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lenfaz · 5 years

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Sea Squad, ch. 6 (6/14)

Summary: Killian Jones has always managed tough spots in his con life… but never like this one. His brother is out of jail and convinced the only way to win his name back is to heist the casino of a major Vegas mogul, leaving Killian to do the planning. He now has to deal with a half-brother desperate to gain a name of his own, an ex-fling that carries her own torch against the casino mogul, his brother losing his mind over his ex-wife, his former mentor’s depression and the one woman he can’t get out of his mind giving him chase. Ocean’s Eleven AU

Rating: M

Content warnings: semi-explicit sexual content, law-breaking (they are thieves, liars and con men), mild violence (someone will get punched), mention of former relationships (for the main pair) and cheating (but not for the main pair)

Banner (link to banner post) and art by the amazing @clockadile Go check her art tag for the fic here!

This fic would never exist without the wonderful @sambethe who convinced me to do over hot chocolate on one cold Chicago afternoon and virtually held my hand and betaed this fic for months. thank you SO much for everything you do.

A/N: A long time ago there was talk about Hook & his sea friends and a few collective posts shaped the idea of a Sea Squad. This fic is the attempt to bring that creativity to life. Tagging @queen-mabs-revenge @thesschesthair and @jvosketches as they were part of that initial thinking back in the day. If a few things sound familiar, it’s because they are based on the movie.

Link to FFnet & AO3

on tumblr: 1 2 3 4 5

Chapter 6

The hours turned long and they’d hit the somewhat duller stages of planning. The initial excitement for the heist had given way to long hours of detailing, building the vault replica, and going over the execution. It required a level of focus and concentration that brought out frayed nerves in everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

Nemo had always been good at keeping his composure, and Poseidon had a knack for coming in and out of the character he was playing without wearing himself out. But the rest of them were starting to show signs of distress.

Ariel and Eric bantered constantly, but their rapport had taken on a sniping quality, even about the most petty items, right down to their Netflix queue. The uptick in Smee’s fidgeting with his cap, as well as his obsessive need to re-review the footage of the casinos and note every single detail, was leaving an ache in Killian’s jaw from all the clenching.

LJ, meanwhile, was giving Killian and Liam the silent treatment, as he kept his headphones glued to his ears and his nose buried in a seemingly endless stream of books.

Milah had taken to disappearing for hours at a time, keeping whatever - or whomever - she was doing under wraps. All of which suited Killian just fine, as the last thing they needed was to alert Gold that she was in town. Besides he knew Milah and trusted her. He knew she could be stealthy when she wanted, so he kept his mouth shut.

Ursula spent most of her time shadowing her co-workers at the casino, and only dropping by to feed them new information and get orders from Liam. The two of them would retreat into a corner, all bent heads and whispered words. They didn’t fool Killian at all. He knew Ursula was updating Liam on all of Belle’s movement and a part of him wanted to call his brother on wasting effort by splitting their focus. But Liam had promised, as did he, so he knew he owed his brother this chance.

As for Henry, Killian knew he still felt like an outsider. Luckily, the kid had thick skin and when he was done bonding with LJ over music and comics, he’d retreat to his own corner, plugging in his headphones and writing in his journal. His quiet edge was one Killian easily recognized as the product of spending too much time on his own in foster and group homes, and he couldn’t help but feel drawn to the kid because of it. When he was not shadowing LJ, Killian had been working with Henry, going over what he needed to do and rehearsing and timing his performance. The lad was good - more than good - and Killian couldn’t help the pride he felt as time and again Henry delivered on what he was asked to do.

Which was why when he found out that Henry wasn’t an expert on poker - or any card game - Killian took the kid under his wing and vowed to teach him everything he knew. Unlike his celebrity students, Henry was sharp as a knife, picking up on what the game was about and executing bluffs with such mastery that it brought tears to Killian’s eyes. He was getting fairly good at blackjack too. He couldn’t count cards with Liam’s speed, but he was good at making quick decisions in the heat of the game and landing on his feet.

After the first couple of nights, LJ asked to join the game, and Killian got a glimpse at another side of his little brother. When he was at ease - and he seemed most at ease with Smee and Henry - he could be quite charming. His permanent scowl gave way to an easy smile and a dry wit, his hands moving fast as he dealt cards, his eyes not giving away a single thing as he called bets. He proved to be as good as Killian at bluffing, and even better than Liam at reading a table. It was enough to make Killian weep, again, which resulted in LJ throwing his cards at him, calling him a softie.

Clearing his throat, Killian looked at the three of them. “We need a night out.”

“To do what?” Henry asked

“Get some drinks, play some cards, bet some money,” he replied with a wave of his hand.

“So basically the same thing we’re doing right here,” LJ retorted, clearly not impressed with him. Killian, though, knew by now it was a tactic his brother played. If you don’t get your hopes too high, the fall doesn’t hurt that much.

“Not exactly the same… we’re lacking a certain ambiance here.”

Henry gave them a wry grin. “I’m underage… I won’t be allowed anywhere.”

“There is so much you need to learn about this town, lads.” Killian turned around to his most loyal companion. “What do you say, Smee? Should we show these two what the City of Sin has to offer?”

/-/

He had to give it to both of them, Henry and LJ cleaned up well for their night out. Black slacks, button down shirts, nice shoes, the whole nine yards. Which was slightly funny considering that they ended up in one of the seediest joints Vegas had to offer. But the drinks were good, the tables were humming with activity, and no one even thought to card them with Killian by their side. They joined a poker game in one of the private rooms for a few hours before they took onto the blackjack tables. Henry held his own in both while also holding down his liquor. LJ, true to form, simply took everything by storm, including charming the brunette dealer who kept leaning closer to him with each new hand she dealt. When she announced the end of her shift and threw a coy glance at LJ, Killian knew the night was coming to an end. At least for some of them.

Smee and Henry moved to cash in their winnings, while he and LJ finished their drinks.

“You know you’ve had a tail for the past few hours, don’t you?” LJ said as he placed his glass on the table.

“Aye, I’m aware.” Killian’s fingers moved along the rim of the glass, resisting the urge to look behind him. “She’s been shadowing us all night.”

“You shadow her, she shadows you… is this some kind of kinky foreplay I want to know nothing about?”

Killian laughed. “I wish.” He ran a hand through his hair, forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand. “Will this be a problem for you?”

LJ shrugged. “Nah, I don’t think so. She might be good with faces, but I’m good at being a no one. It’s going to come in handy this time. But I should take off before she makes it any closer. Perhaps seek refuge in a different bed for the time being.” His eyes glinted with mischief.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure that’s a sacrifice you’re willing to bear, and I’m sure that lovely croupier would be more than happy to assist you.”

“I’ll get Henry and Smee to leave without coming back here, just in case. I figure you can run interference for us?”

Killian raised his glass at him. “I can do that. It’s me she’s after anyway.”

LJ squeezed his arm. “Killian, be careful, aye?” The concern and fondness in his words made Killian swallow.

“Aye, I will.”

He watched as LJ retreated, playing with the chips on the table and downing his drink. He ordered another as the new dealer showed up. As she set up the table, Killian counted out his heartbeats - one, two, three, four…

On five, Emma sat down beside him, cashing in a hundred dollar bill.

“I’d have thought you’d have privileges for playing in Gold’s casinos, Swan.”

“Fancy places are not my thing. And I could say the same to you. Nemo’s protegee should be able to access better places than this.”

He tilted his head, studying her profile. He wasn’t surprised by the words. It was only natural that she’d set to go after him, looking under every rock for every single piece of information she could gather on him.

There just the two of them on the table and the dealer opened up the bets. He placed a chip on the felt and waited for his cards. “What can I say, this place has its benefits…”

She didn’t pay that much attention to her cards. “What were you doing here tonight?”

Shifting a little, he doubled his bet. “Just passing the time.”

She passed on her bet and Killian winced. She should have doubled with the cards she’d been dealt. “Really? And who were your friends?”

A small smirk came to his lips. “Just some acquaintances I hadn’t had the chance to catch up with in a long time.”

The house went over. He won a good sum. Emma won the bare minimum.

“Funny you should say that, because when I looked into you, I couldn’t find a single associate. Or friend. Or acquaintance.”

Aye. He’d anticipated that, which is why he’d made sure Smee erased all traces of his known associates, along with his family and friends. Only Nemo remained, as it gave him a valid connection to be in the city. If push came to shove, he could claim that he was here to be with his friend.

He examined his cards and shrugged a shoulder. “What can I say, I’m a lone wolf.”

“Bullshit, Killian.” She raised her hand to double her bet and his hand moved of its own accord to stop her.

“The house has too many chances to take this one, let it pass.”

The way she cocked an eyebrow at him stirred something in him, but he reigned it in and slowly removed his hand. Emma stared down at her cards for a long moment before passing on raising her bet. He wouldn’t count that as a sign of anything, that way would only lead to heartache in the end. They continued to play in silence for a few hands, Killian earning a nice pile of chips while Emma fell behind. Resisting the urge to give her more pointers, Killian leaned back and drummed his fingers on the table.

“How's working for Gold?”

The corner of her lips lifted in the hint of a smile. “Please, as if you were interested in my work.”

“You wound me, Swan.”

“Drop the act. I know you’re up to something and I know you’re trying to weasel information out of me. But I’m not the girl that I was. I’m not falling for your charming lies this time.” She gathered her chips, leaving one behind for a tip, and walked away.

He shouldn’t go after her, he knew he shouldn’t. And yet the temptation was stronger than his will. Picking up his own chips and sliding them in his pocket, he flipped one to the dealer and followed Emma out.

He caught up with her almost at the exit and pulled her into a corner of the room. Resisting the urge to give in and press his body to hers, he focused instead on his words.

“You don't want to do this. You don’t want to be spying for Gold, Emma.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, especially since you’re the reason I need to find this type of employment.” While there was bitterness in her words, her eyes also seemed focused to his lips. Killian felt the same pull and he moved closer to her, his fingers itching to trace along the soft skin of her arms. Before he could, Emma shook her head and pressed her hand on his chest, stopping him.

“Your charm no longer works on me, Jones. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…”

“I’m not trying to fool you.” He sighed, resisting the urge to drag her out of here and bring her to the warehouse, to tell her everything. If this was his con alone, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But too much was a stake here, too many of his friends were depending on him. They were already on shaky ground considering Liam’s focus on Belle, Killian couldn't add more complications to the mix.

Still, he couldn’t leave without letting her know the type of man she was dealing with. “I know Gold. He’s dangerous. He doesn’t play fair.”

She snorted, tilting her head to the side as she glared at him. “And you do?”

The barb hurt and he swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I have a code, believe it or not.”

“I don’t need a code. I need answers,” she whispered and her confession shook them both. Emma’s eyes widened and she tried to move away from him, but Killian grabbed her elbow and pulled her to him.

“What is it that you're after?” His eyes bored into her, studying her face for any hint of what was really going on. “It can be just the job, not really. Gold pays well, but nothing that you cannot make elsewhere.”

“I don't have that many options left with my reputation ruined, remember?”

“Bullshit. You’ve been highly rewarded for your work.” He regretted the words as soon as he said them. He should learn to keep his own damn mouth shut.

“Keeping tabs on me, huh?”

He ignored her question, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only. It was clear that when he walked out of that room on her, there had been more than her job at stake.

“What was it? What did I cost you, Emma?”

Her face was a blank mask, her eyes avoiding his. “Wouldn't you like to know”

He reached out, caressing his thumb along her cheek. He kept his next words quiet, the desperate plea in them clear. “Please, love, tell me… I need to know.”

She gave him one last assessing look before she pulled away. “Goodbye, Killian.”

He took a breath and let her walk away. When she was finally out of his line of sight, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the wall, his heart beating frantically in his chest.

Whatever it was that Emma Swan was looking, whatever it was that made striking a deal with Gold worth it, he was going to find out.

And he was going to do everything he could to deliver it to her.

/-/

After another night spent with rum and restless dreams, Killian stood at the entrance of the warehouse, willing the pounding in his head to pass. He closed his eyes and sank against the exterior wall as he pressed a bottle of cold water against his temple.

The sound of car tires on gravel had him open one eye and face the glaring morning sunlight again. He turned just as a taxi pulled around the curve and LJ got out. His leather jacket was draped over one arm and he carried a cardboard tray with a few paper cups on his free hand. His hair damp and disheveled, shirt wrinkled, and that spring in his step could only mean one thing.

“You look like you had a good time,” Killian said as LJ handed him one of the cups. The welcome scent of steaming coffee filled his senses and Killian discarded the water bottle, taking a long, slow sip of the warm beverage. It tasted burnt and bitter, making him regret all his life choices - especially this one - while he pondered how his brother could even drink this.

LJ left the rest of the tray on a nearby bench and took a sip of his coffee, his wicked smile and glinting eyes a silent answer to Killian’s comment. “You still look to be in one piece…” He twitched one side of his mouth, making a show of checking for wounds. “I thought I was going to get a call in the middle of the night and have to go pick you up at the police station.”

“I would have never dared to interrupt your much needed getting laid-time, little brother. I would have called Smee.” Killian lifted one shoulder as he ventured one more sip of the coffee. Yup, still terrible. “Besides, she doesn’t have anything on me.”

“She has you by the balls, but please, by all means, keep deluding yourself.”

Killian chuckled, tossing the poor excuse for a coffee in the trash bin. “Next time, unless it’s done by a proper barista with freshly ground coffee beans and a espresso machine, bring me tea, LJ.”

“Like you wouldn’t find a fault in any poorly steeped tea too, brother.”

Touché. Killian placed two fingers over his heart, a part of him grateful that LJ had gotten to know that side of him.

“Come on,” LJ called as he picked up the tray and tilted his head towards the front door. “Henry's cocoa is getting cold and the poor lad needs his sugar to function properly.”

He smirked as he passed LJ and opened the door and held it for him. “You two seem to be getting along well.”

LJ shrugged. “He's cool and honestly, I feel a lot more comfortable around him than some of the others. He hasn't been in the business much…”

The meaning behind the words was clear. “So anything related to the Jones name doesn't mean much to him.”

LJ gave him a shy smile. “Yeah, that's a perk.”

Killian placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It's good to make friends, good friends, early in your career. People you can trust.” He looked at him and a wave of sympathy flooded him. He wanted to be that for his brother so desperately, as Liam had been for him. And yet, he understood more than anyone the need to shine for yourself, outside your family name. “You don't have to do everything alone.”

“I know… is that Smee for you?”

“Aye.”

Henry made his way towards them, his eyes almost rolling at the back of his head. “Finally, man.” He reached for the cup that LJ handed to him and took a long sip. His eyes closed, he sighed in contentment. “You even remember the cinnamon”.

Killian cocked an eyebrow, some memory poking at the back of his mind that he couldn’t place. “Cinnamon?”

LJ lifted a shoulder carelessly as he finished his coffee and tossed the cup in a nearby trash bin. “Yeah, the kid has weird taste.”

Henry gave him a challenging look. “Who are you calling weird, you nimble fingered freak?”

LJ gave him a cheesy smile, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Henry. “Careful with the whipped cream there, Henry. We don't want you to put on weight and miss your acrobatic stunt mark over there. A lot is a stake here, maybe I should switch you to skim milk.”

Henry tossed his finished drink, puffing out his chest in his best in his best impression of a face-off. “Please, that'll never happen.” He opened his arms with an arrogant smile. “I'm too good for this.”

LJ grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and took out a bill. “Prove it, fly boy. I have a twenty that says you can’t make that jump.”

“You’re on.”

/-/

It took less than thirty minutes to set up the recreation of what would happen in the vault in a few days. Henry gave LJ a self-satisfied smile as he climbed into the cash cart.

Everyone gathered around and Killian figured it was as good a time as any to do a run-down of the operation. The rest of them might as well benefit from the bet Henry and LJ had going on.

“Alright, here’s the rundown. On the night of the fight, Poseidon’s package will arrive at the casino at 7:15. From there, LJ needs to work his magic, get the codes we need to access the elevator. At 7:30, Ariel and Eric will work their own magic and get the cart delivered, with Henry inside, into the vault. At that point we’re all in.” He paused and glanced around the room. “All-in. We can’t back up, we can’t screw up, we can’t delay. Once the vault is closed, we have thirty minutes before he suffocates.”

“Gee, you better not fuck it up, guys, or I swear I’ll haunt you from the underworld.” Henry waved as they closed the lid and Ariel and Eric rolled the cart into the vault replica.

From the corner of his eye, Killian watched as Liam entered the warehouse, his hair in the same state of dishevel as LJ’s had been, the same spring in his step. Bloody arse. Liam stood next to him and watched intently as the action unfolded.

“When the power goes down, it means that all entries to the vault and the elevator are on lock down for two minutes. And that is when we strike.”

The lights in the vault dimmed and Henry pushed the false top of the cart open, slowly removing himself from his confines. “It is going to feel like I spent days in there,” he said as he positioned himself on top of the cart.

“Alright, flyboy,” LJ teased, “we’ve left you in the middle of the room, far away from everything. There are sensors on the floor, and you need to get from where you are to the door without activating any of them. What are you going to do, hotshot? I have twenty saying you can’t make it.”

“I have ten saying you can!” Smee called.

“You can do it, Henry! I have faith in you!” Ariel cheered, clapping her hands in excitement.

Liam’s mouth twisted into a grimace, making him look nauseated. “We should all maintain some professionalism in here, this is a serious operation.”

“They are young, Liam.” Killian shrugged, pointing at Henry with a twenty to show his support. “Especially Henry and LJ. Let them live a little.” He turned to face his brother and gave him a once over from head to toe. “Speaking of living a little, did you have a nice night?”

The tips of Liam’s ears turned pink and he shuffled his feet. “It’s not what you think.”

Killian gritted his teeth. “Please Liam, don’t insult my intelligence.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “As long as you promise me that you can handle it.”

“I can handle it,” Liam said quickly and Killian really wanted to believe his brother, but he wasn’t sure anymore.

Their conversation in a stale point, they both turned their attention at the scene in front of them. Henry closed his eyes, took a deep breath and positioned himself in a dead squat. From there he leapt, gracefully and hands first, from the cart to a ledge in one of the walls of the vault. Sitting there, he turned around and flipped off LJ. “Drinks on you tonight, loverboy.”

The rest of the crew clapped and boomed, with Nemo congratulating them all on a job well done.

“This is all well and good, but I’m sorry to say that we are fucked.”

Everyone turned to find Milah standing there, hair a mess, her blouse misbuttoned, and mascara running down her cheeks. There was decidedly no spring in her step and her face made it clear that whomever she picked up for the night hadn’t gotten the job done.

