#inspired by that one scene in the first movie where they were captured by the nova corp

[uglly-rodent]

Guardians as the Barbie mugshot meme except im super late to the trend

#guardians of the galaxy #gotg #gotg fanart #gotg1 #starlord #peter quill #rocket raccoon #groot #gamora #mcu gotg #gotg vol 3 #gotg imagine #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #my artwork #my art #inspired by that one scene in the first movie where they were captured by the nova corp #yknow the scene where they were being introduced and starlord flipped them off

[venuiscmind]

i was replaying part two and all i can think of is the scene where dina and ellie talk about if anyone is still making movies. imagine ellie doing everything she can to find a camera so you and her can make your own type of movies ?? id explode.

Only on Camera (Ellie Williams x reader smut) 18+

Hiiiiii. Loved the request and has been on my mind ever since you asked for it. Bartender Ellie is still on the way but this just inspired me so much!!! ( also this was written at 3am so pls ignore any errors ooph) (W.C 3k)

Scissoring, tribbing, fingering, oral, making out, spit play (only a tiny bit), squirting, pet names.

read this.

</3.

If you asked Ellie, she'd tell you that she never thought she would be like one of those girls that she had seen on the smut magazines or pictures she had come across in patrols or in scavenges for trading material. The thought had briefly crossed her mind while she was on a patrol with Dina, and she had asked her if she thought 'Was anyone still making movies out there.' but she kept her lips firmly shut. 

Then she had actually discovered those tapes in Eugene’s Library.

Ellie never watched them whenever she returned to the library, but she was a woman possessed. She had to make trips back whenever she was patrolling the creek trails with Dina, and she would always take some weed back with her to trade or to smoke with you. She had even began trading the leaves with the others in Jackson swapping them for little things that she thought you would love like clothes, certain snacks or trinkets you would store in safe places. 

She loved seeing you happy and sometimes wished she could capture these moments of you smiling up at her or hugging her to say thank you forever. Make them permanent and tangible so she could hold onto it for the rest of her life.  

That was when she thought back on those tapes again. Not thinking of the girls or what they were doing on them but of you, and how you would look better on camera than any of them. Clothes on or not.  

And that was how it started. Her signing in at any patrol spot and then begging her partner to give her an hour to turn the place over to find what she was looking for. She began expanding her search to places that weren't necessarily on the patrol route but still needed to be checked out, schools, malls that seemed to be as stocked as could be in the apocalypse, certain houses that hadn't been too badly ransacked and lone stores that could have what she needed. 

Nothing. To say she was getting frustrated was an understatement, but she didn't give up. She wanted to try. So, she kept looking and bribing her partner to look the other way. Then one day it clicked. After weeks of ransacking and mauling properties she looked in the place where it had all started. She tied Shimmer outside of Eugene's library and got to work immediately.  

Finally in one of the drawers she found a handheld camera, still in good condition and as luck would have it still had storage. "Yes." She sighed into her frozen hands and silently thanked the soul of the now deceased Eugene. She stuffed the camera into her backpack and rode back to Jackson with a new stride in her step.  

She didn't bring up the idea to you immediately, but she did bring the camera to show you. Despite her frantic search Ellie wanted to ease the idea of being on tape onto you as gently as possible. But it didn't take long for her to ask. 

It was a rare evening that the both of you had off, Ellie relieved from her patrols for the day and you from your duties in the stables and gardens of Jackson. You spent it how you always did. At each other's respective houses, this time it was at Ellie's, and you had spent the day watching movies and keeping each other warm against the bitter cold of the town's winters.  

You started off watching the first few films side by side, sharing a blanket, then Ellie took your legs and swung them over her lap in the name if making you comfier. Soon after you had simply gravitated towards each other, each movement had you growing closer, negating any space between the two of you until you had gotten close enough to sit in her lap.  

You slid your leg on the other side of hers, so that you could straddle her and hear her ask a simple "you okay to keep going?" Your responses were always the same. A small kiss to her lips and a "yes els, keep going." mumbled against her lips. 

The dim light of the movie, kept Ellie's flushed face visible to you as you stroked the side of her face and leaned in, being met by her halfway as she arched up to kiss you. You always felt so foggy whenever you kissed her.  

Like all the heat in your body would suddenly flare up and you could short circuit. You felt as though your heartbeat had started for the first time and you couldn't get any oxygen into your lungs. But you didn't need any. Ellie was all you needed. With her hands gripping your waist before moving the soft flesh of your ass.  

You moaned into her mouth at the touch, sliding your hands up into her hoodie palming her tits and sliding your tongue into her mouth which was already open and accepting you into her. Your heart suddenly swelled at this, feeling the love the girl under you held for you and only you.  

Ellie leaned back and pulled away from you leaning her head against the arm of the couch, looking at you for a second, lips shiny with a small string of spit connecting the two of you together. She wanted to ask you desperately but didn't to make things weird now especially when she wanted to take care of you. You saw the furrow on her brow and whispered to her "Els, are you okay over there?" looking at the expression on her face. You moved to get off, but she kept her hands firmly planted before opening her eyes fully and settling them onto you.  

"Y-yeah just wanted to ask you about something. You can a hundred percent say no, but I just wanted to see if you maybe wanted to-" "It's about that camera, isn't it?" You cut off your poor girl's rambles feeling she'd never actually ask and keep circling. You looked into her eyes lovingly and smiled softly, continuing to stroke the swells of her cheeks.  

"I want to if you want to els." This caused Ellie to groan under you and offer reassurance of "we can stop anytime you want just say," or "we don't have to you know?". You knew she was assuming and worrying you were doing this for her, but the idea had popped into your head ever since she placed the camera into your hands. You wanted to make sure your love lasted forever. On film and with each other too. You lead Ellie to her bed, hand in hand and sat her down, kissing her before setting the camera up on her desk opposite the bed, facing the both of you before flicking it on and confirming the red dot was flickering. 

You turned to her pulling your shirt over your head and placing it on her desk and heard her breath hitch at the act that she would have this captured on film forever. 

You looked back at the girl on her bed, elbows holding her up as she leaned back on them gazing up at you with her shining green eyes. "C'mere." she said holding her hands out to you beckoning you over.  

You took them and she pulled you down onto the bed, the movement causing you to realise how much slick had pooled between your legs and probably coated your underwear.  

Ellie kissed your cheeks before pulling off her hoodie and her jeans, leaving her in a black wifebeater and her underwear. You took a shaky deep breath as she crawled in the space where your legs were open and lay on top of you, who wrapped your thighs around her middle in response to the intrusion of your space.  

You helped her pull off your pants leaving you only in your underwear. You shivered and pulled her in for a kiss which she gave you but quickly pulled back in favour of getting up and gripping your thighs to pull you closer to the edge of the bed to make sure the camera would get all of what you were giving her making your shriek at the sudden movement. 

You huffed and cried out as she placed a kiss to your underwear. "shh" Ellie placated you rubbing her hands up your thighs to soothe you. She mouthed at you through the garments, listening to you shuffle and moan out at the contact. Her tongue traced around your clit before sucking on the bundle of nerves, making you cover your mouth as your jaw loosened and moans escaped your lips.  

"Ellie, please don't tease I can't take it." you groaned, but the girl was through tormenting you, pushing your underwear aside to taste you properly, spitting on your clit before sucking in your clit again. She slid her fingers against your folds, feeling you shiver against her, as she pushed into you, and settled against the spongy spot inside you. She didn't stay still though, as per your request. She never was good at denying you anything.  

She couldn't get enough of the taste sticking to her tongue and decided she wanted more before shoving her tongue inside of you after sliding her fingers out of you gently. You were so close you sobbed telling her and reached out to pull her short hair closer to your body scratching at the back of your neck. She loved when you did this groaning at the small bits of pain you were giving her she thought while her nose bumped against your clit due to your hips moving.

She hoped the camera wouldn't pick up on the way she was grinding against her own legs folded beneath her, to get some friction from the wetness in her underwear.  

She felt you cream and cum around her tongue, she lapped up as much as she could, tasting the tartness and sweetness of you in her mouth as you came on her lips. She pulled away once she felt you whine, knowing you would be overstimulated too fast if she continued so she kissed her way back up your body, grasped your jaw and you opened your lips before she even said the word "open." 

She let the liquid pool into her mouth then spat straight onto your outstretched tongue. She pushed her fingers into your mouth and felt you swallow around them. Ellie groaned watching you swallow yourself down with blown out pupils. "That's it." she said watching you, "My fucking good girl." You hummed, suckling on her thumb until there was nothing of you left to devour.  

You leaned up to kiss her then whispered in her ear "want you on me els, please?" You leaned back feeling yourself clench around nothing, aching again to feel her again. Ellie let you wrap her arms around her neck, pressing your tits against hers and kissing up her jawline to try and convince her of something she was going to do from the start.  

"Of course, baby." she whispered, kissing your cheeks back and cradling your head. She began taking off the rest of her clothes as you leaned back, letting her climb on top of you. She grabbed the back of your knees spreading them, moulding you into the position she wanted you in. You complied with her, running your hands down the lines of her abs, completely enamoured with the girl on top of you.  

She sank down slowly biting her full lips between her teeth to bite back the moans that were threatening to escape them. You wanted to hear her though, so you grabbed onto her hips gently to start fucking back onto her, coaxing her voice out of her lungs. She gasped and moaned, feeling your clits bump and your collective wetness start to mix together. "holy fuck." she groaned. She would never get used to the feeling of grinding against you. Every time she did it, she felt like she was living for the first time.  

She looked at you, blushing and trying to keep humping against her without finishing before her and had to close her eyes so as not to cum at the sight of it alone but fuck she was close. "Think I'm goanna cum oh shit-." She said cutting herself off as she felt the heat rise in her core and down to her clit as she felt herself tighten again. "so close els, cum on me please." You begged the girl above you. 

She came listening to your babbling underneath you. Ellie gushed and came just as her clit glided up against you, completely coated in your slick and felt herself float out of her body as her eyes rolled back into her skull. She also felt herself gush and squirt around you, holding onto your hands to keep herself grounded and so she didn't fall off your quivering body. She triggered your own orgasm as she felt your folds shake, squeezing around nothing but her slick.  

Once she finished panting and recovered from her orgasm she got up, remembering the camera was still on the both of you. She turned it off watching the light blink out and went back into bed after grabbing towels to clean you both. She dressed you in a shirt and kissed you.  

"Thank you, pretty girl. Can't wait to watch it." She grinned looking over at you while tossing the camera between her hands, as you blushed and covered your face, before jokingly slapping her arm. 

"As long as we watch it together, I want to see you squirt on me." It was her turn to blush at this, but she leaned in before closing her eyes to kiss you again and say, "Love you baby." in a hushed and enamoured tone. 

"Love you too els." You said fondly, wrapping your arms around the girl, covering you both in her sheets and nuzzling her nose.

#ellie williams #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams smut #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x reader smut #ellie williams x you #ellie tlou #ellie williams imagine #ellie williams x y/n #ellei williams tlou2 #ellie x reader #ellie the last of us #ellie x fem reader #the last of us part ii #tlou2 #ellie smut

[jade-green-butterfly]

Today...is a very special and important day for me, folks~💝😊Three years ago, a certain special troll became the highlight of my 2020 during rough times and immediately won my heart from the moment I knew he would have his own destiny and journey to find others like him...and his family. Since the first Trolls movie, I have always admired dearly him from afar and the moment I saw him during the Trolls World Tour trailer, my heart literally poured out him and I have truly loved him for just being his wonderful, lovable self ever since~💘🥹 And that certain special troll, is none other than...Cooper~💗🌈✨

I have always been a big fan of him and he’s always been my favourite troll to begin with but every time I see him and hear him, my heart always beats so much for him, making it aflutter and words cannot describe how special he is to me...how he means the whole world to me~💞🌈💗🌈💞I mean...can you blame me? >//w//`< How could I resist and say no to such an adorable face to go with such a darling like him??💖😍💖😍💖 Cooper is more than just the goofball that we all know and love...he’s my goofball and so much more...~🥹The most amazing troll with such talent, a unique voice and a dazzling yet loving royal family to go with him...~🌟Cooper is also the prince of my heart, who deserves all the love and happiness in the world...and I feel so blessed to be the one to give it all to him, along with my heart~🥰💝💝🥰 April 24th 2020 was the day I drew Cooper for the very first time, and when I started shipping myself with him. And together, him and I have remained strong and inseparable ever since!🫶🏻😌💕We’ve had such happy memories together - becoming part of his world and family, sharing one another’s lives and music, even officially marrying and creating our own dear little life together~✨💜💗💚✨And I wish to keep on loving Cooper forevermore~💓😊

Which is why I dedicate this very special piece above (with a textless version too) to us, inspired by one of my favourite scenes in TWT - where King Quincy and Queen Essence were happily together with their twin eggs (before our dear Cooper was cruelly snatched away from them😭) and I wished to capture that tender moment between Cooper and I, with our darling Toby's egg nestled warmly within my hair~🥰 EEEEEEE~!!😍🤩😍I am so, sooooo happy and truly over the moon of how all of this turned out~!💖🥹💖Just how I imagined it, especially Cooper snuggling against me with his neck wrapped around me as we lovingly embrace one another, feeling like the proud parents we are~💜💗💚😚I am also chuffed with the cherry blossoms I drew to make the bed cover look more prettier~🌸 I would like to deeply and gratefully thank many wonderful peeps out there for helping bring my beloved OTP to life, such as my lovely @x-elyssa-x, KaitlinEXE, @gloryraiin, @jaguardorado16, @vampireflowerarts, @zoey-nillesen, @king-trollex-fangirl, @glitchy-witchy1994, @blooeyedtroll, @kittyball23, @angoraram, @yeenstrollart, @asa-de-ouro, @whiteflame-selfship and many more, for all the beautiful commissions, gift art and loving support you have given me over the past four years, and for putting all your fantastic work and effort, and heart and soul into every single one which I absolutely love to this very day~💞🌟💙💜💛💚🌟💞 I can’t thank you all and the rest of the Trolls Fandom enough for how amazing and welcoming you’ve all been to me when I first jumped onto the bandwagon, and I am so happy I did too!💖🤗Thank-you all so much for everything, including all the dear friends I’ve made and all the loving supporters I have gained - bless you all and don’t stop being awesome~!✌🏻🤩✨💕 And finally, thank-you ever so much for everything, Cooper...my cupcake king and sweet jellybean~🩷♛🧁🫂For always being there for me, making me feel such love and happiness I never could imagine~💝🥰🌈I am truly blessed and the luckiest lass alive to such a wonderful darling like you in my life and by my side~💗😇🪽U///w///U

🎊💜♓💗♎💚🎉~Happy 4th Anniversary, Cooper...my beloved prince, my one & only...~ I love you so much with all my heart, more than life itself...and I will keep on loving you so, forevermore and beyond~🎉💜♓💗♎💚🎊

*~Reblogs are also deeply appreciated as well, so please do reblog as well as like! Thank-you kindly!~*

Cooper (c) DreamWorks Trolls/DreamWorks Animation

Trollsona Jussy/Justina Butterfly & Toby/Toby's Egg (c) @jade-green-butterfly​ (Me~!)

