#there are two circles. one is the movies critics say are good. the other one is movies i enjoy. the circles do not overlap.

[astroboots]

Punch-Out Love

Artwork by @guruan

FIGHT NIGHT

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x female reader

Summary: You're lucky enough to score ring-side seats at a boxing match on Friday night. Getting the best view in the house of boxing champion: Miguel O'Hara.

Word count: 1,500

Next Chapter

Spiderverse Masterlist | Astroboot’s Masterlist 

You know fuck all about boxing.

About the only thing you know about the sport was from the glimpses you caught watching scratched up old recordings of Muhammed Ali fights on the boxy mini-tv of your old childhood friend's house.

It always seemed barbaric. The practice of watching two human beings beat the shit out of each other for spectator's entertainment. It seems like something that was better left in the Ancient Roman times. Have we all human beings as a society, really not come further some 2,000 years later?

Your bestie used to get mad at you for this. Constantly defending the sport from your criticism, because (according to him) it's not just about smashing each other's faces in. Supposedly, there's an art to the sport. Boxers are taught to respect their opponents and adhere to the principles of good sportsmanship. It takes great mental discipline, dedicated work and years of hard and punishing training to master boxing.

You never saw any of that in the matches he showed you. All you saw were two men needlessly being hurt, sustaining brain damage for rich people's enjoyment.

Then again, he was more than a little bit biased, considering it was his dream to go pro one day. Tall and gangly, with his scrawny antelope legs, thick-rimmed glasses and big-ass braces, he looked like he couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag, much less another person. You never understood how exactly he thought he was going to make it as a boxer.

But you never found it in you to burst his unrealistic bubble when he used to point at the screen excitedly, drawing your attention to Ali's footwork and the artistry in it. 

"It's like he's dancing," he used to say.

Except dancing is done with swelling music in the background. In dancing you often have a partner. It's an embrace. It's gentle and kind.

Boxing... was not that.

So you don't know how you managed to find yourself in the ringside seats of a local boxing match on a Friday evening, staring up at the boxing ring with the glaring ring lights shining into your eyes.

"Aren't these seats amazing?" Jess shouts excitedly over the familiar lyrics of ‘We Will Rock You' being belted out by Freddy Mercury on the loudspeaker.

You smile, and nod, because boxing-fan or not, she's right, these are some amazing seats. And considering you didn't have to pay a dime for them, personal aversions aside, you're never going to turn down free stuff.

Jess' husband tested positive for covid at the last minute, and you're the only one in your social circle that is anti-social and single enough to not have any plans on a Friday evening.

On the monitors above you, the menacing headshots of the two fighters swish into view.

"The first guy is an old reigning champ," she explains to you, as she leans in, shouting into your eardrums (and yet you can still barely make out what she's saying over the music). "The challenger is some new kid on the block. Has an amazing track record. Zero losses in the season. He's something else."

You look up at the gigantic screen, at the sharp cut cheeks, strong thick brows and the intense pitched brown eyes staring down at you.

Angry looking dude.

...Handsome too.

With a face like that, surely he could've gone into other careers. Calvin Klein model, movie star, or a news anchor. You wonder what makes a guy voluntarily have his face bashed in for money as a career.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a loud booming voice announces from the stage.

You jump in your seat from the suddenness, as you see a bald and overly formal dressed announcer in the middle of the ring. 

"Welcome to the electrifying boxing showdown of the century! Are you ready to witness some knockout action tonight?"

The crowd around you cheers with a pandemonium of shouting and whistling.

"Introducing our first fighter, a true hometown hero! With an impressive record of 20 wins, 15 by knockout, and only 2 losses, standing at 6'3 feet, and weighing in at 340 pounds of determination and strength, give it up for ‘the Knockout King’ Bobby Kane!"

You watch as the reigning champion walks down the tunnel to the midst of adoring cheers as he waves and gestures at the crowd like royalty.

Every inch the king that he is nicknamed, he jumps over the rope and stands tall and proud over the ring.

The man is huge, bulging with almost grotesque muscles. He's so large that you almost expect each of his steps to send a reverberation throughout the hall, as if this was Jurassic Park and he's a T-Rex.

"Now, entering the ring with the confidence of a warrior, fighting out of the red corner, with 15 wins, 10 by knockout, and no losses, standing at an astounding 6 feet 9 inches, and weighing in at 310 pounds of raw power, let's hear it for tonight's challenger, ‘Steel Jaw’ Miguel O'Hara!"

Wait what? You do a double take at the announcement. Six foot nine?!?! What kind of giant is that?

From the far corner of the hall, you see his silhouette emerge, and your eyes go wide at the sight of him. Tall doesn't even begin to describe him. 

There's a 200 year oak tree at Central Park, and with the shadow this man casts, you think their height must be nearly comparable. If you thought the Knockout King was tall, the "King" is practically tiny compared to this challenger.

You watch, as the man with cheeks so sharp they mind as well be blades (and god never has a nickname made more sense to you) as he strides towards the stage. He reaches the rope and barely even has to climb over it with how tall he is.

He's leaner than his predecessor. Every inch of him is cut muscles and tanned gorgeous skin as he stands in front of you. His presence is electric. The air crackles where he stands, towering over the stage.

You swear that his towering height blocks out the ring lights with it, casting the stage in the darkness of his tall shadow.

Somehow, he's even prettier in person compared to the still image of him blown up and plastered on the big screen. Soft brown curls and pouty lips. You don't understand in what world a man like that is a professional fighter.

From this distance, with the way that the light refracts from his irises, his eyes almost glow with a scarlet red that takes your breath away as you look up at him and meet his eyes.

If you didn't know better, you'd think he was staring at you.

The bell rings out, but he's not looking away. The intensity you find there is enough to make you swallow your tongue. Your face prickles with heat and for several long moments you forget to breathe, until the air seems to thin around you and your vision starts to swim.

Then he turns to face his opponent.

You're not quite sure where to look. There's so much happening at once. For his size, Miguel O'Hara is surprisingly deft on his feet. His footwork is somehow both unpredictable yet intentional all at once.

The King throws a strong punch, as he lunges forward, after his tall opponent. But O'Hara dodges them seemingly without effort. It's followed by punches so quick, the movements blur together.

Strike after strike. The King is giving it his all. But none of it properly connects. With every failed hit, you can see him growing increasingly more frustrated.

Your heart is in your lungs, and despite how close you are to the stage, you almost want to get up from your seat for a closer look.

Safe as you are behind the ropes, adrenaline rushes through your veins with a fury. You can't recall the last time you felt this ecstatic about... well, anything.

With each punch O’Hara dodges, you feel yourself lurch back in your seat, trying to dodge the punch with him.

It's titillating.

Exciting.

O'Hara's movements are precise and honed with intention despite the ferocity in his movements. Each one is measured and intricate and if you didn't know any better you'd almost call it graceful.

You think back to those moments in your childhood friend's home, and his excited words buzz in your ears now. For the first time ever you finally understand what he had meant.

It is like a dance.

Before you, O’Hara's eyes cross over in your direction and for a split of a second, you swear your eyes connect again. His gaze holds you there, pinned to your seat, and excitement shoots through the entirety of your spine until you feel lightheaded from the attention.

Then he finally steps forward, no longer evading.

It's brutal and efficient.

An uppercut that connects cleanly to his opponent's jaw.

Spit and blood flies out from the man's mouth, the flabby flesh of his cheek vibrating from the impact as he lands on the floor with an ear-shattering thud.

Then the guy is out.

Barely even eight minutes in. 

There's a stunned and shocked silence. The crowd seems both enthralled and disappointed at how fast it all went. On the ring floor, you can practically see the circle of cartoon birds flying above the defeated King's head.

You may not know anything about boxing, but you know that this man is not getting up anytime soon, no matter how far the referee counts.

Tearing your eyes away from the motionless body splayed out on the ground elevated above you, you can see the victor towering menacingly over the body.

But Miguel O'Hara isn't even looking at his defeated opponent

No, his eyes are staring straight into the sea of awestruck spectators. Except he’s not looking at them.

He's looking at you.

~ Next.

Author's note: What's that you say? CiCi wtf are you doing starting another series when you already got one going on? ... Idek man. But I hope you guys enjoy it, cause I had a blast writing it, smut will ensue in later chapters I promise!

Dedications and Credits: Buckle up it's gonna be a big one!

Firstly to @guruan when I say she's my muse THIS IS WHAT I MEAN! Look at that beautiful artwork. I am drooling into my panties. I am crying between my legs. I am so damn horny! I cannot thank this amazingly talented genius enough. Please please give this wonderful brilliant human your love by following her, and drop by her KO-FI SHOP cause the art this woman bless us with is UN-fucking-REAL

Then to @djarinsbeskar who put this idea into my head. In my mind she is the OG Boxer AU champion and mastermind. If you are in the mood for more boxing content, she has a wonderful, devastatingly sexy series Boxer!Din AU that is just woof woof bark bark.

[kittyball23]

Hi kittyball, did you read the trolls band together junior novelization? Does it include deleted scenes from the movie? I heard there was a scene cut with velvet and veneer buying yachts 😆 and another scene with velvet spraying veneer with troll without warning him.

Hi, I sure did! I do remember that there were scenes and/or little details that differentiated from what was seen in the actual movie, and I’d be happy to share them:

John Dory in the beginning was being a little more critical of Clay’s dance moves

“C’mon, Clay,” John Dory said. “They’re Funderdrawers! Underwear, but seventy-six percent more fun! Now let’s see those dance moves!”

“Fine,” Clay said with a sigh. He did a quick series of dance steps, naming them while executing them perfectly. “Rusty robot into a wiggle worm, and end on caliente puppet.”

“Not bad,” John Dory said, stroking his chin. “But your robot could be rustier. And your worm wigglier.”

Clay looked annoyed. “Don’t you want my puppet caliente-er?”

“I wasn’t going to say it,” John Dory said, “but yeah. Definitely.”

‘Bro-Time’ happened in both the beginning and the end, each brother doing a hands-in-the-middle thing

Beginning:

“If we can’t hit the Perfect Family Harmony, we aren’t perfect,” John Dory insisted. “And if we aren’t perfect, we’re NOTHING! Being nothing is definitely not an option. So just follow my lead.” He stuck his hand out, palm down. “Let’s do this!”

Each of his brothers piled their hands on top of his. Together, John Dory, Spruce, Clay, Floyd, and Baby Branch shouted, “IT’S BRO TIME!”

End:

Smiling wistfully, Floyd said, “I can’t believe we almost missed out on all this.” It had been a long time.

“We shouldn’t have let our differences break up our family,” Clay put in, joining them.

John Dory walked up. “That’s right. Because we don’t have to be perfect to be in harmony. We just have to be together.”

Branch started to point out that he had told them exactly that, but he changed his mind. “You’re right,” he said. “Good point, bro.”

Standing in a circle, the brothers each put a hand in. “On three,” Branch said. “One… two… three!”

“IT’S BRO TIME!” they all said in unison, lifting their hands.

Baby Branch was supposed to make his entrance suspended on a wire

“And making his first live appearance, the Baby!” Glitter burst over the stage, revealing Branch suspended on a wire.

“Awwww!” the whole audience said, charmed by the adorable sight.

BroZone rolled right into their first song. Cool, calm, and collected, John Dory danced up a storm. Spruce blew another kiss, and the fans went wild. Clay added a little goofy touches to the dance steps, getting lots of laughs. Floyd shed a single tear as he sang. And Branch flipped down off his wire, sticking the landing perfectly, nailing every move and every note as the five brothers came together.

As the Family Harmony started to happen, glass broke and a lightbulb shattered

The five brothers hit a chord and held it. Offstage, a water glass broke. KSHHH! Overhead, a light bulb shattered. SHHINK! The brothers looked at each other. It was happening! They were achieving the PERFECT FAMILY HARMONY!

Smead, Gristle’s Aunt, was supposed to be the officiate instead of Miss Maxine for Bridget and Gristle’s wedding

Gristle’s Aunt Smead, a tall Bergen with goggles and hair that stood straight up, was in charge of leading the happy couple through their wedding vows. She leaned over and joked, “Hey, Bridget, you still have time to run for it!”

Poppy and JD went through with the whole hug, fist-bump, and wave thing she suggested when meeting him

Poppy rushed over and introduced herself to John Dory. “Oh my gosh, I was being so rude! I’ve never met anyone from Branch’s family before. I’m Poppy. Branch’s girlfriend. Should we hug? Fist-bump? Smile and wave for now and see where the night takes us?”

