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helladirections · 2 years

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I Dig Your Cinema

Author: @helladirections Pairing: Harry x Y/N Status: Complete Word Count: 6.5k

MASTERLIST | PATREON

Preview

He just shrugged. “Told you, nervous about the intimate scenes.” “I thought we went over this this morning?” she questioned. “And that last one was so good!” The complement tickled a spot inside of him. “From where I was standing it looked completely real. Totally reminded me of this time with...” she drifted off, blush arriving back to her cheeks as she took a bite of her sandwich to cover. “Anyway...” “No,” Harry said softly. “Tell me. Who was it and what was he doing?” “You don’t want to hear about that H,” she insisted, taking another bite. If only she knew. “Yeah, I do. Tell me.” “Will it... is it gonna help you with your next scene? To hear about what it looks like from the other perspective?”

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Harry had been in movies before, sure. He’d had plenty of lead roles, already won lots of awards and was nominated for several Oscars (although he never won those). But he had never been this nervous about shooting a movie, or in particular, some scenes in a movie. This is what he does for goodness sake. He’s a movie star, he’s famous, he walks red carpets and acts in films with giant budgets and big name directors and famous casts.

But he’d never filmed a sex scene before.

And objectively, he knew it was fake. He knew the intimacy coordinator was good at her job, the set would be cleared except for essential personnel, he and his co-star would both be wearing modesty garments and barriers and the whole thing would be entirely professional.

But it was still a sex scene.

That morning before the first of the intimate scenes was to be shot, he was pacing in his trailer. Everyone in the world would know what he looked like when he did that. They would know what his face looked like (or what he thinks his face probably looks like - honestly he isn’t usually paying that much attention to his expression in the moment) when he hits his high. He’s kissed on screen before, sure. Who hasn’t in this business? But something about this just felt different.

Obviously, he knew what he was signing up for when he agreed to shoot the movie. And he knew that if he had a problem with something, the producers wanted him so badly for the part that they would happily adjust the script. But Harry agreed that it was there for a reason and the screenwriter wouldn’t have just added those scenes in for fun. They served a purpose, they showed character development, they moved the story forward.

He brushed his hair back with one hand, the other firmly on his hip as he continued to pace. It wasn’t that he wanted to get out of it, either. He wanted to do it. He was just nervous. And Harry Styles? Nervous to shoot a movie? That sounded impossible, even to him. He was chewing on his bottom lip, nearly making it bleed before remembering there would be close ups of his face and lips during these scenes and unless he wanted to be caked with makeup he had to stop it.

The soft knock at his door came right on time. Y/N, his production assistant was there to tell him that he was needed on set. And he had never felt less ready.

“H?” she called out, opening the door slowly after he didn’t answer her knock.

“Yeah... yeah... I’ll be right there. Just... just gotta.. Um...” he looked around the room for an excuse of why he needed more time, of why he was so jittery, of why it wasn’t time for him to be on set yet. But he came up empty.

Y/N let the door close behind her and she walked up to where Harry was standing, finally not pacing any longer but instead bouncing his leg incessantly.

“Harry,” she said quietly, almost in a whisper as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He let out a deep breath, finally allowing some portion of himself to relax as he looked up at her. “What’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”

The look in her eyes was so gentle and wholesome, and he almost didn’t want to admit what it was because he had grown to see her as rather socially innocent. She was plenty experienced with her job, and had even been his assistant on other movies before. But she was often quiet and shy when it came to new people, or people at all unless she had a reason to talk to them.

The first time they had met, a couple of years ago now on a movie back when he was still auditioning for roles, he was convinced she didn’t like him because she never said anything to him unless it was about business or getting him to set on time. He soon learned that was just how she was. Occasionally he got her to open up a bit, they would chat over lunch from time to time and she would chuckle at his bad jokes when he was trying to break the tension of a dark scene. But overall she was quiet, and he had learned that she was very particular with who she got close to. He felt incredibly lucky that she so often showed that she cared about him.

“It's uh... um the...” he hesitated some more. But when she cocked her head to the side questioningly, he couldn’t help but let the words spill out. “I’ve never done these intimate scenes, y’know? And like... I know it’s all super professional but I’m nervous. Everyone is gonna see how I do certain things and what if I do it wrong? What if I’m actually bad at it?”

Y/N let her hand drop down his arm before resting at her side as she smiled at him softly, her eyes reflecting the lights above her and almost sparkling.

“H, we both know you aren’t bad at it.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I mean... I mean I don’t know. But how many other movie stars do you have to hook up with before there would start to be rumors, hm? And the only rumors I’ve heard about you have been... really good,” she admitted.

“You’ve heard rumors about me?”

Y/N blushed then, looking away from him.

“Uh... yeah I mean... yeah.”

It was impossible not to wonder what exactly it was that she had heard. He wanted to know desperately what was going through her mind about him that made her blush so hard. But he knew better than to ask. She wasn’t one to divulge anything she didn’t intend to, and if she intended to, she would have already. Still, the idea that she had heard something about him in bed made him feel... something. He wasn’t sure what, but it was definitely something.

“But my point is-” she refocused them both, looking back at him. “You’re going to be fine. Anna is one of the best intimacy coordinators in the business, and she’s going to make sure everything is comfortable and safe, and all you have to do is what you do best.”

Y/N always gave the best pep speeches. Usually Harry only needed them when there was a big action scene coming up, or maybe on his first day, or maybe she would say something sweet and slightly emotional before their last day together on set, never knowing if they would get to work together again. But whatever the reason, her words always did exactly what he needed them to do in that moment.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “I’m just doing my job. I’m just acting. The rest is going to be fine. I have nothing to worry about.”

“Exactly!”

Y/N sighed with relief as Harry looked back at her with a slight smile. He still felt uncomfortable, and he knew it was plastered all over his face. But she was great at pretending it wasn’t and hyping him up anyway.

“The first few scenes are just kissing anyway, and you’ve done that loads of times. The morning is really just a warm up, right? You work so well with Florence anyway, this will be a breeze, I promise.”

And when she promised, Harry really believed it.

At least he did at first. But when the hours wore on and the kissing scenes turned into makeout scenes which turned into running his hands all over her body which turned into falling into bed together which turned into eating her out on the table... he was struggling.

They called to cut the scene when it was clear that Harry was uncomfortable between his costar’s legs. With a pout on his face, Harry walked over to Y/N and took the water bottle she was handing to him. He drank a bit and she stood there wordlessly, yet still somehow supportive. Her presence always made him relax a little.

“Was it that bad?” he finally asked, quietly so the rest of the crew couldn't hear him.

“No, I don’t think so,” she answered with a shrug. She paused for a moment, clearly thinking over her next words. She only ever said what was necessary and wasn’t one to ramble. “I think you’re thinking about it too much.”

Harry really did value Y/N’s opinions on these things, so he tried to process what he could be doing differently. She had worked on so many amazing films and seen so many fantastic actors work on their craft. Most of the time her feedback was more valuable than the director’s. Directors and producers were so insulated into this business they often lost sight of what people actually wanted to see.

He had been following the direction he was given - he was supposed to be completely enamored by Florence, horny beyond belief, and so in love. He was supposed to love the power had over her by performing these acts, and get off on the way she looked while he was doing it. And he was playing to those notes, wasn’t he? At least he thought he was. Thinking back, he could pinpoint the look he was going for, the expression he wanted on his face, the speed of his movements -

“Like that-” she cut him off from his train of thoughts. “Right now, you’re thinking about thinking about thinking. It’s too much. You need to relax.”

He furrowed his brows, still looking at her as he twisted the cap back onto his water, but not saying anything.

“Like, it needs to look like you’re actually doing it, right? And when you’re actually doing it the worst is when you’re in the moment and your partner is overthinking it, right? So if you want it to look good, you can’t do the exact thing that makes the real thing bad.”

Her advice made sense... a lot of sense actually. But he wasn’t really thinking about her advice anymore as much as he was thinking about her statement which kind of threw in his face that oh yeah, Y/N has had someone eat her out before and that’s why she knows this.

He shouldn’t be thinking about her in that way, he knows that of course. But it was like some kind of reflex that he couldn’t turn off. She just always seemed so soft and gentle and the idea of Y/N in sexual situations like that... well he used to not be able to picture her like that (not that he ever tried). But after getting to know her better he realized that she was hiding some naughty things behind those kind eyes.

Before Harry could say anything else, the director called the cast to set themselves to reshoot the scene again. He smiled at Y/N in thanks as he handed the water back to her and took his place in front of the table, Florence sitting on it with open legs.

And he realized in that moment how weird it was that literally pretending to eat out his co-star didn’t get him worked up at all but the slight suggestion that maybe Y/N had done something like this before in real life made his insides all twisty and turny. But he tried to take her advice and not think too far into it.

Florence smiled at him, and they talked with Anna about their new strategy. She would grab his hair and help direct him, and he would bury his face as close as he reasonably could so it looked believable from afar. He closed his eyes as they did a practice round. Instead of thinking about how his head looks, how his forehead looks, how his movements look, how close he was getting to Florence, trying to stay professional in the setting, he was imagining there was actually someone undressed in front of him. That he was actually lapping at their folds and tasting their sweet juices and nipping at her inner thighs every once in a while just to get a reaction. And her moans would be high pitched and soft, like she was afraid to let them out. And he would suck her clit as he started using his fingers too. And Y/N would be so tight and warm and wet and he would moan around her most sensitive spot letting the vibrations help her out as well. And when Y/N finally came, he would lick it all up until she was so sensitive she was pushing him away.

And then he stood up. The run through, done. He felt like his face should be wet, and subconsciously wiped it with the back of his hand (though he only removed some makeup). And he looked over to Y/N off to the side, still holding his water, and that’s when he realized that his imaginary girl had somehow become Y/N without him even noticing. And he started to blush at the thought, grateful that she didn’t have to know.

“Oh don’t get shy on me now, Styles. That was the best one yet!” Florence teased him from her spot on the table.

He looked back at her, smiling as he tried to shake off his thoughts. But then again, if this was the best one yet, maybe he didn’t want to shake off those thoughts completely? Maybe they would be useful. No one ever had to know what he was thinking about during filming, it was fine.

So when the director called to start shooting the scene again, Harry really went for it. He didn’t think about what he was doing or what he looked like or how it would look on camera. He just thought about Y/N sitting there on the table in front of him, bare and exposed for him to pleasure her. He would make her feel so good, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. That soft, sweet voice would make the dirtiest sounds he had ever heard. Maybe, if he was lucky, he would coerce her into saying his name through a moan. The idea of that alone got him chubbed up a bit. She probably tasted amazing, and he would use every skill he had ever learned to make her feel as amazing as possible. The sensations would be so good that she would involuntarily throw her head back, squeeze his hair tight, and let out a groan as he tasted her beautiful arousal.

And then the director called a cut.

Harry stood up as Florence’s grip on his hair relaxed, and he found himself breathing heavily even though he hadn’t really been doing much of anything. He wasn’t as out of breath as he usually found himself after the real thing, but it was still notable.

“I think we got it!” he called out. “Time for lunch.”

At first, Harry was relieved to go to lunch, to get a break from shooting these scenes, to go back to his trailer and sit down. Maybe he would get a moment to be with Y/N and chat about something normal.

Y/N.

Shit.

He knew he was blushing when he mumbled his lunch order to her because not only could he feel the heat rising to his face, but she looked at him pretty curiously but never asked him a question. When she walked away to pick up their meals he let out a deep breath, heading to his trailer afterwards.