As if to confirm Killian’s assumption, she cocked an eyebrow. “And not in a good way.” She walked towards the nearest table, her high-heeled boots clicking against the tile floor and poured herself a drink. Tossing her head back, she finished off the drink in one go and poured herself another.

“Wow, Milah, slow down, it’s not even 10 am,” Killian cautioned, moving slowly towards her. He had a few choice barbs on the tip of his tongue, but though they had parted amicably and they were friendly with one another, there were certain lines a gentleman didn’t cross with someone he’d known in the biblical sense. This was one of those lines. He’d never made a comment on Milah’s hookups and he wasn’t going to start now, unless it meant problems for their operation. Taking one last step in her direction, he took the glass from her hand. “What are you talking about?”

She started to pace, speaking a mile a minute. “These idiots. It’s a universal truth that you can count on electricity companies to be the most inefficient people ever, but no… we had to hit the jackpot of the only capable ones! Who would have thought that they would do a fucking routine inspection and took notice of the fact that you can blow up their grid lines one by one like dominoes?”

There was silence as she continued to move back and forth across the room, until Nemo shot Smee a questioning look. “Do you understand what she’s talking about?”

“Some, it seems that we will be having troubles with the planned power blow up.”

“Exactly right, my friend,” Milah agreed, jabbing her finger at Smee, the open, loose sleeve of her chiffon blouse billowing around her elbow in added emphasis. “They figured out their weakness and now they are fixing it. Like I said, we’re fucked.”

Liam scrunched his face in confusion. “Wait, how do you know all of this?”

She spun and raised an eyebrow at Liam, leaving Killian feeling oddly grateful to not have that level of fury directed at him. “Where exactly do you think I was last night? Or any of the other nights?”

Liam’s cheeks flushed. “I just thought...”

She groaned in frustration. “Oh, for crying out loud! Just because you’re all terrible horn dogs doesn’t mean I am. I’ve been trailing some of the electricity engineers and technical operators. And yes, last night I actually had to sleep with one of them so I could hack into their work orders. Which is how I know about this entire thing.”

Every last person in the room had the grace to look sheepish, but none of them dared to speak up. It was Nemo who finally ventured to break the silence. “Milah, we-”

Milah waved him off. “Yeah, you can all apologize to me later, after we figure out what the hell we’re going to do if we still want to pull this job.”

Eric turned to look at Liam. “What about-”

But Ariel interrupted him, patting his hand and shaking her head. “Not enough time.”

And that was the crux of it. There was not enough time to do a bloody thing. Coming this close to the job, being able to taste it and feel it brush against their fingertips, only to have it ripped away at the very last minute. Killian wanted to smash the entire fake vault, anything to break the sense that it was standing there mocking him.

“Unless it’s a pinch.”

All eyes turned back to Milah, who was now perched over the edge of the table, nursing a third drink.

“A what now?” Henry asked.

Milah took a sip of her drink. “It’s like a heart attack for any broadband electrical circuitry.”

Killian glanced around the room, wondering if that made any bloody sense to anyone else. Given their blank expressions, he was going with nope. Sighing deeply, Milah looked at Smee. “Can you take this one? I’m knackered and I don’t have it in me.”

Smee smiled and cleared his throat. “A pinch is an electromagnetic pulse that can shut down any power source in its vicinity. Bombs do it, but it usually goes unnoticed because of the amount of destruction that usually follows.”

“So this pinch,” Nemo asked, taking charge of the scene in a way he only knew, “could take out the power of Vegas?” Milah nodded. “For how long?”

“About thirty seconds.”

Nemo’s face twisted. “That’ll do.”

“There. Is. Only. One. Little. Tiny. Problem,” Milah punctuated each word by swaying her glass back and forth before swallowing the remainder in one gulp. “There is only one pinch in the world big enough to do this, and it sure as shit ain’t here in Vegas.”

Cold sweat ran down Killian’s neck. “Please tell me it’s in a place that is currently going through a cold wave with snow storms and high winds.”

Milah gave him an apologetic smile. “California.”

Oh for fuck’s sake. “I’m not going.”

“Killian-” Liam started but Killian was not having it.

Pulling Liam to the side, he met his brother’s eyes. “Nope. Take LJ and Henry with you. Those two are going to be better at this than me. I’m going to stay here. Smee and I have to work on the final details of the plan anyway.” He left it unsaid that he was going to have Smee look into Emma’s past and figure out what it was she was looking for. But his brother didn’t need to know that. Not now. They were already working on two fronts, he didn’t need for anyone to know he was adding a third. He could handle this. Besides, it would be good for LJ and Liam to bond a little.

“You sure about LJ? He seems green,” Liam asked, his eyes shifting to where their brother was talking with Nemo and Henry.

If you spent more time talking with him than seducing your ex-wife, maybe you wouldn’t think that. Killian shook his head as he let the thought pass. “Liam, I trust him, and you should too. We brought him here to be part of the family, didn’t we? Then let him take part in it.”

“You’re right.” Liam stepped away and moved to gather Milah, LJ, Henry, Ariel and Eric, readying them to plan their next moves and set them into motion.

With their attention focused elsewhere, Killian knew it was the perfect time to put his own plan into motion. “Smee,” he called over his friend, “I need you to look into something for me.” He pulled his phone and showed Smee a picture of Emma and Gold.

Smee’s face turned pale and before he could say anything, Killian cut him off. “Aye, it’s her and she’s here working for Gold. She’s looking for something and I need to know what that is.” He tried to hide the desperation in his voice but failed in the end, his voice cracking.

“I’ll look into it,” Smee vowed solemnly and Killian felt a lump form in his throat at his friend’s loyalty.

“Thank you, mate.”

Smee moved towards his data room, ready to work his magic and Killian turned around to assess the room. Liam and LJ were having a conversation and Killian left them, for once, to work their own relationship out. If nothing else came out of this, at least they could all be a family in the end. He spotted Henry at the side of the room, still assessing the vault and doing a slow-motion rehearsal of his moves.

“Henry! Listen, take care of yourself out there.” Killian placed his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “And take care of the others. You’ll be trapped between an obnoxious couple and a family feud, sorry about that. Just keep your head in the game. Someone other than Milah has to.”

Henry chuckled. “I will, Killian, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not a kid.”

Killian’s heart grew two sizes in his chest. “Yes, you are. You can lie to those goody two shoes that had you at the circus, and you can even lie to yourself if you want, but you can’t lie to me, boy.” He gave the lad a reassuring smile. “The reasons for your secrets are your own and I’ll respect that, but you’re a part of us now, just as much as LJ is. We take care of our own.”

From the way Henry swallowed and how his eyes locked with Killian’s for a brief minute, his want to believe read clearly on his face. But as quickly as it came, his face shifted back to neutral, his hard armor sliding back into place. “I’m tougher than I look. I won’t break.” Yet again Killian cursed every single foster parent that had beaten the sense of love and family out of this kid. But, he reminded himself, one thing at the time.

“I know.” He patted Henry’s cheek. “Still, be careful, lad.”

He watched Henry leave and decided he’d had enough emotions for the day. It wasn’t even noon. He needed a drink. He was pouring himself a healthy dose of rum when he heard Milah’s voice call from behind him.

“Killian Jones, the overprotective brother. I thought that was Liam’s role.”

He took a sip of his drink, enjoying the slide of the liquid fire down his throat. “It seems I’ve taken a page from his book.”

He passed the drink to her and she took a sip. “Do I get the “you’re family to me” speech too?”

Killian’s eyes softened, his muscles sore from too many nights with little sleep. “You know you are. You wouldn’t be here with us if we didn’t feel like family to you too.” He reached for her hand. “Take care of them, Milah. Don’t let them do anything foolish.”

She gave him a small smile. “I’ll try. But with two Joneses in the mix, I can’t make any promises.”

#csbb #sea squad #lenfaz fics #cs ff #captain swan

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shireness-says · 6 years

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Playing the Part ch. 7: What is this Feeling?

Summary: As a stage manager who's clawed her way up from bottom, Emma Swan can handle just about anything thrown her way. But does that include handsome lead actor Killian Jones? A CS Broadway AU. Rated T. Also on AO3. Prologue Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6

A/N: Even more feelings this chapter - starting to seem like a pattern with me, isn’t it? Chapter title taken from Wicked, purely for the feelings reference. You’re welcome.

Thanks once again go to @snidgetsafan, my brilliant beta. Sorry I’m a mess who can’t remember to edit her own chapter, love ya bunches.

Tags: @kmomof4, @winterbaby89, @thejollyroger-writer, @mythologicalmango, @onceuponaprincessworld, @idristardis, @teamhook, @courtorderedcake, @aerica13, @revanmeetra87, @snowbellewells, @searchingwardrobes. If you want to be tagged going forward (or taken off this list - I won’t be insulted!), shoot me a message, and I’ll make it happen.

Enjoy!

He tries to keep Liam’s words in mind; he really does. But while his brother’s encouragements carry Killian through the rest of rehearsals, they’re harder to remember in the minutes before the first preview performance when there’s a crowd full of eager theater-goers filing in, excited and expecting something marvelous.

Killian should feel confident; he knows his lines inside and out, backwards and forwards, and lord knows they’ve run the show start to finish enough times in rehearsal for there to be no concerns about choreography or scene changes anymore. He doesn’t feel confident, however. In fact, if he were forced to name it, he’d say this feeling is somewhat closer to panic - pulse beating frantically, stomach churning like a storm-tossed sea, and a rising conviction that everything is about to go wrong.

Maybe under other circumstances, he’d go find a quiet corner to release his anxiety in - screaming pointlessly seems like a fantastic outlet right about now - but they really, really don’t have time for that at the moment. There’s only 25 minutes until curtain, people are starting to fill the seats, and cast and crew are still scrambling everywhere to complete last-minute prep. Even if Killian were able to find an empty corner to scream into, there’s no way he wouldn’t be heard.

Since that’s not an option, Killian’s just doing his best to keep himself distracted. Luckily - or not, depending on whose shoes you’re standing in - Belle is just as much of a nervous wreck, and Killian is able to divert his attention to comforting her. Not that he’s alone in that effort; Will Scarlet no doubt has other things he should be doing, but is doing his best to buoy Belle’s spirits instead.

“God, I feel sick,” she moans, cradling her head as best she can without messing up her wig or makeup. “Why do I want to do this again?”

“Because you’re a bloody brilliant actress, love,” Will attempts to reassure, though the attempt falls a little flat.

“It doesn’t feel like it at the moment,” she admits. “God, what if this falls apart like last time? I don’t think I can bear it if that happens.”

“Yes, well last time was largely due to the meddling of other people,” Killian reminds her. “His twisted mind has no bearing on your talent, Belle. You’re a natural for this role. Don’t let him do more damage than he already did last time by letting him get in your head.” It’s in moments like these that Killian can see exactly the damage Belle’s ex did to her, undermining her self-confidence and leaving her convinced that disaster is lurking behind every stroke of apparent luck. It sets a small flame of fury burning in his heart, one that keeps chanting that his friend deserves more. It’s as good a reason as any to set aside his own nerves - the need to perform his best not just for himself, but for Belle so that she can piece her career back together.

“He’s right, lass,” Scarlet chimes in, slinging an affectionate arm around her shoulders to draw Belle closer into a comforting embrace. “No sense letting your thoughts dwell on a bitter old bastard. He’s not worth it; you’ve got too much talent for him to touch.”

Belle offers a relieved smile at their words, and Killian can feel the tension marginally lift from the atmosphere. They fit together, he thinks, Belle and Will, like two oddly shaped puzzle pieces that shouldn’t connect but do all the same. Scarlet is all rough edges where Belle is the picture of grace, but their oversized hearts seem to still beat in time - if they’re ever willing to admit it. Killian hopes they will soon; as amusing as this flirtation is, there’s too much chemistry and potential for them not to eventually act on it, hopefully before everyone is awash in their cast-off pheromones. Belle would give Will some needed focus, and Will would in turn grant her more levity while giving her the support she’s so sorely lacked in her past. That might be the real proof of a compatible relationship, Killian thinks; two pieces that complement each other rather than match exactly.

“Now what do you say you help me make the final checks?” he asks her. “Make sure all the glow tape is bright enough for you to find in the dark?”

Belle even manages to chuckle a little, surprising them all. “Alright,” she replies, “I suppose that’s as a good a distraction as any.”

Killian could use the distraction himself, but he senses now is his cue to leave. Though this may have started as a communal attempt to buck Belle up, things seem to be veering towards a more private moment, and he’s willing to let the lovebirds have their space. Approvingly, he watches Scarlet leap to his feet to offer Belle his hand up from their seated positions before quietly slipping away. It’s not his moment to share anymore, and he may as well check in with David anyways.

As Killian begins the somewhat meandering path towards the dressing rooms, his thoughts turn to Emma, as they so often do when left to their own devices. Despite being in the same building, he’s hardly seen her all day, Emma nothing more than a blonde, black-clad blur as she runs around making last minute preparations. Is she as nervous as he is? Emma always seems like a beacon of calm collectedness, but Killian wonders if it’s all a front. Somehow, it’s comforting to think that she might be just as anxious about this performance as he is.

Whatever the case, as the saying says, the show must go on. Before Killian emerges into the well-lit hallway of the dressing rooms, he takes the chance to breathe deeply to try and shake out some of the jitters. It doubtless won’t work as well as he needs, but Liam had a point, back when he visited - actors feed off each other’s energy, and they really don’t need a theater full of fretful, neurotic performers right now. Fake it ‘til you make it, or so the saying goes.

So after a final pause to collect himself, Killian steps out into the hallway to find David and deliver what feels like the performance of a lifetime.

———

Emma’s mind feels like an ever-expanding, frantic to-do list of items both personal and professional. Honestly, she should probably turn off the former; lord knows she’s got enough to worry about with the show alone. But Neal’s been on her about Thanksgiving ever since Henry declared his intention to stay in town for the parade, despite previous agreements that he’d spend the holiday with Neal and his family. When the show first started gathering buzz, the cast had been asked to perform on the parade broadcast, and Henry is ecstatic at the prospect of actually getting good seats to watch it. They’d tried going once, years ago, but the crowds had been thick despite the cold temperatures, and their view had been somewhat obstructed. Emma doesn’t blame Henry for wanting to stick around to see the parade in person instead of on TV - she’d do the same, and Henry’s own declarations on the subject make it impossible for his dad to really argue about how Emma’s keeping him from his son.

(It also has the added bonus of Emma getting her kid on the holiday, which she’s not celebrating internally. Not at all.)

But with less than a week left before the holiday and three days before Henry’s birthday, Neal is on her to give him a weekend Henry can come up on the train for a “real family holiday”. His words. As if the dinners Emma and Henry have been attending for years on Thanksgiving with Ruby and Granny and whatever other stragglers they manage to attract don’t count. Asshole.

That’s a later problem, though, because honestly, Emma’s got more than enough on her plate right now. There’s last minute checks of the cameras streaming to backstage and reassuring Arthur that yes, his name has been spelled correctly in the program (Arthur King, for God’s sake, it’s not even hard to spell), and of course this is the moment that the headsets develop a weird static background noise, which Kristoff really needs to fix before the curtain goes up. It’s chaos, in short. Emma can only hope that she looks on the outside like she’s in control because on the inside, she’s panicking a little at the thought of all that needs doing. They’re ready; consciously, she knows this. But it’s hard to remember that when people are filling into the velvet-covered seats for the first time and the only thoughts left in Emma’s head are about all the things that could possibly go wrong.

When the lights go down, though, all those thoughts disintegrate. As backwards as it sounds, the actual show has always been the easy part for Emma. No matter what happens onstage, what’s done is done. If something goes wrong, all she can do is react and try to mitigate any fallout. There’s an odd comfort to that, the sheer transience of this art form. All Emma can do from her perch is call the cues, and leave it to her assistant stage managers to put out fires as necessary.

Thankfully, there’s been none of that tonight. On the crew side of things, the scene changes are running as smooth as butter. Emma’s trained her crew well; she’ll have to buy them all drinks after opening night if this keeps up.

The same can’t quite be said of the cast, however. There’s always nerves associated with the first few performances; Emma’s always thought it’s part of the reason for previews. Killian is visibly tense, however, at least to Emma. He’s been such an outstanding actor during rehearsals that Emma had kind of forgotten exactly how inexperienced he is. He’d essentially been plucked out of chorus and supporting roles and shoved straight into a leading part, this role undeniably his largest to date. It makes sense that he’d be feeling the pressure of that. Even if Emma can spot his nerves from her perch in the booth, she’s not too concerned about the audience picking up on that same discomfort; if they do, they’ll likely write it off as a Darcy mannerism. The character is supposed to be socially awkward, famously so. It’ll work.

Emma only hopes his nerves won’t manifest in a more visibly obvious way.

———

Killian hadn’t held much hope that getting on stage would help his nerves, and on that front, he’s not disappointed. If he looks half as uncomfortable onstage as he feels, he must be quite the sight. Knowing that Darcy is supposed to look a little out of place is little consolation. The whole while, he can’t help but feel like a fraud, like someone they just plucked off the street, stuffed him into these fancy clothes, and shoved onto the stage. The weeks and months of preparation don’t matter, the conscious knowledge that he’s prepared for this doesn’t matter; suddenly, the crushing weight of his inexperience smashes him right in the face. And it’s terrifying.

He’s making it through, for the most part, reassuring himself the whole while that this will get easier the more he does it. It helps that the first act is much less demanding than the second, with the letter, Pemberley, and all the rest of it occurring after the intermission.

But then, when they hit the Netherfield parlor scene, the worst case scenario happens.

He’s supposed to banter back and forth with Belle about what makes a lady ‘accomplished’, but as soon as he opens his mouth, the words are gone. Missing in action. Not to be retrieved by the means of mortals. He’s practiced these words over and over, rehearsed them on this very stage, practiced them with Henry in his dressing room, but that doesn’t matter. He’s forgotten every single one of them, right here in front of an honest-to-god audience.

Shit.

Killian isn’t really sure how he gets himself out of that mess; he doesn’t have a conscious memory of it. He manages to force out some words, he knows, but he couldn’t tell you what they were. Doubtless the wrong ones. The only thing he’s certain of is that Belle and Regina must have saved his arse back there; he’ll have to send them flowers after he’s inevitably fired for absolute incompetency.

