#ray jenkins x reader

[cubestrahm]

“Yeah. Like a date.” Her whole body’s expression softened. Like she was a woman in that moment and not a worker that Gavin had payed for. “Do you have a pager?” @danime25 (x x)

[danime25]

ao3 // masterlist

*Summary: Gavin plays a trick on Ray one night after drinks. Ray gets a little bit more than he bargained for.

*Content/Tags: Fluff and Smut, Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Shameless Smut, Sex, PWP, TW: Vomit

*Rating: E for Mature Explicit Content

*Status: Oneshot Drabble/Complete

Author's Note: Never did I think I would be writing for such a small fandom but that's okay! I've got no justification for why I thought Angus Sampson in this movie was hot and needed to write this fic about him. But this is for all (2) other people out there that saw the Mule and were like "oh what a tall and pathetic looking man, I need to sleep with him". Enjoy!

“Come on. Let’s get you to a hotel, mate.” Gavin laughed. He’d never seen Ray so shitfaced in his fucking life. Normally the guy could hold his weight in beers, like it was drinking water but Gavin may have slipped some vodka and a strong Korean liquor in between cans of the cheapest stuff money could buy. He guided his friend into a cab and told the driver just to get them to a place before Ray threw up in the back. The driver seemed pissed by the request, but hurried them to a decent enough place nearby. Gavin shoved Ray out of the cab and into the lobby, wrestling some money out from Ray’s pocket. He made a gesture that equated to ‘Get a load of this bloke’ as Ray hunched over against a wall on the other side of the lobby. There’s no way that the front desk clerk could read this as a hook-up. Just a bro looking out for his mate, right? Ray stifled some vomiting noises behind him before swooped under Ray’s arms and guided him to the room that he had paid for. They barely crossed the threshold of the room when Ray ran as best he could in his inebriated state over to the toilet. He wretched and Gavin stood silently in the entryway. He wasn’t sure if he should ask if Ray was going to be okay, or say something biting about the fact that his friend hasn’t thrown up like this since they were barely teens sneaking a beer from Ray’s stepfather’s stash. When the gagging noises had stopped he stood in the doorway of the bathroom and asked,

“You gonna be alright there?”

“Never better.” Ray responded dryly, wiping the remnants off the side of his mouth. He took the cleaner looking rag and wet it under the sink before cleaning his face off. He looked in the mirror at his sunken in eyes as Gavin slapped his back, bringing up a whole new wave of nausea. He glared at the other man before saying, “I’m never going to another one of your fucking parties, mate.”

“C’mon you’ll be at my next one.” Gavin nudged him again. He shoved back against his friends touch, pushing him out the door, “Right. Get some sleep and in the morning you can get back round to your mum’s house.”

“See you later.” Ray closed the door behind Gavin’s back and flopped onto the bed. His head was swimming still as he laid there, shutting his eyes tight so as to try and focus on something that wasn’t his current state. He took one more deep breath before he was knocked out without his realizing. He jolted up from the bed when he heard the sound of knocking on his door.

“Hello?” The voice asked. It was soft, but it definitely could still be Gavin playing a prank on him.

“Gav, go away.”

“Room service.” The voice called back

“Gav, I’m really not in the fucking mood.” He strode across the room, nearly ripping the door off its hinges as he was about to tear into his fuckhead of a friend for interrupting him while he slept. Only to see a woman standing before him. “Oh. Sorry. Thought you were someone else.”

“You’re Ray?” She asked him, her hand hovering over the center of his chest while she waited for a response. He raised an eyebrow before nodding his head slowly. He was pushed back into his room by her fingertips and shoved onto his bed. She worked her jacket off over her shoulder and let the fabric fall onto the floor. He looked at her absolutely dumbfounded before asking,

“What are you here for?”

“Your friend ordered me. Said you could use a good time.”

Ray just blinked a couple of times before breaking into an apology, “Miss, I’m sorry. Really I am but I’m trying to get over this hangover and my piece of shit friend did this as a prank probably…”

“Then let’s try and enjoy this in spite of him.” She leaned into his personal space before pressing her lips onto his. His lips were still for a moment, thankful he had taken the time to clean his face before passing out. With a slight hesitation he put a hand on her neck and started mashing their lips together. She pulled away from him and ran her thumb over his lips, “No offense, but your friend was right saying you weren’t well practiced.” She smiled, “Almost like I’m taking your virginity.” He kept his mouth shut. He wouldn’t confirm or deny it, or at least he thought he couldn’t. Rather he would change the topic,

“You’ve got a lovely accent.” He looked up at her as her fingers kept toying with the edge of his mouth

“Thank you.” She laughed in earnest, “You might be my easiest lay, but you’re pretty damn sweet.”

“Thank you, I think.” He replied. She eased her hands onto his shoulders and guided him down onto his back, his legs propped up over the side of the bed. She rested on top of his center and pushed herself down into him for some friction. His hands darted to her hips, resting on her soft curves. He bit down on his lip and a finger trailed under his chin, forcing his gaze back up to her. She took his hands and moved them up her back and let his hand hover over the clasps to her bra. He took her cue and unhooked the garment slowly. He slipped a finger underneath the strap and helped to ease it off her body. His hands moved to her front, cupping her breasts between his hands. She leaned in closer to him as she kissed him. It felt chaste. Her hand rested on his chest as she tilted her head the other way. Her hand shifted to the back of his neck. She forced him back down onto his back as they were linked by their lips.