#dreamworks trolls #trolls world tour #trolls trollstopia #trolls 3 #trolls band together #trolls oc #self-insert x canon #canonxoc #true otp #trollsona jussy #justina butterfly #cooper #cooper my beloved #jussyxcooper #jussy x cooper #coossy #coossy forever #coossy forevermore #24th april #4th anniversary #coossy's 4th anniversary #coossy fanchild #toby #toby's egg #four years and counting and loving you still with all my heart and soul~<3 #thank-you so much for everything and bringing so much love into my life my beloved funk prince~<33 #loving you forever and evermore my sweet jellybean and cupcake king~<33 #you deserve all the love and happiness in the world!! <33 #I feel so blessed to have you in my life coopy~<3 #with all my love from jussy~<3 xoxo.

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

You watch slasher movies? I haven't done so in years (much to my disappointment), got any recommendations, classics, popular, underrated, anything really?

I knew I hadn't watched them in a long time, but it wasn't till I had to try and write something based on classic slashers, that I realized how long its been since I consumed that kind of content.

My only plan so far is that I need to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Alright, Pandora, it depends on your tastes, and what you look for in a "slasher" ❤️

As you may remember, I fucking love the OG the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and when I got pretty bad last month emotionally I watched it on repeat for two weeks straight. However, if you go in for a regular slasher film you will be disappointed. The first movie is incredible, focusing on amazing shots and atmosphere for nearly the entire first half. It's less of a slasher as we would come to know the genre, and more of an artistic film centered around the horrors of humanity. The series is a wonderful mess of multiple timelines and little continuity, but the sequels better fit the slasher archetype. The best sequel (imo) is the one directly after the first, and it's a black comedy slasher, focusing more on the kills.

Now, slashers ❤️

If you're a nerd and want to experience the slasher history, then before Halloween (which still holds up) there was Black Christmas, and before that the Town that Dreaded Sundown.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown is based off a true serial killer, and unlike TCM which is loosely inspired by Ed Gein, a lot of the kills (except the trombone scene) are based on actual murders, with his mask accurate to the only real world survivor's testimony of her assault. It's very slow pace, and with how desensitized we are as a society you might find it boring, but if you ever get a phonecall from Ghostface, then you have to know the Town that Dreaded Sundown. Fun fact, his mask also inspired Jason's mask from Friday the 13th part 2!

Black Christmas is awesome! I'd recommend it more than Sundown, because of pacing, characters, acting, and overall atmosphere. I love my second wave feminism horror (Stepford Wives (mwah)), and it did a lot better with it's feminist themes than the loose remake from 2019 that tried to be intentionally feminist (ignore the 2006 remake entirely, so bad, so lame, so gross). It did the first person perspective of the killer nearly four years before Halloween's iconic opening. It introduced the idea of the final girl, but she wouldn't become a sexually repressed younger woman until Halloween solidified the trope. It has some great kills that still hold up, and Billy is iconic. I really feel the only reason why he isn't more well known in non-horror spaces is because he doesn't have a mask or outfit that can be replicated and sold in Spirit.

After that we have our most well known slashers, and they're popular for good reason ❤️

A Nightmare on Elm St, Friday the 13th, and Halloween spawned sequels that spiraled off into varying degrees of madness, but still have fun moments.

After the success of Friday the 13th (and the realization of the franchise-ability of slashers) there were a lot of slashers that tried to capture the money magic of the first few success stories. Not all of them were great, but a few notable slashers imo are My Bloody Valentine and the Dentist.

Although Candyman is often lumped in with slashers, like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the first movie is more than a traditional slasher. I recommend the first one as a beautiful love story about the horrors of American racism. It's score is still incredible, the behind the scenes are so interesting, and Tony Todd is absolutely beautiful. Such an amazing actor. (Not so) Fun fact: Tony Todd said in the behind the scenes that there originally was a romantic scene where Helen proclaimed her love for Candyman, but they were forced to cut it, because "they were okay with a tall, black man covered in bees.. but, mm, when it came to a kiss, or something like that, it was a little bit too risque..." ( :/ )

(Please please please watch Candyman)

Then the best, or worst (depending on your views), thing happened to the genre; Scream.

One of the best slashers there is, it isn't the first self referential, meta horror (see Wes Craven's New Nightmare), but it did change the slasher genre for a very long time. It was a revival for the genre, since it was declining in popularity by the early 90s. However, post Scream horror was very meta. See Chucky's personality changing from the occasional funny quip, to Bride of Chucky levels of silly (still love him tho). Of the terrible horror trying to copy Scream, I'd recommend Urban Legend over I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was a shame, just how silly a lot of scary movies got back then, trying to be as smart and self aware as Scream was.

But my favorite (outside of Scream) meta horror slasher film is Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon ❤️ took meta to a whole new level, mockumentary style, a camera crew follows a wannabe slasher killer explaining how to be a slasher icon.

I've watched too many slashers to remember all of them right now, but if you want really meta black comedies, Tucker and Dale vs Evil isn't a slasher but a loving joke on the genre, and the Final Girls made me laugh and cry like a little bitch.

A lot of slashers since the late 90s have drifted closer to the black comedy sub genre. Killers that kill for the sake of killing are often B-rated blood fests, that can be great for mindless fun but not so great for box office gains, especially in our current horror renaissance. Slashers don't fit in to the current horror culture. Serial killers aren't scary for desensitized audiences, and the mindless gore expectations set by older slasher films have created a pretty specific genre setup and pay off (dumb people who only exist to die get brutally murdered). It either has to be B-rated mindless fun (Laid to Rest 1 and 2 had terrible camera work and directing, making even incredible actors like Lena Headey feel lackluster, but the practical effects are so impressive I'd recommend it just for the blood and guts (and bewbs)), or comedic (the Hatchet series has great cameos, genuine laughs, and more impressive practical effects, but with good cinematography and directing (still bewbs)). Slashers that don't lean in to how ridiculous the concept of slashers are and try to take themselves seriously often end up falling short, either creating boring killers with no personality or trying to force a plot into a generic slasher shaped hole.

This does include most remakes of slasher movies, as a lot of slashers were remade in the early 2000's with less interesting characters to be killed off by the slashers. The remake of Candyman was an exception, because even though it wasn't as good as the original, it did go back to it's non slasher roots, learning from the mistake that was the third Candyman.

TLDR:

Non slashers that are considered slashers because of the slasher sequels/iconic murderers:

the Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Candyman

Child's Play

Best Precursor to the genre:

Black Christmas

Popular Classics:

Halloween

Friday the 13th

a Nightmare on Elm St

Pre 90's Slashers that I recommend:

The Dentist

Sleepaway Camp (it's divided on whether it's problematic or interesting representation)

Alice, Sweet Alice

My Bloody Valentine

Post 90's meta commentary/black comedy:

Scream

Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon

Hatchet

The Final Girls

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

There are obviously a lot more, but these are a few off the top of my head ❤️

#i hope you like these #slashers #just a few that i like #the texas chainsaw massacre #candyman #black christmas #halloween #friday the 13th #a nightmare on elm street #the dentist #sleepaway camp #my bloody valentine #alice sweet alice #childs play #scream #behind the mask #hatchet #the final girls #tucker and dale vs evil #meta horror

[cellarspider]

19/?? A quiet moment

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

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We return to a movie that has monetarily developed a sense of childlike wonder, Prometheus.

You would think a movie about reaching out to aliens that created humanity would contain more of that, but this scene is all there is, mocking me eternally. This entry will be image-heavy and light on main text. Check the image alt-text for secondary analysis, should it interest you.

Y’know what’s a great movie? Contact.

[Video description: A trailer for the movie Contact. It’s a dense 2:27, and has good audio coverage of what’s going on. In fact, the audio design is impeccable. Whoever made this trailer was damn good at their job.]

Based on a novel by Carl Sagan and directed by Robert Zemeckis before he descended into uncanny motion capture hell, Contact is a thoughtful science fiction drama that follows a scientist searching for extraterrestrial life who receives Earth’s first message from space. It deals with disagreements around religion, and whether it’s compatible with the pursuit of science and wonder at the natural world. It deals with the messiness of human response to this situation, but ultimately ends on a hopeful note. But before it gets there, it can be eerie and tense, both from the ambiguity of the aliens’ intentions, and what humans might do to each other in response to the mere possibility of the signal being real.

Y’know what would’ve been a great horror movie? Precisely that premise, adapted to the Alien setting. Dedicated and marginalized and thoughtful people who devote themselves to reaching out to the stars, slowly learning that what they find there might be wondrous, but it is also unfathomably destructive.

This scene is the only one that captures something of that feeling. David goes off alone to investigate a sign of life elsewhere in the ship. He finds thousands of dormant urns, the promise of horrific destruction. And he finds what seems to be the command center of the ship. He’s dwarfed by the scale of it, looking like a child sitting behind the wheel of a car. And with a little prodding, he activates a hologram that shows the Engineers before everything went wrong.

He watches in complete silence, taking everything in, reveling in the swirling patterns of the ship’s star map, reaching out and catching a weightless little hologram of the Earth in his hands like a soap bubble. Its meaning is sinister, but the sheer experience of the moment is beautiful.

And then the hologram cuts out, drawing attention to a single stasis pod, where a still-living Engineer lies dormant.

This is the best scene in the movie. It wordlessly conveys the kind of wonder and joy of discovery the way the rest of the movie’s failed to do, it conveys information about the stakes and dire intentions of the Engineers in a non-explicit manner that could logically flow into the rest of the plot without clunky exposition, and it adds a further twist to what’s going to happen next.

David has just discovered that the Engineers were preparing to go to Earth, two thousand years ago. They were bringing death with them. One of them still lives. And David smiles. 

This is a fragment of a much better film, lodged deep in the runtime of Prometheus. It’s followed immediately by Holloway’s death, which failed to inspire much response in me at all, but this moment was beautiful. 

And next time, we’ll get to the best piece of horror in the movie. We have reached the summit of Prometheus. We’ll be tumbling back down the slopes soon enough, but for now, let’s enjoy this.

Citations for alt-text rambles:

https://youtu.be/uhHIM-1IZ_4 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus#Axial_tilt

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(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

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#Prometheus 2012 #Prometheus (2012) #ah this scene #I'd say 10/10 no notes #but of course I have notes #I have so many notes #most of them are happy this time though

[theblackestvalkyrie]

In Defense of You

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x black!wife!Reader {Alternate Universe}

Summary: A little look into the life Miguel commandeered in the alternate universe filled with snippets and moments of love that ultimately lead to disaster......Or the one where Miguel took his alternate's place and gets you and your family killed. [TW/A/S/F]

Warning: Angst, marital smut, character deaths, murder, pregnancy, squirting, anxiety, Spider-Man 2099 lore HEAVILY referenced, reader body descriptions, insinuations of relationship/marital abuse, POV changes, attempted murder, housewife mentality, low-ish self-esteem reader, depictions of violence, slight OOC Miguel because this is before his family died and he closed himself off, SAPPY SOFT MIGUEL, vomit, bilingual family, Spanish language used but I gave up halfway through lmaoo, Spanish speaking black reader, mentions of alternate universe stuff like tv shows, technical marital cheating, no use of y/n, NO BETA WE DIE LIKE MIGUEL’S FAMILY.