That’s the obvious outcome, he concludes, waiting backstage before his next entrance. Clearly, he can’t handle the barest expectations of his job; the obvious answer is firing. It’s been a nice three months and a performance, now he’ll go live out the rest of his career in shame and obscurity. Maybe find a nice job where he doesn’t ever have to speak in front of people again. Yeah. That sounds nice - not to mention, more appropriate for his obvious lack of public speaking skills.

Somehow, he manages to make it through the rest of the first act without any further snafus - he suspects by sheer fear alone. Even though the applause is suitably loud, he can’t help but feel that it’s not intended for him, and is instead in appreciation of his scene partners or the supporting players. It’s with a heavy heart that he all but slinks offstage during intermission with the full intention to go have a breakdown in the nearest uncluttered corner.

———

Ok, Killian’s little onstage brain fart wasn’t exactly the most convenient thing on Earth. But at the same time, Belle and Regina covered it like the pros they were, and the audience doesn’t seem to have cared. Really, Emma doubts that anyone outside of the production even noticed his goof. Of course, based on her experience with Killian, she also doubts that he knows that, or that it will keep him from beating himself up over it.

Sure enough, they’re barely a minute into intermission - by all accounts, when Emma should get a little break while the rest of the crew sets the stage for the second act - before Mulan calls her over the headset.

“Hey Boss?” she starts, weirdly hesitant. “Jones is off sulking in a corner. He’s not in the way or anything, just… what do you want us to do about him?”

Emma sighs heavily, though she somehow manages to repress the eye roll that’s almost an automatic response by this point in her life. “I’ll be down in a sec to… I don’t know, give him a pep talk or something. Where’s he camped out?”

“In that weird unusable corner backstage left.”

“Ok thanks. Just hold on a moment, and I’ll be right there.”

“Sure thing, Emma.”

She tells herself as she makes her way down the back stairs that it’s all in service of the production, but it’s more personal than that. Killian is her… something. Not paramour or suitor, obviously, but… friend? Maybe? Whatever label he wears, he’s special, and that makes it Emma’s particular duty to build him back up during what is undoubtedly an episode of self-doubt for him.

Sure enough, he’s right where Mulan said he would be, sitting in what looks to be an uncomfortable position on the low brick ledge at the foot of the wall, head cradled in his hands. Frankly, he makes quite the pathetic picture.

“What’s up with you?” she asks bluntly, causing Killian to jerk his head up in wide-eyed surprise, before deflating just as quickly.

“I’m so sorry, Emma,” he apologizes miserably. “I know I’ve gone and messed the whole thing up. Whatever reprimand you’re about to deliver, I completely understand.”

Emma snorts in response to that self-flagellation. It’s apparent that he’s deep into the self-loathing portion of his evening. “Ok, well, you clearly don’t, because this isn’t that big a deal.”

Killian scoffs, clearly skeptical, though in his costume it has more the effect of a kid throwing a fit on Halloween. “Don’t patronize me, Swan,” he warns.

“I’m not!” she insists. “What do you think previews are for?”

“Publicity,” he states with utter certainty, looking at Emma like she’s the one who’s lost her mind.

“Ok, yeah, eventually,” she concedes, “but honestly, they’re mostly about working out the kinks. And your little… incident today is just another kink to iron out.”

“I think that’s selling it short, Swan.”

“I swear, Killian, it’s not. This happens. The beauty of live theater is that what’s done is done - there’s no sense dwelling on it. And honestly, the audience didn’t even notice.”

“You noticed,” he points out obstinately.

“Yeah, but I’ve read the script, like, twenty thousand times. I have started literally running this show in my sleep. I’m supposed to know when you mess up,” she replies. “Look, that’s not the point. The point is, no one out there cares,” Emma emphasizes, sweeping a hand in the general direction of the house. “A lot of shows take previews as a chance to see what does and doesn’t work in the script, and then change the lines before opening night. Some people literally come to the previews so they can see what changed. If anyone comes back later and notices, they’ll just think it was a script change.”

“Really?” Killian asks, looking up with wide eyes in a manner that’s almost childlike, reminding Emma a little of Henry when he was little and just beginning to discover all the wonderful facts the world had to offer.

“Really. They’ll think it’s a cool Easter egg, or whatever the kids call it. Now if you’re ready to stop moping around, we’ve got a show to finish. Liam wouldn��t want you to be sulking back here and fixating on things you can’t change.”

“That’s low, Swan, dragging a man’s brother into this,” he chides, but he’s standing up all the same with the hint of a smile on his face as he attempts to brush the dust off his rear (which Emma does not stare at, thank you very much).

“Yeah, well, I did what I had to,” she retorts before continuing in a softer tone. “You’ll be ok? No need to drag someone over to watch you?”

“I’ll be fine, Swan. Now go, you’ve got a show to run, and don’t have time for my nonsense in the least.”

“If you’re sure,” she says, already heading for the back stairs. He’s right; they’re due to start any minute. But she really does think he’ll be alright - can see it in the determined nod he makes to himself before setting off back towards his dressing room to change coats in record time. She hadn’t seen this side of Killian before, the intense self-doubt, but all her experience with his hardworking and easygoing nature suggests he’ll bounce back.

The show will go on, and Emma thinks she’s even managed to convince Killian of that too.

(She sure hopes so, at least - otherwise, they’re all screwed.)

———

He’s still not fully confident, walking back onstage for the second act, but he does feel slightly better. With Emma’s words in mind, he’s at least able to appreciate that the applause maybe is for him after all - though he’d have to be truly dense to believe the response after his solo was intended for anyone else. Under other circumstances, he might feel guilty that he forgot his brother’s words, or that he instead latched onto the reassurances of his crush, but desperate times had called for desperate measures, and words of wisdom are appreciated from any and every corner.

Killian’s not sure if it’s the change in attitude or just a change in perspective that causes it, but the second act really does feel like it goes better. With Emma’s reassurance that the audience has no idea when things go wrong ringing in his ears, paired with the freshly remembered promise Liam extracted from him to not get too stuck in his own head, Killian is able to reclaim some of the illusion that things are just like in rehearsals, without the pressure of a paying audience. It certainly can’t be called a perfect show, but he likes to think that he and Belle made for an engaging onstage couple and salvaged the mistakes from the first half.

The audience certainly seems to agree, if the curtain call applause is anything to go by. Belle, of course, receives the largest round of applause - deservedly so, if you ask Killian - but he receives his own share of whistles and cheers. The sound of their audience’s response fills Killian with a warm glow of pride in what he’s accomplished, even despite the rough start, and helps him remember why he started on this adventure in the first place.

After everyone’s taken their bows, the cast raises their arms towards the booth in the traditional thanks for the crew’s efforts. It a compulsory gesture, one countless productions have repeated day in and day out, but it’s entirely heartfelt on Killian’s behalf - especially after the reassurance Emma offered him at intermission. He’ll thank her later with his words, but for now, he stares towards the bright lights and the woman he knows is there, even if he can’t see her, and hopes she understands just how deep his thanks truly run.

———

Despite any proverbial rough seas, Emma’s pleased with how the first preview went. Yes, there’s still plenty that needs working on, but this whole thing is intended as a learning curve, and she has faith that by the time the show formally opens, they’ll have smoothed everything out to a seamless final product. She’ll make it happen.

In the meantime, there’s still plenty to do. The stage has already been reset, and the stagehands dismissed for the night (though Emma thinks she caught a glimpse of Will Scarlet hanging around a few minutes ago, likely he’s stuck around for reasons more personal than professional), but Emma likes to double check everything, just in case. Call it a personal habit, one leftover from her own stagehand days. Plus, she likes to take a quick breeze through the dressing rooms to make sure nothing important got left behind - or, god forbid, on the floor, where Ms. Blue will make that clicky noise about how no one is taking proper care of her costumes. Emma would like to avoid that outcome if at all possible - somehow that tiny woman is deceptively intimidating.

She thinks Kristoff might still be around here somewhere, messing with the mics and whatever else he does - some aspects of sound design and tech are still a real mystery to Emma - so she detours to Dorothy’s perch on stage right to grab her wireless headset before wandering back to the dressing rooms. Kristoff mostly managed to fix the static before curtain, but there was still an annoying little buzz the whole time. He probably already knows about it and it’s on his own personal to-do list, but Emma figures that bringing the devices to him wouldn’t hurt. A helping hand and a reminder all in one, if you will. It’s well within her authority anyways.

She never makes it to the podium, however, as Jones suddenly steps out from the hallway to the dressing rooms, dressed once again in his street clothes. As much as she’s ogled him in costume, Emma has to admit - he’s just as good-looking in a henley and plaid. It was just as true before she saw him in costume for the first time, but knowing how well those breeches display his ass just adds another level of appreciation for that same ass in jeans.

“Can I speak with you for a moment, Swan?” he requests.

“Yeah, of course,” she replies. “Is here fine, or…?” There’s no one around, but still, if he wants to have any sort of official, job-related private discussion, they should probably go find a room with a door and no chance of interruptions.

“Oh, yes, here’s just fine,” he smiles, as if he read her mind. “I just wanted to thank you, Swan, for earlier.”

“Oh, that isn’t necessary —” Emma begins, but Killian firmly interrupts her, hand raised in a halting motion.

“It is to me,” he insists. “You may not think you provided much of a service, but to me, your words were...indispensable. Just what I needed in that moment. You may not have noticed, Swan,” he chuckles, “but I was a bit of a mess back there.”

Despite his heavy words to start the sentence, his self-deprecating teasing at the end lends some needed levity to the exchange, allowing Emma to relax ever-so-slightly despite her continuing discomfort with being thanked.

“Yeah, maybe a little bit,” she laughs, causing a wide smile to break out on his face. God, it’s a nice smile. Goes great with those street clothes she was checking out a minute ago.

“Oi, thanks for that,” he teases. “I can say that, you can’t.” An attempt at a wink follows, making Emma laugh in turn. It’s hard not to - his idea of a wink is closer to a facial spasm, both eyes closing instead of one and eyebrows doing the work of mimicking a wink. “My point is, I needed a little kick in the pants. Thank you for doing so kindly and gracefully.”

Emma snorts. “‘Gracefully’? That seems a bit far.”

“Well I don’t know,” he defends. “You were fairly tactful about it. Or at least didn’t directly tell me to pull my head out of my arse. I’d call that a graceful approach.”

Honestly, it’s hard to take his defense seriously when he phrases it like that. The barely suppressed smile, still evident in the creases around his eyes, doesn’t help either. “Still, graceful?” she demands. “That’s, like the last word I’d associate with myself.”

“I don’t know, Swan, I certainly think you live up to your namesake,” Killian responds, far more earnestly than Emma would have expected. Is that really how he sees her? That’s… weird, but there’s something nice about that knowledge too. It’s comforting to know that at least one person who’s not her kid thinks so highly of her.

“Is there anything else you need?” she asks, quickly changing the subject. If Killian’s face falls a little bit at the end of their bantering - because God, that’s what it was, wasn’t it? - then Emma pretends not to notice. Or care.

“Er, no. That’ll do it. Again, thank you.” There’s a moment of empty silence before he nods resolutely. “Have a good evening, Swan.” And just like that, he’s gone again.

Emma’s struck with a small pang of guilt over his sudden departure. They were kind of having a moment, after all, before she abruptly cut it short. But it’s for the best, isn’t it? Keep the professional boundaries, and not get too close?

No, the thing to remember about today is not two emotionally vulnerable conversations with Killian, but how well the show went, and how much the audience liked it. That’s it. End of story.

(Even if those blue eyes are wide enough to get lost in, and his ass really does look great in a variety of pants.)

#cs ff #my writing #Playing the Part #What is this Feeling?#Broadway AU #stage manager!Emma #actor!Killian #and a little bit of panic

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worrentigre · 6 years

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Rhuli’a’s trial pt.4 Determination (RP Scene)

Rhuli’a has passed a trial of speed and a trial of agility. The young man still has a way to go before he can fulfill his life long dream of becoming a Fist of Rhalgr. Tired and wounded, he presses on. What further trials await the young man in the next arena? He’s about to find out...

((https://youtu.be/ICKrtbT3PqE <---scene BGM))

As Rhuli'a enters the room, a stone door behind him slams shut. The room is dark, and starts to brighten slowly with a hazy, pinkish ambience that comes from nowhere in particular and everywhere at the same time. From the three walls ahead, three ghostly figures begin to emerge. They seem blue and whispy, but are very much the souls of fallen Fists of Rhalgr, as it can be determined by the temple uniforms they wear. The one on the left holds a spear while the one on the right is carrying a sword. All three say and do nothing, save for stare at the Miqo'te, waiting. Whether it be a friendly greeting or aggressive attack, or anywhere in between, they would not act first. Rhuli'a frowned.

He knew this wasn't the place for politics. He knew he shouldn't open his mouth to converse with potentially, century-long dead. Nonetheless, he did. "Does it not trouble you so that you remain bound to this temple, brothers? Forever damned to languish in its halls, as hallowed as they may be, caged? A cage is a cage is a cage. So suffers those who walk the path of Light."

Turning, he began to pace, quiet as he dwelt on his next words. Even if offered a reply, he would continue to monologue, almost grateful for this respite after all the trials before. "Chains. We should seek to break them in all things. Constraints are an unnatural part of our existence Liberty is all that matters. From kings, from blood, from..."

The Keeper paused, looking to the ghosts. "Life? Mayhap this be only a lesson..." Rhuli'a shook his head. "Nay, Worren clings to tradition. His is the way of bright. Unyielding, static light. A hell I would see none suffer in."

Dropping into a combat stance slowly, Rhuli'a faced his opponents, mismatched eyes traveling between the trio of undead. His left arm extended almost as if to ward off his opponents. Right arm firmly cocked, flickers of aetherical lightning traveling over the limb erratically. "I will deliver you and yours from your torment, spirits, if I can. Drive your proud souls away from this star and into the great, slumbering Dark. Destruction. Just as Rhalgr teaches. Wills it. Demands it."

The two apparitions on the sides both give a small snort and look over to the one at the end of the room. All three are highlander Hyur, standing tall and at ease. The third stands with a blank expression. He then speaks flatly, voice deep and gravely. "So be it." Is all he says, before walking to the center. The other two follow suit and all get into a combat stance. As the first reaches the center of the platform, Rhuli'a loosened his posture for just a moment. And struck like a viper as soon as the other two stepped forward. To the aggressor goes the victory. Lightning flew across his person as he delivered a salvo of blows at his phantasmal foes, a mighty war cry of his name loosing itself from his lips. "Kanjun! Kanjun!"

The three ghostly figures were obviously much more experienced, and it showed. They could have struck back, but did not. Yet. They simply deflected any blow that came their way, and worked in tandem as if they all were one, even blocking strikes meant to for another. If a kick comes out from Rhuli'a, another kick would come from a different ghost to knock the leg away. If a punch is thrown, a spear stick would lash out to displace the incoming fist. The unarmed monk speaks as this goes on. "Why are you here, young one?" Rhuli'a didn't answer at first, seeking out a way to overwhelm the trio. However, as time went on, his pace slowed, and eventually, he stopped altogether. Ears pinning back, he rose to their challenge. "To become the next stepping stone, why else? Gyr Abania needs strong people inhabiting her. This is a way to become strong."

"Oh, really? And how do you think you will accomplish that?" The apparition crosses his arms, the other two still holding their weapons at the ready. "You speak as if you were there, like you know everything. You speak of light and shadow. We are all Fists of Rhalgr. Nothing more. Nothing less. Except those who are unproven, such as you." He looks on and goes quiet, waiting for a rebuttal. Rhuli'a scoffed. "To pass these trials. To walk the path of Shadow, of discord. Never compromise in my beliefs. You think I've not studied why we fell? Our order was nearly exterminated because of those who sided with the ruling family. Sold themselves out as whores for naught but a hoax! An attempt to garner station when we, the Fists, had no need of such frivolities. And again, do they rally, with their thrice-cursed 'structure'. Poisoned tongues bidding all to become subservient, to involve themselves in an order which will ally with the state again."

Tossing his head, Rhuli'a thrust his finger forward, accusingly. "And I'll not let that happen. There must be a balance. I'll not see the Art extinguished by those who pursue a power other than that which the Destroyer offers."

"Bold words, whelp. Yet, you do not see clearly what you speak of. You speak of balance, yet here you are persecuting what which you do not even know. I hope your master knows what he or she is doing." He then turns his back on Rhuli'a and begins to walk away. He then glances back. "Learn some humility, and the meaning of brotherhood. Then maybe, Rhalgr may grant you what you seek." He says this coldly, and continues walking away. The other two, however, remain. They still stay ready to fight. "Coward! Face me!" Rhuli'a broke into a run, rage in his eyes. Snapping out of his anger, he noticed the other two incorporeal foes still at the ready. Shirking from his path momentarily, he charged the one on the left, a kick aimed dead center towards the chest of the ghost.

The apparition was of course ready, using his free hand to push the offending leg away by stepping a bit to the side and parrying the leg into the other direction. The other with the spear would move fluidly in tandem with his partner to swing the stick out low and sweep Rhuli'a off of his other foot, before the both of them point the tips of their weapons down at the Miqo'te's face.

The other turns as he makes it to the wall on the other side, and leans against it. He begins to phase through it, but does not leave just yet. "You speak of chains, yet it is you who are chained by your own pride and rage. You spoke a name. Worren. Who is he to you?" The Keeper tumbled on his back with an indignant grunt. The cold stone dug into him as he narrowed his eyes at his two assailants. Looking towards the departing spirit, he spat out. "Naught but a teacher for now. Nothing more. Nothing less." Swinging his legs under him, Rhuli'a attempted to knock the spirits off-balance, to clear space for him to regain his footing.

The two jumped back to avoid the sweep, and they turned to follow the other. Whom of which finally broke out into an expression other than a blank face and tone. He chuckles a bit. "Heh heh heh. Such fire and anger. This Worren has a lot of work ahead of him to temper you into a proper fist for the destroyer. When next you see him, ask him what it means to be a fist." He nods, and phases through the wall. The other two become intangible as they also make their way to the wall. "Beasts, stonework, and now ghosts..." Rhuli'a knelt down, sitting as he found himself alone once again. Thinking upon the words the ancient ones had imparted upon him, his brow fell. Furrowing into an expression of contempt, he shook his head. "Something to dwell on later..."

The Miqo'te looked towards his right hand. Callused, scarred, and bruised from today's tribulations, he slowly closed it into a fist. Pushing off the ground, he cast his gaze around the chamber searchingly. Surely there was a puzzle or drawing he must follow. If not... His eyes fell to the door next, gold and yellow both regarding it with impatience.