“We can do more than just make-out, you know” she grinned at him

“Yeah. Yeah let’s do that” he nodded, pulling away from her again to lift his shirt off over his head and throwing it to the floor. He brought his fingers down quickly to his belt, fumbling to get the buckle undone. She pressed a kiss onto his cheek and delicately swatted his hands away before unlocking it and pulling it off his body in one long movement. If he weren’t using his hands to keep himself upright enough to look at her, he’d almost clap. He shook that thought immediately out of his head as he dove right in for another kiss from her. She slid his pants and underwear down to his ankles and shimmied down his body. She laid one hand down next to Ray’s outside thigh and used her dominate hand to wrap around his semi-erect dick. After a couple of quick pumps and some kisses as Ray tried to avoid making direct eye contact with the woman servicing him, she got up from the bed. Ray let out a whine that he tried desperately to suck back in as she smirked and reached into her purse. She pulled a tube out and brought it back over to Ray. He made a low whimper as strands from her hair brushed across his bare shoulder. She covered him in the lube and a condom before thrusting herself onto him. His hand darted up across her back as she took him deeper into herself. She thrusted hard into his lap, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. He moaned as he pushed her further down onto him. His grasp was firm on her ass as she slowly started to move. He wanted to please her. He wanted her to cum because of him… he might not be her best lay but he wanted her to be happy. He carefully pushed her down so that she would stop bouncing on him and she gave him a look. Rather than answer with words, he shoved his head in between her breasts. His lips moved across the fat before he latched onto her tit. His tongue lapped at the sensitive skin and she let out a moan from deep within her chest.

“So good…” She whispered. She continued to ride him, speeding up as she felt Ray’s hands squirm across her back. She bit down on his lip ever so slightly while kissing him until he came into the condom. While she rode him until he was spent, her hand slid across his chest. He looked at her with big eyes after she had gotten off his lap and curled up next to him. She held onto his arm for a moment and returned his gaze. He cautiously pressed his lips onto the crown of her head and snaked his fingers through hers, connecting them. “Not too bad…” She started, about to tell him that he could use some more practice but decided against it at the last second.

“I thought it was nice.” Ray shrugged, “You looked lovely.”

“Thank you.” She rolled onto her side and looked at the clock. She let out a sigh and slowly got up from the bed. Ray instinctively reached out to her and held her down. She leaned back into him and gave him a kiss on the lips,

“I have to go, I’m sorry.”

“I know…” He let go of her before she leaned in once more. He pursed his lips expecting another kiss before she said

“Y’know I wouldn’t mind seeing you again… outside of work.”

“Like a date?”

“Yeah. Like a date.” Her whole body’s expression softened. Like she was a woman in that moment and not a worker that Gavin had payed for. “Do you have a pager?”

“No… but I could give you my number.” He got up from the bed and grabbed a piece of toilet paper. He ran back and shoved himself back into his pants before rummaging through the hotel room to find something to write down his number. He found a pen in the bedside counter and scribbled furiously. When he tore through the paper he looked for a more solid piece. He ripped a corner off a page from the hotel directory and handed it to her. She pulled out her wallet and carefully tucked it into a side pocket. “Thank you, y’know. For not throwing it away immediately.”

She frowned a little bit as he said that. “I’d never… could I call you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. You could do that.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you then.” She smiled and slipped out of the hotel room. After getting his shirt back on he walked out of the hotel room himself and tried to orient where he was. He stepped outside the hotel and looked around, figuring out he was on the way other side of town from his mother’s house. After scrounging up enough money from his pockets he got in a taxi and went back to his home.

“There you are, Ray. Where the hell have you been all night?” His mom asked him out of concern. He brushed it off with a couple of non-committal responses before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and saying that he had to go to bed after the night he had out with Gavin. “Always in trouble that one. His mum would be rolling over in her grave if she could see him.”

“Yeah. Good night, Mum.” Gavin replied and walked off to his room. No sooner was he asleep before he heard the sound of the phone ringing coming from the kitchen.

“Well I don’t know if he’s available right now, love…” He heard his mother’s muffled voice on the other side of his door. He quickly swung the door open and walked quickly to the kitchen, stealing the phone from his mother’s hand. He cleared his throat before talking into the receiver

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Ray?” The familiar voice asked. It sounded fraught with anticipation as she waited to make sure she’d gotten the right number

“Yeah this is.” He smiled into the phone

“Told you I’d call tomorrow.” She laughed quietly, “Anyway, I was calling to see if you’d still like to go on that date… now that you’re probably sober.” Her voice trailed. He didn’t need her to finish whatever it was she was going to say

“Yeah. Yeah I’d like that. I’m pretty free most nights.”

“I’m free on Thursday, if that’s alright with you?”

“I have a football…” He started, “But actually, yeah. I’ll be free.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” He could feel the warmth of her smile on the other end

“See you.” He held onto the plastic object in his hand before putting it back onto the wall

“Who was that?” His mother asked

“Wrong number.” He replied. It wasn’t a very convincing lie

“Awfully long for a wrong number.” She replied back. She wasn’t fooled. He shrugged it off and sat at the couch in front of the family TV. He grinned as he thought about taking her out for the night. For once, he’d have something to thank Gavin for the next time they saw each other.

[goatcheesecak3]

Maybe a story where the reader helps clean and patch up Gavin after a rough bar fight.

