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sunflower-lilac42 · 2 months

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✧ 𝟔𝟎𝟑 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 || luke hughes ♔

summary: exam season is the worst season ever for y/n and the only person who can calm her down is 603 miles away from her

warnings: finals, essays, stress, crying, long-distance

publish date: 02/10/24

notes: i think i'm entering a new luke obsession phase because that's all i wanted to write yesterday and today. oh right! based off of this request -> idea! there is a point of me saying 603 miles a million times in this, (it's like four times) it's literally the name of the fic... so if you're annoyed then oh well, don't read it (apologies for mean emma today, i'm tired). add yourself to the taglist ➺ taglist!

nhl masterlist | main masterlist

She expected this to happen, the pounding in her head, the 20 tabs open on her computer, the dozens of resource articles and research strewn about in her room, the five packets of review guides sitting in a stack on her desk, the half drank cup of coffee, and the tears springing in her eyes. The white noise coming from her earbuds was starting to bother her causing her to rip them out of her ears and throw them somewhere where she probably wouldn’t be able to find them again.

She could hear voices in the living room, just outside her closed bedroom door. They were laughing about something, what it was she had no idea. Her three roommates all had presentations tomorrow and that was it, no more studying, no more writing, they were done. She, however, still had three papers to write and two exams to take. She had regretted her decision to take this many classes this semester but she was preparing herself for her future.

She had gone to stand up, feeling dizzy immediately as her feet planted flat on the floor. She held a hand to the wall, bracing herself from toppling over. She blinked a few times, trying to clear the blurry sight of tears, dehydration, and lack of nutrition. She knew people would be worried about her if they were to see her like this, her hair matted and pulled into a bun as best as she could, and mascara dried on her face that highlighted the dark circles and bags under her eyes. She was wearing Luke’s sweatshirt, the Devils logo plastered over it in the center, mocking her, reminding her that her boyfriend was 603 miles away from her.

At the thought, she allowed herself to tear up more, letting tear after tear fall. There wasn’t much she could do, he was in the middle of a game right now. When she realized he had a game, she turned it on and watched with a soft smile whenever he would show up on the TV. Despite knowing the fact that he would not answer his phone, she called him, hoping to just hear his voice through his voicemail.

When his voice reached her ears, she could feel some of the tension release from her body. However, the feeling was short-lived as the beep from the end of his voicemail was heard. She didn’t leave a message, she just hung up and watched the remainder of the second period. When the horn blarred in the arena and through the tv speakers, she shut off the screen and returned to work, making her head hurt more.

She didn’t notice the multiple attempts Luke had made to call her, her phone having died 20 minutes prior when she was writing her essay. Her headphones laid atop of her earbuds, trying to create a total noise blocker from her apartment’s noises. She had been ripping off post-it notes after post-it notes, scrambling to write down as many ideas as her brain could process.

Meanwhile, Luke had been minorly, no majorly, freaking out. She would never call him if he was at a game, not even if it was super important. He could feel himself start to sweat again as he rushed to put his suit jacket on, wiggling his feet into his shoes. He had gone home by himself, not feeling the need to celebrate when his girl could be suffocating 603 miles away from him.

Ever since they’ve known each other, Luke has known about y/n’s tendencies to throw herself into her school work. He remembers the first time he saw her during exam season. It was the end of their freshman fall term, they had been dating for four months at the time. They had just gotten back from their games in Ohio, he was exhausted from the trip and their 6-1 loss following their win the previous day. All he had wanted to do was go over to her dorm and lay in bed with her.

✧༺✎༻∞

He knocked on the door, waiting for an answer but nothing came. He felt saddened and knocked again. He received the same answer, none. He turned around and slid down the wood door, hitting the ground with a thud. He put his hands on his head as he waited, kicking his bag to the side. It was only then he heard the footsteps come rushing down the hallway and looked up to see her. She had her backpack that looked as if it weighed 10 pounds, she was clutching five books in her arms and a coffee cup rested on top of them. She had been mumbling when she noticed him and her eyes lit up, “Hi!”

“Hi pretty girl, whatcha doing?”

“Studying.”

He looked at the way her eyes were hidden by the circles underneath them and frowned. He reached out to grab the books from her grasp and she gratefully accepted the offer, going straight to dig the keys out of her bag, “How were the games? Did you guys win?”

He felt heartbroken and confused, she always watched his games when they went away. She would always be the one to point out his goal or an assist that he got, sometimes she even pointed out if Dylan, Mackie, Ethan, or even Owen got a goal. He watched as she pushed the door open, removing her hand from her side to run it through her hair, “You didn’t watch?”

She turned to him, dropping her bag on the ground and reaching out for her books, “No, I was studying. Sorry, Lu.”

Studying? At that time? He did nothing but let her take the books, watching as she started to clean up her dorm. It was only then that he had noticed the state her dorm was in. There were empty boxes scattering the floor, paper plates and bowls on any surface possible, and some of her clothes were mixed in with her roommate’s, it was a mess, to say the least. He made no effort to say anything about it, though.

She cleaned as much as she could in a matter of five minutes, looking at him with a small smile on her face, “I’m sorry I didn’t watch. I was going to watch the highlights when I got back tonight.”

“Back from?”

“Library. I think I’m starting to become a regular for everyone who works there.”

The thought of her being a regular was somewhat concerned, “How often have you been going?”

His voice was a mixture of stern and worried, his eyes somewhat squinted in a glare. She looked as if she had committed a crime at the tone of his voice, “Every day… from the time class was over until they closed.”

His eyes widened, “Jesus y/n.”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to study. I need to do well.”

“I understand that but you can’t work yourself to the brink of death.” He grabbed the coffee out of her hand and emptied it into the sink, getting rid of the cup afterward.

She whined at the motion, watching him in horror as if he just hit a bird with his car. He walked back over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, “Tomorrow you are not going to touch a single book, I won’t even let you touch your computer.”

“But-”

“Nuh-uh, nope. No computer, no books, no papers, no anything school-related. We are going to stay in your bed and watch movies all day and eat properly.”

“I eat properly!” She exclaimed in offense.

He gave her a look that said all the different, “Sure. Now I can only hope you still have some of my clothes here somewhere because I do not want to talk to my dorm right now.”

She pointed in embarrassment to one of her draws, “In there.”

He kissed her forehead and grabbed the clothes before heading for the bathroom, “I’ll be back and I better not see you do any work when I get back.”

She nodded but as soon as he left she ran to her backpack and grabbed her computer. She rushed to finish the last two paragraphs of her essay before he got back but luck was not on her side as she was halfway through her last paragraph and the doorknob turned. She had been so focused on writing that she didn’t care that he entered, “Just let me finish my last paragraph.”

He sighed, dropping his clothes into her laundry basket. He walked back to her bed and looked at her, “Last paragraph?”

“Mhm.” She nodded and scooted over so Luke could sit next to her, “Fine. I don’t want you to lose your train of thought.”

She beamed up at him and kissed his cheek before returning to her work.

✧༺✎༻∞

Ever since then, he had been careful with how much he left her alone in exam season. He always called on road trips, always went to the library with her to make sure she didn’t overwork herself, always made sure she was eating properly and always made sure that she was okay. But now being 603 miles it was hard to do that for her.

Luke was packing a bag as fast as he could, looking at his laptop for the earliest flight out of there which wasn’t until early the next morning, leaving at 7 and not arriving until 9. Then he would have to wait to get a car and do a 30-minute drive to Ann Arbor. He groaned at the time and went to throw something, at that point he could drive there and be there before getting a plane but he was in no state to drive.

He continued to try and call her for 30 minutes, on the brink of giving up at that point. Her phone was still dead and she had yet to realize it. She had music playing through her earbuds attached to her computer, typing about something that she considered stupid and unnecessary. She only took breaks to take a sip of coffee or to groan and throw her head back in exhaustion and frustration.

Luke threw his phone on the bed, running his hands down his face, falling asleep not even five minutes later. Y/n was the same way, she closed her laptop as she finished her last sentence, finally allowing herself to take a break. She got up to go make a burrito in the kitchen, waving to her friends who were also still awake at the time.

She went to turn her phone on and that was when she realized the lack of battery it had. She shrugged it off and put it down on her nightstand before walking back out to eat and finish watching the movie with her roommates.

✧༺✎༻∞

She didn’t go to bed until almost three in the morning despite finishing the movie four hours ago. Once they finished, she looked at the piles of paper and study guides she still had to do and sighed. Deciding that her first class wasn’t until noon, she could easily get done with one or two study guides or an essay in three.

She curled up on her bed when she was done and wrapped the blankets around her tightly. When she woke up and went to look at her phone and saw a tweet from Amanda from an hour ago, “Luke is not at morning practice due to personal reasons. Should expect him back for Saturday’s game in Columbus.”

