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wonderful-writer · 4 years

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06 - Into Grounder Territory

Summary: As Bellamy rallies a search party to look for Octavia, everyone discovers that the flares had not worked. More than one person was lost on your search for Octavia, and things end badly once you rescued her.

Word Count: 2.19k

Based Off: 01x06 “His Sister’s Keeper”

You heard Bellamy calling for Octavia outside the tent, but knowing her, it’s likely he won’t get a reply. He came to a stop in front of your tent and lifted the flap, revealing you playing with your necklace. “You’re still up?” He asked.

“Yeah. Can’t sleep knowing that I might have accidentally killed 300 people.” You responded, standing up and exiting the tent.

“That isn’t your fault, okay? It’s mine. I trashed the radio, not you.” Bellamy shifted the blame to himself to comfort you.

“But it wasn’t just you, Bellamy. I helped you. I didn’t try to stop you as much as I could’ve and we don’t know if they saw the flares or not and-” Bellamy put his right hand on your upper arm, as his other one held the torch.

“Hey,” He said softly, gaining your attention as he cut you off. “It’s not on you, I promise. It’s all on me. You don’t deserve to feel like that.” You nodded, a little bit of comfort coming from his words.

“Now, have you seen Octavia?” He asked.

“No. not since last night. But it’s Octavia, she probably just went to get some space.” You assured him.

“No, I checked the camp. She isn’t here.” He sighed.

“Okay, well you told me you fought with her before you saw me, right?” He nodded. “Okay, so I can help you look for her. She’s my friend.” He nodded gratefully as you told him to check the dropship while you searched the tents again.

When you couldn't find her and had disturbed or woken up everyone in camp, you and Bellamy gathered everyone willing to help look for Octavia to the middle of camp with the weapons you had gathered since your arrival laid on the ground.

Everyone took one as instructed while Bellamy began to inform the search party of the circumstances. “My sister’s been out there alone for 12 hours, so arm up. We’re not coming back without her.”

You were the first to grab one, a pair of daggers with sheaths for each thigh. You set them up and saw Jasper holding a torch and talking to Clarke. You heard Bellamy tell Clarke that we needed all the people that we could get as you walked up to the trio.

“Thank you for helping, Jasper. I know how you feel about leaving camp.” You told your brother. He smiled at you and you patted his arm as he passed you to get a weapon. You could tell he was scared, to you he was an open book.

Soon enough you were all ready to head out of camp, a total of 15 of you. One of the members pointed up at the sky to the beautiful meteor shower happening overhead, until you heard Raven speaking.

“It didn’t work,” She said solemnly.

“The meteor shower tells you that?” Bellamy asked.

“It’s not a meteor shower,” Clarke told him. “It’s a funeral. Hundreds of bodies being returned to the Earth from the Ark. This is what it looks like from the other side. They didn’t get our message.”

The pit in your stomach grew larger as you realized that all of those innocent people were killed. You could’ve stopped it or helped stop it and you didn’t. Bellamy's words from before came back to you, this time giving less comfort than before and taking away none of the guilt.

Everyone began to murmur and talk amongst themselves as you looked to Bellamy and vice versa. Raven passed Finn and Clarke to storm over to Bellamy.

“This is all because of you!”

“I helped you find the radio.” His face hardened and so did his tone, which was entirely different from the one he usually uses when he’s with you and Octavia.

“Yeah, after you jacked it from my pod and trashed it!” She yelled again before Clarke intervened.

“Yeah, he knows.” She looked him up and down. “Now he has to live with it.”

“All I know is that my sister is out there and I’m gonna find her.” He told the women before turning to Finn. “You coming or what?” Finn responded with a ‘yes’ and Bellamy shouted at everyone to begin moving out.

You and Bellamy headed the search with Finn, who managed to trace her from where Bellamy last saw her to a small hill. John saw something caught in the bushes and showed it to Bellamy.

“Is that hers?” He asked, lighting the way with his torch.

Bellamy asked for the rope and maneuvered himself down to the bush. Once he was down, he picked up the cloth and called out. “It’s hers! I’m going all the way down!”

He continued to lower himself down the hill with the rope, Jasper following suit with a burst of confidence, and then you. Once you got down you saw blood on the tips of Bellamy’s fingers, illuminated by the light of the flashlight. Soon after, Finn arrived at the bottom of the hill, crouching beside Bellamy.

“Someone else was here,” Bellamy told you, looking at the deep footprint just ahead.

“The prints are deeper going that way.” Finn acknowledged.

“He was carrying her.” You concluded. The others began to make their way down as Jasper spoke up.

“If they took her, she’s alive. Like when they took me.”

The four of you stood up at Jasper’s words, knowing how things were last time, and followed the deep footprints.

You walked for a while until the party came upon a bunch of skeletons standing up in the forest as some type of warning.

“I don’t speak grounder, but I’m pretty sure this means keep out,” Finn said breathily.

After hearing some people begin to doubt the search and start to leave, Bellamy spoke up as he stared ahead. “Go back if you want. My sister, my responsibility.”

“I’d walk into hell to find her,” Jasper told Finn, following after Bellamy. You did the same, along with Finn and a few others.

The sun had now come up and the small group had been searching for hours. “I got nothing, I lost the trail,” Finn told Bellamy.

“Keep looking,” Bellamy ordered.

“Wandering around aimlessly isn’t going to find your sister, we should backtrack-” Finn was cut off by Bellamy.

“I’m not going back.” He said. It was then that Roma pointed out that John was no longer in sight.

“Spread out. He couldn’t have gotten that far.” You started to move in the opposite direction when John’s body was dropped from a tree, throat slit. You gasped at the sight of him. You didn’t know him, but from seeing him around camp you could tell he wasn’t like Murphy at all, despite sharing the same name.

Finn came to your side and looked up before turning to Bellamy. “They use the trees.” He realized.

You all looked up into the trees but saw nothing. “We shouldn’t have crossed the boundary,” Diggs commented.

“Now can we go back?” Roma asked.

“There,” Jasper pointed to a grounder who dropped from a tree. That’s when you noticed many grounders had begun to surround you, trapping you and setting you up for death.

“We should run,” Finn suggested, and everyone agreed. You took off into the forest as the grounders chased you, cutting you off and causing you to turn every once in a while.

“I can’t run much longer!” Jasper yelled.

“I’m not stopping for him!” Diggs shouted. You fell back from the front of the group to help Jasper out. Bellamy stopped, along with Finn and the rest of you.

“Yeah, well I’m tired of running,” Bellamy commented.

“What are you doing?!” Finn yelled.

“They know where she is,” Bellamy stated. One of the grounders kept running towards you and Roma called out for Diggs when she realized that he wasn’t with your group anymore. You heard him call out to her and you all followed.

You could barely comprehend what was happening as Roma cried out and ran off again, seeing Diggs’s body impaled on a wooden structure they set up.

“They were leading us here. It’s the only direction we could run in.” Jasper panted as he figured it out.

“Hey. Where’d they go?” Finn asked, and you looked around. No more grounders.

“After Roma,” Bellamy told the group before heading off in Roma’s direction. You followed after him in an attempt to not get split up and to try to save Roma. It didn’t take you long to find her. You heard a scream and followed it, which led you straight to her.

“There she is.” Monroe pointed. “Roma!” She called quietly, as to not attract any grounders. Bellamy pushed past everyone to go get her, and you followed.

You sprinted up to her figure with Bellamy, finding her with a spear in her chest, pinned against the tree.

“They’re playing with us,” Finn explained.

“She only came because of me,” Bellamy said softly, as he reached up to close her eyes with shaky fingers.

“They can kill us whenever they want,” Finn told the group.

“Then they should get it over with! Come on!” Jasper began to yell, causing all of you to try to stop him. You all crowded together as Monroe pointed out the grounders that began to surround you. You thought you were dead until a foghorn blew and the grounders stopped, running away.

“They’re leaving.” Bellamy pointed out.

“That horn, what does it mean?” Jasper asked, and Finn answered.

“Acid fog.”

He quickly began to take out a piece of the parachute from his sack to cover the five of you with until the fog passed. Not long after, you were tightly squished between Bellamy and Finn as you waited for the fog to pass, uncomfortably aware that Bellamy was practically on top of you.

“How long are we supposed to wait?” Jasper asked.

“Will this even work?” Monroe countered.

“We’ll just have to find out,” Finn answered.

“No, we won’t,” Bellamy responded, pulling back the parachute before you had a chance to protest.

“There’s no fog.” You and the others climbed out of the parachute, glad to not be in the uncomfortably hot and stuffy area anymore.

“Maybe it was a false alarm.” You commented, shrugging your shoulders.

“They’re coming back,” Finn pointed to a grounder who ran across your view in the distance.

“I think he’s alone,” Jasper said after looking around to find no other grounders. You all kept in your crouched position as Monroe asked if we were able to run, but Bellamy decided on something else.

“He doesn’t see us. I’m going after him.” You looked over at your friend in disbelief as you thought over how bad of an idea that was.

“And do what? Kill him?” Finn asked.

“No. Catch him. Make him tell me where Octavia is, then kill him.” Bellamy corrected. You rolled your eyes at your friend’s stupidity and scoffed lightly.

“What an idiot,” You mumbled, watching him make his way over to the grounder.

“How do we know he’s not leading us into another trap?” Jasper whispered.

“We don’t,” You answered.

You followed Bellamy to the grounder, who went inside a cave. It would be easier to capture him that way, but you knew that the grounders put up a good fight. Either way, the outcome of the situation wouldn’t be good for anyone.

When you entered the cave, you saw the grounder passed out on the floor and Octavia freeing herself from the chains he tied her up in. As she and Bellamy reunited, Monroe was watching the entrance and you looked around with Jasper, while Finn got a closer look at the grounder. You hovered near Octavia and hugged her once she let go of Bellamy. She let go of you to greet Jasper, as you got a better look at the grounder.

“We need to leave, now. Before he wakes up.” Octavia told her brother.

“He's not going to wake up,” Bellamy assured her.

“Bellamy stop!” She protested. “He didn’t hurt me, let’s just go!”

“He started this,” Bellamy told her, preparing to shove the spear into the grounder’s chest. “Y/n, move.”

You inspected what the grounder had on his person closely, leaning over his body.

“Foghorn,” You whispered, taking the item in your hand.

The movements of the grounder took you by surprise, as you thought he was unconscious. What stunned you completely, however, was the feeling of a knife being driven into your left side. It stung as it entered your body, but a general burning coursed through the rest of you. You were thrown to the ground, hitting your head as you heard your name being called from multiple people. It was like when you got into the knife fight with Murphy, except a lot more painful and it didn’t take you nearly as long to lose consciousness.