A/N: I was inspired by the movie scene in the gif and then I saw this pic on TikTok and thought it paired well. Realistically, I think the timeline/Source/Universe would have noticed if Miguel was there for too long where he doesn’t belong but I wanted this to make you care about the characters and story so lmaooo. This takes place after Miguel and Lyla create a way to travel through universes and BEFORE he recruits the first Spider-Man (Earth – 67) to his cause. I don’t know what Earth this happened on in the movie so I just made it 22 and also made up that counterpart’s job and any and all allegations of marital abuse.

It started with a morbid curiosity. After he had made the discovery of alternate realities and then the way to travel to them it was only natural for Miguel to want to see those other lives. His own life on Earth-928 hadn’t been anything to be proud of. He had every opportunity in his younger years being almost too smart for his own good. He could have done anything, been anything and he ended up at Alchemax. A megacorporation that was every bit the definition of capitalism and big government all at once. They had their fingers in damn near everything you could buy on the free market.

Alchemax was trying to corner the market on superhuman drugs. They had pretended to care about the well-being and safety of everyone by offering a serum to give people powers like the good old days when superheroes weren’t so rare. The overwhelming demand for this serum led to Alchemax skipping right passed any safety measures and straight to live human trials. So much death and chaos followed giving Miguel a crippling addiction to their serum and his genetics mutated beyond repair.

Again, it was only natural for him to seek other lives. To see what could have been. An that’s when he found Earth-22. He meant to be an observer in the beginning he really did. Meant to blend into the background not even an afterthought to anyone who would glance at him. His assistant Lyla (or LYrate Lifeform Approximation) knew not to say anything about how much time he was spending on that Earth-22 and he never volunteered any information about it, opting to keep it as a special place for himself.

Of course, Earth-22 wasn’t all that special except you. Nothing in those alternate universes had captured his attention so fiercely as you did. He hadn’t known you in his reality. If he had maybe he wouldn’t be the broken addicted man he was today.

You were everything he wanted in a life partner and then some. You dealt with a lot while holding down the household and raised your daughter Gabriella with more love and care than Miguel recognized in his own childhood.

You didn’t have many friends and rarely went out except for when it came to taking Gabriella out or running errands. Despite this seemingly monotonous life, you never let it affect you in a negative way and if you did, you never let it show. Miguel didn’t know if it that was admirable or stupid.

While you were seen as a goddess in Miguel’s eyes, his counterpart on the other hand was a disappointment. The Miguel of Earth-22 was everything he was not. Ignorant of the needs of his wife and even more so of their daughter. Instead, he pretended to be a man of integrity. Everything he did seemed to contradict what he said. He said he would take less hours at work yet he was working at Alchemax, another fact that blew Miguel’s mind, and in fact would double down on how much he worked while making excuses to his family.

He said he loved his wife yet he was fucking one of the clinical laboratory scientists that he worked with.

He said he loved his daughter yet he rarely spent any time with her and if asked probably couldn’t even tell you her age.

What a fucking disappointment.

Then it was like the universe answered his prayers. The alternate version of him was killed trying to stop a purse snatcher as cliché as that was. He had lived his whole life as an asshole and tried to redeem all that negative karma with a failed purse snatching attempt. All Miguel could see was your reaction to his doppelganger’s death. How devastated you and your daughter, Gabriella, who was only seven would be. How would you make ends meet? The Earth-22 Miguel was the main breadwinner of the family so how would you fair then? Would little Gabriella even remember her father? There were too many what ifs for Miguel to think clearly. His current life on Earth-928 was over thanks to the need to lay low after the blowout with Alchemax and becoming the new Spider-man, this was the fresh start Miguel needed and he did the only thing he could think of on short notice. He blended in.

You hummed happily under your breath as you soaped up a plate in the sink letting the background noise of Gabriella’s children’s show lull your mind to wander. Any minute now your husband Miguel would be home from work and then you would talk to him about it. Lately you felt like Miguel has been wondering. Not in terms of cheating that you knew of but lately things have been souring between you two. He wouldn’t hold you as closely anymore as he often did. The sex and kisses were pretty much non-existent and would only happen when you initiated it. It was starting to make you feel self-conscious and ugly. You knew your body was just a little bit off from giving birth to Gabriella and after she turned five you decided to get back into shape. This proved to be much more difficult to balance a relationship, household, personal needs AND a rambunctious toddler but you were proud of yourself for making it this far and keeping things together. But the relationship with Miguel was deteriorating lately and you wanted to do something to reconnect with him.

The sound of the front door opening broke you from your thoughts and you hurriedly dried your hands on a dishtowel and made your way to the living room. Gabriella had beaten you to Miguel first and was giggling excitedly already swept up into his large chest.

“Daddy, I missed you!”

Miguel peppered little kissed across her face before hugging her even tighter not saying a word. Eventually Gabriella had enough.

“Daddy, you’re squeezing too hard!” she frowned and kicked her little legs in mock protest although she made no real move to get out of his arms.

“Sorry honey.” Miguel laughed as he let her go and watched her scamper back to her place on the couch and completely enthralled with her show.

You moved from your hiding place in the kitchen archway pulling his attention from Gabriella and onto you. You shivered feeling his eyes pierce right through. It felt like he was looking straight into and through your soul and every hidden dark corner of your being.

“Hi…” Your voice trails off and cracks under the pressure of his gaze. If he noticed it, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he crosses the gap between you and into your personal space.

Miguel cradles your face tenderly breath fawning over your face lightly. His body seemed so much harder and chiseled then you remembered and being so close to Miguel after so long send a sharp tingle to your core. You were suddenly so much more aware of how badly your body had been neglected. Up close he looked so much more different than you remember. Harder, like there was a wall up or some kind of hurt that was still raw and emotional.

“Hi.” His eyes raked over your face as if to commit them to memory.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks suddenly confusing you.

You had never really asked Miguel to ask consent before and he never really asked. Things just kind of happened between you. You never even thought you could deny your husband access to your body.

You bit your lip in thought nodding shyly at his words and he grinned in triumph.

He met your lips kissing you softly as if for the first time making you gasp wantonly into his open mouth. He was making your head spin until Gabriella’s giggle at her show broke you apart. The last time you saw Miguel being this gentle with you was when you first started dating and you would be the biggest liar in the world if you said you didn’t miss the treatment.

Despite this you still wanted to talk to him about your relationship.

“Can we talk after dinner?”

He looked concerned but nodded pressing a lingering kiss to your temple.

All throughout dinner he didn’t want to let go of your hand opting to eat with one hand and only letting go when you absolutely had to eat your food. Miguel was also much more attentive to Gabriella even going so far as to help her cut up her vegetables and listen to the stories about her time spent at the park that morning. He even cracked jokes and asked questions about your day. You were in awe it was like you had married a whole different man. After the meal, Miguel even washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen after sending you off to put Gabriella to bed with a tender kiss to both you and your daughters’ temples.

“You’ve had a long day mi amor (my love). I’ve got it from here.”

His actions and words made you feel loved in more than the seven years you’ve been married. You both got ready for bed although he was a lot slower than most nights and you both slipped under the sheets of your shared queen size bed.

“We still need to talk.”

The way Miguel had been acting since he had gotten home had filled you with the confidence to be open and vulnerable with him now. So, you told him. About how you didn’t feel like yourself physically. How the pressures of raising a child while he worked all day, while running the entire household without his help was taking you into the beginning stages of a depression you didn’t think you could get out of. How the sex between you two was non-existent and you felt how much he had loved you today. How it felt like it had been before the babies and the bills and the seemingly endless responsibility of it all was taking over.

Miguel didn’t hesitate to cross the bed and gather you in his arms in a strong hug.

He began apologizing profusely not making and excuses for the past behavior and verbally committing to being a better husband and father. You had no reason not to believe him as this was the first-time bringing these issues to him yet he took it better than you thought.

“I don’t ever want you to feel this way again mi amor(my love). You and Gabriella are the most important things in my life. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without you both. Mi corazón es perfecto porque tú estás dentro de él (My heart is complete because you are in it). I want you to feel as loved as you have made me feel. No puedo vivir sin ti (I cannot live without you). Let me show you how much you mean to me.”

And show you he did. The sex that night was like no other with Miguel being more attentive and loving as ever. You lost count of how many times he made love to you that night and how many times you came.

You tried to keep it down for Gabriella’s sake you really did but the things Miguel was doing with his tongue were making things difficult. Miguel’s lips were wrapped around your clit suckling like a newborn calf while he worked your opening over with three thick fingers.

“Give me another orgasm baby I know you can. Quiero sentirlo (I want to feel it).”

With a quiet sob you came around his fingers shaking and quivering. Quickly, Miguel rose to his knees on the mattress and spread your legs wide bending them at the knees into an M shape before grinding against your slick heat.

“You think you can take some more baby?”

You were already past your limits tonight never having been this sexually worn out in your life but you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now but underneath your husband.

“Por favor, sí, lo necesito (Please, yes, I need it)!”

Miguel slipped his cock into you giving you a second to adjust before he started thrusting into you at a steady pace. The curve of his shaft was made for your insides as you molded around him perfectly and his cock head rubbed the spongy mound of your g-spot deliciously.

Immediately you start creaming around him the moans in your voice getting louder and louder not even thinking about the child sleeping down the hall.

But Miguel did and with his hand over your mouth and his face in your neck he sang praises of devotion and love to you while he pulled another blinding orgasm from your body.

He held you down into a mating press and pounded your shaking form into the mattress harder when you began to squirt around him drenching the lower half your bodies and the bed. Miguel kissed the tears streaming down your face as he whispered more words of affirmations rocking into you slowly.

“Eres mi todo (You are my everything”).

Miguel was cheating on you. The Miguel of Earth-22 had been having a whole ass extramarital affair with his co-worker and Miguel had forgotten. He had been so enthralled with you and Gabriella that he had completely forgotten about the mistress problem.

Marisol Medina was a newly hired clinical laboratory scientist working in the same department as Miguel as his subordinate. On Earth-928 Miguel had worked in the genetics department and it seemed Earth-22 was the same. The only difference being that Alchemax wasn’t creating super serums here and his doppelganger had actually been the head of the Genetics Department which in retrospect was an HR nightmare. That meant that Earth-22 Miguel had hired Marisol in the first place. Maybe he hired her in the hopes of taking her on as a mistress? Which made sense because if he was being honest Marisol’s job could have been done by a slightly trained chimpanzee. It made Miguel sick to even think about.

Marisol was everything you weren’t. She at least a foot taller and a few pounds thinner having never had children nor the natural curves you were genetically blessed with. Instead of the natural curls and headwraps he loved on you, Marisol had thick wavy auburn hair running down her back. She couldn’t speak Spanish as well as you could, Miguel would find out later that this was a complete lie in order to get closer to him, and in fact that was apparently how they had connected in the first place. Of course, he had to nip that in the bud quick and started treating her like a co-worker and less like a mistress.

Miguel had waited until he was the last one in the office to approach her. Predictably, Marisol had stayed behind too. He had been successfully ignoring any attempts that didn’t have to do with work and ignored her phone calls outside of work even going so far as to block the number.

She had approached him with tears in her eyes and Miguel cringed internally at the cruel nature of it all.

“What’s going on Miguel? First you ignore me at work and now you won’t pick up my calls? What did I do wrong?!”

Miguel sighed, “I love my wife, Marisol. Whatever thing we had is over. I’m sorry we had anything in the first place.”

Marisol covered her mouth in a barely contained sob as he continued. Might as well rip the rest of the Band-Aid off.

“You can still keep your job if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m not that much of an asshole. From now on I’m your boss not your boyfriend. It’s over.”

He left but not before catching the blank look on Marisol’s face through the tears. If Miguel had been a more observant man, he would have seen the hatred and revenge brewing behind her eyes.

With Marisol taken care of, Miguel toyed with the idea but ultimately gave up the idea of even being Spider-Man in this universe. Not only did he have a crippling addiction to Rapture, thanks to a blackmail attempt by the Alchemax of his original universe, but would it take too much time away from his new family. This was the break he needed. Away from the chaos of being Spider-Man and back to where he belonged. With Gabriella and you. And why shouldn’t he treat you both as if this was his reward for every fucked up twisted thing that had happened to him? You both deserved happiness and so did Miguel.

Still, he had to take those fucking Rapture injections. Getting time away to dip into the stash he had stolen were getting low. Not critically but enough for Miguel to go back to his original Earth and bring back more. Developing more was out of the question. Alchemax had mad it nearly impossible for it to be recreated outside their labs. Even if he wanted to, he would need to have equipment in the home. With you being a stay-at-home mom, there was no way you would ignore a gigantic laboratory setup in the house.

With added trips to Eath-928 for Rapture and Miguel assimilating to his doppelganger’s life, your little family slowly fell into a comfortable routine.

One year had passed and your family was flourishing. Gabriella was now eight and showing an interest in soccer. Miguel was still showing you the love and appreciation you had asked for and this made the relationship flourish. You finally felt like the energy was being reciprocated and you couldn’t be happier. On top of all of this you found out you were pregnant.

Miguel had actually cried when he found out which threw you because he hadn’t done the same when you were pregnant with Gabriella. You just chalked it up to the heart-to-heart conversation you had last year and didn’t think too hard on it.

Family trips had become more recent as of late and this just added to the happy feeling all around. Today was a trip to the beach, something that was seriously needed in the summer months.

“Em, hurry up we’re gonna be late!”

Gabriella’s soccer ball came flying down the stairs the same time as she did and you would have laughed if the ball hadn’t flown over your head and grazed the mirror hanging in the foyer.