Gavin Ellis X F!reader

Fic type: fluff

Warnings: mention of physical altercation, blood, alcohol

Summary: Your boyfriend, Gavin, comes home drunk out of his mind and it's your job to patch him up.

A/N hello! sorry it took me so long to get around to this, but i hope you enjoy it! if anyone wants the m!reader version just let me know! also, sorry if the formatting is weird, i'm posting this from my laptop lmao

Midnight. Gavin had gone out for drinks with Ray a few hours ago, and he still wasn’t home. Initially, y/n hadn’t been worried, she knew Gavin wouldn’t risk going anywhere too sleazy with Ray, not after the last time he had roped Ray into that world. Unbelievably, even being used as a drug mule by Gavin wasn’t enough to make Ray give up on him. They needed eachother in certain ways, Ray kept Gavin grounded and sensible, and Gavin made sure Ray actually had fun – y/n was more than grateful that her asshole boyfriend had at least one responsible and kind friend. However, as the minutes ticked on by, she felt herself growing anxious. What if Gav had left Ray to go see some of his old “work associates”? what if he’d gotten himself arrested? Oh god, what if he was dead in a ditch somewhere? What if- *CLUNK * - the front door opened.

“y/n? are you up?” she heard a familiar voice call softly from the hall. It was Ray, with a nearly comatose Gavin slung over his shoulder like a bindle.

“Christ! How much did the silly prick drink?” y/n gasped.

“Enough to get in a punch up with a guy twice his size” Ray answered, his voice shy, but light hearted, as though he was unsure if he was allowed to laugh.

“Just dump him on the sofa, Ray, I’ll take him up to bed after I clean that blood off his face”

Ray obliged.

“You’re a saint for putting up with him,” y/n chuckled, reaching into her purse, “here, get yourself a cab home, your mum must be worried sick by now”

…

“Agh… what the…” Gavin winced as he came back around

“Shhh, don’t be a baby” y/n teased, dabbing a cut on his lip with an alcohol pad.

“When did I get hom- OW! Can you cut that out?!”

“about ten minutes ago, Ray carried you here”

Gavin’s tired eyes filled with dread.

“did he tell you about…”

“the fistfight? Yeah, it might’ve come up” y/n said, raising her eyebrows and shooting him a pissed off look.

Gavin knew he fucked up, he’d promised y/n he’d stay on the straight and narrow, he knew how much it upset her when he got into fights. He was on thin ice with the law as it was, he should have been keeping his head down and his nose clean- easy as pie in theory, but when some cunt at the bar shouts “Oi Gav, yer new bird dresses like a slag” it gets particularly difficult.

“Babe, it’s not what you think, this dickhead was saying all sorts of horrible shit about you, I was like… defending your honour” Gavin stumbled over his words, desperately trying to explain himself.

Y/n’s expression softened.

“You’re an idiot, Gav. I don’t need you to beat people up for me. That guy probably didn’t even know who I was, more than likely he just wanted to get a rise out of you” She sighed as she applied some ointment – more gently this time – onto a scrape on his cheek.

“C’mon, don’t I get any credit at all for trying to stick up for you? Look at how busted up my lip is!” Gavin whined slightly, a cheeky grin forming on his face.

Y/n attempted to stay serious, but she couldn’t help herself from smiling.

“If I kiss it better will you pack it in?”

“Maybe”

She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss onto Gavin’s still slightly bloody lips.

“better?”

“much better” Gavin grinned, his eyes droopy and a big dopey smile plastered on his face.

“c’mon you big softie, let’s get you some rest. You’ve got a lovely headache to look forward to tomorrow” Y/N teased, taking Gavin’s hand and kissing his cheek lovingly. God he was an idiot, but a cute idiot.

[thisisawonderfulusername]

let’s save the world

season one, episode ten

five hargreeves x reader

summary: the end of the world is back on, and it’s your job to stop it.

trigger warnings: cursing, violence

word count: 4k

a/n: final episode of season one! i have decided that i will be continuing into season two because i have so many ideas for it and i want to share them :) hope you enjoy this part! also, i think you know this by now, but the italic bits are flashbacks

as you jumped again you see nothing but fire and rubble, the once beautiful streets destroyed. the next moment, you realize five isn’t next to you like he was just seconds ago. your heart dropped to your stomach

what did you guys do?

you turn slowly in a circle, examining the unrecognizable terrain of fallen buildings, ash floating through the air from the fires that blazed on top of the debris.

you shout for five, beginning to walk on shaky legs to hopefully find him nearby. you find a paper lying on the ground, and you pick it up, reading the headline and shaking your head at it, not wanting to believe what it said. you throw it to the side, yelling once again for five.

after a few shouts with no reply, you let out a shaky breath, falling to your knees and feeling the wreckage poke at your legs. when it really sinks in that you’re all alone here, not even knowing where here is, you scream.

you scream until your throat is scratchy and tears run down your face, your chest rising and falling rapidly from your short breaths.

-

the newspaper from the day you got stuck in the apocalypse. there was no difference in what it said.

you stare at it in shock, letting out a shaky breath. there was no way. you guys killed harold jenkins, the target is dead. the man who ends the world is dead, so why is the headline the same?