“All of the above!” John Dory said, hugging her, bumping her fist with his and waving and smiling.

Crimp was supposed to be shown cleaning up the chair before Velvet and Veneer made their entrance on the Mount Rageous show ‘The Bop on Top’

In a TV studio, the pop duo’s put-upon assistant Crimp swept off a chair, making sure it was immaculate before one of her bosses sat on it. Crimp resembled the head of a straw broom, with green eyes, white glasses, and a purple hair bow scrunching a bun of papery hair on top of her head. She was much shorter than Velvet and Veneer, but was still at least three times the size of the average Troll.

Ignoring their assistant, Velvet launched herself onto the chair, squashing Crimp. FWUNK! “So,” Velvet said to Kid Ritz, “what do you wanna know? I’m an open book.”

You are correct, Velvet did spray Floyd’s essence at Veneer without him expecting it lol

Grabbing the perfume bottle, she squeezed the bulb, giving herself a big spray of Troll talent. SHHFFT! Floyd groaned as the energy was sucked out of him. Velvet tested the results, opening her mouth to sing. She let loose an impressive cascade of notes. Satisfied, she smiled and aimed the bottle’s nozzle at her brother’s mouth. SSSHHFFT! “Your turn, Veneer.”

Veneer coughed. “Ack! You’re supposed to say it before you spray it, remember?”

There’s a quick moment where Floyd sympathizes with Crimp

Rolling her eyes, Velvet said, “Ugh. I’m exhausted by this drama. Do you wanna go buy a yacht?”

“Oh, good idea!” Veneer said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s buy matching yachts!” They left the dressing room without another word.

"Can I come out of the corner yet?” Crimp asked.

Floyd looked at her with pity in his big violet eyes. “Girl, you need a new job. I should be the saddest one in this room.”

A small moment where Bruce and JD hug

Seeing an opportunity, Poppy decided to give Bruce a little encouragement. “Prove it. Prove it,” she started chanting. Bruce’s kids all joined in, balling their fists and pumping their arms in time with the chant. “PROVE IT! PROVE IT!”

Bruce took up the challenge. “Oh, I’ll prove it,” he said confidently. “I’ll prove it right now.” He took a deep breath and let it out. Then he hopped up onto the stage and stood next to John Dory.

“Yes!” John Dory cheered. “Bring it in, brother!” They hugged.

More of Velvet being a jerk

A stage manager popped her head through the dressing room door. “Knock, knock, knock – it’s ‘we’re ready for you’ o’clock!”

Velvet faked a super-sweet manner. “Look at you, making your job fun. Good for you! Just give us five minutes. We’re still working on our routine. Okay, doll?” She closed the door and muttered, “Loser.” Then she picked up Floyd’s bottle, planning to take in another spray of his Troll talent before the day’s singing began.

Veneer making a reference to a meme

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Floyd cried, holding his hands up against the inside of the diamond bottle. “Come on, it’s just dress rehearsal. You don’t need me for a dress rehearsal!”

Ignoring his protests, Velvet grabbed the golden spray bulb between her fingers and pointed the nozzle at her mouth, ready to spritz her vocal cords. Her brother spoke up. “Wait. Maybe he’s got a point. Do we even need a dress rehearsal?”

“Obviously,” Velvet said, making a face. “That’s why we’re getting dressed.”

“I’m just saying he doesn’t look so great,” Veneer pointed out. “He has, like, sad Troll face.”

Velvet shrugged it off. “He’s fine.”

Velvet’s suggestions for how to make Floyd better

But Velvet wasn’t overly concerned about Floyd’s see-through hand and overall paleness. “Oh, he just needs some blush,” she suggested. “Or is there a mini tanning bed we can jam into the bottle with him?”

More back and forth with Velvet and Veneer

Veneer paced the dressing room floor, clutching his head. “What are we going to do? We obviously can’t even rely on the Troll to get us through this dress rehearsal, let alone the Rage Dome show!”

Looking annoyed, Velvet said, “How come I always have to come up with something?”

“Because you’re the mean one!” Veneer told her.

“I’m not mean – I’m ambitious!”

Floyd having been conscious while Velvet was shaking the bottle

Picking up Floyd’s diamond prison, she said, “Maybe we should just try shaking the bottle.” She shook it. Floyd ricocheted around inside, banging against the hard surface.

“Ow! Ouch! Ooh, my knee! My other knee!” he cried.

Lonely People having been sung later on in the movie, after Floyd makes a ‘philosophical’ statement

Floyd looked at his body, becoming more see-through by the minute. “Well,” he said philosophically. “I lived, I loved, I lost.”

To the accompaniment of gentle ukulele music, he sang quietly to himself. He looked and saw that it was Crimp who was playing the ukulele.

Bruce’s response to learning about Velvet and Veneer’s song

On an empty road that night, Bruce steered Rhonda, listening to Velvet and Veneer sing one of their pop hits on the radio. “My kids love these guys!” he said. “We’re a total Veneer household.”

“They’re the ones who are holding Floyd prisoner,” John Dory called from the back of the van.

Bruce looked shocked. “Wow, everyone’s getting canceled these days.”

A little more Clay and Viva friendship displayed

Viva put an arm around Clay’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m the face of the operation, and Mr. Clay takes care of the boring stuff!”

“Guilty!” Clay admitted. He and Viva tapped elbows and laughed. 

Branch and Poppy having a short exchange after leaving Putt Putt Village

Heartbroken, Poppy watched as the gate closed. She leaned her scrapbook against it for Viva. Branch ran up behind her. “You were right, Branch,” Poppy said. “Family is… complicated.”

Velvet and Veneer having labeled bottles for the rest of the brothers

In Velvet and Veneer’s Rage Dome dressing room, Floyd’s diamond bottle sat on a shelf next to four empty bottles labeled Heartthrob, Fun Boy, Old One, and Baby. Floyd’s bottle was now labeled Almost Dead One.

Branch’s line about the diaper slightly differing

They tried singing one of their old songs, but John Dory soon cut them off. “Stop! Stop! Time-out. Let’s take it from the top. Spruce, I want some smolder in those eyes. Clay, you’re being too stiff. We need some sillier robot moves. Branch, maybe a smaller diaper.”

“Or some clothes not from the toddler section,” Branch grumbled.

Clay’s line about his CPA position replaced with this:

Bruce got right in his brother’s face. “This isn’t going to work if you keep being the same old John Dory.”

“Yeah,” Clay agreed. “We’ve all changed. Bruce settled down. Branch is slightly taller with zero glasses. And I’m not the guy who shoots milk out his nose and smiles through the burn!”

“Yup,” Poppy said to herself, remembering past milk blasts through her nose. “Been there.”

Crimp also confronting Velvet and Veneer when Poppy and Branch do on the red carpet

“You’re stealing BroZone’s talent because you have none of your own, you big PHONIES!” Poppy said, pointing her own accusing finger at them.

Crimp popped up out of the van. “They’re MEAN!” she shouted. “And I was their assistant, so I KNOW!”

The fans, listening to this exchange, started whispering to each other. Could what the little Trolls and the papery mop with glasses were saying possibly be true?

An extra line JD said when the talent was being sucked out of the four brothers

Velvet lowered herself back down through the sunroof and punched a button on the car’s dashboard. The roof folded back, clearing the way for a metal arm to rise out of the car, holding an entire round stage. Velvet and Veneer both hit the buttons on their shoulder pads and inhaled big whiffs of Troll talent. The four brothers winced in pain.

“Floyd, why didn’t you warn us about how uncomfortable that is?” John Dory asked.

Slightly different lines when Poppy, Branch, and Viva arrived at the yacht

When she saw Branch, Poppy, and Viva on the deck of the boat, Velvet wasn’t dismayed. On the contrary, she was delighted! “More Trolls!” she exclaimed happily. “This will last us a lifetime!”

Velvet trying to sing after she and Veneer came out of the river that they had fallen into, and Crimp calling the two out again

The yacht came to a stop, wedged diagonally across a narrow passage in the river. Velvet climbed out of the water, turned the camera on herself, and tried to sing.

She sounded awful.

The crowd gasped. “Hey, what happened to your voice?” a fan shouted.

Veneer decided it was time to come clean. “Okay, fine,” he said. “Listen up, Mount Rageous. We are FRAUDS! And we’ve been literally torturing little Trolls!”

The fans were horrified. One yelled, “My illusion of celebrity has been shattered!”

Crimp stepped in front of the pop duo. “It’s true,” she confirmed. And they’re mean. Not ambitious, but just plain MEAN!”

Veneer having put the handcuffs on Velvet instead of Crimp

“Oh, give it up, sis,” Veneer told her. He faced the cameras. “We just wanted to be famous. Honestly, my sister wanted to be famous, and truly, I was too afraid to stand up to her.”

Disgusted by her brother’s admission, Velvet said, “It’s like I don’t even know who you are.”

“Yeah, you do,” Veneer said firmly. “And you asked me to change anyway. Which isn’t okay, family or not.” He snapped a pair of handcuffs onto her slender wrists. She held them up, asking, “Veneer, what have you done?” Then she admired the shiny cuffs, saying, “Oooh, are these real silver?”

And the ending scene, in which Kismet is not mentioned, and Branch and Poppy have one last exchange

Over the loudspeaker, Crimp announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, you know ‘em, you love ‘em – give it up for the Trolls Kingdom’s very own… BROZONE!” She opened the curtains revealing the five brothers in sparkling new costumes. The crowd went wild!

In the front row, Poppy cheered along with them. Branch offered her his hand. “Poppy,” he said. “I have a small proposal. Will you – “

“Join the band?” she interrupted, bursting with excitement. “Of COURSE, I will! I thought you’d never ask!”

“You know me too well,” Branch said, grinning. “Now get up here and sing with us!”

“AAAAHH!” she squealed, leaping onto the stage. She extended a hand to her sister in the front row. “Viva! Viva, get up here! We’re in the band!”

“This is my dream life!” Viva cried, joining her and whipping out a pair of castanets.

The seven Trolls joyfully sang and danced together, and the audience absolutely loved it. The concert turned into an epic dance party. Fireworks exploded, lighting up the night sky.

Poppy turned to Branch. “I love you, Branch!”

“And I love you, Poppy!” Branch told her.

“Would it be weird if I fainted?” Poppy said. “Oh, I’m gonna faint right now.”

And she did. But Branch caught her. He would always be there to catch her when she fell, and she would do the same for him, no matter what.

Those were a majority of the main differences I could find in the junior novel. I think most of it stayed true to the movie, but some little details I would’ve liked to have made the final cut (the Cliva friendship stuff, the extra Broppy exchange and, while I understand the purpose of NSYNC’s cameo, I think the movie would’ve worked just fine without it)

[thebowieconstricker]

Head Over Heels - Prolouge

(The Creature x Reader)

A Lisa Frankenstein (2024) fic

masterlist link

Alright, monster lovers, I’m gonna try something a little more ambitious: an actual fic. Constructive criticism welcome! Please be kind because I have no proof reader and I’m still learning how to write good stories lol. I’m also gonna be fleshing out some characters to better fit the narrative I have in mind for this story. I hope you enjoy the prologue!