The door, unlike the others, was devoid of any moss or markings of any kind. If touched, it would be observed to move freely to be pushed in and slid to the side. There would be no puzzles or reactions. Rhuli'a gave a small smile. It was probably the first sign of joy the Miqo'te had shown throughout the entire encounter. Walking past the threshold, his features fell once again into a grim nature. Set for the challenge ahead.

There is a short hallway here that leads outside. In this outside area, the stones are covered in moss all over. Further down the path, there is a short staircase that leads to stone double doors that are closed. To the right of this door is another chest sitting there. If opened, there would be a pair of short armored gloves waiting inside. Memories of the moss was still fresh in his mind. Moving carefully, the Keeper tiptoed past the most obvious parts, gingerly passing over them. As he started down the steps, Rhuli'a's eyes snapped to the chest with a hungry gleam to them. Another piece! Barely able to contain his excitement, the main threw it open, starting slightly at the all-too-familiar appearance of the contents.

Where the other pieces of his outfit were tossed aside too fit the new, Rhuli'a took his time with these. Making sure every strap was fastened, locking them into place. Turning over his wrists, he flexed slightly, a satisfied hum coming from his throat unexpectedly. Feeling as if he could take on the entire star and win, he turned to the door next. Waiting to see if there was anything needed to be done.

The door remains as is, though under the moss, there is a symbol of a fist etched into it's surface. There is an outline drawn around the fist, as if it were radiating a light, or power. Nothing else happens. No traps or anything. Yet. Only silence and the sounds of rushing water of the nearby falls and birds. And for some time, it remained that way.

Gazing upon the stone, Rhuli'a blinked slowly, almost in a trance. Was he to...? Clenching his fist, he stood back, allowing some power to flow through him. With a lurch, he struck forward, his knuckles coming within an ilm of the door. The symbol faintly glowed in reaction, then dimmed. Again, Rhuli'a made over exaggerated motions with his limbs. Aether built and flowed through his body like a river's current in a storm. And again, the Keeper struck towards the door.

Again. Again.

Frustrated. Rhuli'a let the natural haze of his anger flow through him. Almost like his Aether, it began to soak through him, his breathing become more and more focused, sharp and resolute. Finally, he stepped towards the door in a strange, shuffle, like he was approaching an enemy.

A feint, two quick palm thrusts...

And his right hand, almost soaked in Aether, trembled, and was bolted forward, squarely into the middle of the passage. The door's symbol faintly glowed each time he struck out. The aether was definitely affecting it, but it just wasn't enough. Over and over, it remained as it was, until Rhuli'a struck out hard against the door. This time, the strong contact had a much more noticeable affect, with the symbol glowing brightly this time. It fades again, this time slower with the promise of progress. Yet still, the doors remained closed. The Keeper blanched. The last strike he delivered had taken quite a lot out of him. However, if the only way out was through...

Blow after blow was rained against the unyielding stone. Rhuli'a's aether transferring violently into the frame as he continued his assault. The constant strikes keep the symbol glowing this time, going brighter and brighter until it finally it bursts into a blinding light before fading. Then there is a short rumble and the two doors slide open, revealing a square platformed area.

TO BE CONTINUED

@the-original-rel @moralistcyclops @syelirakaisuri @thornedblossom @flamesonhammersmith @crooked-tarot-rp @astralagency @valentinoix @interdimensionalpeacekeeping @florihilda @dynamitecowboy @chiyohoshi @thetaleofoldmanmaruud @supermeganick @grandmastream @jancisstuff @berrodarmstrong @nhara-tia @cfs-melkire

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #monk rp #worren #Rhuli'a Kanjun

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deanfosters · 3 years

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Ancestry Academy: Check New State Classes and Short Courses

They Still Live a journey into the discovery of yourself. What does it mean to White, European, Black, Native American, and others? How am I different from Denver artists? Alisa Anthony and Thomas Detour Evans ask all these questions that have shed light on a dialogue about heritage through a picture sequence pairing African art relics, from the Paul Hamilton collection with African Americans from the Denver community.

Each sketch is designed to make a new conversation on ancestral heritage and origins and tells the story of the Ancestry DNA results. Ancestry took the interview of Paul Hamilton, an African Studies academic and previously was Colorado State Representative and famous collector of African masks. African Art asks him why this display is so difficult to the conversation of ancestral origins and identity.

While gathering African art, one of the discoveries was that the origin of Modern art was African art. Paul says Picasso and other’s artwork were influenced. Amidst Paul’s prized work is a Dan collection that boosts nearly 100 masks that are costly in the art world. Another workpiece is Buddha Dogo that originates from Mali. The Dogons have rich and deep scientific and astrological knowledge from more than 500 years ago.

Paul admits, I learned to despise Africa, as it was thought to be uncivilized. It was not unless he began studying history, finally becoming a history professor at college, he started a life-changing journey to discover the truth on Africa and its deep and rich history. Based on the research, Paul went to write African People’s contribution to World Civilizations.

After taking the Ancestry DNA test, Paul confirmed his ancestors or forefathers were from West Africa, and coincidentally, a large part of his art collection belongs from this region, including pieces from Liberia, Nigeria, Mali, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and the Republic of Congo. Before the Ancestry DNA journey, Paul heard from family legends who suggested his great-grandmother was half Native American, but the DNA result does not provide any sign.

Paul was not surprised by the effect of European Ancestry that seems in many results and can use his DNA results to provide support to his previous research. Paul says this is unique that provides an opportunity for all people to examine how their ancestors affect us, whether we know it or not. By presenting traditional African art in a modern setting, Paul hopes it will motivate positive conversations for others who are interested in discovering their ethnic heritage. Despite the political climate, Paul hopes that They Still Live show will be a small step towards progress and moving our nation forward.

Paul had dedicated his life to the arts and conservation of some of the finest works from Africa. Outside the statues and masks, The Hamilton Library Collection includes nearly newspapers, magazines, audiotapes, 2,000 books, videotapes, and educational materials focused on African, African-American cultural, and historical issues and concerns. The collection includes 1960’s magazines (Muhammad Speaks, Negro Digest, Black Panther newspapers, and Black Scholar) and newspapers and the journal from 1916-1970. There will be an opening reception for the They Still Live exhibition and Ancestry DNA results for each model will be announced on reception.

Ancestry DNA results uncover 46 years of questions

Leslie H. was adopted in 1970 after her adopted parents were not able to have a child. It was a dinner party one night, and members discussed the possibility of adoption when another guest said he knew a woman wanting to give up a baby. After a few months, Leslie was picked up from the hospital by the family attorney and taken to her parents three days old. Leslie said she knew that she was an adopted child, and my parents never hide it from me. She added I was brought up in a loving home with loving parents and two sisters.

My mother got pregnant after adopting me, and they had a healthy pregnancy. My mother delivered a baby after 13 months after I was born. I was the only adopted child in the home. Due to adoption, she thought that finding out the identity of my parents would be impossible. After Leslie’s daughter was born in the 1990’s, she started to find out the truth about her biological family.

After successfully requesting the court, they released the records. She got the name of her biological family with the help of a third party. After discovering her mother had remarried, Leslie tried to trace her married surname, so Leslie put her research on hold. She started her research by signing up to Ancestry and took the Ancestry DNA test. Her results offered her ethnicity estimate and connected her with cousins.

Having only her mother’s married surname and maiden name, she messaged a few matches, and one of those matches confirmed that she knew her biological parents as a child and provided their names. She finally got to know her biological father’s name. She matched the information provided by her cousin, and from the Ancestry DNA test, she talked with large online adoption databases only to find out that she had half-siblings from her parental side looking for her.

Within hours, Leslie received a call from her half-sister, Jessica. Their stories merge, and Jessica said they were also looking for Leslie for years. Leslie came to know that her biological father had passed away, but she had two younger half-brothers. They are in touch, and Leslie now knows more of her cousins and several aunts. After discovering her parental family, Leslie went to social media to see if she could not find her birth mother.

Leslie messaged a woman whose profile matched her surname. The woman replied and confirmed that she was her biological mother and provided loads of family history. This past January, Leslie met her half-brother, and a few weeks later, she met her biological mother in EI Paso, and they spent some hours together. It has been a fantastic journey, and it was not possible without the help of Ancestry DNA and Ancestry DNA testing. Leslie says I will be grateful forever.

Ancestry releases State Classes and Short Courses

Ancestry Academy had released new classes and short courses. We will be giving you quick tips on one topic in 4-5 minutes or less and start with some basics of the US. Federal Census.

Pre 1850- Census

1850 Census- An Intro

1890 Census- Where is it?

1880 Census- An overview

Introduction to the 1940 Census

You can watch these short courses and classes free, and you need to create a login if you are watching Ancestry Academy Classes for the first time. If you have ancestors from Vermont, Michigan, Illinois, and Massachusetts. See the premium classes below:

The Green Mountain State: Vermont Research with Catherine Desmarais, CGsm

Illinois- Research in the Prairie state with David McDonald

Michigan: Family history in the Wolverine state with Kris W Rzepczynski, MLS, MA

Massachusetts: Research in the Bay State with Marian Pierre-Louis

Hi Guys! My name is Marc and I’m an Archaeologist. I live in Texas USA. Things about history have always fascinated me. That’s why I chose to activate my Ancestry DNA kit. It helped me learn key details about the birthplace and journey of my ancestors. I’ll recommend it to all the people who are curious about their family history. Visit To know More: Ancestrydna.com/activate

Source: Ancestry Academy: Check New State Classes and Short Courses

#ancestry #ancestrydna #dna #ancestry login

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bentonpena · 3 years

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Hitoki's High-tech bong lets you smoke weed with a laser, and it's as cool as it sounds

https://bit.ly/3aqhlNE Hitoki's High-tech bong lets you smoke weed with a laser, and it's as cool as it sounds https://bit.ly/3aq4U4e

It's a freaking laser bong • Sleek design • Easy operation • Smooth hits

It's not cheap • It's top heavy and can tip over easily

The Hitoki Trident is crowd-pleaser and an extremely unique way to consume cannabis. It's fun, it hits smooth, and did i mention it's a freaking laser bong?

The information contained in this article is not a substitute for, or alternative to information from a healthcare practitioner. Please consult a healthcare professional before using any product and check your local laws before making any purchasing decisions.

As new states push to legalize cannabis use for adults there are now more ways than ever to consume marijuana, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a cooler way to light up than with the Hitoki Trident.

Simply put, the Hitoki Trident is a bong that uses a laser as its combustion process — that's right, it's a freaking laser bong. Is it a little ridiculous and over-the-top? Yes. But the Trident also delivers on its promise of providing a unique and smooth smoking experience that feels like it's from the future.

What is the Hitoki Trident laser bong?

The product is the brainchild of brothers Jack and Joe Tran. Jack told me that he dreamed up the idea of using a laser after smoking a joint and thinking about those cheap dollar store lasers toys he and his brother used to buy as kids. But this is no dollar store bong. The Trident is sleek and modern and more like a piece of art. While typical bongs from blown-glass have always been considered a work of functional art, the Hitoki Trident feels a little more mature.

That's right, it's a freaking laser bong.

The Trident arrived on my doorstep in a small reusable box, and it sort of resembled the packaging that comes with a really fancy bottle of whiskey. The corner of my box was a little smashed, but the packaging was secure enough that the Trident was undamaged. As per the instructions, I immediately plugged in the bong to the supplied USB-C charging cable and returned less than two hours later to a fully charged device.

The whole vibe from Hitoki is to create a more sophisticated smoking experience, and the company is not shy in putting that message forward. The inside of the box is inscribed with the words "Elevate yourself," "Elevate your surroundings," and "Elevate society." Along with the tools and accessories necessary to use the Trident, a grinder plate about the size of a credit card with the letter "E" etched into it was also included in the box. (Previously the device was known as the Saber, and the company called itself Elevareco before rebranding to the Hitoki Trident.)

Getting started with the laser bong

Along with the device itself, the box also includes a charger, a silicone hose with a mouthpiece, and a poker. After charging the device, set up is pretty simple, but you'll want to watch this video Hitoki has on its YouTube page that describes how you unscrew the water reservoir, as well as how and where you load your flower into the small chamber.

The Trident operates like other vapes on the market, and it only has one button on the top to operate it. Pushing the button five times turns the Trident on and off, and this is a great safety feature for keeping the device out of the wrong hands.

The power button on the top glows different colors depending on which temperature setting you want, pressing the button three times cycles between those temperatures. Blue is the hottest temperature intended for "essential oil infused blends." Green is the medium setting and is supposed to be used for "fresh herbal blends." And finally red is the lowest setting and is ideal for "dryer looser blends and for better taste," according to the instruction manual that came with the Hitoki. (You can also use the Trident as an aromatherapy device, but I did not test out that function.)

If I'm being picky here this was a little confusing for me as I typically associate the color red with the hottest temperature, but cycling through the temperatures is easy enough and there are only three so my stoner brain quickly adjusted.

You have two choices for actually firing the laser once you choose the temperature setting. Hold the power button and give the laser a moment to heat up, or tap the button twice and the laser will fire for nine seconds. If you choose to hold the power button, the laser will shut off after nine seconds as to not overheat the device.

But before you start firing lasers into your weed you need to load the device with flower and fill the lower chamber with water. This is a bong after all. The top of the Tident has a satisfying interlock that clicks when you open and close it. Considering this is a relatively high-powered laser capable of igniting things, this is a necessary and welcome feature, and the laser will not fire unless the "FDA standard interlocks" are properly closed.

On the side of the Hitoki there is a warning label that has the following message:

DANGER CLASS 4 VISIBLE LASER RADIATION WHEN OPEN AND INTERLOCK DEFEATED AVOID EYE OR SKIN EXPOSURE TO DIRECT OR SCATTERED RADIATION.

There is also another warning sticker on the device that has a red DANGER label before it. "Only use smoking material and water as defined by the manufacture. Dangerous laser reflection can occur from misuse."

Simply put: Don't fuck around with the laser.

Thankfully the Hitoki has a "laser shield" surrounding the combustion chamber and small window where you can see the laser fire, which will protect your eyes from the laser as long as the device is locked. This allows you to actually see the laser fire, which is really cool. Overall that has been has been my impression with the Trident laser bong — it's just really cool.

Loading the water

The acrylic base for the bong unscrews to allow you to add a small bit of water to the reservoir that will ultimately help cool the smoke and vapor before you inhale. It was somewhat difficult to unscrew and it made a terrible noise once I tightened it back up, but ultimately I see this as a positive because bong water is one of the grossest things on planet earth, so I can appreciate a bong that keeps the water contained.

Pressing the ignite button for the Hitoki Trident laser bong.

The instruction manual says to only use a small amount of water and fill it to "the line located near the bottom of the stem to prevent water from being sucked up into the air hose" when you take a hit. But the line is sorta hard to see, and I wish the reservoir where you fill the water had a marking on it so you don't have to guess or go back and forth to get just the right level of water. It's important to note here that the water level really is quite small, which may be confusing for bong users that typically use more water.

Loading the chamber with herbs

One you have the water loaded up you can unlock the combustion chamber and load in your fresh herbs. The ceramic loading chamber unscrews from the device, which is helpful because it is quite small. Hitoki recommends finely grinding your herbs, and to not overpack the chamber for even hits. It also suggests that you use the end of the included poker tool to pack your herbs flat for the laser to hit — but not too tight. This makes more sense once you use the bong, as the laser is, well, a laser, so the area that it combusts is relatively small.

Once the chamber is loaded you need to keep the Trident upright, which is pretty standard for a bong filled with water. Regardless, the laser shoots down from the top of the bong into the loading chambers, so if you tilt the bong too much it is possible for your cannabis to fall out and it will not be combusted.

Smoking your buds

One you figure out the Trident it's actually pretty simple to use. Just tap the button twice and the laser kicks on just a moment later. Other combustion methods like vaping via a heated chamber can be annoying because they take time to heat up, and a huge bonus from using a laser is that it is immediate. No more awkwardly waiting, the Trident immediately lets you pull smoke from the combustion chamber, into the water reservoir, and through the supplied hose.

And speaking of the hose, I absolutely hated it. It's long and awkward, which may be OK for passing it between friends, but ultimately it just got in the way. I found that the hose sometimes pinched where it connected to the bong if held at the wrong angle, creating a kink in the hose which restricted airflow. On more than one occasion the length of the hose caused me to nearly knock over the device.

Hitoki does offer an alternative to the hose on its site in the form of an adjustable silicone mouthpiece for $29.99, but I personally wish it shipped standard with the bong instead of the hose. But while I hated the hose, the seal was tight which I really liked. If you're going to spend nearly $500 on a bong, spring for the additional mouthpiece.

However, Hitoki is currently running a promotion, and the adjustable mouthpiece will ship standard with the device for the rest of April.

The Hitoki Trident with the adjustable silicone mouthpiece.

The thing about smoking with a laser is how focused it is on the herb, but with a little bit of pulling it's easy to get the Trident to ignite your bud into an ember. I found it best to use the poker and move your bud around a bit to get the most out of your pack. It's easy enough to unlock it and move it around. I got an average of two to three solid hits per bowl, but that's going to depend on how hard you suck, what kind of herb you use, and for how long you're hitting.

The taste and experience

Again, I must reiterate that smoking weed with a laser beam is fucking awesome. It's just a neat experience, but what makes it better is that the hits you get are smooth, and the taste is great. Using a laser for combustion is obviously a relatively new experience for cannabis smokers, and I really can't wait to see how this sort of technology can change the industry.

While some people are used to sucking in butane fumes with their lighters, or smoking with hemp wicks, it was a nice change to get clean combustion and just taste the cannabis. Hitoki likens this this to a magnifying glass.

Smoking weed with a laser beam is fucking awesome.

"The Trident works in a fashion akin to how using sunlight and a magnifying glass is used to burn flowers with a concentrated beam of light," its website reads.

And surprisingly I found the Trident a bit easier to control the pull and hit. You can pop on the laser for just a second or two and slowly puff away once your weed is lit. Bongs can be a bit intimidating for some, and the Trident does not have a traditional carburetor that some bongs have, meaning you aren't going to get steamrolled with an unexpectedly huge hit. While it may seem intimidating, the Tran brothers said that they think the device could be used to destigmatize cannabis use.

Best of all, the battery is pretty powerful. Charging any sort of device is a bummer, but Hitoki boasts 280+ uses "on a single charge." I was unable to drain the battery in the multiple times I used the Trident. As for the charging time, an hour and 45 minutes may seem like it's a bit long, but it's not so bad considering how many uses that delivers.

How much is the Hitoki bong? Is it worth it?