“y/n?” five stands from his stool, quickly moving past the counter to see what had you so shocked. “what’s wrong?”

your heart was starting to race, and all the memories came back to you. the buildings turned to ash and rubble, the fire burning everywhere. that can’t happen again. you hold the newspaper out to five, trying to calm yourself. “we-” you take in a sharp breath, “we need to get back to the academy. now.”

he looks at the paper, his eyes widening slightly. “shit.”

he grabs your hand not even a second later, and you appear in front of the academy- what was the academy. it was rubble now, just like it was when you got stuck in the future.

the both of you quickly move to get over the rubble, and you hear five let out a sigh of relief when he sees that his siblings are alive. “guys.” he calls out, getting over to where they stood as fast as possible. “this is it. the apocalypse is still on, the world ends today.”

they all look at you two as you stand there, catching your breath as you try to keep yourself from panicking, wringing your hands together. “i thought you said that was over,” luther mentions, taking a few steps towards you.

“we were wrong, okay?” you tell them, grabbing the newspaper from five, “this is the newspaper from the day we got stuck in the future- the headline’s the same, it hasn’t changed.” you wave the paper in the air, noticing that your hands had started to shake.

diego shakes his head, “no, that doesn’t mean anything.” he denies, “time could’ve been altered since that came out this morning.”

“you’re not listening,” five’s says in irritation, “i assumed this place came down with everything else. but here we are. the moon’s still shining, everything’s still in one piece,” he motions around you all, “but not the academy.”

klaus steps forward, snatching the paper from you to look at it himself, muttering something about being confused. “then listen, you idiot.” you seethe, looking around at the fallen building, “vanya destroys the academy before the apocalypse. we thought jenkins was the cause, but it turns out he was only what set off the bomb that is vanya.” you hear helicopters above, getting closer, as well as the sirens of emergency services. “vanya causes the apocalypse.”

luther stares with wide eyes, “we have to find her.”

a bright light shines over all of you, and you cover your eyes to block the rays. “we’ve gotta get out of here,” diego stands from where he was sitting on a pile of rubble, glancing at where the light was coming from. “regroup at the super star!”

everyone starts to make their way over the rubble as quickly as possible, and you grab five’s hand as he jumps away, and you crouch down to catch your breath when you land in the bowling alley. while you were waiting for the others, you look up at five. “okay, if we die, i just want you to know-”

"we won’t die.” he cuts you off, and you force a smile at his determination. you hoped he was right, but you could never be sure.

looking to the door as everyone else walks in, you nod, standing back up straight. “alright. we won’t die.” you run your fingers through your hair, sighing as the others meet up with you all.

you all got a lane so you wouldn’t be kicked out or questioned for just hanging around, sitting around on the seats. the sounds of the balls rolling down the polished lanes and knocking the pins down filled the air, and luther spoke up. “i hate to say this, but everyone needs to prepare.”

“for what?” diego questions.

“to do whatever it takes to stop vanya.” he responds simply, getting hit in the chest with the notepad that allison had been carrying around to write whatever she had to say. he sighs, “we may not have a choice, allison.” he tells her in frustration.

“bullshit,” diego argues, his leg bouncing up and down, “there’s always options.”

you didn’t want to cause a fight in the family, but you didn’t have time to sit around to figure this out. “yeah? like what?” you ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

shaking his head, diego looks away. “i don’t know.”

“look, whatever we decide, we have to find vanya,” luther stands from his seat, shrugging slightly, “and we have to do it fast. she could be anywhere.”

you nod, “or... here?” you turn towards klaus as he speaks, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion, moving to look at the paper as he shows one of the pages. seeing a picture of vanya in one of the advertisement boxes, you grin. her concert.

“hello,” you all turn to look at the woman who walked over, an awkward smile on her face. “i hate to intrude, but my manager says if you’re not going to bowl, you'll have to leave.” she shrugs before walking back to the counter, where a particularly grumpy man stood.

rolling your eyes, you stand from you seat, grabbing one of the bowling balls and carelessly tossing it down the lane, looking to the manager and sending him a mocking smile before sitting back down.

allison writes something on her notepad, showing all of you and tapping on the paper. she’s our sister.

luther shakes his head, “we’re the only ones capable of stopping this.” he tells her, “we have a responsibility to dad.”

“to dad?” diego looks at him in irritation, “no, i’ve heard enough about-”

“he sacrificed everything to bring us back together.” luther argues back, and you sigh at how often they fight.

five looks between them, “i’m with luther on this one.” he looks to everyone else, “we can’t give her a chance to fight back. there are billions of lives at stake, we’re past trying to save one.”

klaus looks around, “hey guys, maybe i could help...”

“now’s not the time-”

diego cuts luther off, “no, let him finish.” when he looks at him in confusion, he defends him, “he saved my life today.”

klaus looks to his side, “yeah, yeah i did... take credit for it.” he nods, “in fact, the real hero,” he pauses for a moment, “was ben.” everyone looks at him, clearly not believing what he was saying. how could you? as far as you knew, he could only communicate with the dead. “today- listen. today, he punched me in the face! and earlier, he was the one who saved diego, not me.”

“you are unbelievable, klaus.” luther scoffs.

“look, you want proof?” he picks up one of the bowling balls, “i’ll give you proof.” he looks past five, and you follow his gaze to... absolutely nothing. “okay, ready?” he breathes, “catch.” he tosses the ball, and five quickly moves to the side out of the way, and you all watch as the ball hits the ground, bouncing a few times before rolling away.

you sigh softly, and luther looks at him in annoyance. “is there any way to silence that voice in your head that screams out to be the center of attention?”