All day he had thought that the room they were in was kept warm to help deal with the fact that they were fairly exposed. But it turned out when he opened the door to go outside, a wall of heat and humidity hit his skin. By the time he made it back to his trailer (where he thankfully left the A/C on by accident that morning) he was sticky and gross.

Immediately he peeled off his costume of a long sleeve shirt and pants, leaving him in only his boxers to cool down. He sat on the makeshift couch and spread out his arms along the back of it. Letting his head rest on the back, he relaxed into the cushions and closed his eyes for a moment.

His nerves that morning were somewhat gone, but they were replaced by a new uneasy feeling. He was able to do his job, but only by imagining his coworker and friend was there in front of him. Only by thinking about her naked body and the sounds he hoped she would make. Only by picturing what she would look like where he now realized he wanted her most.

He couldn’t get too deep into his thoughts about her though, because pretty soon Y/N was back with both of their lunches. It was sandwich day and they both chose the vegetarian option with a side of potato chips. She placed his lunch down on the table in front of him and then started heading back to the door before he stopped her.

“Wait, don’t you want to eat lunch with me?”

“Oh,” she turned around to look at him. “I figured with everything from this morning, and you’re not wearing your clothes... thought you might want to be alone.”

He shook his head. “Would much rather be with you, darling. Promise.”

Her face lit up then as she practically skipped back to the chair on the other side of the table from the couch he was already sitting on.

“Was hoping you’d say something like that, actually,” she said gleefully as she started to unpack her own lunch.

“Thanks again for your advice on set earlier. Think you know more about cinema than the directors sometimes,” he said with a smile.

“I’ll always help you with whatever you need, you know Harry,” she responded with a smile. But she quickly changed the subject. “I overheard something funny from one of the other assistants today!”

Innocent as she was, she was still always ready to share gossip with Harry. And he always returned the favor, although he learned long ago that the assistants always knew the most about everything. So many higher ups would just keep talking and not even notice that they were around, so she always had something juicy to share with him. And his lips were sealed with her secrets inside, of course.

He listened intently for a few minutes as she went on about the rumor going around that one of the camera men was sleeping with an extra, but eventually his mind drifted off. The sound of her voice was comforting, but he wasn’t really making sense of the actual words she was saying. Even when she was excited, her voice remained soft. It sounded like a soft blanket you would use to wrap up a baby for nap time. Or your favorite teddy bear that you’ve had for 30 years that hardly resembled a bear at all anymore because it was so worn down.

“And I was like no, there’s no way that’s true! Right? Right Harry?” she asked him a second time upon realizing he wasn’t really paying attention.

“Oh uh, yeah,” he said, trying to cover his own ass.

But she knew better. She didn’t know what he was thinking about, but she knew his head wasn’t in the game she was trying to play.

“Ok, what’s really going on then, hm? You’ve been acting weird all day.”

He just shrugged. “Told you, nervous about the intimate scenes.”

“I thought we went over this this morning?” she questioned. “And that last one was so good!” The complement tickled a spot inside of him. “From where I was standing it looked completely real. Totally reminded me of this time with...” she drifted off, blush arriving back to her cheeks as she took a bite of her sandwich to cover. “Anyway...”

“No,” Harry said softly. “Tell me. Who was it and what was he doing?”

“You don’t want to hear about that H,” she insisted, taking another bite.

If only she knew. “Yeah, I do. Tell me.”

“Will it... is it gonna help you with your next scene? To hear about what it looks like from the other perspective?”

And honestly that had nothing to do with why he wanted to hear her tell the story, but she handed him a perfect cover right on a silver platter.

“Yeah, sure. Always want your feedback.”

“Ok,” she swallowed her bite, placing her sandwich back down on her plate carefully before wiping her hands and looking up at him. “So he is my...”

Harry gulped. She had someone. There goes any of his fantasies.

“Actually, was my friend.”

“Friend?”

“You know... friend... with benefits... whatever.”

She was already clearly nervous (in the cutest possible way), but Harry was eating up every word that came out of her mouth. And was. That was a good word to hear.

He knew the best way to get her to keep talking was to leave an open silence until she was uncomfortable enough to fill it, so that’s exactly what he did.

After a short pause, she spoke up again. Her voice was still soft and she was looking everywhere around the room except at him.

“And one night all his roommates were gone, so we didn’t have to use his room...” She looked up at him, hoping for some input, but he just raised his brows, urging her to continue. “So he said he wanted to do... he wanted to use the dining table. And I’d never done that so I figured I might as well...”

Harry hummed in agreement.

“I wasn’t wearing a dress like Florence was. But he took off my... we made it work.”

“And what was the worst thing he did? What should I make sure not to do on camera?” he asked, careful not to dig too deep.

She thought for a moment. “He did that thing where he shook his head back and forth really fast. I don’t know... maybe some girls like that but for me it’s not enough... not focused enough. And it gets messy but not in a fun way.”

His skin erupted with goosebumps, but he was an actor and he acted like he wasn’t bothered at all. Messy in a fun way. Harry could definitely work with that. Messy could definitely be fun.

“And what was the best part then?”

“The way he... when he...” she tried a few times to say what she wanted without actually saying it, but she was running into trouble.

“When he what, babe?”

“Um... when he... y’know...”

“No, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking yeh. Wanna know what the best part was so I can recreate it on camera.”

The lie was thinning out now, as he realized he had finished shooting the scene in question and this wouldn’t really be relevant to any other part of the script. But he held up his excuse anyway. She was always very invested in whatever project she was working on, and he knew she would want to do whatever she could to help it go smoothly.

“Yeah... of course. Um... when he... he did this thing where he um... he was sucking and then also used his tongue on my... and it felt really...”

Harry could fill in the blanks eventually, of course he could. But something about the way she was shifting in her seat when he was pulling the words out of her made his stomach turn in the best way. So he egged her on further.

“Was he sucking on your clit, sweetheart?” he offered.

She nodded.

“And did it make you cum?”

She nodded again.

“And that was your favorite part?”

“Yes, Harry,” she said through a breath.

The temperature in the room seemed to have changed without his noticing. No amount of A/C could cut through the heat and tension between the two of them now.

“Do you want me to do that for you?” he said in a whisper.

She gave a small nod, her eyes closed now. And if he wasn’t looking so closely at her he might have missed it. But he didn’t. He saw it. And she wanted him just like he wanted her.

“Want me to do it now?”

Another nod.

“How much time do we have?”

She opened her eyes to look down at the schedule on her phone.

“Um, they need you back on set in an hour.”

“That’s plenty of time.”

Her cheeks were completely red, and Harry could feel the heat radiating off of them when he brought his hand up to her face, thumb stroking over her soft skin. She let out a breath and melted into his touch, and in that moment he knew he had never wanted anybody more. Eyes closed, she brought a hand up to her chest to feel her heartbeat.

Harry’s hand followed hers, the warmth from his skin spreading across her chest.

“Is it going fast?” he asked in a whisper.

She nodded, once again unable to find the words.

“Is that ok, or should I stop?”

“It’s ok,” she told him.

He hummed. His hand on her chest fell down to her waist as he pulled her ever closer to him. Her small breaths came out in little puffs across his lips.

“Gonna kiss you now, ok?” he warned her.

“Please.”

He started off slow, both because he wanted to savor the moment in case it never came again, and because he wanted to respect her boundaries. She just seemed like the type of person who wants to take things slow, soft, and gentle. Maybe because he always viewed her as soft and gentle in the best possible way.

And he was right about her being soft - her plush lips felt like clouds against his own. She was warm, and her mouth worked in tandem with Harry’s as he kissed her. Taking her bottom lip between his, he sucked a bit and pulled it back, earning a gasp so small he almost thought he was making it up. With her mouth slightly open now, he started using his tongue to dance around hers.

She tasted so good. Like the sandwich she had been eating, and the coffee she had that morning, and something else uniquely her. Harry thought it was probably his favorite taste in the entire world, and he could never get enough of it.

“C’mere,” he mumbled into her lips.

Using his hand on her waist and moving the other one to her upper back, he guided her off of her chair and closer to him. She straddled his lap, standing on her knees and never breaking the kiss. When he pushed her down to rest fully on his lap, she let out a whine and he knew she could feel him hard beneath her core.

“Feel what y’do to me?”

She didn’t answer except to continue kissing him with more enthusiasm than before.

They kissed like that for a while, hands roaming over each other’s bodies and tongues exploring each other’s mouths. The trailer once again started to feel hot, but he didn’t mind as long as the heat was coming from her body. And honestly, if she never let him do anything else with her, he would be content knowing that he got to have his moment. That he got to kiss her and know what she tastes like and how she moves her body against his.

At first, Harry thought she was grinding her hips against his subconsciously. But when he couldn’t help but let out a little groan at a particularly good movement, he felt her smile against his lips.

“Oh, y’like tha?” he teased.

She nodded her head again.

His hands stopped roaming then, finding a home on her hips as he pushed her down and guided her rolling against him. The tension was starting to build in his lower belly, and he knew he wasn’t going to last long if they kept that up.

But he told her he was going to eat her out, so that’s what he wanted to do.

Carefully, he shifted their bodies, resting her back against the small couch and allowing his own body to hover above her. His lips finally parted from hers, earning a small whine of disappointment. He only chuckled as he reattached his lips to the skin on her neck where he quickly found her pulsepoint and couldn’t help but suck on it just enough for her to feel it but not enough to leave a mark. She was right, her heart was beating quickly. But he figured that was a good thing.

His mouth traveled down then, over her collarbones and her upper chest, while his hands simultaneously traveled up from her hips. Fingers lightly grazing her skin, he felt goosebumps arise on her belly as he slowly pushed the fabric of her shirt up over her bra. He held her tightly by the ribs as he kissed the tops of her soft breasts, feeling as her breathing increased.

“Can I take this off?” he asked between kisses, letting his fingers graze against the band of her bra.

She nodded her head, but that wasn’t enough for Harry. Enough with the nodding, he needed to know she really wanted this as much as he did.

“Use your words, darling,” he whispered, looking at her.

“Yes,” she breathed out.

“That’s a good girl,” he muttered as he used one hand to raise her torso up off the couch and the other to unclasp the bra. The straps fell from her shoulders and he helped her remove it from her body, throwing it to the floor.

Without wasting any time he got to work giving further attention to her chest. He used his mouth on one side while massaging the other with his hand before switching. When her nipples were hard and pronounced, he couldn’t keep himself from sucking on them a little bit, only to bite lightly and pull back, just to see her reaction.

And her reaction was everything he had hoped it would be. Eyes squeezed tight again, her jaw dropped open but no words or sounds came out.

“Feels good?” he asked, leaving soft pecks over her tummy now.

“Yes, H.”

“Good. Gonna make you feel so good,” he promised.

His kisses traveled lower and lower down her abdomen until his nose was dragging along the waistband of her jeans. Slowly, he let his hands travel back up her body to grab at her boobs, smiling to himself when he got a small reaction out of her. All of her reactions so far had been rather small, nearly silent. But he was determined to hear that sound he had been thinking about earlier while on camera.

Before he had a chance to ask, she lifted her hips up from the couch. He chuckled a bit.

“Eager, hm?”

She pouted softly as she nodded.

Sitting back on his knees, he worked quickly to undo the button of her jeans and drag them down her legs. He looked back at her. She was biting her lip, fingers interlocked with each other and eyes wide.

“Is this still ok?” he asked, wary of her demeanor.

She nodded again, but before he could remind her to use her words, she spoke up. “Just... little nervous?”

