned? Didn’t he mean it was going to be raffled?

“How are you gonna pay for this?” Asks the Fat Meanie beside him.

“Uh…..Sorry?”

“You think an apology is gonna cut it? You owe us, bitch!”

The men reach out to me and….

……………..

And I find myself being auctioned off. The host of the eveing had just announce d that the next bid was me, a healthy fit young Caucasian American.

Is this even legal? I think as I swallow in fear hearing the bids knock from $2 million to higher. I got put up in place of that Winged Victory Angel.

The mere fact that someone just started the bid off at $2 million was unreal.

I could barely make through the crowd as everyone was wearing masks similar to the masquerade mask Fedora Hat had with him when his date dumped him. But somehow I felt with a sinking dread that the person who placed the initial bid was the Middle Aged Creep from before. Oh crap, is he really going to buy me? I definitely do NOT want that at all.

“$2 million, going once……going twice……”

I heard the announcer say that I’d be a slave, or a toy, or……God knows. This is horrible. I try to shake myself off this nightmare, but I know what I’m going through right now was just as real as everything that partook 12 hours ago.

Oh God, how did I get to this? I fall to my knees, hang my head in shame as I feel the tears well in my eyes start to overflow.

I start praying hoping that Charlie, or my Mom or Fran could find me before it’s too late…..

Just then….

The auction hall suddenly buzzes with commotion as the announcer stops from closing the deal.

“Seat number 100 with a bid for $20 million cash.”

The crowd is drawn into complete silence.

I peer through the gates to look for 100, but whoever was bidding was not in the crowd. All I could do was stare up at the sum of the winning bid, completely dumbfounded as a bell sounds, calling the auction to a close.

“Sold to Seat Number 100 for $20 million. Thank you!!”

Someone bought me for twenty million US dollars?

My cage is carried over to the edge of the stage. As I get off, I’m greeted by two masked men. They weren’t the mean jerks from earlier but something about them looks vaguely familiar. One of them looked to be wearing a Fedora Hat.

Fedora Hat bought me? Before I even get the chance to ask, Fedora Hat in the mask grabs my arm and says” This way….”

Wait, what the heck am I being so nervous for? At least it’s Fedora Hat who bought me and not that Middle Aged Creep. But where are they going to take me now?

And who bought me?

I feel totally numb from this crazy situation that I don’t even notice that I’m brought up into the penthouse.

I gasp in marvel looking at my surroundings, knowing that out of all the hotel employees, only Charlie and a few other managers were ever allowed to come up here.

Wait, speaking of Charlie, does he even know about those weird auctions happening at the basement?

“We brought her, boss.” Fedora Hat announces to the man in the immaculate tux seated on one of the elegant sofas. Like Fedora Hat and the other man, he was also wearing a mask, but something about him looked made me sense that I’ve also encountered this man before. Even the other man seated beside him also with a shock of black hair was also wearing a mask also seemed vaguely familiar.

“Wait. You’re----“

“We bought you,” Mr. Hargreave says indifferently, removing his mask as if he didn’t even hear what I was about to say. The other man beside him followed suit.

“Guess we did end up seeing each other again,” the Asian Mafia guy remarks in the same casual, yet cold tone.

“You know this woman, Mike?” Hargreave raises his eyebrow almost as if in disbelief.

“You can say that.” He shrugs, not really giving a toss.

“Wait. You bought me? In that auction” I stammer, trying to still make sense of it all.

“He means WE won you, Alice.” Kurt Hummel corrects as I turn around in disbelief as he removes his mask as well.

“For $20 million, Princess. The boss must have it bad.” Fedora Hat grins as he casually throws his mask and lays it on the next empty sofa.

“M-Mr. Hummel?” I squeak, not sure if I was asking if Fedora Hat was referring him as ‘the boss’ or if I was just asking a reaffirmation that I knew at least another familiar but friendly face.

“Pffft!!! She doesn’t even know you’re name, Puck.” Kurt laughs.

“That because I didn’t have the time to tell her,” the man named Puck crosses his arms as if he were a pouting kid who wasn’t included in a game of tag.

“Isn’t this some form of human trafficking? I shouldn’t have even been up for that stupid auction in the first place.”

“Hey, anything and everything’s for sale at that auction.” Puck grins matter-of-factly, completely oblivious to the fact that I had stated it being against my own free will.

“Absolutely,” Kurt agrees. “You can buy almost anything there. Like stolen art, government secrets, and even hire a hitman!”

“That was last year, wasn’t it?” Puck asked as I noticed that he and Kurt were the only chatty ones in the group while the other two men watched silently.

“Anyway, this was the first time anyone was sold off in the manner of fashion you had earlier,” Kurt says tilting his head as if trying to understand what was really going on. “You must have done something really bad to put yourself up there, huh?”

“Well…….I accidentally broke the Winged Victory Angel….” My voice trails off and I realized that something wasn’t right here. Wait a minute, weren’t they just talking about selling black market things in a legal casino that by the way just happens to be in a highly publicized area? Was this even legal at all? “Who in the world would approve of these things? Do the police even know?”

“Well, to answer question number one. I did approve of it.” Mr. Hargreave says as if bored by this whole conversation.

“What?”

“If it’s worth anything, it’s here.” Hargreave scoffs and laughs coldly.

“Reckless as always,” Mike shakes his head. “This woman isn’t even worth anything.”

“Think about it for a moment,” Hargreave looks at me up and down as he folds his arms looking at me as if he were the predator toying with his prey. “Won’t it be fun coming up with ways to use her?”

“What gives you the right to decide that?” I ask exasperated.

“Who gave you permission to speak?” Hargreave asks coldly, merely raising an eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“Not another word unless I. SAY. SO.” Hargreave says, savoring the last three words, enunciating them slowly as if threatening me to not disobey him.

“If you’ve got a problem, we could always send you back to be auctioned off.” Mike sneers as if finding this even more amusing.

These guys are so scary. I’d rather die first than be sold off again.

I shake my head looking at both men, pleading them that I won’t disobey.

“Come on Boss……Mike……You two should be nice to the girls,” Puck quips, trying to lighten the mood, but honestly it fell a bit flat. Not that I’d feel better either way.

