#if it’s not on prime disney or netflix it doesn’t count

[planetaryacceleration]

house md is on peacock babe

i’m just a girl without sky or now 😞

[daydreamersana]

Tabnova Digital Rights Management Solutions

The advent of smart mobile devices has brought in increased consumption of media – be it video, audio, or images – by the masses. Digital viewership has increased exponentially within a matter of years. A report released by Statista stated that by 2023, the number of digital viewers will have increased to 3.1 billion, which is a significant leap from the earlier reported 2.6 billion in 2019.

As viewership increases, the number of digital platforms catering to the demand is also growing by leaps and bounds. Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Apple TV, etc. are some of the popular ones, alongside lesser-known regional platforms.

But with such access and exposure to content, media piracy issues have been rampant. Media security is constantly fighting against unauthorized streaming, taking a strain on the entertainment industry’s revenue.

But this shouldn’t be a pressing concern for you if you enforce proper DRM solutions for your media protection. Tabnova’s Digital Rights Management solutions exist to save your media from being illegally exploited.

You might be wondering how DRM can help save videos. Read on to know more about the best Digital Rights Management solution one can buy.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

Tabnova DRM Solution is a software that ensures any content that you put out will be accessible to only those people who are authorised for viewership. This way, there is minimal chance of your content being illegally manipulated. Tabnova’s video DRM software can be used to list your content to a user that you approve, and you even get the ability to control the browser or devices through which they take in your content.

The majority of videos that are uploaded online are encrypted to prevent illegal manipulation, however, the decryption key for the video is often easily got. But with a DRM solution, your encryption keys are so well hidden that only those who are authorised by you will be able to access them. This way, you gain the upper hand over any potential hacker or download tools.

It doesn’t matter what content you put forth, whether video, karaoke, audio, eBooks, games, etc. Whatever the content, a DRM Solution is fully capable of protecting it from piracy.

𝐃𝐑𝐌-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬

DRM-protected basically denotes that the ascribed digital content has restrictions on its usage. Any digital content that is protected with a set of rules through a DRM Solution to prevent unauthorised access will be considered as DRM-Protected content.

Mostly DRM restrictions are against illegally downloading or streaming or making a copy of digital content. Additionally, you can set the count for how many times your content can be accessed by a user, or even on a mobile device on which the content is viewed. The DRM restrictions that you set can be a simple set of rules or a complex batch, according to the level of security that you require for your content.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐑𝐌-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤

Video encryption is when you encode your video into a non-video format that is secure. This prevents unauthorised access to your raw video files. If anyone tries to access the file, all they will get is a load of random gibberish on an encrypted file.

The advantage here is that the encryption can never be broken and can only be unlocked with a decryption key. However, the disadvantage is the weak encryption key exchange. Due to this weakness, encryption keys can be accessed by a potential hacker and used to access your encrypted file. Although this is not possible for a layman to undertake, anyone with a technical understanding of video encryption and keys can work around this system.

This weakness is exactly what DRM solution takes care of. Once DRM-protected, your encryption keys are hidden and nigh accessible by anyone unauthorised. The DRM software encrypts the video and hides the key in a Blackbox or CDM.

There are different DRM solutions that can be employed based on your requirement. The difference lies in the different devices and browsers that are used to host the content. Let’s take a look at some of them”

1. Google Wide vine DRM Solution: It is compatible with Desktop/Laptop (Windows, Mac, Linux) Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Android Chrome, Edge, Android TV, Android TV, Chromecast.

2. Apple Fair play DRM Solution: For Mac Safari, IOS Safari, IOS App

3. Microsoft PlayReady DRM solution: Compatible with Edge in Windows. But since Windows Edge is also supported by Google Wide vine, PlayReady need not be employed.

𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐑𝐌 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

While we talked about how DRM-protected content can be saved from piracy, that’s not the only advantage that we have. Here are some of the benefits of having your content protected through DRM solutions.

1. Encrypted DRM prevents your content from being downloaded through any download tools, or third-party apps.

2. DRM Protection ensures the content, especially videos, are protected from being streamed illegally to another platform or device.

3. Blocks Screen Capture: One way to bypass download blocks is to record videos through screen recording. With the proper DRM solutions in place, any type of screen capture is prevented on the device.

4. Dynamic Watermarking: Dynamic watermarking discourages any screen capture attempt since one can add IP addresses, Email-ID, User-Id, etc. to the screen. With such additions, you can find out the source of video piracy.

5. Time-Based, Geographical, & IP-Based Restrictions: You can block access to video and restrict viewership based on the location of the device, time of viewing, and any particular IP address. Additionally, you can restrict and control the total video playtime by a user.

The encryption keys that are placed in a CDM (Content Decryption Module) cannot be accessed by you, even though the CDM may be on your device. This is to protect the encryption keys. The only way to access the protected content is through Encrypted Media Extensions (EMEs) that are delivered through the video DRM system.

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[jobean12-blog]

Hello! I hope you having a great day!!❤️✨

Prompt: the reader is not feeling right these days, but tries to hide it from the others not to worry them. But one day, Bucky, who’s being the best man in the world, notice your hands are slightly trembling.

(I just desperately need Bucky’s comfort..!)

Thank you💕

You Are Not Alone

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word Count: 925

Summary: You need some comfort and Bucky is there for you, always.

Author's Note: Hi my love. Thank you for this request and thank you for your patience with it. I really hope you are doing well and you enjoy this! Sending you love and hugs! Thank you all so very much for reading! Much love always! ❤❤❤Divider by the lovely @imerdwarf

Warnings: soft and sweet Bucky, the reader is not feeling their best but Bucky saves the day.

Gif not mine: Thank you so much to @august-walker for this beautiful gif

You poke your head around the wall and check the kitchen. Thankfully, no one is there so you tip toe to the fridge and pull it open, searching the contents but sighing when nothing looks good. You’re hungry but you don’t know what you want to eat, you’re tired but you can’t sleep and at this point you’ve read the same paragraph 5 times in your book.

Slamming the fridge door shut you open the cabinet and pull out a bag of chips, cringing when it slips from your hands and crinkles loudly. You stand still hoping you didn’t wake anyone and wait. There is no sound other than your rapid breathing so you let your shoulders relax and think about a drink.

Once your tea is made and you have a large bowl of chips you head to the couch and grab the TV remote. You turn it on and surf Netflix, finding nothing worth watching before switching to Amazon prime.

With a defeated huff you try Disney Plus as a last resort and settle on Wall-e. You’re picking at the chips, mindlessly crushing them into smaller pieces between your fingers when you feel a pair of eyes on you. You look toward the kitchen and see Bucky leaning over the counter, his eyes soft as he gives you a little wave.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you doll,” he says quietly.

You shake your head no and burrow deeper into the couch. Bucky walks over and looks at your empty teacup.

“Would you like more tea?” he asks. “I’m going to make some for myself.”

“Thank you, that would be nice,” you reply, reaching over to grab the cup.

You lift it and do your best to stop the tremble in your hands but Bucky notices, wrapping his fingers around yours and giving you a squeeze.

“I got it doll,” he says, so softly you almost don’t hear him. “I’ll be right back ok?”

You nod and stick your hands under the blanket, wringing them together nervously. Bucky returns a few minutes later with two steaming cups of tea and a reassuring smile.

“Mind if I sit?” he asks, before placing the cups down.

“Not at all,” you tell him, shifting over to make room.

He takes a seat and fixes the blanket over your lap, gently rubbing your arm.

“I like this movie,” he starts. “I think Wall-e and Eve are really cute. And that little cockroach makes me laugh.”

“Me too, he’s so cute for a cockroach!”

“What’s your favorite thing Wall-e collects?” he asks you, bumping his shoulder into yours.

You scrunch your face up in thought, humming until you belt out, “the video tape of the couple dancing! It’s so romantic.”

“Yea I like that too but I love when he finds the spork and he doesn’t know where to put it!” he laughs.

You laugh with him, feeling some of the tension seep out of you. You lean into Bucky’s warmth and he throws a comforting arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer. You watch the rest of the movie, commenting on the parts you love and getting emotional at the ending.

When the first tear rolls down your cheek Bucky immediately sits up and wipes it away with his thumb.

“Aw baby girl. It’s ok,” he says, rubbing your back.

Between the movie and his sweetness, you let down your wall and start to cry. Bucky doesn’t say a word and instead pulls you into his lap and wraps you in his arms. When your tears start to dry and your breathing becomes more even Bucy takes the sleeve of his Henley and gently wipes at your face and nose.

“I think I just got snot all over your shirt,” you sniffle.

He laughs and it makes you smile. “I don’t care at all doll face. I can wash it.”

You dip your head into the crook of his neck and play with the buttons at the top of his shirt.

“Thanks for sitting with me. I needed this,” you whisper.

He takes your hand and flattens it against his chest, covering it with his own.

“I know you did,” he answers softly. “I knew something wasn’t right a couple of days ago but I didn’t want to push. And I still don’t but if you need to talk or need me for anything, I’m here. Ok?”

“Will you come hold me until I fall asleep?” you ask him.

With a kiss to your forehead, he lifts you into his arms and starts walking to your room. He places you back on your feet and shuts the door. He gets into the bed and holds the covers up for you. You slide in and snuggle up against his chest, his arm curling around your middle.

“Thank you,” you mumble into his shirt, discreetly giving it a sniff.

“Did you just smell my shirt?” he asks with a laugh.

“Mayyyyybe…. but you smell nice if that makes it any better.”

He laughs again and drops his head to your neck, giving you a sniff. “So do you.”

You giggle and let yourself relax into him, quickly drifting off into a peaceful sleep. You wake up and feel the hard press of his chest to your back and the strength of his arm still wrapped around you, but you’re still groggy from sleep, thinking it must still be nighttime.

His hand slides down your arm and his fingers curl around yours, giving them a gentle squeeze.

“Morning baby doll.”

[xmcu-fietro]

Peter Maximoff fandom activity ideas

a follow-up for this post

Typing a decent amount of this after my brain is fried from moving so if this doesn’t make any sense please tell me xD I’m sorry this post is so long, but I’m too tired to properly go through and condense it any more.

Here’s some ideas for things the Peter Maximoff corner of tumblr can do for fun :) none of this is set in stone, so if you have any ideas to add please reblog with them! And feedback is needed to know what ideas should actually be used, so if you have a preference for/against any of these ideas please say something!

Ideas:

Some kind of fanfic writing accountability network where those of us that write fics can set deadlines or word count goals and help each other stay on track with consistent writing (can also work for other types of fanworks)

Watching xmen movies (or other Evan projects) together

collecting/posting recommendations for fan works (fics, art, etc)

Different days for specific topics (like a Fix-It Friday where we talk/write about how we’d change things that happened in canon, whether it’s adding Peter to an established story (like seeing how he’d fit into MoM) or fixing plot points that did happen–most common example is ralph, obviously, but there can be other things too)

2x a month (every other week) challenges or exchanges

The main idea right now in terms of boosting fanwork creation is to use Pacemaker to create fanworks every other week (with those weeks being for specific fanwork categories). What I mean by “categories” is that there would be one week for writing (headcanons, fics, analysis, essays, etc), the second week as a break (or to work on things for the third week), the third week for art (any kind), and the fourth week the same as the second (just leading into the writing week, starting the cycle over again for the next month). People could do any week(s) that they want and would post their content on the Saturday of the week designated for their type of fanwork. The weeks could also have prompts so that everyone is creating something based around a certain theme/genre/dialogue prompt. Of course, you aren’t required to participate, and this “schedule” is more for the sake of having some kind of general routine to help people create more consistently if they would like.

For example—If I wanted to do the writing week, I could spend the other three weeks of the month working on my writing. I would track it by using Pacemaker’s challenge feature, which everyone writing can use (if they would like) so we’re able to see where we’re at and can encourage each other to create. Then at the very end of the writing-themed week, I (as well as anyone else participating) would post what I’ve made (probably on ao3 with a tumblr post linking to it). 