Warnings: slight language, my best attempt at worldbuilding, and our gender neutral reader is an orphan, so discussion of that. Also, (N/N) stands for nickname!

~~~

1986, Brookview, Indiana

“Oh. My. GOODNESS, (Y/N)! You have to try a face mask! It’ll help you with those dark circles under your eyes!”

“But (Y/NNNN), pink is totally your color! Just give it a chance, your nails would look SO pretty!”

“You didn’t even jump! It’s like you’re built for these movies, (N/N)!”

Comments like these had already gotten old around- you checked your watch- two hours ago. You considered yourself a survivor of some ancient teenage girl ceremony. Saying polite “no thank you”s to Taffy and the rest of her much too perky friends was becoming quite the laborious task. Some may say you were being too stubborn, as they had treated you with nothing but kindness since you came to town, to which you’d argue that Tricia certainly seemed like she had a bone to pick with you. Along with her, you had unfortunately seen enough of the world to understand one of the most important rules of high school:

The popular girls were mean, and these girls were certainly popular.

You had no idea why Taffy had run up to you on your first day of school and excitedly introduced herself, her gaggle of friends confusedly following after her. You figured this was some kind of territorial power move, checking out the fresh meat before inevitably deciding to kill.

But then Taffy kept hanging out with you. And complementing you. And begging you to hang out with her group of gals.

You took it as some kind of elaborate bit, but hey, they were nice.

At least they didn’t look at you like you were a rotten corpse walking down the halls.

Your thoughts snapped back to your current situation at Taffy’s house. Her mother, Janet, had actually sneered at you when you walked in, but other than that, the night was shaping up to be your average “new girls first sleepover”. Grease had taught you well. That was, until the truth or dare game started.

Lori had brought it up, and it started pretty normal.

“Who’s your crush?”

“OMG, I’m not telling!”

“Come on, Misty! We won’t tell! Right, (Y/N)?”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, no.” You mentally cursed yourself.

This is how it continued for a while before you finally perked up.

“I dare you to go to the Bachelors Cemetary Grove.”

“WHAT??? No way, Tricia! There’s no way in hell-“

Your eyes widened in intrigue and you blurted out without thinking, “There’s a bachelors cemetery?”

The girls turned to look at you.

Tricia raised one of her perfect eyebrows.

“You haven’t heard about it? It’s like- uber haunted.”

That piqued your interest. Life in the foster care system had caused you to grow accustomed to the darker sides of life, and you had always had a special interest in the dead. Your own parents had died in a mysterious fire when you were just a baby, leaving you with no real memories of them. You believed that everyone deserved to be remembered, especially the average, unremarkable person.

(Mainly because you knew that’s how you would turn out, and you’d like to be remembered.)

Enough of that, though, because everyone is still looking at you, so you cleared your throat.

“Would I have to go tonight? Or like, right now?”

Tricia rolled her eyes. “I mean, I didn’t ask you-“

“Oh, shush, Tricia! She’s participating!” Taffy smiled widely at you.

Tricia shot you a look.

“Fine. Yes, tonight. And you’d have to bring back a vine to show that you actually went there. The place is full of them, so it should be easy for you.”

You detected a hint of challenge in Tricia’s tone, but ignored it. You wanted to do this to quench the thirst of curiosity that was bubbling in your brain. This seemed like the first interesting thing you had heard about in this boring town.

You stood.

“I’ll do it.”

Taffy cheered and Lori looked at you in amazement. Misty immediately began to try to talk you out of it, worrying about your safety, while Tricia went silent.

Your mind was set, though. Time to see what all the hooplah was about.

~~~

The walk to the gravesite had been much more peaceful than you thought it would be.

Taffy’s house was constant noise, light, color, total overstimulation. However, the cool mist that danced across your skin along with the eerie silence of the woods soothed you. It helped you clear your head.

After walking through the woods for what seemed like hours, you finally came across the old rusted iron gate that sadly displayed the text, “Bachelors Cemetery Grove”. You frowned, finding the disrepair of the cite pitiful. This place should be filled with respect, not to be forgotten by vines and leaves.

Speaking of, holy shit, Tricia was right about the vines everywhere.

Thick, bright green foliage covered every inch of the area, graves poking out here and there to display faded names. It was enchanting to see so much life growing in a place of death. You could have snapped off a vine and booked it out of there, but you were drawn to this cemetery. Careful steps led you deeper and deeper into its heart as you swerved this way and that to try and make out the occasional name.

Then, through a beam of moonlight that shone through a break in the trees, your eyes caught on a specific grave.

You walked closer and came face to face with the stoic expression of a handsome young man, carved in the same stone his grave was made of. He had a strong nose, with beautifully curved lips and hair that flipped upwards on the ends. He was looking slightly downwards, his eyebrows painfully curved upwards, as if to express a dramatic feeling of grief. Resting beside his bust was an arm and a hand, attached to nothing and slightly curled. He looked like a man that would recite beautiful poetry, professing his deepest desires and most intimate thoughts.

Your mouth was slightly agape as you admired him. Despite your more logical thoughts, you brought a hand up to gently caress his cheek, finding a raised texture chiseled there that suggested sideburns. A sigh escaped your lips as you realized the romantic-ness of it all. A man who seemed perfect, a lover, full of life and emotion, condemned to a permanent fixture in a buried world.

You could say it was love at first sight.

[musingginger]

separate ways // eddie munson

Synopsis – Eddie sure does love to torment you and turn you into putty in his hands. 😊

Pairing- Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader, Eddie Munson x You

Warnings –some cursing, fluff, lots of nicknames (princess, sweetheart, angel), no Y/N, SMUTTY SMUT SMUT, 18+ only, minors DNI, cockwarming, grinding, lots of fingering (receiving), nipple play, soft!eddie, a tad bit of possessive!eddie if you squint, softdom!eddie, praise, squirting.

Word Count – 3.2k

A/N- I *clap* WANT *clap* THIS *clap* SO *clap* BADLY*clap*!  *screams into pillow* This idea got me wildly hot, so I of course had to write it down for all of y’all. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated. Also, this is only edited by me, so apologies if there are typos. And of course, if you enjoy it, please reblog! Hope you enjoy! Thanks! <3

I do not grant permission for anyone to use my work. Under no circumstances, repost my work on any other sites. I do not consent to anyone taking my work and posting it as their own.

You were going to lose your mind if he kept it up.

It was a typical Friday night in the trailer. Eddie threw on one of his new favorite slasher flicks, Sleepaway Camp. You had probably watched it close to 10 times in the last two months. Eddie had you laying with your back to his chest, in between his legs. You loved laying like this against him. You could feel every breath, every laugh, every jump scare (though he vehemently denied it every time). And of course, every little kiss on the top of your ear Eddie gave you when you got scared yourself.

But tonight, something was different.

Tonight, you wore a cute new red plaid mini skirt that you had gotten for Christmas. You loved the way it looked with your beat-up combat boots. Subconsciously, you might have worn it to torment Eddie… he’s always said he had an affinity for skirts and combat boots. When you got to the trailer, he couldn’t take his eyes off you.

“Sweetheart… is that-uh-is that new?” He licks his lips, clearing his throat, trying to get the words out.

“Yeah baby! You like it?” You give him a little twirl on the porch.

“You-uh-you could say that again, sweetheart.” He smirks, giving you that boyish smile as he scratched the back of his head. He sticks his head out of the doorframe, looking right and left. “You better get in here before you start getting cat called and someone asks me where my girlfriend went.”

Eddie grabbed your hand firmly and yanked you inside.

That was two hours ago.

Now you were comfortably in between Eddie’s legs, watching Sleepaway Camp. His large warm hand was laying gently on your thigh.  His mouth had been getting closer to your ear for the last few min, and he was now breathing hotly against your delicate skin.

He gently starts to stroke your thigh with his left hand. You gasp a little as cold rings hit your skin, making you shiver.

“You ok, angel?” He asks gently, whispering in your ear, tilting his head to get a good look at you.

You nod, catching your breath and trying to focus on the movie. You clear your throat, shaking your head a little bit, adjusting slightly.

“Uncomfortable, sweetheart?” Eddie gives you a little peck on your cheek. His long trestles tickling your face.   

You shake your head. “Nope… all good, Eds.” You turn your head back, giving him a cheeky smile.

“Well as long as your comfortable… You can always tell me to move or stop…” He smirks, giving your nose a tiny kiss as his other hand starts to gently fiddle with the hem of your skirt. The touch makes your breath hitch, as you look up into his big, brown eyes.

“You gotta pay attention to the movie sweetheart…” He lifts his pointer finger, making a small circle, encouraging you to turn back around. You roll your eyes, turning your head back to the movie. For the amount of times he’s gotten distracted during a movie, god forbid if it was YOU that got distracted.

You both lay there for a few minutes, his fingers tracing along the bottom of the plaid. He carefully and softly starts to pull your thighs apart.

“Eddie…” You say softly, your face getting warm and you feel hot all over.

“Shh sweetheart, the movie. It’s just now getting to the good part.” Eddie kisses the top of your head, smirking.  His broad hand lightly grips the inner part of your thigh, dutifully pulling apart your legs until your skirt is hiked up on your upper thighs. You let out a little moan as you feel the cool air hit your panties, which had gotten, surprisingly, ridiculously wet.

Eddie gently pulls your skirt up a little more, just enough where he could see the tiniest bit of your panties. He bites his lip softly, smiling to himself. He had been wanting to get you into this position since you got here. Eddie strokes you with his rough, calloused thumb on your smooth thigh while his other hand starts to move towards the ever growing heat under your panties.

Suddenly, you feel gentle pressure on your clit. Not too much. Just enough. The touch from Eddie’s fingers on both sides of your sensitive nub makes you start to squirm. Firm circles start to encompass your hot button, making your thighs start to clench together.

“Ah ah ah… no no sweetheart.” Eddie murmurs in your ear as he hooks his ankles around your calves, pushing your legs back open and KEEPING them open. He wasn’t gonna let you move an inch, and you let him. You liked it.

“That’s my good girl…” he murmurs in your ear, possessively patting your pussy. He slides fingers back under your panties, rubbing your clit lighter. The movement makes you roll your eyes back and instinctively buck up into his hand.

Eddie smirks and taps your firm bud delicately. “Sweetheart, if you move too much, I’ll stop…. And you don’t want me to do that now do you?”

You bite your lip, shaking your head from side to side. You hold your hips down, trying your hardest not to move a muscle. After a minute or so, Eddie starts to rub your clit again.

Soft, messy sounds start to fill the room from your dripping wet pussy. God, he really knew how to really work you up. Firm circles, followed by gentle slides became his rhythm and it was driving you crazy. He hikes up your skirt around your waist, giving him a full view.

“You soaked through your panties, angel….” You whine on top of him, unable to speak.

Suddenly, his fingers leave your clit, making you whine softly. Eddie reaches over to his side table to pull out a pair of scissors, in which he quickly cuts your panties off of you at your hips.

“Eds! What are you-?” You softly protest, as Eddie shushes you softly.

“You don’t need those, now do you sweetheart?” Putting away the scissors, he slowly peels the white fabric off your soaking cunt. The action itself almost makes you cum. You start to arch your back, but remember what he said about moving, and you lay back against him, giving him your full body weight.

Cool night air hits your soaked pussy like a brick wall, that makes you shudder. Eddie lets go of your thigh and moves his hands up your sides slowly. He starts to lift your shirt, showing off your full tits.

“Can’t be neglecting these now can I sweetheart?” He moans softly in your ear, as he pulls up your bra, exposing your chest to him. He groans softy as his big hands grope your tits, making his bulge throb against your back.

You move your fingers towards your acing nub, but before you can get there, Eddie swats your hand away.

“Now now… you’ve gotta be a good girl for me, remember? Good girls don’t touch without asking. And you’re not allowed to touch at all.” He says a little roughly, putting your hand back on his thigh. You nod, understanding.

“I’ll be a good girl. I promise Eds.” You whisper horsely. He turns your head to give you a deep kiss, booping your nose.

“I know you will princess…” He slightly adjusts, focusing back on your heaving chest.

Moaning hotly in your ear, his pointer fingers and thumbs gently pinch and twist your sensitive nipples. You groan softly while he plays with your hard nubs, your fingers gripping into his thighs a little harder.

“Look at you being such a good girl for me.” He kisses your cheek firmly, while he tugs a little harder. The slight pain makes you yelp from pleasure, making you drip from your slick hole.

“MMmmm that’s it. Let me take care of you babygirl.” His strong tongue licks your earlobe, biting it roughly while he watches your body shiver and shake from his touch.

He lets go of your right nipple, moving back down to your pussy, which you were sure by this point had left a little pool on the bed. Expertly finding your clit again, he tenderly strokes you with his thumb. You gasp, pushing your head to the side, into his shoulder a bit.

“Eddie… Eds please… please… I want to…” You groan louder as you body starts to shake under him. You can’t bring yourself to finish the sentence.

“You want to what sweetheart? You know you have to use your words…” He says teasingly, biting your neck.

“I wa.. I want to cum Eds.” You whine at him, yelping as his thumb strokes your bud a little harder.

Eddie smiles devilishly. “Well, you know princess that want, and need are two very different things… and I need to you to NEED to cum. Do you understand?” He whispers softly into your ear. His curly locks touching the side of your face.

“Yes Eddie... yes… I need to cum.” You whimper against him.

He makes a small tsk sound. “Mmm I’m not quite convinced yet sweetheart.” He starts to use the pads of his pointer and middle fingers to diligently rub your clit. The action makes you furrow your brow, moaning a little louder now.

“Does that feel good princess?” Eddie moans into your ear. The action of getting you off was getting him harder than he had maybe ever been before.

“Mmhmm yes Eds it feels…ah… really good.. don’t stop. Please don’t stop.” You whimper against him. Eddie leaves wet kisses along your neck and collarbone while he keeps pinching your nipple and perfectly rubbing your bundle of nerves.