“We need to figure out who gets to keep her,” Kurt says, as if now he’s the one who was bored by the whole turn of the conversation. Though he acts as if he wants everything finalized, I get the feeling that he’s not entirely happy with the idea of having me for a slave. In fact, he looks rather…….reluctant. I’ve heard rumors that Mr. Hummel was gay, but I didn’t think now would have been the best times to actually confirm that. So instead I ask the second question that’s been nagging me.

“What do you mean, who gets to keep me? Didn’t you all buy me?”

“Yes, that’s true. But that’s really not your concern now.” Puck says. “If I were you, I’d choose me. I’m the only good guy here, so you can rest easy.”

“Says the world-famous thief and con-artist,” Elian Hargreave snorts derisively.

“Now, now Elian, you’re just trying to make Puck look bad.” Kurt says as if coming to his friends defense. “You’ve already got tons of groupies, why don’t you just play with one of them and let the rest of us have our fun?”

And to think I thought Kurt Hummel was safe because I assumed he was gay.

Guess again, batman.

“Mike Chang’s the one who could have his pick,” Hargreave threw a smirk towards the cool Asian mobster guy’s direction. “Women would do anything to be the lover of a Hong Kong mobster.”

So he really was part of the Mafia.

Who ARE these people? I’m speechless but I try to pull myself together and try to shake some last-minute common sense in them.

“Human trafficking IS illegal, you know. I’m going to report this to the police and I don’t care who you are.”

“You see a cop anywhere?” Elian Hargreave throws his head as if calling out to no one in particular. I follow his gaze and see a worn-out looking man standing by the window smoking a cigarette. He looks to be the older of the bunch, probably around 35 in age. Rather good-looking, in fact he sort of reminds me of that guy who plays a thief on TV except that he looks disheveled and hasn’t shaved in a week.

“Damn it, don’t just blow my cover like that,” he groans as if he didn’t even want to be a part of this conversation.

“Better now than later, right Detective Cooper?” Kurt giggles as if enjoying himself.

“Shut up, Hummel.”

“Oh, don’t be so mean. Just because I’m dating your brother doesn’t mean you have to be so rude.”

“Wait, you’re a cop?” I ask incredulously, ignoring the fact that Kurt Hummel just confirmed he was openly gay.

“Yup.” Apparently, the Detective spoke the fewest words possible.

I seriously CAN NOT believe that even the police are in on this.

“Well, it looks like we’re not going to reach a decision any time soon.” Kurt announces, really emphasizing on the obvious.

“Well Boss, at times like these….” Puck begins but Elian Hargreave cuts him off immediately.

“Right. I don’t want to waste anymore time.” Hargreave nods and stands up with Mike Chang following suit. All the men except for the Detective stand up and saunter over to me with Mr. Hargreave standing in the center of the group with his arms crossed looking down at me with cold eyes.

“Make a decision,” he says. “I’ll let you choose who buys you.”

---END---

Elian Hargreave. Be ready to hear more of another Hargreave, Elian was just the prototype of my OC in the next series of fanfics.

#glee #glee fanfiction #quinn fabray #voltage otome #otome guys #kissed by the baddest bidder #kbtbb #kbtbb eisuke #kbtbb soryu #kbtbb baba #mike chang #kurt hummel #noah puckerman #kbtbb ota

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racingtoaredlight · 5 years

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RTARL’s NFL Week 7 Extravapalooza

I know this is a football post, but the World Series looks like it’s gonna be great. Verlander, Cole, and Greinke vs. Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin is RAD. Especially now that MLB has decided to switch back to the non-juiced baseballs. Nothing says “we care deeply about the integrity of competition” quite like drastically fucking with the league’s official equipment when the games matter most!

The Stros and Nats are very evenly matched in my opinion, but I think I’m gonna take Washington to win based on nothing more than pure bullshit and approximately 25 seconds of thought. Nationals in 6, baby! TAKE IT TO THE BANK!

[looks at my record of picking things]

Congrats to the Houston Astros and their fans!

My picks are in BOLD, and all betting info comes to you courtesy of Vegas Insider.

Last Week’s Record: 6-7

Season Record: 35-49-1

Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants (-3)

Ooh, this is a spicy little meatball of a game. Neither of these teams are what I’d call “good,” nevertheless this one rates very highly on the “Watch ‘Em Up Index” patented by my colleague Starkweather.

The combination of the “West Coast team travelling East to play an early game” scenario and the triumphant return of Saquon Barkley led me to choose New York to prevail in a shootout.

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (-1)

Another good game! The Colts deserve all the credit in the world for not going completely into the tank after Andrew Luck decided to call it a career weeks before the season started. They’re legitimately feisty, and it was wrong for me to ever doubt the powers of Jacoby Brissett.

One thing the Colts do NOT do well is pressure the QB, as they sit at just 26th in the league in Pressure % ( QB pressures (hurries + knockdowns + all sack plays (half and full for players, just full sacks for teams)) per dropback). This leads me to believe that DeShaun Watson will make it through at least one more week without literally exploding into chunks on the field, and when he avoids that he’s usually very good.

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-17)

Holy shit, when was the last time the Bills were favored this heavily? The WAGONS HAVE BEEN CIRCLED! Buffalo QB Josh Allen has played the Dolphins twice in his young career so far, and both times have resulted in an absolute statistical bonanza for fantasy footballers, so if you play DFS or feel like placing any prop bets, I would advise hopping aboard the Allen Train today.

The Dolphins make me sad. Note that they don’t make me CRY, because I’m not Hootie from Hootie and the Blowfish.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (-2)

Man, I feel bad for the Lions. They were boned out of a divisional win on Monday, and now they welcome an even tougher divisional foe on a short week. I still think they’re a good team, but this is a tough spot. My man Kerryon Johnson has NOT had a chance to get it going so far, as for whatever reason the Detroit offensive coordinator is insistent upon trying to run him straight up the middle in obvious running situations as opposed to trying to get him the ball with a bit of space to operate. Seems like a functional running game would take some pressure off of Staff Daddy! Why yes, I am an aggrieved Kerryon Johnson fantasy owner, why do you ask?