Overall the Hitoki is an amazing device, but smoking with laser beams also comes at a high price. The Hitoki Trident currently is on sale for $424.99, but it's normal retail price is $499.99. If you're feeling extra fancy, there is also a 24k gold Trident for $649.99.

But as I recall the warning labels and laser disclosure on the Hitoki website, do you really want to use a cheap laser?

Tech via Mashable! https://bit.ly/2KzLn52 April 20, 2021 at 06:22AM

#IFTTT #Feedly #@b3n70n

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sumigakure · 6 years

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Skyfall

To: @modernart2012

From: @pwnie3

Title: Skyfall

Rating: T

Wordcount: 2896

Prompt: Pacific Rim AU. Preference for MadaTobi, but I’m open to any pairing, romantic or otherwise. Doesn’t have to follow the movie

Warnings: Brief suicidal ideation, character death, excessive use of italics

Summary: Madara wakes up and doesn’t open his eyes, because he knows that if he does he’ll roll over and Izuna won’t be there in the next bed over. He feels like the ground has been torn out from under his feet and now he’s just falling alone into empty sky.

Drop, Category II solo, let’s do this, first blow comes, harness cracks, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna get up, “Kaleidoscope Burst please respond”, Izuna’s down, Izuna’s down, IZUNA–

Madara wakes up and doesn’t open his eyes, because he knows that if he does he’ll roll over and Izuna won’t be there in the next bed over. He feels like the ground has been torn out from under his feet and now he’s just falling alone into empty sky.

It feels strange, to not have Izuna there. Even as a little presence in the back of his head, like the way it feels to talk to someone using two soup cans and a piece of string, is gone. He and Izuna have– had always been notoriously strong ghost Drifters, to the point where they could divine each other’s emotions from across a building.

Tears well up in Madara’s eyes, and he presses the heels of his palms into them. His breath starts to shudder in his chest.

“Madara?” a scratchy voice asks, a hand laying itself on his thigh. “You in there?”

He scrubs at his eyes, then opens them to see Touka.

She looks about twice as bad as Madara feels. Her hair is a rat’s nest, her eyes are bloodshot and the bags underneath are deep enough to run a river through. She smiles at him wanly and runs her other hand over the crown of his head. “We didn’t think you were gonna wake up.”

I wish I hadn’t, he almost says. “How long was I out?”

She takes a deep breath and retracts her hand. “It’s been almost a week. Kaleidoscope Burst took most of the damage, but…”

But it wasn’t enough. No matter how much of the kaiju’s attack the Uchiha brothers’ Jaeger took, it wasn’t enough to save Izuna.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Touka sniffs. “You know those old Mark Twos as well as I do. Flimsy harness couplings and all that, right? If anyone is to blame then–” a sob catches in her throat– “then it’s me.”

“Touka–” Madara starts.

“No, I was supposed to check everything in that conn pod, but who thinks to check on the pins holding in the damn harnesses?” She laughs bitterly, then sobers. “I checked the box without even looking because hey, you’d never had trouble with it before, why would you start now and it’s cost me my husband–” she chokes on her words and devolves into ugly, halting tears.

Madara pulls her close. She twists her hands into his hair, identical to Izuna’s except for the sheer volume of it, and bawls into his shoulder.

After a minute or two, she pulls back and takes a deep breath, then gives another little laugh. “Look at me, Madara. A week without Izuna and I’m already falling to pieces.”

“You think I’m doing much better?” he croaks eventually. “I feel like I just saw him five minutes ago and I’m already in shambles.”

“What a pair we make, huh?”

Marshall Uzumaki lets Madara rest, heal, and grieve for a week before she has him back in the ring for another copilot. She supervises him for every bout and Touka, who’s been reassigned from engineering to the command center since Kaleidoscope Burst’s last drop, calls out strikes as they land.

Like it means anything. All twenty-three of the bouts Madara’s gone in the past hour have ended 4-0 in his favor, and by this point the candidate pool is shrinking back into the audience.

Mito is one of Madara’s oldest acquaintances, and even if he can’t speak to her without losing his temper half of the time, he recognizes the look on her face when she leans over to whisper something into Touka’s ear.

“That will be all for today. Thank you for participating. Madara, come here,” Touka says. Madara steps forward. “We think that maybe a test is in order.”

He levels the two women with the most unimpressed look he can muster. “Did I not just spend the last hour doing tests?”

Mito makes an amused noise. “A different kind of test, Madara. Report to the drop bay in an hour.”

“Oh, hells no.”

Inside the mangled remains of Kaleidoscope Burst’s conn pod– the only intact part of her left– waiting and hooked up to her Pons system, is Hashirama of all people, with his little brother looking annoyed as usual behind him.

Madara gestures to Hashirama, looking straight at Tobirama. “Is this-?”

“Is this the test Mito ordered? Yes.” Tobirama looks all too pleased to be plugging someone else into Hashirama’s head. He spent four years Drifting with his brother before Hashirama screwed up his leg and got the Hidden Leaf, the Senju brothers’ Jaeger, removed from duty. “She wants to make sure your head will still let you Drift at all.”

Madara scoffs. “‘Can I still Drift’, of course I can still Drift! Why wouldn’t I be?”

Hashirama pipes in. “Well, saying that you can Drift is like saying that you can do art. It’s a generalization. Just because you can make ice sculptures doesn’t mean you can fold origami worth a damn.”

“Just because you could Drift with Izuna doesn’t mean that you can Drift with anyone else. Mito wants to make sure you’re physically capable of finding a new copilot before she spends more time on the matter,” Tobirama clarifies. “And seeing as how Hashirama is the easiest Drifter we have on site, he’ll be your partner for this exercise.”

It’s for the sake of his age-old friendship with Hashirama that Madara refrains from making a joke about how Hashirama is easy, and he knows that Madara knows exactly what he’s definitively not doing.

He takes some measure of gratitude that at least it’s Hashirama and not some green cadet that’s never even seen a kaiju. Hashirama is familiar, he was the first person Madara ever Drifted with even though he’s not the one that stuck.

“I’ll be observing your Drift from here just in case something goes wrong.” Tobirama steps back to his sleek control panel– which looks oddly different from the ones in the LOCCENT. “Initiating neural handshake,” he says, getting ready to flip switches. “In five, four, three, two, one.”

Hashirama’s memories rush into Madara’s head. Little brother, Mother is gone, new mother, more brothers, Madara, Tobirama, Madara, Madara, Madara, police academy, the first kaiju taking away Father and Itama and Kawarama, the Jaeger program, why is Tobirama here he should be safe at home, Drift compatible, victory, victory, victory, victory, victory, pain and loss, you’ll never pilot again with a leg like that, Mito, command track, oh god Kaleidoscope Burst please respond–

Madara is thrust violently back into his own body with a jolt and knows that Hashirama just felt the same thing.

“Handshake successful. Try waving hello with your right arm,” Tobirama directs.

It works, as every other command Tobirama gives them does. It goes so well in fact that only Hashirama has to listen to what Tobirama’s saying Madara just follows his lead. Hashirama exists in Madara’s head as a long road he’s compelled to follow no matter where it may take him. He’s similar, in many ways, to Izuna. Bright, happy Izuna who was like the blinding, guiding sun on a summer’s day. Izuna’s wedding was on in the middle of summer, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna-

“Right hemisphere out of alignment,” he vaguely registers hearing before he’s disconnected from the Jaeger.

He comes out of the Drift like waking up from a dream, groggy and absent and with a faraway look in his eyes. All he wants to do is sleep and not think about the report Tobirama will be presenting to Mito and how he can guess exactly what it will say. Is capable of Drifting but chased the rabbit in almost record time. Unfit for duty. End report.

A few days later, Madara– who hasn’t been asked back to the sparring ring and is completely blaming that on the report Tobirama probably filed– is tasked by a newly-busy Touka with delivering a sheaf of Important papers to the R&D department.

The “R&D Department” is actually just three guys in a too-small room with a tiny budget that mostly gets spent on whiteboard markers, takeout, and weed. After Hashirama started Drifting with Tobirama but before Madara and Izuna got a Jaeger of their own, Izuna used to split his time between flirting at Touka in Maintenance and getting high with the R&D team. Madara used to hear a lot of stories about his friends’ crazy theories and that one time they all got crossfaded and woke up ten hours later having forgotten their own names.

But the budget has been cut down even more than usual this year, and so it’s not three guys anymore. It’s just one, and it happens to be the infuriatingly snarky one with white hair and tattoos that shouldn’t look as good as they do.

Tobirama isn’t paying attention when Madara walks in– he’s shoulder deep in a, well, in something, and his white button-down is discarded across the room in favor of the tank top that shows off real, honest-to-God biceps that he didn’t have the last time Madara saw his arms (granted he had been seventeen to the albino’s fourteen at the time, and knew what would happen if Hashirama even thought Madara had a thing for his brother) and also keeps his clothes from getting stained too bad by all the machine oil.

“Hey,” Madara says to get Tobirama’s attention.

The younger man startles, and in his haste to turn around flings a streak of oil in Madara’s face. He hisses and goes to wipe it off, but Tobirama slaps his hands away with a towel. “Don’t do that, you’ll just smear it.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” he demands. “Be blind for the rest of my life?”

Tobirama makes a frustrated sound and kicks his ankle gently to guide him over to a chair. There’s a sound like a metal hatch closing, probably from the machine he was working on. “Sit down, I have something for this.”

A few moments later, Tobirama starts dabbing a wet cloth over the oil-stained portion of Madara’s face. “If this is acid–”

“If I wanted to kill you, Madara, I have other ways. It’s just something I mixed up to remove oil and grease stains,” Tobirama rebuts.

“Why not just wear gloves?” Madara blinks hard and then opens his eyes wide when Tobirama backs off.

“I’m allergic to latex and this facility doesn’t buy anything else.” The younger man lets the awkward air hand between them for a few moments. “So why are you here?”

Madara fumbles with the sheaf of papers. “Touka asked me to bring you these.”

Tobirama finishes cleaning the oil off his arms and then gives the folder a cursory glance, but Touka has always been bad at labelling things. “Do you know what it is?”

“Something about Burst’s specs.” Madara shrugs.

“Oh.” Tobirama’s eyes widen. “It’s notes about her Pons system. I’ve theorized that her previous engineer made some kind of neural processing magnification modification to the Pons system to enhance the combat abilities of the Drift team.”

Madara is no genius, but he did take an AP class or two in high school (one of them with Tobirama, who had no business being a freshman taking senior-level classes). “Based on what evidence?”

Tobirama swiftly makes his way over to one of four desks covered in so many papers it nearly hurts to look at. He rummages around what’s either the world’s most complex sorting system or just a mess, and after a minute he sounds a victorious shout and pulls a thick file from the bottom of a pile and lays it out on the one clean half of a desk he can find.

“These are neural performance records taken from one of your Drifts with Izuna in Burst,” Tobirama says, pointing to one long scanner sheet of paper, then to a second. “These are records taken of Izuna when he was Drifting in Burst with Touka.”

“Wait, what?”

“It was her birthday and she failed the Jaeger program’s physical but they were Drift compatible and I helped him out with giving her the birthday present to end all birthday presents, okay?” he points to a third record. “This is the scan I took of them from their anniversary Drift a few months later, this time at using the system I have here.” He gestures to the piece of machinery he was tinkering with when Madara walked in.

Madara studies the records. “The performance levels are completely different.”

Tobirama nods. “And this is a scan I took of you and Hashirama the other day, compared to the record I took of him the last time we snuck into Hidden Leaf.”

Again, the performance scores are wildly different. “So you want to prove that there’s something up with my Jaeger?”

The younger man nods. “Yes, and there’s just one more scan I need to prove it.”

Madara bobs his head too. “A scan of me outside of Burst.” He gives Tobirama a Look. “Did you tell Touka to send me over specifically with the specs?”

He nods again. “You’ll be Drifting with me this time.”

Madara lets out what’s definitely not a squawk of outrage. “You want me to Drift with you? We don’t even know if we’re compatible!”

“Please. If you can Drift with numbskulls like Izuna and Hashirama, you can Drift with me,” he scoffs. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m almost as easy to Drift with as Izuna or Hashirama.”

This is different, Madara wants to scream. Hashirama is different, Izuna was different. How long has it been, since he tried to Drift with someone who wasn’t his best friend or his brother?

“Just because we can both Drift with Hashirama doesn’t mean anything,” Madara exclaims. Tobirama let out another wordless noise of annoyance, but before he can say anything Madara interrupts him. “Just because a positive magnet connects with a negative magnet does not mean that two negative magnets will connect!”

“Just put on the damn headset and let me get my results.” Tobirama shoves the headpiece at Madara’s chest.

He grumbles. “I hope no-one believes your results.”

Tobirama is wearing a matching headset as he reaches for a button. “Initiating neural handshake in five, four, three, two, one.”

Mother, Hashirama, a big treehouse, loss, learning, top of the class, accelerated learning courses recommended, he’s too young for this class, why is he here, beat them all out, what’s a kaiju?, Hashirama don’t go, ‘Tobirama why are you here”, Drift compatible, Hidden Leaf, success, saving people, killing kaiju, failure, injury, find a new copilot or find a new job, Izuna, Izuna oh God please no–

If Hashirama’s mind is a path and Izuna’s was the sun, then Tobirama’s can only be described as an endless freefall over a cliff into the sea. Being in the Drift feels like Tobirama is his parachute. Through the Drift he knows that Tobirama views Madara like a chained lion, and he can feel the euphoria the other man knows as he sets the lion free.

Madara comes back into his own mind feeling like he can take on the world and win, in a way that Drifting with Izuna had never provided.

When Madara first entered the PPDC, the team he and Izuna took over from– a pair of women who piloted a wonderful Jaeger named Whirlpool Dawn– told him that there was Drifting and then there was Drifting. Maybe, he thinks, this is what they meant.

He looks over to Tobirama, and finds that the albino’s crimson eyes are just as wide and his face is just as flushed as Madara’s own must be. He watches Tobirama’s adam’s apple bob as he swallows thickly.

“I think we need to go talk to Mito,” Madara hears, though despite being aware of Tobirama’s every move he doesn’t know if the words were said aloud or if he just understood Tobirama’s intentions through the Drift.

“I think you’re right,” he replies.

Two months later finds Tobirama and Madara in matching Drift suits and getting ready to test drop for the first time together.

They had argued for a long time about which Jaeger they would pilot. They went back and forth with their reasons; Hidden Leaf was in better condition, but Kaleidoscope Burst was the newer and safer mech, for example. But before they could come to a conclusion (which many figured would never happen at all) the victorious new head of engineering, an early twenty-something called Sarutobi, informed them that they wouldn’t have to decide at all because he’d gone around them and gotten the all-clear from Mito to combine the two Jaegers.

So here they stand, ready to pilot Konoha Burst under the watchful eyes of Touka, Hashirama, and the entire world. What Sarutobi’s done by combining two defunct Jaegers is unprecedented, and even with a hundred different news crews waiting for the results of the test Madara isn’t scared.

He doesn’t have to look or talk to know that Tobirama is putting on his helmet and raring to go, but he does it anyways.

“You ready to rock the world, Skyfall?” he drawls.

“You know it, Lionheart.”

If you enjoyed this piece, why not take a look at other pieces written by the same author on AO3.

#rated: T #Sumigakure Winter Wishes 2017 #Sumigakure Stocking Stuffers 2017 #submission #sumigakure #rank: b #pwnie3

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bishreview · 6 years

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Top 20 Films of the Year

I think it’s about time I did something about films so here’s my list for the top 20 movies. This year has seen a rise in quality superhero films, some strong horror flicks, but I’ve felt genres like comedies and science fiction have really dropped. This list will include films that were released to Australian audiences in 2017 but will miss the Oscar nominated ones at the start of the year because they were classified as 2016 still. Enjoy.

20. Spider Man: Homecoming

Superhero films really did well this year, with Spider Man’s first lead film in the MCU a pleasure to watch from start to finish. Focusing on the high school aspect rather than the superhero aspect (like all previous movies of the hero have done), Holland brings the role to new levels of excitement, humour and reliability, making this maybe the best film incarnation of the hero.

19. Split

Split is a different sort of film. It’s a super-villain film, disguised as a psychological thriller, disguised as a horror. James McAvoy’s role as the character Kevin, a person who has multiple personalities, is incredible as he switches between different personalities, with their own characteristics, with ease. M. Night Shyamalan looks like he’s making a comeback, and it’s exciting to watch.

18. Raw

Have you ever watched a film so gross but so engaging that you can’t look away even though you’re disgusted by what you’re watching? Because that’s Raw. Julia Ducournau’s unique film about cannibalism is incredibly unique and brilliant, whilst also being one of the hardest to watch films I’ve ever seen. Big warning to those with weak stomachs.

17. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi will probably go down as the most decisive Star Wars film ever. Disney have made it clear that they are avoiding canon in their trilogy, turning away from the comics and focusing on the films. With The Last Jedi they took it further, taking risks throughout the whole movie. In doing so, they made the most unique Star Wars film yet, and maybe the strongest since the original trilogy, focusing on the balance of the force instead of the usual ‘good vs. evil’.

16. John Wick: Chapter Two

John Wick is such a brilliantly written character. Although the second instalment in the hit-man, revenge franchise looks more into his past and the organisation he was a part of, we still know little about the ‘Boogeyman’. Keeanu Reeves is brilliant as the titular character and Derek Kolstad has again written another amazing story, creating one of the most interesting and unique cinematic universes.

15. A Ghost Story

There are some movies which capture your imagination and place you in a story that you can escape in. A Ghost Story is a different story. It’s heartbreaking but makes you feel warm. Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara are brilliant as the two leads, holding a chemistry which is hard to create so naturally. Although it’s slow at times, there is a certain beauty throughout the movie, drawing you into the love story even at it’s slowest moments

14. Logan Lucky

Logan Lucky is a really fun film. With a great cast including Adam Driver, Channing Tatum, Riley Keough, and Daniel Craig, the heist film is an entertaining watch. Although heist films sometimes feel cliched, Logan Lucky utilises the American car racing competition NASCAR as its setting, allowing the film to explore a different range of characters, making it one of the most intriguing heist movies in years.

13. Wonder Woman

The DCEU is getting really hard to watch. Justic League, released late this year, was more of the same average flicks which has plagued the franchise since Man of Steel. Before that though was Wonder Woman, the cinematic universe’s saving grace. Gal Gadot is incredible as the iconic superhero, carrying the movie all the way through with her engaging performance. Mid-way through the year I stated this film was the saving grace of the franchise, and that could never be more true now.