“You’ve done this before, yeah?”

“Yeah but not... not for a long time. I’m not... I wasn’t expecting this so I’m not... ready... down there.”

It took a minute for her words to click in his mind, but when they did his gaze softened. Crawling back over her, he took her lips to his mouth once again before mumbling against them.

“Don’t care. S’your pussy, s’gonna be beautiful.”

He gave one more kiss before leaning back and searching her eyes for any other hesitancies.

“We don’t have to do this, Y/N. We can wait until another time... or never at all. Whatever you want.”

“But you want to?”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh at her question.

“Babe, you’ve got no idea how bad I want to.”

“Then I want to, too.”

One more peck to her lips and he was making his way back down her body. He couldn’t help but leave a trail of wet kisses on her skin in his wake. She was so soft, and beautiful, and gentle. She had always shown him so much care and concern, and he had felt like over the course of this and the other films they had worked on together, he had only taken from her. He took his lunches and his coffees, he took his scheduling, he took any and all advice she would give him. And he never had the chance to give her anything back. But this was his chance.

Eventually he settled himself between her legs. He left a kiss over her clothed mound and took a deep breath in through his nose before looking up at her again.

“Wanna take these off is that-”

“Yes,” she cut him off with a breathy response.

When he had her bare, he couldn’t help but take a moment to soak in her beauty. But she soon started squirming, the cold air meeting her wet center and producing goosebumps along her legs and tummy.

He was so focused on kissing up and down her inner thighs, Harry almost didn’t hear her whine. When it finally registered, he smirked to himself and focused his attention where she really wanted it. He wrapped his left arm around her thigh, fingers careful not to dig into her soft skin too hard. With his other hand he trailed one finger through her folds, from bottom to top, giving just a slight tease.

Holding it in front of his face, he turned his wrist a few times.

“Look at tha... and I bet you even...” he put his finger in his mouth, sucking off her wetness. She whined again at the act. “I was right... taste so fucking amazing...”

“Harry, please,” she whined quietly even though they were alone.

Somehow he had gotten so caught up on her that he almost forgot she was there, as if that oxymoron was even possible. There was just something about her that turned his brain a little bit upside down, a little bit into a pile of much. But he liked the feeling.

He acknowledged her request, though, finally giving her body his full attention again. Mouth open and tongue flat, he licked at her, appreciating the sweet taste she left behind. His right hand wrapped around her thigh as well and he used the tips of his fingers to spread her open even further. Eyes closed, he did just what he pictured he was doing about an hour earlier. He lapped at her lips, sucked her clit into his mouth, hummed around it to express that he was enjoying it just as much as he hoped she was.

From above, Harry could hear Y/N let out a small moan, only to catch herself and swallow it back down.

“Hey now,” he said, lifting his face from her core. “None of that... wanna hear you. Will you let me hear you?” he turned his need into a request, thrilled when she agreed.

He got back to work, this time hearing her small gasps and moans. Some of them sounded a bit forced, but he knew he could get her to release her pleasure without holding back. Bringing his fingers back into play, he slipped two into her hole, curling them upward to rub at her g-spot. He could hear her breath catch in her throat, but he wanted more.

Thrusting in and out, he continued working her over with his hand as he licked at her clit. By this time it was plenty swollen and begging for attention, just how Harry liked it. And that’s when he remembered the conversation that had gotten them to where they are now.

Without slowing the movements of his fingers, he sucked her clit into his mouth harshly before letting his tongue flick it back and forth within his mouth. The combination of sensations proved to be almost too much for Y/N as she let out an unfiltered moan. It was the most beautiful sound Harry had ever heard. And now that he knew what it sounded like, he needed more.

With his free hand he pressed down on her lower tummy as he continued to bury his face into her essence. Her thighs started to flex, then her legs kicked a bit as she squirmed - to get closer or further from his mouth he couldn’t really tell, but he knew she was feeling the pleasure he had hoped to be able to give her.

“Gonna cum for me, pretty girl?” he asked, taking a break from using his mouth but not ceasing the movement of his hand.

“Yes, H,” she moaned, the nickname scratching an itch inside his brain that he didn’t know was there. He wanted it to always sound like that coming from her mouth.

“I want you to cum for me,” he told her before bringing his mouth back down to where it belonged.

It wasn’t long then. He continued his ministrations and she was soon rocking her head from side to side, the pleasure too much. But it was clear she didn’t want him to stop. He knew she was close and he had to get her there. He redoubled his efforts and earned his reward.

Her heels started to dig into his back and one of her hands flew down to his hair, holding on tight. Finally the tension reached a high, and something popped inside of her leading to her release. He continued working and taking all that she would give him. He helped her through her orgasm as she pulled his hair, the pain grounding him and reminding him that this was real and not a dream like it was starting to feel like.

He didn’t stop until she was whining, her legs back down to his sides, hand pushing his head instead of pulling. Sitting up, he saw her chest rising and falling quickly as she tried to catch her breath. Y/N’s eyes were still closed but he could see the blissed out expression on her face.

When she finally opened her eyes, heart rate and breathing returning back to normal, she had a smile plastered across her face. And Harry couldn’t help but leave a quick kiss on it.

“Wanna help me practice for my next scene, too?”

MASTERLIST | PATREON

#yo #writing

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anakinsafterlife · 1 month

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Thoughts on Dune Part 2

All right, friends. Dune Part 2. I absolutely picked the wrong time to start wanting to return to Tumblr, since I'm currently in the thick of Ramadan, but c'est la vie. I'm a bit worried that if I don't review now that I might forget my specific impressions of the movie, though I have to say that if this weren't Ramadan that I absolutely would be going back to see it again in the cinema, which says a lot considering that it's been at least ten years since I've actually wanted to go back and repeat a film instead of just waiting for it to come out on streaming/DVD.

So the movie is good. It is in fact very, very good. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the Dune duology (possibly trilogy), and (much like Empire) in terms of cinematography, music, scripting and acting it's nearly flawless. There are, however, issues, things that might not occur to a majority-Western audience but which are immediately clear to anyone who either comes from an Arab or Muslim background.

What follows here is a deep dive into some of the historical and cultural sources of Dune and some of the ways in which the movie producers, and in some cases fans, have failed to acknowledge those sources.

First of all, it's obvious that the Fremen are meant to be based on the Arabs, but of the the entire main cast there is only ONE actor with an Arab background, and that is Souhaila Yacoub, the half-Tunisian actress who plays Shishakli, the female Fremen warrior who is executed by the Harkonnens. Now, I have to say that this woman was fantastic. Her attitude is completely on point for an Arab, especially a North African Arab: forceful, loud, a bit brash and mocking even under fire. Nicely done. Points to the producers there, but I have to take that point away again because she is literally the only Space Arab who is actually Arab. Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor who plays Stilgard, does have some interesting moments and one of the reasons why I feel that the screenwriters were advised on Arabic traditions/culture. The incident during which he warns Paul about the Jinn in the desert like it's a joke but then immediately turns extremely serious when Paul starts smiling is so in character for an Arab and honestly just a brilliant bit of scripting, but much of the time he also acted more or less like what people *think* a fanatical religious Arab acts like--loud, frantic and unstable.

Not only this, but the "Muslim" behaviour/traditions in the film are at best...vague. People are praying, but in any direction at all. I do realize that this would be a complicated issue on another planet, where the Ka'aba couldn't be pointed to, but there are Islamic rulings for EVERYTHING. Check out the one about praying in space:

Even if they had as a society simply picked a random direction for prayer, they should all be praying at the same time and in the same direction (they seem to do this in larger crowds, but not in the smaller group where we first see people praying). They also definitely shouldn't be talking during prayer or trying to make other people talk to them during prayer (as Chani does), since talking breaks your prayer and you have to start over all over again (during obligatory prayers).

Language, too, is an issue, and a big one, because while I do understand that a conlang was developed for use in this movie, the linguists consulted did know that the language was meant to be heavily influenced by Arabic. Consequently, they've included a lot of fragmentary Arabic in their work. Unfortunately this Arabic is poorly pronounced at best, to the point where I was looking words up and laughing at what they're meant to be based on. For example, "Shai Hulud," the word for the Worms, is based on the Arabicشيء خلود, which means "immortal thing," and should be pronounced with "shai" rhyming with "say" followed by a glottal stop, and the 'h' in "Hulood" is actually a guttural sound like the infamous "ch" in Bach, followed by a long U. Another example is Mua'dib مهذب , a real word in Arabic that means "teacher," but is is actually pronounced with a "th" sound instead of a d and emphasis on the second syllable, not on the last as in French. (Note: I made an error here. There is a word مؤدب , pronounced mostly the same in the movie, but with a glottal stop after the 'u' sound and a short 'i' after the d sound rather than a long vowel, that is usually used to mean polite, urbane, gentlemanly, etc. but which can also mean teacher, although I have never heard it used in this context) "Usul", أصول, Paul's other Fremen name, was likely not, as I had previously guessed, based on the word "Rasool," meaning Prophet, but on أصول الفقه the Principles of islamic Jurisprudence, which also ties directly into a religious/prophetic them. Again, this is pronounced on the long vowel, so with a short first U and a long second U.

I've included the Arabic spellings in here, by the way, so that you can drop them into Google translator and hear how they actually sound.

Now, I do realize that the story itself is set 8000 years in the future and that spoken Arabic as a language would have changed considerably in that time, if it existed still at all, but Arabic is a liturgical language as well as a vehicle for conversation, and Muslims all across the world today use it as a tool for worship. Muslims who have no cultural connection with Arabic often still learn it in order to connect more deeply with religious traditions and simply to perform prayers and other religious duties. Religious scholars consider it to be a necessary duty of the Muslim to learn at least some Arabic:

And keep in mind that the Arabic spoken today across the MENA region is very different (and different in different places) to the Arabic spoken 1400 years ago by the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him). Given Islamic traditions, the chances of the Fremen using liturgical/classical Arabic for their worship would be quite high, even if their spoken language had evolved past the point of being recognizably Arabic.

Keep in mind, also, that Dune as a whole is an allegory for colonialism, economic exploitation of poorer nations (or making rival nations poor through the same), as well as dehumanization of the views and needs of native peoples in order to make that exploitation palatable to the occupying forces (I thought that this was done quite smartly in Jessica's part of the story; although she is sympathetic to the Fremen, she feels that manipulating their religious traditions is the best way to protect her son, and in doing so she allows herself to dehumanize the people who come to rely on her).

It is, therefore, incumbent upon us not to distance ourselves too much from the intended message by claiming that Dune is fiction and need not too accurately reflect the culture and religion of the people that the Fremen are so clearly based on. The fact that the producers have done little to hire Arab actors or induced any real effort to accurately pronounce the Arabic words or accurately portrayal Islamic practices seems to indicate that they are concerned about identifying too closely with the economic and cultural struggle between East and West, properly because they fear the potential economic backlash, and this despite the fact that Frank Herbert clearly wrote his book to illustrate the fallout of that struggle.

Here is a wonderful article written by a culturally Arab woman:

There are numerous other articles addressing the same issues, but I like this one because it's written by a Muslim woman, who also addresses the "hijab cosplaying" in the movie. I didn't get into that much, but I definitely recognize that it's a problem when Muslim women worry about potential violence while wearing hijab in the streets of Western nations, but the same article of clothing is fetishized in movies and fashion.