You could barely hear the screams from the tv over Eddie’s panting in your ear. The sensation was becoming too much and your legs start to twitch and shake more violently as your climax starts to reach its peak.

“Eddie… please… please I need to cum.” You moan. Holding onto his thighs was the only thing that was keeping you somewhat grounded.

“Mmmm I don’t think you’re desperate enough yet sweetheart. Just a little bit longer princess.” Your wetness had made his fingers slick and it easier to glide over your throbbing clit.

Moving his fingers over you in an agonizingly slow manner, before picking up the pace once again. You tremble, a moan stuck in your throat. You don’t think you can hold on anymore.

“Eddie… please PLEASE please I need to cum… Eds please!” Your entire body shakes on top of him, making his cock unbelievably hard. You feel the long, thick member throbbing against you.

“You can do it princess… just a little longer. I’ll count you down, ok? I’ll count back from 30. 30….”

As he starts to count back, your mind has to only focus on the numbers. Every few seconds he’d say another number, clearly wanting to torment you. By the time he gets to 10, you’re panting and moaning, crying out in frustration, nails gripping into his jeans.

“5….”

“4…”

“3…” He starts to count even slower now. You can hear his devilish smile in his voice.

“Eds… please… PLEASE…”

“Shhh… 2…”

“EDDIE!” You scream out.

“1…”

A massive tidal wave of an orgasm washes over you, making you leak onto the bed. The relief brings tears to your eyes as you cum hard than you thought was possible for a person to cum. Your dripping hole clenching around nothing almost made you want to cry.

Eddie slows down his rubbing, placing hot kisses on the hollow spot below your ear. He sits up a little, letting go of your nipple, placing his hand back down on your thigh. He grips it roughly, pulling you open more.

Suddenly, you feel two nimble fingers enter your empty, dripping cunt. You yelp out loudly, as the sensation is overwhelming.

“Eds! Wh- Baby… Wha-” Choked pants get caught in your throat as you finally feel his fingers plug up the emptiness between your legs.

“Shhh I just wanna see something sweetheart. I wanna keep making you feel so good… so fucking good.” He gently turns your head back to the front, pushing you up a little bit. “I want you to watch.”

He licks and bites at your neck, leaving pretty lavender marks along your delicate skin. He starts to firmly finger your pussy, adding just a little bit with every thrust, until his fingers where deep inside you, hitting your g-spot. This new position had his arms pushing your tits together, making them shake with every movement.

You turn your face towards his, eyes pleading. “Eddie… its too much!”

He sharply stops. “Do you want me to stop sweetheart? I can if you want me to…” The second his fingers start to slide out of your pussy, you whimper and start to plead for them to go back in. “See, this is how I know you’re my good girl…”

He pushes his fingers back into you deeply, making your back arch. His hand is gripping you harder now, leaving bright red marks on your inner thigh. Sloppy sounds from your wet pussy start to get louder as he fingers you deeper and faster.

You groan loudly, lets starting to twitch again. He always knew how to make you cum fast from his fingers, but in this position, it made his fingers feel inches longer. He gently spreads them inside of you, causing you to moan loudly.

“Fuck princess, you look so pretty with my fingers inside of you…” His lips leave your neck for just a moment to watch as well. His digits glistening in the soft light of bedside lamp, his cock throbbing uncontrollably in his pants.

Your pussy starts to clamp down on your lover’s fingers, your lips bright red from your teeth biting them, trying hard not to move too much. You roll your eyes back as another wave starts to roll over your body.

“Eddie, I’m gonna…” You screech as you cum hard around his fingers. Pussy dripping over his hand. You never realized your pussy could ever get so wet.

But he doesn’t stop. He keeps up his steady pace. Wet, messy sounds leave your cunt, while Eddie starts to softly hump your back.

“That’s it sweetheart… just one more… I know you can do it. Fuck… You’re being so… good for me princess.” He groans loudly as he bucks into you a little harder.

Tipping his fingers up slightly, now focusing on your g-spot, which makes you leak even more. Your tits are bouncing wildly now, and the cold air keeping your nipples hard.

Eddie kisses your temple softly, giving you soft praises in your ear. “Keep watching love… I want you to see what I’m doing to you.” You lock your eyes on his fingers pumping in and out of your pink pussy. The wave gets closer and closer.

“You don’t need to ask or tell me when you’re gonna cum this time babygirl. Just lean into it… let it happen… let me take care of you.” He grunts, moving his fingers harder in and out of you.

He starts to hook his fingers up into your g-spot, and relentlessly presses on it, coaxing your body into another orgasm. His eyes are wide, transfixed on your body. The body that was melting into his with ever second that passed. The sensation overpowers you, your eyes glazing over with tears of pleasure.

“I know sweetheart, I know… I got you… I got you.” He mutters deeply into your ear.

Then, without warning, your climax hits you like a mack truck. Screaming, you gush over his fingers, squirting all over the bed.

“THAT’S IT PRINCESS! SUCH A GOOD GIRL!” He roughly kisses your cheek and rubs your clit with 3 of his fingers back and forth, making you spray harder. He pounds his fingers back inside of you, making you squirt again. Your body arches and writhes on top of him. You’re unable to stop your body from moving, even if you wanted to.

The deep satisfaction makes you lose your sense of self, only focusing on pleasure, lost in the sound of your own panting. For a brief moment, you hear in the distance Eddie praising you.

“Such a good girl.. you did so well for me…” Eddie slows his fingers to a halt, gradually sliding out of you. He pulls you into his lap, cradling you gently, peppering your face with kisses.

You tremble against him, trying to catch your breath, nuzzling your face into his neck, laying on gentle easy kisses.

Eddie gingerly runs his fingers through your hair, getting it out of your face. Your eyes flutter open, feeling fluffy and treasured. You give him a small smile. His thumb rubs along your bottom lip, tugging at the corner of your mouth before kissing you deeply.

“There she is… You ok sweetheart?” He asks you so carefully, as if you were a piece of China he didn’t want to break.

You breathe in softly before nodding. “I’m ok Eds… I’m more than ok…” You smirk a little, blushing totally blissed out. “I-I didn’t know I could do that.” Looking over at the mess you left on the bed.

“Mmm I did. It was just a matter of time…” He whispers the pad of his thumb lightly touching your clit. It makes you jump, but then you lean into it a bit more. “But I’m serious. Are you alright? I didn’t push you too far?”

“Eds, no. It was amazing baby.” You put your hand on his cheek, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. As you break away, a though crosses your mind.

“What about you Eddie… Do you want me to…?” You wiggle your butt a little on his jeans, realizing there’s a wet spot. “Oh! Fuck, sorry. Did I do…”

You look at Eddie as the words start to leave your mouth, and he blushes a deep red. He looks down at you, smiling sheepishly.

“Ah yeah… No sweetheart that’s-ahem-that’s not from you.” He scratches the back of his head boyishly. You giggle at his admission.

“Baby! You got that worked up?”

“Well duh… I mean look at you!” He laughs loudly, kissing in between your tits. You let out a loud laugh as his hair tickles your neck. He leaves a trail of spit as he takes your right nipple in his mouth, giving it a soft suck before popping it back out.  He leans back, drinking all of you in.

“You know… since we’re both a bit of a mess now… how about we get in the shower, I’ll get you all cleaned up and then we can come back here… and make more of a mess.”

You bite your bottom lip again, smiling at him.

“Last one there’s a rotten egg!” You yell hoping off of him, making a mad dash for the bathroom. Eddie groans, chuckling to himself at the sight and darts after you.

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[sketches4mysw33theart]

Was Mr Keating A Bad Character?

Mr Keating is a complex character. But is he a bad one? And I don't mean this in the sense of was he badly written or badly acted - BECAUSE OF COURSE HE WAS NOT - but was his character a bad person, most notably surrounding his influence on the boys at Welton Academy?

Throughout the film, Mr. Keating faces criticism for his unconventional teaching methods, particularly following the tragic events of the final act. At first glance, it may seem wrong to blame him for how the film unfolds. However, as a significant influence in these boy's drab lives, his teachings undeniably shape their actions. Does this responsibility make him a bad character?

Let's examine what we know of his past. Mr Keating says that he was a weakling in school, that people would kick copies of Byron in his face. He was not the kind of person he is teaching these kids to be - he grew into this person. So, this raises the question: Was Mr Nolan right in criticising Mr Keating's teaching methods when the boys were just 17? Were they too young to be taught such 'radical' ideas?

Of course, it takes a long time to unlearn a lifetime of lessons. But even a few months under Mr Keating's teachings drove Charlie to extreme acts, like slipping the article into the paper and punching Cameron (an uncharacteristic outburst for him, and from any of the boys. However, we have seen violence inflicted upon him) - what would he have been like under a lifetime of them? This change in Charlie hints that the boys need a healthy balance between the two extremes - Mr Nolan's strict curriculum and Mr Keating's free thinking.

(I would just like to circle back to my point of having seen violence inflicted on Charlie. It's only after this that we see him punch Cameron. Naturally, I'm sure he's no stranger to Mr Nolan's cane, but he's never reacted so violently to other people before. Now that Mr Keating is gone, Charlie is already straddling the line between the two 'lives' he has known.)

I'm in my early 20's - I remember how impressionable I was when I was a teenager, even though I believed I was so independent. A charismatic figure like Mr Keating offering an alternative to my drab destiny would have been irresistible.

But Mr Keating was smart. He must have known his teaching would have some kind of ripple effect, across to the other kids, back to their families - and that this would have consequences. In my DPS analysis post, I mentioned Mr Keating's face as Neil and his Dad drive off after the play. He's so absorbed that he doesn't even hear Charlie speak to him. I said that I thought he knew Neil's fate, and I do. Which only adds to this theory - he knew there would be consequences from his teaching methods, and perhaps he even knew how severe they would be.

So, if this is all true (and remember this is speculation of a movie from decades ago!), is Mr Keating a bad character? Not intentionally. He wanted to give those kids a better, brighter future, one that didn't rely or conform to society, wealth, or status. Presumably, Mr Keating has lived a life adhering to the lessons he teaches the kids, so he understands that living a free live despite the consequences is the only way to be truly alive. He knew there would be consequences, but I don't think he believed for one minute that they would be so severe.

Therefore, no, I do not believe the complex character of Mr Keating was a bad one. Nor do I believe that he was a good one. He was, refreshingly and completely, a realistic, rounded person with strengths and flaws - and that's all we can ask from our media, isn't it?

[obsolescent]

Kinktober - Day 9

Pairing: Jill Valentine x Reader

Prompt: Embracing

Author’s Note: Let’s give it up for day 9! Enjoy.

Content Warnings: Trans!Jill, gender neutral language used for reader, P in V sex, unprotected sex, creampie, sex toys, overstimulation.

Kinktober Masterlist

It’s a Monday night, you and Jill are lying on the couch after a long day at work for you. You had interactions with customers that soured your mood, as well as your manager criticizing your work. You had texted with Jill throughout the day about the frustrating exchanges you had to deal with. When you arrived home, Jill had already taken care of dinner, the table set and wine poured.

“Oh, baby, you didn’t have to,” you said when you saw the display, pulling her into an embrace. “Of course I did, you had a shit day at work, least I could do,” she responded with a kiss on your forehead, nose, and a quick peck on the lips. You chuckled at her display of affection, removing your coat and shoes before sitting down and enjoying dinner with her.

After eating, you two cleaned and put the dishes away, tossing on some comfy clothes before settling where you are now, a comfort movie of yours playing on the TV. Jill is lying behind you, both of her arms clasped around your frame, face nuzzled against your neck. Your hands idly caress her arms while you watch the movie, attention honed in. 

That is, until you feel her grip shift, sliding down your side as she begins to kiss your neck. You hum, appreciating the attention, eyes beginning to close. They fly back open as you feel Jill’s hand trailing down, brushing over your crotch. You let out a questioning noise, turning your head to look back at her.

She shushes you before you can speak, “You’ve been so stressed lately, hate seeing you like this…Just let me take care of you, help you relax,” Jill mutters, kissing your cheek. “Lay back down,” she says and you obey, lying back on your side. “Good baby,” she pats your side before continuing, pulling your shorts and underwear down. She grabs your thigh and lifts it slightly, allowing her hand to slip between.

She takes her fingers and spreads your lips apart, dragging them up to lightly rub circles on your stiffening clit. Her other hand slips underneath your shirt, dragging it up to expose your chest, rolling one of your nipples between her fingers. You moan, instinctually spreading your legs further from the pleasure. 