12. The Big Sick

Rom-com’s have never really been my thing. I often feel their stories have been done over and over again and that the genre doesn’t try to be do anything different. The Big Sick though is a story which hasn’t even been attempted by the industry yet, a movie about religious and cultural traditions and progressing forward with them. Kumail Nanjiani explores his real life story in such a tongue in cheek way that you can’t help but love the story and the characters.

11. The Lost City of Z

I was remembering this film the other day (I’ve only watched it twice) and the feelings I got from it still gives me the chills. The exploration of the jungle in James Gray’s film about real life explorer Percy Fawcett is gorgeous. It’s a slow burning movie that depicts Fawcett’s addiction to the Amazon rainforest in such a mesmerising way that you often forget that he’s searching for gold, rather just wanting to live in the Amazon. Charlie Hunman is brilliant as the lead and it’s a movie that will stick in your mind for a long time.

10. Thor: Ragnarok

2017 was a great year for the MCU, and Thor: Ragnarok was the shining light. Although the previous Thor films have been some of the more weaker entries in the franchise, Ragnarok was able to give the titular character his best story yet, combining the comic with the Planet Hulk storyline. With incredible performances by Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson and Jeff Goldblum, NZ director Taika Waititi created the best and most fun Thor that has ever hit the big screen.

9. The Beguilded

The Beguilded was a strange watch. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name, the film explores lust, forbidden love, obsession, fear and hate in a stable manner, balancing these themes effortlessly. Sofia Coppola has deservedly won awards for this film and will hopefully be nominated for a few more after being snubbed at the Golden Globes.

8. Silence

If I were to pick a film that I have seen this year that still disturbs me it would be Silence. Set in 17th century Japan, during the Tokugawa shogunate, Silence follows two Christian priests (Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield) trying to track down their mentor (Liam Neeson) whilst continuing to spread their outlawed religion. The movie is very graphic and doesn’t hold back on the Crucifixion techniques that were implemented during this period. Garfield also delivers the performance of his career, pulling you in emotionally to his character’s experience.

7. War On The Planet of the Apes

It was always going to be hard to complete the Apes trilogy, as the first two films of the franchise were both amazing. War though is best of the three. An incredibly emotional experience as we watch Caesar and his fellow apes fight for survival against humans. Andy Serkis is again incredible as Caesar, continuing to prove that he’s the best actor in a motion capture suit.

6. Logan

Superhero movies were truly a shining light in 2017. The fourth comic book movie on this list (and the highest), Logan (based on Old Man Logan comic) is an incredible experience. Allowing the movie to have a restricted rating was a risk but it paid of as it allowed the character to be at his brutal best. Hugh Jackman will always be Wolverine and Logan was a perfect way to send off nearly two decades of the character on the big screen.

5. A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls (can also be called How to Tear Someone’s Heart Out) is the saddest film of the year. It hits you deep in the feels, ensuring the audience cries their eyes out by the end of the film. Lewis MacDougall is incredible as the lead, and the supporting cast are brilliant, especially Liam Neeson as the voice of The Monster. The film blends a heartbreaking story about cancer with a beautiful fantasy world, utilising water-colour animations to bring the audience into the imaginary world.

4. T2: Trainspotting

T2 has been a long time coming. A sequel to the incredible original (Trainspotting) has been rumoured for a while, and Danny Boyle has finally delivered two decades on. Bringing back the beloved Scottish gang, led by Ewan McGregor, T2 doesn’t hold back on themes of getting old, reminiscing on youth, and trying to make up for the mistakes of youth. With all four of the characters being on a path which joins them back together, fans of the original will feel blessed with this sequel, whilst new fans will straight away connect with their stories.

3. The Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist is a perfect homage to the greatest film of all time, The Room. Delving into the creation of the aforementioned masterpiece, The Disaster Artist is about more than having a laugh at the people who were involved in making it. Instead it allows a sympathetic view on the desire to be an actor, to create film as an art form. Both Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero are respectfully portrayed by the Franco brothers, allowing a look into the hardships they faced during the making of The Room. It’s a fantastic story, both hilarious and relatable, and could be the Franco brothers best performances.

2. Dunkirk

I’ve always felt like Christopher Nolan has an obsession with outdoing himself every movie. After the epic (albeit flawed epic) which was Interstellar, it looked like he was going to stick on the sci-fi route which had dominated so many of his previous films. Instead he made Dunkirk a history piece about the Allies biggest failure in World War II, the loss of France. The film is tiring to watch, moving slowly and feeling like it’s in a constant route, as every small victory is followed by the plan going wrong. Fionn Whitehead is terrific in his debut mainstream role, and Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy and Harry Styles also bring in strong performances, suggesting that Dunkirk may be Nolan’s best work.

1. Get Out

I watched Get Out again last night and it still hits me the same way as it did the first time I watched it. Jordan Peele’s directorial debut is incredible. The comedian jumps into a genre unfamiliar to him, in a horror/thriller, and he delivers. Get Out is a unsettling film, raising issues of racism (and anti-racism) without making it overbearing. Daniel Kaluuya is incredible as the lead and will hopefully get rewarded during award season, and the supporting cast of the film (notably Lakeith Stanfield and Betty Gabriel) help create a chilling atmosphere throughout the whole film. The twist ending also may be one of the most impactful non-events in film history, with the expectation of what is going to happen making more of a statement than what actually happens (it will make more sense once you see it). Get Out is an incredible film, close to the best for this decade so far, and my number one film for 2017.

That’s my film list. It came out later than I wanted it to but I’ve just been hammered with work at the moment. I’ve completed the Top 50 Singles of 2017 list and that will be released tomorrow so stay tuned for that. Thanks for the support and hopefully you’ve enjoyed this list.

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junker-town · 4 years

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The 30 best ‘NBA on NBC’ intros

Relive the glory of basketball nostalgia with these old ‘NBA on NBC’ intros.

The 12-year run of the NBA on NBC is mostly beloved for John Tesh’s iconic “Roundball Rock” musical intro, which just so happens to be my ringtone. But I will always cherish it because of the network’s soaring introduction monologues to its big games, which transmitted the viewer inside a piece of art with intense moods and high stakes.

Basketball wasn’t better in the ‘90s than it is today, not by a longshot. But I do think it was sold far more effectively, with the kind of visual and thematic care that made the key figures larger than life. I wish the league’s current television partners tried harder to mimic the scale and grandeur of NBC’s work.

Luckily, YouTube offers us the chance to look back on the days where playoff games really felt like epic dramas. I found more than 150 available on the internet and collected them in a playlist you can find here.

While you watch that, let me show you my 30 favorites. Let me know if you think I overranked, underranked, or missed any from this glorious era.

(All the titles were made up by me).

30. “First Round”

Timberwolves at Sonics 1998 First-Round Game 5 Bob Costas

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I love the timing of this one. George Karl’s deep breath sets the mood before any narration is needed, and the multiple Gary Payton still shots capture the incredulousness of Seattle’s first-round demons. Costas’ closing line – “Maybe too often” – is delivered perfectly.

29. “Lil’ Penny is Ready”

Magic at Bulls 1996 East Finals Game 1 Chris Rock

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No NBA on NBC list is complete without including this one, even if it’s gimmick’y and the narration doesn’t age well.

28. “Teacher and Pupil”

Heat at Knicks 1997 East Semifinals Game 3 Tom Hammond

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This was the first of many NBC introductions for brutal Heat-Knicks playoff games, so it’s neat to look back and remember the larger context before it was obscured by all the fighting. Teacher vs. pupil framed the two teams beautifully, especially because the teacher-pupil relationship was flipped on the court. The music makes me feel like I’m at a graduation ceremony, and Hammond leans into the theme with his word choices — “protege,” “taught their former coach a lesson,” “school was out,” “pass the test.”

27. “The Second Season”

Pacers at Knicks 1994 East Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

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The highest points of this intro rival anything NBC has put together. The rapid tone change before Game 5. The drumbeat as John Starks violently high-fives Spike Lee. The final line — “48 minutes from what they were merely expected to do.” Those moments give me chills. But I docked this one for all the fluff it took to reach those high beats. If NBC had an Achilles heel, it was the length of some of their intros. This one was nearly two minutes long, which is a bit much.

26. “Stalemate”

Blazers at Lakers 2000 West Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

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As much as I love the openings that center around a specific theme, sometimes it’s better to simply run through the key protagonists and what’s at stake for each. Costas does so comprehensively in this one, illustrating the wide-ranging set of characters in what proved to be a memorable series.

25. “Something to savor”

Knicks at Bulls 1998 NBA Regular Season Bob Costas

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Did I only include this one because of the early release of ESPN’s 10-part The Last Dance documentary. Yeah, probably.

24. “Not Like This”

Knicks at Bulls 1993 East Finals Game 6 Marv Albert

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I loved two things about this video. One was the close-up picture of a hoop as Albert narrates Charles Smith’s three blown bunnies. Talk about vivid imagery. The second: the melancholy feel of the music, combined with Pat Riley stuttering with doubt as he tries to sell the public on this being the Knicks’ “defining moment.” It’s as if NBC knew New York would never be the same after Game 5.

23. “Right Now”

Bulls at Knicks 1993 East Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

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Van Halen’s “Right Now” was (and still is) a popular song choice for a pump-up video, one NBC used a few times too over the years. But it works perfectly for this video because it fits the overall theme while simultaneously allowing NBC to visually speed up the entire season before reaching the climax we all knew was coming.

22. “Desperation”

Sonics at Rockets 1997 West Semifinals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

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Gumbel deserved more chances to narrate these introduction videos. He had a way of putting his own spin on common themes, expertly using language that others wouldn’t. Seattle didn’t just fall behind Houston, they “teetered on the edge.” They didn’t just win all their elimination games, they “persevered.” The sentence structure that both conveys Houston’s history facing long deficits and their history against these Sonics. We’ll hear more from Gumbel later on in this countdown.

21. “Another Time And Place”

Pistons at Knicks 1992 East Quarterfinals Game 2 Marv Albert

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Albert’s narration tended to be super serious and at times over the top, so I enjoyed the goofy change of pace. I’m not sure the second half of this intro was necessary, though it did give us Dennis Rodman picking up a stray dog that wandered onto the Madison Square Garden court.

20. “The Year Of Sir Charles”

Suns at Sonics 1993 West Finals Game 6 Dick Enberg

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It’s the little touches that make this video work. The patriotic music choice before leading with his gold medal. The split screen of Barkley deep in thought on one side and his accomplishments flashing on the other. Enberg’s repeated use of Barkley’s full name. This intro underscores how much care was actually put into these introductions.

19. “I Wanna Take You On A Rollercoaster”

Pacers at Knicks 1999 East Finals Game 6 Tom Hammond

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18. “The Ride of a Lifetime”

Magic at Rockets 1995 Finals Game 3 Marv Albert

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These two videos show how NBC used the same theme — a rollercoaster ride — to convey very different emotional journeys. The Knicks’ rollercoaster was unplanned and filled with self-induced drama, so NBC chose Lunatic Calm’s “Leave You Far Behind,” a heart-pumping dance song that conveys raw, and at times misdirected, energy. Houston’s rollercoaster, on the other hand, was more of a fantasy story, so NBC chose a musical element that made the Rockets’ journey to the title seem like a quest. Both choices fit the teams perfectly and showed how the power of sports is that it provides singular variations of familiar story arcs.

17. “Michael vs. Sir Charles”

Bulls at Suns 1993 Finals Game 1 Bob Costas

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This one’s on the list because NBC used the Jurassic Park theme song before the movie even came out. That is a baller move. But NBC also uses it brilliantly to paint the contrast between the classic success of Michael Jordan and the bumpier, rawer success of Barkley. Jordan’s section is narrated over the slower part of the song, while Barkley’s comes over the louder section. This was another example of NBC’s attention to detail.

16. “Big City vs. Small Town”

Jazz at Bulls 1997 NBA Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

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In general, the 12 NBC openings for the two six-game Bulls-Jazz Finals series are a tad overrated in my book because they got a little too sappy. (I’m sure many of y’all like the post-Flu Game one, but it kinda makes me cringe). The best of the bunch is the first one because it wonderfully paints the contrast between the dominant incumbents from Chicago and the small-town underdogs from Utah.

15. “Big ‘Mo”

Blazers at Lakers 1991 West Finals Game 6 Dick Enberg

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The music choice makes this entire video work. I feel like I’m in a murder mystery. Holy crap, this is tense.

14. “A Test of Faith”

Suns at Bulls 1993 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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Sometimes, the less said the better. Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals — a triple-overtime thriller won by the visiting Suns, who had dropped the first two games at home — was such a weird event that it needed to be commemorated on its own. Costas knew he couldn’t say anything to properly sum it up. Thus, Bon Jovi’s “Keep The Faith” serves as the perfect backdrop.

13. “Little Brother”

Cavaliers at Bulls 1992 East Finals Game 5 Marv Albert

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I’m not sure anyone really believed the Cavaliers would beat the Bulls in this series, even if they had knotted it up at two. It had the same feel that 2016’s Raptors-Cavaliers series had, where everyone knew who was going to win. But it was still noteworthy that the Cavaliers actually fought with pride, not unlike a boy who finally stood up to his big brother. Albert’s narration properly captures that sentiment while still conveying the reality that the Bulls were favored.

12. “Best Team Ever”

Bulls at Sonics 1996 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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The glorification of Jordan’s jerk-ish leadership tendencies makes me a bit uncomfortable, but Costas rescues this with some of the most poetic narration of his great career. Everything after “they tower over all present competition” is right up there with the best any TV network has ever produced. (Imagine this wording, but with Kevin Durant’s switch to Golden State instead of Jordan’s return from retirement).

11. “Game 7”

Jazz at Sonics 1996 West Finals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

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Gumble is his usual excellent self, but the music and camera work make this introduction feel epic. I love the musical contrast, which makes the small-market Jazz seem like underdogs and the fast-charging Sonics feel like they belong in a horror movie. The dissolves and fades to separate the different segments of the video underscore how each point is related to each other. Matching Gary Payton’s loud clap to the drum beat is a brilliant touch. All in all, this video provided real stakes to a matchup between two teams that nobody thought could beat the mighty Bulls.

10. “Vindication”

Magic at Rockets 1995 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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If the Game 3 intro to these Finals felt like being taken on a fantasy quest, this one is the epilogue when Frodo and friends return to the Shire. In time, this has become the perfect appreciation of the Rockets’ mini-dynasty.

9. “The Tormenter”

Bulls vs. Knicks 1996 East Semifinals Game 3 Marv Albert

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“The concept may be team. In reality, it’s the individual.” Whether intentional or not, Albert perfectly encapsulates decades of NBA marketing with those 10 words. From there, he made me feel so sorry for Patrick Ewing. How much must it suck for the official broadcast partner to promote a game by repeatedly dunking on you?

8. “One Game”

Pacers at Bulls 1998 East Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

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Costas’ delivery here is perfect. The slow pacing. The repetition of “one game.” The mix between short sentences and longer ones. The twist at the end: Jordan’s section ends with “one game” instead of beginning with it, a clear signal to the viewer that he is the biggest story here. The script itself isn’t magical, but Costas’ voice makes it so. Chills.

7. “Agony”

Bulls at Magic 1996 East Finals Game 3 Marv Albert

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Knowing what we know now, this feels a lot bigger than a video setting up a must-win Game 3 after losing two road games. Because of Shaquille O’Neal’s summer departure to the Lakers, it has become known as the last chance for Orlando to sustain a future dynasty. But the video also stands beautifully on its own, with well-executed music changes and a beautiful still of Penny Hardaway peering to his left as if he’s staring at a black-and-white image of Brian Hill’s final huddle of the previous year’s NBA Finals.

6. “Neither Right, Nor Fair”

Bulls at Blazers 1992 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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Imagine this voiceover, but instead of it being about Clyde Drexler in 1992, it’s about Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. Same 2-1 deficit. Same history of postseason failures obscuring their greatness. Similar age range — Nowitzki was 32 and in his 13th season at the time. Similar caliber of competition: Drexler against Jordan, Nowitzki against James and Wade, though the former hadn’t won a title. It would have given any human the feels, especially knowing Nowitzki would persevere when Drexler didn’t. This was an incredibly powerful, yet empathetic way to convey the overwhelming pressure title-less all-time greats face before they win one.

5. “David vs. Goliath”

76ers at Lakers 2001 Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

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I don’t know what’s better: the original version of this intro from the 2001 Finals or this brilliant remake for the first Curry-James, Warriors-Cavs Finals battle in 2015. Both are terrific, but I’m still partial to the original. David vs. Goliath fits the Iverson-O’Neal battle better, and there are a number of NBC’s typically brilliant little touches dotted through the video. For example, notice how the camera zooms to Iverson’s “The Answer” sleeve just after Albert’s “Who can stop this imposing force?” narration ends. What perfect timing.

4. “Worst Nightmare”

Bulls vs. Knicks 1993 East Finals Game 5 Marv Albert

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Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. I feel like I’m about to start an apocalyptic movie where a supernatural demon has been set loose to torment the world. Jordan feels like Godzilla here after scoring 54 points to lead Chicago to a Game 4 win. My heart is still racing as I type this, even though I’ve already seen that video a thousand times. When does Game 5 start?

3. “Coronation”

Bulls at Suns 1993 Finals Game 6 Bob Costas

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The 1993 Finals were really effin weird. The Suns entered as profound underdogs with one edge: They had home-court advantage. When they squandered that edge with two home losses, they looked done, but defied logic with a triple-overtime Game 3 victory. When Jordan dropped 55 on them in Game 4, they also looked done, but defied logic again by winning Game 5 on the road easily. It was inexplicable, a feeling Costas expertly captured in his opening monologue. There’s no way God actually was pulling the strings for the Suns … right? What other explanation existed? It was the ideal backdrop to a Game 6 that lived up to the billing with John Paxson’s last-second three.

2. “Two Dreams Collide”

Rockets at Suns 1995 West Semifinals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

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Remember when I said that NBC’s only Achilles heel was that their introduction videos occasionally dragged on for too long? This one clocks in at a crisp 41 seconds, with no wasted words, images, or music. We have a saying at SB Nation: Sometimes, it’s just best to Say The Thing instead of getting cute. Gumbel says the damn thing bluntly — one dream will “die,” Barkley’s legacy is “hanging in the balance,” “the banner does not hang for Clyde Drexler.” In 41 seconds, I know exactly how big a game this really is. This is a nearly perfect piece of art.