Also important to note: @fouralignments and I came up with the fanwork schedule because we both like to have a certain level of structure/routine, but we don’t want this to feel strict or stressful! If this sounds more like homework than fun, or if you have suggestions for how this can feel more enjoyable to participate in, please tell us!

Beyond that idea for fanworks, there’s a few options for some of the other ideas I listed, like streaming. Some options include:

Scener

google chrome extension for apps like Netflix/Amazon Prime/Disney+ etc

Chat feature

Cons: limited to ten people

Twoseven

Website for watch parties (through chrome or Firefox extension)

unlimited amount of people allowed

Cons: doesn’t allow Disney+/Hulu unless you upgrade to premium

Watch2gether

Works on any browser

One person creates a room and anyone can copy/paste content links for everyone to watch in-sync

Cons: everyone watching has to rent/purchase movie for it to work since it’s not one person streaming

All of that to say—if you’ve got more ideas to add, or if there’s anything here you’d like to do, please say something! I think this has potential to be a fun way for fans to connect and keep the fandom alive with more content :)

[wandanatfluff]

A dream come true

Short series Fluff

This is part of a series. I highly recommend reading Seven words first.

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Female Reader

Summary: Natasha and Y/n go and visit Melina, Yelena and Alexei, Natasha’s parents and sister. Something unexpected happens. (This takes place about 7,5 months after Seven words, meaning the reader is now about 8,5 months pregnant.) No spoilers!

Warnings: Description of giving birth (nothing bloody or too detailed though)

Word count: 2.2 K

A/n: Part two!

Natasha parks the car on the small farm and you let out a heavy sigh as you feel the baby kick, earning you a worried look from your wife.

“You sure you feel good enough?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine, just a firm kick.”

You give Natasha a reassuring smile, allowing her to relax a bit. You move your hand to the doorhandle and open it, you wait for your wife to round the car, so she can help you to get out of the car. You’re almost nine months pregnant by now, which means your bump has grown quite big. Natasha holds her arm around your waist as the two of you walk to the door. Melina immediately answers the door, before Natasha could even ring the doorbell.

“If that isn’t my favorite daughter in law!”

“Привет. Как поживает моя любимая свекровь” (Hello. How is my favorite mother-in-law doing?) You say to Melina in your best Russian. “Ну, кто-то практиковал свой русский.” (Well, someone has been practicing their Russian.)

“Yeah, I got kinda sick of doing nothing. Natasha didn’t even let me walk to the grocery store.”

“Ho, stop. Don’t go there, I was just following the doctor’s orders.” Natasha says as the two of you enter the house.

“I know baby. I’m sorry.” You say, giving her a kiss on her cheek. Natasha takes your coat off your shoulders and hangs it on a hook. You smile at her. You suddenly get a little light headed, reaching for Natasha’s arms. She holds on to you tight, letting you lean on her until you’re feeling well again.

“You guys can sit on the couch. I’ll get you something to drink.” Melina walks to the kitchen and comes back with a glass of water. Natasha sits down sideways on the couch with her legs slightly apart, so you can sit between them, opening her arms. Gratefully you rest your back against her front. You take the glass of water Melina hands you and take a few sips, before handing it to Natasha, who puts it on the side table.

“Sorry about back there. I am really thankful for everything you do. I know I have been quite the pain in the ass lately.”

“What? No baby, you’re no pain in my ass. I love taking care of you, especially when you’re nauseous, sick and throwing up all over my new clothes… It’s cute.” Natasha says with a playful smirk on her face.

“Come on Tash, really? I’ve told you I’m sorry a hundred times.” You whine, putting your head in your neck, so you can see Natasha. She gives you a kiss on the tip of your nose.

“I guess you’ll just have to buy me a new one.” She chuckles, giving you another kiss. You move your eyes forward again, letting your head rest on Natasha’s chest as you close your eyes.

You begin to doze off, when a loud voice startles you awake. You quickly sit up straight, the action causing you to collide with Natasha’s chin, which was resting on your head. After you apologize to Natasha, you look at the source of the noise. Alexei is standing in the doorway, speaking loudly.

“Y/n!”

He walks over to you, pulling you into a tight hug. You gasp for breath as he nearly squeezes you.

“Alexei! Careful, you’re smushing her and the baby.”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot.” Alexei quickly steps away, his face turning slightly red.

“It’s okay. Good to see you too, you smile at him. You then look back at your wife’s scared expression. You reassure her you’re okay, before leaning back again. You make some small talk with Melina and Alexei about the Avengers and about how the farm is doing. You talk about the pigs, the chickens and the new horse they recently bought.

Around five o’clock Yelena comes in. It had started to rain just after you and Natasha had arrived and the blonde entered the house, soaking wet. Melina handed Yelena a small towel and when she was mostly dry again, she greeted you and Natasha.

“Hey sis and her preggy wife.”

“Hey Yel.” You both greet her and she carefully gives you a hug.

“How are the two of you doing?” She asks you.

“We’re doin-” Nat starts.

“No, not you Nat. Y/n and the little guy.” Yelena interrupts Nat. You frown at her words. You slowly turn your head to Nat, to see her looking at Yelena with an angry face.

“Yelena.” Nat exclaims annoyed.

“It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“It doesn’t matter, Nat. I’m sure Melina and Alexei can keep it a secret for the next two weeks or so.”

“Wait! You’re 8,5 months already?” Yelena interrupts you. Shouldn’t you be at home, resting?”

“That’s what I have done for the last few months. I’ve got enough sleep for a lifetime, read every book in the bookcase and watched every film on Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+. So I got a little bored, you know?” "Yeah... of course."

After you talked for another hour or so and Melina finished cooking, you all ate together. Although the food was delicious, you only ate a small amount, earning yourself a few concerned looks from Natasha. You felt her hand on yours as she softly whispered something.

“You okay, honey?”

You hummed in a response.

“I’m just a little tired I guess.” Natasha nodded and after desert she stood up, announcing your departure. You felt Melina’s eyes on you.

“Are you sure honey? You can sleep here if you want. It’s quite a long way home. Yelena is staying over too. You and Nat can have the spare room, you just have to refresh the sheets. Yelena can sleep on the couch.”

“I’m sorr-” Yelena protested, but one look from Melina and she nodded her head.

“I actually think that we would rather sleep in our ow-” Natasha was about to reject the offer, but you pulled her sleeve, stopping her from finishing.

“Actually, we would really appreciate that. Thank you, Melina.”

“You walked your pregnant body down the hall slowly, taking forever. Natasha came after you, supporting you.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”

“I’m really tired Tash and the weather outside is only getting worse. I don’t want us to have to stop halfway the ride, or worse, crash against a tree.”

“Yeah, me neither. Let’s get you to bed.”

Natasha helped you get to bed. She brushed your hair and made the bed, while you sat on the chair. You nearly dozed off and you were almost asleep when you felt Natasha pick you up bridal style, carrying you to the bed. You didn’t protest, you were too tired. You laid your head against Natasha’s shoulder as she let you down on the bed. She gently put the sheets over you. You put one arm above the sheets, laying it over your belly protectively. Natasha gave you a sweet kiss on your forehead and walked to the bathroom. You relaxed your body, ready to fall asleep, when you felt Natasha getting under the blankets behind you, wrapping her arm around you, her hand covering yours on your belly. You gave in to her warmth for a moment before saying:

“Tasha baby, you don’t have to go to bed too just because I’m tired.”

“But…” She protested.

“No baby, get out of bed. I can fall asleep on my own fine.” You felt a kiss on the back of your head, before Natasha got out of bed.

“Sleep well baby.” She whispered, before quietly closing the door.

*** Ow

You opened your eyes, half-awake as you felt a wave of pain going through your body. You put both hands on your belly, the source of the pain. The pain slowly faded as you were still hugging your own body. You took a few minutes to fully wake up. You turned around, reaching out to Natasha. She wasn’t next to you.

“Hey babe.” You heard her voice, you looked up at her. She was sitting in a chair, reading a book. She stood up from her chair, walking to you.

“What’s wrong.” You were about to answer her, when another wave of pain hit you and you curled up in pain. Natasha’s eyes widened.

“Is- is it time?” You nodded as you puffed away the pain.

“Yes… I think… so.” Natasha’s eyes widened even further. Her demeanor suddenly changed. She couldn’t panic right now. You needed her.

“What can I do?”

“Get Melina.” You answered. Melina rushed to your room. She sat down next to you. Her hand on your back. She spoke to you softly.

“When the next contractions hits, I will measure the time between them. All you have to do is puff them away. You probably learned that at delivery training, right? You nod. Another contraction hits. Melina looks at her watch, puffing with you. A minute goes by and the contraction ends. You relax your body and look up at Natasha, who is standing in front of you like a statue, with a pale face. Melina looks at Natasha too and as soon as she sees her daughter, she orders her to sit down.

“Sit down, Natasha. We don’t need for you to faint.”

Natasha listens to Melina’s orders and sits down on a chair.

Ten minutes go by before another contraction hits you, forcing a cry to leave your throat. You feel a wet pool forming between your legs and you grab Melina’s arm.

“I think… my water broke.”

The contraction ends and Melina helps you to get up from the bed. You stand next to the bed, leaning on Natasha, who has stood up from her chair. Melina quickly pulls the sheets off the bed, throwing them in the corner of the room.

“Stay here for a minute. If she has another contraction, puff with her until it ends and measure the time between them.”

Melina leaves the room, going to her own room.

“Wake up Alexei.”

“I’m already awake.” He grumbles.

“Some idiot decided it would be a good idea to scream and-”

“Y/n’s in labor, now get out of your bed and put a pan with water on the stove.” Alexei quickly gets out of his bed, rushing to the kitchen. Not intending to be anywhere near you when you give birth to your son. Melina quickly gets some towels from her closet, laying them on the bed, before heading back to your room. She enters the room as another contraction makes its way through your body. Melina orders Natasha to carry you to her room.

Natasha picks you up bridal style and you hold on to her tight, your screams muffled into her shirt. She lays you down on Melina’s bed and carefully helps you undress you lower body. You make yourself as ‘comfortable’ as possible, letting your back rest against some pillows as Melina stand at the end of the bed between your legs. She tells you it’s time to push and you hold on tight to Natasha’s hand, almost squeezing it.

*** Melina carefully hands you the little guy, after she cleaned him with the water Alexei warmed and wrapped him in a light blue blanket. With tears staining your cheeks, you take him and press him against your chest. After you give the little guy a kiss you look to your left, at Natasha.

Her eyes are red from crying, her chest moving up and down quickly. You give her the little boy. With shaking hands, she takes him from your hands, afraid she’ll drop him. He’s the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. More tears start to fall.

It warms your heart, looking at your wife with your son. She is crying, but you know they’re happy tears. Her dream of being a mother finally came true. The two of you had a son. You knew she would be the best mother ever as she looked up at you, her eyes full of love.

You gesture her to sit down next to you and you wrap her and your son in your arms. Nat lays her head against your chest.

“What do you think of James? After Bucky?” Nat suggests.

“James.” You repeat “James Romanoff. Perfect.”

“Romanoff?” Natasha asks, looking up to meet your eyes.

“Romanoff. After his mom.”

A/n: When it says ‘your son’, ‘your’ is in plural, like Y/n’s and Natasha’s son.

[1kook]

hulu & woohoo

summary: But there’s more important matters to attend to than Jungkook’s Jersey Shore boner. warnings: slight feelings of insecurity, smut; fingering, cunnilingus, cum eating, squirting, handjobs, unprotected, riding, slight praise kink misc: if you’re not a Jersey shore fan honestly GET OUT, mentions of capitalism😡, more kind/understanding kook, basically a “what are we?” fic but silly, irresponsible emailing habits, its so dumb just read wc: 6.3k

[ this is a sequel to netflix & chill !! ]

started off silly then I was like 😳what if we sprinkled in a dilemma™️😳 anyway here’s the kook i imagined for this fic <3

Contrary to popular belief, Jungkook does in fact have his own paid subscription to Netflix. He doesn’t ride on his family account anymore, nor does he swindle his friends into sharing their passwords ‘just once.’ Just like everything else about his mature persona, Jungkook is adamant on paying those ten and something dollars for the streaming platform.