The Vikings coming to the realization that their best bet for success is to let Kurt Cousins chuck it all over the yard is hilarious to me, because you know damn well it’s going to cause HC Mike Zimmer’s other eye to explode. His demeanor in press conferences following games where Minny wins after Kurt throws 30+ times could best be described as “just watched his wife’s autopsy.”

Jacksonville Jaguars (-4) at Cincinnati Bengals

Oakland Raiders at Green Bay Packers (-4.5)

I am VERY disappointed that the Raiders have actually been a somewhat competent team so far. Watching Jon Gruden seethe on the sidelines each week was supposed be a major part of my autumn, god damn it. I suppose there’s still time for things to go sideways, but it doesn’t seem like it��ll devolve to quite the level I’d like.

The Packers’ rush defense isn’t very good, which is unfortunate given that they find themselves up against enormous Oakland RB Josh Jacobs this week. Conversely, the best way to attack Oakland is through the air. Despite having Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay isn’t really in a great position to take advantage of this, given the fact that they have basically zero healthy pass-catchers. This game feels like a low-scoring, field-position battle that ends up being decided by a field goal.

Los Angeles Rams (-3) at Atlanta Falcons

I can’t shake the feeling that this game is going to be a blow-out win for the Falcons, and my instincts are NEVER wrong. You know who the Rams’ back-up QB is? That’s right, it’s BLAKE BORTLES! I know it isn’t likely they’d make a switch given Goff’s huge contract, but how many more stinkbombs are they willing to endure before they begin to feel themselves swaying to the siren song of BORT? Jalen Ramsey may demand another trade if that were to happen.

I truly have no idea what the Falcons will do from week-to-week. I mean, I clearly don’t know what ANY team is going to do, but with Atlanta it’s like, EXTRA uncertainty.

San Francisco 49ers (-9.5) at Washington Football Team

The narrative around this game has mostly been “Kyle Shanahan hates the Washington franchise with the fire of 1000 suns and he desperately wants to crush their hopes and dreams,” which is DELIGHTFUL. This game probably isn’t going to be any fun at all for Case Keenum, and then it will be even less fun for poor Dwayne Haskins if the team throws him in there.

The field at Washington is a notorious piece of shit to begin with, and evidently today it’s extremely soggy there. The Over/Under is currently at 39, and pounding the under doesn’t seem like the worst investment in the world if the game’s gonna be a slop-fest featuring one team that wouldn’t be likely to score a whole hell of a lot even in ideal conditions.

Baltimore Ravens at Seattle Seahawks (-3)

In theory, Seattle has the speed and athleticism along their defensive line and in their linebacking corps to keep Lamar Jackson from completely running wild on them. If that’s the case and Lamar is forced to try to beat them mostly with his arm, I don’t think he can do it. Especially given that his best WR, Marquise Brown, is out for this one.

As far as Seattle goes, Russell Wilson is the best. Evidently the national NFL media reads this picks column, because the “Wilson is the MVP frontrunner” chatter began in earnest on all of the talking-head shows this past week following my praise of the mighty DangeRuss. Clearly, nobody was aware that he was good until I brought it to the world’s attention. I’m predicting this is going to be a breakout game for rookie WR DK Metcalf. TE Will Dissly was a big part of Seattle’s passing offense, and those targets have to go somewhere. That coupled with Baltimore’s extremely shaky pass defense likely focusing the bulk of their meager stopping power on Tyler Lockett leads me to believe that DK will feast.

Los Angeles Chargers at Tennessee Titans (-2.5)

In last week’s post I joked that it would be hilarious if San Diego blew a lay-up of a game against the thoroughly depleted Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, it turns out that it wasn’t hilarious, it was actually kind of depressing. Do NOT watch any of this game for any reason.

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears (-4)

Trubisky BACK! Whether or not that’s actually good for the Bears long-term is certainly up for debate. At the very least, he’s a much more capable scrambler/runner than Chase Daniel, which I think will come in handy today.

Alvin Kamara being out is huge, obviously. Teddy B not having him around as a world-class safety valve in the face of Chicago’s fearsome pass rush is going to be an issue, I reckon.

This game has the week’s lowest Over/Under (37) for a reason.

Sunday Night Game: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (-2.5)

Neither of these teams are playing particularly inspired football as of late, which is nice. At least some of the Cowboys’ issues can be chalked up to injuries to key players, and it appears they’re going to have everyone back for this one. La’el Collins and Tyron Smith coming back is huge (literally LOL!!!) for the offensive line, and Amari Cooper returning to join Michael Gallup gives them a legitimately dangerous pair of WRs.

I’m picking the Cowboys to win here, which feels kind of gross, BUT I think in the long term it will only help from a comedy perspective because it increases the odds of Jason Garrett getting a contract extension.

Monday Night Game: New England Patriots (-9.5) at New York Jets

via GIPHY

#NFL #Sports!#Football

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bleuskais · 7 years

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GotG Vol 2 spoilers

[spoilers]

I don’t know what else to say other than

Be warned! Out there be spoilers!

I missed the first part of the movie all the way up to somewhere near the end of the opening credit coz I had to work late coz it was raining and the vendors came late so I had to leave late and I spent 1 hour in traffic and $35 on cab fare. jfc fml...

So my first introduction to Ego was when he flew by waving while riding on top of his shiny pearl egg. It made me think of Adventure Time’s Finn’s Dad Martin Mertens. And throughout the whole movie, he became more and more like Martin I can’t even...

And I really dig the porcelain diorama and Ego’s feathered fluffy Farrah Fawcett hair! Still have no idea how freaky CGI’d young Kurt Russell looks yet though...

Wow they’re leaning hard on the Drax bit and the Groot bit, aren’t they?

I like that the different plot lines of varying importance all came into play and tied up nicely towards the big finale. Everything the critics say are valid but that doesn’t it make the movie less entertaining.

Dayum son... Kraglin looks good in this one

I crave that Kraglin-Peter brotherly friendly antagonism frenemy backstory when they are growing up on the Eclector and Yondu favoring Peter coz the boy was cuter and quicker and poor Kraggles being sidelined...