“What did I say about balls in the house!?” You scolded her smoothing the curls of her head as she passed to grab her ball.

“Not to do it in the house. But I want to bounce it on my head like the real players!”

She demonstrated this by attempting to balance the ball on her head but you quickly grab it and replace it with a kiss instead.

“If you practice soccer, you won’t be able to go to the beach today. You don’t even have your sandals on!”

This seemed to snapped her out of her soccer haze and she squealed in excitement as she ran to put on her shoes.

As if on cue Miguel pulled into the driveway and bared through the front door with several shopping bags full of snacks and sunscreen. His face lit up at you and he dropped his bags and gathered you in his arms kissing any exposed skin.

“Hi baby.” He dropped you and kissed you hungrily then dropped to his knees and kissed your swollen stomach addressing the unborn child in your womb.

“Hi baby.”

You laughed as the baby pressed against your abdomen to nudge their fathers’ lips and Miguel grinned. At seven months you thought you were huge but Miguel wouldn’t hear it and often kissed your stomach like he did now.

“Did you see that honey? He knows me for sure.”

A boy. You and Miguel had been ecstatic when you had heard and even Gabriella had been excited to have a brother when you both sat down and told her then news.

The beach proved to be an excellent idea. The day was filled with snacks and fun but both you and Gabriella had been tired by the end of it. This left Miguel to pack up the supplies you brought in while you took the trash to the nearby can on the sidewalk.

“Cute family.” You jumped in surprise to find a woman in large sunglasses and a floppy beach hat obscuring her face.

“Oh, thank you!” You grinned watching Miguel help Gabriella stomp on her sandcastle when he was supposed to be packing up the toys and towels.

“How old is she?”

“She’s eight now.” You couldn’t help but gush.

“I have a nephew around her age. Maybe they go to school together?”

Before you could spill anymore of your private life you could hear Miguel shouting for you.

“I better get going Miss?”

“My name is Catherine.” She smiled shaking your hand.

“I’ll see you around Catherine.” You smiled back and waddled back to your family.

“Who was that?” Miguel frowned wrapping a protective arm around your shoulder.

“Just someone who thinks our family is cute.” You tease pinching his side.

Miguel laughs and scoops Gabriella onto his shoulders making her squeal and ignoring the way the vanilla ice cream in her hand dripped down the cone and onto his shirt.

“Well of course they do! Just look at this little sand goblin!” He tickles his daughter’s calves and she laughs and squeals. They make a beautiful picture together and it makes you want to snap a picture so you pull your cellphone out of your bag in the sand and snapped a few before recording a short video as well.

“This is definitely cute.” You laugh at the mess of ice cream on his shirt growing.

“Cariño (honey), help me!” Miguel waves to you in mock terror as Gabriella smashes her ice cream into the side of his face laughing the entire time. As you stopped the video and cleaned Miguel up you couldn’t help but notice a sinister feeling creeping up your spine.

 Running into Catherine was becoming such a regular occurrence at this point that you two just started planning things to do together instead. It was nice to have a friend again. An actual girlfriend to confide in the things you couldn’t with Gabriella or Miguel.

This day you and Catherine had planned a much-needed manicure and pedicure day and had ordered from your favorite burger spot. You had been craving it all day and you both had arrived back at Catherine’s house to eat on her patio before moving inside to enjoy the cool air conditioning.

You sighed reclining back in your chair and kicking up your feet enjoying the breeze from the A.C. Miguel had been worried as of late with your perinatal period being considered a moderate risk pregnancy. You had been determined to have a good and relaxing time despite this and Miguel had reluctantly agreed to let you go out.

“I fucked your husband.”

You froze. Your sense of peace absolutely shattered by the whiplash of your friend’s statement.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said I fucked your husband.”

Catherine’s face was strangely blank and emotionless. This was a hard contrast from the smiling funny person she was just minutes ago.

If she was joking or not you genuinely couldn’t tell. You set your drink down and clutched your stomach nervously.

“What the fuck are you taking about? If this is a joke Catherine it’s not very funny.”

“My name’s not Catherine you stupid bitch. It’s Marisol. I’m so sick of pretending to be your friend. Having to hear all about your pathetic little problems and your little brats every fucking day has been driving me crazy.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. This couldn’t be the same woman you had become friends with over the past few months but here she was now out of her seat and towering over you with a disgusted look on her face.

“Miguel’s a liar you know. You can’t trust him. He told me he loved me. That he would leave you and that brat. But he goes and knocks you up.”

Her fist comes swinging in a heavy right hook to the side of your face and you’re on the floor before you can react to the jarring information of your husband’s infidelity. The world spun on its axis and you landed hard on the ground as Catherine now Marisol began kicking the side of your head and back with her boot. Your instincts kick in and you curled up in a ball protecting your stomach from the violent assault. You could feel the anger in each one of her punches and kicks, the pain of it all making you physically vomit on the floor and her boots.

Marisol screamed in disgust and grips a handful of your braids before pushing your face back into the vomit and rubbing you in it like a dog being punished for pissing in the house.

“You nasty fucking bitch! Look what you did to my shoes!”

She drops your limp form into the mess on the floor and spits on you.

“That’s supposed to be my baby you cunt.”

Marisol stepped over you kicking you in the side this time and walked into the kitchen rambling to herself. You knew then that she was going to kill you and your baby. You had to get away. With all of the strength you had left, you crawled to your phone which was now on the floor along with the rest of the contents of your purse.

Just as you touched the phone, you were yanked backwards hard by your legs. A knife in Marisol’s hand flashed menacingly, the jagged tip slicing your arm as you fought back.

“Stay still you fucking bitch. I want my baby.”

Pain bloomed in white searing heat and you saw spots behind your eyelids. You screamed bloody murder in an attempt to get anyone to hear you as the knife began to slice into your side.

Miguel was worried. You had promised him that you were going to call him when you got to your friend’s house. Normally Miguel wouldn’t be so possessive but with the delicate nature of your pregnancy you’re lucky Miguel let you go out at all. Yet you hadn’t called.

Miguel peaked in on Gabriella taking a nap in her room before closing the door and summoning Lyla on his interdimensional watch. Immediately Lyla’s small holographic figure appeared.

“Nice digs Miguel! You’ve made quite a life for yourself here although the style is a little dated.” she judged as her figure flew around the room to various objects obviously excited to be in the space Miguel hadn’t previously allowed her.

“Where is the little rugrat? I’m dying to meet her! She can just call me Auntie Lyla!”

“Cut the shit. I need you to track a phone for me.”

Lyla frowned and studied his face.

“You going back to being Spider-man? The hero we all know and love?”

“Maybe…...She hadn’t checked in.” he answered cryptically ignoring the hopeful tone of her voice typing his missing wife’s number into the watch. Almost immediately on the map popped up a tiny glowing dot where you supposedly were.

“See she’s safe and sound at 426 Herald Way owned by a Marisol Medina.”

Miguel froze, bile rising in his throat. His Spidey senses had been tingling since before you hadn’t checked in but Miguel didn’t want to be controlling like the previous Miguel had been.

“Lyla, I need you to watch Gabriella for me.” He pulled the suit on and flew through the door without a second thought

“Hey I don’t babysit for free!” She shouted after his retreating form.

When you woke up the first thing you thought of was your son. Your movements cause sharp pains to blossom across your body making you cry out in pain. A pair of hands came to cradled you gently. It was Miguel. You could see Gabriella curled up on the hospital couch asleep clutching a stuffed animal snuggled into her blanket asleep which soothed some of the panic but your main concern was your unborn child.

“Baby, can you hear me?”

Immediately you began to cry and Miguel shushed you moving to sit on the bed. Everything that had happened came rushing back to you. You couldn’t calm down seeing your slightly deflated abdomen.

“My baby Miguel. I need my baby.”

He couldn’t survive at almost eight months, could he? All the knowledge from your previous pregnancy with Gabriella and the baby prep books that you had diligently looked over and memorized were nowhere to be found. Instead, your mind spiraled into panic and negativity.

“He’s fine baby he’s in the NICU. I just saw him a few minutes ago he was sleeping. Please lay back for me.”

He gently guided you back down as you continued to cry silently this time.

“Miguel did you cheat on me?” you cried.

His face dropped and for the first time in a year, the illusion of your happy marriage shattered. All this time had Miguel been trying to make up for whatever guilty conscience he had when he had come home that day a suddenly changed man?

Was this pregnancy just meant to distract you from the strange things that Miguel had been doing like leaving at random times?

He thought you didn’t know but you did. That weird watch he never took off even in the shower. The way you would catch him looking at you or Gabriella sometimes. He would get a faraway look in his eyes like he couldn’t believe you were real and in front of him. You had thought that it was love but now you didn’t know who he was anymore.

“Baby I can explain.”

“Save it. I don’t know who you are right now Miguel. I thought I could trust you but that almost cost me and my child’s life. I let this woman into my life. I told her private things about me. I feel violated Miguel. I don’t know if I will ever feel safe again.”

For the first time in your life, you saw Miguel truly cry. You put up walls around your heart so that you could focus on the logic of the situation instead of getting sucked into his tears.

Miguel could sense this and gripped your hands in his.

“I don’t want you to hate me.”

“Just tell me what’s going on!”

So, he told you. About where he’s really from. About the first time he saw you and what really happened to your Miguel. The cheating, the lies, the secrets. It was all revealed. This explained why Miguel had suddenly switched from absent husband and dad to ‘Father-of-the-Year’ in the span of a few hours. Why he went from demanding they all speak Spanish in the home to speaking mostly English and why he never seemed to know where anything was in the house for a few months. He even told you how he dealt with Marisol….

Miguel could smell your blood a block away as he swung through the buildings to Marisol’s home a little outside the city. Crashing through the patio sliding doors, glass flying everywhere, he was met with a scene that confirmed his worst fears.

You were on your back the room covered in your blood. He couldn’t see the shallow rise and fall of your chest but he thought you were dead. Marisol loomed over you still slicing and trying to follow the steps she researched a few weeks ago on how to perform the procedure but she stopped when Miguel barreled in like a bull in a china shop. Fangs out and Rapture coursing through his veins.

“Miguel, you came back!”

Red. All he could see was red and he let his rage take over. Before Marisol could come towards him, he tackled her, hands wrapped around her throat in a death grip.

“Miguel w-wait! I lo-ve yo..ou” She gasped and choked, kicking and scratching at every part of him she could get her hands on.

He didn’t feel it.

All he could think about was the loss of half his family. Their baby boy hadn’t even taken his first breath yet. Hadn’t even been given a fair shot at life. You were dead. How would he tell Gabbie what happened? How would she cope?

It made his blood boil. So, he kept squeezing her neck.

He squeezed even as she started crying and the blood vessels in her eyes started to burst from the pressure.

He squeezed even as she began to piss and shit herself as her tongue and lips swelled.

He squeezed until her head shot across the room and she stopped struggling.

He couldn’t feel anything.

These revelations left you shocked with so many more questions. It made your head spin.

Miguel could see how overwhelming this was for you and sat in silence to give you time to process this. The doctor came in cutting the heavy tension and giving you a rundown of your injuries and permission to visit the NICU when you felt better.

Baby O’Hara, as he was still named, was now ten days old. You had already missed so much when you had been in surgery and then a little recovery time to get the strength to see him. On your first visit you requested to go alone. Everyone had spent one-on-one time with him but you and it added to the feeling of missing out. On your second visit, Gabriella, and much to your slight annoyance Miguel, accompanied you to see the new family member to welcome him together.

Despite his small age, Baby O’Hara had a full head of hair perfectly smoothed and you briefly wondered if he would get your curl pattern as he grew bigger. His size made the wires and tubes seem so much bigger than they were. Despite this, he seemed as strong as ever his little legs kicking with curiosity.

You smile through your tears as you run a hand across the silk stands of his head, down his little chest.

As if he knew you were there, Baby O’Hare grabbed your thumb with surprising strength.

“Would you like to hold him?”

You jump in surprise but nodded eagerly as the nurse, who had been watching the event unfold, comes to the side of your wheelchair and gently folds the front of your hospital gown to expose enough of your chest for the baby but enough to remain modest.

She opens the incubator and expertly places him across your chest for skin-to-skin contact. You can feel your hearts beating together and you cradle him gently to you as Miguel and Gabriella crowd around you.

“He’s so tiny.” Gabriella stares in wonder.

You look at her for a minute just taking in both of your children, making it a point to ignore Miguel’s presence. Your daughter had been through a lot these past few weeks. Miguel hadn’t told her the whole story so all she knew was that she had almost lost both her mother and new brother. It had made her more clingy than normal which you didn’t mind since you could use some close family time.

“Do you want to name him?”

Her face immediately lights up at the idea as she excitedly looks back and forth between you and Miguel.

“Can I really?”

“Absolutely, my love. Anything you want.”

You couldn’t help but to role your eyes at his words. Of course, Miguel would agree with you right now. After everything that happened, he was lucky he was even breathing the same air as you right now.

Gabriella bites her lip for a few minutes taking in her baby brother now fast asleep.

“I pick Benji.”

You can feel Miguel’s confusion but you hold back a laugh already knowing where she was going.

“Why Benji?” Miguel wondered

“If I ever get a dog, I would name them Benji.”

“I love it!” You laughed.

Baby O’Hare was officially named.