I've also seen some comment about the Mahdi mention in particular. This is a saviour-figure in Islam who will come near the end of the world. There is no emphasis on this figure in Sunni Islam, but Shias seem to have a significant body of literature concerning this figure and, from what I understand, believe that he may perhaps have already come, and so there has been some poor reception in that community to applying the label of Mahdi to Paul. Criticisms ranging from insensitivity to outright blasphemy have been levelled regarding this usage. Now, there was some tip-toeing around the prophetic theme in Dune, and rightly so, I believe, since the Prophet Mohamed is the "seal of the prophets" in Islam, meaning the last and final. The fact that Paul was essentially set up as a false prophet by the Bene Gesserit does avoid some of the potential fallout from this, and also makes sense of Chani's rejection at the end of the film, since she felt strongly about Paul acting as a false Prophet.

Again, I am aware that there is internal cosmology within the series itself, and that some fans object to the religion of the Fremen being referred to as Islam, but when the inspiration for the entire ethnicity, religion, and the natural resources at stake are as clear as they are in this series, it's also futile to expect that people will not draw those associations, nor that people belonging to the religion or ethnic group in question may not acknowledge the beauty of the movie, the gorgeous cinematography, rousing music, and tightly plotted story, but still take exception to what is clearly Orientalism.

And it is frankly such a shame that we have to place this movie under that header, because the story of Dune is so sympathetic to the Middle East and its peoples, and as I said in the beginning I actually loved the film and found it very beautiful. It was also exciting to see Islamic themes used creatively in mainstream media, but while Frank Herbert clearly wrote the story as an exposition on the exploitation of natural resources, particularly oil, in the MENA region, the truth is that the racism and exploitation that he was protesting are very much alive today and contribute to the oppression of millions. It's particularly disappointing to see the message of the movie sail over the heads of people watching it when Arab Muslims in Palestine are being dehumanized and obliterated at this very moment, and while Libya was one of the latest Arab nations to be targeted for its oil resources, only a decade ago, with European oil companies moving in directly after the downfall of Ghadafi (which makes the timing extremely suspicious, one might say):

And even after the US finished their occupation of Iraq, Western oil companies remained en mass to continued drilling:

Egypt to this day remains economically destabilized while Western nations exploit its oil stocks, to no benefit at all of its peoples:

I'm sure I could cite dozens of other cases, but it's clear that there is a one-on-one parallel between spice melange and oil, making any protests of apoliticism in an inherently political story utterly vain.

I could go on, but I needn't. In short, this beautiful movie could have done so much good even beyond its obvious artistic merits, but instead it is still towing the political line. Much as was the case for Jessica and Paul, sometimes you can be a Harkonnen and not know it.

#dune #dune part 2 #meta #islam #arabic #history #orientalism #paul atreides #lady jessica #chani kynes #oil drilling #colonialism #arrakis #north africa #the middle east

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dennisboobs · 9 months

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Your Dennis with ptsd thing is so interesting to me! I’ve never thought about it that way but your right he is. Idk what this ask is really asking I just think the concepts really good and would love for you to talk about / expand on it more.

i honestly don't have too much to say on the topic of PTSD purely because i've already spoken so much about PTSDee as an episode and what it does for den, but, uh. yeah! that episode!

we see mac as the one most obviously dealing with PTSD symptoms through his nightmares after playing VR with frank, but dennis' entire plot is about him reliving his trauma and then adding additional trauma on top of that (he realizes that regardless of age, or gender, he can and has been assaulted, and he attempts to combat that by gaining power over people that he didn't have as a child). you can literally see him experiencing flashbacks when he's face to face with the cougars, and again when he brings up "perverted librarians". (it's worth mentioning that in the script it makes it very clear that he and charlie actually end up going through with the stripping gig and were consequently sexually assaulted by the cougars. dennis tells charlie that it will be easier on him if he just does as he's told.)

compare it to when he initially recounts his relationship with klinsky to dee and when she shows off her "movie"

and even a little further back during gang gets whacked, coincidentally recalling traumatic sex with an older woman i could go on about his susceptibility to frank's manipulation (which glenn describes as "grooming" on the podcast) in this episode but

i think most people grasp this part, it's more evident and textual in an episode (multiple episodes) focused around it, named after it, but the Complex part of C-PTSD is ALL of dennis' trauma, not just the CSA he experienced.

personally i believe dennis has C-PTSD rather than PTSD, as while the latter is a result of one distinct event, the former is typically a result of childhood trauma that occurs over the span of years, (though it's likely he's also got PTSD from what happened with klinsky too). i also think the combination of C-PTSD and autism together led to his misdiagnosis of BPD, as the cause and resulting effects are extremely similar. dennis doesn't display a lot of the BPD commonalities (splitting, favourite people, hyperemotionality), but what he does display happens to overlap with personality disorders like NPD, ASPD and of course BPD, which people generally (imo wrongfully) diagnose dennis with.

and a lot of the "sociopathic/psychopathic" (antisocial personality disorder/ASPD) traits he displays overlap with these (primarily his detachment, which we know is a result of trauma)... and autism.

#ask ada #cw csa mention #if i keep going on this itll endure ten more days of sitting in my drafts so. Just Trust Me Bro #i could do a fucking breakdown of his cptsd but. not today

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rainbowchewynuggets · 1 year

Text

re: the fate of TMA: Encore

Up to this point, I’ve been able to get most of TMA: Encore posted. But there are some issues that I’ve been struggling with for a while that are really starting to eat away at my ability to continue.

Even though Encore is practically fully written at this point and I’m just getting the planned drawing sections done, the writing itself is still largely what’s giving me the most trouble.

When I started this project in earnest, I was going off of a very rough outline and mostly writing on the fly. That method works fine for a lot of writers, but it turned out to be really difficult for me. I spent very long periods just trying to figure out how to get from plotpoint A to B to C. I eventually cleared some time to sit down and hammer out a proper coherent script. For logistical reasons, I gave myself about a month to get it done. And I did–which was a huge achievement for me. At the same time, as you can imagine, what I came out with was a little raggedy. I’ve been trying to make small edits as I go to smooth things out and pick up on missed opportunities, but I’m honestly starting to think that it’s just breaking other links in the chain.

The other big reason is due to my decaying relationship with horror. I used to love horror movies and video games, and I reveled in body and abstract emotional horror especially. The Thing. 1408. Silent Hill. TMA’s literary horror vibe was a transformative experience for someone who almost never read for fun growing up. It’s one of my favorite stories, period. Unfortunately, traumatic world events and difficult personal experiences have made horror a lot more… horrible to me in recent years. The tension and terror that used to give me catharsis now only causes me genuine stress. Writing horror still works for me though, which I think has also made it harder to keep myself from going overboard. That fucking concrete forest section with Jon gave me shooting pains to reread.

My point is, I just can’t get myself to relisten to TMA anymore or even take it in by summary. This has left me to rely on my own memory to keep the characters and world consistent with canon. Which is a lot like trying to draw a still-life portrait of wax fruit in 100-degree heat.

The worst part comes in realizing just how smart TMA is. Its explorations of the nature of fear and trauma are what inspired me to want to make Encore in the first place. But the structure and depth of it is even more substantial than I realized when I listened to it. For instance, I recently saw a post talking about how tragic Tim’s character is. He’s such a nice funny guy who does his best to roll with everything in S1, and is slowly ground down to a miserable angry stump of who he used to be by the time of his death. It takes years. And it’s not a natural part of his character. I didn’t write Tim that way in Encore. I figured it would be a lot easier to draw that negativity out of him, in the same way that it doesn’t take a lot of prodding to get Jon to misbehave. That interpretation serves the conflict I wanted to write, but it misses the point of his character, I think. There’s a lot of stuff like that in Encore at such a foundational level that it’s hard to level the dissonance when you compare it to the podcast.

Which sucks, because I originally conceived Encore as a retrospective on what the series was like to listen to (until it took so long to make that I pivoted to make it a separate study on the relationship between fear, pain, and agency, and the existential horror of time travel/immortality). I don’t really feel prepared to do any of that if I’m still discovering so much of what makes TMA work. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think unhinged, canonically-inconsistent fanfiction is bad or shouldn’t exist. But that just isn’t what Encore is supposed to be for me.

All this makes me feel really really… bad. A little bit incompetent, but mostly tired. There are only a few chapters left, and the script is mostly ready to go. Man, I don’t know if I want to go through with it though. My creative spirit has had it rough lately, and I’m about to make some big life changes that are going to make it way harder for me to get art stuff done. And, y’know, I’m supposed to be cutting back on the stuff that makes me more worn-out than happy.

I think I mentioned in a post a while ago that I’ve considered stopping before. I’ve had misgivings about the quality of the writing (and the sheer burden of making full pages of art) for a long time. I convinced myself to keep going because I’ve bailed on a lot of projects over the years and was determined to believe in myself and finish this thing. However, following an audit of the work I’ve put into it, I’m realizing that not finishing wouldn’t make the endeavor a complete loss.

The biggest reason that I make anything is because it makes me a better writer and artist. Even if I’m unsatisfied with the result, I feel accomplished that I sat down and wrote a whole script on a really tight deadline. My usual problem with any writing project is that it keeps sitting on the burner, boiling away, ballooning in scope until it’s impossible to finish. I feel like I’ve been able to make a greater level of peace with compromise and cutting down the stuff in my head to get shit out the door.

Also, tone is hard. Voice is hard. They can be even harder when you’re piggybacking off of another creator. Again, I don’t think that a fanwork or guest work necessarily has to have the same voice as the original. You’re different people, after all. A person can certainly train their tone toward a certain idea with effort, but it helps to know what comes naturally to them. I’m still figuring my own voice out, and it turns out that it isn’t this. The void left behind by my horror safe-space appears to have been occupied by a gif of Gir whacking Shinji Ikari over the head with a frying pan at high speed. Even in Encore’s most manic state, I strain to keep myself from pingponging out of bounds with violent emotional hyperactive energy. Maybe I can try sticking closer to writing action and comedy with only a moderate sprinkling of morose horror.

As mentioned last year, I made important realizations about the way I draw comics. I was taught to draw through studio art where putting your all into every piece is usually the goal. But that’s super unsustainable when you have 7-10 “pieces” to make on every single page. Falling apart halfway through a giant project pushed me to find ways to mitigate the workload without radically changing design consistency. That means formatting, rendering, and composition.

Even before that, the whole fear-color mechanic was a joy to build up. And I finally figured out how to do borderless color art! :3

I can bring all these improvements to the new things I do in the future. All the derivation-related issues in this project are making me think it’s time to move on to original stuff, anyway. Let me tell you, there is a ton of stuff I’d like to make.

TLDR; I’m considering not finishing TMA Encore because I think the quality of the writing has fallen apart, and I need to move away from writing horror and fanworks for a while.

So. The other reason I kept going after that long gap last year was because people appeared to be really into the story. I’d like to give you guys the chance to weigh in on how I handle this. Because for all I know, this is all happening in my head and everything is fine. Your options are:

A) Please finish the last few chapters with art, whenever you get around to it.

B) Please post the last of the script without pictures over the next few weeks.

C) Please don’t worry about finishing it.

Your answer won’t be a definitive vote on what I do, but I do want to value your opinion in what I decide. Through it all, I feel really happy that people have been able to enjoy and express opinions on the longest thing I’ve ever kept going. I look forward to whatever comes next.

Thanks!

Rainbow

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

EDIT:

After careful consideration, I’ve decided to finish posting the whole thing. Chapters will be longer with way less art.

Thank you everyone, for your kind and sincere encouragement and opinions.