She immediately woke up at the fact, looking back at her other notifications. There must’ve been at least a dozen missed calls from Luke and 15 text messages. She could only think about the worst, if he had gotten hurt but just didn’t want to tell someone, if he had been so drunk that he couldn’t think straight, if he had a panic attack last night. Her thoughts raced but halted when there was a knock on the door.

She went out to the living room, still clad in her sweats from the previous night. Her friends must’ve either already left or were still sleeping. She walked to the door, peeking through the peephole and gasping. She all but ripped the door open, “Lukey?”

He smiled when he saw her, immediately feeling better. Her eyes were still the same from the first time he had experienced her like this and he knew there would probably be a coffee pot brewing in the next few minutes, but he was here now and that was a wave of relief, “What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t answering my calls and I know you were studying last night so you probably wouldn’t have answered them anyway. But when I saw you called during the game I got worried because you never call. And I just wanted to make sure you were okay and that you weren’t overworking yourself but i can tell that you are.”

She frowned at his words but also felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of him flying out just because he wanted to ensure she was okay. She stepped aside to let him in and then led him to her bedroom. It was cleaner than what he had witnessed in the past years.

“You can’t just fly out every time you think I’m overworking myself, Luke.”

“I know but I wasn’t thinking. I was worried, really worried.” He held her hand, playing with her fingers as a form of comfort, “How long were you up to last night?”

She hesitated before responding, “3…”

He only sighed and tugged her closer to the bed so they could lay down, “Luke I have class in two hours.”

“I know but just for a little bit, and then I’ll take you to class.”

“You still know you’re way around campus?”

“Did I ever know my way around campus?”

She shook her head and laughed, “No.”

He smiled at her laugh, “You do realize I’m only going to be allowing you to rest while I’m here right?”

“But I have one more essay to finish.”

He glared at her, “Fine, but after that, you are going to be right here, in my arms, and not thinking about school at all.”

“Deal.”He kissed her before allowing her to get up and get ready for class. They both walked on campus to her class with the same thought, grateful that Luke had come to see her. Even with being 603 miles away from each other, they would do anything to be there for one another.

𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻 ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

if your name is crossed out it means i couldn't tag you

#sunny lune writes #hockey #nhl #luke hughes #lh43 #luke hughes x reader

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lovelettersforthedamned · 6 months

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Work, Then Play

--genre + trope: college!au, SMUT, fluff, nsfw, 18+ MDNI.

--pairing: college!peter x college!f!reader

--word count: 1.3k

--summary: you're just trying to power through your essay before the day ends, when needy and clingy peter decides to grace you with his presence.

--warnings: SMUT, grinding, unprotected PinV (pls for the love of god don't do this), creampie, aftercare, fluffy as hell, peter loves the reader so much.

The bright screen of your laptop is the only light illuminating the kitchen as you’re trying to finish your essay before the due date by the end of the week. The kitchen counter you’ve been working on is now buried underneath the sheets of notes, stacks of notebooks, and multiple novels you are using to create somehow the best end-of-semester essay you could come up with. You don’t know how many times you’ve run your hands across your exhausted eyes, pleading with yourself to keep going.

While your nose is buried in your notes from class, you don’t notice Peter quietly sneaking behind you and engulfing you in a hug from behind. Your body jumps a little, before recognizing the body behind you. “Hey bug, it’s getting pretty late,” he mutters in your neck, finding a new place to rest his head.

You lean your head to place yours on top of his, “I know, I know. I just need to finish this before the morning, or else I’ll never want to return to it.”

“And how much have you finished?” Peter’s peering onto your laptop to see how much progress you’ve made.

“About three-fourths of it,” you respond quickly before adding, “But I swear I’m almost done.”

“Sure, sure.”

You gasp dramatically, “Fine, doubt me, but I only have to finish the final body paragraph and-”. The familiar feeling of an open-mouthed kiss is felt on your neck, inciting a soft sigh to escape your lips. You know exactly what Peter’s doing, and it’s definitely not helping you finish your essay. “Peter…just wait till I’m done, please–fuck,” you plead before you’re cut off for the second time.

There’s still no verbal response from Peter, but he’s seemed to not get the hint. You feel his breath lingering farther up your neck till he places a small peck on your cheek. He finally responds back to you with an answer you can’t deny, “C’mon baby, take a break with me. You deserve it.” At this point, the entire essay was not your main priority anymore. All you wanted was Peter.

You quickly turn around to face him and give him a proper kiss, passionate and needy. You slowly rise from your chair, your legs a little wobbly from sitting, and start making your way to the couch a few feet away. You make Peter lay down on his back as you start to take off just your sleep shorts, Peter doing the same as he takes off both his sweatpants and boxers in one motion. Giggling, you climb back on top of him, just hovering over his cock as you kiss him again. He’s grabbing at your hips, trying so hard to get any type of friction.

“Please,” he whines, “just touch me, please?”

You love it when he gets all whiny and desperate like this, he just looks so pretty like this. As much as you adore him like this, you decide to give him something small. You lower your clothed core and begin to grind. The grip on your hips tightens deliciously. You smirk, knowing there’s going to be a mark to admire in the morning.

The feeling of his cock hardening under you stimulates your clit as you continue to grind, a wet spot forming on the crotch of your panties. The mix of your arousal and his precum combining together. The smallest moans and grunts are leaving your boyfriend as he writhes below you. The sight is too perfect as your sounds become louder.

You can tell he’s close by the way he has screwed his eyes shut and his hips are stuttering as he tries to buck into you. This is your sign to get off of him before he cums all over himself. Trying to escape his grip was harder than you thought, but still, you were successful. Another gorgeously pathetic whine escapes Peter as you lean back up, “Wha-What? Baby, why?”

He looks like he could cry, and that makes you regret your decision slightly, but knowing what you have in store for him subsides that guilt. “Shhhh, it’s alright,” you respond, “be patient, my love.” Pulling your now damp panties to the side with one hand, you lean down to envelop him in a deep kiss before sinking down on his cock. You both moan into the kiss as your core swallows him completely. Giving him one last kiss, you place your hands on his chest for stability as you bring your hips up and slam them back down.

There’s nothing polite about your motions as his cock starts to hit that spot inside you. Peter is completely euphoric at this point, he’s looking up at you as you’ve thrown your head back in pleasure. Reaching up to slide his hand under your sleep shirt, he squeezes the soft flesh of your breast. He loves it when you use him for your own pleasure like this, he wants to give himself up to you, entirely.

You’re close as the rhythm you’ve created grows sloppy, your legs are tired, but you’re right there. Peter senses your exhaustion as he leans you forward to completely collapse on top of him. Wrapping his arms around you, he plants his feet on the soft cushion of the couch and fucks his cock into you. The sudden urge to take care of you this way is so primal. He thinks you deserve a reward for your hours spent working on that stupid essay.

Peter is fucking you with such force and speed, that you don’t have time to announce that you’re cumming, but Peter already knew that. You fall limp in his hold as you’re orgasm pulses through your legs. The shock waves don’t stop as Peter keeps fucking you, almost reaching his peak as well. His beautiful eyes are screwed shut again as you look at his face. Taking both of your hands, you cup his face, causing his eyes to open and peer at you. Looking down at him with half-lidded eyes, you egg him on, “Are you gonna cum in me, Peter? Are you gonna fill me up, and stuff me full?”

He nods frantically, fuck, he’s so close.

“Oh, you’re right there baby,” you add, “you’re right there.”

One final thrust from Peter, and he was shooting his load inside you. Nothing beats this feeling, the feeling of his seed inside of you is what you dream about. His eyes are closed as he starts to come down from his orgasm. Pushing the sweaty hair off his forehead, his eyes flutter open. A grin appears on his face before he opens his mouth to speak, “Hi, bug.”

“Hi, my love,” a similar grin paints your features, “you feel alright?”

A blissful sigh leaves his face as he relishes the feeling, “Mhm, how about you?”

“So good,” a simple response was all that was needed.

Not much was said after that, in fact, you were just about to fall asleep when Peter’s voice woke you. “Sorry for pulling you away from your work, I can help you with it tomorrow,” a pang of guilt in his voice.

“It’s alright,” you respond, “I’d rather do this with you than write a stupid essay anyway.”

Looking up at him, he gives you a kiss on your forehead before slowly guiding you both off the couch. Peter picks you up and carries you to your bedroom, walking past the mess on the counter that you’ll deal with in the morning.