Poor Kraggles... He shouldn’t have said anything and now those who were already unhappy with Yondu latched onto his words and turned it into a mutiny and killed all his friends and omg think of the guilt he must be feeling...

POOR KRAGGLES!! (Re: the ending)

I didn’t expect I’d walk out of GotG Vol 2 with Kraglin feels but here we are. He is now my sweet dumb awkward son who is good at following orders and making sure everything is shipshape but isn’t too bright and not good at talking to people in general.

[MAJOR SPOILERS] Me: Although... why can’t they just use the ship to get them back? Asshole Brain: Because this is only a chunk of the Eclector, not the whole ship like in the previous movie? Me: Okay then why can’t Peter give Yondu his mask thing? Asshole Brain: Coz he can’t reach it coz of the forcefield suit? Me: Then why can’t Yondu yoink Peter’s mask thing before slapping the suit on Peter? Asshole Brain: Coz he don’t think with his head, he think with his heart? Me: Tch... I guess

The scene with Yondu & Rocket reminds me of this fic except it’s with Rocket & Kraglin instead. (Shoutout to Donatello7 for making me fall in love with poor Kraggles way back in 2014)

The only time the eyeline between the real actors and CGI Rocket was wonky was during that one particular scene when Yondu was talking to Rocket coz I guess Michael Rooker is used to looking Sean Gunn in the face? lol...

Drax and Mantis... Cute but I’m a lil squicked by the age difference.

ZUNE REFERENCE AHAHAHA!!! I was wondering how they’re gonna do a Vol 3. Now I know! This is genius!

Post Credit thoughts: So... Does that mean that Kraglin is now the pilot and/or arrow whistler for the GotG? Is it too much to ask for Ben Browder as Adam Warlock? It is? Damnit... OMG THE DIAMOND GUY IS MICHAEL ROSENBAUM?! Michelle Yeoh looks like Hela Lite. Me & bro both did a double take.

GotG Vol 3 theme: Siblings? We never did get the Kraglin-Peter frenemy thing going so I want that to happen. I definitely need Gamora and Nebula trying and failing to be sisterly (clothes and makeup stealing optional). I also kinda wanna see Rocket try to put Teen Groot in its place and Teen Groot be like, but you did that all the time and Rocket’s like I KNOW DON’T DO WHAT I DO! DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO! and Teen Groot be like, whatever.

GotG Vol 3 wishlist: Kraglin to give Nebula a nice hat and Teen Groot to comment on it via Rocket. Teen Groot being a typical teen and thinks they’re all lame for saving the world a 3rd time.

#marvel #guardians of the galaxy #¤#kraglin obfonteri #my sweet dumb awkward son

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furederiko · 7 years

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♪ I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy. To be calm when you've found something going on. But take your time, think a lot. Why, think of everything you've got. For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not... ♫ (Cat Stevens - "Father and Son")

NOTE: I've tried to keep this review free of spoilers as best as I can. Nevertheless, it might still contains hints towards one, whether intentionally or not. So please proceed cautiously with that thought in mind.

When the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie was released three years ago (my oh my, how time flew by soooo fast!), it undeniably explored the story of self-proclaimed 'legendary outlaw' Star-Lord, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), and his poignant connection to his late loving mother Meredith (Laura Haddock). A bond so special, that eventually ended up leading him to discover 'a family', in form of his unlikely misfit-friends: assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who is trying to get out of her ruthless Mad Titan Father's shadow; savage slayers Drax (Dave Bautista) who's filled with vengeance for the lost of his wife and daughter; bounty hunter Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), who is a product of illegal animal experimentation; and his companion, the sentient plant Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), who is the last of his kind.

In "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", the time has passed only a mere few months. But although the team is new, they have spent a good amount of time with one another for a while now. After saving the galaxy on Xandar, the Guardians of the Galaxy have become a household name under the protection of the Nova Corps. They've since accepted odd-jobs and the likes from various customer, and gained benefits from them in return. So one could hardly call them a 'mission'. LOL. During a death defying 'job' on the Sovereign, things turned sour between them and the planet's cold arrogant queen, Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki). An unexpected situation that forced them to be on the run from their fleet. But Peter soon has a bigger but personal thing he needed to solve: the arrival of an unexpected figure from the past. His father, namely Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell), who has returned to Peter's life, alongside his obedient empath-assistant, Mantis (Pom Klementieff).

Yes, as has been widely reported, the movie's theme was about Father and Son. But it went beyond that, because the bigger theme was really about family. Amidst all the irreverent and occasionally rather-raunchy-ish humor, the bright-colored galactic spectacle painted with eye-popping visuals, and the non-stop fun of actions and thrills, the centerpiece of the movie was none other than the characters themself. The various personalities, which we got to know even deeper and personal this time around. So when the first movie ended with the question of "Something good, something bad?"... the answer turned out to be, "A little bit of... personal". And that's where audience's opinions are likely to be divided.

"Vol. 2" was more concerned in focusing on character's story, and the relationships between each Guardians. Which might be the reason why it might not work with everyone. I've read in several outlets, that some, if not many, critics were calling this to be "plotless", or "doesn't feel as fresh as the first". To a certain extent, they did have a point. After all, to each their own, right? With that said, I sincerely think that people who has deep feelings for their family, whether in form of their parents, siblings, child, and others, would be able to relate to this movie a lot better. Why is that? As I said, this sequel focused more on personal character growths and developments. Thus we got to see what made Peter lost in words, what ticked off Gamora, what caused Drax to laugh uncontrollably, the true reason to Rocket's shenanigans, and how Baby Groot managed to steal the scene everytime he showed up. More than that, we got to see another side of Nebula (Karen Gillan), and also Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker) that we haven't seen before. In case you forgot, all of these characters were painted on a broad stroke the last time we saw them. So it's here that we finally got to see their 'true colors'. What their hearts were really whispering beneath those facades of bravado. We didn't even need Mantis help to figure that out.