Jill hums, “Yeah, just like that,” at your movements, sucking a hickey onto your neck. Her hand picks up speed against you, cunt clenching around nothing as you start to drip down your thighs. “Please…need more, need you inside me,” you whimper, arching, feeling her harden against you. Jill sucks in a breath and removes her hands from you. You groan, reaching back for her. She tuts, “Just giving you what you want, baby.”

She pulls you closer to her, pulling her own pants down and exposing her cock, angling and lining herself up with your quivering hole. Squeezing your thigh, she brings it upwards towards your chest, the head of her dick sliding inside. Both moaning, you reach back and tangle your fingers in her hair, pulling her into a fiery kiss.

Jill glides into your pussy, bottoming out. She grinds against your ass, slow circular motions, letting you adjust. “F-fuck, move, please,” you breathe out. With the go ahead from you, she starts thrusting at a steady pace, slaps of skin reverberating through the room. Your head lolls back against the arm of the couch, basking in the pleasure.

An unexpected vibration is felt against you, head snapping up with a surprised cry. Jill had pulled out your wand, stashed God-knows-where before. She laughs at your facial expression, eyebrows furrowed, mouth agape. Her movements never faltered, “Surprised you?” She asked with a grin, using the same circular motion she had with her fingers with the vibrator. 

“Y-yes, fuck, uh–Jill–” words starting to become incoherent. She coos at you, “Gettin’ harder to speak, sweet baby?” The pleasure is mind-numbing, only able to nod your head. In one fluid motion, Jill rolls you onto your stomach before pulling you onto your knees. Still thrusting into you from behind, her other arm holding you against her body in a tight embrace. 

“Wanna hear all those pretty noises from you, sing to me,” she whispers in your ear, her hand having a firm hold against your neck. The combination of Jill’s cock rubbing against your walls, wand pulsating against your clit, and her sultry words have you seeing stars, your orgasm hitting unexpectedly, body trembling against her’s. She grips you tightly through the spasms, praising you while your cunt milks her, urging her to bliss. 

Overstimulation hits, causing you to wail, legs closing against the sensations. Jill knees your legs apart once more, dropping your lower body back to the couch. Grasping your hips she begins a rapid pace, her end soon approaching. One hand clasped on your shoulder, she pulls you back against her, your sounds muffled by the pillow below you. 

Faltering, her hips flush with your ass as she finishes, moaning out your name as she spills into you, cock twitching against your contracting walls. You two stay in the position for a bit longer, savoring the connection. Jill’s hands run up and down your body as her cum drips out of you onto the sofa. Finally, she peels her body from yours, helping you maneuver onto your back. Jill takes a moment to watch her essence run out of you, eyes traveling up your form to see that adoring expression on your face, smile bright. 

Heart skipping, she leans over to pull you into a soft kiss. “Thank you. I love you,” you murmur against her mouth. Grinning against your lips, “Anytime, baby. Love you so much,” she responds.

[dirtyoldmanhole]

YRMR cover progress for the curious!

before drawing, there were a few things i knew that the cover had to have/show:

critically, had to have vibes of an enemies-to-lovers dynamic in the sense of ... the power tilt? even though that's not "technically" the true nature of their dynamic. gunter's not a nice guy in this fic, even aside from the possession, and i also didn't want anybody to run into this unsuspecting the darker parts to the fic. him more looming/threatening than you'd expect in base game, etc.

wanted to emulate kozaki's style through the whole cover in line qualitty, coloring, and composition. thankfully he gives a few tips over on his twitter. it's both a neat little nod at the source material, and also as a style experiment.

a big theme in this fic is gunter being made of so many masks/shells (there's a perfect blue cover, see below, that specifically made me think this composition could work.)

learning that kozaki hews pretty close to grids + the golden ratio was another big lightbulb moment, here's a drawing yoinked from his twitter where he shows it himself.

after scraping/studying from kozaki's twitter, i made one or two thumbnail doodles below. you can see the solid one had a golden ratio + general line dynamic check squiggled to the side. there's room for the title, the focus is on corrin, it'll work both in a horizontal and vertical crop, looking good so far.

you can see how pretty tightly to the thumbnail i kept, other than moving the vertical text to the top since i didn't have as much room there. i'm a little worried about the different line quality between how big the face is vs corrin but we'll see.

something i also realized i like about the composition is corrin "could" look like she's attacking the viewer, but she also looks like she could be guarding him with her back to him, which.... heh. comes up in some interesting ways in the last third of the fic (possession wise).

bunch of cleaning up.

as I suspected since this is 11x17in (much bigger than what i normally draw) i had to grab a different brush for gunter since thin lines were not going to work as they did for corrin. i think kozaki's real genius is how he treats texture with his linework; where he does thin lines, where he puts the thick ones, etc.

corrin's coming along great but there's a spirit to the first face on the left i think i'm missing now, so i'll probably re-insert that. (also decided to at least draw in his face there even though the masks/slices will distort that). i think what also helps is gunter's face is very low contrast and needs to remain low contrast, to help corrin pop out in front.

then i started thinking about typography. a lot of the fonts i had were either way too masculine/bland/modern, or way too feminine/curvy. this title needs a hint of masculinity to nod at FE's general action-adventure RPG roots, but it's also very distinctly the kind of erotica that doesn't easily lend itself to a genre. it's tender horror, it's daddy kink, it's vicious romance, it's ... a lot of things.

here's another thing: when thinking about title typography, another consideration is genre. briefly i considered something like lovecraftian covers; my doujin circle and i had been sharing pictures of old pulp covers. i also noticed a lot of my favorite JP erotic horror doujin have very spiky titles. this title also needs to be scrunched up in a tight space so it's not like we got a sprawl of acreage here either.

what doesn't help is enemies to lovers doesn't really have a visual language in mainstream media.

it's a staple of Ao3 (written) genres, but the closest you'd get otherwise would be romantic horror (kind of says a lot about who makes what huh?). for example, the shape of water (movie) isn't a 1:1, but it's pretty damn close -- unfortunately that poster dodged the question by using an art deco-inspired font typeface that was more about the setting than the genre.

and then i had an epiphany. maybe i was approaching this from the wrong direction: it's the knight/liege romance that's the heartbeat to YRMR.

think more old dragonlance novels. old medieval/fantasy pulp novels; plenty of kinky sex and ass in there, and still close enough to FE. remember everyone and their mamma having a bi ass crush for bad boy raistlin? that's the vibe i want.

this kind of glorious deranged shit. you're not gonna be surprised at possessed grandpa whip kink if you read these on the regular.

after ~*arcane designer magic*~ (I do this for a living) bolton and magiona display were the two fonts that were gonna work just fine together.

god that looks so much better. this looks believable now.

the thin/thick line weight contrast in magiona display is going to accentuate the lineart in a way that might be tricky with other fonts that work better on painted covers. bolton's "squished" vertically enough it doesn't compete with the other one, and makes for a good secondary/tertiary font.

few other things happened.

i shrunk gunter's face because not being able to see his jawline (sex appeal u see) was bothering me from a composition standpoint. it's the same reason frank frazetta didn't censor his glorious asses.

(said seriously, by the way. so many people don't give their lust in art enough credit.)

i also needed more room for the title to show, and the line quality/scale difference between his face was also bugging me. does this mess up the golden ratio composition? sure, temporarily, but his armor's weirdly flexible that we can adapt it pretty easily.

it's about this time i'm also looking through my hydrus network stash of favorite covers for what color palette and contrast to use. kozaki tends to skew purple/cooler hues for nohr characters, and that'd go well with these two.

purple/green hues that play well with light purple and the yellow from those old covers i love so much, low contrast midground, and something that'd contrast well with text above. dark/black background for the gothic vibes, and the text will probably need to be white or some sort of light-warm hue for that "pop".

doing color tests is more of a leap of faith and intuition than an exact science, but damn it is it satisfying when you nail it in one go and go 'holy shit i want to read this. :D

(green/gold for the hint of anankos' mask, also matching the yato and her warmer skin tone. purple flames for him, but the high contrast armor to separate her from his larger shapes. we've got the dragonstone and the yato as flexibility for lighting and emphasizing contrast with her. )

i kind of like how i accidentally made the mask shards reflect(?) a bit of his own face. hell yeah throw it in. this is something that's more likely to work than not. this is something that has that mix of id and horror i've been going after.

here's another version with references to the side and the golden ratio laid on again.

honestly a lot of it at this step is going 'dude you know what would be SO DOPE.... PURPLE FIRE...' 'dude..... fuck yes....' 'what about some sick ass sword effects?' 'YEAH....' and saving a bunch of backups in case of the idea didn't work out.

(am i going so much harder on a literal gilf porn fanfic cover than i need to? hell yeah. gunterfuckers deserve better. :D )

anyway here is when i start questioning everything, so i'll take a break from the colors to tighten up the lineart. now that the composition's settling in much tighter, i'm also thinking about how the two shapes interact with each other and if there's any potential issues with tangent points (where two lines intersect each other in a way that makes an optical illusion.)

that said i love how his jawline "points" at her face, that kind of line you want.

grinding away on corrin's lineart. also double checking that the shapes/colors/forms for her "make sense" both standalone and with the composition too. what's nice is she's at the point where i can just turn off my brain and polish up.

naturally couldn't resist poking at it more and this is when the rest of it clicked after figuring out which bit was anankos' mask, which bit was possessed!gunter vs himself (polished up the armor a bit too. at this point i'm pretty confident that it'll stay "set"; the biggest thing i'm likely to change is the blue silohuette to the dragonstone side for corrin.

here's the last true screenshot before cleaning up the last 2% of the lines. added the pulp cover texture around the border, switched the colors of the text so the cream would stand out more, cleaned up gunter's face and also increased the darkness of corrin's body so it'd contrast more with him behind.

thanks for reading. :D

[peoplesrazor]

Oh boy...

So in her introduction, Lily names five shows she thinks people talk about the most often for important LGBTQIA+ Rep. Those shows are Legend of Korra, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, and The Owl House. She mentions three other shows that I'll talk about later that she says people don't talk about, but which either had rep earlier, or had just as good or better rep.

She doesn't mention Ducktales or the Daria movie Is It Fall Yet ?or any other shows. Just in case you're wondering. She talks about Braceface, 6teen, and Lloyd In Space. Now, Lily has mentioned the other two as they were shows she watched growing up. I think Lloyd was a suggestion on her blog. I remember someone mentioning it there.

I'll let her arguments for these stand as she is mostly talking about how "early" they were. I do want to point out these characters were only in couple of episodes in one case, and a single episode in the others. So, Daria should have certainly been at least mentioned as an early example, even if it wasn't a very good characterization.

The three shows she says have better rep then the five she thinks are held up so much:

Craig of the Creek has several couples that fit this description and it's good rep, because it's so low-key. People talk about them though. The show, though very good, can be a bit niche to begin with so it just doesn't have a large vocal audience.

The Loud House has Luna and Sam, which does get talked about too, but it's a contemporary of the other shows you mentioned. Which means Luna and Sam, by your standards for the more modern stuff, have to be main characters. If you count Luna and Sam as main characters, you have to count, at least, fifteen other people. Kind of easy for their couple of 15 minute episodes to get lost in that shuffle.

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is one of my all time favorite shows. Lily says people are sleeping on Benson and Troy due to racism. What? Kipo is very popular in the fandom circles I hang around in and Benson and Troy are like THE ship. Did you sleep on this one, Lily? Did no one in your circle recommend it because it's a serialized fantasy adventure? Is that why you never did a dedicated video on it, despite it's rep being so good?

It wouldn't be a Lily video if she didn't tear down the shows other people like. First, there is something she repeatedly gets wrong, as far as I know, about Korra. She again says that Korrasami was a popular ship, true, and that they threw it together last minute, false. At least, by everything I've found. No, it wasn't planned from the start, but it wasn't last minute, either.

They started discussing it while writing book one. Writing. Not during it's run, not while animating the last few eps. While writing it. Why wait then? I suspect it's for something Lily has actually complained about before that actually happens. For some reason, showrunners want to wait until the end of the series to have the couple end up together. I suspect it was never anything deeper than that.

Okay, onto the Catradora thing. I'm not going to argue with anyone, not even Lily, who finds the relationship toxic, unhealthy, abusive. Though, now that I think about it, Lily, you sure seem to like to repeatedly show that footage for someone who gets triggered by FMA.

Anyway, I want to point out this hypocrisy:

Lily: If I have to hear it on a live stream, read it in production materials, or on Twitter, it doesn't count. I base my criticism only on what is in the show.