--author's note: i am so in my peter era (again, this is reoccurring) right now, so it might take a little bit before i post anything about the other characters on my masterlist...but tbh you guys eat peter fics up, so i hope you love this one. something sweet and smutty for you guys. don't forget to support your writers by liking, commenting, and reblogging!! also, my asks/inbox is open and im in dire need of ideas, plus i'd love to hear from you guys:) ok, ily bye.

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #andrew garfield peter parker #tasm!peter x reader #fluff #college au #spiderman #marvel #peter parker smut #spider man

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iovevrse · 2 months

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broken clocks, p. bueckers pt. 3

broken clocks masterlist

pairings: paige bueckers x fem reader

synopsis: when you met paige, you thought the two of you would have one of those cheesy high school love stories that lasted for years. you were wrong.

cw: slight smut (theyre 18), hs p, angst, first personn

1 Year Earlier

After that night, Paige and I talked at the pizza place. It had been as if we’d immediately become a more significant part of each other’s lives. We did everything together, and from that point on, it had been rare for me to miss a Hopkins game day.

Today was no different from the usual routine we’d adapted. It was a Friday night, and Paige had a late practice, so I’d made my way to her house to wait in her room for her. Coming over despite Paige not being there herself had been Paige’s idea. She still wanted me to come over but didn't want me to have to drive so late at night. She said her dad wouldn’t mind, but that didn’t make him any less confused when I’d shown up on his doorstep for the first time, and he told me Paige was at practice. I informed him I knew that and that his daughter said I could come over and wait for her to get back. Nonetheless, the man let me in, still confused, but he didn’t doubt it was something his daughter would do.

I sat on her bed waiting, typing away on my computer in an attempt to add something to my English essay that was due Sunday night before Paige came back. Despite Paige claiming it would be time to “lock in” on schoolwork, I knew nothing would get done tonight. She, in fact, never locked in. She just put on music and took a nap.

Like usual, Paige barged into the room with her two backpacks slugged over her shoulders. She threw them on the floor and immediately crashed into the bed, wrapping her arm around her pillow. “Hey P,” I muttered, still typing my essay, “how was practice?” I ask. She mumbled a “good” response before turning around in the bed and pulling me down with her. She wrapped her arms around my waist and cuddled me, resting her head on my shoulder. She had always been the kind of friend that was touchy, but this was different than usual. I just figured practice had tired her out completely. Maybe they had to run laps or something. I closed my computer and set it on the floor before laying in her arms, not saying a word. We’d both fallen asleep like that and a few hours later, we’d woken up.

Paige yawned and checked her phone. The time read 2:30 AM, and I rested my head on the blonde’s chest. That’s when she looked at me. I looked back, and I felt this tight feeling in my chest. I’d always noticed it happen when it came to Paige’s gaze. She had this ability to make whoever she was with or talking to the main thing her eyes were set on. We’d stayed looking at each other for what felt like forever until she leaned in, kissing me softly.

That soft kiss had escalated, and as soon as I knew it, the tall blonde was on top of me, kissing me harder than before. Paige then made her way down my body, planting light kisses. Before she had made it between my legs, her blue eyes looked at me with that same gaze again, more intense and clouded than before. “Is this ok?” the blonde whispered, her voice as raspy as it always was after waking up from a nap.

I just nodded in response, and she continued to trail kisses on my thighs, inside and out, before sliding my shorts and baby pink undies off. She looked up at me again, same as before, begging for my approval again, and once she got it, her tongue started to slowly lick at my folds, her middle finger sliding in and accompanying her tongue’s movements. Before I knew it, I was covering my face with a pillow to stay quiet and not wake up Paige’s parents or brothers.

Current Day

Seeing Paige again had brought back every negative and positive emotion I’d ever felt or had about the girl. I thought I’d done so well to forget about her until it came to having to see her again. I cursed myself for not playing it normal and acting unbothered when I saw her. You prepare yourself mentally for so many situations, telling yourself that you’d do one thing or another just for the time to come and nothing will go as planned. As I stood there, quickly texting Alexa that we needed to go, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Once again, I whipped my head around to be met with a tall, blue-eyed blonde. The same one I gave my everything to.

Almost on reflex, I shrugged her off. “Look, I’m so sorry,” Paige started. I rolled my eyes in response and continued walking in some random direction. “Please, hear me out,” pleaded the blonde as she grabbed my arm, pulling me towards her. I almost fell for it again. Her gaze made me feel like I was the only thing on her mind. Like the most important person in her world. I force myself to look away and pull back from her. “I’m not tryna hear shit of what you got to say right now, Paige.” The blonde groaned softly before stepping closer, “Just listen to me, please.”

“Nah, not today,” I mutter, forcing myself to look into her eyes again. She looked hurt, and I couldn’t help but want to take back what I said. Maybe even forget everything she did to me because the Paige I knew before would never hurt me like that. I almost opened my mouth to speak again before a taller girl pulled me away.

I guessed Alexa had finally found me, and she wasted no time dragging me away from the blonde. I wondered if maybe she’d been there longer than I thought and heard Paige’s pleas. Either way, I thanked her for getting me out of that situation. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to run into the blonde again. I knew that wouldn’t be the case though.

#iovevrse🌿#paige bueckers #paige bueckers x reader #uconn wbb #uconn women’s basketball

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thankskenpenders · 7 months

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And now for something new

So, here's something I was never planning on doing, but I just couldn't shake the idea... Thanks Ken Penders is gaining a sister blog featuring an entirely different comic franchise!

Introducing... Thanks Steve Ditko, a blog where I read the Earth-616 Spider-Man comics, starting all the way back in the '60s! It's gonna be much more casual and less thorough than how I run things here on TKP, though, which I'll explain in a sec.

If seeing me post weird bits from old Spider-Man comics sounds fun and you need no further info, then just head right on over to Thanks Steve Ditko. But for longtime TKP readers, I know you probably have questions...

Number one: Why?

Spider-Man's always been my favorite superhero, and with the Spider-Verse movies kicking ass and my excitement building for the new Insomniac game, I've been in a Spidey mood. Inevitably, a thought occurred to me: Maybe I should actually read the comics that everything else is built off of and see the wildly varying contributions of all the original creators, rather than filtering them through big budget adaptations. If I can power through One Piece and all these other manga with hundreds of chapters, it can't be that hard... right?

And, well, after a few issues I quickly realized that my options were to either clog up my other accounts with random Spider-Man panels for years, or to just make a side blog. And so the side blog was born.

Two: Will this blog replace Thanks Ken Penders?

NO!!!!!!!!!

Okay but prove it

To allow the two to exist side-by-side, Thanks Steve Ditko will have a different format than what Thanks Ken Penders developed. Rather than an in-depth guided tour that critically analyzes every story beat of every issue, TSD will just be a place for amusing panels and brief thoughts as I casually read the comics at my own pace.

If you've seen me make a few tweets about reading Spider-Man recently, I'm basically just moving that to a dedicated Tumblr. It's a place for me to dump these things so that it doesn't fill up my media tab on Twitter for the next decade. (You know, assuming Twitter is still around in a decade.) There will be many issues where I only post two panels that I thought were funny. There will be issues where I don't have anything to say at all. Maybe I'll reach a run that I just cannot get into, and I start skipping around more. Who knows!

This may sound similar to what I thought this blog would be before it blew up. Aside from the simple fact that there's already mountains of Spider-Man commentary out there and therefore less of a void for me to fill, one of the main steps I'll be taking to avoid repeating the past is not enabling an ask box on TSD. I do not need people to ask me to go into ten times more detail on everything. I do not need to write seven essay-length responses to questions about Spider-Man minutiae every day. I do not need a place for people to chide me for not covering certain scenes, issues, or ancillary series.

It also won't have any kind of update schedule. I'm trying to keep it very casual. I'm reading these comics at my own pace, and if I feel like sharing a moment or commenting on something while doing so? It goes there. That's it.

(On the subject of format changes, I'm also listing the issue, writer, and penciller in the body of every post. This is a thing I wish I'd done on TKP so that people didn't misattribute every weird Archie Sonic panel I post to Penders.)

Three: So when will TKP come back from hiatus? You said it'd come back after you finished SLARPG!

I don't know! Sorry. I have a couple things on the backburner right now for TKP, but I'm not sure when I'll get back to proper updates where I read more comics.

I wanted to bring TKP back this year, and that's still possible. The main hurdle is that I want to reread my own archive (again) as a refresher, which is, uh. A lot of posts. I've developed a high standard for myself on here, and I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job right if I forgot half the ongoing subplots and character arcs and didn't bring them up in my analysis. Especially when I'm discussing the work of an author as obsessed with continuity as Ian Flynn. Unfortunately, the nature of this blog means that every time I go on another long hiatus for Life Reasons I have even more comic continuity to catch up on than last time.