Problem is, there are people who expected spectacles over feelings, and bigger bombastic action over subtle emotions. Perhaps because they thought drama is dull and boring? Who knows. Perhaps they are surprised when the characters they thought they knew, turns out to be not as good/bad as they might seem? It's a possibility, because accepting facts can be hard. What I'm trying to say is, this approach might not work for everyone. And that's why some people did not, or failed to get the point of the movie. In my personal opinion, it's instead these small heartfelt moments that were exceptionally meaningful in "Vol. 2". They were the ones that really matters, because it's the driving force behind the character's actions. In fact, if you're not at all moved by them and how they've become through the course of this movie, I don't even think I should consider you to be a good person. Then again, is it because these group of audience don't like it when a movie is retelling their own struggle and pain? Too afraid to admit the reality that it's a mirror of what they've been through? Hmmm...

Not saying the movie was perfect. Nope. Nothing is. Back in 2014, I said that one major issue in the first movie was its classic 'Lost in Translation' problem. This time, the sequel repeated itself in that department. A lot of those 80s to early 90s references were lost during my viewing, particularly to the younger audience who I presumed to be millenials. It didn't draw out genuine laughters from the crowd like it's supposed to. I could even properly attest to this, because I went to see it with a nephew (who's finally old enough to see it now), and some of the jokes went pass his head because he just didn't get it. Older audience (like yours truly... *cough cough*) who have been through that period, would easily have a blast, because they would know what the movie was talking about. It was obviously made worse for international audience as well, because their knowledge of the material would be limited at best. For example, our country was lucky enough to have seen "Knight Rider", so all the fun nods towards that action show made a lot of sense. But other bits like "Cheers"? Nope.

While the first movie was compact, swift, and tight, this sequel did drag on a bit during the 2nd arc. As I've pointed out, it focused more on drama, so clearly there'd be more intimate scenes filled with dialogues and exchanges. The kinds that challenged the strength of your heart, and tested your ability to hold back tears. Thus making you lost or distracted in a pool of emotion every now and then. The absence of several characters from the first movie was also felt, but you would discover plenty of other surprising characters in their place. Some looking familiar, some are not... and in a way, this ended up becoming an issue as well. These Marvel-related ones? I believe only those who are familiar enough with the comics would be able to understand. Even the actors who portrayed these amazing cameos, would not be familiar to a younger, modern eye. Last but not least, no matter how you see it, the movie is once again a space opera. Even if it takes more risks and goes even outlandishly geeky than before, those who are already not fond of the genre? I doubt they're going to like it.

If I have to (unfairly) compare it to other Marvel Cinematic Universe sequels, then this ranked slightly above "Avengers: Age of Ultron", but definitely not at the heights of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". It's indeed the funniest and most hillarious of them all, that's for sure. There were bits that did feel like "Age of Ultron", but I could see how this one would easily work better with audience, particularly general ones. In a way, "Vol 2" was basically the antithesis, the reverse scenario of "Captain America: Civil War". This is a character-driven movie that told a story of a family who became a much stronger unit, which was the exact opposite to what recently happened to the Avengers. Suffice to say, a different metaphor of a dysfunctional family. Which would make it more interesting when the two teams cross each other's path in "Avengers: Infinity War" next year.

When it comes to Marvel Studios movies, I don't think I can stop talking about it. So I need to exercise self-restraint, otherwise I might end up spoiling all the juicy details. With that said, I'm going to wrap off this review now. To be honest, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this movie the seconds I've finished seeing it, because it's... tough to put it into words. But afterwards, as I spent the time deep in thoughts, understanding about the core message of it all, I finally saw the light (literally too, because it was raining when we got out, so the sun was out! LOL). Yes, the movie had great action scenes that would thrill and entertain every audience young and old. Yes, it was colorful, whether in visual or comedy, with the risk of getting your face all exhausted due to changing expressions too much. But I won't get tired of repeating this over and over again: it's the roller coaster layers of emotions that truly counts. It's the character moments that would no doubt make you relate and connect to them, and probably react in a deeper personal manner. The exact element of 'sorcery' that Marvel Studios have been using to wow us all these years. The sequel is a great continuation that will let you know closer of these a-holes, as many of the questions left hanging in the first movie will be answered, probably in a surprising way too. If I can quote a particular sentence from a wonderfully-written review, "It's everything you want, but not what you expect".

This movie arrived 10 years after my Dad departed to the other side. Is that a coincidence? It might be so, but I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason, so I can almost see it as fate. Similar to Ego's situation with Peter, my Dad could be considered a workaholic, more occupied with work than his sons. Thus I'd always wished to spend more time with him. Which was why "Vol 2" hit me pretty hard, and felt undeniably very personal to me. As soon as I arrived home from the theatre, I asked my mom about a certain steel wristwatch. It was the one my Dad gave me when I was much younger, the one I would proudly wore everywhere I go. Mom kept this item all these years, eventhough it has stopped working for such a long time. I never did change the battery, because I've migrated to a new one, the one I bought with my own money back then. A proof of growing up, one might say. But now that I have it in my hand again, I'm going to make it work once more. And I'm going to proudly wear it again, because it's a symbol of a father's love for me. It's one of the simple things that reminded me, that despite his limited time with me, my Dad was there for me, and I was loved. James Gunn, Marvel Studios, and their small movie called "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" has helped reminded me about this crucial but forgotten fact. To rekindle myself with the respect and love to my Dad, because I would never come this far without the warmth of his presence. For that, I give them my deepest gratitude. With a sincere hope, that we will be treated with another emotional journey, when "Vol. 3" arrives a few years from now...

Overall Score: 8,3 out of 10 PS: True to Gunn's own word, there are FIVE mid/post credit scenes in this movie. Don't worry though, eventhough most are included just for fun, they are effectively placed so that staying through the end credit is actually FUN. Nope, I'm not kidding. I think this was the first time ever in the MCU, I've experienced that. There's one particular that would get you really excited for "Vol. 3". Also, you can even spot three special cameos during the roll! One from this movie, one from the first movie, and one from... upcoming Marvel Studios movie. Don't miss them out!