However, his fall into capitalism doesn’t end there.

Among other things, Jungkook also pays for Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, HBO, as well as a couple indie stuff you’ve never heard of in all your years. He’s a bigger nerd than you originally thought, with an incessant need to watch every single piece of media available.

Frankly, you don’t see the need to own so many different streaming services, especially not when pirating websites exist and you could so easily watch Jersey Shore for free, if you’re not too concerned with infecting your laptop with every software virus known to humankind. Luckily for you, your app developer boo with his—admittedly tiny—knowledge in computers can iron out those issues for you.

It’s moments like these, Jungkook fiddling with the internal system settings of your laptop to the best of his abilities, that you find yourself grateful for having met Jungkook, and even if it’s been a little over two months now and he still hasn’t popped the question (“Will you be my girlfriend?”), you’d still kiss him silly.

He sighs for the umpteenth time, rubbing his eyes as he stares at the same system warning on the screen. “Babe, just pay the six bucks for Hulu and you can watch all the Jersey Shore episodes you want,” he says, leaning back in his chair as he stares at you from across the dining table.

You scoff, almost scandalized by his suggestion. “You think I have the resources to hand over six bucks every month?” You abandon your homework in front of you, the one you had so dutifully been working on before your computer was flooded with about a thousand Hot Moms in YOUR Area! notifications before abruptly shutting down. “Buddy, that's lunch at Starbucks.”

Jungkook clicks around a few more times, round glasses sliding down his nose which he will occasionally scrunch up to save from falling. “First of all, lunch at Starbucks sounds sad,” he retorts, and you kick his shin from beneath the table. He doesn’t even flinch, the damn muscle bunny, instead leveling you with an unimpressed glare. “Second of all, I told you I’d give you my passwords but you said—“

“No!” You exclaim.

Call it what you want, but that rose-tinted image of Jungkook being a saint in this world, too sweet and naive for his own good, never faded. Your brain saw it that night of your first date and ran with it, never mind the fact he was quite the devious scoundrel, gentlemanly perception be damned the way he’d tug at your skirts and your hair in public like you were on the playground, always teasing, always playing with you, so discreetly no one would ever see it coming from him, of all people. Your brain saw all that too, the little childish streak he’d get sometimes, but your heart stomped it out, wrapped up in the image of Jungkook being your golden boy, and you couldn’t possibly take advantage of such an angel’s kindness to mooch off his streaming services.

From across the table, Jungkook gives you a pointed look, as if he knows you’re trapped in that brain of yours again. Unlike you, Jungkook was easily able to pick apart your true personality, and the way the devil on your shoulder spoke more often than not. He knew you were prone to outrageous schemes and evil villain monologues, and he still kept you around. Let you linger around his home in his big shirts and eat his healthy breakfasts with him. Jungkook liked you, as silly and mean as you were, and he was very obvious about it.

“The password—“

“Is none of my business,” you halt him with a tone of finality in your voice, gesturing for him to slide the beat up laptop back over. Jungkook sighs, runs a hand over his face like you’ve worn him out, but relents.

Taking it with a triumphant grin, you settle back into your seat, nudge his foot with yours beneath the table. Jungkook nudges you back, the adorable fuzzy socks he was wearing making you giggle, a sound that finally brings a smile to his face. “Y’know…” he says, “if you’re gonna be the Disney villain you claim to be, you might as well just take all my passwords.”

Rolling your eyes, you focus your attention back on copying some notes for class, falling back into the rhythm of glancing at the screen and back at your notebook. “You’re cute,” you mindlessly hum, taking great pleasure in the rosy hue that rises to his cheeks, one he tries to hide by coughing into his elbow. You set your pencil down, watch him squirm under your gaze like he always does, blushy and shy like he hadn’t had you twisted like a pretzel beneath him an hour ago. “Don’t worry about it,” you tell him, reaching over to place your hand over his, where it’s idly tapping over some textbook he’s got out. Immediately, he turns it over, squeezes your palm in his. “I don’t mind getting thirty two viruses an hour.”

The reluctant worry in his gaze remains, sweet puppy eyes flickering over you as if trying to catch a hint of a lie. He was so adorable, you could kiss him silly. Finally, Jungkook gives in, though he does so with a lot of effort; letting you fool around on pirating websites truly was the bane of his existence. “Just bring it to me if it breaks down again, okay?” He settles, and you nod.

To your surprise, he brings your hand up and presses a kiss to the back of your knuckles, holds your gaze like he absolutely adores you.

He was so handsome, so caring, and so blatantly not yours.

—

“Not heading to your boyfriend's house today?” Doyeon asks the second she steps into your shared dorm, fighting with the boots on her feet. In the last two months of knowing Jungkook (everybody say thank you, Kim Namjoon), it’s become rare to see you home for more than two nights in a row. Jungkook was irresistible in more ways than you could count. If you weren’t falling into bed with him, you were smothering his cute face on the couch, or hovering behind him in the kitchen.

“Not my boyfriend,” you deny, huffy, and she knows how you feel about the subject, which is why she only prods more.

“Wow,” Doyeon drawls, glancing over your shoulder where you’ve got Jersey Shore playing on one half of the screen, an essay document on the other. “The man you see every other night, who looks and fucks like a god, who buys you a shit ton of presents, and treats you like you’re his world… is not your boyfriend?”

On screen, the toxic couple of the century is engaged in another screaming match, the reality tv show quickly spiraling as dramatic music takes over the speakers.

You scratch the back of your head. “Yeah. Well.”

Doyeon almost combusts at your response, flinging herself onto her twin bed in disgust. “He is a fool, a court jester if you will,” she seethes. “You're the hottest babe in a fifteen mile radius chasing after him and he still hasn’t asked you?”

Deciding you can’t comfortably watch the toxicity on screen with Doyeon talking so loudly, you slam down on the spacebar to pause the show. The fickity website, set out to ruin you since you first discovered it a few weeks ago, crashes. It takes your half-assed essay with it as the whole computer suddenly blacks out. You sigh.

“And on top of that,” she’s still going, “you’re hot and evil. Like bro. Come on.”

“Yes, I’m sure every man dreams of getting with an evil seductress,” you sarcastically reply, reaching for your phone to text Jungkook for help, when you suddenly remember why exactly you’re not with him right now. He’d gone to Busan to visit his family this weekend, a quick trip, he’d told you with his tongue down your throat. You shiver at the memory.

You still really want to watch Jersey Shore, though. Almost desperately. It’d been a long time since you watched it, and you honestly forgot the pivotal role that and a bunch of other reality shows had played in shaping you into the conniving woman you were today.

Doyeon seems about done with her tirade against Jeon Jungkook, dramatically storming into the en-suite bathroom you share with your neighbors.

Tapping your phone against your lip, you carefully consider your options. You could just boot your laptop back up, pray for the best and move on. But the 240p episodes were doing a number on your eyes, and for a moment you considered handing over those six bucks to pay for a Hulu membership.

It’s short-lived, and eventually you settle on calling Jungkook.

He answers on the fourth ring, and wherever he is is insanely loud. There’s voices shouting, lots of bustling, until eventually a door closes and Jungkook’s silky voice oozes through the speaker. “Baby? What’s up?”

“Hi,” you respond, feel something disgustingly sweet settle in your chest. “Is this a bad time?” You ask tentatively.

Jungkook laughs, low and raspy. “No,” he tells you, and you hear the smile in his voice. “Never a bad time for you.”

You could lunge through the screen right now, rain kisses down on his face until he’s giggling, telling you it’s too much. The feeling in your chest tightens, and you almost blurt out something embarrassingly cheesy, but a voice in the background calls for him, and Jungkook’s voice responds, “In a sec, mom. I’m talking to a friend right now.”

The glass roof shatters.

Even though you’d just told Doyeon you two weren’t a thing, despite all the coupley things you did, something about Jungkook telling his mom you’re just a friend isn't right. You frown, listen as his mother, a voice just as delicate as his, asks him to grab something from inside. With each second that ticks by, the discomfort you feel grows tenfold, until you’re barely holding yourself together.

Eventually, Jungkook returns. “So what’s up?” He asks again, and you remember what you initially called for. Putting on your big girl pants, you brush your uncalled for insecurities to the side, making sure he can’t detect anything in your tone.

“Your Hulu password. Can I have it?” You say, realize how robotical your voice sounds and belatedly throw in a, “please.”

Jungkook laughs, loud and boyish. The sound almost makes you melt, makes you fall for him even more. The niggling doubt in the back of your head still rings, but it’s temporarily washed away by the man on the phone. “Finally giving in?” He chuckles, doesn’t give you time to respond. “Sure, babe. I’ll text you the login stuff.” You hum, twirl your pencil idly as Jungkook announces he has to go, something about his family waiting on him. You bid him adieu, send him a halfhearted kiss over the phone, and only hope he feels half as content as you do when he does the same for you.

You don’t want to be dramatic about it. In your heart of hearts, you know Jungkook is just more reserved when it comes to dating. He wants to be one hundred percent sure your heart is in the same game as his, tied to the same rules, and putting in the same effort. But there’s a seed of insecurity that plants itself in the back of your head, tells you the reason Jungkook hasn’t asked you out is simply because you’re not good enough.

Jungkook was as rich as they come—not in money, but in personality. (Well, with the way he was advancing through his career, you get the sense he’ll be rich rich in the next few years too.) He had a huge heart, so caring and supportive of those around him, and an even bigger moral compass—hence the ridiculous amounts of streaming services he paid for—and you strongly believed no one was worthy of standing beside someone as wonderful as him.

Sadly, that meant you too.

Jungkook was your dream lover, and with every passing day, you were beginning to think you weren’t his. It had been two months since your first date, and realistically speaking, you know it’s not weird for people to casually date for such a time. It hadn’t been that long, truthfully, but the way you and Jungkook had clicked made it seem so.

He treated you like a queen, pleased your heart and body like no other. None of what Doyeon said earlier was a fib—he picked you up from school in that classy Benz, let you stay the night and sleep in his clothes, ate you out in the morning like you were his breakfast. You acted like you were in a relationship, but what exactly were the two of you?

Were Jungkook’s feelings even at the same level as yours?

Some days, you couldn’t fathom the idea of being so far away from him, texting him incessantly to feel a semblance of his presence. There was always a metaphorical elephant sitting on your chest, the weight of your unlabeled relationship, your insecurities, waiting for him to finally cut you off, decide you’re not what he wants. You wonder sometimes if he sees you out of convenience, but you always remind yourself Jungkook was too emotional and soft to drag someone around like that. (Or was he?)

Realizing how deep you’ve fallen into your spiraling pit of uncertainty, you shake yourself of those thoughts, mindlessly typing in the Hulu login credentials Jungkook texts you.

—

You’re in the student center when Jungkook comes home, laptop and books spread out over a circle table to stop anyone else from coming up to you. You’ve got your headphones in, the background sounds of late 2000’s club music from a Jersey Shore episode drifting through your ears.

A hand suddenly grabs onto your shoulder, and you send nearly half the table’s contents onto the floor when you screech, leg blindly kicking the table. “Woah, woah,” Jungkook calms, pulling out an earbud for you, and the sight of his face makes you relax again, before you’re striking his chest.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” you warn, shooting daggers at him as he pulls a chair close to you, plopping down beside you. Jungkook laughs, kisses your temple.

“You doing okay, beautiful?” He inquires, and your heartbeat, which had only just begun to settle from your fright, lurches at the hooded gaze he sends you.

You nod, unconsciously lean closer to him. Jungkook smiles, cheeks pulled tight when you plant a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Glad to hear it,” he says, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to keep you close.