It had only been 6 months since everything happened. Couples therapy was going slowly. You were still hesitant to trust Miguel and it was starting to bleed into other aspects of your life. Like trusting him alone to watch the children. Logically you knew this Miguel was different from the one you married but he still could have told you about the mistress Marisol yet he hadn’t.

Miguel knew you didn’t trust him yet he never did anything to trigger you or rush you too forgive him. If anything, he was being more than understanding and you couldn’t tell if it pissed you off or made you fall more in love with him.

Benji, more practically named Benjamín, was doing well as a preemie according to his doctor and so was Gabbie you couldn’t be happier.

Of course, the happiness couldn’t last.

The rumbling started around noon. Benji had just gone down for his nap and Gabriella was home from school for summer break so she was playing in the living room. Your apartment building shook with such fierceness the pan that you had set on the stove to start lunch was thrown to the ground.

Panicked you rushed to grab Gabriella on your way to Benji’s nursery. As if on cue the infant started his high pitch crying obviously mad about the disrupted nap.

You grabbed him as carefully as you could as you all ran underneath the dining table for safety. Earthquakes in Nueva York were nonexistent so you could only imagine what could be happening.

The shaking and rumbling stopped but you didn’t dare get up yet for fear of aftershocks.

“Y/N?!”

It was Miguel decked out in his full Spiderman attire. He had shown you once when you asked but this was different. His face was panicked and he was breathing hard.

“Miguel!” You called to him as he climbed through the living room window and straight to your little family.

“Are you alright?!”

He frantically checked you all over for any sort of wounds before hauling you up careful of the baby still in your arms. He grabbed the baby sling off the couch nearby and helped you and Benji into it. Gabriella was clinging to your leg silent tears running down her face.

“We need to go.”

His eyes were darting everywhere and he looked nervous…. guilty even.

“Miguel what’s going on.”

He sighed in defeat. He swore to never again lie to you.

“It’s my fault. The quakes…everything.”

The ambient noise of Nueva York had changed from the usual city atmosphere to screams of terror and flashing light.

“The universe is collapsing. I didn’t even know this was a possibility. It has to be me…. what I did…”

Terror seized you as Miguel lead you all out on to the fire escape through the open window he entered through. He wrapped your arms around his neck and helped Gabriella onto his back.

“Hold on we’re getting out of here.”

 Swinging across the city you quickly realized what the screaming was for. People, cars, well everything was disappearing at an alarming rate. Miguel was swinging his ass off through the city but you knew that while he had the stamina, he couldn’t out run whatever it was forever.

“Miguel, you need to put us down!” You yelled over the wind.

He shook his head frantically.

“I can’t. Need to keep you safe.”

Up ahead the world was starting to disappear as well sandwiching you on all sides. Miguel could tell it was over. The weight of you all was wearing him down and the glitching was coming faster now. Even if he could get you away from the glitching you all couldn’t leave. Not without a watch to stabilize your energetic frequency to another universe like his did and he would need three.

Miguel stopped on what was left of the street as the people around you were in chaos letting you all stand on your own.

“Y/N I love you I’m sorry.”

He hugged you close sandwiching the children between you as you all sank to your knees in defeat.

You cradled his face in your hands sobbing as he took you all in. The way Gabriella looked like a perfect mix of you both. The tiny cute little features Benji was growing into like the little curl pattern he was starting to develop and you. The one who had drawn him to stay there in the first place. It was love at first sight when he first saw you that day as you ran errands and Miguel couldn’t fathom a day without you. Without all of you.

You kissed slow and needy knowing it would be the last time. You knew you wouldn’t get to tell him everything you wanted to say. How you did forgive him you were just being stubborn. There was only time for one last goodbye.

“Miguel I lo-”

The world turned white and his family was gone.

Miguel was alone again.

#miguel o'hara x reader #black reader #pregnant reader #mom reader #into the spider verse #into the spiderverse imagine #beyond the spiderverse #beyond the spiderverse imagine #Mature content warning

[masonika]

♢𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 | 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲.♢ 

My first post on Tumblr to celebrate. After so long on this app!

December 2022 - April 2023 - Antipathy AU (It's Gotta Be Perfect)

Ah yes, I remember this. This prompt was inspired by the IGBP movie when SMG4 went madly crazy over making the "perfect video". I wanted to make an AU where everyone had their own fears and there were entities based off of their fears. I didn't know where I was going with this, but I sadly didn't continue.

-

May 2023 - Rain Doodle and City Rain (SMG4 and SMG3)

I wanted to capture a sad scenario of SMG4 and SMG3 displaying melancholic emotions. One of them is where SMG4 is full of emotions and embraces his flaws where as SMG3, conceals his feelings inside from his insecurities. (His identity crisis plays a big part in this.) If you wish to hear their theme song, here is the link to one of my videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M_XSRpeS-Q

-

June 2023 - Badass SMG3 (Lightning Idea) and SMG3 vs One Shot Wren

Wasn't really sure on where I was going with this at the time, but a thought occurred to me that if SMG4 and the others were ever in trouble, I feel like SMG3 would have his time to shine to save everyone form the TV man. I felt as though since they are Meme Guardians, that at least one of them would have an awakening to their hidden powers. I'd like to imagine that SMG3 has red lightning of some sort. Idk. Also, before the episode dropped with the Wild West, I wanted to add a cool fighting scene where SMG3 faces off Wren. I wasn't entirely wrong from my theory that he had something to do with the TV, but it was a fun concept to draw at the time. At first, I thought One Shot Wren didn't exist and was a figment of Meggy's imagination.

-

July 2023 - SMG4 doing The Moonwalk and Meggy Kirby Meme

SMG4 moonwalking. Yup. That's it. No but I was actually inspired by an AI cover of SMG4 singing Billie Jean. No I do not condone AI stuff.. I just thought it was funny to draw a meme out of it. As long as it's singing then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Also, I didn't think I would predict Leggy in future episodes. That terrifies me lol. Oh and uh I ship Tari and Meggy don't @ me. ~Masonika

#smg4 #smg4fanart #fanart #krita #kritaprogram #smg4 meggy #smg4 fanart #meggy spletzer #smg3 fanart #smg3 #oneshotwren

[chaidrivenwhore]

this is a product of my inability to stop imagining and a lot of brain beating because college isn't going easy on me.

inspired by a prompt on instagram that had me feral with the possibilities.

also yes, i'm putting it up in parts bc it's more fun that way. this is a cleaned up, edited ver. of what i've posted on IG.

happy reading <3 (under the cut)

"I haven't seen him in a few days, but that's like, normal for him, it's not a big deal, he'll show up when he wants to," said the hero's love interest, as she tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at her lover in confusion. "He does this all the time, right?"

The hero hummed in agreement. "I should've known that he's gonna pull something like this. Let's hope the idiot resurfaces with his dumb jokes sooner than later."

The comic relief hasn't been meeting his friends for a week now. If you ask, the hero would tell you that comic was pretty unpredictable and he goes off grid for days on end. Hero's love interest would tell you that despite being best friends, Comic and Hero didn't exactly meet each other often (is it because Hero never really had time for his friend? Is it because Comic never really felt appreciated by Hero? We'd never know, but Hero's lover had her doubts).

The last time Hero and his lover had seen him was on their two year anniversary. Comic had helped Hero organise a little picnic and a pillow-fort-movie date after. That afternoon, Comic had bid goodbye to the couple and told them that he'd be busy the entire next week because apparently 'the education system is a conman and we're all being scammed'.

Hero hadn't thought much about Comic's inactivity, seemingly used to it, but as texts from his best friend were also far and few in between, he grew worried. His lover took great pains to assuage his fears but the only thing that really helped with the stress was fighting Villain.

Villain was an enigma. His motives were virtually unknown, considering the man always kept spewing bullshit about how he loves a little touch of public nuisance because it's fun. Hero's main vendetta against Villain was due to the latter's penchant for being an annoyance to society. Villain had once set fire to all the staff rooms of the city's schools at night, forcing the institutes to shut down for a week for a renovation. The media uproar was insane and Hero was hounded by journalists for weeks because of his late arrival to the scene of crime (not his fault- he had assignments to finish. Post-graduate studies aren't easy. Real life sucks).

Time went on and so did Villain's terror- and in a bid to protect the city from him, Hero devoted more time and resources to attempt capturing him. Somewhere, even Hero forgot that he hadn't heard from Comic in over a month.

That evening, after his latest stunt (minor bank robbery, because the manager had challenged every criminal in the city by bragging about his brand new security measures and Villain loves taking annoying people down a notch), he returned to his lair, feeling hopelessly empty, of sorts. Of course, the fight with Hero was everything he needed to scratch the itch that'd been taunting him for days, but something was missing.

He pulled up the news coverage of that day's mayhem. Something.... something is missing. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.

His thoughts screeched to a halt when he noticed the lack of someone's presence. Almost in a frenzy, he began opening tabs of footage and media coverage of his fights with the hero of the past month. He's - Comic- what? Where's Comic? What?!

Villain would be the first to admit that apart from the occasional lawlessness and laying waste to the city (because property damage is infinitely more satisfying than bodily harm), his main source of childlike joy was seeing Hero gawp like a fool when his friend, the comic relief exchanged beautiful quips with Villain. He also wouldn't exactly tell you this, but the sheer glee of meeting someone who gives as good as he gets is unparalleled.

Like this one time, amidst a cute little Italian bistro that was then in ruins after the initial scuffle, Villain was delivering his prepared monologue because Hero actually gives him time to speak (which, personally, he thinks is fucking stupid). He'd just finished making a powerful statement about serving real justice when Comic had blinked, and giggled (the cute guy giggled) then said, "The only thing you're serving right now is spaghetti with a side of bloodied shoulder. I don't see how that's a good look on you."

Hero had then tried to shush his friend, a horrified look on his face, but Comic gave him a face that suggested that he's taking none of that and then proceeded to stare into Villain's soul, a goofy smirk gracing his face.

That was it. Villain was falling in love.

Not a day goes by where Villain hopes that he could ask the cute funny guy out on a cute little date without the whole 'i'm a bad guy and you're the good guy's best friend-slash-comic-relief' situation.

But fact remained that Comic hadn't been seen for over a month and as far as Villain was concerned, that's a month too long. He growled to one of his men, "Get me the city's surveillance footage of the past month."

The henchman was confounded. "But sir, I don't see why-"

"I don't pay you to question me, boy, do what I said. Now!" he barked, his displeasure and confusion shining through. The henchman (his name is Steve) slowly backed away and was leaving with a frown.

Maybe I was too harsh. With this thought in his head, Villain called out, "Steve, my good man, forgive me for snapping at you."

Steve bowed his head almost reverentially and smiled. "Don't ask for forgiveness sir, I respect you immensely. I will get you the footage you require."

"Thank you, Steve. If you could hurry."

Villain sighed, not knowing what to think or expect. He understands the impasse he's at - his rival's best friend is missing, but Hero seemingly doesn't give a shit, or he's unaware (debatable). The only one who was mildly concerned was Hero's girl and Villain's sure that even she'd given up. He doubts that Hero has any other friends, making it weirder that he's not turning the city upside down looking for his best friend.

It's almost like he's the only one who is trying to do something about all this, albeit late.

Steve came back with a tablet with the footage and handed it to Villain. "Do you need me to get you anything else, sir?"

"A cup of tea, no sugar, please."

"Yes sir, right away."

Villain settled down to examine the footage. It was gonna be a long night.

\\\

this was part one, lmk what you think (ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

#gidfics #anyway i wrote smth #hero and villain #plus a comic relief who needs rest

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

hi mara,

i was wondering what your favorite books are, anything you've derived inspiration from. or any books you'd recommend to others!

take care

hi anonymous, good morning;

soft promotion but i usually write a little about what i:m currently reading in my end-of-month internet-sin paywall posts on substack -- but i:d also probably just tell you if asked;

any-ways, when i was really young i:d try to read a book-a-day both because 1) i had absolutely nothing to do 2) i thought that by reading as many classic/erudite texts as i could, that i:d become super smart; but i burnt out on reading because of these two things! and because of being burnt out, i have a huuuuuuuge amount of gratitude to the book version of "howl:s moving castle," because i think i picked it up on a whim (before the movie was out, even, i think), and read it, and it just made me fall in love with reading -- and the idea of reading for pleasure, instead of trying to make myself smart and cultured. was just so enamored with that book; read it through every period in HS and in that huge dullness i:d have afterschool (i slept out in a car from 2~7 typically; no friends and no where to go)--just couldn:t put it down, felt so real. zero idea if it holds up, and i refuse to re-read it, but i /loved/ that book and it:s always what comes to mind when someone asks me my favorite book (side-note: i thought the movie was trash; i don:t like ghibli stuff though).

inspirational stuff, though, i:ll use more recent examples! (mostly because it:s easier to remember this stuff); i really adore flannery o'connor and her short-story "the lame shall enter first" largely helped me deal with some of my obsessiveness at adhering to my behavioral etiquette 'perfectly' -- there are these two characters: an older atheist who is doing his very best to behave perfectly and empathetically and understandingly; & a crippled thieving rude christian boy that has fallen into the care of the prior character; any-who, the christian boy admits he has not been saved and that his soul belongs to satan, and tells the adult that he won:t bother being saved till he is ready to live whole-heartedly clean -- and that there is no point in attempting to act perfect (as the adult were trying) as no-one is perfect except christ; the story illustrates the lesson better, but it just made me loosen up on some of my behavioral rules and etiquette in regards to bacterial will and religious law. plus, flannery is a /beautiful/ writer.

then more briefly, i:d toss in cormac and shirley jackson -- cormac:s "outer dark" just really impressed me with how excellent he describes environments and just how /real/ he wrote "the three figures" towards the later half of that story, i love the outer dark so much; shirley jackson, too, just this month i read "we have always lived in the castle" and the maturity of her writers voice just struck me with how concisely bitter it were, and i just thought: wow, this is like the prototypical femcel hiki blueprint, and wow: this story is like the deconstructed magical girl genre before it ever existed, and as it could only exist in the mind of a shut-in agoraphobic american woman in her sixties (i think she was that old at the time of writing, i forget). i:m reading "the secret history" atm and also really loving that, because donna tartt is ace at pacing a story & capturing the feeling of "being left at a dorm for winter alone," and just scene/moments in general -- just super enjoying it :-)). then for more religious stuff that:d make people groan: i like LRH, and mary eddy baker, and ellen g white, and like reading all of them, and usually am left with a sparkling feeling after reading any.

and that:s it! i don:t want to name too many books because it:d water stuff down in meaning. take care, anonymous :-))

[pearlsofthec]

To be inspired: 

April is like a breath of fresh air after months where it seemed like the gloominess of the days was the norm. My energies were high to the ceiling by the start of the month, and starting off something in such a positive state of mind is always a game changer. Arriving back at Milan from Rome on the 31st felt like a step into the first page of my life. As I checked into a hotel for a night as an improvised way of celebrating easter without my family, I felt renewed - in the spirit of the easter-time, I’d reborn in a way. I guess spring does that to all of us, it inspires a joie de vivre that fades without the blooming of flowers and chirping of birds. 