Also Lily: Let me once again call Catra and Adora sisters based on a single line I found on one page of outside materials, despite the show never once giving any indication that is the case.

She also lies and says it does indicate that. It does not. Hey Lily? Are Kyle, Rogelio and Lonnie also siblings? Wait. You never actually watched the show, you probably don't know who they are.

Should have just posted the bingo card again.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

5 Years Ago, 'Black Panther' Changed the World — But Marvel Failed to Change With It (msn.com)

what do think of this I think it does bring up some fair points

I agree, it brings up some really good points.

We have to be careful though not to fall for the belief that L&T or The Marvels are being criticized because the directors are not white. There is a part of that, racists everywhere unfortunately, but we need to analyse the product like we would with any other director. L&T is just not a good movie and The Marvels is not bad but it's not good either and it's certainly not a sequel for Captain Marvel.

So while Da Costa surely will be getting a lot of hate directed at her for being a POC woman, when it comes to discussing her work I have also seen a lot of people claim if you don't like what she does that means you're racist. So there's a fine line there.

With that said, they get scrutinized a lot more, the demands they have to face are much stricter and when their work is subpar we have to hear the "Women can't direct" which is something you never hear when the bad director is a man (I heard many critics of L&T and Quantumania but none of them said men can't direct).

Da Costa is probably facing the same fate as Brie Larson. When Chris Pratt got a lot of hate a few years ago, everyone jumped in to defend him. But Brie was mostly left alone and now it seems Da Costa is going through the same thing. If the studio can't be arsed to take a stand and defend them, are we really surprised the MCU fanboys feel free to hate on them?

There's also the fact that as per Da Costa's own words, she had no full creative control of The Marvels and the movie is pretty much a Feige movie. Where's the criticism aimed at him? 🤔

One thing from the article I agree with is how fake this "diversity" from Disney/Marvel truly is. The critics love to claim Phase 4+5 are not good because the MCU is focused on diversity but... is that diversity being used well?

Is it really representation when Loki says "a bit of both"? When Sam is Cap but we haven't heard from him since his series (but we get Captain Brexit bullshit every other week)? When some female characters might be taking the spotlight but their stories are not written well and their characterization is all over the place?

Black Panther works (and Wakanda Forever too, that movie is so good) because it's a well-crafted story that is not patting itself on the back every two minutes for how "woke" it is. It's quite simply a good movie done well that focuses on POC. And it works, of course it works!

The way Marvel/Disney approach diversity and representation nowadays is as follows: They do the bare minimum for clout, enough to anger the bigots and keep the rest of the audience happy. They have the best of both worlds: The bigots complain (thus fooling the audience into believing what the MCU does is actual rep), and when we complain that it's not enough, we're paired with the bigots and told we're racist, sexist, etc. It's a vicious circle and Disney loves it.

I really like this part of the article:

“There is a symbiotic relationship between studio and fandom but at the end of the day, the studio sets the tone. Trust that the people you’ve tasked with telling that story can do it to the best of their ability. Stick behind your actors, directors and screenwriters because filmmaking is a collective thing. You have to work as a team.”

That includes sharing the scripts with them in their entirety, being there for them when unfair criticism and hate are thrown their way, hiring more diverse people behind the scenes so we can get richer stories, delivering when providing representation... This is all something they are NOT currently doing.

[silver-slates]

My thoughts on Disney's Wish (Spoilers)

Let me preface this by saying that I haven't heard all of the negative things that have been circling around the movie, but I've heard more than a few things that painted a pretty grim picture of the movie before I went to see it. I was going in expecting something akin to Strange World going in, which I really didn't like (and that's coming from someone who likes unique worldbuilding.)

After I left the theater yesterday, my thoughts were just, "This is the worst Disney movie of 2023?" I really didn't have any issues with it at all, and even if I usually tend to have a more positive outlook on movies I watch in comparison to others, I just have to say that this was NOT a terrible movie. Disney has had a LOT of blunders in 2023, but I can't say that this was one of them. I know that a lot of people out there might disagree with me or even hate me, but Wish made me feel something that I don't feel very often: magic.

It's hard for me to know what specifically to talk about since I don't know about all the criticisms the movie's gotten, though I do know about a few. The first one that sticks out to me is the movie's art style, and how some people have called it ugly and even unfinished looking. But... I honestly don't get it. Nothing strikes me as unfinished, and I never found the art style to be irritating. It was something new, and I thought it was fine. It uses shading and colors that are a bit flatter than some of their previous works, but I saw that as it being a sort of in-between of the 2D look of the classics and the 3D look of the newer movies. There was probably only one time where I noticed something was slightly off, and that was where Asha is waving around some flags at the beginning and having no motion blur or smear frames on it looked a little awkward. I can also understand how some of the shots can feel a bit flat, but once again that's something that makes it feel similar to the 2D classics.

Up next, I heard some things about some of the characters being trash. The main two I heard about were Asha and King Magnifico. Some of the main things I heard concerning Asha was that she's dorky and silly to a fault, and what I have to say to that is that although she's pretty silly at the beginning of the movie and sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing to watch, that's just Asha being Asha before the adventure kicks off. As the story progressed, I thought that she learned to be more serious over time as she learned the truth about the wishes and Magnifico and what she really wanted to do, and most of her antics after that point are mostly concerning the actions of other characters. I never felt like she was silly in places where it was inappropriate, and I actually ended up liking her a lot. As for Magnifico, I haven't heard anything specific about him other than the fact that he's supposedly the worst Disney villain of all time. But... I just don't see it. His motivations are believable (according to my standards), he's shown to be a narcissist who doesn't truly listen to other people's criticisms, and him turning from a king who wants to maintain order while very rarely giving people what they want into a power hungry madman who wants nothing more than for his subjects to bend to his will and lick his boots feels in character for him and it had the right setup. I thought that the supporting characters were all good as well, but my least favorite was probably Valentino. He was alright and he did his job, but he really felt like more of a gimmick than anything else.

The next thing I want to talk about is the music. I don't know if anybody's had a lot of bad things to say about it, but I thought the songs were great. After Encanto I was wondering what they'd have in store for this movie, because although Encanto had some banger songs there were one or two that I didn't really like. Not so for Wish though, because I liked every last song that was in the movie. I'm... not really sure what else to say here.

I heard about there being a few cameos in the movie as well, and I picked up on a lot of them as I watched it. But the references feel tasteful, not overblown and obvious, and something you'll really only notice if you're looking for it (except for the Peter Pan reference maybe, but that's just one.)

One last thing I want to talk about is how I've seen some people calling the film's main source of conflict something that makes Asha a bad person. Basically, they say that her mission goes against Magnifico's warnings of what could happen if everybody is allowed to keep their wishes and that there could be some serious consequences that she's too headstrong to consider. But... they address all these points in the movie. Even if someone's wish turns out to be a rotten one, you can always try to step in and make sure it doesn't get too out of hand.

And I think those are all the things I had to say concerning Wish. I personally feel like it paid some good tribute to the animated classics with its story and familiar themes, and it was a good way to celebrate 100 years of the Walt Disney company, though I'm well aware that there are plenty who disagree. If there are some things that I didn't cover or consider please let me know, and I'd like to hear what you all have to say about the movie as well.

[billyboyblue]

Hi, hello.

You've made the mistake to use tags and I read tags and now I'm here

I'm asking questions. What are we thinking? How unwell do we feel when we see this shooting (personally pretty unwell but it hurts so good)? Prayer circle? Manifesting ritual? What will it be?

You know that Pete Holmes skit that's like, I don't wanna fuck him. That's not enough. That's only a little piece of me inside him. I want to get all up in there and wear him like a puppet. That's how I feel about this man but in a scale that covers everything.

It's about his commitment to be really good at his job and his way of constantly improving and learning and implementing his skills in new and interesting ways. It's his openness to criticism and self awareness that he lives a ridiculous life and uses that absurdity to push past the limits in creativity the comfort of practice and success can make. Stagnation is an antithesis of art and what I've never been, with Jake's work, is bored. He's wonderfully exploratory with roles without seeming like its stunt pieces meant to draw attention for attention's sake.

He's doing Othello with Denzel Washington, who is in my opinion the single greatest actor we've ever seen, bar none go talk to your mama about it, and that's like i think going to be his lifetime performance for himself. To do Shakespeare, contrary to popular belief, is insanity when it comes to performing it well. There's entire universities dedicated to nothing but Shakespeare so to have that under his belt is going to be incredible. He's not afraid of playing a spectrum of characters, and he doesn't mind commiting body and soul to his work.

This quote from the interview today made me all gushy because it's such a small insignificant thing but it's so insightful and about my husband Billy. Fuck me up, this can't keep hitting me over and over again. Billlllly!! Baby it's okay!! Oh God.

-"He has used his blindness sometimes to help him as an actor — when he was shooting a difficult scene in the 2015 boxing movie Southpaw, one in which police tell his character that his wife has died, Gyllenhaal removed his contacts to force himself to listen more closely."

I'll suggest some of my favorite essays on his movies!

Analyzing Evil: Lou Bloom || The Vile Eye

Nightcrawler || Spikima Movies

What makes nightcrawler's Lou Bloom so terrifying? || Nerdstalgic

Why Jake Gyllenhaal is the Bravest Actor of Our Generation || Du Cinema

Jake Gyllenhaal and the Elusive Oscar || The Awards Contender

Now the last two are a little dramatic on the titles but overall they give a great peak into his career and do his justice. This kind of reputation isn't just handed out, the only other Oscar nominees of this caliber without a win were like Leonardo DiCaprio and Amy Adams. It's huge. But I'll definitely keep singing his works' praise. His fandom is so committed and that's what makes it fun. I'm so new here I still find bits and pieces in every movie that others have found and talked about and gushed over but I'm gonna say it again! Lolol.

And if you're looking for a wonderful lil video on our king Denzel, Our Greatest Living Movie Star || Scene it is the one. Thanks so much for enabling me 😘🫴💕.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

Grease is a delightfully corny musical filled with 50s nostalgia (mostly the good kind) and helped shoot the careers of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John to new heights. There’s a little bit of values dissonance here and there, but considering when it was made and what decade it was about, it could honestly be a lot worse. It’s easily one of the most fun and enjoyable musicals ever made, and it should come as no surprise the Library of Congress deemed this film significant enough to add to the National Film Registry. Is it any surprise a film like this had a sequel?

Well, yeah, kind of. Paramount didn’t think the movie was going to be much more than a modest one-off hit when it came out despite the 50s nostalgia of the time, mainly due to the spectacular failure of Columbia’s musical adaptation of Lost Horizon being such a spectacular bomb. Why risk making musicals when it seems they’re on the way out, right? But then Grease unexpectedly became one of the biggest films of 1978, and the execs got little dollar signs in their eyes. Sequel time, baby!

One problem, though: None of the original cast was available. Or, I should say, none of the original cast you’d give a fuck about was available. Travolta and Newton-John were already off to bigger and better things, which is a shame since they were both interested before it took them forever to get a script. Only Didi Conn (Frenchy) and Eddie “Mandark” Deezen (Eugene) were coming back. And, look, I love Dexter’s Lab but that wasn’t going to be made for like twenty years or something, so Eddie wasn’t Travolta-levels of star power. Still, Paramount was dead set on turning Grease into a massive franchise. We’re talking spin-offs, sequels, a TV series, the works!

But then the screenwriter for the original died, and the original director went off to make The Blue Lagoon. Of course, they found great backups! The screenwriter is a Canadian comedian who wrote Airplane II (the less funny one) and the director was the choreographer of the original stage and film versions of Grease! How reassuring! And then basically all of the actors they actually wanted in this didn’t end up getting in. For the male lead they wanted Timothy Hutton, but when that didn’t work out they tested Andy Gibb… who failed. They then went with an unknown, Maxwell Caulfield, and casting an unknown is always a gamble. For the leading lady, Pat Benatar and Debbie Harry were considered before they ended up going with an unknown by the name of Michelle Pfeiffer. And guess what! Those two ended up hating each other.

Oh yeah and the final draft of the script was only finished midway through production, without Frenchy in it despite her actress being there, so they just tossed the scenes they’d filmed into the movie anyway.

The end result was savaged by critics and did not really make enough to warrant the massive franchise Paramount was hoping for. The careers of most of the actors involved were damaged pretty bad, especially Caulfield, though Pfeiffer managed to et out mostly unscathed. Overall, the film was just a mess that these days is relegated to lists of the worst sequels ever. Hell, unless you read lists like that you might be unaware this film even exists, because it’s relatively obscure.