:’)

Here’s the next chapter btw

#tma encore #update #important

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mermaidsirennikita · 3 months

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Thoughts on the oscar noms? (…and the current drama surrounding it)

Honestly, I need people to realize that Barbie was a cute movie that was ultimately meant to sell Barbie dolls. It had a great set design, really cool visuals and costumes, some fun jokes, and a very good performance from Ryan Gosling. I think Greta being snubbed is weird because the movie was very CLEARLY. DIRECTED. But then again, Wes Anderson does that a lot to mixed results with the Academy, so. A very clear and strong eye does not always please them. If we're gonna talk about women (because apparently the Oscars allow only one lady director) who directed films very smartly, I would say that Celine Song is a better choice. Past Lives was such a good movie, and I think her direction really helped communicate a story in which a lot was left unsaid, pairing well with the actors.

And I'll be real... I need people to get that the movie was always more about Ken. Ken had the best script. Ken had the best arc. Is that right, for a Barbie movie? I don't know, dude. But I frankly don't blame the Academy for nominating Ryan and not Margot, because Margot had nothing great to do and she didn't elevate the material. She was good, she was charming. Ryan was performing a lot more. I like America btw, but I don't get that nom lol.

Also, stop complaining about I'm Just Ken, it was great, let us have fun song nominees.

Best Picture: I don't know why Barbie is there, the Oppenheimer sweep has been boring and though I liked the movie, as a film it was absolutely nothing without Cillian and to me that does not a Best Picture make, Killers of the Flower Moon or American Fiction should win but won't, Maestro is a joke, Past Lives deserves but also deserves more noms, haven't seen Poor Things, Anatomy of a Fall, or Zone of Interest (though at least filmtwt can stop complaining about it not being well-marketed for the Academy) yet. I liked The Holdovers, but that was before I found out the director is uhhhhh a very very bad man.

Best Actor: Leo was snubbed and I do think him campaigning for Lily so hard had something to do with it but that was legit one of his most interesting, un-Leo performances; Bradley is a joke; happy for Colman but haven't seen Rustin yet; Cillian should win and I think he will but Paul G could dark horse it--I don't think his performance was Oscar-worthy but he was good and he's been picking up his fair share of awards; Jeffrey Wright was amazing in American Fiction and if anyone should dark horse it it's him. I'd still give it to Cillian. If this was up to me, I'd toss out Bradley and throw in Teo Yoo, who was so so good in Past Lives. But the Academy is sending a HARD backlash message to Asian creatives after the EEAAO sweep, imo.

Best Actress: As I said, I don't care that Margot wasn't nominated and I don't think she should've been, and imo her best performance was easily I, Tonya; I haven't seen Nyad so no comment on Annette, same with Sandra for Anatomy, and I think Carey had moments in Maestro but she overall was not one of those "standouts in a horrible movie" actors; Lily should win and absolutely killed her performance and dominated her movie, but I am worried that Emma could take it. I'd toss out Carey for Greta Lee.

Best Supporting Actor: Everyone needs to stop saying Sterling snuck in because he was deeply moving in American Fiction and is lowkey highkey one of the best actors working right now; RDJ basically just did Leslie Odom Jr. in Hamilton and F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus but with his RDJ cadence of speaking he can't drop to save his life, but he's taking this for a career Oscar; I hate that Charles isn't there, but if it wasn't him I'd give it to Sterling or De Niro, who gave one of my favorite performances in his career and was SO disgusting and menacing in Killers. Haven't seen Ruffalo, so if it was up to me depending on his performance I'd toss out RDJ for Charles Melton and possibly shuffle some other people around.

Best Supporting Actress: Lol Emily was horrible in Oppenheimer and I'll die on that hill, generally liking her as an actress; Da'Vine will win this and she was amazing in The Holdovers but the director really sours it for me; happy for Danielle, haven't seen TCP; America shouldn't be there but whatever; I literally though Nyad was about a mythological creature until I Googled last night and found out it was about a swimmer.

Best Director: This is going to go to Christopher Nolan for one of his better movies but not his best because that is FAR. AND AWAY. THE PRESTIGE. Should go to Scorsese, his direction for Killers is why (to me) that movie still felt like it was moving at a clip despite the length.

#awards season 2024 #look i'm sure i'll enjoy poor things and emma plays well w yorgos buuut

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superectojazzmage · 11 months

Text

Okay, so review for Across The Spider-Verse

In short, it was exactly as amazing as hoped, arguably more so.

Absolutely brilliant writing, direction, animation, acting, everything. Takes everything the first movie did right and improves on it while pruning out its tiny few flaws. Continues to truly capture the spirit and feel of the comics and staying as faithful to them as possible while still doing it’s own thing. Demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the character of Spider-Man and his mythos. Genuine and earnest in all the right ways, never demeans or sneers at the source material but rather lavishes it with the love and respect it deserves. Just incredible work from everyone involved.

Some specific notes:

The acting is great. Oscar Isaac and Jason Schwartzman in particular are PERFECT and steal the show as Miguel O’Hara and the Spot. The returning actors like Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, and Hailee Steinfeld get to really show off their chops.

The humor and drama are balanced even better in this film than in the first one. The down moments hit harder, the jokes get even bigger laughs, and they never step on one another’s toes.

The action scenes are fantastic just like in the first film. Incredible and very creative fights all around.

Animators REALLY like to show off. The first film’s experimenting with different art styles gets taken up to eleven here. Lots of crazy visuals and elaborate changes in look and feel from world to world while still keeping the same broad “vibe”, and they even delve into some Roger Rabbit-esque territory. It’s really impressive. That said, just like the first film, there are some scenes that can get really literally flashy and strobing, so be aware of that if you’re especially sensitive to flashing lights. I don’t think there’s anything that’d cause issues, but just a head’s up.

The writing for the Spot was great; they closely follow his arc from the comics of starting out as a dorky, incompetent joke villain and then evolving into a terrifyingly ruthless and vindictive monster with absolutely broken powers and it’s really well done, like a bizarro inversion of an anime “hero trains to get stronger” storyline. He’s definitely one of the big highlights and was a great pick for villain.

Peter B. is everything Spider-Man should be and his relationship with Mary Jane and baby Mayday are another major highlight. Marvel editors on life support.

Miles and Gwen both get really great character arcs themselves. Poor Miles really gets put through the wringer.

Miguel is spectacularly well-done, just the right balance of sympathetic, charismatic hero and total grouchy asshole, just like he was in the comics.

Spider-Punk is a Giga-Chad.

Jessica Drew is a weird outlier in that she’s not very faithful to the comics version and the points where she IS accurate are based off one of her worst runs, in total contrast to everyone else. I feel like she was maybe meant to be a different character and got reworked into Jessica for some reason mid-production, or maybe that they had to completely alter her to use her. That being said, as a functionally new character, she’s pretty cool. Issa Rae does a good job and her design totally fucks.

The overall plot is partly a really brilliant meta commentary on Marvel’s treatment of Spider-Man Post-OMD with middle fingers fully extended at Spider-Editorial and I’m living for it. There’s also some clear commentary on the nature of adaptations and what Spider-Man as a character stands for, amongst many other things. Some very dense and heavy themes underpinning the narrative, but none of it is intrusive and you don’t need any prior knowledge aside from watching the first film.

You can REALLY tell that this and Beyond The Spider-Verse were one giant script split into two movies, because the ending is honestly pretty abrupt feeling, though it’s made pretty clear that this is just Part 1 and Part 2 will pick up from right there, so as long as you’re aware of that it’s okay. It’s a massive cliffhanger.

All in all, we walked out of the theater EXTREMELY impressed and very hyped for the next film. This was a wonderful movie that really captured the essence of not just Spider-Man but Marvel Comics as a whole. 10/10 would recommend.

#across the spider verse spoilers #across the spiderverse #across the spider verse #spiderverse #atsv #spiderman atsv #spider man #spiderman #marvel #marvel comics #marvel universe #films #movie review #movies #comics #comic books #phil lord #christopher miller #LORD AND MILLER SWEEP

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robrae-is-forever · 11 months

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Not going to lie, I am super disappointed with the new Spiderverse movie.

Spoilers btw but I’m just gonna ramble

It’s pretty clear that Sony wanted a trilogy and forced the writing team to stretch the film out into a duology, because this film is fucking bloated with nonsense and time wasting stuff, and that cliffhanger sequel baiting ending left me going, “That’s it?”

When it slows down to compensate for the script being torn into two movies, it slows down and man you can feel it. It doesn’t slow down for anything important either; I get that the emotional moments need some levity but goddamn they go on for way longer than anything in the first film, and for a lot less important stuff, too. The first film was fast paced and kinetic, and after rewatching today I can say that it was never as dull as this when it slowed down.

Miles feels really generic after “growing up” and accepting his role as Spiderman, and I wasn’t expecting his usual dorkiness to wear off on me so quickly in this film. He was an awkward teen being forced to fill the large shoes of the hero before him, and the first film didn’t have to play it up to sell his character to us. How can he be as good as Spider-Man when Peter already exists?

With good writing, which the first film had, and this film, whether due to how stretched thin it is or something else, doesn’t have it. Honestly, I really can’t stand how everyone is in love with Miles. Gwen shows up to Miles universe and goes, “It’s always so nice talking to you” and it really bugged me because I’m just like

“bitch you haven’t talked to him in months, and you barely talked to him in the last film what are you on about”

And then the Peter from the first film shows up with his new daughter and is like “I had her because of you because I thought she’d grow up to be like you because I think you’re cool” and I’m like

“that’s fucking weird, maybe you should let your daughter grow up to be her own person instead of the awkward kid you barely mentored and don’t know anything about at all other than he’s a spiderman”

I don’t know anything about Miles in the comics or in the recent game because I’m a spider enjoyer not a spider fan, but there isn’t enough about Miles for me to like in this new film. He’s upset that he can’t be Spider-Man and himself, which is something Toby Maguire figured out all the way back in the early 00′s, and this film doesn’t do anything new with that plotline.

The first spiderverse film was good because it tread new ground with a well known backstory, about an outcast kid getting powers and learning to use them for good. The addition of a version of a burned out character we know and love, as well as the new spider people helping Miles as a person and fledgling hero, was entertaining. What does he have now that he’s grown up? Not much.

Now he’s just going through Toby’s phase, in a stretched out movie, where everyone loves him and thinks he’s so great despite not having as much of an interesting personality this time around, and also not doing anything important, either. He doesn’t stop the main villain, he just complains a lot that he isn’t getting his way. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still got some good jokes, and I like the Spot and Miguel, but this film was way too long with way too little happening in it. This film also focuses way too much on the side characters instead of on Miles, like it wants Gwen and Spot to be the main character, and as a result it really doesn’t feel like there’s a main character at all.

There are some other stupid things I don’t like, too. Why is there a pregnant black woman riding a motorcycle and fighting? Babies are soft and should not be exposed to battle with superpowered characters, and pregnant women have trouble moving around. Like, seriously. They can have trouble standing up in the later stages of pregnancy, because they can’t rotate and push themselves up because of the baby bump sometimes. So how am I expected to believe that she’s being a super bad ass, even with powers? I don’t know who she is, and I really don’t care. The first film gave us a quick rundown on all the spider people when they showed up, and I don’t know a single thing about this chick. At the very least, she didn’t have to be pregnant, it added nothing to the film while it was in motion and was genuinely distracting.