You never thought you’d be one of those people. Y’know, the couple shoving PDA down everyone’s throats in a very crowded place. But you can’t help it with Jungkook, gaze honed in on the mole beneath his lip as he recounts his trip to his family’s place. His hair is fluffy again, parted a little to the side to show his forehead. He’s got that big dark hoodie on, the one you love. Your love-addled brain thinks, I could give you a family, but you quickly shut that thought down.

There was no need to think as much for a man who wasn’t even your boyfriend.

Before you can spiral, there’s a set of fingers brushing over your neck, almost casually. You return your attention to Jungkook, watch him leisurely gaze over the bustling students around you. “Missed you,” he says quietly, like he doesn’t want anyone to hear. Hell, if your eyes hadn’t been trained on his face, you don’t think you would’ve.

Finally, he glances back at you. He says nothing, his eyes dipping down to your mouth. He leans forward, presses a smooch to your lips, only to smile at you afterward. “Come over?”

The difference between you and Jungkook is that you were very obviously, outwardly evil. You were not embarrassed to admit you were scheming, or that you had ulterior motives behind doing something. You used what you had to your advantage, mastered all types of expressions to get what you wanted.

Jungkook, on the other hand, was a subtle schemer. In fact, he was so goddamn subtle, you doubt he even knew he was a schemer.

But he definitely was one, and your experiences with him were enough to convince you so. There were times he’d stare at you longingly, like a puppy, until you’d do something for him. Times he’d use his demure face to lure you into going to the hardware store for him, into watching some boring documentary with him. Times, like now, where his voice was a little too smooth and low to be considered his normal pitch, clouded gaze sweeping over your features until you understood what he meant by come over.

Numbly, you nod, watch the quirk of his lips as he kisses you once more before gathering your things for you.

The car ride passes by in a flash, Jungkook’s hand on your knee, your head in the clouds. You imagine how easy it would be to just lean over right here, tug him out of his sweats and get that super suck 5000 on him. But Jungkook’s shy, the devil on your shoulder croons, he’d like it better in the backseat, where no one can see.

Your bag hasn’t even touched the floor yet when he pushes you against the door of his house, shoes and coats half off as he envelopes your lips with his.

His hands are warm, cupping your neck to guide you through the kiss, blindly pulling you down the hall. You feel him falter by the stairs, torn between just throwing you on the couch and ravishing you there or making the trip upstairs to the comfort of his bed. You reach up, run your fingers through his hair. “Wherever you want, baby,” you reassure him, and become consumed with glee when his hands grab into the backs of your thighs, hitch you into his arms as he rushes the two of you up the stairs.

The bed is as fluffy as you remember it, and you bounce up towards the pillows after he drops you on the end. He tugs his shirt over his head, chocolate strands coming out a mess afterwards, before crawling up your body. Jungkook’s hands are incessant, grabbing onto every inch of you he possibly can. He kisses up your tummy, pushing your shirt up as he goes, hikes it over the swell of your breasts to gently fondle them in his palms.

When he’s just about suffocated himself between them, he pops back out, catches your gaze with a twinkle in his. “Hi,” you squeak, and Jungkook grins, leaning up to kiss you.

“Hi, pretty girl,” he returns, let’s your tongue slide into his mouth, sucks on the appendage teasingly. You whimper, and Jungkook releases. “You miss me?” He asks, and if you hadn’t been well-versed in the art of Jungkook’s sexy talk, you wouldn’t have noticed the tingle of nervousness that curls around the question.

You placate him, “always.”

It’s all Jungkook needs as he wiggles you out of your clothes, shucks them off somewhere to the side. His hands trail over your body, massage your breasts and pinch the nipples. You sigh, melt into the sheets as he runs his palms over you. He rolls you over, pulls your hips up and carefully pushes your face into the mattress, pushing your hair to the side to peck your neck when he leans over.

“So soft for me, sweetheart,” he purrs, hands slithering around your waist, down your abdomen until the tip of his pointer finger is idly swirling over your clit.

You whine, clutch the comforter beneath you at the touch. “Oh, fuck,” you groan, push your hips back against him. He’s still got his sweats on, and you want desperately to turn around and rip them off of him, feel the press of his cock against your ass.

As if sensing your urgency, Jungkook calms you with kisses trailing over your spine, hot breath fanning over your neck. His fingers slow, just barely grazing over your clit. “Did you touch yourself while I was gone?” He asks, and you struggle to choke out a response when he presses his finger down against you.

“No,” you eventually gasp, jolt when his hand reaches down, glides through the swollen folds of your cunt.

As if content with your response, Jungkook lets his fingers caress you for a few beats, laps against the side of your neck as you whimper, beg him to continue. When he does, it’s with no ounce of his usual gentle attitude, two fingers shoving forcefully past the tight clench of your pussy lips, deep into your cunt. You shudder, gasping into the sheets.

“Good girl,” Jungkook praises, flutters a kiss right below your ear. Your neurons are working overtime, unsure of what to do as he explores your cunt, fingers dragging against your walls. You want to close your eyes, bask in his touches, but every brush of his fingers has them rolling back, fluttering open. “This pussy is mine, isn’t it?”

His fingers curl, briefly brushing over your soft spot. But it’s enough to make you cry out, pant against the sheets. “Yours,” you choke, push back against him like he’ll do it again.

A thumb circles your clit, and the tight feeling in your belly snaps, has you crying out his name as your first orgasm in a few days washes over you. “Jungkook,” you whimper, nearly sob when his hands pull away, letting you flop down onto the mattress in a boneless heap. Your thighs feel sticky, and you watch blearily as Jungkook hovers behind you.

“So quickly?” He chuckles, turning you back over. He spreads your legs, exposing your pussy to the cool air of the room, and you shiver. A lone finger drags over your cunt, collecting the glossy substance on the tip, before Jungkook is sucking it into his mouth.

He had an affinity for this kind of stuff, you’ve learned. Like he genuinely thought your cum was the most delicious thing in the entire world. That being said, you’re not surprised when he ducks down, pushes your legs to your chest as he begins devouring your pussy.

“Slow down,” you gasp, hand curling in his hair as he spares you not, sensitivity be damned. He was gonna lick you clean. He groans, tongue shoved into your cunt, cute nose brushing against your clit. “Kook,” you warn, though it’s more of a shuddered cry. “I-I’ll come again.”

He pulls off with a wet smack, licks over his tongue as he narrows you with a daring glare. Gone was your sweet Jungkook, replaced with this cum-eating heathen who only purrs, “in my mouth” at your warning.

You scream when the second orgasm hits you, pushing his face against your cunt as his tongue continues, lapping at your folds and your hole as a gush of wetness spurts out of you. For a second, your vision pales, soundless cries caught in your throat as you come all over his face. When you touch down on earth again, your body feels featherlight.

Jungkook is watching you from between your thighs, his face, hair, and chest glistening.  “Oh fuck,” he gasps, shit-eating grin slowly consuming his features. “Did you just.”

You groan, cover your face with your palms as Jungkook settles over you, beaming excitedly at your newest ability. “No,” you whine, pushing him away from where he’s basically glued to your cheek. “That’s so weird.”

He laughs, cute and airy. “Fuck, sweetheart, you squirted all over me,” he sighs, cuddles against you, and you wrap your arms around him only to hide your face in his shoulder, also glistening with your pleasure. He shifts closer, and the hard press of his cock rubs along the inside of your thigh.

“Can we take a break?” You murmur quietly, hesitantly. “I can’t feel my legs.” Jungkook nods, presses a kiss to your temple as he gets off the bed, tossing his t-shirt over to you. He stumbles towards the en-suite, comes back with a dry face and chest; his hair is still damp. He tugs the sheets out from under you, cuddles close. He’s got the two of you wrapped up in no time, your head cradled against his shoulder as he reaches out blindly for the tablet he keeps on the side of his bed, the Hulu app already open.

“Any requests?” He hums, scrolling through the multitude of movies and shows. You wiggle closer, stop his finger when he returns to the home page, and Jersey Shore is the first thing to appear. “You’re kidding.”

“It’s a good show!” You defend, click on it before he can argue. You press closer, throw a leg over his waist where you can feel his still rock hard member hiding beneath his sweats. Poor guy, you think, he must be suffering. But you have to rest for a moment if you wanna ride the shit out of him and knock him breathless like you’d planned.

Jungkook doesn’t comment on the erection he’s sporting, instead choosing to criticize everything wrong with Jersey Shore. You’re not surprised. He’s an avid film nerd, obsessed with ‘real’ storylines, not whatever reality tv shows were.

You’ve seen this episode about a hundred times, so you don’t really mind that he completely ruins it for you with his nitpicking. It’s cute, listening to him ramble about television integrity while you listen to the subtle thudding of his heart beneath your ear.

He’s on his fifth slandering of DJ Pauly D when you decide you’ve had enough, muscles in your legs feeling rejuvenated as you wiggle into his lap, toss the tablet off to the side as you straddle him. “That show makes you hard?” You tease, let your sensitive folds settle over the bulge in his pants.

Jungkook combusts, cheeks flushing at your jab. “No,” he huffs, “my pretty girlfriend’s boobs pressed up against me does.”

You short circuit.

“Huh?” You blurt dumbly. Jungkook rolls his eyes, too concerned with guiding your hips over his crotch to realize you’re having a complete meltdown in your head. An airy moan leaves his mouth, head lolling back against the pillows, when he moves you just right, grinds against you perfectly. But there’s more important matters to attend to than Jungkook’s Jersey Shore boner. “Kook,” you say, cup his face in your palms to force him to look you in the eye.

Jungkook huffs, pointedly looking down at where you sit on him, “babe, gonna need you to—“

“What did you say?” You interrogate, press your foreheads together until he has no choice but to look at you.

Annoyed with your act, he groans. “Babe, your hips,” he urges, almost desperately.

“No,” you retort, “not until you say it again.”

“Say what again?” He cries, lips twitching in irritation, and you’re about two seconds from behind shoved into the mattress, pounded into from behind like he’d done the last time you teased him a little too much.

“That I’m your girlfriend!” You exclaim, heart hammering in your ears.

Jungkook seems to finally halt at that. “Oh,” he responds, leaning back to scan over your expression. “You are?” He says, unsure of what point you’re trying to make.

Your brain fizzes at the news. “Since when?” You cry, suddenly feeling dumb for all the time you spent moping over this perfect boy you thought didn’t want you. “You never asked!”

Jungkook levels you with an unimpressed stare, reaches over for the iPad you tossed to the side, some dramatic fight scene on a boardwalk taking place on screen. You wanna scream. Why is he so concerned with Jersey Shore now of all times?

Before you can rain down your displeasure on him, he’s turning it around and showing you a bookmarked email.

It’s from you, apparently, sent a few weeks back at exactly two in the morning. You glance at the date received. It’s from Doyeon’s half birthday, when the two of you had drunk yourselves silly on wine. The title is some mix of dashes and exclamation points, but that’s irrelevant when the contents of the email come to view, some stupid slur of beeee myyy boyfrienderdd????? ;))((;;; that has your jaw dropping in mortification.

You glance back at Jungkook, who seems just as confused as you. “What the hell?” You shriek, snatch the tablet from his hand to see that not only was it a single email, but a thread of emails all asking the same question—there’s even a three stanza sonnet detailing your love for the mole on the side of his neck. You could die. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?! I was so drunk— how could you even take me seriously?”

Jungkook shrugs, almost amused now as he watches you scroll through the twenty emails you sent him. “The next day you told me you really liked me over lunch, so I didn’t mind. Besides,  drunk words are sober thoughts, y’know.”

You stare in disbelief. “You told your mom I was your friend,” you whisper.

The blood rises to his cheeks quickly. “Babe,” he sputters. “I’m not exactly introducing her to every girl I date after three weeks.”

It makes sense, and you hate how much it does so. Pursing your lips, you look away, focus on the bedside table and hope he doesn’t see the tears that threaten to spew out of your eyes. He does, he always does. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He hums, sits up to pull you into his arms. One hand brushes over the back of your head, gently. Softly. “Did that upset you?”