The inspiration of the month, overall, is that one scene from the first tinkerbell movie (BEAR WITH ME PLEASE), just in the beggining, where it shows her being born from the seed of a dandelion. Being re born from nature, embracing our own astral glow, and letting ourselves reflect the balance of our everyday lives. Basic clothing that looks elevated just because you’re wearing it, salutes to the sun, flower pressing and stacks of delicate jewelry are all within the spirit of spring. This season is all about capturing the bliss of mundane experiences and allowing it to multiply inside the ecochamber of positivity that is YOU! 

Wear butter yellow and baby pink.   

My current it girls:

Amanda seyfried

Phoebe Tonkin

Isabel Lucas 

Curating your vibe is way more fun in spring, when your outfits don’t have to be overpowered by layers upon layers upon layers of clothing. Many people say that it’s in the colder seasons when they get to express their style the best, hut I’m the complete opposite: i feel the most like myself when I’m feeling light, wearing airy clothing. 

Amanda Seyfried and Phoebe Tonkin are the epitomes of what I want my wardrobe to look like. Amanda style is simple but still personal, and to me, personally, she embraces the girl next door energy perfectly, principally in Dear John. The light pink and jeans combo is underrated and capable of making any girl feel like a goddess I believe. Letters to juliet is another movie of hers that encapsulates the ideal spring summer style. Girly but classic, flirty but simple. 

Phoebe Tonkin is the same but different. I think of her as the ultimate Realisation par muse, and I feel like it’s because of the effortlessness of her style. She knows the power of the jeans + cute top combo. I love how naturally she wears her outfots, which might seem like a stupid take, but it’s actually just a way to say it’s clear to me how she takes her time when shopping, choosing pieces that truly reflect her personality. 

One of my biggest struggles with having a more down to earth style is the fear of looking more like a hobo than a boho princess ahah, and no one walks that thin line better than Phoebe Tonkin, who also adds hints of romantic style in the mix, which i just love. Another master of that art is the one and only Isabel Lucas, who is one of my ultimate style inspirations both for her amazing collection of dresses and the ability to wear them without making it look… forced or cliché. And her graphic shirt collection is just to die for! If you’re like me and like to look like a woodland fairy adapting to modern life both in spring and on the daily basis generally, you should be taking style notes from Isabel. She is an environmentalist and super into holistic living, which, naturally, is a plus.  

Movies and media:

Just like heaven

Princess Diaries 2

Confissoes de Adolescente

Brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao

White Oleander

With the lovely weather outside, I sometimes find it difficult to sit down and watch a movie, because everything around tells me to go outside and live life like one instead. When, however, the evening sets and I have no plans to give me an excuse to wear a silk dress and boots around town, I look forward to making my day even longer, but watching movies that feel inherently bright and sunny. Amazing soundtracks, gentle visuals and upbeat stories: you can’t miss it with these romcoms. I don’t know why, but I haven’t been particularly atuned to my cult-ish side recently and haven’t been watching Films, but with me, that desire comes and goes in waves. I have, however, been reading a bit, and a book that I could simply not not recommend are White Oleander and the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Both completely different, but mystical in ways that I cannot describe, and you’ll have to read them to find out. 

As for music, there’s only one album you need: soleil by francoise hardy

To wear

Outfit combos and general essentials I’m currently obsessed with are:

Slinky tops with relaxed pants, extra points if you manage to get a pastel colored top, (a pale yellow would be a DREAM) with a light  wash pair of jeans. 

Floral tunic dresses, think loveshackfancy… basic I knooww, but that’s kind of what we’re going for here. Jade Butterfield from the 2014 adaptation of Endless Love should be your muse these days, so embrace it! 

Your favorite assouline notebook you carry around. I mean… my favourite assouline notebook I carry around ahahah. Not only are they visually adorable, as they also are the perfect notebooks, having a heavy-ish paperweight and perfectly spaced lines, i know I sound dramatic but I’m extra picky with my notebooks, what can i do. 

Statement pants, jeans specifically. I just NEED an embroidered pair of jeans so bad, i feel like they’d be perfect with a basic white tank.

Just wearing tight shirts and tanks in general. The charm of the whole outfit being the lack of a need to wear a jacket!

Colorful Sets, i just love buying sets so much. They are sooo low effort but high reward! And I love the fact that they are the source of limitless combinations. Just LOVE THEM so much. 

#blog #monthly guidelines #april #spring

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Kamchatka Review (and my thoughts on the Russian arc as a whole)

Warning: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS from the comic, as well as season 4 of Stranger Things!

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things "The Game Master" and "Erica's Quest"

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Synopsis: In dark wintry Russia, Soviet scientists and military personnel oversee a new weapon they hope to use in their Cold War against the United States: A Demogorgon. To this end, they have enlisted the help of Dr. Boris Orlov to give them a device that will allow the monster to maintain its full strength. However, when Orlov refuses them and hides the device, he is taken prisoner to Kamchatka where the Demogorgon is being held. Now, with the help of an ex-KGB agent named Mr. Frost, it's up to Orlov's children, Anna and Lenoid, to save their father and prevent the device from falling into the Kremlin's hands......

Observations:

This is going to be a different review from what I usually do. The first part of this will discuss the comic itself and its merits/flaws, whereas the second will give more details about my thoughts concerning the Russian arc from seasons 3-4 and its placement on the show.

Part 1: The Comic

There are two ways I judge this comic: As an individual story, and how it ties into the Stranger Things universe.

In regards to the former, the comic works well as a thrilling Cold War spy narrative. It's fast-paced, the fight and chase scenes are intense, and it manages to capture the paranoia of living in the Soviet Union during a time when your words and actions were monitored and there was the constant threat of the KGB coming to arrest you for being a traitor to the motherland.

The artwork is impressive. From the white and grey hues depicting the bleak endless winters of Russia, to the ominous red and orange lighting of the prison, this comic does a great job with its dark colors and use of shadows to creepy effect:

On top of that, this is arguably one of the most violent comics in the series, which is saying something given the show it's based on. They do not shy away from depicting graphic scenes here:

The way the Demogorgon attacks its prey reminds me of the viciousness the Xenomorphs from the Alien series displayed towards their victims. Given how 80s movies like Aliens served as inspiration for Stranger Things and for the design of the Demogorgon in the first place, this was likely a subtle nod to that. The comic writers and artists know how to utilize the Demogorgon for all its scariness and brutality. Considering the same people for this comic have written another story (The Voyage) featuring the Demogorgon stalking and killing the crew of a freighter ship (which sounds similar to the plot of the first Alien movie), they're planning on milking the monster for all it's worth.

There are two main antagonists besides the Demogorgon: The first is Ivan Kolochev, who comes across like Darth Vader if he was a Russian KGB agent. He's the one who hunts the kids in order to get their father's device, and it's revealed he was the former protégé of Mr. Frost during the time they both served the Kremlin. Ivan later turned on Frost for becoming soft in his eyes, which forced Frost to go into hiding and abandon his wife and daughter for their own safety:

The second antagonist is Dr. Karine. She's the one overseeing the Demogorgon at Kamchatka, and was revealed to have worked under Alexei and General Stepanov when they first tried (and failed) to open the gate to the Upside Down on June 28th, 1984. She was one of the survivors from the blast, and later discovered a pollywog that she nursed into adulthood:

Best way I know how to describe her is she's similar to Dr. Irina Spalko from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in their ruthlessness, their desire to advance the Soviet Union's cause, and their fascination with abnormal branches of science. They even look physically similar in some respects:

In terms of the main characters, Mr. Frost was the interesting one. A man who ran from the KGB for 15 years and was skilled enough to survive and help two kids who were out of their depth. The story behind him abandoning his family for their safety was sad, and his reunion with daughter later on is heartwearming:

My only criticism of Frost is I wish they'd gone more in depth about his mindset. He tells the kids at the beginning of the comic he's disillusioned with what his country has become, and flashbacks show him becoming lenient in his interrogations, which gets him in trouble with the Kremlin. However, they never elaborated on how he got to that point. They never clarify if he began developing empathy for the Americans who were being tortured by the KGB, if he became tired from years of interrogating prisoners, if he began to fear he was turning Ivan into a monster by taking him in as a pupil, or if something else happened that made him re-evaluate his beliefs.

There's also his relationship/rivalry with Ivan. From the way Frost tells it, he raised Ivan like a son when he found him on the streets and took him in, only to later be betrayed by Ivan because he would "take the Americans side" whenever Ivan tortured prisoners. At the end of the comic though, Ivan accuses Frost of caring more about the rules and the state than about him, suggesting he felt Frost personally betrayed him.

Maybe it was intentionally written to be vague and let the audience decide who was more at fault for Ivan's descent into sadism, but considering we don't get many scenes showing what Ivan and Frost's relationship was like before they fell out with one another, it comes off like an aspect of the story (and Frost's character) that wasn't properly fleshed-out.

As for the kids and Dr. Orlov, they're pretty flat as characters. Anna and Lenoid have scenes showing they care for one another, but they don't really have personalities beyond them trying to find their father. Same for Dr. Orlov: Aside from one moment where he briefly delays Dr. Karine's plans by screwing over another scientist, he's basically a Damsel in Distress (or in this case, a Dude in Distress) waiting to be rescued. There isn't a lot to these characters that's engaging.

And this brings me to the crux of the problem I have with this comic: Setting it in the Stranger Things universe.

If this was just an individual Cold War thriller taking place in Russia, that would be one thing. In fact, I argue this comic works better if it isn't tied to Stranger Things. Just tweak a few plot details, change the Demogorgon to a different monster, and you have an original and unique story. By trying to shove it into the Stranger Things narrative, it creates a whole host of issues.

For one thing, it's highly unlikely Dr. Orlov or Anna and Lenoid are going to make a canonical appearance on the show. Because of that, it's hard to get invested in them or their story, and it doesn't help that the two characters who were interesting (Frost and Ivan) die at the end of the comic. There's maybe the possibility of Dr. Karine showing up in season 5, but since she made no appearance in season 4 during the Kamchatka arc, I seriously doubt that.

I've said this before, but I'm tired of them focusing on characters who either aren't important to the main plot, or aren't canonically part of the show. I'm not opposed to them doing a comic set in Russia, but it should help enhance the ongoing story and characters from the show instead of being a pointless side detour with Easter Eggs sprinkled in.

Take Hopper for instance: He spent 8 months imprisoned at Kamchatka prior to season 4. Why not write a story that focuses on his time there and how he learned to survive the harsh conditions of the prison and his torture by the Russians? Why not give more details about how he met Enzo/Dmitri, how they came to trust each other, and how they formed their initial plan for Hopper to escape?

For that matter, why not have a comic focused on Enzo/Dmitri? They could go more into detail about his life as a prison guard at Kamchatka, his relationship with his son, and so on.

Same with Yuri. I don't particularly like his character, but he at least was relevant to the show, and has a backstory as the "Peanut Butter Smuggler" that's ripe with potential.

They did this with Will and Bob in Tomb of Ybwen, and they did this with Dustin and Suzie in Science Camp, so I don't see why they couldn't have done that for either Hopper, Enzo, or Yuri.

Then there's the plot involving the McGuffin: A device created by Dr. Orlov that amplifies telekinetic abilities which Dr. Karine wants to keep the Demogorgon alive. Long story short: The Demogorgon is slowly dying because it can't live in our world and needs to be connected to its source (the hive mind) which the device allows it to do.