1. “Being Mike”

Bulls at Lakers 1991 Finals Game 4 Michael Jordan

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Twenty-nine years later, this reads like a poignant social commentary on the nature of celebrity, which has gripped our culture in new and unexpected ways. That it came before the release of Sam Smith’s landmark The Jordan Rules, before the burden of Being Mike led to Jordan retiring in his prime, before two returns to the fast life of basketball that consumed him, and before an awkward post-playing process that flipped his ruthlessness from a virtue to an anchor, is extraordinary. How the hell did Costas take one playoff performance and somehow capture the allure and pain of being a national icon like Jordan? It’s one of the most impressive feats I’ve ever seen.

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND October 4, 2019 - JOKER, PAIN AND GLORY, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, LUCY IN THE SKY

It’s October and we only have two more months to the year, but we have to get through one of the tougher months of the year (in terms of quality of films) to get to the good stuff. Fortunately, the month starts out with Todd Phillips’ JOKER (Warner Bros.), starring Joaquin Phoenix, which is looking to tell the definitive origin of the Batman arch-nemesis

You can read my mostly positive review of the movie right here (and more over at The Beat), but I want to talk a bit more at length about two movies that will get a limited release this weekend.

The first movie I want to talk about is Pedro Almodovar’s PAIN AND GLORY (Sony Pictures Classics), which in my opinion is his best and possibly most personal film in a decade or more. It stars Antonio Banderas as filmmaker Salvador Mallo, who has mostly retired as he faces illness late in life that makes him unable to work on a film set… or get the inspiration to make a new movie. Salvador has been invited to do a QnA for one of his classic films as it celebrates its 30thanniversary along with the film’s star with whom he had a falling out due to the actor’s drug use, the two having not spoken since. And it’s Salvador’s job to get the star to agree to do the QnA with him…. An encounter that ends up being catastrophic for Salvador, who starts using drugs himself.

To reveal more about the plot of Almodovar’s latest would be a huge disservice to the filmmaker who has created another intricate plot where every element has a purpose that’s all resolved by the film’s end. The film frequently flashes back to Salvador’s childhood in a small Spanish village with his single mother (played by another Almodovar regular, Penelope Cruz), which add to the troubles the filmmaker is having later in life. (Almodovar has cast an older actor to play Salvador’s mother sixty years later but she doesn’t look even remotely like Cruz.)

This is a film where you’re drawn into the story as Salvador’s life unfolds, and we learn more about what made him the way he is, and it’s easily one of the best performance of Banderas’ career. The warmth and humor he brings to Salvador allows you to be with him even when he’s doing questionable things. I also want to call attention to the amazing Asier Etxeandia, who delivers an equally compelling performance.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s one of those confounding things that can be interpreted in so many different ways…and I can’t wait to see the movie again to see if I can unravel it. Pain and Glory is another beautiful and brilliant piece of art and storytelling from Almodovar and a welcome return to form both for him and for Banderas.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

The other movie I want to draw special attention to is Craig Brewer’s DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, which Netflix will give a theatrical release this weekend before streaming it on Netflix starting October 25. As you may have heard, it stars the great Eddie Murphy back in his first leading role in ages, playing Rudy Ray Moore, the stand-up comic and sing who wanted to be famous more than anything else. If you haven’t heard of Moore and his comic character Dolemite, you just have to look on the influence he’s had on everyone from Murphy to Samuel L. Jackson to just about every rapper who has ever gone on record (especially the 2 Live Crew!)

We meet Rudy as he’s trying to convince a DJ played by Snoop Dogg to play his records with no luck. Rudy is working in a record store with his faithful assistant, played by Tituss Burgess (from The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and he’s desperate to break-out as a failing stand-up comic. When he starts hearing the raunchy stories of Dolemite from the local bums, he puts together a new act where he plays a raunchy, foul-mouthed pimp named “Dolemite,” which goes over huge for his mainly black audiences. That soon turns into making a record that’s a huge hit with Moore touring the country selling them out of his trunk, and that eventually becomes an idea to make a very DIY movie.

This has a great cast but some of the real breakouts around Murphy include Da’Vine Joy Randolph as his protegé Lady Reed (aka Queen Bee) and Wesley Snipes in an amazing performance as “serious” actor D’urville Martin, who agrees to direct the movie but clearly has no idea what movie Moore and his team are trying to make. There’s also great stuff from Keegan-Michael Key as Jerry Jones, the serious dramatic playwright who also finds a way into Dolemite’s world. Randolph has the best moment when she thanks Rudy for putting “someone who looks like her” on the screen.

The script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski is fantastic, but Brewer – whom I’ve been a fan of since his early film Hustle and Flow – does terrific work in keeping things moving and making sure that Murphy is doing his best work.

Sure, it’s impossible not to avoid comparisons to The Disaster Artist, but I’d prefer that it be compared to Mario van Peebles’ excellent 2003 film Baadasssss!, which was about his father Melvyn van Peebles’ going through similar efforts to make his own film that appeals directly to black audiences years earlier. There’s actually more in common between the accomplishment by Van Peebles (a much more capable filmmaker) making his film and how he got it out into the world to Moore’s DIY ethos and its results. The Room was a bomb and a disaster that eventually became a cult hit; what Moore created was much more lasting.

I’m a little bummed that so few people are going to see this in theaters surrounded by laughter, but just the fact that Netflix is getting a movie about Dolemite into the world makes it easier to forgive them.

Rating: 8 out of 10

(Also, check out the repertory section below for a way to see the movie in double features with some of Moore’s “Dolemite” movies at the New Beverly theater.)

LOCAL FESTIVALS

The 57thNew York Film Festival continues this week with screenings of Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite– which I reviewed for The Beat– Kelly Reinhardt’s First Cow, and a special event screening of the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems. (Oh, yeah, and who could forget that Joker is screening with Todd Phillips doing a QnA on Wednesday?) Friday will see the Centrepiece premiere of Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansson with SIX screenings! The weekend sees the debut of Michael Apted’s 63 Up, continuing his long-running doc series, as well as Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, which I’ll also be seeing on Friday. There are also a few revivals and restorations, which you can read about in the repertory section below.

Also, Beyond Fest 2019 continues at the Egyptian in L.A. with more fun genre films. Your best bet is to click on that link and see what’s being shown but you can read about the rep stuff below, as well.

LIMITED RELEASES

On Wednesday night (with a repeat screening on Sunday), Trafalgar Releasing will release Roger Waters: Us and Them nationwide into a bunch of theaters, the movie documenting Waters’ 2017 tour, which sadly I missed, but I’m excited to see what I missed.

Opening Friday is Legion and Fargo creator Noah Hawley’s feature film directorial debut LUCY IN THE SKY (Fox Searchlight), starring Natalie Portman as Lucy Cola, an astronaut who has spent time in space but has trouble adjusting when she returns to earth and her husband (played by an unrecognizable Dan Stevens). She’s in training for one of the next two shuttle launches, but she starts having an affair with fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin (Jon Hamm) while competing fiercely against a younger trainee (Zazie Beetz). Things go downhill from there as Lucy – who is based on the real-life Lisa Nowak– starts messing up more and more. I think I can understand why critics have been so rough on Hawley and this movie, because really, it isn’t the outer space adventure some might be expecting, and that’s really just used as the set-up for Lucy having trouble adjusting at home. In fact, this could be an episode of a Fargo-like true-crime anthology that goes into other realms than just the Midwest. Once you get used to Portman’s heavy Southern accent, she’s quite good in this, and if you go into it expecting more of a true-crime story… with Hawley’s artistic filmmaking touch and some gorgeous imagery… Lucy in the Sky really isn’t so bad. I definitely think that people are going into this with certain expectations from the trailer/commercials that isn’t necessarily accurate.

A movie I saw at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and really enjoyed was Kevin McMullin’s LOW TIDE (A24 /DirecTV) starring Keann Johnson (Alita: Battle Angel) and Jaeden Martell (It) asbrothers living on the Jersey coast who find a bag of valuable gold coins and try to hide it from their no-goodnick friends Red (Alex Neustaedter) and Smitty (Daniel Zolghadri) with whom they break into vacation homes to steal valuables.

Another decent lower-profile film about brothers opening Friday is Henry Alex Rubins’ SEMPER FI (Lionsgate), starring Jai Courtney and Nat Wolff as brothers “Callahan” and “Oyster” who are part of the Marine Corps Reserve. When they get into a bar altercation in which a man dies, Oyster is sent to jail and his brother feels the need to get him out in a plot that involves his Marine buddies. It’s a movie that starts off as a military drama but actually has some decent action in the last act, and I liked it more than Rubins’ last narrative feature Disconnect.

You can read my interview with Jai Courtney here, and I hope to have an interview with Nat Wolff soon, as well.

I haven’t had a chance to watch Michael Beach Nichols’ doc WRINKLES THE CLOWN (Magnet) but I’ve heard great things that makes me curious. It revolves around a YouTube video from 2014 that shows a man in a clown mask who has been hired by the parents of a young girl to frighten her for misbehaving. This genre-based doc looks into where “Wrinkles the Clown” came from and how he turned into a viral video, similar to the great HBO doc Beware the Slenderman.

Memory: The Origins of Alien (Screen Media) is the new doc from Alexandre Philippe, whose 2017 film 78/52took apart the shower sequence from Hitchcock’s Psycho. This one is just as intriguing as it goes through the processes of creating Ridley Scott’s Alien, which celebrates its 40thanniversary this year. I’m such a huge fan of Alienthat I just ate this movie up, and I could probably watch it over and over since I love hearing stories about the ideas and design that went into the movie.

Playing at the Film Forum starting Wednesday is Olivier Meyrou’s doc Celebration (KimStim) about fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent, commissioned by his business partner Pierre Bergé, has been sitting on the shelf for over a decade because it was deemed to be “too revealing” as it followed the ailing fashion designer during his last three years.

Unfortunately, I’ve run out of time for this week’s column but I’ll have more stuff to add here by Thursday afternoon sometime, if not sooner. Please check back for a few more limited releases!

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Metrograph’s latest series “NYC '81” which was more self-explanatory when it included the subtitle “A Series of NY Films from 1981 Leading into (the) Re-Release of Downtown 81.” Some of the films showing this weekend include Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45 (also playing as part of Late Nites at Metrograph), Sidney Lumet’s Prince of the City, Steve Gordon’s comedy Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, and Louis Malle’s My Dinner with André.Alain Corneu’s Série Norie will continue at least through Thursday. This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matineesgoes with Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands(1990) starring Johnny Depp (plus you can still see David Lynch’s Mulholland Driveone last time tonight!) Also, Saturday afternoon you can see the Humphrey Bogart classic, The Maltese Falcon (1941).

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

You might notice that the New Bev has been released from the corner it was put in for misbehaving by playing new movies. It makes up for it by having a Wednesday matinee of Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho and also having screenings the next couple nights of David Fincher’s Zodiac. Friday is a matinee of Final Destination 2, one of my favorite movies in the series, and then the weekend “Kiddee Matinee” is the popular 1976 favorite The Monster Squad. Friday night’s midnight movie is Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, while Sat night is Kill Bill: Volume 2. Monday’s matinee is Wes Craven’s 1986 horror film Deadly Friend. Next week starting Monday, the new Bev begins a special program celebrating Netflix’s Dolemite is My Name with screenings of the movie as double features with actual Dolemite films, Monday and Tuesday nights being double features with the original 1975 movie Dolemite (the making of which is shown in the Netflix film). Welcome back, New Bev!

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Thursday, as part of the New York Film Festival, there’s a special retrospective presented by Warby Parker to celebrate the 100thanniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers. As part of that, you can see Robert Altman’s Western McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) and a new restoration of Jack Arnold’s sci-fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). On Saturday is a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather: Part II (1974) just after a special The Cotton Club Encorewith a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1984 movie at the Alice Tully Hall with a conversation with Coppola, Maurice Hines and James Remar afterwards.On Monday, Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978) will screen as part of this retrospective, followed on Tuesday by a screening of Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 film Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp. It’s a pretty impressive sidebar to the festival from one of the uptown’s only retrospective theaters remaining.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Ooo… Bong Joon-ho’s amazing 2006 monster film is playing at the Alamo Thursday night at 10pm, and as of this writing, it’s not completely sold out yet! On Sunday, the Alamo is doing an “ultimate Willy Wonka Party” showing the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (one of my favorites from childhood) with some of the grow-up young cast from the movie! (Noon is sold out but there’s another screening at 9AM… good luck with that!) Next Tuesday’s “Terror Tuesday” is the 1991 Scary Movie, starring John Hawkes, while Wednesday’s “Weird Wednesday” is Lucio Fulci’s The Devil’s Honey from 1986.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Film Forum is beginning another great series this weekend called “Shirley Clarke 100” celebrating what would be the 100thbirthday of the African-American documentary filmmaker who passed away in 1997 at the age of 77. Some of the films in the series include Ornette: Made in America, Portrait of Jason, The Connection, The Cool World and more, including a series of shorts including Skyscraper, which received an Oscar nomination. Also playing for one week is a new restoration of Bill Forsythe’s 1981 film Gregory’s Girl, a film set in Glasgow that has been deemed one of the 100 greatest British films of the 20thCentury by the BFI. (Bill Forsyth will be there Saturday afternoon for a conversation.) Joseph Losey’s Holocaust drama Mr. Klein is also returning for one more day on Friday. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr” is the coming-of-age film Breaking Away (1979).

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Beyond Fest 2019 continues this weekend with a sold-out screening of The Exorcisttonight with William Friedkinin person. Otherwise tonight you can catch one of three free screenings of the 1971 film Mooch Goes to Hollywood and on Thursday, there’s a free screening of 1975’s Dolemite and a free screening of 1981’s Madman on Saturday. Unfortunately, Saturday’s West Coast premiere of the 4k restoration of Sam Raimi’s 1981 horror classic The Evil Dead is also already sold out. The Sunday triple feature of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Night of the Creeps and The Fog is also sold out unfortunately.

AERO (LA):

The AERO celebrates “50 years of Monty Python” with double features of the 1975 classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Terry Jones’ Erik the Viking (1989) both in 35mm printson Friday, The Meaning of Life (1983) and And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) on Saturday, A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997) on Sunday. Tuesday’s “Tuesdays with Lorre” matinee feature is The Maltese Falcon.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend’s “See It Big! Ghost Stories” screenings are the 2001 Japanese horror film Pulse, clearly sharing the same 35mm print with the Roxy. Jonathan Demme’s 1988 film Beloved, based on the novel by TonI Morrison and starring Oprah Winfrey and Thandie Newton screens Saturday afternoon, while The Innocents andThe Others screen again on Sunday evening. On Friday night, you can also see the fairly recent Yuen Woo-ping action film Master Z: Ip Man Legacy. Saturday afternoon there’s a Serbian double feature of Ognjen Glavonic’s 2016 film Depth Two and 2018 film The Load.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

It doesn’t look like the IFC Center has posted their new series yet, although on Friday and Saturday at midnight (actually 11:59pm), you can see Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, if you haven’t seen it yet despite it screening for months here and at the Metrograph. Also, the IFC Center is showing George Miller’s 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Roadat midnight (actually 11:59pm) those same nights.

BAM CINEMATEK(NYC):

This weekend, BAM is showing the 1997 film Selena, starring possible Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lopez in her break-out role. It doesn’t seem to be connected to any series.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

Tonight and tomorrow night, the Roxy is screening the Japanese horror film Pulse (2001) in 35mm.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday’s midnight screening is Tommy Wiseau’sThe Room… again.

STREAMING AND CABLE

This week’s “Netflix and Chills” offering is In the Tall Grass, the new movie from Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) based on the novella written by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. It’s about a brother and sister, her pregnant with a baby, who hear the cries of a young boy from a field of tall grass and they go inside to rescue him only to fall foul of a sinister force within that separates them along with a few other people, including one played by Patrick Wilson. I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie as much of it involves people running around yelling each other’s names in the tall grass, so it’s not particularly scary.

Next week, we’re back to three wide releases as Ang Lee’s Gemini Man, starring Will Smith, takes on the animated The Addams Family and the tech-comedy Jexi.