(This is a big part of why I'm making Thanks Steve Ditko an extremely casual blog instead of promising to become a Lore Expert on 60+ years of Marvel.)

Mostly I've just been very burnt out this year after having finally finished a video game that took almost eight years to make. I haven't really had the energy for any creative projects, including TKP. But I feel a little bit of a spark here with Spider-Man, so I'm chasing that feeling to try to get back into the swing of blogging about comics - no pun intended.

So, basically, bear with me on this as I start this low-energy side project. But hopefully folks will enjoy Thanks Steve Ditko as its own thing, too.

Look forward to goofy shit like this

#tkp post

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celestial-depths · 2 months

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Poor Things and Born Sexy Yesterday

(spoilers for Poor Things)

I stumbled on a discussion on whether Bella Baxter from the movie Poor Things (2023) is a representation of the Born Sexy Yesterday trope coined by video essayist Pop Culture Detective, who defines it as a mostly fantasy and sci-fi adjacent trope of a regular human man falling in love with a beautiful, otherworldly woman who, through some plot quirk or another, has no knowledge of social norms and no sexual or romantic past. Even though he is brutally average, he is able to win her love simply because he is the first (human) man she connects with and thus everything that's basic about him is impressive to her. Some examples of the trope given by Pop Culture Detective in his video essay are Leeloo from Fifth Element (the physically grown yet mentally child-like alien creature who falls in love with a taxi driver in a wifebeater) and Madison from Splash (a clothes-aversive mermaid who thinks that Tom Hanks is the most enchanting man in the world). I love Pop Culture Detective's work, and the Born Sexy Yesterday video essay was a cultural reset in my personal history. I saw the video when it premiered six years ago, but it has never fully left my mind, so of course I immediately thought of it when I saw Poor Things a couple of weeks ago. The movie certainly touches on the same themes that the Born Sexy Yesterday is made of. However, I think that the movie is an intentional subversion and a satire of the trope rather than a sincere execution of it.

The main character of the movie Bella Baxter starts out as a grotesquely literal version of the trope, as she is literally a newborn in the shape of a conventionally attractive woman who is being actively shielded from the influence of the outside world. She has the brain of a baby salvaged from the fresh corpse of a deceased pregnant woman, planted inside the skull of the reanimated body of the aforementioned woman as an experiment done by the unorthodox doctor Godwin Baxter. He keeps her locked inside his house and controls every aspect of her life, so when he invites the young doctor Max McCandles to join his research, McCandles is served what is essentially the perfect Born Sexy Yesterday experience: an exclusive access to a beautiful and naive young woman who is in a prime position of being groomed into whatever her keepers wish her to become.

Or so they would think.

A sincere Born Sexy Yesterday would be fully fascinated by this power dynamic and probably leave her here to be romanced by McCandles for the rest of the film. The audience would be expected to assume McCandles's perspective and indulge in the fantasy of falling in love with the untainted woman who has neither the life experience nor the critical thinking skills needed to question him.

But, fortunately, the movie doesn't remain here. After the first act, the movie switches its point of view from McCandles to Bella and starts putting her experiences to the forefront. She starts developing interests that absolutely do not align with the wants and needs of the men around her, and she begins to learn things that clash with the essence of the Born Sexy Yesterday trope. Soon, she has grown into a headstrong, independent, sexually experienced, intellectually curious woman who had zero interest in entertaining the whims of men and who intends to live fully for herself and herself alone: an absolute antithesis of the clueless and subservient blank slate the trope would require her to be. My reading of the film is that it's an intentional satire and an autopsy of the BSY trope and the gender politics that gave birth to it. It criticizes the men who entertain fantasies like it by making them look like absolute losers, urging us to ponder on what the hell is wrong with these creeps who see nothing wrong with drooling over a woman who is mentally a toddler instead of their intellectual equal.

The movie also reads as a critique of how women are socialized into a patriarchy. Godwin treats Bella just like a possession of his. Her body and her life are completely under his control from the moment she is "born" (another act in which neither Bella nor the woman she was born from had any say in), which isn't dissimilar to how a lot of fathers view their daughters. He wishes to keep her under constant supervision until the end of her life, until she protests and gets him to change his mind. When he asks McCandles to marry her, the two men treat the proposed marriage as a contract between the two of them rather than as a contract between McCandles and Bella herself. Again, this isn't too different to what marriage between men and women has meant throughout history.

McCandles is romantically interested in Bella even though he is fully aware of the fact that she is mentally a child. He seems to be looking forward to starting a sexual relationship with her after they are wed, as if the seal of marriage would make the intellectual disparity between them any less iffy. This bears resemblance to the way men in the real world prey on young girls with little to no sexual experience and whose brains are not fully developed because they're easier to control than grown women. I don't think that McCandles's hypocrisy is lost on the film. He agrees to marry Bella almost in the same breath as expressing his desire to keep her safe from other men, as if his desire to bed a person who is intellectually at the level of a five-year-old was any better than theirs.

When Bella chooses to leave Godwin's house to explore the world, the two men immediately replace her with a new experiment, showing that they were never truly interested in her as a person. They wanted the eternal baby, the thing that they can cage and control, and not the person who can think and learn and disagree with them. This exemplifies how disposable women are when they no longer serve their limited purpose in a patriarchy, and how replaceable people are when they are primarily viewed as bodies to be used. (Sidenote: I do think that Godwin and McCandles eventually learn to appreciate Bella for the person she is and that they both grow to be better people by the end of the film, but I still attest that these two are total creeps at least by this point of the movie.)

And then there's the supreme loser of the movie: the sleazy lawyer Wedderburn, who slithers into Bella's life and convinces her to run away with him. He is the darkest example of the kind of person who is drawn to inexperienced women like the ones represented in BSY movies - a predator who finds pleasure in the prospect of getting to corrupt and consume an innocent. He intends to take advantage of Bella and abandon her once he's gotten his fill only to find himself choking on his prey, who turns out not to be the malleable, naive creature he thought her to be.

This is the point where I think the movie goes from simply critiquing the BSY trope and everything it represents to successfully subverting it. The characters who embody the BSY trope don't really evolve. The movies they appear in are not really interested in their inner worlds and individual experiences beyond whatever serves the interests of the male protagonists. These characters are projections of male fantasies, so there really isn't a way for them to exist without centering men. This is not the case with Bella, who quickly grows into her own woman who is only tangentially interested in the men around her.

The bright side of Bella's condition is that she isn't just unaware of the ways of the world, but that she's also unaffected by the years of patriarchal conditioning that most normal women are burdened with. She literally has no shame, no internalized misogyny, no history of crushing blows to her sense of self-worth, and no looming knowledge of societal norms society. She has skipped the part in life where she is constantly bombarded with demands to make herself smaller and more palatable, to hate herself, to think of her body and the way it finds pleasure as something disgusting and abnormal, to treat other women as competition, and to think of herself as so much less important than men that she must pursue their validation beyond all else. Because of this blessed defect, she is free in a very rare way.

Wedderburn absolutely cannot handle that. When Bella first gets to know him, he paints a flattering picture of himself as a proud social deviant who gleefully eschews the rules of polite society. However, when faced with the actually deviant Bella, who flatly refuses to obey and center him, Wedderburn is revealed to be a phony. He is not a genuine libertine. He does not want to live in a truly free world with a free spirit like Bella, because he is a pathetic, insecure little man who only likes women in scenarios where the power balance is stacked against them. In my opinion, this is a direct shot fired at the BSY trope and its average enjoyers: if your ideal woman is someone who is many steps behind you in terms of mental capacity and experience, you are quite pitiful and would not stand a chance in an equal playing field.

It's hilarious how Wedderburn loses his mind when Bella starts exhibiting the kind of behavior he himself has proudly displayed earlier in the film: having multiple sexual partners, keeping sex and feelings separate, not falling in love with him or treating him like he's special, dropping him once she's had enough of him, and generally living life in an unconventional way. Again, the movie is pointing out the hypocrisy in men who fetishize inexperienced women while bragging about their own sexual conquests.

The part in the movie where Bella becomes a sex worker delivers the final blow to whatever is left of the BSY trope in her story, because the trope relies on sexual exclusivity and the fetishization of virginity. By having many partners and gaining lots of sexual experience out of her own free will, Bella stops fitting the ideal of the untouched woman who can be deflowered and exclusively possessed by the male protagonist. Also, through the conversations between Bella and the other sex workers, the movie finds another way to address the politics behind certain men's sexual fantasies of women - such as pointing out that some men enjoy sex with women more the less the women themselves enjoy it. It's a stray observation that the movie doesn't get deep into, but it has its place in the tapestry of the general theme of what desire reveals about people.