Now maybe I'm remember this wrong from the show (and feel free to correct me in the comment section if that's the case), but my understanding was that Demogorgons, Demodogs, and anything infected by the Mind Flayer (which was revealed to be controlled by Vecna) would cease living if the gate closed. There was a whole deal made in season 2 about getting the Mind Flayer particles out of Will before El shut the gate at Hawkins Lab because he would die otherwise.

However, when it comes to the Soviet's Demogorgon, I was under the impression it wasn't infected by the Mind Flayer, which is why it was still alive once the Russian Gate closed in season 3.

Same thing for the Demodog on the operating table that was being vivisected: My impression was it didn't have the Mind Flayer particles in it either, which is why it was active before Hopper shot it.

All of this makes the telekinetic device used to keep the Demogorgon alive look like a major plot-hole. The Soviet Demogorgon is never seen wearing the device once on the show, even though the comic puts a major emphasis on needing to wear it to survive.

It seems like an unnecessary element to the mythology given the show didn't bother to include it, and it's one I don't care for.

(Side Note: This is a question that's bothered me for a while now, but was the Hive Mind already a part of the Upside Down before Vecna arrived there, and he simply hijacked it when he used the black particles to create the Mind Flayer? Or did Vecna create the Hive Mind by forming the Mind Flayer and using that to infect almost every living being in the Upside Down and link their minds to his?)

Overall, my feelings about this comic are mixed. Some aspects like the artwork, the tone, and the Cold War setting work well, but the characters aren't memorable and the attempts to link the story to the Stranger Things Universe is handled in a clumsy way.

Part 2: The Russian Arc

When it comes to the Russian Arc in seasons 3-4. I know the general consensus has been fans questioning the point of it, with feelings ranging from indifference to outright negativity. In many ways, I get it. Out of all the directions they could have gone with the main story, this is not one I expected them to go either, and I'm still wondering whether there's a future payoff coming that will make it all worth it.

That being said, I don't hate this arc like some people do, and I even know a few people who like it. My dad for instance, who grew up in the 50s and 60s during the height of Cold War paranoia and the fear of Russians infiltrating the United States, thought the show did a good job recapturing those feelings and memories. He also liked how the show emphasized how the danger of the Upside Down wasn't just limited to Hawkins, and that it was important to show Vecna as a threat worldwide. I can see his perspective, and it has made me reevalute some aspects of the arc again, but my feelings still remain mixed at best.

I know when Season 3 came out in 2019, there was a podcast with the Duffer Brothers and producer Shawn Levy giving details about their reasoning for introducing the Russians:

Shawn Levy: “We’ve seen the Americans and now the Soviets trying to harness the power that seems to reside in the Upside Down through that gate. We’ve seen both sides of the Cold War now try to tap into it and control it in order to weaponize it so it felt like a really compelling way to take a real-world fear, an actual authentic historical paranoia, and to mix it with a very specific sci-fi genre plot that is unique to Stranger Things.”

Matt Duffer: “We always struggled a little bit with the U.S. government as the bad guys because there’s only so many times you can punch and/or kill U.S. government or military personal before you get locked away in America. So in a sense, they [The Russians] were an easier human villain because we could do a lot more with them.”

On paper, the writers wanting to explore themes relating to the Cold War and delve more into the paranoia surrounding the Red Scare wasn't a bad idea on its own. The way it was executed on the show, however, left a lot to be desired.

I'm not a fan of how the Russians were depicted in season 3. Not only did they come off as cartoonish buffoons and stereotypes, but they weren't threatening as antagonists. I never got the sense of menace or the intimidating presence I felt when Dr. Brenner or Colonel Sullivan's men showed up looking for El and anyone associated with her. And compared to villains like Dr. Brenner and Vecna, who evoked feelings of fear and revulsion, I felt no similar emotions for the Russians because I had a hard time taking them seriously. My suspension of disbelief breaks whenever I think too hard about how they were able to build their underground base at Starcourt Mall in less than a year. They were portrayed in such a bumbling manner that I didn't buy it.

Even Alexei is a character I'm not a fan of. There was always something irksome to me about the show portraying him in a childlike, naive manner in spite of the fact he knowingly opened a portal to a different dimension to capture monsters to use as weapons, which ended up getting a bunch of people killed in the process. The ONLY thing I liked about this arc was the formation of the Scoops Troop and the interactions between Steve, Dustin, Erica, and Robin.

Season 4 is different: Part of this may be due to a different perspective considering this season came out 3 months after the real life Russian Invasion of Ukraine, but the Russians were creepy compared to the previous season. There was a sadistic, cruel inhumanity to the way they acted that made them menacing. The vicious torture of Hopper. The pit where prisoners were fed to the Demogorgon and the whole thing being treated for sport by the guards. The lack of any basic human rights for the prisoners at Kamchatka. Even the vivisection of the still-alive demodog was horrifying. There was a brutality from the Russians that was chilling to watch, and it made them more insidious than before.

I liked the Russian arc in season 4 better than season 3. I enjoyed Enzo/Dmitri's character and loved the friendship that developed between him and Hopper. I liked seeing Hopper's character development where he became more level-headed and introspective compared to how impulsive and hot-headed he was in season 3. I enjoyed the break-in to the prison and how reminiscent it was of video games like the Resident Evil and Outlast series in tone, setting, and sense of danger. I also loved both fights between Hopper and the Demogorgon, despite how corny some people claim they were.

Just because something has flaws doesn't mean it can't have good elements to it as well. Compared to controversial arcs from other TV shows, this one had enjoyable moments, and it's not one I mind rewatching again.

I acknowledge that all of this is my personal opinion, and I don't speak for everyone in regards to how they feel about the Russian arc.

I also recognize there are still questions that need to be answered for season 5. Like how the Russians found out about the Upside Down in the first place: Was there a mole at Hawkins Lab that Dr. Brenner was unaware of, or did they discover it through other means? How did they get that piece of the Mind Flayer into the glass case without getting infected by it? Is Kamchatka the only facility that houses monsters from the Upside Down, or are there others? Do the Russians know about Vecna? What happened to Enzo and Yuri, and are they coming back? Will the Russians return to Hawkins to exact revenge for the destruction of their facility at Kamchatka, or to try and capture more monsters from the Upside Down?

In spite of these questions, I am willing to give the Duffer Brothers the benefit of the doubt in believing they will tie this together. As I've said before, I'm still looking forward to season 5! :)

#stranger things #stranger things kamchatka #stranger things comics #jim hopper #dmitri antonov #enzo #yuri ismaylov #demogorgon #demodogs #vecna #the mind flayer #tgh opinions #tgh reviews #the duffer brothers #stranger things season 3 #stranger things season 4 #dr. karine #alexei #alexei stranger things

[warishahmed]

The Evolution of Slam Dunk: From Anime to Personal Passion Project

As a child, after finishing school for the day, I would switch on MBC3, a television channel that aired anime. I'd gather with my cousins and we'd watch anime during our pastime together. Among the popular shows like Dragon Ball Z, Beyblade, Sailor Moon, and Yu-Gi-Oh, one that stands out in my memory is Slam Dunk.

The anime adaptation of Slam Dunk ran for 101 episodes, which were based on the manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue from 1990 to 1996. The story's narratives revolves around Hanamichi Sakuragi, who develops feelings for a girl named Haruko Akagi. Sakuragi decides to join the Shohuku High School Basket Team in an attempt to win her affections.

Slam Dunk first volume manga cover, featuring Hanamichi Sakuragi (redesigned)

The First Slam Dunk (2022): An Overview

Takehiko Inoue took on the roles of both screenwriter and director for the First Slam Dunk movie, making it a personal passion project. The film picks up where the anime left off, after the climactic match between Shohoku and the Shoyo and Ryonan teams combined. However, rather than focusing on Hanamichi Sakuragi, the protagonist of the original story, the movie shifts its focus to Ryota Miyagi. It follows Miyagi's journey as he navigates the world of basketball, his relationships within the team, and his own personal growth.

The Establishing Shot

The movie opens with a scene of Ryota engaged in a one-on-one basketball match with his older brother, Shota Miyagi, on a court. The opening scene effectively sets the tone for the film by showcasing the close bond between Ryota and his brother, and illustrates their deep connection to basketball. Despite the scene's initial brightness and joy, it carries a sense of foreboding, hinting at the tragedy to come: Shota's unexpected death.

Following this loss, the movie delves into Ryota's journey of grief and his determination to honor his brother's memory by pursuing basketball.

Throughout the film, we see present-day or specifically courtside scenes intercut with flashbacks to Ryota's childhood, which is heavy with the weight of processing grief. This storytelling technique slows the pace of the film, allowing the emotional impact to unfold and resonate with viewers.

The Film's Animation

Inoue wanted the movie to capture the essence of the manga, so he chose a light and muted color palette. The film combined 3D CG imagery for basketball scenes mixed with traditional hand-drawn 2D animation for everyday life scenes. Personally, I believe Inoue achieved his goals because as I watched the movie, it felt like the manga illustrations were coming alive. I particularly enjoyed the "watercolor" effect created by the sharp outlines around the characters, and the soft, layered colors.

Lessons Learnt from Shota Miyagi

"I’m always like this too, my heart pounds like crazy. That’s why… I have to pretend that I’m fine."

In the opening scene, at the basketball court, Shota is not only teaching Ryota how to play basketball but also valuable life lessons about strength and resilience. In the scenes leading up to this, we witness Shota processing with the loss of his father while also being a support for his mother. Despite his own grief, Shota bravely declares to his mother that he will take on the responsibility of being the head of the household. This display of strength and determination resonates deeply, almost as if Shota is speaking directly to the audience (breaking the fourth wall), urging them to remain steadfast in the face of adversity. His courage serves as an inspiring reminder to stay strong during trying times, no matter how challenging they may seem.

Final Thoughts

"The First Slam Dunk" stands out from other sports and action anime or movies by taking viewers on a journey from pain and trauma to resilience and strength. It blends fast-paced basketball scenes with slow flashbacks, creating tension and anticipation that keeps viewers engaged. When I watched the film in the cinema, I felt inspired and motivated—it made me want to start drawing in my sketchbook right then and there. The movie left a strong impression on me and remains my biggest inspiration for improving my artwork.

It was incredible to see how the narrative shifted from focusing solely on sports and romance in the anime adaptation I watched as a child to a more personal and meaningful message in the movie years later. As the title suggests, Inoue intended for both familiar and unfamiliar audiences to experience it as though it were their first time watching, establishing a different perspective and impact.

#the first slam dunk #anime #slam dunk #movie suggestions

[oglenvs3000w24]

Nature is art, how to use art to interpret its beauty.

Anyone can interpret nature through art. You do not need to be an artist, musician, or actor to interpret through art. It can be as simple as telling a story to set a scene and engross the audience, playing some music in the background to set the tone, or even dressing up into a costume that will demonstrate the message you want to get across (Beck et al., 2018). It is pretty simple. 

This photo of Niagra Falls, ON, is art itself. Even a photograph can evoke emotion or tell a story. Looking at this photo, you can feel the mist on your face from the falls, hear the crash of water, and feel the cold wind. Taking the picture and looking back at it brings even more sense of place through remembering where I was, who I was with and what I was doing. It makes the place unique. I also want to highlight the art of nature captured in this photo. The monochrome blues and grey, textures, and sound (if you were there) are all art. It evokes emotion, which is pretty powerful!

Nature is art. The colours, shapes, perfect harmony of sounds and visual displays are like a movie. There's a reason that nature is so beautiful and why people appreciate it differently, the same as with art. It is important to help people see the beauty in what surrounds them. Some fundamental principles of interpretation highlight this fact. The first principle is that nature should be more inspirational than informational (information is not interpretation) (Beck et al., 2018). Art helps convey messages and create rich experiences, thus helping to inspire a group (Beck et al., 2018). It is also important to ensure that whatever you interpret needs to relate to people (Beck et al., 2018). This may seem challenging; however, using art helps reach people. Using music, dance, poetry, theatre, or visual art all increases the chances someone can relate to the topic you are presenting. Everyone can connect to art, whether it's through music they may recognize from parts of their own life or an art form they participate in or enjoy. It can also work to draw more diverse crowds if you incorporate art forms meaningful to a specific group or include a diverse cast for a thematic demonstration (Beck et al., 2018). This also helps remove barriers to people's learning, another essential part of interpretation. Another principle of interpretation is presenting the entirety of a place, not just one part. This can easily be achieved through storytelling. Storytelling that uses the TORE framework focuses on the main message being conveyed, is organized to provide structure and meaning, is relevant to the audience and is enjoyable (Beck et al., 2018). Storytelling can use tangible elements, almost like a prop, to associate meanings with objects from the area you are interpreting. It can help to engage an audience, create imagery and create a sense of journey (Beck et al., 2018). Strauss discusses storytelling tips, which include starting simple, using legends, folks or myths from the area to build upon, using details to really engage the audience, use a flexible voice and gestures to bring the audience into your story (also adds some thematic interpretation), and most importantly practice a lot (Beck et al., 2018). 

Interpretation through music is also an extremely beneficial tool for interpreting as it helps listeners get words and facts stuck in their minds (Beck et al., 2018). It also aids in painting imagery in their heads and reaching an emotional reaction, which can help listeners feel attached to what they are interpreting and build a more profound sense of place (Beck et al., 2018). 