Darkness poked at the edges of your vision, every sound entering your ears garbled like you were underwater and couldn’t swim. But it didn’t take much longer for you to fall into the dark void of unconsciousness, not knowing when you would wake up again.

Taglist: @soullessbabee | @hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis | @dummythiccwitch | @sireddobrev | @gxvrielle

#bellamy blake #bellamy blake series #bellamy blake imagine #bellamy blake x reader #bellamy blake x y/n #bellamy blake x you #this is war series

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batbobsession · 4 years

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So I saw the Hunchback of Notre Dame to alleviate the isolation...

Spoilers ahead.

With @lumiereswig‘s recent reblog of her Hadestown experience, I thought I’d share a musical that I saw virtually—the Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was not a Disney adaptation, I repeat, they took the good stuff from the movie and then told the story straight from the book.

And oh my gosh, it got dark, so spoilers ahead.

Frollo got humanized and it makes him more terrifying. First off, he’s played by Patrick Page, who, thanks to my recent research, plays Hades in Hadestown, and if that doesn’t draw parallels I don’t know what will

Anyway, Frollo has a brother who is actually a good person and elopes with a Roma woman. Frollo finds him dying and he gives Frollo his child, who is disfigured, and Frollo, giving us the first reason why we should hate him, tells his dying brother “wow, this thing is a monster because of your sins” and then his brother dies.

Of course, they sing the Dies Irae directly after—an indirect foreshadowing of Frollo’s death by Quasimodo’s hands

“The saints blessed him and the monsters protected him.” my GOODNESS what a line!

And my gosh, the way they introduce Quasimodo is so freaking genius. Michael Arden comes out like any regular man and then SMEARS HIS FACE WITH BLACK PAINT as Frollo ties the hump to his back (THE SYMBOLISM THERE OMG) and the bells descend from the curtains above as the chorus swells.

Also the chorus plays the statues and each one has its own personality. It’s so obvious that the statues’ voices are all Quasimodo’s inner psyche tugging him one way and then the other, and every time they speak they use small bells or cymbals to accent their words.

Also Quasimodo can barely speak…UNTIL HE SINGS. Arden has such an amazing, youthful voice, and I could feel his anxiety for freedom in “Out There.”

And then Frollo comes upstairs and RUINS EVERYTHING. He uses this kind but CONDESCENDING tone that just makes me want to throw something. Instead of ABC’s, Frollo tells Quasimodo the story of the flight into Egypt, when Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus fled from the persecution of the firstborn and were protected by St. Aphrodisius—MORE FORESHADOWING. But they are so RUDELY interrupted by the Feast of Fools, and on that note

Phoebus is actually a cocky SOB—like sure, they sent me in just in case the festival goes awry, but all I’m really here for are the ladies, rest and recreation!

AND THEN CLOPIN SHOWS UP and introduces ESMERELDA and she dances and Phoebus is like “I’ve seen the face of an angel! I’ve been forever changed!”

With Quasimodo’s arrival they announce the contest for the king of fools, and that scene is pulled straight from the movie. Aside from a few little details, they didn’t change much.

And after all that Esmerelda chases him down and tries to apologize, but is stopped by Frollo, who’s like “ew, I know your kind, you practice dark magic” and Esmerelda’s like “if I had magic, I’d use it to save my people!” and Frollo is like “well shoot she’s smart” and then gets tempted

Esmerelda says something very Christian-like and Frollo is like “oh, you wish to be saved? Stay until the end of the service I’d be happy to teach you” and leaves and she sings “God Help the Outcasts” and holy moly does Ciara Renee have a voice or what

But at the end of the song she sees Quasimodo watching her and runs after him, and the statues are yelling at him to find a place to hide, quickly, quickly, she’ll see you

But she finds him and finds out he’s nearly deaf because of all the bells he’s been ringing all his life. He tells her he was talking to his friends and then berates himself, and Esmerelda’s like “No, that’s wonderful, I like your friends.” And Quasimodo’s face just lights up and immediately starts ringing the bells and telling them to sing for her—if that’s not the most wonderful show of affection I don’t know what is.

They both sing “The Top of the World” and throughout the whole thing Quasimodo slowly realizes that she’s not going to berate him like Frollo would and you just see him become more and more animated throughout the song. At the end of the song she kisses him on the cheek and you can tell, you can tell that’s the first time he’s been kissed at all

And then Frollo comes upstairs and RUINS EVERYTHING. “Quasimodo what were you doing ringing the bells off-schedule?” He turns and sees Esmerelda and is all like “oh, I thought you had left! I can still teach you the ways of the church, just stay here forever.” And Esmerelda, bless her soul, actually turns him down politely. “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Frollo reaches for her hand and she backs away. “I see the way you look at me.”

Frollo jumps back like he’s been stung by the most overdramatic wasp in the world “hOW DARE YOU! Your soul is so unclean you can’t see goodness in others!” And calls the guards on her.

And then he berates Quasimodo for having impure thoughts and the gargoyles whisper around him, like snakes in the shadows as Quasimodo promises to never again think about her.

AND THEN STALKS HER TO A TAVERN. Okay, it’s indirect but stalking all the same. And watches Esmerelda and Phoebus fall in love.

Then we get into Heaven’s Light, and Quasimodo has seen the true face of God, because there is a human down there who isn’t afraid of him, who touched his face and suddenly the darkness is filled with light, a light so bright it must be from Heaven…

And the next song is literally the flipside of Heaven’s Light; while Quasimodo sings about how pure and open Esmerelda was to him, Frollo clutches Esmerelda’s scarf and sings of Hellfire. And I mean, Hellfire was the most dramatic part of the movie for me, so this part was a little underwhelming…but Page carried that entire scene. My GOODNESS his voice. And him stumbling around as the saints look down on him and berate him while Frollo just keeps repeating “It’s not my fault!” Like, you can tell he believes what he says but he knows there’s evil in him now (I mean, there was evil in him before, but the sneaky kind) as the lights slowly change from blue to red, closing in on him until everything is bathed in a hellish glow…

And for the rest of the musical he wears a black and red cape over his otherwise white robes, showing how he has fallen and is acting on his own urges.

He visits the prison—literally swoops in like a bat from hell with his new cape—and King Louis XI is there overlooking the prison and he just looks at Frollo and goes “oH! My astrologer told me I would have an unexpected guest!” Frollo just…. dies inside. I lost it.

Anyway he manipulates the king to give the church military power and now soldiers are going left and right searching for Esmerelda; they come to a brothel and the women refuse to talk and Frollo’s like “fine, burn it down.” and Phoebus is like “whoa, hell no.” and Frollo shrugs, stabs him in the back, and blames Esmerelda

We interrupt this moment to remind you that everyone in the chorus is literally an angel and together they sound like an actual cathedral choir, thank you for your time.

Meanwhile Quasimodo’s like “oh shoot, what do I do? I want to protect her” and the statues tell him to go after her, find her and protect her like St. Aphrodisius protected Mary. Quasimodo is still unsure, but St. Aphrodisius himself comes out of his stained-glass window and gives Quasimodo his blessing (and a bit of unneeded comedy along with it).

Esmerelda makes Quasimodo take care of Phoebus, Quasimodo lies to Frollo for the first time, and Frollo’s like, well, we found her hideout, we attack at dawn.

Phoebus and Quasimodo have the same chemistry in the musical as they do in the movie. “You can barely speak!” “You can hardly walk!” Their arguments are funny, but just like the movie, Clopin finds them and is like “well, they’re gonna hang!” Esmerelda stops it, and Frollo shows up and RUINS EVERYTHING.

Frollo has her locked up, he confesses his love in literally one of the most horrifying ways a person can confess. He starts out soft, believing that he can save her, rescue her from dark magic and be her sanctuary forever. He says Esmerelda has made him feel human…and then tries to force her to kiss him. She strikes him. “Help, a demon! Help me, please!” (FINALLY, someone shows him the respect he deserves)

Phoebus and Esmerelda grieve over what’s going to happen, and when they sang “Someday” I cried.

But the song that shook me to my very core was “Made of Stone” where Quasimodo is tied to a post while the statues plead for him to do something and Quasimodo yells back, “I’ve wasted my faith believing in saints of plaster, but the only one worth believing in was my master”

“Take all the dreams you’ve sown, take all your lies and leave me alone!”

“All right, Quasimodo, we’ll leave you alone All right, Quasimodo, we’ll trouble you no longer You’re right, Quasimodo, we’re only made of stone We just thought that you were made of something stronger.”

And when he sings the last line….HOLY. HELL. I just…I don’t have words for that.

But he quickly changes his mind and rescues Esmerelda from the fire. The choir swells again, singing the Dies Irae, as Quasimodo lays waste to the crowd outside Notre Dame with giant rocks and molten lead. Phoebus rallies the crowd into rebellion. As chilling as this scene is, I think “Oh, now it’s gonna be like the movie, right?” NO.

She dies. The smoke got to her or something. But she definitely dies. And Quasimodo’s talk with Frollo doesn’t end with Frollo pulling a knife. It’s sad, and slow, and Quasimodo finally comes to the terms with the abuse he’s been living with while they both grieve over her death in different ways. The shock on Quasimodo’s face as Frollo repeats the same pious talk of sanctuary just after killing someone…at this point, I want Frollo dead, obviously.

And so does Quasimodo. He stands up straight for the first time and we see…he’s taller than Frollo, and that scares him. “The wicked shall not go unpunished,” he says. “The wicked shall not go unpunished,” echo the statues. The Dies Irae swells one final time as Quasimodo drags Frollo to the balcony, lifts him up—“I told you, master. I am very strong.”

“You don’t want to hurt me!” Yes you do, whisper the monsters.

“Quasimodo raised his two huge hands, and with a great bellow threw his master over the edge of the roof and into the abyss below!” And I am chilled to the bone. Thanks for that.

And then Phoebus arrives cuz he missed everything. He can’t even lift her up, and they’re both grieving.

Then the chorus—they are seriously the best chorus in the history of ever—approach Quasimodo one at a time, smearing black paint on their faces and hunching over. Quasimodo sets Esmerelda down and turns his back to the audience. The ghost of Quasimodo’s mother sings for him. Esmerelda gets up and walks through the doors to eternal salvation. She turns back to look at him. He stands up and faces the audience, no longer hunched over, not a speck of paint on his face.

“What makes a monster, and what makes a man?”

And the chorus swells, and they all bow, and I want to see it again. So I watch it again, because that’s the beauty of the digital age.

#The Hunchback of Notre Dame #musical #patrick page #michael arden #ciara renee

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badsext · 5 years

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The Pros and Cons of a Rom Com at Comic Con (sorry): Robert Sheehan X Reader

This is a request from @roma-echelon:

I need a dirty smut one with robert sheehan and meeting him at comic con.