Finally, there's Alfie, who gives Bella (and us) an idea of the kind of life Bella's "mother" lived - as well as the kind of life Bella herself might be living had she grown up the normal way. It seems hellish. She'd be living under the tyranny of her awful husband, under a constant threat of violence, under absolute bodily control. Alfie wants to impregnate her against her will and to mutilate her genitals to deprive her of pleasure, and there's nothing that she could do about it because he is her husband and thus legally allowed to lord over her. She sees a terrifying glimpse of the role even privileged women like her have in this world: objects who exist solely for the pleasure of the men who own them. I would venture to say that the same description lies in the underbelly of the BSY trope.

I am happy that the movie doesn't take its sweet time to revel in the horror of this part of the story like so many other movies that address the oppression of women do. Instead, Bella stays with Alfie just enough time to say a hard and a well-informed no to his bullshit before getting on her merry way.

I think Poor Things is such a great example of taking a trope and exploring its implications in a way that goes beyond just pointing it out or parodying it by simply repeating it.

#poor things #yorgos lanthimos #bella baxter #emma stone #born sexy yesterday #pop culture #tropes #feminism #gender politics #movies #cinema #film #film studies

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emidealia · 1 year

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☆ timeless what's AWAITING YOU next month ☆

Hey lovelies! Bienvenue! This is a PICK A CARD tarot reading is about what you need to hear about your upcoming month, starting pretty much from where you are right now. Choose a picture from the top 1, 2 or from the bottom 3, 4. Be kind and take with you only what applies. Take a deep breath ...and enjoy!:)

★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★

pile 1

Nurture your Goddess energy

Main thing you’ll focus this month is bringing back rosy feeling(fresh, sweet, gorg). You have a tendency to not feel like a boss a— bitch and this is rooted in trauma from home/finances and results in lack of trust, confidence in yourself. Perhaps not feeling “clean” or not having a romantic lifestyle like others around you and on internet. It is affecting how you express your mind, the way you present yourself etc. Because you don’t really believe in yourself you treat yourself as such. The way back from this is from outward actions too. This month you’ll start prioritizing having a put together bedroom, aesthetically pleasing desk and thought-out hairstyles, makeup and outfits. Healing feminine energy will be truly empowering for you. Look into that! When you act confident you start gaining back your power, truly believing and feeling worthy and divine.

Don’t deny it, there’s a lot you could do in your situation. There’s absolutely no point in sitting in your despair, hoarding sadness, feeling pathetic. Literally no one else cares, no one will come feeling sorry for you and no one but yourself can save you. Be known for having built yourself up or are you envisioning yourself in the same pile of pity years from now, only more bitter? If you can change it, stop whining and change. If you can’t, then there’s no point in whining either, it’s out of your control. But be honest.

Back to what you can do. What is it that creates a spark in you? Even the smallest of desires to get yourself together. For example late at night on pinterest or the right tiktok hitting the spot, maybe the right friend or seeing what your interests can accomplish. Journaling, vision boards, meditating, working out, waking up early, podcasts. Gather everything that sparks the motivation to start something, change sth about yourself, chase your dreams and such. Use these things to your advantage, learn what helps your mind to stay focused, body to stay healthy. Learning about the way you can motivate yourself with your actions, you’ll trick your brain into being more confident as the brain changes everyday according to your surroundings. I do recommend notion for putting down your plan to renew yourself, music, habits, dreams, routines etc. This month you’ll be in your element and succeed babe. Love the process, love yourself, you are so goddamn worthy of living as you desire. You are divine as fuck, you lack nothing!

★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★

pile 2

A long period came to an end. School term, finals, relationship, friendship, lease on sth or a project? Even though it’s over, rather than being grateful, glad, you visit the situation and feel a bit guilty, uncertain, could you have changed the outcome, said/done it better or been more present? Yeah, no, stop, it’s useless. Maybe you could have, how about that? Nothing to do about it anyways. Find peace for yourself human! You are in the now, it is certain that storm is over and be glad.

MOVING ON. Too much overthinking, man, this time about the future. You are tiring your mind, so much is going on, like the 13 open tabs and there’s music, screaming, a random question about lemurs and existensialism video essays. A lot of escapism, wishing someone would make the decisions for you or being far away from here, doing nothing. No no no. You can’t give away your oppurtunities and potential, you’ll learn a lot from this. You are destined for greatness. I’ll be honest this month there are a few days of feeling shitty but it’s in your control and nothing you couldn’t deal with. Also nothing you haven’t done before so this may be a reoccurring lesson. Main question is, how tf to sustain yourself? In healthy-ish coping mechanisms please. Learn to find something stable in your life that doesn’t fall apart if everything else does.

Main focus this month is about concious progress, intentional advancements. Things will get better, you’ll keep pushing forward, along with much success and enjoyment. You can shape your career, hobbies, plans in according to your own timetable, if you make the needed choices. In this upcoming period you need to be grounded and ready to jump at oppurtunities. You are ambitious, career-driven, but a step back does not kill you. It’s actually essential to sustain yourself. Your brain is a resource, for too long you have used it only for work, being in survival mode, resulting in feeling drained out of power.

I know how hard it is, but take a break, several breaks, a vacation even. Learn to do nothing more than just exist for once. Loving yourself for you, not just for your work validation. That’s also something you should tak einto consideration this month. Separating yourself from performance statistics in your job. If you give it so much control it can really eat you up and destroy you. But you are more than that, am I right? I bloody am, you are an amazing person. Reconnect with yourself, with more humanity. Get rid of the need to be perfect. You really don't need to. Truly okay if you couldn't do your best, or just didn't. It's okay.

Being mentally ready, feeling present and being truly glad to wake up to experience the world is pretty awesome. You’ll be ready for anything then. Love you for you!!! Kisses and hugs, muah :)

★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★

pile 3

Right away, when starting this pile I was full of the feeling YOLO, let’s do it :D. Spring is coming. Oh the cards made me smile right away. Attracting like a rose, receiveing abundance, you have a right to your joy. Screamiiiiing in joy. I’m obsessed. You have noticed how easily you manifest, right? The little things just flow to you. This is your time: vision boards, letters, writing down your wishes, affirmations, being grateful. You’ll receive everything you manifest right now.

Fall into the mystery, when you receive oppurtunities take them. Your manifestations come in different forms, what you might gain may be hidden but you will receive what you desire for sure. If an offer sparks feelings in you, the ,,what if ;)” type. DO IT! It’s your soul calling. If you want to advance creativity, learn new skills or gain a little money, you might do it in a different way you anticipated. I sense some workshops or little jobs, it might not be exactly what you thought about when manifesting but it’s like such a cute opportunity to also take some time off. It will be easy and safe to you, in a good way. Your boss or the manager and colleagues will be such great people, you’ll gain so many connections. I hear some teamwork is in order. I feel you will be receiving abundance in the form of what your inner child loved to do. You’ll be connecting to that forgotten side of yourself. I think you are aware of the hobby, but forgotten the potential of it, the joys it can bring you. This can turn out to be first of all an amazing way to connect to yourself, but also a way to gain mental well-being and little side cash. It will offer emotional and physical things, like the joy of creating art and having paintings in your home or selling prints on internet.

I just need to put this out there that it will be something you can connect over with your future significant other too. This shared joy for a hobby is truly pure, healing and sweet. You may even meet through this. Yep they are amazing, but don’t take your focus on romantic validation, you know better. There’s this beautiful saying. If you spend your time chasing butterflies, they'll fly away. If you spend your time making a beautiful garden the butterflies will come to you. And if they don't come, then you still have the beautiful garden.

STAY LOVELY!

★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★

pile 4

I started the reading with bits of confusion and come clumsiness but in a free nonjudgemental chill way if that makes sense? Pfft oops:D anyways … You are the essence of confidence, self acceptance, at least you are perceived that way. You know your needs, you don’t resist when you need a break, you ask and you receive. Great standards, others must accept you like u do. Just like it should be. I am enchanted by your energy and I’m not the only one. This month you’ll keep on shining like you are, taking it to another level. Others will be greatly motivated by your ability to be in total control of your life, caring for your wishes and needs with trust. Main focus this month is advancing your everyday things: style may be the most prominent, also smaller things like a new type of go-to food or coffee you swear by. You’ll have great luck in finding new items for your wardrobe and new ingredients for recipes. So saying yes to going thrifting or buying mysterious exciting things will be rewarding.

Traveling to a neighboring city or country most likely alone. A great refreshment for you. I see you safely wandering in the evening, finding cool bars, cafes, museums, talking and hanging out with strangers but essentially making new friends and learning about people. This is something that really interests you, finding out about different subjects, talking to strangers, learning about different opinions and world views. At the same time, you will also develop your own hobby, photography or filmmaking, writing or doing remote work.