#movie #Marvel Studios #Guardians of the Galaxy #guardians of the galaxy vol. 2 #review #Just for Fun #melancholymoments #awesome #music

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buzzandnova · 7 years

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People Can't Get Over Trippy Photo Of Kurt Russell Napping

Kurt Russell has to be one of the coolest American actors of all time. I don’t know what the secret to the man’s longevity is, but I think James Gunn’s behind the scenes photograph of the actor sitting with Zoe Saldana and Chris Pratt holds the answer to that mystery.

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on Apr 18, 2017 at 8:43am PDT

At first glance, yes, the picture just looks like a telling sign of a generation gap. Saldana and Pratt are typing away at their phones; I mean, they each have an adoring public to keep happy on social media. Russell appears to simply enjoy a nap.

But take another look.

You can clearly see the generation gap They phone it in While he takes a nap

— Thomas Owens (@tprowens) October 12, 2017

I thought Kurt Russell had a tiny personal hairdresser in this photo and tbh my brain was fine with the idea pic.twitter.com/NjgNyawca0

— Jamie Ghost Fart (@jamiesmart) October 11, 2017

Tiny. Hairdresser. Everything makes sense now. The confidence that Kurt gets from carrying around a miniature hairdresser to keep his thick locks looking perfect in every scene, no matter where he’s shooting, is what gives him the edge over other actors.

OK fine, it’s definitely a depth perception thing that’s going on with the photo, but that hasn’t stopped me, and a bunch of other people online, from wanting this theory to be real.

I keep looking at it and my brain just wants it to be true

— A.Ysick (@A_Ysick) October 11, 2017

People even started coming up with their own theories.

That is the elf who makes people sleep to free them from the clutches of the cellphones. The others are still to be attended.

— Seekingandspeaking (@manishapaula) October 12, 2017

While others dreamed about having their own lilliputian hair stylist.

If I could have a tiny hairdresser on my shoulder, I would look great every day.

— Amy Reynaldo (@Amy_Rey) October 11, 2017

She hides in his scarf during filming 😃

— Dave Ducharme (@charrion) October 11, 2017

D’you what? This is exactly what I needed at the end of an exasperating day! Made me laugh out loud! Thanks guys!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

— HarponWight (@HarponW) October 11, 2017

I want to get this framed. pic.twitter.com/8FlUafu8dw

— 🏳️‍🌈Colin Loves🌈 (@CEqualsMsquared) October 11, 2017

Lots of people were also impressed with Kurt’s nap-taking abilities.

Everyone is on a phone, Kurt is all Z-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz lol Kurt is my hero here

— Queen of the Geeks👑 (@K2togetherSSK) October 12, 2017

Must be nice to wake up and never have a bad hair day.

People Can’t Get Over Trippy Photo Of Kurt Russell Napping was originally published on Buzzing Lives

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furederiko · 7 years

Photo

It's the 1st post for March, so let's march it up with a Random-News-Digest!

Disney Live Action

As marketing promotion for "Beauty and the Beast" continues to ramp up to herald its imminent premiere, another live action adaptation title is moving along nicely. No, not "Mulan" or others, but this time it's "The Lion King".

Eventhough the movie will likely not go into production until the sequel for "The Jungle Book" is completed (or is it? Hmmm...), Disney has assembled two of its core cast. Donald Glover, who is currently in production for "Han Solo: A Star Wars Story" has been cast to play Simba, the titular lion king himself. And he will be joined by a legend. James Earl Jones, a.k.a Darth Vader, is set to reprise his role as Simba's beloved father, the wise Mufasa. Yes, he's reprising this role, because he was the original voice actor in the original 1994 animated movie. Don't bother doubting these reports, because it's director Jon Favreau himself who announced them via Twitter. He revealed that he first met Glover back in December, and that the director's teenage son is a fan of Glover's music.

This is a fantastic news, and I can already see how the movie is shaping for greatness. I'm crossing my fingers that Nathan Lane and Bernie Sabella will return to reprise their roles as Timon and Pumbaa too. I doubt other actors would be able to bring justice nor the same levity to their iconic "Hakuna Matata" number. Here's hoping Favreau read this (though the chance of that happening is close to zero LOL). As I said, the movie might not begin production until perhaps later this year, so we still have plenty of time to get more cast confirmation. I wonder who will be cast to play Nala, and others like Zazu, or Scar? Hmmmm....

DC Films

You're one of the few who is expecting Warner Bros to get their act right when it comes to DC Films? Well, don't get your hopes too high too soon. Remember the news that Matt Reeves was in talks to direct "The Batman", taking over Ben Affleck's prior role? Well... said news has been followed by a tsunami of strong waves, that surged both high and low, giving a rather concerning sign. Not long after the news went buzzing, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that talks have ceased between Reeves and WB. It's unclear what went wrong, but it's possible there was a major creative difference happening between the director and the studio. Looks like the damage done by both Zack Snyder and David Ayer is too much to fix, eh?

But even that has become an old news so quickly. Yes, in just a week passed, WB announced (via the same outlet) that Reeves has finally closed the deal to not only direct, but also produce the solo Batman movie. Hooray for DC Fans! But should we even rejoice? I dare say, don't. Not yet. Judging from the quick come and go in DC Films, things can still easily turn for the worse along the way. Sure, Reeves stated that he's a fan of the character, and WB's President and Chief Content Officer Toby Emmerich is singing praises for him right now. But dejavu much, haven't we been in the exact same situation before? After all, if "The Flash" is any indication, Reeves might still simply pull a last minute surprise and walk out during the pre-production process. Look no further, because Ben Affleck is the living proof to such uncertainty. Speaking of Affleck, while his brother just won an Oscar for an exceptional acting performance in "Manchester by the Sea" (something he hasn't achieved), Ben's fate in the DC Films might be in a dangerous flux. Why? Because his name was mysteriously NOT mentioned in the report. Suspicious, huh? WB commented that they only wanted to focus on Reeves in this recent press release. But that felt too much like mere sweet-talking to me. It has become, pretty much a troubling question in everyone's head for now. But you know what? I totally won't be surprised if "The Batman" turns out be another soft reboot that introduces a new actor to take over Affleck's shoes.