The whole spider society thing just made me think of the early Rick and Morty seasons with the whole “council of ricks citadel and evil morty” bullshit. I did not go into this wanting to think about that cartoon, and unfortunately it’s all I could think about in the quarter of the movie that it takes up. Try and tell me it doesn’t remind you of it a little bit.

Now, as a big ol shipper who loves well written romances, I can firmly say I’m not buying this “will they won’t they” shit with Miles and Gwen. She had barely warmed up to being Miles’ friend by the end of the last film, and I already outlined why above that I think it’s stupid, but to add to it, all Gwen thinks about is Miles in this film and I’m like “damn bitch have some agency”. They keep trying to insert all these little tidbits to make Miles jealous and whatnot and I’m just sitting here like

“no”

Here are some choice quotes from the first film to remind you of what Gwen thinks of Miles: “You know I’m older than you, right? 15 months older, but that’s pretty significant if you ask me”, “You don’t get to like my haircut”, “I don’t think you know what puberty is”, “Friends”...

Funny lines of dialogue to be sure, but definitely not romantic. Especially not when she lost her version of Peter Parker, then reunites with another one. I’m not saying she had to fall for burnt out Peter, but the fact that the first film did nothing with it, and then this film for the most part just makes her a one note track about Miles, really rubbed me the wrong way. Especially when she points out that nothing good happens to the Gwen’s who fall in love with Spider-Man.

I guess it’s all about expectations, ironically. Miles didn’t know how to step into Spiderman’s suit, and this sequel doesn’t know how to follow up it’s excellent predecessor. It barely has an antagonist, it’s bloated with filler, the dialogue is stupid in many places, and it’s nice visuals aren’t enough to make up for it.

The only thing I personally think will save the third film would be to subvert those expectations. Have Miles turn down/reject Gwen because she lied to him about his dad’s impending death, have him turn away from Peter for being in on it, and have him step into his own shoes.

#across the spiderverse #spiderverse spoilers #and give me a movie with spider gwen damnit #idk why but i'm starting to like her #she has a cool design #it's cool

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diamondcitydarlin · 2 years

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okay idk here are my MoM takes, such as they are. I honestly found most of the film to be forgettable to the point that I don't recall a lot of what happened, but then I don't think a lot actually happened, at least plotwise. Michael W*ldron and his yt male mediocrity strike again

yes, visually it's a very stunning movie. if that's literally all you're looking for in a film then I guess this is for you. although that said, there are some weird transitions between scenes I still don't understand creatively but whatever, nitpicking.

people keep likening this to a horror because of the dark visuals and occasional jumpscares, but I'd say that's about where the parallel to the horror genre starts and stops. also, the whole 'horror' thing relies on Wanda being the slasher monster which...is cool in a way? But also a pretty misogynistic take on how a female character processes her grief, but I'd expect nothing less from Michael. anyway, it's not really horror, just a film with creepy visuals.

the pacing is awful. the writing as a whole is awful. Scenes drag on longer than they should, there's little to no build up of any character though after a certain point it's clear we're supposed to care about certain characters and their dynamics together but it's like wait when did you give me a reason? there's very little explanation for anything, things just sort of -happen- and rely on the viewer caring more about how they look then why they're happening in the first place. oddly, the writing relies a great deal on the audience having seen Wandavision beforehand despite taking very little of the show into account for anything else.

Michael's very male-centric POV, early 00's style of writing is ofc the defining tone of the script. While this is kind of a dual Wanda and Dr. Strange piece (SORT OF) all of the narrative sympathy and build up is devoted solely to Stephen. We're supposed to feel SO BAD for him as he corners his ex-gf at her wedding to talk about their past relationship even as she is visibly uncomfortable and says as much, and then later he's still pushing his feelings towards an alt-universe version of her but at least then she's just like 'ok thanks lol'. When the Illuminati tell him every Dr. Strange is evil including him the narrative frames it as an obvious lie because clearly Stephen is much more nuanced than that; Wanda though, 100% evil, no justification for anything SHe does EVER. It's the double-standard in who gets to be a sympathetic character and who doesn't for me. Very game of thrones lol. Also the fact that Wanda is given no more narrative motivation to go full evil than 'I AM A MOTHER I HAVE CHILDREN' which, yes, I understand is a big part of her character in any context but you cant tell me wandavision didn't manage to make her character and motivations more nuanced where this film didn't even try. The writing literally relies on 'sad woman = evil' and nothing else. I mean, it's pretty clear to me there was an avenue here to have Stephen and Wanda commiserate and find some comfort from each other in their shared issues maybe, but then we wouldn't have woman = bad and thus a scary monster villain

Lightspeed kill your gays happens in a scene that could be easily edited out for homophobic markets, but who is surprised?

The people who seem to watch marvel solely to make fun of fans are delighted that all the new characters who got introduced were quickly killed off bc 'lol stupid blorbo cameo' but like, that doesn't make it a good narrative choice or worth anyone's time at the end of the day. Think of how that time could've been spent giving this film an ounce of narrative depth instead

As far as I'm concerned the only good parts were Professor X's. Only he shows Wanda any kind of compassion, and the scene where he enters her mind and sees the desolation of her grief- IT IS THE ONLY TIME WANDA IS ALLOWED DEPTH OUTSIDE OF EVIL CRAZY LADY. When he tries to help her from the rubble...when he tells Stephen he believes people are more than just their past misdeeds. Idk. Wish there could have been more of that.

My main thing is, I really wish Marvel would hire writers that can put together a self-contained screenplay for these films. It's not impossible; it certainly wasn't impossible here. I'm of the opinion that these films would be stronger if they could stand on their own, if the hour and a half, two hour plot could be a self-contained, tight story that still encompasses the plot points they need to hit going forward. Something that randos not familiar with the marvel universe would still enjoy. It's not difficult, it really isn't. Because yeah, sure, as part of the big multiverse hyping everyone's into this film, and I could be wrong, but I just don't see this movie having the staying power over time that it could have. I don't see anyone, five years from now, being like "omg MoM is one of my fave films ever!!" because outside of the main overarching plot and visuals, it's pretty aimless and pointless. It's pretty aimless regardless of the main plot, tbh.

I ofc realize too that the amount of hype given to this film might be part of what makes the finished product such a disappointment, but I'm certain I would've found it boring and poorly written regardless of how much it was hyped up. It's definitely a let down after Wandavision, why on EARTH didn't they at least use some of THOSE writers??

Anyway, once again moving back into my lifelong 'Marvel probably isn't for me' position because, as per usual, the narrative focus and sympathy has to be devoted to whoever the main yt cishet male character is while everyone else is reduced to villain, sidekick or disposable POC/queer person. Makes the scope of superhero media very limiting.

#mom spoilers #these are just my opinions bear in mind #mainly it was just boring and underwhelming imo #anti michael waldron

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tlbodine · 2 years

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John Carpenter

A true legend of horror, John Carpenter's filmography has been diverse -- both in contents, and quality. Like Wes Craven, Carpenter doesn't let himself get boxed in, though he does have a few themes he likes to return to.

Another interesting thing about Carpenter as an auteur is that not only does he tend to write and direct most of his films, he also usually writes his own scores (including that iconic Halloween theme).

Anyway, if you're familiar with Carpenter, it's probably because of Halloween. Or perhaps The Thing. Then again, maybe you know him for his non-horror work, like Escape from New York or Big Trouble in Little China. I have a lot of respect for his chill, unpretentious attitude and blue collar sensibilities.

Not all of his films are masterpieces, of course. But that's just how it goes when you take risks -- occasionally you make a stinker. For our challenge, I picked two movies I hadn't seen (or, anyway, that I didn't remember having seen).

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They Live (1988) stars Roddy Piper and a young Keith David. Like many movies of its time, it's a scathing critique of 1980s consumer culture, set in a grimy post-industrial Los Angeles. An itinerant drifter (Piper) shows up looking for work but has to scrape by at a homeless camp until, by chance, he discovers some glasses that reveal the truth of the world -- namely, that an alien race is secretly controlling the human population through subliminal messaging in advertisements, and that they live among people, holding positions in government and so forth.

The film is based on a story I haven't read, called "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson.

I don't know whether "lizard people controlling the government" was already an established thing at this point in history, but this film certainly takes the concept seriously. (Some Neo-Nazis have of course taken this as symbolic of the Jewish "takeover," but Carpenter has been quite outspoken and clear that this was not his intent and also that the aliens are a direct reference to Reagan).

This film is delightful and charming and so on-the-nose accurate it hurts. The main character is kind of a dumbass who has spent all of his intelligence points in "memorable quips" rather than actual smarts, but he's kind of lovable all the same.

Anyway. I recommend watching this alongside The People Under the Stairs and The Stuff for a full-on 1980s "horror of Reaganomics" experience.

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In The Mouth of Madness (1995) stars Sam Neill as an insurance investigator tasked with sniffing out a potential fraud case regarding an extremely valuable author whose publisher insists he's disappeared. Reasonably convinced it's all a publicity stunt anyway, he goes along with it, reading the author's work and discovering clues that point to a location...one which shouldn't be there, but is all the same. One slip through reality later and he's toying with madness and a deep, strange conspiracy.

The author in the film, Sutter Cane, is a clear Stephen King stand-in (they lampshade this by comparing the authors in the film) although his work has an H.P. Lovecraft sheen. This story falls in line with the "King in Yellow" theme I've talked about a bit before, raising among other things the question: what WOULD happen if the cursed text became the most popular book in the world?

This is a good time overall. Sam Neill is wonderful and the story honestly feels like a Stephen King novel, it's really surprising that he didn't write this lol (the script was written by Michael DeLuca). Funny enough, though I was sure I hadn't seen it, once we got into it a memory surfaced of watching it on late night cable at my parent's house when I was in college.

#john carpenter #horror directors #horror movies #they live #in the mouth of madness

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being-of-rain · 2 years

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Thoughts from my Classic Who watch, this time season 11. (Amy Pond voice) Posh fistycuff man, goodbye.

I’ve read of quite a few Doctor Who writers saying that Three and Sarah are their favourite Tardis team, which has surprised me since I thought Sarah was more well-known as Four’s companion. But I can see now why Sarah’s early stories would’ve had such an impact on them, and why she went on to be one of the show’s most popular characters. She’s immediately likable; witty and smart and funny and charming. The banter and joking between her and the Doctor is endless fun. It’s hilarious that she’s first introduced to him under a false name because she’s currently infiltrating a military establishment for a news story, absolute icon. And honestly her occasionally in-your-face feminism is so refreshing after the total disrespect that Jo sometimes got. The rest of The Time Warrior is great too. It feels like a modern episode of the show- the script is tight, there are lots of good and funny character moments, and it’s a neat introduction for the Sontarans. Sorry to go back to talking about Sarah again, but I can’t believe she escaped from the occupied castle with another prisoner in there, befriended some local aristocracy, and then broke back in to the first castle to kidnap the Doctor out of it! And all this without the Doctor’s help or even explanations that she had time-travelled! Once again I must say, absolute icon!!