Thanks for the request. I hope you like it!

Warnings: Smut, Drinking, Swearing, etc.

Word Count: 1,300

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Your best friends always accused you of being a nihilist, a hedonist, and bad with money. So when you won a lottery scratch off ticket they weren’t surprised that you decided to spend the money taking everyone to comic-con instead of investing in the future. Besides, it was $10,000, not exactly a life-altering amount of money. You wouldn’t be quitting your job. And just because you saw the world as the flaming garbage pile that it is, didn’t mean you were incapable of having fun.

The night before the con, the three of you got drunk together in your hotel room and decided to perform a love spell that one of you found online. It was a drunken, misguided attempt to make the celebrities at the con fall in love with you. You each lit a candle and dropped some rose petals into a bowl of water, then slurred your way through the chant until you got bored.

It was all a blur the next morning. All it took was some coffee and room service to rid yourself of a slight hangover while you got dressed in your cosplay. You decided to be a waitress at Griddy’s donut shop. Your name tag said “Rose,” just because you liked the name and didn’t see yourself as an “Agnes.” The retro pink waitress uniform really suited you and the white canvas sneakers would keep you comfortable walking from from panel to panel all day.

Your friends decided to split up while you went downstairs to see the Dark Horse Comics panel. The only other person on the elevator wore Hazel’s character mask from the show. You started to look closer at your elevator companion and recognized something familiar about him. He was tall, lean, and sort of androgynous in his purple tank top and low waisted jeans. You concluded that either this person had the same body type, skin tone, and fashion sense as Robert Sheehan or he was under that mask.

“Hey,” he said, nodding politely.

“Hey.” You were trying not to stare.

He lifted the bottom of the mask to take a sip from a Starbucks cup. One muffled syllable was not enough to detect an accent, but you’d know those lips anywhere. The elevator suddenly stopped and Robbie took off the rubber mask.

“Shit,” he hissed. In your shock, it took a moment to realize what he was upset about. The elevator had stopped between floors. You were stuck. Robbie tried all the buttons, checked his phone, then tried them again.

“We’re stuck…I’ll call somebody.” He attempted a call. “I don’t have reception, do you?”

You pretended to check your phone. “Nope.”

“You a fan of the show?” He said, low key checking you out.

“It’s alright,” you answered as casually as possible.

“I like your cosplay.”

“Thanks,” you smirked, leaning against the wall.

His green eyes sparkled as they studied your face. “Hey, would you want to…”

You cut him off with a kiss. Your bodies inched closer. You parted your lips for his tongue to explore. His taste was sweet, his scent intoxicating.

A loud ringing startled you out of your dream like state. It was coming from the elevator call box. Robbie cleared his throat and picked up the receiver inside the box. His voice on the phone was calm and gracious as he shifted the stiff bulge in his pants and made an assortment of funny faces just to make you laugh.

“Thank you,” he said hanging up, then turned his focus back to you. “We have ten minutes until they fix this thing.”

You lunged at each other with breathless desperation. Your faces smashed together, your tongues entwined and your hands searched frantically for a way out of your clothes. Robbie took care of your top few buttons while you worked on his fly. He was inspired by your height difference to slide you up against the wall. You gasped as your feet left the ground. He held your gaze while he pulled one of your lace bra cups down just enough to expose your hardened nipple then suckled it until you whimpered.

He hiked up your pink dress and brushed his knee between your legs. It was summer and the only thing you had on were a thin pair of matching lace panties. You pleaded with your eyes while you pawed at his jeans. He was teasing you. He gently bounced you on his knee a few times then eased you down. You sighed, aching for more contact. That’s when he reached under your dress, pulled your panties to the side and plunged his fingers into the heart of your wetness.

He closed his eyes and groaned. “You’re so fucking wet. You want this?”

You nodded and rasped. “Fuck…me…now.”

He quickly unzipped his jeans and pushed them down around his ankles. His cock was just as beautiful as the rest of him. He relieved you of your panties, picked you up once again and buried himself deep inside you. Your pussy stretched to accommodate him while he pumped inside you. You wrapped your legs around him and threw your head back against the wall. His hands were firmly cupping your ass and his head was buried in your neck.

He pounded into you again and again with growing speed. You moaned at the sensations taking over. The upward angle of his thrusting stimulated your clit and created the perfect storm. You came so hard you didn’t even hear the emergency response team outside attempting to pry the doors open. He came an instant later. You studied his face as the pleasure washed over him. You captured the memory and tucked it away as you became aware of the people outside. You kissed him on the forehead and mentally prepared yourself for the awkward goodbye.

Outside the clanging of tools got louder as a small crack of light shown through the top third of the elevator doors. It was not quite enough for the workers to see what was happening inside, but it meant that rescue was imminent. Both of you rushed to put your clothes back on. Robbie smiled and took your hand. “Can I have your number?”

“Um, yeah.” He handed you his phone open to contacts. He had typed the name “Rose.” It wasn’t his fault that wasn’t your real name, but it sort of brought you back down to reality. You filled in your number and decided to just move on. It wasn’t like he was going to call you, start a relationship…

“Miss?…Miss?” The doors were open now and a repairman was reaching towards you, motioning you to take his hand. You grabbed ahold and Robbie gave you a boost until you were safely out of the elevator. A crowd of fans had gathered. They were cheering. Then Robbie came out and there was a wave of excitement. His handlers emerged from the crowd and ushered him down the hall. It looked like he was reaching for your hand, but it was too late. You were already separated by the crowd.

You met up with your friends at a nearby diner. “So, remember that love spell we tried last night?”

“Yeah, there’s no way that shit worked. They laughed. “We’re not witches. We were just fucking around. Besides, that would be pretty fucking unethical. We’re just going to have to settle for our looks and personality to land a date with the cast of Avengers.

"Why did you bring it up? Did something happen?”

Your phone buzzed and you looked down to check it out. It was a text from Robbie. “Rose, I’m sorry I got pulled away. Want to meet up later?”

Your heart leaped in your chest as your thumbs fumbled over the keys.

“Yes, and I’m sorry about my name tag, but my name is not Rose. It’s……”

Master List

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puddygeeks · 4 years

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Wᴇ Cᴏᴍᴇ Rᴜɴɴɪɴɢ - Tʜᴇ 100 Bᴇʟʟᴀᴍʏ x OC - Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 32: Mᴀɴɪᴀ

Masterlist

Episode: Human Trials

Rating: Mature

Summary: During her time in the Skybox, Indigo formed a precious friendship with fellow outcast Octavia Blake, the girl under the floor. At first they thought their departure from the oppression of the Ark was a blessing, but quickly came to rely on Indigo's keen survival instincts. The 100 struggle to meet the challenges of Earth whilst Bellamy strives to lead the wavering teenagers and his irresponsible attitude fuels constant conflict with Indigo. Their only shared interest is in protecting Octavia and Indigo beings to suspect that there is a deeper cause to Bellamy's seemingly irrational choices. As the consequences of his actions mount up around him, he finally begins to confide in her and she discovers more than she ever bargained for.

Fandom: CW’s The 100

Pairing: OC x Bellamy Blake

LONG TERM ONGOING PROJECT :)

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

Warnings: Mature content. Non-consent, language, sex, self harm, suicide, anxiety, helplessness, torture, captivity/confinement, alcohol/drug use.

FOR THIS CHAPTER IN PARTICULAR PLEASE BE AWARE OF TRIGGER WARNINGS. I HAVE TRIED TO KEEP DETAILS AS SPARSE AS POSSIBLE TO BE RESPECTFUL, BUT THERE ARE SOME SERIOUS TRIGGERS IN THIS CHAPTER.

Chapter Thirty-Two

I woke in a clinically white, cool room lying on an actual bed for the first time in my life. In a state of confusion, I glanced around at all of the white furniture and the perfectly sterile surfaces. I bolted upright and noticed that I had been cleaned too; my skin had no trace of dirt remaining anywhere and I was shocked to find that I had forgotten how that felt. I had been changed out of my well worn clothes into a pristine white vest and shorts and as I ran my fingers through my hair in a stressed manner I noticed that even that was clean. My heart sank as I was struck by the absence of Bellamy’s jacket as I felt as if it had been holding the last of my fragile psyche together. I swung my legs from the bed with urgency and startled as my bare feet touched the smooth, cold floor.

I marched toward the white door to the room and yanked it with a determined force, unsurprised to find that it was locked. There was a small circular window in the door and I peered through it to find a long hallway that was lined with identical doors. My gut lurched with the instinct that this wasn’t a good sign. A feeling of dread pushed my back and I scanned the room in search of another way out but was disappointed to find that wasn’t even an air vent in sight. My legs trembled lightly as my breathing grew shallow and it was barely seconds before the shaking spread across my entire body. I felt panic rising from my stomach and it gripped my chest in a crushing sensation. I desperately threw myself at the door repeatedly, screaming out with the madness that flooded my body. I couldn’t tell how many times I did this or how long had passed until eventually the door creaked open to reveal several people in some kind of biohazard suits. They approached me carefully and I dropped into a crouch as I held my hands out in front of me defensively.

“Indigo, it's okay. We’re not your enemy, we’re here to help.”

I analysed them in confusion, glimpsing from one to the other as they split to approach me from either side. I had no concept of who they were or how they knew my name but my immediate reaction was not to trust a word that they spoke.

“We’re not going to hurt you. Just relax.”

The other appealed to me this time as they closed in and my heartbeat pounded in my ears as I prepared to fight. The first reached out to place a gloved hand on me and I snatched their arm, twisting it until I heard a snap. They cried out as they fell forward to the ground and I turned to sweep my leg out to trip the other. I faced the door but there were already three other suited assailants charging inside and I stumbled backwards a couple of steps to buy myself time. Two of them surged forward and attempted to secure my arms in a hold as the third approached with a syringe raised. I kicked behind the knee of one of those containing me and the other squeezed me into their solid grip in an attempt to prevent me from escaping.

In a frenzy I struggled against them and as the last standing attacker grew closer with the needle, I instinctively lashed out to bite the person holding me. They released their grip on me just enough to allow me to strike them across the face which caused them to stumble away. I managed a single long stride toward the remaining suit before I felt a sharp jab in my back. I glanced over my shoulder to witness the first person I’d incapacitated drop a syringe as they recoiled from me and realised that I’d been injected with something. I struggled to keep my balance as my head spun and I tipped to the side. I reached out to grab the end of the bed and managed to stabilise myself for a few more seconds before I dropped to my knees.

“What the hell is wrong with her?! She’s not like the others.” One of the suited people spoke as they approached my side. I clung to the bed to prevent myself from falling backwards as my entire top half felt unbearably heavy. “Are you sure they didn’t have a pet Outsider? She’s wild.” They added bitterly and I was confused by their terminology. I couldn’t control my grip any longer and fell onto my back, flattening out on the smooth floor.