Interestingly, whether with or without proper confidence, WB is still moving forward with their superhero adaptations. Until the well runs dry, right? Since both Flash and Batman, their most popular characters, have been quite troubling lately, it seemed WB finally turned their head to secondary characters. And by secondary, that means one prominent member of the Bat family. Who else, but the ever charming butt-tastic Dick Grayson, a.k.a Nightwing! Following the success of "The LEGO Batman Movie" that many critics are praising for its strong understanding of, and respect to the source material (looking at you Zack Snyder!), WB has approached its director Chris McKay to convince him to helm "Nightwing". Bill Dubuque who wrote "The Accountant" is also in negotiation to write the script.

My reaction to this? Took them LONG ENOUGH. Even as Robin, Dick Grayson has been gypped a lot in the live action adaptations, subtly showing that WB simply couldn't care less about this fan-favorite character. Yes, the character Robin (Grayson version) did show up in "Batman Forever" and "Batman & Robin" as played by Chris O'Donnel, but he has been treated poorly ever since. Don't forget, a Robin's (presumably the Jason Todd version) mysterious DEATH was one of the most annoying and unnecessary plot in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". Assuming you still remember that ugly movie, of course. If, and only IF WB manage to get this movie right, this is possibly the first DC Films title that I'm interested to see. After all, Dick Grayson is a character with massive potentials to be more than just great. His relationship with Bruce Wayne would be vital, as it was the catalyst that evolved him from a mere orphan circus boy, to half of the dynamic duo Robin, into the all mature crime fighter Nightwing. It's a movie that can assure fans that WB knows their shit and won't be disappointing audience any further. Nevertheless, for me personally, it all depends on the casting as well. WB had already failed me big time with "Aquaman", and they can always do the same with this one. I sincerely hope that's not the case, but you know what? I'm not getting my hopes up too much. I don't want to be fooled twice. Let's just see what happens next, okay?

X-Men Universe

Looks like FOX is doing much better than WB in the superhero department. "Logan" is getting rave reviews, despite being out of sync in its own universe, and "X-Force" is moving along nicely. According to Collider, Joe Carnahan, who is working on the script for Shawn Levy's adaptation of "Uncharted", has been revealed to be writing this ensemble movie as well. If the movie follows the continuity of "Deadpool", then we will likely see Wade Wilson himself, alongside Domino and Cable to be part of the roster. Right now, it is said that he's only serving as a writer, but there's a possibility he might continue in a directorial role. IF the script is deemed worthy by FOX.

As for the not-much-anticipated "X-Men: Supernova", there's a buzzing rumor that producer and long-time writer (a.k.a the person to blame for the continuity errors) Simon Kinberg is looking to make this his directorial debut project. As I said before, I couldn't care less about this movie. And the fact that Kinberg will not only be writing and producing, but might also direct is totally my last straw. Those who enjoyed his work however, can be excited. Why? Actress Sophie Turner recently revealed that production for this title would commence very soon. So it IS happening folks. Eventhough nobody asked for it.

A new writer apparently has joined the gang of "Deadpool 2" as well. Unlike the director that had been replaced, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have long been confirmed to be returning. The new name joining him would make comic books geeks and nerds everywhere happy though. Yep, Drew Goddard, the guy that wrote "The Martian", the acclaimed "Daredevil" TV series, and almost did "Sinister Six" for SONY, is onboard this project as a consultant for the screenplay. According to the report on Collider, the script is close to finish, so we can expect to hear an official release date for the movie. As always, let's just be patient and wait for it to come...

Marvel Studios

After being teased on social media, the latest and likely final trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2" has been released. It debuted several hours ago (or last night in PST time) via Jimmy Kimmel's Live. If that's not enough, it came alongside one very flashy but cool-looking poster. The trailer includes one important bit: the long awaited official look of Kurt Russel's Ego the Living Planet. 'Official' because it HAS already been revealed several days ago, via Hasbro's figure line during the New York Toy Fair. Even Marvel had shown it too in their coverage video!

As you can see on the trailer, the design of the toy figure looks exactly like the way he is in the movie. To be frank, it doesn't look groundbreaking or anything. It basically looks like Kurt Russel in a thick beard, who wears a space cowboy suit. That's all. LOL. Intriguingly, while the trailer showed many new footages, it didn't spoil any key moments or any surprises from the movie itself. Everything that was shown is inline with what Kevin Feige, director James Gunn, and many of its actors had revealed during the set visit interviews. Obviously, there's something that meets the eye here, and that Gunn is deliberately making sure that nothing crucial or important is revealed too soon. Hey, this is a guy who spoiled Peter Quill's father's identity in advance, right? I'm positive there's something more he's hiding.

Meanwhile, nothing much is happening on the other movies. Everyone's focused on the Oscars, so it's a slow news week for Marvel movies. "Avengers: Infinity War" is still in production, and is set to head out to film in Scotland for several months. The same goes for "Black Panther", that's still filming in Atlanta. There aren't any rumors, or announcement regarding both. Everything is being tightly wrapped from the press. There is however, a news surrounding a movie that hasn't even found its director: "Captain Marvel".

Because Brie Larson is currently on a press tour to promote "Kong: Skull Island", of course members of the press would start asking question about her upcoming superhero project. IGN specifically asked her opinion of the character Carol Danvers, and Larson sort of hinted what to expect in the movie. She said that she liked Danvers because she serves as "a bridge between two worlds, that she can go to Earth and go to Space and that her own personal place is in the littlest place in between where Earth ends and space begins". Naturally, that IS the key component of the character, enabling her to be both a member of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Of course, that doesn't necessarily means that she will be the same in the movie. Perhaps, she might have a different origin story? It's still too early to tell. But Marvel Studios is known to be faithful to source material, so I don't think we can expect a drastic change. As for the looks, Larson can't share anything about how Danvers would be. Whether she will have the long hair like before, or short like the most recent version, either she knew about it but chose to stay silent, or she's simply clueless is the question. She just pointed out that some folks aren't going to get what they want, which once again can mean anything.