So to sum up, this month is about great curiosity, travelling, charming, communication with new people, developing your style and pursuing a hobby. Life is a grand adventure!

★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★★--★

#tarot #tarot reading #2023 tarot reading #pac #pac reading #pick a card #pick a card reading #pick a pile #pick a photo #pick a picture #tarot card reading #reading #prediction #what you need to hear #advice

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xinyuehui · 1 month

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I don't know if I want to write a massive essay about this, but they missed the whole point with all the characters, especially Ye Wenjie. I'm assuming everyone who said this portrayal is accurate and a raging angry Ye Wenjie is good is because they either never read the book, or non-Chinese, or both. (Or maybe projecting their own views on Maoism). Ye Wenjie received higher education during a time period where it wasn't common for women. She believed in science, she believed in people, but time and time again, the people in her life let her down and never showed any signs of remorse. What I've gathered from the text is that she isn't fuelled by rage, more so she is dead on the inside, she has lost all hope in people. Her decision to reply is not because she wants to destroy, she believes that a civilisation from a higher standpoint could save humans, and this roots in the fact that she is educated. She's not some crazy rage driving women who would ever say "time is a motherfucker", not even a Chinese equivalent.

I'm not sure why the writers decided to write Ye Wenjie and Yang Weining's relationships out of the story...Oh so she is rescued by a white man later on hmm??? (Coincidentally, all the characters driving the plot are also non-Chinese in this). Ye Wenjie marrying Yang Weining and giving birth to Yang Dong gave her a glimpse of light in the life from which she had lost hope. Spending time in Qijiatun also gave her a bit of warmth. When she pushed Yang Weining off the cliff, it marked another significant point, she was calm, cut the rope with no hesitation. She did not care to get herself entangled in romantic affairs. Making her have a child with Evans is laughable. They also dumb down Yang Weining, to the extent that Ye Wenjie had to explain 43+8=51 to him. Mind you, he was a real proper engineer. (Weirdly with all the diversifying, they did not keep a single male Chinese scientist in the main team huh)

Anyways, before I go on a tangent. The writers have fast tracked everything and left out the finer text about the characters in the book. I'm not sure if they missed the point or that nowadays the audience are ruined by fast media, something like the tencent version are simply too slow for the people in the west. Any of my moots and followers who watch cdramas will know that the real good stuff is all in the build-up. It's all the little text that adds up to a fleshed out character. If the culture difference is too much for Netflix, leading them to change all the characters and most of the plot, why not just buy a western ip. There's plenty of good western sci-fi ips.

I can't help but think they want to do this because they wanted to film the scene where Ye Zhetai is beaten to death. Have an excuse to turn Ye Wenjie an angry woman. We all know why. If they really cared about showing a true China during that time, they would have spend some care with the Red Coast details as mentioned above (we did not have screens in 1960s that display Chinese text!!! And definitely no simplified Chinese characters on computers!!!!). Instead of having her snog Bai Mulin off - unrealistic since people were a lot more conserved back then, they would not have done this and it's ooc for Ye Wenjie. Falling in love with Evans - a real blasphemy. I guess the 3 Body Problem here means 3 bodies pounding at each other. Jin-Raj-Will also seem to have their own 3 body problem going on too.

(One last tangent) Ye Wenjie and Yang Dong(Vera) as scientists not believing in god but having monks at her funeral ??????????? Not even a typical normal Chinese funeral will have monks. The stereotype enforcing is real.

#okay i did say im not writing a massive essay in sentence 1 but i got carried away #3 body problem #three body #also changing the game to a mongol background - as if it isnt obv enough what they are trying to do #i cant help but to think that this adaption being bad is what they intended #typical viewer will not care to read the original they'll pass this as bad chinese media and leave a bad impression on china overall

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whispersosoftly · 11 months

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In Defense of Hot Dog Fingers

There is something about EEAAO that makes it fundamentally impossible for me to condense into a manner I feel is concise-yet-informative enough to adequately state my opinion. The movie itself is addressing so many different-yet-important facets of the main character (Evelyn)’s life that to describe one requires the description of them all. This movie is a narrative about parenting, queerness, undiagnosed ADHD, broken families, generational trauma, marriage, failed marriage, and deep depression. It talks, in a very genuine manner, the sensation of being an immigrant, of being out of place both at home and afar. It talks of having to deal with the elder generation in a way that is respectful to the old and the new. Like all things in life, it is messy. It is sharp and brilliant and disorganized. And it is queer.

The Hot Dog Fingers section of EEAAO is one of the most viscerally unnerving portions of fiction I’ve had the pleasure to experience in quite some time. We follow Evelyn’s romance with her IRS agent, Diedre, as they navigate their life together as a lesbian romance in a universe where human beings have hot dogs for fingers. We see a “sex” scene of Evelyn and Diedre ejaculating mustard and ketchup into one another’s mouths. Jamie Lee Curtis (or a body double) play the piano with their toes. It’s a distinct and intentional diversion from the other universes we see Evelyn inhabit, where she is a chef, a singer, a scientist. Here, Evelyn falls in love with a woman. Here, Evelyn has a normal life. Here, Evelyn learns what love means in a way that is alien to both her and the audience.

The Hot Dog Fingers world is, in many ways, representative of Evelyn’s internalized homophobia and her lack of understanding of her daughter’s romance with her girlfriend, Becky. The concept of lesbianism– of lesbian sex, of lesbian romance, can only exist in Evelyn’s world in the same way that humans could evolve to have hot dogs for fingers. It’s a specific, marked moment in the narrative where Evelyn is forced to learn to recognize that love can be unrecognizable.

It can often be easy for parents or adults to assume that a particular perspective or lived experience is the way that things are done. Many times has ‘my parents did it to me, and I turned out fine’ been cited as an excuse for corporal punishment, for the restriction of privileges, or for the deliberate choice to not acknowledge a minor or younger person’s identity. In this narrative, Evelyn is allowed to experience love from outside her wheelhouse, in a manner that would never have been expected or made available to her. Hot Dog Fingers is the reason why Evelyn is able to approach Joy’s relationships with the confidence and knowledge that her daughter is pursuing her happiness, whatever that happiness may mean for her.

The second portion of this essay will concern itself with the sections devoted to being a rock. I feel it has an importance to the narrative as a whole as well as to the cohesion of the film itself. I will approach the cohesion of the film first, as I think it will lend itself toward explaining the narrative.

Some films, most notably to my mind Mad Max: Fury Road, rely on endless, thumping, writhing action. The entire film is set in a broad, open desert. The entire film is a chase sequence. There are no breaks. The rig cannot stop, or the heroes will be caught and likely die. They must reach the place where the mothers sleep. They must reach the end point. They must meet their goal.

Halfway through the film, the illusion of a green sanctuary is shattered, and for about ten to fifteen minutes, there is stillness. The baking sun sets. The rig moves, but the story can breathe. People talk. There is a moment or five to resolve oneself toward the eventual rising action and climax.

This stillness in narrative allows the viewer a moment of rest. One hundred and twenty minutes of constant action is enough to numb a viewer to the spectacle of it all. Movies like the Fast & Furious franchise or Mission Impossible rely on these spectacles to draw in viewership, but without built in narrative pit stops, it’s just a fireworks display of meaningless lights and fire.

The rock segments of EEAAO fulfill that narrative pitstop for the viewer. Almost all sound cease. Almost all movement ceases as well. There is no spoken dialogue, only subtitles that display in clear, large block lettering. EEAAO is relentless in the way that it introduces and supplements new visuals, and the two sections of rock are literal anchoring points that allow the viewer and the characters to breathe and to coalesce into their respective identities.

As a person with ADHD, I often find myself in a life that feels loud. Sounds, sights, sensations all clump and pile onto one another in ways that can be at times frustrating or obstructive. The actual, palpable relief I felt at the first rock sequence allowed me to think through all I’d seen and actually process the narrative. The silence was comforting to me. It literally felt like being put under a blanket and allowed to think during a busy day.

In terms of narrative, this is as close to suicidal ideation as the story toes. Joy wants to stop. Life and everything hurts her! She receives no support from her parents despite being told that they love her. She wants to cease. To be inorganic matter, unable to be hurt. She wants to have a literal, immovable, inviolable distance between herself and her mother. It’s a visual representation of the shattered relationship she has with Evelyn, and of her own measure of despair at ever crossing that gap.

The second use of the rocks is different, because by this point in the narrative, Evelyn can see Joy. Evelyn can see Joy’s pain. Evelyn can see that Joy’s feelings of isolation and of abandonment, while real, are surmountable. Evelyn takes that step and rewrites the world for her daughter. Evelyn looks at all the misunderstanding and trauma heaped onto her by Gong Gong and she says no. I will not do this to my Joy. I will not allow my pain and disappointment to carry on through her.