“you know, i liked you a lot better before you got laid.” klaus tells him with a glare, and the monkey man’s eyes widen at the exclamation, and klaus quickly tries to fix it when he sees allison’s look of surprise. “it wasn’t his fault, though, because he was ridiculously high! and the girl- she thought he was a furry-” luther hisses at him to stop, and he nods, looking away.

you watch as allison walks away with luther following, rolling your eyes. your attention is caught by a woman walking over with a kid next to her, “excuse me, it’s my son kenny’s birthday today, and, uh, wouldn’t your son and his little girlfriend have more fun with kids their own age?”

snorting, you look to the side, nearly choking on air as you hold back from laughing too hard. “i would rather chew off my own foot.” you hear five seethe, and you almost fall over from the laugh you let out, seeing the woman’s eyes widen before she quickly lead her son away.

when five stands from his seat and starts walking away to another lane, you quickly get up to follow, catching your breath from your laughing fit as you watch him flip open a part of the machine the balls come back to, your laughter immediately ceasing when you see the canister, labeled as ‘number five.’ “well, shit.” you breathe, holding a hand over your stomach which was sore as if you just did one hundred sit ups.

“how did she find us?” he questions no one in particular, before he starts to dig through his pockets, sighing when he pulled out a few of the candies that she had offered when you guys were back at the commission.

you purse your lips as he opens one of the candies, revealing a tracker. “she’s good.” you commend quietly, nodding your head.

when he opens the canister and dumps the message out, it’s in a fortune cookie, and you furrow your eyebrows as you watch him crack it open.

rain quail, room twelve

he sighs, shaking his head. “i’ll go see what she wants, you stay here and make sure the idiots don’t do anything stupid.”

“wait, are you-” before you can finish, he had disappeared, and you sigh softly, grabbing the open receptacle and screwing the cap back on, sticking it back where it came from before going back to join the others at the lane.

luther and allison come back at the same time as you, and the big man looks confused as he stops behind some of the seats. “where did five go?”

you sigh, shaking your head, “he left. we don’t need to wait around.”

luther glances around, “alright, concert starts in thirty minutes.”

“okay, so what’s the plan?” diego questions him, and he stumbles for words for  a moment.

“well,” he starts, pursing his lips as he thinks, “we should go to icarus theater.”

diego looks at him deadpan, “that’s a location, not a plan.” the other shakes his head slightly, his mouth open but not saying anything. “that’s all you got?” he asks, stepping closer to him, “look, you want to be number one? fine. but you have to get us all on the same page because right now, we’re a mess.”

“he’s right.” you nod your head towards diego, bouncing on your toes for a second, “we need a plan. and we need one now, because the end of the world isn’t so far away.”

before he says anything else, there’s sudden rapid gunfire and you all duck behind the various racks of balls. the party of kids and their parents scream, doing their best to get under cover, and you sneak a glance at who it was.

there were at least ten people, masks over their faces with machine guns firing without mercy. people from the commission, no doubt. you curse under your breath, and diego pops up to throw a knife at one of the men, who stumbles into the sound system, the lights turning off and being replaced with neon colors, music playing over the speakers.

“alright.” you mumble to yourself, taking one more look to see where all of them were, before quickly moving to another rack, closer to a small group of them all. you jump onto one of the guys’ back, your hands igniting with fire and lighting him up. you hear his scream, muffled by the mask he wore as you grab the gun he dropped, shooting the other two men with him.

“the lanes!” you hear luther shout over the chaos, and you look over to see them running down the bowling lanes, bullets flying past them. you quickly sprint across the floor, nearly slipping from the polish on the wooden lanes, but you manage to keep your balance, getting to the end of the lane and sliding through the pins, turning to shoot at a few of the men through the hole before throwing the gun to the side and following the others out of the building.

-

you all ran into the theater, going up the stairs as quick as you could. as you were about to go in, you turn to see that allison had stopped luther, and you sigh heavily, catching your breath.

he looks at her, “allison, you know i can’t do that, she’s beyond reasoning.” he tries to move forward again, but is once again stopped. “do you honestly think she’s gonna listen?”

you tap your foot against the floor, crossing your arms over your chest. “we don’t have time for this, guys.” you raise your voice slightly, your heart beat growing quicker with every second that passes where you haven’t stopped vanya.

looking at her for a second, he nods. “okay.”

allison turns on her heel and quickly runs into the auditorium, and you all stand back. “you’re using her as a distraction, aren’t you?” diego asks luther.

“it’s our best chance to incapacitate vanya.” he reasons, and for once, you actually agree with what he’s doing. when he let her go and do as she wanted, you were ready to run in and do it yourself, but at least he had some sort of plan. “she’ll thank us later.” he sighs.

you follow them as they move to find their way backstage, telling klaus to be lookout- which you felt bad for, but you technically did need it. those men would probably be here in no less than ten minutes, and you needed to know when they did.

you found your way backstage, luther at the right side with you and diego on the other, preparing to run out. when luther made the move, all of you ran out to get her and hopefully manage to knock her out or something to make sure she couldn’t use her powers.

before you got close enough to do anything, she had seen you. she stood from her chair, her skin paler than usual and her eyes icy. she cut her bow through the air swiftly, and all three of you are pushed back from the force, landing in the audience.

you landed on the back, the air being knocked out of you, and you cough a few times as you take heavy breaths. all around you, people from the audience were screaming and running from the room, trying to get out as quickly as possible. the orchestra continued to play.

it wasn’t too long later that the auditorium was completely empty, and the four of you sat behind the rows of seats, yelling over the music to figure out what to do.

you didn’t have enough time to come up with something, as the men who you had expected came back, firing into the rows of seats and the walkways between them. you groan softly, counting in your head.