“I’m sure. She’s one of them. But you’re right, she’s worse than the leader.” The person standing over me replied as I battled to keep my eyes open. The others? The leader? I panicked internally as I analysed that they must be keeping more of our people captive, including Clarke. I couldn’t fight against the heavy exhaustion that washed over me and my eyes gradually blinked closed.

***

When I next opened my eyes it was to a familiar face and I found that I had been returned to the bed as if the earlier struggle had been nothing more than a dream. The only indication that it had actually happened was that my body felt heavy and lethargic in an unnatural manner. Clarke sat on the end of the bed watching me with concern. She was clean, her skin fresh other than a few scrapes and she was dressed in pastel clothing. She looked so different that it was jarring, as if the last few months weren’t even real. I questioned if she was truly there or simply a vision of my drugged mind.

“Hey Indigo.” She spoke in a small voice and I couldn’t manage a response through the fog of my mind. “You’re okay, we’re at Mount Weather. There are survivors here and they’ve taken us in.” She explained slowly but her words were so preposterous that I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. “I was scared when I woke up too, but everyone is downstairs. They’re all safe.” She added reassuringly and my eyes snapped up to meet hers in hopeful shock. “Well...not everyone.” She confirmed guiltily and my stomach dropped. For a moment I had hoped that I had misunderstood the situation at camp, that Bellamy and Octavia were going to walk in clean and well dressed like her. But no one entered the room to rescue me and Clarke continued to shift awkwardly. I tried to force some words out but simply stuttered mindlessly and felt myself becoming frustrated at the strength of the medication they’d given me. She waited patiently for me to find the words and leaned in as I battled to make a sound.

“Get away...from me.” I whispered with a bitterness that was clear even in my soft voice and she widened her eyes with an air of devastation.

“Indigo, I did what I had to do. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.” She justified as her eyebrows furrowed together. “But I think they’re still alive, I feel it in my gut. I want to go look for them.” She confided and I scoffed in a mixture of disbelief and anger as I felt myself gaining more control.

There was a pit of fury brewing inside of me as she observed me with a remorseful expression and I had to acknowledge that I didn’t have the energy to reach her where she sat. Instead I forced a stutter and pretended to struggle to speak to prompt her to lean closer. I made an overdramatic performance of the difficulty I was experiencing until she moved right into my space. Without any hesitation, I grabbed her face and smashed it into the metal unit that was beside the bed.

“How dare you come in here and try to justify your decision to me. You left them out there to die! They’re dead because of you!” I snarled in a hoarse voice that barely conveyed the rage that I felt and Clarke gasped before she leapt backwards out of my reach with astonishment. The commotion summed the people in suits as she slowly backed away from me and I had used too much energy to fight them. Before I could even process what was happening I was unconscious again.

My medication induced coma was torture as I was forced to watch a nightmare reel of the horrors that I’d witnessed in recent days. The images flashed through my brain on repeat: Bellamy hanging lifeless in the dropship, the charred bodies in camp, Charlotte jumping from the cliff as described by Bellamy, Roma speared to the tree, Octavia almost dying in the river, Monty disappearing into the woods, Jasper being speared on the first day in camp. The most vivid of all was Bellamy being beaten to death by the grounder leader in what was now the last time I’d ever seen him. I would have given anything to stop the images and time was meaningless whilst I was trapped revisiting the memories.

When I finally floated into consciousness I was stunned to find Jasper hovering over me with a relieved smile. I was completely reclined in the bed now, wrapped in the covers and tucked in so carefully that I could only imagine that it was Jasper’s doing. I lifted my arm and felt something attached to me. I nervously investigated only to find a drip attached to a medication bag.

“Hey Indie.” Jasper breathed and I glanced back at him with confusion. “The doctors said that you weren’t doing so well, they’re just giving you something to keep you calm.” He smiled warmly at me as he explained. I didn’t feel so drugged now, as if I’d finally slept off the shot and was hopeful that whatever they had in the drip would be more manageable. “I know it’s hard to adjust, especially after everything that just happened in camp but this is just a quarantine to check that we’re safe to mix with the others. We all went through it. There’s so much more on the other side: our friends. Even Monty’s here! And their food, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever tasted!” He enthused in a flurry before slowing back down to a soft tone. “So you just focus on getting better so you can join us, it’s not the same without you.” He added with a hint of sadness and I stared at him in disbelief for a moment.

“Did you say Monty’s here?” I repeated doubtfully and he nodded, earning a small gasp from my lips. “You must be so relieved.” I breathed as I felt a weight lift from me. I smiled for a moment in appreciation before I remembered my other losses and felt strangely conflicted by the storm of emotions.

“Look, I know when I thought I’d lost Monty it was awful. I thought about him constantly, every good or bad moment I’d ever had with him haunted me.” He divulged as he reached over to squeeze my hand and I watched him with tear filled eyes. “I know what you’re going through and it is soul destroying.” He confirmed with an authenticity that reached into my heart. “But you have to get out of it. You’re still alive, they wouldn’t want you to give up.” He suggested in a way that tried to be inspiring and although I appreciated his compassion, his statement felt impossible.

“They took Bellamy’s jacket, do you think you could get it back?” I requested in a timid, vulnerable voice that sounded more childish than I was comfortable with. He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.

“I’m sorry Indie but I can’t. They took all of our original clothes and basically anything we were carrying, it’s a contamination risk. They’re vulnerable to the radiation here, that’s why we have to go through quarantine.” He explained regretfully and I sighed in disappointment. The idea of recovering from this grief felt all the more impossible without that safety blanket. “It’s easier if you accept their ways here. I know that we had to do whatever it took to survive out there, but we don’t have to fight anymore.” He remarked with a hopeful expression and I sighed deeply, watching him in an assessing manner.

“How do you know we can trust them?” I asked and couldn’t contain a feeling of suspicion at his sudden faith in these new people. It didn’t help that I’d only had negative socialisation with them thus far, but the entire place felt uncomfortable to me.

“Oh not you too.” He rolled his eyes at me in frustration and I was confused by his dramatic reaction. “You and Clarke are more alike than you even realise.” He commented and I glared at him, furious with his judgement. When I considered the disgusted light that I currently viewed her in, I couldn’t think of anything more insulting and I couldn’t understand why he would make the comparison. “We have no reason not to trust them. They took us in, fed us, clothed us and they’re not asking for anything in return. Sometimes you have to take a chance at trusting first.” He argued with a passion that only heightened my feeling of unease.

“Taking chances has resulted in nothing but getting us killed so far, what makes this different?” I questioned in an attempt to reach a sensible dialogue about our option but he pulled away from me, getting to his feet with a sharp movement.

“Why are you both so determined to ruin this for us?! We’re safe for the first time in months, don’t sabotage that for the rest of us!” He raised his voice as he paced around and I observed his behaviour with a startled dread. “Clarke’s gone! She broke out and made us look like a bunch of ungrateful, untrustworthy idiots!” He spat and I struggled to lift myself into a sitting position so that I could view him properly.

“Why would she do that?” I investigated as I began to worry that she might have seen some kind of threat. I rapidly became aware that I had not seen the condition of the others, or had a chance to assess the safety of the place of our captors. I felt my anxiety building in my chest as the ideas hurtled through my mind and bounced off the walls.

“She thinks that Bellamy and Finn are alive out there. She said that they may have other survivors too. She wanted our help to look for them.” He explained as he rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation. He was pacing beside the bed now and I was surprised by the level of restlessness in his usually chilled personality.

“The weight of a guilty conscience.” I commented involuntarily as I leaned back into bed a reclined position in the bed. “But what if she’s right-“ I began before Jasper cut me off.

“She did what she had to do to keep us safe!” He snapped aggressively and I flinched at the tone that was unexpected on him. “ It was an impossible decision, but it’s the only reason any of us are still alive.” He exclaimed as he met my eyes with a poignant expression and squirmed under my gaze.

“Why are you sticking up for her?” I grilled as I assessed him closely. Barely a moment ago he had been blaming her for messing up our new life and this seemed like a strange change of opinion.

“Because I made the decision too!” He confessed as he dropped his eyes to the ground to avoid me. “When the engines didn’t fire I helped Harper to fix the trigger whilst you were beating the hell out of Anya. I didn’t want to do it but I couldn’t think of any other way to get us out of that mess. Clarke’s letting that drive her insane and so are you, but I’m not going to go down with you.” When he finally viewed me again it was with a defensive expression but I could recognise the guilt that hid behind the mask of anger that he wore. He spoke with vitriol and I could hardly believe what I was hearing. “Bellamy and Octavia are dead. You need to deal with that and move on.” He spat in a tone that was hurtful before he turned on his heel to storm from the room.

The shock of his words washed over me, leaving me unable to speak or even understand what had just happened. I couldn’t understand how he had become so dedicated to our new home already and now that I knew that Clarke had caused issues I was concerned. The familiar drowsiness built from the constant sedative and I felt my eyes slipping closed but I still managed to remain awake. The thoughts swirled around in the haze of my mind as I tried to identify exactly what I was feeling. I became aware of people around me but I couldn’t open my eyes or speak.

“Sir we’re using an awful lot of medication on this one. Surely it would be better to cut her loose.” An unfamiliar voice spoke and I felt the cold touch of someone checking my pulse.

“Consider it an investment. She could be an asset in gaining their trust. It would show them that we won’t give up, even on their most troublesome member.” A male voice responded in a clinical manner that sent chills down my spine before I was finally dragged to sleep.

After Jasper’s verbal outburst my dreams were vivid and full of horror. I witnessed Bellamy and Octavia dying in the fires over and over in my mind as their bodies dissolved into ash. I pictured them screaming for mercy, begging us to spare them. Murphy’s taunting face repeatedly appeared to remind me that I had failed them, that I’d never see them again. I couldn’t focus on anything besides my despair and felt my mind snapping from the stress.

I forced myself awake in a bolt and the adrenaline in my system overrode the sedatives. I screamed wildly into the space as tears poured down my cheeks and I was devastated when the visions continued in my mind. It was impossible to escape them even with my eyes open and I recognised that I was hallucinating. The guilt and grief were an unbearable force of their own and they were crushing me under their weight. I reached over and ripped the drip from my arm in a desperate bid not to be sent to sleep again. Murphy’s vicious insults rang around in my head at a deafening volume and I covered my ears in a manic attempt to quiet them. Octavia and Bellamy’s faces continued to haunt me and I could hardly breathe through my tears.