You shake your head no, can’t help the ugly Kim Kardashian sob that rips itself from your throat. “I thought you didn’t like me,” you sniffle, covering your face with the iPad when he tries to duck closer and get a look at you. “Because it’s been two months.”

Jungkook shushes you, hugs you close to his chest as you cry like a baby over some apparently unjustifiable doubts. “That big brain of yours,” he sighs, kisses the frown of your head. “Too busy being evil to be logical.” You whine in protest, and Jungkook chuckles, carefully laying back with you clinging to his chest.

He lets you cry it out, palms rubbing over your back, listens to the annoying Jersey Shore opening song playing when the episode ends. When you’re done, you sit up, try to pretend your eyes aren’t swollen and puffy. Jungkook smiles. “All good?”

You might love him.

“I’m gonna ride you,” you announce, and he chokes in surprise, and before he can try to convince you it’s okay, you’re wrestling his sweats and boxers off, taking his half hard cock into your hand. Jungkook flounders, tries to calm you down, but you’re on a mission, working your hand over him until he’s fattening in your hold, melting into the pillows.

“Baby,” he grunts, rolling his hips into your palm. You lean over, pucker your lips and let a thick drop of saliva fall onto the tip of his cock. It trickles over your fingers, makes it easier to run your hands over him. Jungkook groans, reaches down to cup his hand over yours, urging you to squeeze tighter.

When he’s finally as hard as you want him, tip engorged and angry, you sit up, place your palms on his chest as you scoot over him. Jungkook watches you with dark eyes, skin flushed as you line him up. His hands reach for your hips to steady you, tiny gasps falling from his lips at the first prod against your folds. You’re wet from watching him squirm beneath you, from feeling the heavy weight of his cock in your hand, and you hope he feels how much he excites you.

“That’s it,” he croons as you slowly sink down on him, whimpers catching in your throat from the stretch. “That’s my girl.”

Jungkook is purposeful with his words, smiles at you when the muscles in your thighs jolt at the term. When you’re seated to the hilt, folds brushing against his pelvis, Jungkook ruts experimentally. “Fuck,” he chokes breathlessly.

You let your body adjust, spine tingling with every subtle shift from the man beneath you, still so sensitive from your two orgasms from before. Jungkook waits, even though you know all he wants to do right now is fuck up into you like a madman.

When you’re relaxed enough, you begin to move, pushing yourself on your knees slowly, hissing at the drag of his cock against your folds. “F-Fuck,” you whimper, fingernails scratching against where you’ve got them on his chest still. Jungkook grips your hips tightly, and you unconsciously reach for his forearms to steady yourself instead.

“There you go,” he purrs as you slowly pick up the pace, cock sliding inside of you rougher, faster. You know it’s mostly him, muscles in his arms flexing as he moves you up and down, but you don’t care—it feels so good, the upward curve of his cock brushing against your soft spot with each drop of your hips.

He holds you down on one thrust, grinds you over his cock until your clit is rubbing against him roughly, and you cry out his name. You want to kiss him, so very badly, but your position makes it hard. Besides, the sweat beginning to pool in the deep of his collarbones hinted at his oncoming orgasm.

Still, you can’t help the way your eyes instinctively go to trace over his mouth, pouty lips pushed out even more in exertion, teeth grinding together every time your pussy swallows him anew. “Kook,” you mewl, hips bucking forward.

He hums, plants his feet firmly on the mattress as he begins fucking into you. “What is it?” He grunts, pistons into your dripping cunt as you whimper, pleasure crawling up and down your spine. “My pretty girl needs something?”

You wail, nod your head as he continues fucking, ramming his cock into your quivering hole, precum dripping over him. “Yours,” you gasp, mind stuck on what he’d said earlier. “‘M all yours,” you sob, body finally giving out, and you barely catch yourself from falling into him with a palm pressed flatly against his chest.

Jungkook smirks, bucks into you brutally, like he wants you to fall into a boneless heap on top of him. “Yeah, you are,” he groans, as you finally give in, lips brushing against his ear when you flop down on him. “My pretty girl,” he huffs, and you nod, muscles pulled taut as your orgasm begins looming over you. “So cute and mean,” he rambles, lips pressed to your temple. His hips are beginning to lose their rhythm, thrusts growing stilted as he chases his high. “But you know what?” He murmurs, and you whimper. “I like her just like that.”

If his words don’t knock the air out of your lungs, your orgasm surely does. It makes you shudder, the way his hands run over your body, cock ruts into your heat, and you almost cry when the pleasure gets a hold of you. Your muscles tighten, and then loosen, melting into his chest. You’re trembling in his arms, like a leaf holding onto a branch for dear life, choked gasps of his name muffled against his neck.

Jungkook pistons into you, rounds the final corner in his race to orgasm, and eventually spurts his hot cum into you, coats your walls as another reminder that you’re his. He’s a silent orgasmer, sounds catching in his throat as his body twitches beneath you, silent even afterwards as he regains his senses.

A few moments later, you’re shifting out of his hold, pushing yourself onto your elbows to glance down at him. Jungkook’s eyes are shut, but, as if sensing you’re looking at him, he flutters them open, chocolate irises softening at the sight of you.

“Holy shit,” he groans, rolls you off of him carefully. His hand brushes over your thigh, like he’s contemplating licking you clean again, but you stop him with a pointed raise of your brows. “Fine. Pass me the tablet.”

You do, and it’s almost unnerving how easily the two of you slip back into comfort, Jungkook changing into some shorts and handing you your discarded panties, before climbing into bed to watch Jersey Shore. You’ve missed about an entire hour-long episode, so you end up rewinding until the point you last saw.

“You and your Netflix and chilling,” Jungkook snorts, head nestled against your breasts. You roll your eyes.

“This is Hulu,” you point out.

“Oh yeah,” he hums, snuggles closer. His body feels so nice and warm over yours, hands wrapped around you like a lifeline. You end up positioning the tablet off by your hip, supported by a pillow so the two of you can watch properly.

You’re still processing your new title, your new boyfriend, when he perks his head up suddenly, solemn gaze catching yours.

“Hulu and Woohoo,” he says, ever so seriously, and you understand why Doyeon thinks he’s a fool.

[ part three ; imax & climax ]

[courtneysmovieblog]

“Massive Talent” is a masterpiece (and other mini reviews)

Before we get into the cage with Nic Cage (see what I did there?), here’s what else I’ve watched this month:

The Thief of Bagdad (1940): The adventure fantasy film that would later go on to inspire Disney’s Aladdin. Seriously, you could play a drinking game counting all the things Disney would use in not only the movie but also the TV series! The prince’s beggar disguise looks exactly like Aladdin’s outfit. Anyway, this movie obviously leans on dated stereotypical Orientalism, it’s still worth watching. And it’s the titular character Abu (played by Sabu) that’s the actual hero, and not the (white) prince character. So there’s that.

The Mosquito Coast: Harrison Ford has the worst midlife crisis ever and drags his family out to Central America to live out his twisted fantasies. It doesn’t end well.

Lolita (1997): As controversial as the story was back then, it REALLY looks bad in the harsh light of today. Especially because this version uses the male gaze a lot for Lolita’s scenes. And far more explicitly than the original film.

Beauty and the Beast (2014): You’ve probably already seen all the gifsets from this French film adaptation of the fairy tale, and the costumes were indeed gorgeous. Story-wise, however, it’s the worst version I’ve seen. I’m sorry, but this Belle and the Beast barely even bond before the ending, which just adds more fuel to the Stockholm Syndrome fire.

Wendy: In contrast, this modern version of Peter Pan was intriguing.

No Time to Die: Mom and I watched this on Amazon Prime. Not much of a Bond fan, but it was a good way for Daniel Craig to go out.

Hustle: Adam Sandler’s best movie in years. Even better than Uncut Gems. Watch it on Netflix ASAP.

And now, the main course:

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Nicolas Cage meets his number-one fan (Pedro Pascal). This was HILARIOUS. Nic Cage has decided to fully embrace his crazy-ass image and he did it beautifully! Him and Pascal also have the best romantic chemistry; they clearly had just as much of a ball making this movie as you will watching it. Even if you don’t even like Cage films, you should watch this immediately, because it might be one of the best movies of this year.

[thenightling]

I love Gaslight fantasy

I love Gaslight fantasy.  Gaslight fantasy is also known as Gaslamp fantasy.  And before I go any further, no I am not “Confusing” the terms.   Gaslighting as a term comes from a 1940s film called “Gaslight” where a man tricks a woman into doubting her perceptions of reality.   The concept of “gaslighting” as a verb to mean this didn’t exist until that film.   The title of the film was named for the object, “gaslights” which were common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

This has nothing to do with “gaslighting.”   I should not have had to explain this but... Tumblr...  

There is a new genre of fantasy / Gothic horror fiction called Gaslight fantasy.   This genre can be compared to High Fantasy, Gothic Horror, and Steampunk in many aspects and yet it is wholly it’s own entity.   

Gaslight Fantasy is a genre where a fantasy world resembles our world’s Victorian era but the supernatural such as monsters and magick are known to be real.  It bears a lot of elements of Gothic Horror and many examples of Gaslight Fantasy also fit the genre of Gothic Horror but unlike the term “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like an attempt to circumvent acknowledging that Gothic Horror is a form of Horror, Gaslight Fantasy can exist in tandem with Gothic Horror as descriptors for the same property.  As a result it is a new sub-genre I welcome as opposed to “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like a term invented by those embarrassed of liking horror.  

Example: Barnes and Noble slapping “Gothic Fantasy” across the cover of their leather bound versions of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft, as well as Dracula, and Frankenstein.  Those are all Gothic Horror and the use of “Gothic Fantasy” feels like a term for those ashamed of the horror aspect or don’t realize horror can be more than just gore and jump scares. 

Further note: Frankenstein is often considered the first science fiction novel but Victor found the secret of life while reading the works of Agrippa and Paracelsus, a self-proclaimed alchemist and sorcerer.  Also Victor was studying metaphysics, not biology.  The Frankenstein monster is often considered (in fantasy-loving circles) to be a “Flesh golem with a soul.”  Psuedo-intellectualists seem to chafe at the idea that Frankenstein is a horror story and prefer to call it science fiction because there is still this incorrect ant antiquated notion that horror is low brow and cannot contain romanticism or emotional, spiritual, and moral explorations. 

Even The Shape of Water, which can easily be mistaken as a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Revenge of The Creature (But with a happy ending for The Creature) is often called “Supernatural romance” instead of Horror even though there are scary moments, atmosphere, violence, death, supernatural elements, and other things usually associated with the horror genre. 

The same thing happened with Silence of the Lambs, which was branded “Thriller” when it got its Oscar nomination.   It seems the Oscar nomination might be why The Shape of Water isn’t classified as horror either.

Director Guillermo del Toro (though a clear lover of Gothic Horror) seems reluctant to classify his own films as Gothic Horror even though Crimson Peak is clearly paying homage to Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath and Hammer Horror films.       

It’s the cultural resentment of Gothic Horror that makes me dislike the term “Gothic Fantasy” but I am willing to embrace the new idea of Gaslight Fantasy that can exist within Gothic Horror or side by side with it, in the same story. 

Though it’s still a relatively new genre I do love the refreshingly new concept of Gaslight Fantasy as a reimagined Victorian era that isn’t just full of zeppelins, steam engines and gears (like the typical superficial Steampunk tropes) but also supernatural creatures and or magick being common place.   Not to mention so many fantasy stories are set in a pseudo-Middle ages Europe-esque land like in Game of Thrones and The Witcher, that it’s clever and different that the fantasy world doesn’t look like the late dark ages but instead the late nineteenth century, just to give it a different aesthetic and atmosphere while retaining a sense of wonder and historical nostalgia, though blatantly and deliberately inaccurate.    