“what’s with all the lollygagging?” you look up into the walkway next to you to see five, and you quickly grab his arm to pull him behind the seats.

“are you trying to get shot?” you yell at him, and he ducks as more shots are fired.

he looks around, “i thought they would take a bit longer to get here!” he shouts back, and you roll your eyes, glancing up.

“you take out the guys coming down the aisle- i’ll get them.” you point to the small group of guys making their way down the rows of seats on the other side, and he nods, jumping to take out them as you rushed past the seats.

when you got to the other side, they had their backs turned to you, continuing their fire on the seats . “you’re making this way too easy.” you mumble, sweeping your foot under one of the guys’ legs to knock him down before snatching the gun he held, shooting him and his little buddies.

klaus comes running into the hall and when you look over to shoot some more guys overhead, you see the ghostly figure that slowly appeared before tentacles grew out of him, taking out all of the guys with ease.

you watch as he takes everyone out, slightly shocked, before you run to meet up with all of them in the middle of one of the aisles, ready to take down vanya now that the men in your way were taken care of.

“alright, you go stage left,” luther tells diego, “i’ll go right. you three go from the front.” you all nod and move to get into position.

you crouched behind the front row in the middle of the seats, five and klaus on either ends of the seats, and as luther shouts for everyone to go, you hop over the seat and sprint towards the stage with the rest of them.

just as you get to her again, with another swipe of her bow, you’re suspended in the air, gasping for air. you manage to turn your head and see the others in the same position as you, vanya somehow holding all of you in the air and slowly squeezing the life out of you.

your vision starts to blur, but you see allison standing behind vanya, holding a gun to the back of her head with tears running down her face. just as you’re about to pass out, she points the gun to the back of the room and shoots, causing vanya to drop all of you to the floor.

the glass of the skylight above you all shatters as her power is directed towards it, and you catch your breath as you look up and see her fall to the ground. all of you run up onto the stage, making sure that she was alive.

“we did it,” luther breathes out, and you let out a breathy chuckle from the realization. “we saved the world.”

as you sit on the stage, catching your breath, klaus stands up, looking out of the broken window. “guys,” he trails off slightly, pointing out. you look up and see what he’s looking at- the moon, breaking apart in the sky. your eyes widen, “see that big moon rock coming towards us?”

“so much for saving the world.” you mutter, holding your face in your hands as you sigh. “it was great while it lasted.” you chuckle bitterly, shaking your head as you look back up to see the end of the world hurtling towards you in the form of a piece of the moon.

five paces for a moment as the siblings talk, before speaking up. “this doesn’t have to be the end.” he states, turning to look at everyone as they turn to him in confusion, “i think i have a way out of here, but you have to trust me on it.”

they all shake their heads, all deciding that it probably wasn’t the best thing to trust him on it.

standing slowly, you sigh. “are you thinking what i think you are?” you ask, raising an eyebrow in his direction, and he shrugs.

“in less than a minute we’re going to be vaporized. we have to try something.” his siblings turn to look at him, waiting for him to explain his idea. “we use my ability to time travel, and i’ll take you all with me.”

glancing at each other, the men nod, “what’s the worst thing that can happen?” diego shrugs.

“well, we’re fifty-eight, looking like children, so there’s that to think about.” you chuckle, shaking your head.

they all look around for a moment, after a moment all agreeing.

“okay great, luther, grab vanya.” five instructs, and you’re already standing next to him, grabbing his hand in preparation for whatever was about to happen. the others gather around, holding onto each other.

as he picks her up, luther looks at woman who had passed out. “should we be taking her?” he questions, “i mean, she’s the cause, isn’t that like taking a bomb with us?”

“she’ll always cause the apocalypse.” you tilt your head to either side to pop your neck, “unless we try to take her back with us and fix her.”

they all nod, gathering together without saying anything else. five looks up as he focuses on traveling back in time, and a temporal anomaly, much like the one you came out of eight days ago, grows above you all.

“it’s working!” you hear luther yell over the deafening sound of the anomaly growing, hissing and crackling as electricity would.

“hold on!” five yells, holding onto your hand tighter, “it’s going to get messy!”

as you look around at the others, you see their younger selves, and you wonder if the same thing will happen to them, before a large flash blinds you.

suddenly, you’re falling out of the sky.

-

taglists

main: @horrorklaus​

tua: @rasberrymay​ @noodlextrash​

five: @anapocalypseinmymind​ @five-hargreeves-official​ @insatiable-ivy​ @coffee-e-addict @xplrreylo​ @fandomfreakff​ @colie-babi​

lstw: @aspiringwriter1 @thetrashypanda423 @lilacs-lavender @wow-lookit-all-the-fandoms @ohmyitsfaith @xplrreylo @fandomfreakff @onedollarduck @sleepygal124 @faith-quake @stripedchickens @youcandalekmyballs @pettyjayy @libidinexx @bts-chub @theoriginalkat @flowertoty

[respectingromance]

So you’d like to try romance

If you’re interested in reading romance or would just like to know a bit more about the genre by reading books instead of going off of whatever nonsense you’ve heard about it, here’s a list grouped by arbitrary categories that I made up as I went.