I moved in a daze that was so thick that I was unable to even tell what I was doing. My eyes were drawn to a scalpel that had been left on the bedside table and I gulped as I considered the only suggestion my grief ridden brain could give. I reached for it without thinking and stared at my wrists for a long while as the memories tormented me.Time seemed to stand still until I found myself sprawled on the floor, leaned back against the bed. I had no knowledge of how I’d got there but the chaos had faded into a suffocating silence. I couldn’t move my arms and my clothes were damp as I noticed a growing puddle of blood surrounding me. I had no regrets about what I’d done as the reality of my actions struck me and instead I simply hoped to be with my family soon. I could feel my head growing heavy and my eyes were no longer able to focus on my surroundings. Suddenly, I became aware that someone was moving me and I tried to struggle against them but I couldn’t control my body any more. I was hurriedly laid on the soft bed and I could sense several people surrounding me. The only sensation that remained was the tight grip of someone maintaining pressure on my wrists.

“No, no…please don’t…” I hardly managed to whisper in the blurred space but I was heartbroken to find that there was no acknowledgement of my words or my desires.

“Every drop of this blood is precious; we cannot afford to waste any of it!” I heard the same male voice from earlier but could not find a face through my darkening sight. He was clearly furious now and I was confused by his words. “It will be deeply suspect if she dies whilst under observation. Keep her alive.” His words were insistent and full of authority as he ordered the flurry of people around me. The puzzling statement was the last thing that I heard before fading into darkness.

The familiar horror show began again and I truly felt as if there were no escape. It was painfully clear that my captors had no intention of allowing me to die and I could not continue to live with the torture of my mind. I worried about what they were doing to the others, whether they were safe and why they were going to such lengths to keep me alive. Most of all, I was haunted by the voice of the man who instructed those in suits and I feared his intentions above all else.

I slowly felt myself waking again in the bright white room and could feel the overpowering weakness of my body. It was immediately clear that it wasn’t the same feeling of the drugs, but an effect of the injuries that I’d inflicted on myself. My heavy eyelids gradually fluttered open to see Monty sat beside my bed, smiling at me hopefully.

“Hey Trouble.” He spoke softly and my eyes filled with tears of joy as I absorbed the familiar warmth of his smile. I tried to bolt forward to embrace him but I barely managed to flinch as I realised that I was restricted. My eyes roamed down to discover that I was confined to the bed by padded restraints and I flitted my attention back to him in horror. He peeked over his shoulder and I followed his line of sight to notice another suited person observing our interaction from the corner of the room. “Can we get these off? They’re really not necessary.” He asked as he indicated to the restraints with a tone of disbelief..

“She’s still considered high risk. She attacked your leader.” They shifted uncomfortably as they answered him and he rolled his eyes at me before he turned to face them.

“Yeah but that was Clarke, it wasn’t without reason.” Monty reasoned as he regarded her with a hint of annoyance. “She won’t hurt me.” He asserted firmly, prompting them to approach me cautiously.

They quickly unlocked the restraints and immediately jumped backwards to ensure that they were out of my reach. In the very first moment that I was free to move he pulled me into his arms and gripped me tightly. I clung to him like he was my life raft in a storm, holding one hand on the back of his head for comfort.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.” I breathed in a cracking voice and I held onto him for a long while before we finally broke apart. “It’s so good to see you, you look well. I never thought I would see you again.” I sniffed as I rubbed my eyes to remove the beginning of tears. I noticed that his gaze caught on the large padded bandages that were now on my wrists and I dropped my face to avoid meeting his eyes.

“It’s good to see you too. I wish I could say you were looking good.” He sighed, leaning forward to take my hand in his. “I’m not going to say that I know what you’re going through because I don’t. When Jasper was taken by the grounders I was devastated and I only got through it because I had hope that I would get him back. He’s like a brother to me and I couldn’t imagine my life without him. You lost your sister and we all know how you felt about Bellamy. I don’t know what it’s like but I understand.” He spoke in such a gentle voice that I couldn’t avoid him any longer and as our eyes met, a few tears escaped my composure. I quickly wiped them away before I could be swept away with the emotions that I felt.

“Thank you Monty, it means a lot for you to be here.” I whispered in an attempt to keep my voice even and controlled. “Especially after…I think I upset Jasper, I didn’t mean to.” I trailed off, unsure of who was in the wrong in our earlier conversation. He sighed deeply with a sympathetic expression.

“He told me what happened. He was angry at Clarke and then you questioned things…he lashed out and he regrets it, especially since you…” He abruptly stopped talking and it was clear that he was struggling to find the words as he stared at my wrists. “He wanted to come with me to apologise but he didn’t want to stress you out any more. So just try not to worry about him for now, you’ll have your chance to talk if you want it.” He smiled warmly and squeezed my hand encouragingly.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, enjoying each other's familiar company and I stared at him in amazement. His presence returned a shred of hope to my heart to see that he was alive and well, sitting at my side. I never dreamed that we would spend easy time together like this again and I was thankful for every moment that passed.

“You’re past the time of quarantine now. So when you feel up to it you can come to the main floor and see everyone. We all miss you up there.” He studied me hopefully and I sighed deeply. I was still unsure if I felt ready to pretend that everything was alright yet.

“Maybe not just yet.” I answered in an uncertain voice and although he tried to hide it, I noted that his face fell slightly. “It sounds like Jasper’s a pretty big fan already. He was raving about the food. Is it really as good as he says, or was he just trying to lure me up there?” I tried to speak playfully but my voice was too raspy and refused to cooperate.

“I guess you’ll have to come up and find out.” He teased and I smiled for the first time. “I know that you’re struggling Indie, I know it seems hopeless but if you just stay in here, alone with your thoughts, you’re not giving yourself a chance. You know they wouldn’t have wanted that.” Monty’s reasonable nature was far more natural than Jasper’s and I could feel that his words were carefully considered.

“It doesn’t matter what they would want, they’re gone.” I spat and I was surprised to sense a stab of viciousness in my tone that I hadn’t intended. I forced myself to soften my face as I met his startled eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m really not myself right now.” I spoke in a small, apologetic voice. I was finding it difficult to navigate my emotions through my grief and I seemed to be swaying between them too quickly to keep up. He nodded back and smiled with understanding in the way that he always did. “Tell me something, if it’s so great up there, why did Clarke run off?” I quizzed as I seized the opportunity to investigate with someone reasonable.

“Who really knows.” He sighed in a thoughtful manner. “I think she just couldn’t adjust to the safety after all the time of protecting us. She didn’t trust anyone or anything, she was seeing danger everywhere, even where it wasn’t.” He explained and his words sent shivers down my spine. As much as I had disagreed with Clarke in the past and I wouldn’t deny that I hated her now. I knew that her instincts had always been sharp and she’d seen danger that the others missed more than once. If she believed there was danger here, I needed to investigate this place too. No matter how I felt I wasn’t about to lose anyone else. “Even though they told her that they would keep looking for any other survivors and try to find anyone at the Ark crash sites, she couldn’t believe them. She wanted to go and look for herself.” He revealed and I was careful to cover my interest at the mention of the Ark crash sites.

“Yeah well, guilt will do that to you.” I replied coldly in an effort to distract from the conversation as I made a mental note to return to the topic later.

“You gave her a pretty nasty black eye for someone so fragile.” Monty commented with an amused expression and I couldn’t contain a slight smile at the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“Who said I’m fragile?” I drawled as I raised a brow at him and as I spoke again I noticed someone entering the room behind him. “I could still kick your ass.” I stated with a lilt of entertainment in my voice as the stranger slowly approached with what appeared to be another bag of medication for the drip stand. I felt my stomach twist into knots at the sight of it and felt fear gripping my chest as I considered returning to sleep.

“I wouldn’t doubt that for a moment.” Monty chuckled lightly under his breath. Without the time for subtlety I reached out and grabbed his arm, clinging to him manically.

“I’ll go with you.” I commented as I tried to force a confident smile but I couldn’t even lift my lips through the building anxiety over the medication.

“But…you said you weren’t ready yet?” He questioned as he assessed me doubtfully. The person carrying the medication arrived at my side and smiled at Monty as they set out their supplies on the bed.

“Monty please...don’t let them sedate me again.” I hissed with panic gripping my voice and he glanced from me to the supplies. “I can’t…I can’t do the nightmares again. Please.” I begged and my voice cracked under the stress. His eyes widened in shock and he jumped to his feet, throwing a hand to the person with the medication to half their progress.

“Wait!” He barked loudly causing the assistant to flinch. “Don’t sedate her. She’s coming with me so I’m gonna need her to be able to walk.” He quickly forced a calm demeanour and softened his voice back to a relaxed tone that likely sounded natural to me, but I could still hear the hint of concern in his words. He smiled encouragingly at them, but they seemed sceptical as they surveyed him.

“I’ve been instructed to keep her mediated for her own safety. These wounds will take a while to heal, so it’s crucial that they are cared for too. She needs to be here for a few more days at least.” They responded in a flat tone that revealed a lack of empathy and Monty was obviously wildly searching for ideas as I stared up at him in desperation.

“I think she’s better off being around her own people, I’ll take personal responsibility for her.” He stated firmly and they moved to continue with their task. Monty stepped hurried into a position where he could block them from reaching me and held his hands up in surrender. “Please, can I just speak to someone about this?” He pleaded and they considered him reluctantly. After several tense minutes passed, they put the medication down and left us alone together. As soon as the door closed behind them, Monty turned to fix me with a serious expression. “Look, you’re going to have to agree to whatever they say if I’m gonna get you out sooner, alright?” He instructed and I nodded keenly in acceptance. The door swung open again to reveal an older man who was wearing a badly faded suit. He approached us calmly with an air of great importance and Monty straightened up at the sight of him. “Mr President, I didn’t mean to bring you into this.” Monty breathed nervously and I studied the man with interest.

“It’s quite alright young man. The staff explained that it was important for you to see Miss Sloan here and I hope it’s been beneficial to her recovery.” The man began with an authoritative manner to his speech and I was immediately unnerved by him. “What you must understand is that she is still in recovery and after the antics of your leader, I’m sure you can appreciate that our doctors wish to be cautious with your rather troublesome friend.” He confirmed with a sly glance at me.

“I completely understand sir and I’m really sorry that you’ve had problems with her.” Monty declared and I knew that I’d chosen the right person for this task. I relied on Monty’s level headed nature to take control of this situation. “I know that she attacked your people but she was afraid just like the rest of us and not in her right mind. She’s grieving, she lost her family in the fight at camp and it was Clarke’s decision that caused that, so that’s why she attacked her too. She’s been calm and reasonable the whole time that I’ve been here with her and I really think that if she was with her own people she’d recover faster.” Monty explained in an impressive attempt at diplomacy. The man sighed deeply and took a few moments to reflect on Monty’s speech whilst I waited with baited breath.