Still, it does have its fans, including Andrew Garfield of all people. It’s something of a cult classic in some circles, so surely there’s something of value to be found here, right? Is Grease 2 really that bad?

THE GOOD

Michelle Pfeiffer is pretty in this.

...No. Really. That’s it.

THE BAD

This film’s biggest problem is just how overexaggerated everyone’s performances are. Like all of the dance numbers feature every single character mugging the camera and just making the most absurd faces and movements, like this is a live action cartoon. And look, I love goofy, campy silliness, but there’s a fine line between corny and trying way too hard and this is firmly in the latter camp. Every single number is just ruined by this insufferable desire to be silly.

The other biggest problem is the songs. All of them suck. All of them are also about sex, and that doubly sucks. None of the lyrics are very clever, but all of them are fucking stupid. This might just be one of the horniest movies ever made, and I mean that as an insult. I’ve watched pornos less obsessed with sex than this film. This is all the more jarring because the first film was just filled to the brim with fun and memorable songs, but here? They’re all forgettable crap with no clear identity.

Maxwell Caulfield is a terrible leading man, and I say this as someone who has a hard time believing John Travolta is a leading man. At least with Travolta he does exude a sort of movie star quality; Caulfield just feels to me like a cardboard cutout of a person, or an even more wooden Anakin Skywalker than what we got in Attack of the Clones. Caulfield is just an absolute void of charisma, and it’s no wonder Pfeiffer thought he was a stuck up little shit.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

Uh, yeah. It’s fucking bad.

I really wanted to enjoy this. I really did. I love stupid, campy, silly musicals! This should have been perfect for me! And yet it was one of the most tedious, miserable viewing experiences I’ve ever had. I didn’t laugh. I didn’t smile. I was not once charmed or amused by anything I saw onscreen. As a matter of fact, there were times where I just wanted to turn it off because it was just such a slog. The extended cut of Dawn of Justice is a more well-paced and riveting film.

Look, if you like this movie, more power to you. Lord knows there’s plenty of trashy films I absolutely love that many people wouldn’t agree with. But in my opinion, Grease 2 just doesn’t work, and the reason why is because it’s Grease 2. If this film was just its own thing and not trying to coast on the fame of its superior predecessor, maybe I’d be a little more forgiving. But that’s not the world we live in. We live in a world where this film with tenuous connections to the original is allowed to call itself a sequel.

I’m gonna say that score is a little too nice, and this movie deserves something more like a 2. It’s not the worst thing ever and it’s sure to appeal to some folks, but boy is this just plain not a good film in my eyes. It really just feels like it's trying way too hard to be the original, and it's failing miserably at it at every single turn. It is one of the worst movies I've ever watched, but at least it's a bad movie where I can almost see the appeal. It just doesn't appeal to me.

[hoperays-song]

Sing 1 Commentary and Review Pt. 1

Like I said yesterday, I will be giving commentary through out the run of the movie here! Is this an elaborate plan to distract me from my fic being with my beta reader? Yes! Am I using it for content? Also yes! I will try to remember to include timestamps and screenshots. But probably will just end up doing screenshots most of the time, sorry. Welcome to the madness!

(There will be multiple parts because these take a while and also there's a limit of thirty photos per post so yeah. I got 9 minutes in? I talk a lot during movies ok? It's an AuDHD thing.)

----------------------------

I feel like now is as good of a time as any to mention that I despise minions (aka was forced to watch Despicable Me in art class way too much as a child). So yes, we're not even past the opening credits and I'm already complaining, welcome to watching a movie with me everyone.

Ok just noticed this for the first time, but Old Moon Theatre had lyres (a symbol of Apollo, the Greek god of music) and grape vines (a symbol of Dionysus, the Greek god of theatre) on it, which is just super cool!

I love the fact that Buster canonically talks to himself and narrates his own life. Like same bestie. Love this for you. You're in your delusion era rn but go for it mate.

Lesbians!!

(No I will not be taking criticism here. That pose is one of the gayest things I have ever seen and I just looked in a mirror.)

HE HAS APPEARED!!!!!

Ok three things. One, these cops appeared out of literally no where. Like we just did a circle around the boy and we did not see them. Can they teleport or something???

Also, two, what the hell is in that box? I'm typically not one to judge what random stuff you leave in an alley (yes, yes I am, but to be fair this is the cleanest alley I've ever seen), but is that just a box of cut up springs??

And for number three, you thought you heard someone singing??? You thought you heard someone singing and only spare one glance down the alley behind the bank during a spree of bank robberies??? Ok no, these cops are terrible. The bank being robbed is absolutely their fault, what the hell?!

Ooooo, eight ball keychain!!!

I mean... Johnny did warn them, ten seconds too late, but he did warn them. He's still absolutely grounded but you know, he tried. Also, I just realized they took the license plate off the truck for the robbery. Insanely smart. The best boys. I love them.

✨ 🎶He's a runner, he's a track star! 🎶✨

Also, apparently Johnny can catch up with a accelerating truck... ok then.

Glad to see this skill that I'm absolutely sure will be used again in the multiple other applicable scenarios. What was that? It never comes up again? Yeah, that seems about right.

Ok, how the hell have the not found these guys yet??? Like the rest of the gang are in disguises, horrible ones but still disguises, but Johnny wears the exact same clothes throughout the movie and is not hiding his face in the slightest. You're telling me no one, not a single person, recognized him???

Also, just how many vintage trucks are in this town? Like just look up the truck model and go down the list of all the one's owned in Calatonia. Boom, done. The police in this place suck at their jobs.

ROSITA!!!!

Ok, so the piglets are definitely around first grade judging by the alphabet and number chart on the wall. Also, a learning chart on the wall is so cute and sweet, I love it!

(Theory) So... we can all agree it's summer right? Because not only are Johnny and Meena home (ok Meena's home, Johnny's being a felon, but that's not important) at lunch time but so are the piglets. They for sure aren't in school yet. And yeah, I know they leave with backpacks later on but that could just be daycare (it's likely daycare). So, since a lot of daycares aren't open on weekends (or at least ones near me), Sing 1 starts in the summer on a weekend! That's cool!

Awwww Rosita. I'm so sorry honey. I love you, we all love you, and I wish I could say you have a normal, relaxing life after this movie but... I'm sorry. Not even close to one.

Ok wow, forgot how vertigo inducing this movie was. Wow.

Ash has arrived!!!!

Also, super interesting how Ash's guitar looks a lot more worn that Lance's. It has scratches and faded stickers while Lance's looks shiny and new here.

And Lance... ewww.

Fair man, fair.

And before people get on to my man Harry for kicking them out without pay by the looks of it, most restaurant gigs I know of are not paid, the musicians get tips and exposure, and I'm pretty sure there is not one single person in that restaurant soo... yeah. They weren't getting paid either way.

One of the best expressions all movie.

I'm gonna punt him. I don't care that he's been on screen for 10 seconds, I'm gonna punt him.

(Moments where Lance is puntable counter: 4)

And now we have everyone!!! Meena, welcome aboard!

Also that cake looks amazing. ...Hold up, I'm getting lunch.

Ok, I'm back! Let's dive back in to my lovely ramblings that are hopefully semi entertaining.

Oh boy, let's talk about the happy birthday scene. For one, Meena is a kid. Stop being mean to a kid.

For another, the rest of her family just stops singing??? Like excuse me, that's not how the happy birthday song works. I don't care if one of the singers is a grammy winner, you don't stop singing just to listen to them. It is a group effort. Either everyone sings or no one does. It's the birthday song rules people. They really put her on the spot here and I do not appreciate it, the poor baby.

So, Meena has tried out for choirs and bands before but it never worked out. That makes me think her social anxiety is not new and I am very much disappointed with her grandfather's perspective on it.

Oh great. He's here.

(Mike puntable moments counter: 1)

Their money must be different than ours since that is the design of a penny.

Also: (Mike puntable moments counter: 2)

OK. This is a straight up mugging. Why is no one doing anything?! Like excuse me?!?!?

Oh and now he gave the guy an asthma attack. Sod off Mike.

Why is everyone siding with the mouse man?????? He sucks??? Hello????

(Mike puntable moments counter: 5)

Ok, ignore the monkey man for a minute. The restaurant is legit named 'The Squids'. So do they own it? Do they work there? Was the founder a squid? What's the situation because I'm guessing the don't eat them since they are sentient.

For such a fancy restaurant, they have terrible taste in lighting decor. I'm pretty sure those are the same ones at my doctor's office.

Oh Eddie, my favourite trust fund baby of the series. It's so good to see you.

Ok, let's talk about the implications of what Eddie is saying here. He says that his dad has been paying for the shows. And Buster's theatre has been struggling for way more than one or two shows.

And I don't know about you guys but I personally wouldn't pay for my adult kid's friend's failing theatre more than once if it turned out to be a bust. It's a waste of money and have you seen today's economy. Now if that was my kid's partner? Different story. I would probably be more willing to pay for a few more for both of their sakes.

What am I saying here? Noodlemoon. They're dating. End of story. ----------------------------

I'll be right back with part 2!

(And 30 more screenshot taking up memory on my dying laptop.)

[onglai]

Analyzing Ali's neglect

Today we're gonna look at the extent of emotional neglect in Ali's household, the cause, and the damage it has on Ali's psyche.

It's well established that Dr. Ghazali is not a perfect dad, but at the same time he's not a villainous caritature either. He's simply human. There will be no bashing in this post, though I'm definitely criticizing a lot of his methods.

Part 1: Cause

Before the events of Ejen Ali, Dr. Ghazali was a cheerful man living with his happy family of three consisting of himself, his wife Aliya, and his toddler-aged son Ali. Aliya too was living her best life as an undercover agent, acknowledged as one of their best in the agency.

Sadly for everyone, one person wanted too much power for himself. Uno, formerly Djin, wanted too much power for himself and installed a backdoor program in IRIS. This backdoor would later become some kind of a sick joke when Niki tried to attack Cyberaya by taking over the city's missiles and launch it towards a civillian populated area. Normally, IRIS's processing power is limited but the backdoor Uno installed allowed it access to the city's mainframe, thus allowing Aliya to redirect the missiles... in exchange for her life.

We don't know whether Ghazali is aware that MATA is involved in the events leading her death considering he's a Cyberaya pioneer, so I'll leave that to you speculate. What we can be sure of however is he was not the same after her death.

From a cheery man, he became reclusive. And this is where his family of now two starts to break.

Part 2: Effect

Now, we don't know how old Ali was when Aliya died, but we can assume it was when he was old enough to understand the concept of death.

Ghazali started to shut himself, preferring to bury himself in his work by using his busyness as an excuse. Being a child, Ali obviously couldn't process his emotion with his two anchors gone. Even their cat, Labu, went missing, a fact Ali would later hung onto and project onto Comot.

While it's not mentioned anywhere on screen, with likely with no healthy outlet for his emotion, Ali became much like his dad and made his home his safe haven. Did you ever see this kid playing sports before Bakar barged into his life? Yeah.

Ali would later find a best friend in the form of Viktor, the only support system he had at the beginning of the series.

While they are distant, Ghazali would still provide Ali with money. Otherwise though, Ali was on his own. When he got into trouble or misbehaved, Ghazali would only scold Ali and tell him to grow up despite the fact that he likely never was home to discipline his son in the first place.

Melentur buluh dari rebungnya as people would say.

For what it's worth, Ghazali does love Ali. There's no doubt about that. But emotion isn't his strong suite so he leans into what he does best; be a money machine.

Part 3: Damage

Ali became undisciplined, prone to outbursts, lacked tact, and was generally disgareeble due to his rather obnoxious nature. Why do you think he had no other friends at school?

He had good qualities, like his heroic and kind side, but they were overshadowed by his attention-seeking behavior leading to him becoming reckless and impulsive as we've discussed in this post.

His education was also not so good. Whether he was really a slow learner or just had no motivation to study, his self-esteem issue caused him to spiral more and more downwards whenever his bad grades were brought up.

Other than his lack of social circles, he also didn't have a proper parental figure, causing him to latch onto anyone that gives him the time of the day. Bakar, Jenny, Rizwan, Niki, his junior agent friends. Heck, even Alicia.

And the worst thing? Every single time he wanted to chase over his idolized adult figures, he pushed away everyone else. Yes, every time. First time happened with Rizwan when he shrugged Bakar and Comot off in season 1. Second time also for Rizwan when he alienated Viktor during season 2. In the movie, Ali argued with Alicia and deserted MATA as a result just because of Niki.