Many natural places have complex issues associated with them (Beck et al., 2018). This can be past, present, or future issues that cover a broad range of topics, such as cultural resources on local, regional or global scales like civil rights and racial tensions or discussing climate change (Beck et al., 2018). The theatre has been used increasingly to help translate complex topics (Beck et al., 2018). It can be used to engage the public with issues such as climate change (Beck et al., 2018). 

While nature in itself is beautiful and acts as its own form of art, many are quick to overlook it or may need help figuring out where to focus their attention. Using art such as music, storytelling or theatre to help interpret nature can help translate to a broader audience and ensure people take home the message you want to convey. It is an effective tool for covering complex topics and makes engaging the audience easier and more effective.

References:

Knudson, Larry Beck, Ted T. Cable, Douglas M. Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage: For a Better World. Available from: Sagamore Publishing LLC, Sagamore Publishing LLC, 2018.

[alex-a-fans]

BTTF Year-End Tag Game!

AAA THANK YOU @cheriboms AND @bttf-dork FOR TAGGING ME!!

This year:

How many times would you guess you watched the first back to the future movie?

Too many times to count...

Did you get any sweet bttf merch? If so, what!

Yes! BTTF Playmobil advent calendar and an off-brand Funko pop Doc!

How many cans of Pepsi Free did you chug this year?

Pepsi free? None. Normal Pepsi on the other hand.... Over 50 cans for sure.

What was a favorite bttf fanfic you read this year?

There were so many good ones, but if I had to choose... I choose 3!

Oh, How the World has Changed by @itsthemorph I just love the idea of Clara in 1985, even if it's only one chapter, I am sure the other parts will be great :)

June of Doom: let the Suffering Begin by @unknooooow. Now these ones are dark. They have become my Roman Empire, so I think about it once every few days. But again, I love angst, especially realistic. :)

Double Visions by @daryfromthefuture. While there were many good ones this one stuck out due to it having the talk of Citizen Brown (the not-so-silly doc). And it's also very touching and captures the friendship spirit greatly!

A favorite bttf fanart you saw this year? (please give us a link, not a screencap/repost!)

AGAIN MANY GOOD ONES.

this one by @future-boi LITTLE MARTY LITTLE MARTY

this one by @maxintime Cause Browns my beloved <3

this one by @bttf-dork (do u have any idea how long it took for me to find it, I thought I imagined it) THE COLORS, THE SHAPES AAA.

This one by @cheriboms The silly, the goofy, the little Baby Emmett (I WILL EAT THE FANART)

Did you create any bttf fanart or fanfic? If you did, what one(s) are you proudest of?

My time to shine :) /j

I am especially proud of June of Doom chapter 11 (Better known as Doc Has a Stroke literally). It took me two months to write, and it is still the longest one chapter I ever wrote (3k words). Also! I am afraid of hospitals and blood, so I have no idea how I wrote it. Also believe it or not, it was inspired by the animated series...

One more writing project I am proud of is Alteration. It is not because of how much I wrote, but how much I am still planning, and how many Ideas I have for it. I have every single detail planned :)

With art it's a bit more tricky. Since I am not THAT proud of any of them, but BTTF 2 end scene redraw is still one of my favs :)

How many times were you late for school this year?

At least three times, due to reasons outside of my control. But I hate being late.

Did you watch any other movies/tv shows with BTTF actors in them?

My Favourite Martian (1999) Where Lloyd plays an Alien. I watched it because of my silly alien doc au. And I had an amazing angst idea out of it (I wrote it for June of Doom)

That is about it...

Was there a memorable moment you heard a Huey Lewis song this year?

In the car. My parents are tired of me ranting about BTTF so Imagine me (not a singer) scream-singing Back In Time. :DDD

How many times did you fall down this year?

Honestly, either I didn't. Or I did too many times to count. Cause I don't remember

Did you get to see BTTF: The Musical? What was your experience like!

No...

How many times did your mom retell the story of how she and your father met?

Not many, maybe once.

If you could describe your year in a BTTF quote, which one would it be?

This one is the toughest.

It will either be "I repeat, Verne, this is a fool's errand." "Does that mean you're coming?" I always tagged along when I knew my friend was making a dumb decision.

Or “Why do we have to cut these things so damn close?”

⚡️LIGHTNING ROUND⚡️ Did you get to: go on any trains, skate on a skateboard, ride a horse, drive a Delorean, run in the rain, go to a dance, hang up a clock, play the guitar, pull an all-nighter, read science fiction, or drive thru Burger King this year?

To the dance, I even went as Marty McFly. (Even if it was 80' themed I did not win, they did not get the joke :(

Your future is whatever you make it! So what are you going to make of this coming year?

More art. Even more angsty fanfiction :)

I am tagging @unknooooow and I believe everyone else has been tagged. Maybe @jayisnotdrawing @bri-to-the-future @brinkle-brackle and @bentothefuturee @pine-killer55

Game by: @mjf-af

#bttf #back to the future #bttf ask game #ask game #bttf tag game

[seanlovesdbz]

Netflix recently released a live action adaptation of one of the world’s most popular anime and manga, One Piece. This adaptation was met with praise from fans and critics around the world as it stays faithful to the source material by capturing the characters goofy personalities, displaying the over-the-top unrealistic fight scenes, and following a similar storyline which many adaptations fail to do. The success of this show has led to the belief that we are now living in a time where adaptations can be done successfully as long as they are created by teams who truly care about the original.

One Piece’s success has led to discussions around other popular anime’s being adapted for live-action with some already receiving this treatment and failing, but in recent times these adaptations have become more successful than in the past as evident by One Piece and the live-action adaptation of Detective Pikachu, based on the Pokémon video games and anime. During 2017 Netflix created an adaption of the 2003 manga and 2006 anime, Death Note, which failed miserably and was despised by critics and fans of the original. This hatred came from the major changes Netflix made to the original, the characters were changed from Japanese to American with their personalities severely altered, all events are based in Seattle, and due to the shortened time the plot was condensed and ending changed. The original creators were also not directly involved with the movie which meant all changes were made by those not familiar with the original product. This attempt at their first anime adaptation proved as a strong learning point for Netflix with all the issues they had that led to Death Note failing, fixed for the adaptation of One Piece.

The One Piece creator, Eiichiro Oda, was heavily involved with production on the adaptation as well as casting which ensured that all characters closely resembled and acted like the character he created. The show had a large budget of 138 million USD which created realistic sets and props that allowed viewers to be fully immersed in the world. As well as allowing the first part of the story to be told over 8 one-hour long episodes which prevented the story from being rushed and missing important aspects to the plot. Netflix has shown that using these methods is a formula for success, which begs the question. Is it time for a live-action Dragon Ball Z?

The first attempt at creating a live action Dragon Ball Z failed miserably, with Dragon Ball: Evolution being considered one of the worst movies of all time, with the creator himself expressing his disgust with the final product. The movie failed due to having nothing in common with the original source material besides the name, the characters are nothing like their inspiration, being whitewashed and devoid of all characteristics that made fans fall in love with them, as well as completely throwing out the overall plot of the show. This attempt in 2009 led to the creator, Akira Toriyama, coming back to create more content for the Dragon Ball universe as he did not want the film to become the last piece of his legacy. However, this attempt was more than 10 years ago and now with Dragon Ball content reducing, it may now be the time for a live action adaptation to flourish due to audiences wanting things similar to Netflix’s One Piece.

If a new adaption were to be created following Netflix’s formula would be essential to its success, and there would be support from many influential fans such as movie star Michael B Jordan.

Based in response to:

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #dragon ball z #dragonball #dragonball z #funimation #toei animation #toei #one piece #netflix #one piece live action #live action #anime and manga #akira toriyama

[justforbooks]

Laurent Cantet

French film director who won the Palme D’Or at the Cannes film festival with his improvisatory education drama The Class

The social-realist boom in 1990s French cinema produced compelling new voices such as Jacques Audiard, Bruno Dumont and Érick Zonca. The most humane and rigorous of that group was Laurent Cantet, who has died aged 63 after suffering from cancer.

Cantet, who often worked in an improvisatory mode with non-professional actors, won the Cannes film festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, for his education drama The Class (Entre les Murs, 2008). Sean Penn, president of that year’s Cannes jury, called the film “a miracle, a perfect movie, just so exciting to see. We walked into the jury room afterward and it was like we had swept up the floor and our work was done.”

A kind of Parisian Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, it was arrived at by cross-pollinating drama and documentary to create what Cantet called “documented fiction”. François Bégaudeau, author of the autobiographical novel Entre les Murs (Between the Walls, 2006), on which the film is based, plays a version of himself: an enthusiastic inner-city teacher who inspires his adolescent pupils but also crosses swords with them.

In one scene, François is taken to task over his use of anglicised names in his mathematical exercises: Bill has 12 apples, Bob has three, but what about, say, Rachid or Aïssata? This playful scene plants the seed for one of the film’s main themes – the use of language to gain leverage, and to reshape the world.

The movie’s sharp-eyed visual style lends these semantic wrangles a strong cinematic dimension. Shooting on location with three high-definition cameras, Cantet achieved an omniscient documentary effect. “This gave us a lot of freedom, allowing us to improvise, to capture the energy of the pupils rather than interrupt them when we wanted a different angle,” he explained. The students and staff in the film, who were all drawn from Françoise Dolto junior high in the 20th arrondisement of Paris, generated many of the scenes in collaboration with Bégaudeau and Cantet.

The movie’s overall tone is one of bruised idealism. “It shows the richness of multiculturalism rather than its weaknesses,” said Cantet. “The film is utopian about the possibilities this kind of setting offers, but pessimistic about the school system in general.”

The Class received an Oscar nomination and became Cantet’s most successful film. But the three features that preceded it were more impressive, withholding even the smallest spoonful of sugar to help their messages go down.

He made his debut in 1999 with Human Resources (Ressources Humaines), in which a business-school graduate starts a management job at the factory where his father is a welder. The newcomer clashes with the union at first, then has a change of heart when he learns of planned redundancies.

That film, which the critic Ginette Vincendeau called “generous, sensitive and innovative”, addresses with Loachian fastidiousness the challenge of reconciling principles and productivity. Both Human Resources and Cantet’s 2001 follow-up, Time Out (L’emploi du Temps), explore how work defines us even in our most interior moments.

Time Out concerns the middle-aged, middle-class Vincent (Aurélien Recoing), who conceals his unemployment from his wife and children, and instead lets his days drip by in service stations and motel lobbies. To retain his role as breadwinner, he cheats cash out of gullible investors he meets on the road.

The film was inspired by the case of Jean-Claude Romand, who lied about his non-existent job, and finally slaughtered his family. Cantet and his regular co-writer and editor Robin Campillo (who later became a director in his own right) stopped short of such horror. “We wanted him to have a disconcerting banality,” Cantet said. “He’s just someone who slips and trips down a certain pathway.”

Some audiences found a note of hope in the final scene, in which Vincent attends a job interview. Cantet was quick to scotch that reading. “The notion of work is so full of wealth and worthiness that the prospect of Vincent finding employment again is obviously a winner,” he said. “But not having a job can be of a certain wealth, too. For people like him, work can only be slavery, so to see the last scene as a happy ending is a denial.”

Heading South (Vers le Sud, 2005) applied Cantet’s usual scrutiny to a different milieu, albeit one still steeped in exploitation and commodification. Charlotte Rampling and Karen Young play sex tourists at a Haitian beach resort in the late 1970s who find themselves competing for the same 18-year-old gigolo (Ménothy Cesar). Neither woman is interested in the young man’s plight under the corrupt regime of President “Baby Doc” Duvalier, though eventually the country’s political strife eclipses their feud. The film has a starkly Fassbinderesque view of the intersection between sex, money and power.

Cantet was born in Melle, a town in western France, and raised in nearby Niort. His parents were both teachers. He attended university in Marseilles, then studied at the Paris film school IDHEC (L’Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques), where he met Campillo. Their first full-length collaboration, Les Sanguinaires (1997), was made for French television as part of a project looking ahead to the new millennium. (Human Resources was also made for TV, but earned an international cinema release.) Asked about the 13-year gap between graduating and directing Les Sanguinaires, he said: “I spent a long time trying to discover what I wanted to say in a film.”

Reactions to the movies he made after The Class were mixed. An adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s 1950-set novel Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang (2012) met with muted acclaim. Return to Ithaca (2014), about a reunion of five friends in Havana, made few waves. It was Cantet’s second project in the city: he was one of seven directors who contributed to the portmanteau project 7 Days in Havana (2012). It was part-funded by Havana Club rum, which features prominently on screen.

His 2017 drama The Workshop (L’Atelier), about the relationship between a female teacher at a summer writing school and a male teenage student radicalised by the far right, revived the simmering tensions of Heading South, and represented a real return to form, though in fact the film had been gestating for more than 15 years. Cantet’s final picture, Arthur Rambo (2021), was inspired by the real-life case of Mehdi Meklat, and follows a young writer from the banlieues whose career is wrecked by offensive social media posts that predate his fame. He was working on a new film, The Apprentice, at the time of his death.

“My characters are never heroes,” Cantet said in 2008. “They always have weaknesses. That’s what motivates me to write them. They are people looking for their place in society: a place which is much harder to find when you don’t march in step with the rest of society. It’s something I can recognise in myself: keeping the world at arm’s length. Perhaps making films is a way of making up that distance.”

🔔 Laurent Cantet, film director, born 11 April 1961; died 25 April 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #Laurent Cantet #in memoriam