“I have a shelf of chick lit, but I just don’t know where to start with those books.”

Congrats! If you read “chick lit,” then you’ve probably already read romance because the generally agreed upon definition of a romance novel is a story that 1. centers on a love story and 2. has an emotionally satisfying ending. Lots of chick lit fits those two rules. It’s all just marketing.

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Roomies by Christina Lauren

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Pretty much anything with a colorful illustrated cover featuring two people: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston; Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert; No Judgments by Meg Cabot; etc.

“I have a shelf of historical fiction and historical romance is such a natural fit for me it’s really a wonder that I haven’t read any of it yet.”

Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James

Diary of an Accidental Wallflower by Jennifer McQuiston

A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare

One Night in London by Caroline Linden

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

“Listen, if I’m going to read romance, I want to read the classics.”

I’m listing the classics that I like because it’s my list. 

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (2006)

Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey (1990)

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (2002)

Mackenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard (1989)

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale (1992)

Ransom by Julie Garwood (1999)

It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1994)

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (1995)

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts (1998), Vision in White by Nora Roberts (2009), anything you want by Nora Roberts, including Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (who is Nora Roberts) (1995)

“You’re giving me too much REALITY. Where’s the fantasy?!”

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

“No, no, no, that’s all too far-fetched for me. I want to read about things that could really happen.”

Hard Hitter by Sarina Bowen

Something About You by Julie James

Act Like It by Lucy Parker

“No! I’ve spent years hearing about all the weird stuff in romance novels! Give me your wildest shenanigans or give me nothing!”

Warrior’s Woman and Keeper of the Heart by Johanna Lindsey (Actually, just read any old-school Lindsey.)

The Red Hot Cajun by Sandra Hill

I listed Dark Lover by J.R. Ward above. Keep reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series if you want to go from the shallow end to the deep end and beyond.

Iron Cowboy by Diana Palmer -- or just read this review on Smart Bitches Trashy Books.

Pregnesia by Carla Cassidy -- or just read this review on Smart Bitches Trashy Books.

“Okay, now I’m really pissed off because I knew romance had a ‘diversity problem’ and you didn’t include enough writers of color or diverse characters or people who aren’t straight for me.”

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai

A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Weatherspoon

A Seditious Affair by K.J. Charles

Trade Me by Courtney Milan

The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian

“I’m a dedicated romance reader, you didn’t include my favorite author or favorite book, and now I’m annoyed.”

Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson

Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath

Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis

Beard Science by Penny Reid

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

Virgin River by Robyn Carr

Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley

Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan

Look, just imagine I included your favorite here, okay?

“Wait, I know of some pretty big novelists who aren’t on this list. Why aren’t you recommending them?”

Nicholas Sparks is a jerk about the romance genre, even though romance readers are the reason he’s rich. Screw him.

Same for Diana Gabaldon.

Danielle Steele doesn’t write romance novels.

Everyone knows about Jane Austen.

Georgette Heyer was an anti-Semitic trash person.

That about covers it. Happy reading!

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 18 February 2019

Quick Bits:

Aquaman #45 gives us a new creation story with Father Sea and Mother Salt. It’s interesting world-building for what’s going on on this island. Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, and Sunny Gho seem to level up on their art again. This book is gorgeous.

| Published by DC Comics

Avengers #15 continues the vampire civil war, with the Shadow Colonel basically kidnapping Ghost Rider. Jason Aaron is definitely taking this series in weird places, but it remains highly entertaining. Especially with collaborators like David Marquez and Erick Arciniega who deliver some incredible artwork.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers: No Road Home #2 reveals how Nyx and her family took Olympus. There’s also a neat parallel narration for Hawkeye explaining how the guy with just a bow and arrows can take on gods and monsters. The art from Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco, and Jesus Aburtov is gorgeous, they really seem to pushing themselves with their storytelling. It’s just a shame that none of the artists are credited on the cover.

| Published by Marvel

Barbarella/Dejah Thoris #2 is ridiculously impressive. Leah Williams, Germán García, Addison Duke, and Crank! are delivering an intelligent, humorous, and compelling adventure tale here that reminds me a lot of some of what Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse did in Tom Strong. It’s incredibly inventive and the artwork is amazing. Highly recommended.

| Published by Dynamite

Batman #65 gives us the penultimate chapter of “The Price”, featuring an all out battle between Flash, Gotham Girl, and Gotham. The artwork from Guillem March and Tomeu Morey is stunning, with some incredible layouts as the action continues.

| Published by DC Comics

Black Widow #2 is fairly bloody and violent as Natasha racks up a body count tracking down the people running “No Restraints Play”, a site that specializes in depravity. Flaviano’s line art seems scratchier than the first issue, but it works for the violent tone of story.

| Published by Marvel

Bloodborne #9 begins the third arc, “A Song of Crows”, as Aleš Kot, Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson, Aditya Bidikar, and Jim Campbell spotlight Eileen the Crow. This is a bit of return to the kind of abstract storytelling and embrace of oblique existentialism of the first arc as Eileen investigates the ritual murder of a hunter, but is confounded by time and holes in the narrative.