  Examples of Gaslight Fantasy include: Amazon Prime’s Carnival Row - Set in a nineteenth century style city where humans, faeries, werewolves, Franeknstein-style monsters, trolls, fauns, and centaurs co-exist.   This is probably the first true, mainstream, gaslight fantasy and the best example of the genre.  It deals with Jack the Ripper style murders in a slum inhabited by magical creatures.  It’s a lot like Penny Dreadful but Penny Dreadful pretends to be set in our world where most people do not know the supernatural exists whereas Carnival Row is not quite our world and people know about most of the supernatural creatures who reside there.  

Dolls of New Albion - Dolls of New Albion is described as a steampunk musical, is set in a world where human souls can be summoned from Elysium (Greek Heaven) and inserted into semi-mechanical dolls.  The fact that the afterlife is treated as a common knowledge fact in a world that just resembles ours in the Victorian era, and human souls can be inserted into doll-like bodies indicates to me that this actually drifts into Gaslight fantasy.     

The movie Van Helsing- Though this film is what I would call Goth Action (Gothic Horror merged with action) the film Van Helsing is very much what I would consider Gaslight fantasy. Set in what looks like our world’s Victorian era and even using real-world place names there are distinct differences, such as The Vatican behaving as a secret monster hunting organization instead of just the Capital of the Catholic Church.  Similar can be said about the setting of Castlevania that is distinctly another world even though it resembles ours and has our European place names though that one is set in the fifteenth century.

Howl’s moving Castle - Though bearing Steampunk elements, the common knowledge of magick, in a setting that is not quite our world, and reminiscent of the Victorian era of our world, or even the Edwardian era, makes Howl’s Moving Castle very much a Gaslight fantasy.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Though easily considered Steampunk or Gothic Horror, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen bears some fantasy elements mixed with the horror and the resemblance to our world is dubious at best. 

Stardust - The film and novel by Neil Gaiman deal with a wall that separates the human world from the realm of Faerie and a young man’s journey where he meets a fallen star in humanoid form, and his own long lost mother.  In this world the barrier between the human world and the realm of magick is a known and tangible fact.

Discworld - The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett are set in a fantasy world known as.. the Disworld, supported by four elephants riding on the back of a giant turtle, the Discworld pays homage to and parodies fantasy tropes in a pseudo-Victorian / Edwardian setting.  The setting includes witches, wizards, Death incarnate, ghosts, golems, faeries, and so on.

His Dark Materials - His Dark Materials (i.e. The Golden Compass) is set in a fantasy version of the Edwardian and provides a stark commentary about religion and society.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - A very odd British mini-series and novel about two competing men who work with magick in what looks like late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century England but it’s really its own fantasy setting.  The subplot deals with a dark faery known as The Gentleman and his schemes.

A study in Emerald - Another one by Neil Gaiman, this is an alternate universe version of Sherlock Holmes’ story A Study in Scarlet, but a version of late Victorian England where Lovecraftian Old Ones have taken over and nothing is quite what it seems.  Anno Dracula - Anno Dracula is an alternate universe version of Victorian England set after the events of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker but if Dracula had won and married Queen Victoria.

Beauty and the Beast - The 1740 novel by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Though nearly a century before the Victorian era this does fit much of the criteria of the Gaslight Fantasy.  There’s political intrigue with faeries, and unlike the Disney film, the novel is not set in France. It’s a fictional land that just resembles eighteenth century France.  And there are other fictional kingdoms such as “The Summer Isle.”  

Pinocchio -  The original novel by Carlo Collodi was set in a surreal, fictionalized version of early 1880s Europe and featured anthropomorphic animals, faeries, self-aware tree bark, and heavy handed human to animal transformations to represent the metaphor of becoming a jackass.   

Ravenloft - The Gothic Horror portion of Dungeons and dragons.  Where Dungeons and dragons already featured elves, dwarves, and wizards Ravenloft contains vampires, Flesh Golems (Frankenstein-style monsters) and werewolves.

Castlevania - Not so much the Netflix Castlevania series... yet but parts of the Castlevania video games franchise count as Gaslight fantasy.  Castlevania begins in a fantastical version of fifteenth century Wallachia (Romania) where vampires, demons and various other monsters are known to be real.   Later installments in the game are set in that world’s version of the nineteenth century.  Though place names match our own it is very clearly not our world as teleporting castles, vampire warlords, and entire towns being wiped out by vampire armies never made it into our own history books.   There are also some steampunk-esque historical inaccuracies in technology and science.  Castlevania is most assuredly a horror themed franchise but it also fits the criteria of Gaslight fantasy.

[hunxi-guilai]

I love your blog and all the awesome meta, and how you enjoy teaching so much. I wish you could talk to the people (on twitter) that say that westerners have no business being in a Chinese fandom. Authors are harassed foe deviation of historical accuracy in ao3 comments while the show have dreamcatchers, potatoes and flying swords (and no hats). It's frustrating. I wish there were more people like you. Sending you lots of love and respect!

oh I’m glad you’re enjoying the content! thanks for dropping by!

I’m sorry to hear that the twitter part of the fandom is so unforgiving and gatekeeping, because I can really see where the more defensive folks are coming from. It’s hard to comprehend the sheer hegemony of Western media in the non-Western world, because we take Netflix and Amazon Prime and Disney franchises for granted as common cultural bases that everyone just knows. What do you mean, not everyone has read Harry Potter? Hasn’t it been translated into almost every language in existence?

Take a moment to count the number of classics you’ve read, poets you’ve been taught in school. Now take a moment to count the number of ancient texts you’ve read from non-Western cultures, poems written in non-Latin script. Compare the two numbers. You see it, right?

I vividly remember visiting one of my cousins in mainland China, who said to me “oh so your English is good enough to watch Agents of SHIELD without subtitles?” and I was like “...I don’t even watch Agents of SHIELD.” In that moment, confronting the sheer prevalence of Western media, the assumed universality and superiority of it. Is there nothing that speaks to you that doesn’t have to travel through the medium of translation? I wanted to ask, but that’s a lot to get into during a family reunion.

So for Chinese fans to get defensive about a fandom (“we finally made something good by ourselves for ourselves, keep your grubby hands off it”) is something that I totally get. I’ve spent years quietly packing away my love for Chinese-language TV shows, because as much as I love my non-Chinese-speaking friends, the odds of convincing them to watch 《琅琊榜》or 《陈情令》 are not something I hold high hopes for. Oh, so now you want to get involved? I can easily imagine saying. Where were you in the early years? Where was your devotion then?

(it’s very much a Little Red Hen kind of defensiveness, if that makes any sense)

That being said, it’s important to note that like television shows aren’t exactly limited resources or anything; you can watch any show any number of times, and that has no impact on whether or not the person next to you can watch it, so for one person to gatekeep others on the grounds of “this isn’t for you” is really more... petty and close-minded than anything else.

This is starting to get into postcolonial/decolonial dynamics in fandom and media, culture and consumption, which is one of the thorniest problems I have yet to work through myself (gonna go ahead and link this Parasite article again, because it says everything better than I do). There’s not an easy answer to any of this; you can’t erase centuries of orientalism and exoticism born out of a fascination with an Othered culture; you can’t ignore the living, breathing xenophobia and racism in the world today. As a Western viewer living in a global seat of power, there is a responsibility and a respect you have to give to non-Western media you watch, the stories you consume. Because it is a consumption, a taking, an ingesting, a keeping. It lingers in the shadow of exploitation, half-in, half-out of the light.

Creating fanwork for a text that is deeply steeped in a living, breathing, changing culture that you aren’t familiar with is difficult, absolutely -- you should absolutely be respectful of your source material. You should do your goddamned research (side note: you shouldn’t expect other people to do your research for you, because that’s not their responsibility, it’s yours, own up to it. Or, you know, hire a dramaturg). There’s always more to learn, more to discover, more you’ll just miss because you didn’t even know to go looking for that. When do you reach the point where you know enough? Where is that magical place of completed knowledge, when you can say great I know enough about historical/fantasy/Chinese culture, I’m allowed to write fanfiction without fear of reprisal now?

(for the record, it doesn’t exist; it’s a moving target; it’s a far-off ideal. If we couldn’t take action until we knew everything there is to know about something, we’d never get anything done)

All I can really speak for is my tiny corner of the internet; I’m just trying to interact with the text and the fandom in a thoughtful and forgiving manner, because goodness knows neither text nor fandom is perfect and unproblematic. Do I sometimes wish the text could be less yikes? Absolutely. Do I sometimes wish the fandom could be less yikes? Oh my god, all the time.  But it’s not my job to police them; I can’t control what others put out, only what I do. No one has complete knowledge about everything, especially not me, so I’m trying my goddamn best to stay open to corrections and queries, trying to be upfront about the limitations of what I know and graciously accepting of what others understand better. It’s not easy to admit you’re wrong -- it’s not fun to realize that you’d been totally ignorant and insensitive, even/especially unintentionally -- but heck, none of us get this right on the first try. It’s not worth defending the position you made a mistake from; that time is better spent trying to fix what was wrong in the first place.

Likewise, if you do know better, you have have the vantage of higher ground and more knowledge and can see clearer than other folks, then you should be helping other folks get to the same place, not harasssing them with anonymous comments, throwing rocks down on them while they’re struggling to climb, because that truly solves none of the problems at hand and just generates more resentful energy (and we all know how resentful energy goes in this show, right?). Mind you; it’s not the responsibility of more knowledgeable fans to educate less knowledgeable fans (again, Audre Lord comes to mind), but at the very least you could, y’know, not be an asshole about it.

Okay I ramble. tl;dr sometimes when you’re caught up in fandom, it’s easy to forget that priority has always been just be a decent fucking person and that truly, we’re all on the same side in our appreciation for a text

[lastsonlost]

Oh gasps, I'm shocked.

Who would have thunk it?

The story:

Updated with Sunday figures: In the wake of Terminator: Dark Fate’s failure at the B.O., and Paramount’s recent decision to make Beverly Cops 4 for Netflix, we have the further breakdown of cinema IP in Sony’s Charlie’s Angels reboot, which is tanking with a God-awful $8.6M domestic opening, $27.9M worldwide (from 26 markets), 3 Stars on Screen Engine-Comscore’s PostTrak, and a B+ Cinemascore.

The Elizabeth Banks-directed-written and produced pic is also opening in 27 offshore markets,

China being one where it’s also bombing,

with a $7.8M 3-day take in third place behind No. 1 local title Somewhere Winter ($13.1M).

All of this is primed to further spur a WTF reaction and anxiety among film development executives in town in regards to what the hell exactly works in this have-and-have-not era of the theatrical marketplace. Many will make the hasty generalization that old, dusty IP doesn’t work, or is now deemed too risky when it’s not a superhero project. However, moviemaking is an art, not a science, and annoying as it might sound, good movies float to the top, and this Charlie’s Angels reboot didn’t have the goods going back to its script.

<Maybe somebody should have been working on a good story instead of pushing an agenda.

We’re going to break down for you what went wrong in another graph, but we don’t want to bury the success of Disney’s release of Fox’s James Mangold-directed Ford v Ferrari, which looks to be coming in at $31.5M, well ahead of the $20M+ many were seeing, with an awesome A+ CinemaScore and 4 1/2 stars and a 68% definite recommend on Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak. After a franchise-laden summer which buried originals, now an original pic is sticking it to the IP.

When it comes to the bombing of Charlie’s Angels, the takeaway is this is what happens when you have IP, but there’s no reason for telling the story.

In the walk-up to developing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and in the wake of its near $1 billion success, a fever broke out at the Culver City lot in the post-Amy Pascal era to reboot former Sony franchises or extend them, i.e. Zombieland: Double Tap (well over $103M at the global B.O. now), the upcoming Bad Boys 3, and, of course, Spider-Man, the latter electrified by Disney’s Marvel. Development studio executives define their being by getting films greenlit, and whenever that happens, it’s 90% of the job.