Could we be hearing more tidbits about the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies during similar press tour? After all, Larson is travelling from one country to another alongside other MCU actors like Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson. Surely a reporter or two would ask their involvement in the upcoming movies too. Let's just wait and see, okay...

Marvel TV

At long last, we finally have a cast announcement for Marvel's "The Inhumans"! It's high time for it to happen, I mean, duh... it's starting production REALLY soon, right? Took them long enough. For now, we get two of the core characters confirmed: the King, and the Big Bad.

Let's start with the big bad, as his actor was the first to be revealed. Playing Maximus Boltagon, is "Game of Thrones" alumn Iwan Rheon. Maximus the Mad, as he's commonly called in the comics, is a despicable character whose inner desire is to usurp and dethrone his older brother as the Inhuman King. He has a non-visual ability to manipulate others via speech, sort of similar to Kilgrave in Marvel's "Jessica Jones", thus can be really scary. I'm not familiar with GoT, because I haven't seen the show (Don't ask. It won't even legally gain access to this country, due to its full frontal adult nature), but I'm not at all surprised with Rheon's casting. Why? Scott Buck is the showrunner of this 8-episodes mini series, and if Marvel's "Iron Fist" is any indication, then obviously the guy favors GoT's alumni. Remember, both Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick who are playing lead characters in "Iron Fist" ARE indeed GoT's grads. According to those who are fans of GoT however, casting Rheon (who played Ramsay Bolton) as the manipulative and villainous Marvel character is nothing more than pitch perfect. So I guess I'll just have to take their words on this. At the very least, he already nails it looks-wise.

The other character, is none other than Maximus older brother, the Inhuman King himself, Black Bolt. And who's the lucky actor that has been trusted to bring this generally mute character to life? "Hell on Wheels" lead, Anson Mount. Based on the official announcement, this character already sounds very much faithful to the comics. As for the actor, interestingly, it has been rumored that a "Lost" alumn would be part of the core cast, and looks that rumor is referring to Mount. I personally haven't seen much about his acting, so I can't really give any solid opinion. But just like Rheon, looks-wise, Mount and his stern eyes, chiseled jawline, and athletic physique can be considered spot on.

To be honest, I initially didn't remember about him, despite feeling that his name rang a bell somehow. It wasn't until a fansite frequent member commented about his past work: Britney Spears' "Crossroads", as well as his inclusion in Liam Neeson's "Non-Stop". Yep, that's when I finally remembered him. Not just that, thanks to Wikipedia, apparently he's also the lead actor for ABC's new series "Conviction" (playing Jim Steele), that had Peggy Carter's Hayley Atwell as its lead actress. Does this mean "Conviction" has been officially cancelled? That's anyone's guess. Then again, if that's the case then I really don't mind. After all, Atwell can now return into Marvel's "Agent Carter" and ABC can now hire Shawn Ashmore to play Karnak. That would be AWESOME!

Power Rangers

The currently airing Power Rangers season "Power Rangers Ninja Steel" has only reached episode 5 so far (and honestly? ...NOT doing great *sigh*). But that doesn't stop Saban and Bandai America to start planning ahead. Talking on the 2017 Bandai Toy Fair, Bandai of America revealed that highly likely they will skip "Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger" and go straight to adapting "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" for the 2019's Power Rangers season. It's not yet set in stone, but the representative did say that the Zyuohger's rubic-cube gimmick is just not workable. This statement was rather unclear, whether that is meant for US taste or something else, but I won't be surprised if they choose to go ahead with Kyuranger instead. After all, it has been widely reported that Kyuranger had direct inputs from Bandai of America regarding its designs. So eventhough the company will need to create different molds for each Kyuranger (since everyone's unique), clearly they are going for the space theme.

This is... a little disappointing IMHO. Yes, I can understand the limitation of Zyuohger. But plot-wise, that show has a great potential to explore discrimination, equality, and all kinds of important social issues that the US are dealing with right now. Then again, story has NEVER been Saban's forte, especially if we're talking about weak seasons like "Megaforce" or "Ninja Steel". So highly likely they will ditch the theme of connection if they ever decide to adapt Zyuohger. That's how I feel, so what do you think? By the way, assuming they ARE taking Kyuranger directly, I wonder what will the US title would be? "Power Rangers... Space Rebeliions"? "Power Rangers Global Defense Force"? "Power Rangers Star Wars" or "Power Rangers Guardians of the Galaxy"? Let those last two sink in your head... XD

The King of Fighters

Huge updates are coming to "The King of Fighters XIV". At the end of the "KOF XIV World Championship", SNK greeted its devoted fans and also other attendees with this pleasant surprise. I don't think it's available officially yet, but the announcement can be seen through this candid video filmed by fans.

Several new costumes were announced as DLCs. As previously announced back in November, Classic Iori Yagami costume that would give a nostalgic kick especially when paired with Classic Kyo Kusanagi, has been made available on February 23 JST. Kula Diamond's Sundress, Meitenkun's Pajamas, Sylvia Paula Paula's Little Red Riding Hood (that made her look like "Masha and the Bear"), and Angel's Diabolo costumes will be available in Spring. Which can mean this month, if not the next. After all, Spring starts in April in the country of Japan. 2 new stages will available for free as well. One of it came from the "Fatal Fury" or "GARO" series, while the other came from KOF classic.

More importantly, there will be new DLC characters coming to the game! The silhouette didn't look quite clear (this one is a lot more difficult to decipher than "Street Fighter V"), but I think it's showing 3 to 4 characters. As for who they are, it's anyone's guess. But I won't be surprised if these are the Orochi characters like the trio of Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie, Chris, and probably Chizuru Kagura. Considering the way the story mode plays out, their return should feel organic. Beside, even Mature and Vice have both been revived from the death due to the dimensional rift. SNK promised to reveal more details this month, so let's just wait and see whether my theory is sound or not. Would be dope to get fan-favorite characters like Blue Mary, Ryuji Yamazaki, and others though...

#Random-News-Digest #random thoughts #news #movie #Disney #the lion king #dc #batman #nightwing #X-men #Marvel Studios #guardians of the galaxy vol. 2 #Captain Marvel #TV show #The Inhumans #Power Rangers #game #kof xiv

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