Invasion of the Dinosaurs was definitely an interesting one! Firstly, I’ll always be amused that the title was shortened in the first episode to preserve a twist in this story and this story only, as opposed to every story ever with ‘Dalek’ in the title that used “it’s the Daleks!!” as the cliffhanger to part one. Secondly, is this the most Disaster Movie that Classic Who has ever got? I was actually shocked by the bloody corpse of the looter that they showed at one point. Now, back to Sarah. She really knows how to accept things and roll with them, it says volumes how quickly she followed the Doctor’s lead and smiled for her mugshots 😂 I once saw a post describing that as the first time she got arrested, but given how she met the Doctor (not to mention her general demeanour), I find that somewhat hard to believe. And honestly she basically wraps up the whole plot of this story herself. While the Doctor and the Brig are busy first being hoodwinked by Yates and then dealing with the Doctor being (badly) framed, Sarah does actual investigative research, finds the people responsible for the situation, and leads a revolt against them. She wouldn’t have needed the Doctor at all if her gang had done the smart thing at the end and moved the evil scientist away from the doomsday lever. As for the other characters, this story really gets what makes the UNIT family fun. There’s so many great gags with them, especially the scene where the Doctor gets fed up with everyone distracting him, which ends with him looking about as distressed as you ever see him (and with Jon Pertwee’s fantastic face, that’s saying something). I’m glad it was this story that involved Yates’ betrayal, because it ties his point of view back to his past experiences, and makes it very clear throughout that he’s still holding onto his morals even as he betrays everyone. Very ironically, this is maybe the most likable Yates has ever been for me, it breaks your heart a little when the one thing he seems most certain of is that his life doesn’t matter. I did start to worry that this story and Operation Golden Age was a reaction to The Green Death and was arguing against the strong environmentalist themes in that story. But thankfully that wasn’t the case at all, it never goes down that path, and actually makes a point at the end to say “saving the environment is extremely important, just don’t be an eco-fascist about it.” Also, Sarah being separated and ending in a colony vastly far away from the Doctor in time and space while he mucks around in modern-day England definitely feels like inspiration for the Interference novels. That subplot happens to Fitz, except in that case its actually real, and it only loops back round to the Doctor’s plot with heartbreaking consequences.

Those nasty Daleks are back again! And this time the story isn’t really about them, even though they still eventually become the most imposing threat, which I think is a nice balance that Death to the Daleks managed to strike. The beginning of the story was proper spooky, with all the darkness and mist. The TARDIS’ safety being invaded always feels unnerving, so Sarah seeking sanctuary in it before finding that a creature had found its way into the new shadows of the console room was really creepy. And shout-out to Elizabeth Sladen for being a hell of an actress and making all of Sarah’s terror very believable, even when I think the script and directing was probably doing her a disservice by making her scream and freak out quite a bit. The horror of the planet was undercut a bit for me when it was revealed that the aggressors were a tribe of native species that veered a little too close to Colony In Space territory for me. I started to think that maybe I’d been quick to judge when it was revealed that there were other Exxilons who were more open-minded than the tribe that worshipped the city, that they were the remnants of a galactic empire, and when the antagonistic Galloway made a bigoted comment that sounded very self-aware of the show. But then it turned around and out of nowhere said that ancient Peruvians couldn’t possibly have built their buildings without alien intervention, so I think I’m going to go ahead and chalk this story up to another reason Classic Who should be banned from using the word “primitive” until it learns its lesson. Finally, I love a good puzzle rooms plot, but the fact that so many people literally starved to death in a room where the puzzle was a maze that looked like it could be in a children’s puzzle book made me laugh. And so did the cliffhanger which was just a dramatic zoom on a pattern on the floor. I adore a Living City, but I don’t think this story used the trope as much as it could.

I can see why Peladon was popular enough to revisit, it was a very strong setting last season. And The Monster of Peladon was okay, but in my eyes it didn’t live up to its predecessor because it didn’t do some of the things that most interested me in Curse: it didn’t have a bunch of interesting new alien species, and its twist was that the Ice Warriors were the villains. Again. Although, admittedly, Ice Lord Azaxyr being held back by four strong men then throwing them all off at the end looked cool as heck. Also, Monster is 2 episodes longer than Curse. I think I get more easily bored by 6-parters after 60s Who than I did during the show’s early years, maybe because I was kept entertained by the charming quaintness of ‘60s television, I don’t know. Also also, Aggedor is cute as heck again in this, and it’s so sad that he dies 😭 I should’ve checked Does The Aggedor Die Dot Com. I love how the Doctor sees a character in need of some Womens Liberation and immediately refers her to Sarah jsdlkfj. Everyone knows about Sarah saying “there’s nothing only about being a girl,” but at the end of the story she also tells the queen that “there's nothing only about being a miner, your Majesty, any more there was about being a girl.” Sarah Jane said intersectional feminism! Another line I didn’t realise Sarah said was when she quoted what the Doctor has apparently said to her, that “while there’s life...” before trailing off. That’s some great foreshadowing.

I’m glad I’m not more arachnophobic than the average person, because Planet of the Spiders has some Magnus Archives-esque shit near the start, when the Doctor projects the recorded thoughts of a dead man and gets a screen full of spiders, and when some meditating men physically manifest the horrors of their unconscious mind and it’s a giant spider. Overall, the story is very intriguing because of its sudden interest in Buddhism, which gives it a good vibe for the Third Doctor’s send-off I think. I did like that it addressed the Doctor’s faults, because that’s something I think Three’s era sometimes failed to do to its detriment, even if phrasing it as the Doctor’s greed was a bit weird. Once again, Sarah jumps into the plot quicker than the Doctor. It’s extremely interesting how chummy she is with Yates at the very start of the story, calling him Mike and getting driven around the countryside by him alone, when Invasion of the Dinosaurs was her first meeting with him and apparently he hasn’t talked to the Doctor or the Brigadier since then. It makes me think that there’s definite room for a short story featuring Sarah and Yates between the two stories, maybe with Sarah sympathising with him after being on the same end of the Golden Age’s brainwashing as he was. Speaking of Yates, it tugged at the heartstrings that evidentally everyone thought it was best not to tell Jo about Yate’s betrayal (though it was lovely to hear from her for Three’s final story). And speaking of untold stories with Sarah, it’s interesting that there’s a 3 week gap for her between the final scene and the rest of Planet of the Spiders, but apparently no Doctor Who media has dipped into that time. If this franchise is going to milk stories out of the gaps in episodes, they should look at the ones that would give interesting character pieces! Okay this post has already become so long. For the Third Doctor’s last story, let’s do five rapid final points. -There’s some good villains in this one! Lupton and his spider outcast friend both being fallible and (for lack of a better term) human was engaging and well demonstrated when they both started causing each other pain in a childish attempt to get their way. Lupton’s gang really felt like a bunch of normal people who didn’t actually set out to be the villains, and regular spiders given superintelligence is at the same time funny and scary, and well used. -Poor Professor Clegg is such a tragedy. He’s made so sympathetic in his few scenes before being killed off, which was basically the result of the Doctor roping him into doing some trials. I like that the Doctor admits to feeling guilty about that too. That’s good writing that is. -The Brigadier is maybe used for comic relief a bit too much, and is painted as a bit of a buffoon during his short screentime. Oh, I do love that he calls Harry Sullivan at one point, that’s a great little easter egg for people watching with future knowledge. -I’ve always found it appropriate for Jon Pertwee that there was such a sprawling vehicle chase sequence during episode 2. Including Bessie v Whomobile, Dawn of Justice. And on the topic of vehicles, it also feels appropriate that after all the work the TARDIS has had done this era, the Doctor refers to her as being alive here. I love the headcanon/basically canon that it was the Doctor’s time taking apart and rebuilding a lot of the TARDIS during his exile that really made him realise how much of a living thing his ship is, and how close a bond they share. -And finally, as always, the Doctor and Sarah’s chemistry is wonderful. A particular highlight is when they’re both trapped in spiderweb and making very silly jokes to pass the time while their fellow prisoner looks on in disbelief. Also, of course, their fantastically-acted farewell as the Doctor dies 💔

#Apparently I had a lot to say for this season! To be fair most of it is just how great Sarah Jane is.#Doctor Who #my thoughts #three #sarah #brig #yates #benton #unit #daleks #sontarans #edit: accidentally called the gap at the end of Planet of the Spiders 3 months instead of 3 weeks. Changed that

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msookyspooky · 2 years

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OKAY HI SO THE NEW CHAPTER—

I AM NOT OKAY !!!

Literally what the hell is gonna happen ???? FUCK IF I KNOW !! WERE IN THE LAST PART OF THE STORY AND I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE WHO GHOSTFACE(s) IS LIKE ???????

Here’s my play by play detecting - please understand im not very smart - also this one gets super long im so sorry

SO I don’t think Roman has anything to do with it fuck canon cause i mean we talked to him Once and the cast we’ve interacted a lot with has to include the killer right?

Dewey, Gale and honestly Billy are in the clear for me. Dewey is too much of a himbo to pull this off, Gale is too focused on finding B and Stu to - i think - plan this whole thing out and ACTUALLY murder ppl and Billy, honestly he looks the least guilty of the suspects cause he and Stu are in really bad terms abd I doubt he’d risk getting a partner AGAIN after how things went down with S, and i dont think he could pull that off on his own

NOW Angelina, baby, angel, please be part of this !!! She’s so weird and she has connections to Woodsburo - i think ! I also have a terrible memory !! - and I cant begin to express how gutted i was to knoe that the plan for her to be Romans accomplice in the movie was scratched, it would’ve been perfect

So Randy 🥺 Randy please bby, angel, please have NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS !! So yeah im very attached to your Randy and I’d be gutted if he was the killer - it would also be awesome to see a survivor “one of the good guys” go apeshit - BUT Stu’s speech really got to me, not only because yes, it makes sense BUT ALSO we’re like on the final stretch here, is it really time for a red herring? He does look suspicious, Stu has a point there

Speaking of Stu, THAT WHOLE SPEECH DIDNT FOOL ME FOR A SECOND - except for the part that it did - I could NOT get Tim’s monologue from the Curve out of my mind during that scene in the motel cause well yeah Randy could feel that way and want revenge BUT that’s not Stu’s actual point, he’s projecting a VERY REAL emotion he had/has to make Randy look sus, it doesn’t matter if he actually is guilty or not, cause either way Stu wins. If R is guilty BOOM Stu was right the whole time, see he cares, he was looking out for things we didn’t want to see, he’s “good” to us AND if R is NOT guilty he can get us so scared and distrusting of Ray that if something happens to him, Stu made “an honest mistake” to protect us. He gets what he wants, “everybody dies but us” ya know

I genuinely believe or at least hope strongly that theres 2 ghostfaces right, so my biggest sus are Randy and Stu AND I think Angelina could be an accomplice to EITHER of them. I genuinely forget if in your story we know her from Woodsburo or if im getting mixed up with the og script so this may be v off skskskks BUT imagine shes working with Randy cause they remember each other and she’s become a lil obsessed with the survivors (like she was with Syd in the movie) and thinks he should get his revenge OR she was really interested in the killers and when she saw “Dennis” maybe recognized him - i dont think he would’ve remembered her tbh - and offered to help, so from set on Stu was no longer working alone ? (With stu shes def an accomplice but with Ray she gives more mastermind vibes ya know? She “convinces” him thats what he wants and lbh she needs someone strong to do the murders shes v tiny)

Omg fucking Mcdreamy ???? I dont wanna sus him cause Boyfriend again 3 times a charm skskks but he’s way to interested in us, for me to trust them wholeheartedly but i have NO IDEA how he would play into all of this so Im saying red herring

Well to be fair Sid never interacted with Roman in 3. I'm js!

Good point about Angelina, red herring or jealous from HS and obsessed with the Woodsboro Massacre survivors for the fame she fought so hard for?

Good points about Dewey, Gale and Billy!!

Randy and Stu are definitely up there and both would rip us to shreds to know they did it (ESPECIALLY RAY. Ray would be fucking devastating) And both have really valid points that they could use as leverage.