It feels as though every portion of EEAAO is a bit like a cotton boll, where I can tease and tug and pull at each individual fluff until my little narrative becomes a pile of interconnected thoughts, sensations, and experiences. Evelyn’s life and the multitudinous ways in which that life can be expressed cannot be covered in just these two scenes, but I feel the importance of those scenes vastly outweigh the jarring nature they may have to the viewer.

Thank you for reading. :)

#everything everywhere all at once #EEAAO #Evelyn #Joy #Analysis #hot dog fingers #hey qara look pls

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definitelynotstable · 8 months

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Matching [Ghost x fem!Reader]

AN: My essay is due tomorrow at 5pm and I still haven’t started. I’m really trying my luck here.

Synopsis: You and your Lieutenant manage to get matching wounds. A certain Scottish sergeant finds it amusing. Word count: 930 Warnings: Canon compliant violence, blood, guns, field medicine etc Ghost x fem!reader (callsign Red): No explicit romance but the chemistry is there babes. Veeeeery slight angst but mostly fluff.

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“You’re an idiot,” the Lieutenant gritted out as he tore your pant leg. If you hadn’t been so out of it you might’ve found it hot.

“Save the lecture for later, LT.” You groan as he wraps his belt around your upper thigh, pulling it tight as a makeshift tourniquet. “Suffering enough as is, yeah?”

He mutters something intelligible under his breath, shaking his head as he gives the belt one last tug. You hiss in surprise, batting weakly at his firm grip. He defends himself easily, shoving your arms back against your sides.

“Hold still,” he growls sternly and you still your wriggling. His eyes sharp and hard. No room for argument.

Bullets thud and ricochet off of the crate the Lieutenant has dragged you behind. Happy with the tourniquet, he settles you against the wall, leg stretched out in front of you.

“Stay.”

You scoff at the order but do as he says. Ghost turns his back to you, inching forwards to fire a round back at the hostiles. There’s a yell and a thump. The constant fire ceases. The Lieutenant edges around the crate, gun poised.

“Bravo, this is Ghost. Main atrium is clear.”

“Copy, LT. We heard disturbance through Red’s comms, you seen her?”

You reach for your comms before the Lieutenant has a chance to reply. “I’m with the LT, nothing major, Gaz.”

Ghost scoffs, you glare at him.

“Copy that, Red. Moving in now, LT.”

Ghost nods, hand against his ear. “Copy. We’ll cover you.”

You press your hands against the cool brick behind you, stumbling to your feet. You grab the ACR leaning against the wall next to you, slinging it over your shoulder.

“Think you’ll last, sergeant?” The Lieutenant’s eyes are questioning, watching as you limp over to his side. He’d call EXFIL if you even gave him the slightest indication you couldn’t soldier on.

So you grin, giving the stoic man a clap on the back. “We’ve got a terrorist to catch, LT.”

[][][][][][][][][][]

The Lieutenant’s pace is fast and unwavering. Bodies fall and bullets ping as you clear the hallways of the compound, providing cover for Bravo team who were attempting to secure the HVT.

“On my six, Red.” Ghost barks, sending a round into the second atrium. The room is teaming with hostiles. Your leg throbs with a heartbeat of its own but do as your asked while the Lieutenant readies a flashbang. He lobs it into the room, ducking around the corner to take cover. You step past him, firing a couple of rounds at the flailing hostiles.

A classic stun-’n-gun.

Ghost joins you, providing cover as you together clear the room.

“Bravo this is Red,” you pant in exertion, pressing a gloved finger to your comms, “second atrium is clear, copy?”

“Copy.” Soap’s accent is strong as he responds, “Target acquired, heading to EXFIL now.”

You raise your hand to reply when you catch a movement out of the corner of your eyes, a hostile on the floor fumbles for his gun. Someone barrels into you. Pain flares through your leg you hit the ground. You manage to send a bullet into his skull, the man slumps back, dead.

Ghost groans from where he lies atop you. You grit your teeth, shoving him over. “Christ, LT. Buy a girl a drink first.”

The Lieutenant huffs, clutching at his leg. “Noted.”

You notice the crimson soaking his right thigh, swearing under your breath and ignoring the pain in your own leg, you bat his hands away. Loosing your belt, you work it up his leg; just as he’d done for you earlier.

“Eager to match, hm?” You joke, pulling the belt tight around his upper thigh. Exactly where his own belt sat on your own leg. Ghost doesn’t make a sound but his jaw clenches beneath his mask. The blood flow slows and you sigh.

“Fuckin’ hell.” He breathes, clambering to his feet, “Johnny’ll have a right laugh when he sees us.”

You nod, breathing sharply as you put pressure on your leg. Ghost takes note immediately, kneeling back at your side. He grips the belt around your own thigh, meeting your eyes with a questioning gaze. You bite your lip but give him quick jut of your chin. The Lieutenant gives the make-shift tourniquet a sharp yank and you yelp, grasping his shoulder to prevent yourself from falling over.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, squeezing your calf for a second before dusting off his hands and returning to his feet once again.

“Don’t worry about it, LT,” you assure him with a quick quirk of your lips, “matching, remember?”

[][][][][][][][][][]

Soap’s guffaw as he spots you both stumble towards the heli is music to your ears.

“Now this’ll be a good story,” he chortles, racing over with Gaz who wraps an arm behind your back. Soap deposits Ghost in the seat opposite you, kneeling at the Lieutenant’s side as Gaz kneels at yours - a medkit open beside them.

You sigh, resting your head against the rattling metal of the chopper as it starts its ascent. Your tired eyes meet Ghost’s, his cobalt irises twinkling. The Lieutenant pulls his mask up slightly, revealing his smirking mouth.

“Told you,” He mouths before yanking it back down, mirroring you and leaning back as Soap cuts away at his pant leg.

You roll your eyes but can’t stop the tired smile from settling over your lips.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Masterlist

#ghost mw2 #ghost x you #ghost x reader #ghost cod #kyle gaz garrick #simon riley #cod mw2 #141 x reader #captain john price #task force 141 #cod 141 #call of duty #mw2 #ghost call of duty #simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley x reader #cod fluff #fluff

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plentyoffandoms · 9 months

Text

White (Part 5)

wearer will flash what they have

Gwi-nam x f/Reader

Main Masterlist ♡ All Of Us Are Dead Masterlist ♡ Yoon Gwi-nam Masterlist ♡ Jelly Bracelets Masterlist

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy.

Warnings: Some swearing. Mentions jerking off, but nothing descriptive. The use of the word slut.

Am I late to this fandom? Oh hell, yes, but the show was so good.

Gifs and photos do not belong to me. 1st gif @dramastream 2nd gif @soledadytorturainfinita

YN'S POV:

I could hardly focus in science as my mind kept replaying what happened earlier. I tried not to think about how he felt against me as I moved my hips.

His words are playing back over and over again as I tried to take down proper notes for the upcoming test.

"Just like that pretty girl. Fuck, you are soaking me."

As I leave the science room with my friends, I can feel how sticky my thighs are. I try to think of anything that would help calm me down, but I see Gwi-nam leaning against a set of lockers.

He is laughing at something that Myeong-hwan must have said, and I can just make out bits of their conversation as I went by.

Talking about some party that is being thrown tonight. I have no urge to go as I am not one for parties, but Jang-Mi and Sun-Hee have been talking nonstop about this party.

Apparently, Myeong-hwan throws some of the best parties around. No one misses it, and if you do, you may be the next person that gets put on their radar. The cops get called, but they never show up.

"Why is that?" I asked the two of them.

"His Dad is the Chief." I was told. That makes sense on why they don't come when they are called.

I went to my next class and I had to pay attention in class this time. Mr Hak decided to do a pop quiz today.

I finished early, and we were allowed to leave so as not to disturb the other kids who were still taking the test.

I went to my locker to change out books for my upcoming classes, when I saw my underwear that I gave to Gwi-nam, folded as neatly as he could do, on top of my books.

I grabbed them and noticed that there was a fresh stain on them. I looked at them, wondering what the hell it was when I remembered he didn't finish earlier. He told me that he was fine.

I felt my pussy clench at the thought of him jerking himself off into them. I wonder what else he did with them?

But I hid them in my pocket and grabbed the books I needed for this afternoons class. I went to the washroom and put on the panties.

What the hell has he done to me? Just a few weeks ago, the thought of this would have grossed me out, but not today.

◆

The day is finally over. The school week is done, but I needed to go to the library before I head home. I still haven't picked a topic for my history essay, and one of the stimulations is that the book must be from the school library.

As I was browsing the history section, I could hear the few students that were still here, leaving. I didn't pay them any mind, but did find it odd that every single one of them left at the same time.