“Be that as it may, there are precautions that must be followed if your friend here is going to integrate with us more successfully than Clarke.” He spoke with a poignant inspection of me and I fidgeted awkwardly as he turned to address me. “You will need to attend appointments with the doctors to have your wounds cared for. You will also need to attend counselling with one of our people regularly so that they can assess your mental state and risk. What you have been through is difficult and grief is an unpredictable process. We need to ensure that you are not going to be a danger to us.” He explained before returning his attention to Monty. “If she leaves here she will be your responsibility, so you need to be willing to make sure she keeps to these rules.” He added firmly and I felt my stomach flip at this demand.

“Yes sir, I understand.” Monty answered without hesitation and I was surprised that he was willing to do this for me.

“Well alright then, why don’t we give Miss Sloan a minute to change in private?” The man smiled as he indicated to the door and Monty flashed me with a hesitant smile before allowing himself to be led from the room.

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tabloidtoc · 4 years

Text

Closer, November 16

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: From Rags to Riches

Page 1: Contents

Page 2: The Big Picture -- The Bee Gees Maurice Gibb and Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb at the 1979 American Music Awards with Barry Manilow

Page 4: Arnold Schwarzenegger opens up about his health battle

Page 6: Picture Perfect -- Gwen Stefani

Page 8: Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott who lost this season of Brother vs. Brother, Roma Downey with a guitar in Joshua Tree National Park, Christie Brinkley staying fit

Page 10: Amy Robach and Michael Strahan on Good Morning America, Chelsea Handler in front of her bus

Page 12: Sharon Osbourne in a Grateful Dead t-shirt on The Talk, Elton John’s Barbie doll

Page 22: Cover Story -- stars who went from rags to riches -- their early struggles fueled these performers’ desire to succeed -- Dolly Parton, Pierce Brosnan

Page 23: Cher, Sylvester Stallone, Halle Berry

Page 24: Celine Dion, Tom Hanks, Dr. Phil McGraw

Page 26: The Irene Dunn only I knew -- her granddaughter recalls a happy woman who loved her family more than fame

Page 31: Spot the Difference -- Ali Fedotowsky

Page 33: Horoscopes -- Scorpio Demi Moore turned 58 on November 11

Page 34: Entertainment -- Emma Corrin on playing Princess Diana on The Crown, Kate Winslet on Ammonite, In the Spotlight -- Kate Mara

Page 36: On the Move -- Kathy Griffin puts her Bel Air home for sale for $15.995 million

Page 38: Best Friends -- Robert Herjavec and a goat, Bellamy Young and her cat Sadie, Dennis Quaid with senior rescue Colby on Home & Family

Page 40: Great Escape -- Victoria Rowell on Jamaica

Page 44: 5 Ways to Reduce Stress

Page 46: Joan Lunden -- you always need a plan -- the former GMA host and cancer survivor shares her thoughts on success and aging and living a healthy life

Page 50: Steve McQueen -- a lifetime of heartache -- the tough-guy actor spent his life searching for happiness

Page 52: Elliott Gould -- my life with Barbra Streisand -- the veteran actor reflects on his first marriage and why it didn’t work out

Page 54: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Me -- Nicole Kidman -- the Oscar-winning actress and star of The Undoing opens up about her life

Page 56: Style -- dress code: lounge wear -- Mindy Kaling

Page 58: My Life in 10 Pictures -- Anne Hathaway

Page 60: Flashback -- bell-bottoms, Get Out the Vote, The Witches, Lips logo

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kurtty-drabbles · 4 years

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The Omen au (part 21)

N/A: Ok, here we go. Using the motifs of the mother here. One last chapter to end this au.

@djinmer4 @dannybagpipesarecalling @bamfoftheundead @everykurt

Terry Pryde was not a woman to stay home all day, no sir, she certainly likes an adventure, however, lately, Terry´s adventures have been label as chaotic to mind-blowing and Terry would like to go home if possible, of course, Kitty Pryde has a strong will about staying on Michael´s side.

So, in regards to this decision, Terry ended up in Latveria as an honourable guest from King Doom himself and yes, Terry does not like the name Doom and really does not like this place, but, what can she do? Take Kitty back pulling her hair all the way? She can´t do that.

Her room is nice-is not the word she would use to express anything regards Doom- it has nice furniture, painting and it has the best view of the city. Roma people are thriving here and while she can appreciate this...

"Kitty, this place is Doom. Why must you stay here?" she asked her daughter one last time. Too tired of hearing the same answer. Why is her daughter the epicentre of the antichrist.

Kitty bites her lips and said. "Because he´s here. Doom is here with him...and I need to save him, look, I´m not sure if he´s the real antichrist or just a powerful mutant, either way, many people will try to explore his powers and I need to make sure that no one will manipulate him..." Kitty completes and Terry looks defeats now.

"Ok, and how can you know he´s not manipulating you, Kitten?" is a question that has been plaguing Terry´s mind and it seems only Terry because Kitty has an answer for that too with 100% sincerity.

"He hasn´t manipulated me, mother, we trust each other" is spoken with such sincerity that Terry wants to believe. She recalls that Prof X did that test, let´s call as such, on Michael using her only daughter and Terry ponders for a minute. Only a minute.

Maybe...I´m wrong about him, maybe. He´s not that bad.

And she decides to just hug her daughter and let go of those thoughts.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Victor Von Doom is a child. No matter what he does, no matter what he tells the others, Victor Von is still a child in search of his mother. To say he cope with her death poorly is not enough to say in his case. The man mixed magic and science to achieve both arts, yet, all this means nothing if his mother is not here with him.

Michael is peering through Doom as the man stops his lecture to gaze at a painting with such devotion-too devotion to be romantic as Michael deducts by himself- and waits to see what Doom will do. Michael was enjoying learning magic.

Doom seems to be back to reality as Doom clears his throat and decides to explain himself to his charge now. "This is my mother, she was taken by me when I was little...I got revenge, of course, but..." Doom trails off and Michael speaks for Doom.

"Is not enough, right!?" and Michael offers a gentle smile and Doom nods focused on Michael as his eyes narrow at the teen. King Doom changes the subject (can´t show weakness ever. Michael know this by heart) and offers more information and resources to Michael.

"Michael, I´ll adopt you as my son and heir. You understand the reason, right?"

"Of course, and you´ll understand that I may not call you father, right?"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rogue is at the FF and is demanding them to take her to Latveria, but, of course, Dr Reeds is not taking this demand so easily for a couple of reasons that Invisible Woman is explaining-she noticed the ashamed look on Jean Grey´s look and how she seems to quiet to Invisible Woman- and is having patient even though she´s pregnant.

"Doom banned us for the moment and he does have diplomacy prevent us to barking at Latveria" Sue stated and then address Jean- her once a student at some point in the past- in a calm tone and privately. "Jean, what´s going on?"

"Prof X did bad decisions and I helped...Am I a still a good person?"

Rogue, on the other hand, is more than ready to fight everyone but Gambit prevents her-no one needs to see an angry Rogue-and tries to think outside the box.

"Ok, so is possible to talk with Doom? You two have history and I know...Doom seems to be arrogant enough to have your number and answer at any minute, so...can you call them?" Gambit started gazing at Dr Reeds.

"I can try...Victor is not a predictable man..."

A few minutes passed and communication was establish. Doom was short and polite as possible. Michael is with him and he´s alright and no, he´s studying now and won´t be able to call, try later. And Rogue is more determined than ever to go rescue her little brother.

Are you sure he needs or wants to be saved?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Michael is walking among Latveria with Kitty-her mother is still uncomfortable around him and Michael does not mind too much, eventually, she´ll stop- and admiring the beauty of the city. Kitty is impressed by the art and is not entirely pleased how some ladies seem to be all over Michael.

"Is because I´m the heir of the throne?" Michael asked amused and Kitty pouts at that and Michael thinks she looks cute like that, however, he needs to make Kitty realize he does like Kitty and only her. "Kitty, I´d not care for those ladies. I ..." he tries to say something else but stops and Kitty is the one blushing here.

"Ok. I..." she looks bashful here. A sincere coy in her expression that Michael truly admires in her. Michael wants to kiss Kitty, but, he knows this should be a move coming from her. Michael loves Kitty and what´s love if not a bit of manipulation?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mephisto is not one to be subtle and Doom is aware of that. How Mephisto break the security branches in his castle remains a mystery - Clea put strongest fields, but, Mephisto is another league of his own- Doom is nothing if an excellent player and he always plays to win. Sadly, the same can be said about Mephisto.

"I see, Zaorva blessed your child. I thought you feared her" Doom asked drinking one of his best wines as Mephisto does not seem offended, far from it, Mephisto seems far too happy to mind any indirect jab throw at him.

"Yes, well... Celestial Mother is not something you should take lightly, plus, we all know how mothers have an effect on us, right, Doom?" Mephisto´s smiles increase as Doom looks at the painting of his mother proving Mephisto´s words true and he knows it.

"Do you come here to humiliate me? Or to steal Michael? whatever the option you choose...you won´t live to tell the results"

"Humiliate you? Never. I came here to bargain...you have something I want...and I have something you desire since forever"

"What? Hell?"

"No, Victor...your dear mother! I can give her to you once and for all." And Mephisto watches now Doom looks like a lost boy glaring at, searching and panicking about the loss of his mother. Mephisto is pleased and Doom made a decision.

"You want Michael"

"And you want your mother back"

#the omen au #antichrist michael #Kitty pryde #kurtty #doom has mommy issues #mephisto knows #tw: manipulation

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rozzebudd · 4 years

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Netflix 10 Best OG Movies to Watch in 2020

It’s that time when Netflix cleans house (yes, yes, we know!), but you can count on the originals keeping its place for a long time. There are so many options on Netflix that they all can’t be advertised, unfortunately. So how in the world would you ever learn about the many original movies on Netflix you ask? This is where we come in. Hold on to your seats as we give you the rundown of Netflix 10 best original movies you will be sure to watch in 2020, yet alone by the end of January. Enjoy.

1. Roma Cleo is one of two domestic workers who help Antonio and Sofía take care of their four children in 1970s Mexico City. Complications soon arise when Antonio suddenly runs away with his mistress and Cleo finds out that she's pregnant. When Sofía decides to take the kids on vacation, she invites Cleo for a much-needed getaway to clear her mind and bond with the family.

2. Beasts of No Nation As civil war rages in Africa, a fierce warlord (Idris Elba) trains a young orphan (Abraham Attah) to join his group of guerrilla soldiers.

3. The Fundamentals of Caring A writer (Paul Rudd) retires after a personal tragedy and becomes a disabled teen's caregiver. When the two embark on an impromptu road trip, their ability to cope is tested as they start to understand the importance of hope and friendship.