#WhatToWatchThisWeekend PainAndGain MyNameIsDolemiteJoker Movies Reviews

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mfmagazine · 5 years

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Mountain Con

Article by David Miller

What are your names and what do you do in the group? Swede: My name is Swede and I play guitar, pedal steel, and regular guitar and banjo. Jim: My name is Jim and I’m the singer and I play a nylon gut string guitar. I play harmonica and I write some songs. Ben: My name is Ben and I play keyboards. Mike: My name is Mike and I play drums. Dustin: My name is Dustin. I do all the turntable and sampler work on stage and the ‘jack of all that’s needed that’s not musical. Pierre was in Montana this day and he is the bass player and genius engineer and as Dustin calls him, “the mad scientist.” You all combine music technology with pop song writing. What is the spark that gets a track going for this band? Jim: Well, a lot of times they start as Folk songs. We’re experimenting more with building loops and experimenting more with what might happen accidentally. Usually we start with songs that can be played with and acoustic guitar, lay it down with a click track and build it up from there. For this next record, we’re experimenting a little bit with going the reverse route to mix things up. When do the samples and loops come in? Jim: Our studio and writing process are inseparable, really, but after we get some chords and lyrics we start our insane process that is too complicated to get into. We won’t bore you with all the details today. But after much obsessing we finally get something that we are happy with and we hope other people are happy with too. What’s happening in the world right now that become topics or themes when you write? Swede: God, open the news paper. Watch CNN. Jim: Our lyrical side of things is usually existing in a different universe than the musical side. The musical side is an exploration of sounds, whereas the lyrical side is more personal. Lyrically, I’ve been dealing what I call, ‘conspicuous appropriation’ or a collage aesthetic that coveys a picture of something that’s happening today. When did Mountain Con start and what was the original idea? Jim: Four of us were in a band in Missoula, Montana where all of us except for Dustin are from. It was a more contemporary early nineties guitar driven rock band kind of thing. We moved out to Seattle when we were 18 and thought that within a year we’d be, ya know, big rock stars or whatever. Basically the whole thing just kind of fell apart. But we regrouped here in about 1998 and it gave us the ability to really rethink how we made “Rock Music.” Mike: We also really liked the beat approach to hip hop and the way that felt, so we experimented with taking Bob Dylan songs or rock songs and applying that to say, Public Enemy and basically trying to get that beat stuck into something that doesn’t fit. Jim: Yeah, that got the gears turning. I mean, when we first started out we didn’t even know how to make a loop. Now we can just about have our way with anything that we want. Tell me about the title “Dusty Zero’s, Dirty Ones.” Dustin: That title really puts together the two worlds of folksy rock and digital production, I mean you got the whole binary code thing that is at the heart of digital based production and sampling, and the human element of what all of do instrumentally and what styles we play. With the declining industry sales and the threatening legal strategies being implemented by record label, how do you guys feel is the best way to get your music to the public? Swede: Well, it almost got to the point with our dealings in LA that we fed up and just wanted to put out the last record on the internet. Dustin: We did the whole shopping thing (delivering demo’s of your music to record labels) with the record and it was brutal. I mean, unless you have a huge fan base and a lot of record sales to show on your own, people in the industry aren’t taking any chances. They got enough problems as it is. So we went to all the local record stores and radio stations and we’ve been getting a lot of great support from them. KNDD has been really helpful to us and KEXP as well. But Seattle and Portland are the only real markets that this record has seen. Jim: The only National grasp that record has achieved is over electronic means and the internet. Dustin: We just got on iTunes three weeks ago and that alone took months because we didn’t have a record company backing us and it’s hard to get the attention of these large companies on your own. Give me your top 3 or 4 hip hop production influences. Mike: I’m into the old school East Coast thing. Like Tribe Called Quest, and Public Enemy. Dustin: Erik B and Rakim. Jim: Digable Planets. Mike: Currently, I like Mos Def’s stuff. He’s got some great stuff goin’ on. But definitely not any top 40 stuff, or at least rhythmically to me that stuff is less interesting. Who would be your dream artist to open for or play with? Dustin: Beck! He would be the dream first choice obviously. Jim: The Dust Brothers are huge. Dustin: We’d love to open for the Roots and Interpol. What sets you guys apart from the rest of the crowd? Swede: We get a lot of comments on, the slide (guitar). A lot of people come to our shows and don’t even know what the hell the thing is. Dustin: If someone knows what they’re looking at on stage, they see a slide, an old Hammond organ, keyboards and drums, and tucked in the back is turntables and samplers. We have such a unique set up live that we just stand out by what we bring to the table. You all have a very pop oriented sound. The Stranger here in Seattle even commented that you had a “cookie cutter M-TV” sound. Where does that come from? Jim: I think that comes from growing up in a small town where, the only outside access was the mass media. So, it’s like it’s in our DNA when we want to arrange a song, we instinctively gravitate to the classics. It wasn’t even until we were 18 or so living here that we had any access to alternative music. Sometimes we hear criticism for that, but we can’t help ourselves and we have no interest in making music that we are not. It’s what’s true to us. What social or political elements do you champion in your music? Dustin: We like to combine social consciousness with good grooving’ music. Really we make party music, but one piece we’re proud of is a song that is a mixture of a beat that sounds kind of like something Outcast would do, and we took some lyrical influence from John Lennon’s “Gimmie Some Truth” and made a song that we really resonate with consciously. Also it was made in time for the elections and we felt very strongly about that outcome in that we didn’t want to see four more years of lying and cheating as demonstrated by the current administration. Tell me about the name “Mountain Con.” Jim: Our Grandfathers worked in one of the largest open copper mines in the country in Butte Montana. It was called “Mountain Consolidated” and we felt like it was a nice big powerful name for a band. Our music is a mine. We dig through the sedimentary layers of culture and make modern music, so we’re a mining project in our own right. For a closing thought, I want to go around and ask each of you this same question: If you could go back in time, what musical movement would you like to visit for a weekend? Dustin: I’d probably go back to the Bronx in the early eighties. I, mean, just the musical invention of plugging in two turntables into a light post on the street and creating the greatest musical art form since rock. Mike: Even though it doesn’t necessarily inform my rhythmic influence with this band, I’d like to go back to late ‘70’s London and be around the punk energy as well as the fashion and design movements happening then. Ben: There were a couple of weeks in the early ‘70’s when Pink Floyd rented a room and started jamming on E minor to A, which became “Breath” from Dark Side of the Moon. I would have liked to be around to see that. Jim: Did they have the Lear Jet in ’66? Because I need to bounce around to a few places if I’m only getting a weekend on this on. But there was like a competition between the Beach Boys and the Beatles and Bob Dylan around that time for the most amazing pop album of all time really. It’s like the history of pop music was moving into a gigantic focal point and after which rock music just broke out into a million shards. So, I’d need a Lear Jet to go from LA, to London, and back to Woodstock NY. Swede: I would have to say Hamburg Germany in 1959 with the Beatles playing at the Kaiser Keller and the Star Club back when they were all hopped up on speed and were still a punk rock band.

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footstepsofagiant-blog · 6 years

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Top Anime to watch this Summer

Finally an update and I made it in time before we hit Autumn, for this post I thought it is important to watch a few episodes before I can come with a new list for this season, although we are nearly done with the summer here is a list to keep you busy inside are my Top 5 Shows to be watching.

Even though I am late with this post, I was really thinking of you guys because I know how much you like to binge watch, haha!

Hope you guys enjoy!!!

With each post, I try to give you an understanding of what the anime through a basic synopsis, and then followed by a brief review of what I think of the show so far.

I appreciate any recommendations in the comments, and I will try to watch these as well!

5. Banana Fish

Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir “Papa” Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the devil who raised him, however the hideous secret that drove Ash’s older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa’s hands.

A well thought out plot, with contrasting leading characters and fitting artwork this anime hits all of the right spots in my opinion, also for those of us who are amazed in magic, and enjoy a great thrill now and then Banana fish will definitely be one of your most favourite anime’s of the season.

For fans of: Bungou Stray Dogs, Hakuouki Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Shoujo You can watch it at: Banana Fish

4. JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze

English: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

Naples, 2001. Giorno Giovanna is a small-time crook with one big dream—to become a “Gang-Star.” No ordinary thief, Giorno has a connection to the remarkable Joestar bloodline, and possesses a Stand named Gold Experience. His dream starts to become reality when he meets Bruno Buccellati, a mobster from the gang Passione and a fellow Stand user himself.

As Giorno becomes a member of Passione, and is inducted into Bruno’s squad, he discovers that it is no simple gang…

Another weird and entertaining adventure from Jojo is something that is sure to keep you busy this summer. The series exists to surprise you on every episode with its unique styling and eccentric art style and plot. Each character is very individual and does not share any similarities to that of the main character who although has noble intentions has no qualms getting his hands dirty.

*This review is based on the festival premiere and manga.

For fans of: One Piece, Naruto Genre: Action, Shounen, Adventure You can watch it at: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze

3. Hataraku Saibo

English: Cells at Work

This is a story about you. A tale about the inside of your body… According to a new study, the human body consists of approximately 37 trillion cells. These cells are hard at work every day within a world that is your body. From the oxygen-carrying red blood cells to the bacteria-fighting white blood cells, get to know the unsung heroes and the drama that unfolds inside of you! It’s the oddly relatable and interesting story that is the life of cells!

This anime has a great structure and story line which makes it very exciting and pleasing to watch, with all of this being said it is scary how much you might actually learn about your body from an anime show.

Oddly enough the show reminded me of one of my many childhood shows “Ozzy and Drix”, although the concept of being inside the body is similar I can definitely say this is much more intense and engaging to watch.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone this summer because it is not your everyday anime.

For fans of: Black Clover, Ozzy & Drix, Hajimete no Gai Genre: Comedy, Shounen You can watch it at: Hataraku Saibo

2. Tenrou: Sirius the Jaeger

The series takes place in the Imperial Capital of 1930. A group of people known as “Jaegers” landed on Tokyo Station. They carry musical instrument cases and came to hunt vampires. A man named Yuliy stood among them with a striking serenity and unusual aura. Known as a werewolf who had his home village destroyed by vampires, he and the Jaegers engage in battle against the mysterious holy arc known as the “The Arc of Sirius.” What truth awaits them?

Finding a good Vampire based anime are a dime in a dozen, however is one that keep you glued to the screen. Packed with action and full of excitement this is one to be watching this season. Another great reason to watch the show is for its eye-catching visuals and intense battle scenes with fluid character movements. This is something you should definitely give a go!

For fans of: Castlevania, Bloodivores, Servamp Genre: Vampire, Horror, Action, Supernatural You can watch it at: Tenrou: Sirius the Jaeger

1. Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3

English: Attack on Titan Season 3

So this is the third season of the Attack on Titan, which you should already know or heard about already. If you haven’t all I can say is watch all of the seasons before starting this one, because you are going to be in for a ride.

Season 3 follows up on the previous season, the story progresses with new twists and surprises. The problem this time has become very different. In the fact each character has to deal with a change in their emotions. This season I have felt has connected with me the most as all of the characters have been developed to become something new.

This season is packed with excitement, passionate voice acting and beautiful visuals, also did i mention that is super easy to watch, due to being a modern day masterpiece.

This is one of those great series which I feel is not rushed in delivering new seasons as the team behind the anime really work hard on producing something that will keep you looking forward to the next season.

For fans of: Shingeki no Kyojin!!! Genre: Drama, Military, Shounen, Super Power, Thriller You can watch it at: Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3

So that’s the end of list, if you have recommendations please put in the comments!! ありがとう

Top 5 Anime…Summer 2018 Top Anime to watch this Summer Finally an update and I made it in time before we hit Autumn, for this post I thought it is important to watch a few episodes before I can come with a new list for this season, although we are nearly done with the summer here is a list to keep you busy inside are my Top 5 Shows to be watching.

#2017 #Animation #Anime #Fantasy #japan #Japanese #Otaku #review #Spring

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yamijay357 · 7 years

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Top 10 Movies of 2016

Another year has passed and another Top 10 movie list must follow. I found this year to be a tad weaker than 2015, with many of my picks for this list not coming to theaters until November or December. This year started to show, quality wise at least, the blockbuster fatigue that constant releases in expanded universes (superheroes, especially) can evoke. Fortunately, once I narrowed down my list along with a few honorable mentions, it became very difficult to put them in order, which is usually a sign of some great films. I believe that every movie listed here will be a great addition to one of your movie night queues. So, without further ado...

Honorable Mentions

Deadpool

Superhero movies have flooded our theaters to the point that we’ll soon be getting over half a dozen in a single year. This year they ranged from the painfully mediocre (Batman v. Superman, Doctor Strange) to just bad (Suicide Squad). Deadpool was a nice breath of fresh air as Ryan Reynolds brought the much loved Merc with a Mouth to the screen. Deadpool is funny, lampooning everything from the superhero genre as a whole to the questionable decisions made regarding both previous appearances of Deadpool and the career of Reynolds himself. If only all comic book movies could be this faithful to the spirit of the character.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Another year, another Star Wars movie. This installment was a landmark film for the franchise in that it was the first major release not to focus on the main narrative following the Skywalker family. Instead, we were given the story of how Princess Leia ended up with the Death Star plans she had at the beginning of A New Hope. We get a look at a different side of the universe not particularly focused on magic space wizards but instead on real people fighting the threat of the Empire. Felicity Jones leads a great cast in a solid movie that has one of the best third acts of the franchise. Alan Tudyk stands out as a reprogrammed Imperial droid that is loyal to the Rebellion but throws shade like no other. While not all characters were developed fully, in the end, Rogue One stands as the best blockbuster of 2016.

The Top Ten

10. Manchester by the Sea

Grief is often the hardest thing to sell on screen, so making such a deep theme the focus of your movie is a bit of a risk. However, Kenneth Lonergan deftly writes and directs a unique view of grief for a unique family dynamic. Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler, a handyman who resides in Boston away from his home of Manchester following a family tragedy. The death of his brother brings him home where he discovers that he is now the guardian of his nephew Patrick, played by Lucas Hedges. The film follows both of the men as they deal with death and all of the complications that come from it. However, their story is both painful and funny, as the movie makes for several reactions that seem all too real to those of us that have lost someone close. While the ending leaves several elements uncertain, Affleck and Hedges give strong performances that give us one of the truest depictions of loss ever set to film.

9. Pete’s Dragon

I hate the original Pete’s Dragon. When I found out a remake was being made the chances of me seeing it were slim. However, when it received several good reviews, I fit it into a four-movie day at the theater, mostly because I was curious. I didn’t expect to walk away with such a satisfied feeling. All of the awkward elements of the original (Animation that stood out in a bad way, sub par musical numbers, and Mickey Rooney) are gone, leaving a wonderful modern fairy tale about an orphaned boy and his invisible dragon friend that hit in all of the right places. Bryce Dallas Howard leads a great cast including Karl Urban, Robert Redford, and promising newcomer Oakes Fegley as Pete. A great story, seamless effects, and an ending that will bring tears to your eyes allows this movie to soar above its predecessor and claim its place on this list.

8. Lion

This movie snuck into theaters near the end of the year and I saw it on New Year’s Eve. It was a pretty great way to end the year. Lion is the true story of Saroo Brierley, an five-year-old Indian boy who, while searching for work with his older brother, gets transported across India to a region that is entirely alien to him, including the language. After Saroo finds his way to an orphanage, he is adopted by a loving Australian couple. 25 years later, Saroo is obsessed with finding out what happened to the family he lost. This may be the most genuine, human film made this year, as the audience feels the panic and fear of a strange new place with young Saroo, and the hope and frustration plaguing his adult counterpart as he searches one of the most populated countries in the world for a single small village. Dev Patel gives his best performance yet as Saroo in a film that will take you on quite the feels trip when both you and Saroo reach the conclusion.

7. Jackie

We all know what happened November 22nd, 1963. But have you ever thought about what the person most affected by that day did in the week that followed? Natalie Portman plays Jackie Kennedy, who is interviewed the week after her husband President Kennedy was assassinated. The movie rests completely on her and she doesn’t disappoint. She completely becomes Kennedy as we see a world that is rocked by loss on both a personal and national level. Kennedy must face everything that comes in the aftermath from being moved out of the White House for the Johnson family to trying to explain to her children why their father won’t come home again. There are times that I forgot I was watching Natalie Portman as I fell into the world captured so perfectly by Pablo Larraín. This film speaks not only to the humanity of Jackie Kennedy, but also to her amazing contribution to the legacy JFK left behind.

6. Arrival

What would happen if we really were visited by alien lifeforms? A history of cheesy and often terrible movies (cough, Independence Day, cough) has built in the assumption that the aliens would be hostile and seek to destroy us. If aliens were to visit, I believe that Arrival shows us the most likely outcome compared to anything else. Amy Adams plays linguistics professor Louise Banks who is called in by the government to try to decipher the communications of alien visitors. Along with a brilliant physicist (Jeremy Renner), Banks must figure out the intentions of the visitors before other countries take hostile actions. This movie does an amazing job of displaying both our actual ignorance of other lifeforms and all of the possible directions we could take with it. In the midst of people not understanding each other, Arrival is a brilliantly made film that speaks to all people.

5. Moonlight

Similar in structure to Steve Jobs, Moonlight consists of three short films focusing on Chiron (aka Little), and his coming of age in a poor neighborhood that has no shortage of drug dealers. As a child, he finds a crack dealer named Juan (Mahershala Ali) who, along with his girlfriend, serve as loving parental figures in the place of his disinterested and drug-addicted mother. Juan helps Chiron trust people, which leads to him sharing an intimate moment with his high school friend Kevin. Circumstances lead to Kevin and Chiron separating but encountering each other as adults, leading to one of the most beautiful ending scenes of the year. Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes give stellar performances as each stage of Chiron’s life. Such a simple story gives way to profound emotions that will resonate with you well after the film is over.

4. Loving

Speaking of simple, there was probably no more simply put-together movie this year than Loving. And yet, it managed to be one of the most profound films of the year. Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga play Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose illegal interracial marriage led to the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case that ruled all marriage laws having to do with race unconstitutional. But that is not what the movie is really about. With limited dialogue and politics, Loving focuses almost solely on the relationship of the two main characters and the hardship they have to face from their home state. We learn about their dreams and the lengths they will go to in order to be together. The leads are absolutely fantastic and give you the entire weight of the story while spending only a few minutes of screen time in courtrooms. In a year where several films on this list took my heart, Loving is a true standout.

3. Zootopia

The reason that The Good Dinosaur didn’t succeed as much as everyone thought it would was because it failed to deliver on its premise of a world full of dinosaurs by showing us just a few dinosaurs. Zootopia doesn’t suffer from this problem, as the world of Judy Hopps (Gennifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) is a rich world of animals with different personalities, troubles, and ambitions. This movie would have succeeded as a fun movie on that alone. But Zootopia goes a step further and delivers one of the most profound messages of almost any animated film ever made. It not only highlights the obvious prejudices different groups of people feel toward each other, but also how we may not even be aware of our own unwarranted feelings of distrust and how they can affect people close to us. This was the movie that 2016 needed and that we’ll need for years to come. Also, who wants a full Gazelle album? (Raises hand)

2. La La Land

Earlier this year, when introducing one of my friends to my favorite movie, Singin’ in the Rain, I made the comment that “they don’t make this kind of movie anymore, and it’s sad.” Well, turns out that Damien Chazelle felt the same way and gave us an amazing film that serves as both an homage to the musical genre that preceded it and as a beautiful piece of art that will inspire future artists for years. Emma Stone plays Mia, a girl trying to pursue her acting dreams in LA, along with thousands of other people. She frequently runs into Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), an unemployed jazz musician who dreams of owning his own club. The two chase their dreams together to the tune of the best soundtrack of the year and delightful dance numbers and city backdrops. La La Land succeeds in every technical aspect as Los Angeles is turned into a magical, musical dreamland. Stone and Gosling go beyond their usual charm and give us amazing characters with surprisingly good singing voices that would make Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers proud. And then the ending. Well, if the ending sequence doesn’t fill you with emotion, then you’re probably a robot.

1. Hell or High Water

The biggest surprise of the year for me turned out to be my favorite movie of 2016. Hell or High Water is David Mackenzie’s neo-Western masterpiece that is perhaps the best possible step to take after the Cohen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men. The film shows Chris Pine and Ben Foster playing brothers Toby and Tanner Howard. When their mother dies and Tanner gets out of jail, the bank handling the loan for their mother’s farm seeks to seize the property. In order to pay off the bank that overcharged their mother for years, the brothers begin to pull off small robberies of the local branches. While authorities don’t see it as a priority, the crimes attract the attention of two Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) and a chase across Texas begins. Every performance is incredible in this movie. Chris Pine shows his dramatic chops while giving the best performance of his career (so far) and Jeff Bridges is outstanding beyond even what you would expect. The cinematography shows off the gritty yet beautiful western landscapes yet never loses the scope of how the region has been hit by the advancement of modern times. But the true winner here is the best screenplay of the year as every character is able to draw you into a story that begs questions of morality and loyalty. While La La Land may walk away with all of the awards, Hell or High Water is my pick for Best Film of 2016.

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