And the pressure is on to fill a 10-12 picture annual slate in a world where Disney vacuums up all the best IP. A third Charlie’s Angels with McG directing and Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu starring, wasn’t made immediately after the second chapter, 2003’s Full Throttle, as the sequel turned out to be 29% more expensive than the 2000 original at $120M, and also made less worldwide, $259.1M to $264.1M. With Elizabeth Banks coming off her hot feature directorial debut with Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2 (which over-indexed in its stateside opening at the B.O., going from $50M projections to $69.2M, and finaled global at $287.1M); after she expressed interest in September 2015 in taking on a Charlie’s Angels reboot with a modern feminist spin, there was no question in Sony’s mind that the project should move forward.

<Yeah Sony, how's that working out for you? You think they would have learned their lesson...

Guess not.

Back to the story.....

However, there were script problems, I hear, that could never be resolved. A few months after Banks boarded, Evan Spiliotopoulos came on to write. By the time cast was assembled in July 2018, Banks had penned the latest draft off a script by Jay Basu (The Girl in the Spider’s Web), and earlier drafts by Craig Mazin and Semi Chellas. Andrea Giannetti oversaw the project on the lot. However, I hear that the script for Charlie’s Angels didn’t really attract top talent, i.e. Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone and Margot Robbie (a trio that would have potentially jazzed up business). Hence, why the production opted to go with largely a fresh face cast outside of Kristen Stewart. While we overwrite that stars mean nothing at the box office, they do, sometimes, when it comes to propping IP, and unfortunately and arguably, no one in Middle America knows who British actress Ella Balinska is, and they’ve only became recently acquainted with Naomi Scott from Disney’s Aladdin and Lionsgate’s Power Rangers. Stewart, who is hysterical in the movie and even needed more funny bits, is in a different place in her career professionally, publicly, and privately. It’s unfair to think that she could delver her Twilight fans now.

Had she done Charlie’s Angels promptly in the swell of the Twilight whirlwind (like Snow White and the Huntsmen) then maybe it would have popped.

But she has largely been dormant from popcorn wide releases for the last seven years since 2012’s Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, busy excelling and wowing in specialty awards season and festival fare like Clouds of Sils Maria, Still Alice, and this year’s Seberg, to name a few. Stewart needed to be paired with equal or bigger-name actresses.

was a one quadrant movie, eyed at women 13-39, especially given its lack of action scenes, and wisely limited their exposure to what I hear is 50%, with co-finance partners 2.0 Entertainment and Perfect World. Sony claims the budget is $48M net; we’ve heard in the mid $50Ms. Tax incentives were taken in the pic’s Berlin and Hamburg shoots. Perhaps Sony should have spent more, because Charlie’s Angels biggest problem is that it has very low-octane, we’ve-seen-it-all-before action scenes. Heck, there’s more action in a 1980s Chuck Norris movie. After watching Charlie’s Angels earlier this week, I put the first two McG movies on Netflix, and it was like watching Star Wars in comparison to this reboot, with his sharp production design, camera movements, unique action, and comedy set pieces, and, of course, the first movie blasted Sam Rockwell out of a cannon. Understand that the first two movies in the series were able to compete and hold their own in an action space where, yes, Mission: Impossible and Fast & Furious (the first two films came out in 2001 and 2003) also thrived. Mission and Fast sequels distinguish themselves on multiple 10-minute action sequences that we’ve never seen before on screen; it doesn’t matter who the villain is. This Charlie’s Angels doesn’t have that. And not even a super-duper hit song “Don’t Call Me Angel” for the movie from Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Ray can trigger lines at the multiplex; the music video clocking over 116M views on YouTube, per entertainment social media monitor RelishMix.

Some will claim that Banks’ version was never intended to emulate the meat and potatoes version of McG’s films; that this version was expected to be more comedic, and more feminist. Unfortunately, after McG set the table here with the franchise as an action film, you can’t reverse it. You can only outdo him. And with a franchise movie like Charlie’s Angels, you can’t make it for a one quadrant audience.

The film arrived on tracking with a $12M-$13M start, and really never budged, but sank. That means marketing didn’t work. I heard that a $100M global P&A was first planned on Charlie’s Angels, with the studio now reducing that overall cost greatly to around $50M and pulling back on expensive ads. Another hurdle in activating the young girl demo is that much of the pic’s cast isn’t on social media. RelishMix says that Banks is the social media star with over 6.6M followers across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with Scott counting 3.4M.

Sony kept pushing Charlie’s Angels, which in hindsight means there were development issues. In May 2017, a release date was announced for June 7, 2019. When the cast was locked down in July 2018, Charlie’s got moved to Sept. 27, 2019. In October 2018 when Warners pushed Wonder Woman 1984 from the first weekend in November to summer, Charlie‘s took over the autumn spot, which was the same exact place the original 2000 opened. However, when Terminator: Dark Fate moved onto the same first weekend in November, Charlie‘s relocated to this weekend as they vied for a China release which they ultimately got.

Charlie’s Angels drew a 66% female crowd, split between 36% over 25 and 30% under 25. But both demos respectively graded it low at 68% and 79%, with men at 35% giving it a 68% grade on PostTrak. Diversity breakdown was 52% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic, 14% Asian/Other, & 13% African American. Charlie’s Angels best markets were on the coasts and big cities. But again, nothing to brag about in Friday’s $3.2M gross, which includes $900K from Thursday and Wednesday previews.

Says RelishMix, which also foresaw this disaster approaching on social media chatter, “Angels is the latest example in a ‘woke’ effort to reboot a franchise that many were not all that interested in to start with. In fact, many references to the 2000 version get a call-out as a reason this one doesn’t seem to compare – whether it’s the cast or the action teased from the film.

And, as observed with other recent films, some action/adventure, unfortunately fans say they’re steering clear of this one because of its ‘girl power’ messaging.”

[lovemesomesurveys]

Do you have a pseudonym that you use when signing up for websites? I create a new username for each forum or social media site, but I don't go by a fake name, I still go by my real name (first name only, though, I don't share my full name). <<< Same.

Is cannabis legal where you live? It is. 

How often do you wash/change your bedsheets? Every couple weeks or so.

Why does a sandwich always taste better if someone else makes it for you? That’s so true. With most foods, honestly. Except for my ramen cause I have a very particular way I make it, but yeah. That’s what I tell my mom whenever I ask her to make me a sandwich, I’m like but it tastes sooo much better when you make it. Deli sandwiches, too.

As kids, why did we want to spend sick days on the couch instead of in bed? That’s true, too. I guess maybe you didn’t want to be holed up in your room alone? Or for some it was probably because they didn’t have a TV in their room. I did, but I did prefer lying out in the living room when I was sick with my mom and watch Maury and Judge Judy and whatever else was on at that time of day.

What is your favorite type of berry to eat? Strawberries.

What place in your area has permanently closed due to the pandemic? Some dining and shops.

How often do you walk your dog, if you have one? My dad or brother will take her a few times a week.

When is the last time you ordered takeout food? From where? Well, I have Jack in the Box right now if that counts. If not, then it was the Mexican food I had last night from a local restaurant.

What is something you'd feel confident enough to give a presentation on? Pfft, I don’t want to give any presentations. I’m done with school and my fair share of presentations.

How many days have you been alive? 11592 days.

Which CoVid vaccine did you receive, if any? I haven’t.

How do you feel you've made a difference in the world? I haven’t made any difference.

When is the last time it snowed where you live? Does it even snow there? It doesn’t snow here. :(

If you were paid $5 for each survey you filled out, would you be wealthy? I wouldn’t be wealthy, but it sure would be a nice. 

Do you eat any candies in a specific order? (ie: M&M's) When I was a kid I did that with M&Ms, like I’d group them by color.

What is something unique that bugs you and probably doesn't bother others? Hm. I hate the sound of ice clinking against a glass or when people do that inhale thing in the glass when taking a drink. I don’t know how to explain it.

Do you use any streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, etc? Yeah, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, AppleTV+, Amazon Prime, Paramount+...

Do you think you have to be in a relationship with someone to be happy? No. 

What's the most rebellious thing you've done as a child or teenager? Me and rebellious don’t go in the same sentence unless you’re saying I’m not rebellious. 

Have you ever experienced the fun of reading being taken from you? Nooo. 

What is one common childhood illness that you managed not to catch? Hm. I’m not sure cause I had the chicken pox, the flu, colds... what were other common ones? 

Is there an heirloom that has been passed down generations of your family? No, we don’t really have anything like that.

What is the most unique pet that you ever owned, or would like to? I’ve only had the common pets like dogs, fish, and hamsters.

What was one of your favorite books to read or listen to as a child? I loved Goosebumps, The Babysitter’s Club, Ramona and Beezus, Judy Blume books, etc.

Which way did you learn to tie your shoelaces? (bunny ears, or tree) The bunny ears way.

Have you ever been in a bad car accident before? No, thankfully.

Do you know anyone who has the same name as you? Yes.

What is your favorite type of weather to experience? Fall and winter weather.

What is your favorite fair or carnival food to consume? Mmm, delicious fried food like garlic fries, funnel cakes, deep fried Oreos...

[source: Bzoink.com/S178426]

[thezachrogers]

The Best and Worst Films of 2019.

We are THREE days away from the Academy Awards and I know this is way overdue, but I made the deadline and have brought the films to watch and avoid that came out last year. We will be counting down from the films that were best all the way down to the worst.

2019 was the best year for film in a long time and I will go down saying I LOVED my top 26, I liked 27-65 and I only disliked/hated four films I saw last year. Overall an excellent year of endings to series, a great year for original films, and we are in for one of the most competitive Academy Awards yet. So here it is, counting down from best to worst, the 69 films I saw in 2019:

Avengers: Endgame - NOW AVAILABLE ON DISNEY+ nominated for 1 Oscar, one of the best films I have ever seen in my life and my current all time favorite comic book film. 

Ford v Ferrari - nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture. Wow, wow, wow; what a movie, see this movie ASAP. Hands down the BEST performance of Matt Damon’s career, a definite snub for Best Actor, directed by 2017′s Logan’s James Mangold.

Jojo Rabbit - nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress, this film gives you all the feels. Border lining on the edge of offensive, this story is about a little boy growing up in the Nazi Regime learning that everything he loves about Nazi Germany and what he believes about Jews just doesn’t add up. 

Marriage Story NETFLIX ORIGINAL - nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, this cast brings it in this tragic story of marriage and divorce. I’m rooting for my boy Kylo Ren Sunday Night even though I know Joaquin Phoenix is going to win as the Clown Prince of Crime.

Bombshell - nominated for 3 Oscars including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress (GO MARGOT ROBBIE), this is based on the true story of Roger Ailes’s firing at Fox News due to Gretchen Carlson’s accusations. Robbie gives the performance of her career and Charlize Theron plays a very convincing Megyn Kelly starting the “Me Too” movement.

The Two Popes - NETFLIX ORIGINAL nominated for 3 Oscars including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. This true story and Netflix original is about Anthony Hopkins portrays Pope Benedict leaving the position and asks the now Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) to fill his shoes.

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood - Nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (guaranteed win), and Best Original Screenplay, Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece is LOOSELY based on 60s Hollywood during the time of the Manson Family murders.

The Irishman - NETFLIX ORIGINAL Nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Two Best Supporting Actor Nominees, Scorsese brought it in this four hour Netflix Orginal.

1917 - Nominated for 10 Oscars including guaranteed Best Picture and guaranteed Best Director, 1917 takes place in real time and is shown in two takes. Brilliant cinematography and direction, this is one to see in theaters.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - Oscar Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, this movie brought me to tears. I grew up with Mr. Rogers and Tom Hanks absolutely kills it in this role.

The King NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Parasite - Nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. This Korean Film has the craziest plot I have ever seen in a movie. See it. You will be blown away.