I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't have time to turn around to see who it was as they slammed both of their hands against the shelves on either side of my head.

I felt their breath on my neck and was starting to panic when I heard him say my name. "YN, did you like my gift I left for you in your locker?" He asked me as I turned around.

"Yes. I see you added to it as well." Our faces were extremely close. "Yeah, I figured you like that." I felt my body heat up at that, and I have no idea why.

"What did you do with them, may I ask? Throw them away?" I shook my head no, which he gave me a surprised look.

"No? Then what did you do with them?"

I was going to tell him but then I had a better idea. I held up my arm.

Gwi-nam's POV

I watched as she held up her arm, and all she said was, "White." Okay, I tried to rack my brain to remember what the White one meant.

Wearer will flash what they have.

I quickly snapped the white one off her arm and placed it in my pocket with the other ones.

"Either step back or get on your knees, Gwi-nam."

I got on my knees, letting her feel like she was in charge of this whole thing for once.

"Next time you're on your knees for me, pretty girl." I said to her as I placed my hands on the hem of her skirt and bunched it over her hips.

I groaned loudly, not caring if anyone heard me. She was wearing the panties I jerked off into earlier.

She didn't try to clean them, I could see my cum stain clear as day. "Fuck me, who knew you were such a filthy slut YN."

"You want to know what I was thinking about when I did this?" She nodded her head shyly but looked away when I stood up. I let her skirt fall back into place as I gripped her chin to look at me.

"The same position we were in this morning, but nothing in our way. You bouncing on my cock, me choking you as I make you cum. That tight fucking pussy milking me dry as I cum deep inside of you. But what finished me was the thought of me finishing down your throat as you looked tearfully up at me."

"Gwi-nam," She breathed out my name before I crashed my mouth against hers in the most heated kiss we've had.

Her arms wrapped around my neck as she pulled me closer to her. My own hands were making their way down her back to grip her ass once more.

But then there was a throat clearing not far from us. I groaned as I pulled away and looked to see the librarian bitch looking at us with disapproving looks.

"Leave before I write you up." Was all she said. She probably wanted her day to be done and over with and didn't want to write up a report on us.

"I'll see you at the party tonight." I said to her before I left her standing there to deal with the librarian on her own.

Glittery Purple (Part 4) ♧ Purple (Part 6 )

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iamthecomet · 4 months

Note

Okay. Headcanons. Bear with me (I'm really high ily)

(COMING BACK FROM THE FUTURE TO SAY THIS GETS TURNED INTO OMEGA ANGST IDK LMAO))))

Ghouls.

What are they? In this essay,

I hc them as lower-level service creatures when they're Below more than anything else, at least the ones contracted to the family Emeritus. As such, they have no elemental alignment when they're down there. They have more of a...passive compatability, let's say, with every element. Their main alignment is assigned upon summoning. (Multi/hybrid ghouls are a lot more common than a lot of people think, but majority of them can only truly channel one of their elements.) Because of this, no Papa is ever quite sure what he's going to get when he summons a new ghoul.

Except, of course, for his very first summoning.

Every Papa, from the beginning, has first summoned a quintessence ghoul. They act as a metaphysical link between realms, Above and Below. A direct line of communication to Lucifer's court itself, so their Dark Lord can check in and make sure his Word is being spread.

In my head, the breakdown is (summoner->ghoul):

Nihil->Special

Primo->Omega

Secondo->Aether

Terzo->Cowbell

Copia->Aeon

The quintessence ghouls are deeply connected to their summoners, tend to attach themselves at the hip to their respective Papa for the first few months of their time Above. Even when power shifts - like when Omega started reporting to Secondo instead of Primo, or when Aether took over in the middle of all the upheaval - they remain close and loyal to their summoning Papa. Always reporting back with news of goings-on around the abbey, even long after their bodies are entombed.

Omega is, perhaps, the biggest exception to that rule.

When Primo was alive they would eat lunch together every day. Since his death, though, Omega has only been back to see him...well, not enough times, he's sure. Not that the old man is alone, Omega has seen Mountain visit him on a regular basis, but he really should be better about it.

Because look, it's not like Omega had planned to have Terzo get all smitten with him. Being the right hand of the eldest brother Emeritus had come with exposure to the family, though, and Omega knew from the moment he saw Cardinal Terzo that he was done for. It had taken exactly one midnight mass for Terzo to corner him in a confessional booth, to taste sin and humanity on his lips, and, well, that was that.

So, every evening, he visits Terzo in his black marble mausoleum. Accented in gold and rich purple, lit by eternal candlelight courtesy of the fire ghouls. He tells him about his day, reads a book out loud, or sometimes sings. Just breathes a little life into the space. Just for an hour or two, after his shift in the infirmary. He used to stay longer, but he's so tired these days.

He knows why. Knows why there's new streaks of white in his jet black hair, and why his horns are starting to crack. He can feel it in his bones, his vessel starting to give. He's seen it before, of course. Many ghouls before him have passed like this. It just feels too soon, like he should have more time.

Some part of him, though, feels grateful. Especially when he visits Terzo. When he can lay a hand on that glass casket and imagine he's touching his face instead.

Omega knows that he's down there, Below. He's known it for years, since the day Special shoved that needle into his throat. He felt it in his chest, like a little ball of ice caught between the valves of his heart. He knows he's down there, knows he's waiting - or perhaps that's more of a hope - for Omega to join him again. The family Emeritus is well cared for downstairs, kept happy. Omega still gets regular status reports long after Aether and Aeon come to be, and selfishly he hopes that will earn him some sway. That it won't have to be a fight to see Terzo's handsome face again, his sparkling eyes and cheesy grin. That all it'll take is a few choice words for Omega to have him again.

He supposes he'll find out soon enough.

.........anyway this was supposed to be about why I think the ghouls should be able to have sick magickal powers but HAVE THAT I GUESS

MIASMA. MIASMA I LOVE YOU AND YOUR BRAIN. I'm not going to add anything to this because it is beautiful and sad and you all just need to read and appreciate it as it is because AHHHHHHH and WAHHHHHH. Oh, Omega. I'M SO GLAD YOU SHARED THIS WITH ME. but also yes, ghouls should be able to have SICK MAGICKAL POWERS.

#comet canons #nameless ghoul headcanons #ghost headcanons #omega ghoul #angst #miasma ♥

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twinkrundgren · 8 days

Text

a weeks worth of work... for a show i love to hate, and hate to love.

over the course of getting stockholmed into enjoying the setting of hazbin hotel, i ended up liking angel dust the most. even if he's an annoying gay stereotype with the most cliche'd backstory possible, at its heart i still like him and see potential for a three dimensional character if he was just written better. i think he's a fan favorite for a reason, despite his cliches: he's charismatic, funny, and pathetic with probably the only backstory taken seriously by the story.

he's also the only one to go through real character development in a breezy 8 episodes, being probably the only upstanding member of the hazbin hotel by the end of season 1 but my critiques on pacing and writing are better left to my friend robin who's a lot better versed in analysing *why* hazbin's writing is so bad.

anyway, here's a portfolio-worthy turnaround of my angel dust redesign. a lot of it was just making him more spider like, for the most part aside from all the random spots on his body i think his design is pretty well done but it could be stockholm again. read more cause its an essay on all the design choices i made

one of the main things i did was flesh out his head shape: for a long time angel dust's head shape felt like the worst of drawing for 2d, his hair and tufts are so entirely cheated to the side no matter the angle that it was impossible to understand what he'd look like at every angle, so i simplified it to a half circle shape where his big hair tuft is just overlayed on top, cheated to the side no matter the angle unless he's looking up/down, where i drew what i think those angles would look like.

he also now has spider fangs at the sides of his mouth, with one gold to match valentino's gold tooth. since spiders don't have teeth, he doesn't either, but can be drawn with some if the expression needs it (though i noticed that stolas is never drawn with teeth no matter his expression, so maybe that's not needed.)

instead of a bowtie he has a choker with a cock ring on it. you know what its referencing.

the spider thorax is attached a bit higher up than a tail would be, not only because of actual spider anatomy but to give him enough room to get dirty as his career requires him to do. it can flip up as well, i imagine its very manipulable.

leg designs were mostly to specify the sort of rhythm and curving i want his legs to work at. it's not perfect, but i think if someone was drawing from this reference they'd have a good understanding of how i want his legs to be drawn. they're one of my favorite aspects of his design and i think specifying how they'd bend is very important.

fun fact: i thought i made his legs too long, but comparatively to the canonical design he's a LOT more leggy. i even think you could get away with giving him more leg and the design still feels proportional.

#hazbin hotel redesign #angel dust redesign

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