fic: calendar marks (national treasure)
benjamin gates, pg-13, ~2500
"Five important dates Benjamin Franklin Gates didn't really enjoy before the age of forty-two." (takes place in the Labradoodle universe)
( by the age of seven, thanksgiving meant stress )
"Five important dates Benjamin Franklin Gates didn't really enjoy before the age of forty-two." (takes place in the Labradoodle universe)
( by the age of seven, thanksgiving meant stress )
Oh, Ben's parent issues are like, the most overt source of depth he really has. A lot of the stuff here is very thinky and "oh dude, I guess Ben would be like that" but just WATCHING the movie and seeing his frustration with Patrick and Emily's bickering...plus his helpless face when the "What do we have in common?" "...me?" part happens. I also noticed when I watched it the other day that Ben like, spouts out this roaring yell at his father after they see Emily. It's so WEIRD though, such a contradiction, because at the same time, Ben's family is everything he is. He went through NT2 trying to clear his ancestor's name, through NT1 he was trying to continue the hunt that all the other Gates men had attempted (speaking of which, I'd like to see a female Gates treasure hunter somewhere in that history but eh, whatever). I think it's really just his parents that rile him up, and his grandfather represents the last remaining statue of that Gates legacy that Ben loves so much. And when he dies, I almost think Ben just keeps clinging to it, hunting the treasure, because if he doesn't want it, it'll be lost forever. Poor bb. :(
I really did like Ian. Probably because I really like Sean Bean. Except for the very end, in the cavern, Ian really wasn't THAT evil. He was actually a pretty decent negotiator and fair guy, he was just willing to do more horrible things than Ben was. They're after the same thing, but I think that Ian is just naturally more ruthless. Some of that might have to do with Ben trying to uphold the 'Gates honor' and just American honor in general, where Ian is a Brit and half of it doesn't mean a shit to his heritage. I would LOVE to see a Ben/Riley from Ian's POV though. Because you're right, now that I think about it, Ben and Ian definitely seemed like "the friendly old guys" and then the hacker kid is sitting in the backseat of the snowmobile talking about broken shoelaces, by himself. You know those relationships where it's like, three people, but the two people really don't like the third person as much? Yeah, kind of like that.
Still, Ben's not a dick, and even when he's turned off by Riley's youth (awesome, AWESOME connection between Ben's experience with twenty-somethings when he was one coming back in his perception of Ri ^_^) I still think he sees the loyalty there. Riley makes fun of his history knowledge a lot, but you can't tell me Riley isn't a good guy and a loyal friend. You know that line "If it was you, you'd have less evidence and I'd already believe you by now"? Sums it up so acutely for me. Riley might not believe any of it because it's so crazy (even though he wrote a book of conspiracies, rofl, I think Ben rubbed off on him) but he believes it BECAUSE IT'S BEN. That's so much deeper than what they're hunting for, or the clues leading there, or anything Ian ever offered.
So, hi. XD
Reply
I also noticed when I watched it the other day that Ben like, spouts out this roaring yell at his father after they see Emily.
Dude, I loved that bit so much, it's so perfect to me. You see some serious resentment there for both but Dad always gets the brunt of it and Ben can't help it - so you see those crazy WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! moments like that from him towards Dad.
I think it's really just his parents that rile him up, and his grandfather represents the last remaining statue of that Gates legacy that Ben loves so much.
And that's exactly it from where I'm standing - his family name is such a huge thing and was obviously a more comforting thing to rely on than Patrick/Emily and grandpa dying was a HUGE shock for him. Plus, the rest of the awesome epic family is dead, he can ignore any flaws they might have had and just cling to the positive - unlike the glaring negative of his living family. I think you could probably make him do anything with the right nudging when it comes to his family identity- it brings out, IDK, the real core of him, whether it's the crazy obsessive side or the really good side, you know?
Ian doesn't have that Gates family background when it comes to him wanting the treasure - and like his grandpa said, it was never about the money for Ben.
asdfghjkl, I've said it before and I'll say again: Riley has a spine. Because I honestly think that's the only time we see him truly upset - not overly flaily about little things but really honestly upset. And he doesn't hesitate to throw it in Ben's face right in public and I love it because he's like, BITCH, YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING LOYAL I AM but he doesn't say it with hair-tossing or flaily gesturing, he's just a bit pissed and he knows he's in the right and so it makes the whole scene awesome.
And, heh, I love the conspiracy theory book.
(speaking of which, I'd like to see a female Gates treasure hunter somewhere in that history but eh, whatever)
MWAHAHAHAHA, *waves another part of series* AHAHAHAHA.
Ahem. Anyway.
Hi.
Reply
Leave a comment