And ngl...Kincaid did have our phone number from Dewey when Ghostface called...Again, IM JS-

#ily sm Star thank you for this I was grinning while reading it bc you went in so much detail with it 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

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hongluboobs · 30 minutes

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Please tell us the reason behind the pokemon choices! I get most of them, but am curious about Meowstic and Nihelego in particular. Is it for the nihilEGO pun?

OKAY i am on my iphone so i’m typing this from scratch again instead of my drafts. also it is night. tumblr decided to not give me notifs until now but it’s okay!! we ball😁

I’m unsure how much you know abt pokémon so I’m gonna do my best to explain but this is a lifelong special interest so i may miss some things^^

Quick going over the ones you didn’t ask about:

Mewtwo: clone created to replicate Mew, Went Horribly Wrong, ended up destroying the lab it was born in. It’s even a really long time since I’ve seen the movie but i believe the mewtwo there is neglected child core. This is REALLY Angela especially because in pokedex entries they often talk about the thing that makes mewtwo nothing like mew is that it’s “heartless”. poor poor angela baby…

Mega Gardevoir: This is a mostly aesthetic pick. That thing really looks like her if it’s shiny (see image) and the colors match perfect. the way gardevoir is portrayed in pmd reminds me a lot of Angela. Gardevoir is about immense loyalty to a trainer (even if it ruins your life forever and the trainer does not care, as shown in pmd) and i read it as something about the script

Porygon2: Honestly this could be any of the mons in this line but Porygon is a digital being and the first fully synthetic pokemon which begins acting in ways which were not programmed as it evolves. Kind of represents Angela acting in ways a machine should not and breaking free of her predetermined role to me :)

Now onto the pokémon you actually asked about!! :)

First up, Meowstic!

This first part is a small design thing but this thing has Angela’s face to me, especially with the yellow eyes with red pupils. Angela’s eyes are inconsistent in canon but I like to represent them with both red and yellow to represent both of her “parents” (sorry Benjamin… i love you but u aren’t included there😔)

This pokedex entry is one of the main reasons this is an angela pokémon to me, aside from vibes.

It has the same “closed eyes to repress” thing that Lobcorp angela has going on, just with repressing incredibly explosive powers instead of repressing The Horrors!

These pokedex entries are really goofy but they read very angela to me :) its unfriendliness is part of its charm!

Also i have no idea when i’ll ever get to post these so now is a good time as any to drop meowstic angela :)

Nihilego is a slightly different case because it’s tied less to dex entries and more to how it is used in the story of sun and moon. I haven’t played those games in YEARS so i might be a little bit questionable with my reasoning but this one’s really important.

Nihilego is intentionally designed to mirror one of the human characters in pokémon sun and moon.

(image i found online. i see it somewhat differently but it’s close enough for this)

Anyway this human character’s mother has neglected/abandoned her in obsessive pursuit of this pokémon and other Ultra Beasts.

The fact this pokémon not only has a similar silhouette to angela but serves as a “replacement” for a human character in a parent’s mind while also being Distinctly Nonhuman… it’s by no means a perfect comparison but there’s Something There

This dex entry always gets me too… it’s just a girlie… :(

It really makes me want to replay sun/moon because i feel like my memory of the story being really shaky has me on the edge of a breakthrough about this thing… but it looks like angela and i can draw story parallels basically:)

I have No Idea if this is coherent but I hope it cleared things up a little ^^^

#pachiposting #asks

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cloud-hc · 4 months

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One of Cloud’s most positive traits that I honestly love about him is that he never sexualizes or uses a moment to get any kind of foot in a door in situations to be anything more than it is. Like, sure this can be frustrating to people who are putting moves on him and he isn’t responding, but on the other foot for people that are just EXISTING .. Cloud lets them exist as they are. My best example of this is when the kids in Nibelheim started to reach puberty - all of Tifa’s friends started treating her different and looking at her different. Cloud obviously felt for her too but he never once changed his behavior towards her or around her. He always treated her just like tifa and that was it even when they were reunited as adults years later. Tifa didn’t ask for her body. She didn’t ask for her childhood friends to treat her different, and they all did except for him.

When they fall and Cloud catches her - she’s laying on top of him, their faces are close and the only thing he’s giving a shit about is are you okay? He isn’t focusing on his feelings towards this woman or the closeness they are sharing in the circumstances. His focus is her well-being and that is it. It could’ve been a moment we’ve all seen in movies and games before of that lingering eye contact and that will they or won’t they - but I honestly didn’t get that impression from him. His focus felt completely on her condition and I find that more wholesome than the cliché trope.

He treats people exactly with the amount of respect he feels towards them for who they are as people. He doesn’t go out of his way to try to be anything else than just what he is - you can take or leave it, just as he’ll take or leave you for exactly who you are. He doesn’t modify his behavior to please anyone or gain favor or attention. His own feelings for someone doesn’t change that, and the feelings others have for him doesn’t change that.

I can’t say that Cloud is transparent with how he is with people because I feel like a lot of people ( characters ) misunderstand him and feel like they aren’t sure where they stand with him when in Cloud’s world - he feels like he makes that extremely clear. Him treating you no different regardless of if you’re a human or a Cetra, if you’re a childhood friend moved to childhood crush - he treats you the way he does because of you. He doesn’t front or act any different and that’s honestly a show of the respect he has both for himself and the people around him. I want to think when people see that, that’s when they realize where they stand with him.

When it comes to romantic or sexual settings in relationships, Cloud takes things extremely slow with it and keeps things extremely platonic for a while. So platonic unless you know how to read his tiny micro-tells that pop up here and there, most won’t know he has those feelings for them. He also isn’t likely going to be the first to bring it up and I think it boils down to two reasons.

- one ; He doesn’t know how to. He isn’t good with communicating and talking about things going on with them. In fact, he’s terrible about communicating especially when he’s in the middle of those feelings. Talking about things that have already passed is way easier such as when he was retelling the events of Nibelheim burning in OG. It’s been years, of course it still hurts - but he isn’t IN the past and IN those feelings - he’s just telling the events as they were in a ‘The Lights Are On But No One’s Home’ kind of way. Cloud is someone who feels A LOT of feelings, maybe even more than most people, but he keeps them all inside of himself and he has no idea how to express them or get them out. He can mentally script something to say but when the moment comes… words fail him, and it frustrates him.

- two ; His own self worth. Cloud developed a superiority complex to compensate for how insecure and small and worthless he feels. His life has been a series of people around him being hurt or killed and he feels he has been too weak and helpless to do anything to stop it - even if there was nothing that could’ve been done. I don’t believe he feels good enough for the people in his life and keeps everyone at arms length to basically protect them from him - while at the same time craving the very people he is putting walls up against. It’s hard to have a relationship with someone that is healthy when you don’t feel good enough for them. Granted, this feeling goes back and fourth - he has highs of feeling good about himself and he can take care of the people he loves - then something triggers him, he’s reminded of all the people he has failed in his mind, and it’s back to self-loathing and shutting down and out.

#.other

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spenglerstwinkie · 2 years

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I do want to clear this up because I see a lot of people posting about it now with Ghostbusters Afterlife’s trailers coming out. According to the trailers, and the general premise, Egon may have married Janine, and now their relationship may be canon.

However, in the first two movies, it’s not canon at all. There’s moments, but not many. This wasn’t intended. Well, for them to have moments. At least until the end of writing the script, because Harold Ramis saw that there was a little bit of something between them. Here’s the important part:

HAROLD RAMIS DIDNT SAY HE DIDNT WANT EGON AND JANINE TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP!! According to dialogue, interviews, and the interview in the movies documentary Cleanin’ Up The Town made in 2019, Harold Ramis states that he didn’t want the relationship in the movies because he felt the movies were already crowded enough. He said himself he though the relationship between them was cute!

In the show it is canon that Janine is in love with him, and the show sorta does carry on from the movie; given that there’s an entire episode in the first season dedicated to making a “biopic” about them and stay puft and how they have their now colorful suits.

And with that passage above, I’d also like to state that Harold Ramis loved the show and never had any objections! Yes, even though they screwed up the looks of his character tenfold.

Of course, they didn’t have to make Egon get married in Ghostbusters Afterlife, he could’ve retired alone unmarried. But I guess they saw the tiny bit of chemistry they had on screen, and the fact that Annie Potts is still here, and ran with it.

I’d also like to say I’m not backing up the relationship, or supporting it myself. I honestly do not give a flying fuck about who Egon ended up with. I just wanted to clear up a couple things, hope this helps :)

#ghostbusters #ghostbusters afterlife #Egon Spengler #Janine Melnitz #Ray Stantz #Peter Venkman #Winston Zeddemore #Harold Ramis #Annie Potts #Dan Aykroyd #Bill Murray #Ernie Hudson

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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week in BL

Sept 2021 Wk 5

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Don’t Say No Ep 9 (Line) - It’s my corny af hurt/comfort soap opera that I watch at 1.5x and skip all the sex scenes and Fiat crying, but I like it that way, so there. Yes I am one of those people who only eats the outside of the peanut M&Ms, why do you ask? Episode recaps here.

Bite Me Ep 5 (Viu & Viki) - sometimes I feel like this show is skipping all the important bits, or having them occur off screen intentionally, like some ancient Greek play. Still, the depth of the feeling understood between the two leads is clearly transferred to us despite that. Are they dating? Sure seems that way. Without anything being actually said about it. It’s oddly magical. I talked a bit about the north/south divide and food as a love language with regards to kao soi in this post.

7 Project Ep 5 The Breakup Zone (iQiYi & YouTube) - another het installment, so I skipped it. Nash.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Peach of Time Ep 10 fin - A Korean BL (maybe not BL tho) featuring Thai talent that really went beyond a lot of tropes into interesting territory and allegory in a way only Korea does. I hope we get more collabs like this, perhaps happier than this one next time? RECOMMENDED only if you are prepared for The Sad. Because it is quite sad.

x Friend or Lover (YouTube) Ep 6 - still waiting on the final of this Taiwanese indie series.

Love is Science? (BL sub plot on Viki) Ep 14 (aired ep 15) - Taiwanese drama finally got subbed yesterday, so those of us who are waiting seem to be on a week’s delay. The BL couple actually has the most interesting story arc and the most unusual character growth. I’m enjoying how unpredictable these two are. Honestly, they could have gotten their own series with this much story - and now I really want that for after the baby comes. I’m a little sad we didn’t get the coming out in the skate park sequence (LOOK I love coming out drama, especially with sporty friends, it’s a THING), but I also get why the writers are doing what they are with these boys. And the actors sure can handle it. Taiwan at it’s finest.

Love Is the series (YouTube) Ep 5 - continues to be fine for a V-BL but not all that actually good.

See You After Quarantine? (Viki) Ep 6, 7 - Taiwanese gameboys with Japanese talent stuck in, what more could we ask? AND THEN they gave us some *thirsty boi* action, great kisses, and charmed the pants off... well... everyone. Taiwan, we don’t deserve you. Honestly, you spoil us. Turns out Aaron Lai is the best wingman any gay Japanese man in quarantine could ask for. Everyone should be watching this. It’s utterly charming.

The Tasty Florida (Viki) Ep 3 & 4 - this Korean BL so fucking cute. Look it’s formless and too short but simultaneously aching and kinda special-sweet. But Korea has got to settle into something a bit longer for their BL for everyone’s sake. It’s time. Light On Me proved it was possible. I’m not asking for much, just 15 min+ of fresh content with at least a 10 ep arc.