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Nominated for 3 Oscars including Best Score this was quite the underwhelming finale compared to Endgame, I mean a 42 year buildup and it just did not hit home like it should have. Now they ended the big three’s (Luke, Han, and Leia) arcs very well and FREAKING KYLO REN has become my all-time favorite character. We all need to thank Adam Driver for carrying this trilogy on his back as Rey, Finn, and Poe’s arcs where just meh. I do believe JJ did everything he could do with what he was given with The Last Jedi. All the fan service was amazing and very appreciated like bringing back Wedge, Lando, Han, Young Luke, Young Leia, Red 5, and Palpatine back for last ride. I will be in line at Target at 7am to pick up their exclusive packaged Ultra 4K Bluray and yes, I’ve already started the paperwork on financing the Best Buy exclusive complete Skywalker saga (I’m not joking).

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Honey Boy PRIME ORIGINAL - 2019 was the comeback of Shia LaBeouf’s career. This movie was written by him and loosely based on his life. LaBeouf plays his father and brings the best performance of his career.

The Report PRIME ORIGINAL 

Spider-Man: Far From Home

They Shall Not Grow Old NOW AVAILABLE ON HBO

Uncut Gems - Snubbed by the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, the Safdie brothers deliver a masterpiece and the performance of Adam Sandler’s career.

Togo - DISNEY+ ORIGINAL

Frozen II - Nominated for Best Original Song, if it doesn’t win, lets riot.

Knives Out - Nominated for Best Original Screenplay, this Rian Johnson directed film was snubbed from every other category due to everyone remaining pissed off about The Last Jedi.

Toy Story 4 - NOW AVAILABLE ON DISNEY+ Nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Original Song, another underwhelming finale (that no one asked for, because we already got it with Toy Story 3), I still loved this movie and it is well deserved for best animated film but not more deserving than the snubbed Frozen sequel.

Little Women - Nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, Florence Pugh and the rest of the cast delivered in this reboot and this was a film I thoroughly enjoyed at home.

Richard Jewell - Nominated for Best Supporting Actress

The Peanut Butter Falcon

The Farewell

Harriet - Nominated for 2 Oscars including Best Actress

Klaus - NETFLIX ORIGINAL Nominated for Best Animated Film

Dolemite Is My Name - NETFLIX ORIGINAL Eddie Murphy’s triumphant comeback delivers. Definite snub, this is not the last we will see of Eddie in the coming months with Coming 2 America and Eddie’s much anticipated standup special

Missing Link - NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU Nominated for Best Animated Film

Joker - Leading the Oscars with 11 Nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor (guaranteed win), Best Director, Best Cinematography (Guaranteed win), Best Score (guaranteed win); Joaquin Phoenix delivers a career-defining performance (that still does not touch Heath Ledger’s) in a quite underwhelming plot with beautiful cinematography and a masterful score, this movie is turning the tides for the comic-book film genre.

Late Night PRIME ORIGINAL

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum NOW AVAILABLE ON HBO

Shazam! NOW AVAILABLE ON DC UNIVERSE

Fighting With My Family NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU

Long Shot NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU

Doctor Sleep

Hustlers

Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The Highwaymen NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The Laundromat NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The Aeronauts PRIME ORIGINAL 

Always Be My Maybe NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Nominated for Best Hair and Makeup

Chasing Happiness PRIME ORIGINAL

Good Boys

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw

Aladdin NOW AVAILABLE ON DISNEY+

Captain Marvel NOW AVAILABLE ON DISNEY+

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part NOW AVAILABLE ON HBO AND HULU

Isn’t It Romantic NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU

Detective Pikachu NOW AVAILABLE ON HBO AND HULU

Lady and the Tramp DISNEY+ ORIGINAL

MIB: International NOW AVAILABE ON HULU

6 Underground NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Noelle DISNEY+ ORIGINAL

Ad Astra - Nominated for Best Sound

The Lion King - NOW AVAILABLE ON DISNEY+ Nominated for Best Special Effects

It Chapter Two

Ready or Not

The Lighthouse - Nominated for Best Cinematography

Dumbo NOW AVAILABLE ON DISNEY+

Little NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU

Happy Death Day 2U NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU

Triple Frontier NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile - NETFLIX ORIGINAL Another gem from Netflix, Zac Efron gives the acting performance of his career as Ted Bundy.

Glass NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU - The final film in the Unbreakable trilogy that no one asked for...yet we didn’t know we wanted. This film was highly anticipated for a sad (yes, tears) ending to same great characters. Glass does not hold a candle to Unbreakable, nor Glass, but it is still loads of fun.

Dark Phoenix - They say they save the best for last...well it X-Men’s case, they don’t. This film was a polished turd with great acting from McAvoy and Sophie Turner. 

Murder Mystery - NETFLIX ORIGINAL Oh look, another movie where Adam Sandler went on vacation with his buddies and said “lets get Netflix to pay for a Eurotrip by making a movie,” and then you get Netflix’s Murder Mystery. Looks like they will be paying for another vacation with 2021′s Murder Mystery 2. No, I am not kidding.

Wine Country NETFLIX ORIGINAL- This film had literally all the SNL power women except for Kristen Wiig...I wonder why? JK, horrible...no wonder it went straight to Netflix

Us NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU - The worst and most overrated movie of the year. I was so excited, I went to the theater opening night. What a disappointing follow up to Get Out and a complete waste of time. Do not watch this movie.

[fratboykate]

Dude every1 hates/doesn't trust Apple so nobody is subscribing to their service. Ppl got burned so bad w/ the last 2 giant mega corporations who promised to be great and to do even greater things (not even gonna mention google bc we're kidding ourselves if we think we can escape it... they're a damn verb in multiple languages!) aka FB and Amazon that we are just staying clear of their shows, bc apparently if Netflix was good for killing something other than Blockbuster, it was the Pirate spirit.

Do you think I’m paying for Apple TV+??? lol I literally linked to where you could stream the entire season online for free the other day.

Also...who is “everyone”? I have never heard a regular person say they don’t trust Apple. You know Apple holds a major share of global phones and computers right? Like...what??? I’ve heard the tinfoil hat shit about “not trusting apple” only from the Android fanboys online but no one likes them anyway so their opinions don’t count lol.

I actually know quite a few people who have Apple TV+ but most if not all of the already had an Apple TV device before they launched their subscription arm last year so it was a logical transition for them. Truth of the matter is, people are burned out with subscriptions. This is just cable bundles another way and the initial appeal of Netflix was that we were getting rid of those. Anyone with a brain knew it was a bad idea for each network/studio/company to want to release their own paid platform and saturate the market but people gotta run first face into a wall first before they learn their lesson. Apple not being as mainstream as Netflix or Hulu has nothing to do with people not trusting it. Audiences just don’t want to pay for yet another subscription when Apple hasn’t really put out anything that appeals to the masses. They’ve suffered from the same problem Prime has which is they’ve gotten a lot of big names on their shows but the shows are either bland as hell or they do a shit job at marketing them. Like...the marketing campaign for Dickinson is disappointing as hell once you watch the show and see the thirty different ways they could’ve pushed this. They’ve been relying on names to get them subscribers and it doesn’t work like that. I love Hailee. Like LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE Hialee and I didn’t watch the show until I literally had to for a work thing because I knew I wasn’t going to pay for ATV+ so then watching it was just going to mean extra steps for me since I had to torrent it. The new streamers are bombing their approach at appealing new audiences and we’re going to see a lot of them go away in the next couple of years because of it. That’s what it comes down to, not some major distrust campaign.

Also like, imagine thinking Apple is any more of a threat to anything than Disney is. Disney is the real poison in the entertainment industry and yet people rushed to subscribe to it???? Your logic does not compute.

[moodyvalentinestories]

prime numbers. you know the drill 😛

2 – What’s your favourite piece of clothing you’ve own/owned? I had a lot of those over the years, but at the moment, it’s this dress. I really, really fucking love it.

3 – What hobbies would you get into if time and money wasn’t an issue? Hm. I honestly don’t know. If travelling the world counts as a hobby, then that. 

5 – Do you play sports? Oh God, absolutely fucking not.

7 – What Job would you be terrible at? Honestly, anything to do with cleaning. I’m so shit at cleaning.

11 – What would be the most amazing adventure to go on? I am not creative enough to come up with an answer for this.

13 – What state or country would you never like to go back to? Haven’t been anywhere terrible enough for me to say I’d never like to go back.

17 – What do you wish you knew more about? Everything. Every. Thing. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. I just want to know everything.

19 – What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should? Just constant reruns of old Disney and Nickelodeon shows and all that. GIVE ME MY CHILDHOOD BACK!

23 – What would be your ideal way to spend your weekend? Sleep. Spend some time writing. Write some more. Read. Watch Netflix. Write again. Sleep. Write. Pet a cat. Sleep. Also, eat between those things because, uh, that’s important-ish.

29 – What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of? I wouldn’t say most people haven’t heard of it, but my minor is Celtic Studies and people often ask what it actually is so I suppose that’s something. And it is super interesting. If you ignore the fact that we know pretty much nothing for sure and most of it is just theories/speculation.

31 – What’s the best book or series you’ve ever read? I know I used to be obsessed with Vampire Academy but I haven’t read those books in YEARS because I’m scared I won’t like them anymore. Other than that, I can’t really think of anything. Though there are definitely better books out there. My memory’s just shit.

37 – Would you rather go Hang Gliding or Whitewater rafting? I’m afraid of heights, but I’d still have to say Hang Gliding because it just sounds more fun to me.

41 – What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but haven’t gotten to it? Too many things.

43 – How different was your life one year ago? Hella. The biggest difference is that I’m much happier now, though.

47 – What movie title best describes your life? Clueless.

53 – What’s something you’re most likely to become famous for? My friend and I actually talked about this once, and it was either a) accidentally punching someone in the face with my elbow at a concert and going viral or b) taking an elbow to the face at a concert and going viral. That’s it, that’s all the options there are.

[dweemeister]

This blog’s Scorsese/MCU editorial stance that you didn’t ask for

I’m more permissive in my definition of cinema than Scorsese and Coppola are (I think there is no distinction between movies/film/cinema at the extreme baseline), so I’ll defend the MCU’s claim on being counted as my definition of cinema any day. I just don’t think - with the exception of the first Iron Man, first Captain America, and Black Panther - it’s been a particularly interesting run of films.

But I also think Scorsese’s definition of what “cinema” entails - a space that tests your capacity to empathize - is legitimate, and outlines perfectly what the best films ever made (regardless of where they came from and when they were shot) can do.

My biggest problem with the MCU - let’s face it, despite the presence of DC Comics films, the MCU is now synonymous with the superhero genre - is not that the films are being made, but that they are dominating movie screens. Even when the major American movie studios operated their own theater chains (they were forced to sell their theater stakes by the Supreme Court in 1948), this level of screen monopolization is essentially unheard of. MCU fans might counter and say that Hollywood released an obscene amount of Westerns from the 1910s-1950s. True, but the Hollywood studios in general were releasing far more feature films a year back then (as few as two feature films a month to as many as one new feature film a week plus dozens of short films). Excluding 20th Century Fox films and Lucasfilm but including Marvel, Disney will release only nine films to theaters this year. Again, that is a shockingly low amount compared to a decade ago.

This dominance is reshaping audience expectations (this is going to be very U.S.-centric). Mid-budget character dramas are no longer compelling enough to many younger viewers to purchase a ticket for, high ticket prices aside. Those films used to be Hollywood’s bread and butter, but now they are solely the domain of Netflix/Amazon Prime or “arthouse” theaters (which largely do not exist outside major urban and urban-suburban areas) - watching it via streaming opens the viewer up to various household distractions, an algorithm that doesn’t challenge viewers to seek out something they might not otherwise watch, and other ethical problems with streaming services that deserve an entirely separate post. So too have non-English language films, romantic comedies (straight comedies in general are on the wane from American theaters), musicals, historical epics, war films, hand-drawn animation (which pretty much is found everywhere except America now), and many more have all but disappeared in North America outside those aforementioned urban and urban-suburban areas.

What do you want your popular culture to look like? What do you want the environment for up-and-coming filmmakers with wildly original ideas to look like?

[truststatus]

Easyvpn reddot

EASYVPN REDDOT FULL

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EASYVPN REDDOT FULL

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