4. I don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore After being burglarized, a depressed woman (Melanie Lynskey) and her obnoxious neighbor set out to find the thieves, but they soon find themselves up against a group of dangerous criminals.

5. Bird Box When a mysterious force decimates the population, only one thing is certain -- if you see it, you die. The survivors must now avoid coming face to face with an entity that takes the form of their worst fears. Searching for hope and a new beginning, a woman and her children embark on a dangerous journey through the woods and down a river to find the one place that may offer sanctuary. To make it, they'll have to cover their eyes from the evil that chases them -- and complete the trip blindfolded.

6. Always Be My Maybe Childhood sweethearts have a falling out and don't speak for 15 years, only reconnecting as adults when Sasha runs into Marcus in San Francisco. Although the old sparks are still there, the couple live in different worlds.

7. Mudbound Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm, a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not - charming and handsome, but he is haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, now battles the prejudice in the Jim Crow South.

8. Okja For 10 idyllic years, young Mija has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja - a massive animal and an even bigger friend - at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But that changes when family-owned, multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation takes Okja for themselves and transports her to New York, where an image-obsessed and self-promoting CEO has big plans for Mija's dearest friend. With no particular plan but single-minded in intent, Mija sets out on a rescue mission.

9. Tallulah A young woman takes a baby from an irresponsible mother and pretends the child is her own. Without a place of her own, she asks for help of her ex-boyfriend's mother, telling her the baby is her granddaughter.

10. Marriage Story A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a gruelling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.

Note: Movie descriptions belong to IMDB.

If you feel differently about these picks, share your best Netflix OG movies in the comments section. No beef here!

#netflix #10 best #netflix original #movies #2020

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joshbentley-blog1 · 5 years

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2018, A Year in Film

Much like my love for music, I use the end of the year to compile a list of my favorite films, films that affected my life and altered my perspective and appreciation for the arts. Here are a list of motion pictures that I consider impactful in some shape or form, transformative to a degree, and worthy contributions to the medium. Enjoy.

Honorable mentions:

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón’s return to Earth since 2013′s Gravity finds itself in 1970s Mexico, backdropped by the political turmoil of the time and laced with the mundane yet subtly beautiful comings and goings of every day life. It is an intimate and sincere look into the struggles of surviving day by day, but also a gorgeously emotional ode to the resilience of those entrapped by the life’s unprejudiced judgement.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Distributor: Netflix

Genre: Historical drama

Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson returned to the beloved medium of stop motion animation this year with Isle of Dogs. His previous work, Fantastic Mr. Fox, was a charming and quirky story of a fox father trying to provide for his den in the midst of a heated human versus animal dispute. But where Fantastic Mr. Fox lacked substantial depth (not a bad quality by any means), Isle of Dogs builds a narrative of love and hope, eloquently animating the unimpeachable love humans and dogs so equally share. The set design, animation quality and Wes Anderson quirks are all at their very best. A must-see for any Anderson fan, or appreciator of stop motion animation.

Director: Wes Anderon

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

Genre: Stop motion animation / sci-fi / dystopian

Sorry to Bother You

Directorial debuts were bountiful this year, and one such standout is Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You. An apt and absurd social commentary, with enough laughs to punch through the somewhat dark depths it veils. The film starts off vanilla enough, but you soon find yourself in the midst of a dark, fever dream that won’t end. The phenomenal writing and cast make this original an extremely hard film to forget.

Director: Boots Riley

Distributor: Annapurna Pictures

Genre: Absurdist / dark comedy

Top 10:

10. Disobedience

When New York-based photographer, Ronit (Weisz), learns of her father’s unexpected passing, her past life and all its troubles are brought to the forefront. Returning back to the Orthodox Jewish community in London in which she grew up, Ronit is faced with various extremes. From the turmoils of having to explain herself to the Jewish community, to the re-kindling of her relationship with Esti (McAdams), to facing her own faults and desires, Ronit’s life is crumpled and staggered. Disobedience is a heartfelt and organic story of love finding a way through all the dark and uncertainty.

Director: Sebastián Lelio

Distributor: Bleecker Street

Romance: Romantic drama

9. You Were Never Really Here

A heroic yet traumatizing narrative finds Joaquin Phoenix’s Joe in the midst of unfolding the inner workings of a crime ring that stretches further than anyone could have comprehended. Joe is a former military and FBI operative, now a hired gun whose job it is to rescue trafficked girls. Director Lynne Ramsay expertly maneuvers the chaos and violence of the film, often subverted our expectations in various means. Phoenix gives one of his best performances to date, and Jonny Greenwood’s original soundtrack is the icing atop the cacophonic cake.

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Distributor: Amazon Studios

Genre: Psychological thriller / crime drama

8. The Old Man & the Gun

If (500) Days of Summer were all grown up is how I would begin to describe this story. But The Old Man & the Gun is much, much more than a simple romantic comedy. Much like the director’s project from last year, one A Ghost Story, David Lowery once again explores the fabrics of time and how they shapes us as a species. The story is a contemplation on time’s inevitability and its relationship with our feelings of love and yearning. Beautifully backdropped by an America long passed, Lowery’s film finds two characters especially intertwined, strung together by the fickle hands of time itself. Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek have undeniable chemistry, and it is this chemistry that acts as the driving force of the film. Redford’s swan song is one to be seen and remembered dearly.

Director: David Lowery

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

Genre: Biography / romantic comedy

7. First Reformed

A deep meditation on faith and all the uncertainties it brings with, First Reformed is an imaginative and exhausting look into the vitriol we have brought upon ourselves, and how God and Man meet at such an abyss. Reverend Toller, once a chaplain in the Armed Forces, now resides and serves in an old Dutch Reformed church, serving a diminishing congregation and existing in the shadow of the neighboring megachurch, Abundant Life. Toller is forced to deal his own morals and understandings, while also supporting those in his congregation. As his service becomes increasingly darker and more difficult, Toller looks deep within himself and looks to God for an answer, any answer.

Director: Paul Schrader

Distributor: A24

Genre: Drama

6. Eighth Grade

Bo Burnham uses his directorial debut to discuss the Internet in its current context. From his discussions on the A24 podcast, Burnham wanted to find a proper medium for such a discussion, because many who try to judge the Internet and its culture do so miserably. It is understandably difficult to critique such culture without sounding tone deaf, but Burnham executes it to perfection. What better way to critique the Internet than by doing so from the perspective of an eighth grader, a person who has grown up in the shadow of the digital age? Elsie Fisher is a breakout star, nailing the timid courage of her character. Through excellent and organic performances and modern comedic writing, Eighth Grade is a coming-of-age story unlike any other.

Director: Bo Burnhma

Distributor: A24

Genre: Comedy-drama / coming-of-age

5. Annihilation

2018 was admittedly a weaker year for science fiction, but one project that rose above the rest was Alex Garland’s Annihilation. Garland’s no stranger to science fiction or horror, having tackled the genres in 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and Ex Machina. But with Annihilation Garland is able to capture horror rooted in science, incomparable to any other film. Based on the novel by the same name from author Jeff VanderMeer, the story follows a group of scientists venturing into a quarantined zone known as “The Shimmer.” Once inside, the scientists are faced with the supernatural horrors they studied from afar. Garland’s work is immense and vivid, deserving of so much more praise than it has received.

Director: Alex Garland

Distributor: Paramount Pictures & Netflix

Genre: Science fiction horror

4. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Coen Brothers are no strangers to the subversions of classic film. Their tangled narratives, inconclusive conclusions and ponderings on the workings of humankind have made them standout directors, enemies of conventional filmmaking and pioneers of darkly comedic explorations of humanity.

"A song never ceases to ease my mind out here in the West. Where the distances are great, and the scenery monotonous."

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the Coen Brothers' first true western since 2010's True Grit, is anything but monotonous and certainly a welcome addition to the genre. Additionally, it is a triumphant return to form for the Coen Bros. Buster Scruggs is unlike most films, and again finds the Coen Brothers subverting the western genre, in its anthological form. Six vignettes tell the tales of settlers, outlaws, cowboys, and every sort of man and woman in between in the days of old, when the West was formed, and includes every bit of gruesome and grim detail.

It is not secret the Coen Brothers are adept at macabre storytelling, and are avid explorers of what makes man tick and humanity tremble. Their iconic dark, dry humor, their gritty and off-center storytelling, and their classic subversions of film are all present in Buster Scruggs. But while Coen films of past contained these elements (e.g. Hail, Caesar!), I have felt that their recent works have lacked that classic Coen charm. That snappy dialogue, the witty banter between characters, the intricate storytelling, all have been present in their works, but not since A Serious Man have I felt the Coen's magic this potently. That is now, not since Buster Scruggs.

The film's characters and stories do not overlap. But the themes and lessons certainly do. The opening ballad of one gun-slinging, guitar-strumming cowboy, Buster Scruggs (aka 'The San Saba Songbird'), is a gruesome musical. Full of shootouts and gore, it perfectly sets the tone for how the remainder of the film will play out. Tim Blake Nelson is charismatic, ruthless, and quick as a whip in this vignette. And I would have adored an entire film devoted solely to his character. But the Coen's first subversion comes when our hero is gunned down in the street by a faster gun.

Near Algodones, New Mexico, we find James Franco's outlaw. Robbing a bank, he is retaliated against by a surly old man covered in pans. This vignette feels shorter than its predecessor but is equally humorous and grim. The third story, Meal Ticket, gives us a glimpse into the harsh realities that faced early western settlers. And how making a living does not always coincide with morality and ethics. Liam Neeson and Harry Melling gel so well together but share few pieces of back-and-forth dialogue. I've seen some criticize this vignette for straying from the classic "western format," but to me it perfectly captures what it meant to live such a life.

All Gold Canyon is among my favorite of the stories. Its beautiful shots, wide takes of a beautiful canyon, and the juxtaposition of a man searching for riches in the mud while the true riches of nature are set behind him. It's a simple story, but it leaves the viewer wanting more from Tom Waits' prospector character. One of the view stories to end happily (in a sense), I found All Gold Canyon to be a masterful work of minimalist storytelling.

The Gal Who Got Rattled is my favorite of the six stories. Zoe Kazan, Bill Heck and Grainger Hines have excellent chemistry and play off each other so well. Straying from the deep west, we are drawn northwards, on the Oregon Trail. The simple yet dangerous treck is beautifully captured by the Coens here, and the story envelops you in its charm. And finally, The Mortal Remains ends our journey. A story laced with symbolism and metaphors, it's the Coen Brothers at their peak. The skeletal format of this vignette is much like the morals explored in No Country and A Serious Man, and I found myself wondering how the story could possibly end. And then it does. The final subversion of the film is this vignette's untimely end.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs may lack continuity in terms of character arcs and storytelling. But what it certainly does not lack is character, masterful writing, expert characterization, and a deep understanding of what captivates us as viewers. The Coen Brothers understand that sometimes, simplicity is best. There is beauty in minimalism, and I believe Buster Scruggs is a excellent envisioning of such a statement.

Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen

Distributor: Netflix

Genre: Western / anthological film / dark comedy

3. Hereditary

They say the devil is in the details, and so such phrase would better describe Ari Aster’s debut, Hereditary. Perhaps the phrase shouldn’t be taken metaphorically though, instead literally; the film finds a family thrown into tragedy after a Satanic occult ritual, long in the works, begins to root itself in the foundations of the family.

Aster uses the story to burrow into our pysches, to strike fear and discomfort into the viewers. He does so not only expertly, but in such original fashion as well. Sure, Aster’s influences can be indentified and picked apart by an experienced viewer, but his crafting of a narrative and his fleshing out of the characters is so unique and a welcome take to the horror genre, Hereditary feels like an entirely new breed of horror.

The film begins with the funeral of the mother to Annie Graham (Toni Collette). As guests pour in to the congregation, it is clear that Annie is shocked with the occupancy. She states in her eulogy that her mother was a very private and secretive women, and that she is shocked to see so many unfamiliar faces here to pay respects to her estranged mother. Once home, Annie and the rest of the family unwind to a disturbing degree of comfort. Annie does not seem shaken by her mother’s passing, as she begins clearing out boxes that belonged to her mother. As she is exiting her studio however, a vision of her mother briefly appears in the dim and dark corner of the unlit room. Annie steps back, wondering if what she saw was real or a fabrication of her mind. Thus, begins the Grahams’ descent into darkness.

Following the funeral, Annie’s only daughter Charlie expresses her worry over the loss of her grandma. Stating, “Who’s going to take care of me?” Charlie is at a loss. Annie comforts her saying of course she will take care of her, but Charlie responds by asking what will happen when Annie is gone.

Later, Peter (Annie’s son) asks if he can go out and visit friends at a party. Annie lets him go but on one condition, that he takes Charlie with him. Charlie begins having visions of her own, and begins tinkering and creating absurd and deformed sculptures. An obvious introvert, she is reluctant to agree to go to the party with Peter, much to the chagrin of Annie. At the party, Peter finds a group of friends to smoke marijuana with, leaving Charlie by herself. Alone, Charlie gets into trouble and her and Peter rush home. An unfortunate incident occurs en route, which only propels the darkness further.

Annie becomes desperate for answers and substance to her mother’s reclusive and secretive life. She finds hints of the truth through old belongings and an old friend of her mother. Visions keep recurring and stranger forces begin to act on not only Annie but Peter as well.

Soon, the family is tumbling down a slope of despair. Séances, rituals, occult castings begin to mount and the demons and darkness begin to unleash. The film is a gripping and horrifying look at what is perhaps most universally frightening, family.

Director Ari Aster is unafraid to explore and highlight the grotesque and grim. He utilizes shocking imagery and beautiful lighting to display these horrors front and center, while still relying on subtle scares to keep the audience in suspense. Not only is the film adeptly disturbing, its characters are compelling and interesting. None are thrown by the wayside, and the spiraling story’s success is hinged on the characters we come to love. Toni Collette gives her greatest performance to date, and Alex Wolff proves he can handle a broad array of material. Milly Shapiro is excellent as Charlie, rivaling Elsie Fisher for young breakout star this year.

The magnificent blend of cinematography, acting, writing, and horror imagery Hereditary the best horror film I’ve seen all year, and certainly one of the most gripping stories I have ever experienced.

Director: Ari Aster

Distributor: A24

Genre: Supernatural horror / disturbing horror

2. The Favourite

It is often the case that period pieces take on a serious tone, dramatic takes on the facts and legends of old. Think Phantom Thread or Lincoln. Not too common are period pieces that extrapolate on the well-known, but also leave plenty of room for creative freedom from the production team. Even more rare are such projects that include elements of absurdity and dark comedy.

But it would not come to anyone’s surprise to find out that such a project exists at the hands of director Yorgos Lanthimos. Best known for his previous works, The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos is almost Wes Anderson-esque or Tarantino-esque, in the marks he leaves in his films. His style is so distinct and his directions very much his own.

The Favourite follows suit, and Lanthimos’ quirks and trademarks are found throughout. From the monochromatic color palette to the dry, darkly comedic dialogue, the film is familiar in a way. But also true is that the film is nothing like Lanthimos has ever done before. It is grander, more gruesome, diabolical in a way, biblical in scope. His first film for a major production studio perhaps led to a grander scope, but I believe that this was a logical next step for the director. From The Lobster it was apparent that Lanthimos was willing and more than capable of tackling a monolithic project such as The Favourite, if given the right assets. It is inspiring to see such a film come to fruition.

The film finds three women in the royal court of Queen Anne: Abigail Hill, Sarah Churchill, and Queen Anne herself. Churchill (known in the film commonly as Lady Marlborough) has serviced the Queen for quite some time, prior to Ms. Abigail Hill‘s arrival. Both as a political aid and as a lover, Churchill finds comfort and immense power in her role beside Queen Anne. Everything seems to be going well for the court; the Queen, while certainly inept, has the confidence of her subjects and the war with France is going better than expected.

But then Abigail Hill arrives. A cousin of Sarah Churchill’s, Abigail travels to the court in hopes of working under both the Queen and her senior, Lady Marlborough. Hill begins as a lowly servant, making meals and cleaning sections of the palace. But not soon after, she advances the ranks, eventually rivaling Churchill in terms of power and influence on the Queen and all of Britain. The two cousins turn on each other, a once subtle love quickly turns to angst and hate.

The relationship of the three women dips and ascends throughout the film; there are periods of immense joy and respect, but also grim and violent progressions of guilt, lust and jealousy.

All of these emotions are so vividly captured thanks to the unique cinematography and direction. Camera angles are unconventional, using low-lying cameras to peer upward towards the characters, or highly placed lenses creeping above the Queen and her court. All of these placements give the sense that the viewer is spying on the characters, that we are sneaking into their lives unbeknownst to them.

It is the performances of the three leads and the unique cinematography that gripped me so powerfully upon my initial viewing. Olivia Colman (Queen Anne), Rachel Weisz (Sarah Churchill) and Emma Stone (Abigail Hill) are all superb talents, free the stretch their acting chops and creative imaginations to bring such life to their characters. But the supporting cast is equally brilliant. In fact, no elements of the film come off as ill-planned or weak. The film is like a well-oiled machine, perfectly in sync and precise to a scary degree.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

Genre: Historical comedy-drama / period piece / romance

1. Burning (버닝)

It has been quite some time since I have felt this looming questioning of morality, this cutting sense of dread from a motion picture. Burning is a Korean psychological thriller by Lee Chang-dong, and tells the story of three individuals caught in the unforgiving hands of lust. An ineffable sense of desire lurks throughout the film, as the three characters find themselves and their relationships with each other engulfed in tragedy. Love and desire quickly transforms into decay and wrath.

Lee Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in) is a part-time delivery man, who one day finds an old schoolmate working outside a department store. Shin Hae-mi (Jun Jong-seo) asks Jong-su out to drinks and the two quickly become entranced by one another. Hae-mi asks Jong-su if he remembers her from their shared past. He does not. She informs him that they attended middle school together, lived in the same village, and that Jong-su once called her ugly leading to her receiving plastic surgery. Still, deeply infatuated and perhaps a tad remorseful, Jong-su helps Hae-mi by looking over her reclusive cat while she travels to Africa in the hopes of some soul searching.

Hae-mi eventually returns to Seoul, this time bringing back a friend she met while in the airport, Ben. Ben and Hae-mi bonded over their shared heritage and nationality, being the only two Koreans in the airport at the time. The trio goes out for hot pot and drinks, where Hae-mi states in a drunken stupor that she felt incredibly lonesome while in the Kalahari desert. She describes a bittersweet lonesomeness that only such a vast expanse of desolation could bring. Jong-su seems unphased, almost detached from such a stark statement from a normally bubbly individual. Ben, looks noticeably concerned but then says he has never understood why people cry, he has never shed a tear himself. The three leave shortly after.

Time moves on, and Jong-su eventually moves back to his hometown to take over his father’s farm, as his father has come into legal trouble. Hae-mi and Ben become ever closer and Jong-su appears to remain detached from Hae-mi from the exterior. Deep down, Jong-su feels heavily for Hae-mi, eventually expressing his love for her to Ben at his farm.

Darkness sets in when one day Hae-mi does not respond to Jong-su’s calls. From there on out the story becomes a mysterious and incredibly riveting tale of love and the dangers of desire and inaction.

Yoo Ah-in is incredible as Jong-su, and nails the detached and perplexed characterization. Steven Yeun steals every scene he is a part of, reminding me of Heath Ledger’s Joker or Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in terms of menacing presence and subtle malice. But for me, the standout actor is Jun Jong-seo and her portrayal of Hae-mi. She embodies the character perfectly, and I felt for her character throughout the film. Hae-mi is clearly struggling to find her own way and desperately wants to find courage and power in some shape or form. I can relate to that struggle. Truly, this film is carried by its characters and the beautiful performances by their respective actors.

So many other elements come together to make this film a success though. The cinematography is masterclass. Using wide lenses to capture the claustrophobic chaos of downtown Seoul and the vast and desolate disconnect of the Korean countryside, cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo is able to capture the diverse beauty of Korea. He uses intimate close ups and handheld camerawork to create cutting scenes of tension and discomfort, drawing the viewer into the experience, emboldening the story of Jung-su and Hae-mi. A wide variety of long takes and tracking shots are utilized as well, forcing the viewer to pay attention and highlighting the characters in an organic moment.

Perhaps my favorite scene of the year, and certainly my favorite scene of the movie comes about half way through the runtime. It involves Miles Davis’ song, “Générique,” and a particular character’s tribal, rhythmic dancing. It’s a beautiful moment of reflection in the film and still runs through my head.

I will refrain from discussing the film anymore, as I strongly believe this work is best experienced with as little knowledge as possible. Lee Chang-dong, Yoo Ah-in, Jun Jong-seo and Steven Yeun, and the rest of the production team have created something incredibly raw and thoughtful here. It is more than apparent that an immense amount of care went into making this story and adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Barn Burning a triumphant success. What I love about this film is, in a way, it made me feel a connection to my home country in such a profound and unexplainable way. I haven’t seen many Korean films, but Burning was able to kindle a connection in me that I haven’t experienced with other Korean films before. For these reasons, I can decidedly say that Burning is my favorite film of 2018.

Director: Lee Chang-dong

Distributor: CGV Arthouse (Korea) & Well Go Entertainment (USA)

Genre: Psychological thriller / romantic drama

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