Which is why season 3 was such a blessing. It's amazing watching him change so much throughout the series. And while it's painful seeing who he used to be, it's more inspiring to see who he has become.

Part 4: Prediction

Ali isn't a vengeful person. So we know he'd never hate his dad even once he realizes what the man's lack of parenting had done to him.

My prediction is that Ali's gonna be the one who's going to take the initiative to heal Ghazali's grief. I don't think we're gonna see a full-blown father-son fight in season 4, if ever. Ali knows he's not the only one hurting from his mom's death, so he definitely won't use it as an ammo against his dad.

Honestly, I wonder if Ali's even gonna confront his dad about the issue directly. He's emotionally healthier now, but that doesn't mean he won't keep some things to himself like he used to do. Habits die hard.

I just hope their relationship gets resolved (and hopefully not by magic) by the end of the series. Not sure if the Misi: Resipi video is canon, but I do want to see more of these warm interactions in the future

[roobylavender]

genuinely curious bcs everyone and their mother is obsessed w barbie, why do u hate it lol ?? like criticism wise u mentioned the director before but anything else beyond that ? ( i haven’t watched it yet so i have no opinion)

the most pressing issue is that mattel is very clearly using it as a test to gauge whether it can create a cinematic universe consisting of its other sub properties so the entire movie is essentially nothing more than a greedy cash grab (which yes you could say most mainstream movies are cash grabs but i would liken this to the marvel movies wherein it's clear that intellectual property is used to maximally capitalize on a piece of media until it makes the most profit imaginable) and this is exacerbated by the fact that the movie pretends to criticize mattel and the purpose of barbie wrt consumerism but like. the movie is literally produced by mattel lmao. like no criticism within a movie being produced by the criticized entity is actually going to consist of genuine and good faith criticism. and obv most people's response to that has been well surely you couldn't expect anything more than liberal feminism from a barbie movie and it's like yeah i couldn't but that doesn't make it any less evil. a corporation pretending to appear self aware about its contribution to consumerism all the while funneling money into a project that only further encourages consumerism at a clearly exponential rate is evil. and maybe it's a harsh assessment on my part but i seriously am judging people who pay to see this movie bc of that!

when you get to the actual movie though my most severe criticism of it would be that it entrenches itself deeply in a bioessentialist gender binary. like idk if you've noticed all of the posts from people like wow girls are dressing up again and wearing pink and being encouraged to do girly things isn't that so amazing! it's like that infamous tumblr post that says liberal feminism discourse eventually circles back to what sounds like let men be masculine let women be feminine etc etc. the movie basically tries to create this metaphor via barbieland wherein the kens are the dismissed minority adjacent to what women are in the real world, in a satirical attempt to convey that feminism should not actually be about female dominance (what they purport barbie has come to represent) but about equality of the sexes and equality in the ability to pursue whatever you want to (hence a barbie does not have to conform to unattainable standards of success for women and a ken does not have to merely exist for the sake of barbie). which i will admit does have the potential to be a good message as far as liberal feminist movies will go, and there is a scene towards the end with barbie and ken where this is explained that happens to be one of two scenes i actually liked in the whole movie. but the problem is that the movie does an utterly shit job of actually building up to it, and it still ultimately sticks to and makes guiding posts of traditional notions of gender insofar as kens being masculine and barbies being feminine. the last few minutes of the movie involve barbie becoming a real woman bc she no longer wants to simply be an idea, so in her final scene she goes to a gynecologist bc she now has a vagina (something she did not have prior). and again like i'm not expecting a barbie movie of all things to have revolutionary takes on gender but i simply think the messaging is severely undermined when you're relying strictly on the gender binary to carry your storytelling. to the point that i believe all of the transphobic backlash to the movie is not only a consequence of people's own transphobia but also of the movie's inability to have anything but an utterly shallow take on feminism entrenched in the gender binary that merely believes we can learn by switching places with each other

and i mean on top of having shallow messaging it's simply.. not a well built movie lmao. the plot progression is haphazard and inconsistent due to an inability to flesh out either barbieland or the real world. america ferrera is the hero of the story bc her monologue about what women are expected to be by society is able to break the brainwashing spell over the barbies who have found themselves subservient to a ken takeover in barbieland once ken learns about patriarchy in the real world. but america ferrera is never actually developed as a character. we have one brief montage to indicate she has a poor relationship with her daughter bc she has always loved barbies whereas her daughter hasn't (the daughter also lectures barbie about how she's a fascist who encourages capitalism and consumerism. lol) but that relationship is never actually developed or dissected. we go from them seemingly not getting along to suddenly being the best of friends bc they go back to barbieland with barbie and decide to help her fix things and america's inspirational monologue brings her daughter around to barbie as a concept. it's just.. utterly silly. like not even in a good way silly, it's just stupid

and it frustrates me bc i do think there was a lot of potential to do something with the mother-daughter relationship esp considering its importance to the ending thesis of the movie in a scene between ruth handler and barbie (the other scene in the movie i actually enjoyed). like i would have been okay with a movie that acknowledged barbie was an influential media property for older women who had grown accustomed to nurturing baby dolls as children in preparation for motherhood, while acknowledging that barbie was no longer necessarily the same symbol of empowerment for modern generations of women bc of how the feminist movement has progressed and evolved. it's why i honestly think the movie should have been about the mother and daughter exclusively. like i don't even think barbieland should have existed nor barbies and kens been real characters bc it took away so much from conveying a message with even a drop of integrity. america's eventual monologue is so universal and lifeless and bland that it appeals exactly to the kind of crowd who are now making tiktoks and reels that the barbie movie is important for teaching people about feminism. like ok. sure. fuck you to intersectional feminism or anything grounded in the realities of anyone else other than white women whose only concern is not being able to conform to standards of success in the real world (and the ironic thing is the movie even makes an aside that margot robbie is the wrong person to cast to convey such a message, but like. what am i supposed to do with that. it accomplishes nothing)

i said as much on twt but i simply think there is no point to try to make a movie critiquing the scope of barbie when the answer is still ultimately barbie. a critique of barbie has to end in something other than barbie and when your movie is being produced by mattel that will never actually happen. which i do think can branch off into conversations about intellectual property and how creators are largely restricted from ever expanding upon properties they loved as children bc their ownership by media entities restricts creative output from the start (see: cape comics!). but i don't even think this is a matter of greta gerwig being restricted. she genuinely believes in this shtick bc she's always believed in it. her feminism starts and stops at white feminism and the smattered in visibility of minorities to feel like she is doing her part as an ally, when ultimately, she is doing nothing. lady bird and little women are not as offensive in this regard (albeit you may remember the latter movie has a very brief moment where marmy speaks to a nameless black woman as a moment of token recognition) bc their primary focus is not feminism and bc they are either constrained by autobiography or adaptation. it's great speaking either to what she knows or to what the author of a book knows. barbie is a movie about feminism, so it works best to reveal how utterly out of her depth greta gerwig is in that area as she tries to apply herself everywhere and fails. when people say it's better for straight white women to stick to what they know rather than rush to represent everyone in their work, they're right. there's no use in representing that which you will never live nor understand. and if people do identify with greta gerwig's brand of feminism, then i think it says a lot about how shallow their feminism actually is

[lgbtlunaverse]

I often get a little annoyed when I see posts that are something along the lines of "Y'all have GOT to learn to engage in media without shipping. Art is not just for shipping. If you get into art for shipping and nothing else that's bad and you have no media literacy why won't you care about THEMES?" because, yeah, they are technically correct. If you only egage with art in this one hyperspecific way you're going to miss out on a lot of good art and miss a lot of good things about the art you do like because you're only busy shipping.

But also... it is literally impossible to tell if someone is doing that based on a tumblr blog. "Everywhere I go I can only find people shipping why doesn't anyone care about anything else?!" A lot of them probably do, they're just not talking about it on their ship blogs.

This is a fanfic focused blog. Fic, and shipping by extension, are a very specific way of engaging with a work that I only use with a small amount of the art I experience. You know what my favorite book that I read this year was? Piranesi. Favorite movie? Everything everywhere all at once. Favorite series? Midnight mass.

And guess what? I'm not gonna write fanfic about ANY of those. And while I'll reblog posts about them that cross my dash I am also not going to seek out other fans on tumblr for these works specifically. And so, from looking at my blog, you'll have no idea that I read and loved these works, or that I spend a lot of my time thinking about them, their atmosphere, characters, and themes.

And that's just the narrative art I loved most. I've also gone to museums, and I'm definitely not writing any fanfiction about mondriaan's paintings.

You know what work I'm thinking about most these days? The book Flatland by Edwin Abott Abott. (Yes he is named Abott twice) a book about A Square (first name A last name Square) living in a two dimensional world being visited by a sphere from our three-dimenaional world. I read it several years ago, interested in the mathematical aspect, because by looking through A Square's perspective of meeting a creature from a world with a dimension he cannot fundamentally comprehend, we can imagine what the fourth dimension might look like to us.

I read it, loved the mindfuckery aspect of it, but was at various points annoyed at the horrible misogyny. The men in flatland are polygons with social status based on he number of sides and the widness of their angles, circles on top and triangles at the bottom. But the women are all simple line segments, automatically lower in society than even the lowest ranking men. A Square tells us women have to emit a "peace cry" when they walk, because walking into them (due to their sharp point) can be deadly, and if they don't do this they're executed. And women with any sickness that causes "involuntary motions" which can be as little as sneezing too hard, is instantly killed. He seems to think these are rational laws in the interest of public safety and also in the best interest of the women themselves. He also says that due to their lack of angles, women "are wholy devoid of of brainpower, and have neither reflection, judgement, nor forethought."

Yikes.

"I like it, but you can definitelly tell this was written by a man in 1884" I remember telling my mom.

Well guess what? This year I found out that flatland isn't just about having a low-level existential crisis at imagining the fourth dimension (beings from the 4th dimension would be able to directly see and touch our insides guys. Like. Just entirely bypass your skin and poke at your spleen) it is also a satire and social critique of victorian society. The misogyny is there to criticize victorian concept of gender roles! The bogus and violent laws that are shoddily justified to be for "public safety", the complete exclusion from women in the advancement and social class, the made up standard of angles and sides pretending to be biologically sound such as to "scientifically" justify their oppression. That's misogyny, baby! It's on purpose!

And it's a flawed attempt. A Square, as a man of his time, has no respect whatsoever for women and the few female characters the book has get barely any pagetime. This is accurate for the sexist pov the story is written from, and Edward Abott Abott, in a foreword of a revised edition, makes it clear that thay was exactly his intention. But it does mean that we never get to actually hear what any of the women of flatland think about living in this horribly misogynistic society. It's intended as a critique of misogyny, but any misogynist reading the book who doesn't find the sexism of flatland all that outlandish, can read the whole book with those assumptions going unchallenged. The satire only works if you already agree women are people.

But it's still good, insofar as portraying a ridiculously sexist society and the mind bogglingly stupid and arbitrary justifications mysoginists try to give for their bigotry, it is accurate. By removing it from our own world and putting it in flatland, we can more clearly see that connecting social status to wideness of angles is ridiculous, and the misogyny has no material basis. As a person who does agree that women are people, and is no longer under the impression that, because it was written in the 1880s, the misogny must be genuine, I can now, on a reread, appreciate the satire.

Prior to this post, looking at my blog, YOU WOULD NOT KNOW THIS. And I don't plan on posting many essays about flatland in the future. I read it because my mom recommended it to me, and so the way I discuss my thoughts on it is mostly with her, in real life. And I enjoy that more than I would posting about it here.

So yes, people SHOULD approach media from different lenses than shipping alone. Because shipping only works well for a subset of all art out there, and it is only one of the many ways to engage with it. But posts on tumblr are not solid proof of whether people are doing that or not.

It's also funny because a lot of the complaints of "why is everyone only interested in shipping for X" are about, like, adaptations of ya novels or comic books or god forbid shounen anime. You know, the shows with huge casts of usually likable, attractive and varied characters? Where a big part of the appeal is the entertaining dynamics those characters have which each other? Aka prime material for shipping?

Like, yeah, it can suck when it feels like the rest of the fandom is too busy smashing fictional barbie dolls together to have interesting conversations about the things you liked about the show. But please don't watch the Ship Show and then complain that everyone is shipping.

I wanted to end this post by telling you to go read flatland because there's no fanfiction of that but there are, in fact, over 40 works on ao3 for flatland by edwin abott abott and over half of them are gravity falls fics. It completely undermines my point but it's too funny to leave out.