| Published by Titan

Catwoman #8 is ostensibly the “conclusion” to “Something Smells Fishy”, but it doesn’t actually end the story in any way and leaves the reader at a cliffhanger of continuing elements. That being said, it’s still an entertaining issue from Joëlle Jones, Elena Casagrande, Fernando Blanco, John Kalisz, and Josh Reed. Wonderful action sequences, and more questions as to the nature of a reliquary that seems to contain resurrective powers.

| Published by DC Comics

Delver #1 begins a new Comixology Original series from MK Reed, C. Spike Trotman, Clive Hawken, Maarta Laiho, and Ed Dukeshire. It’s a very intriguing and unique take on the fantasy gaming theme of a dungeon full of treasure and monsters with delvers working to plumb the depths. But it’s from the perspective of the townsfolk whose land the door to the dungeon appears in and how it changes and impacts their lives. 

| Published by Iron Circus Comics

Doctor Strange #11 concludes the battle with Dormammu and the Faltine, for now at least, from Mark Waid, Jesús Saiz, Javier Pina, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Cory Petit. Some very nice art as usual from Saiz, Pina, and Rosenberg.

| Published by Marvel

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 continues “Mother of Exiles” from Tom Taylor, Juann Cabal, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham as Peter finds out a bit about the rumours regarding his neighbour and Under York, another duplicate New York City under New York City, that oddly isn’t the Monster Metropolis. Great humour from Taylor in the dialogue.

| Published by Marvel

Guardians of the Galaxy #2 takes a somewhat different approach as Peter Quill drunk dials Kitty as he tries to make sense of what’s going on with Thanos, Gamora, everyone who’s dead, and the current state of the Guardians. Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Marte Gracia, and Cory Petit are really taking this series into interesting offbeat territory, while still delivering some excellent humour and an ominous feel to Starfox’s new band of “guardians”.

| Published by Marvel

Incursion #1 begins a new mini picking up on where the Eternal Warrior and Geomancer are since Harbinger Wars 2 and Ninja-K, and pit them against Imperatrix Virago, a cosmic villain that is devouring worlds (kind of like if Galactus were pestilence), from Andy Diggle, Alex Paknadel, Doug Braithwaite, José Villarrubia, Diego Rodriguez, and Marshall Dillon. The art is incredible, the stakes seem pretty high, and the outlook after this first issue look pretty grim for Earth.

| Published by Valiant

James Bond 007 #4 sees Stephen Mooney join Greg Pak, Tríona Farrell, and Ariana Maher for the art chores for three issues, continuing the tale of Bond and “Oddjob”’s team-up. Like Marc Laming, Mooney seems to be born to draw Bond and espionage themed stories.

| Published by Dynamite

Judge Dredd: Toxic #4 concludes what has been an excellent series dealing with xenophobia and hateful rhetoric from Paul Jenkins, Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, Jason Millet, Shawn Lee, and Robbie Robbins. I’ve always found non 2000 AD Judge Dredd stories to be a bit of crapshoot, but IDW have been delivering well with the past two mini-series, this and Under Siege.

| Published by IDW

Justice League #18 is the latest excursion into the Legion of Doom territory from James Tynion IV, Pasqual Ferry, Hi-Fi, and Tom Napolitano. It works with some of the revelations from last issue regarding Martian Manhunter and builds a new narrative for Lionel Luthor’s past and his work with Vandal Savage. It’s interesting to see Tynion working with variations on discarded continuities in this way, building a new past that synthesizes pre-Flashpoint ideas with the current batch of backstories.

| Published by DC Comics

Middlewest #4 only seems to be getting better and better as more of this world and how it seems to work get fleshed out by Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos. There’s something incredibly magical and special about this series that taps into the feeling of some of the best coming-of-age fantasies as it blends Ray Bradbury, JM Barrie, and Carlo Collodi into this magical realist adventure.

| Published by Image

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #3 concludes the opening arc from Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garrón, David Curiel, and Cory Petit by adding Captain America to Miles & Rhino’s team-up. This has been a very entertaining start to the series, with a nice mix of Miles’ personal life and superheroics.

| Published by Marvel

Naomi #2 reasserts that Jamal Campbell is a powerhouse of an artist and one of the best kept secrets of the past few years who really should have a higher profile. His art is amazing. It also helps that the story he, Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker, and Carlos M. Mangual are telling is as compelling as this, as Naomi confronts Dee as she tries to learn about the day of her adoption. It’s very widescreen and epic as it hints at the broader DC Universe, but at the same time this is very deeply personal.

| Published by DC Comics

Old Man Quill #2 gives the Guardians a taste of the depravity and despair that Earth has fallen to in this post-superhero world. Ethan Sacks shows there’s still a bit of humour left, though, in that Piledriver’s descendent thinks that Piledriver was one of the all-time greats. Also the art from Robert Gill and Andres Mossa gives a wonderful amount of detail to the wastelands.

| Published by Marvel

Relay #4 returns after a delay with new artist Dalibor Talajić (I believe Andy Clarke had to bow out due to illness, but I’m not 100% sure on that). Talajić’s art style is not as bright and clean as Clarke’s, giving a darker, shadowy approach that results in the bleak, horror elements of the story coming further into focus.

| Published by AfterShock

Seven to Eternity #13 returns from its own lengthy delay to conclude the arc in Skod, with the revelation of part of Adam’s choice to save the Mud King. It reiterates the theme since the beginning that there seem to be no good choices in this world, that everything tainted, despite Adam’s father believing the world black and white. While we are going into another trade break, Rick Remender, Jerome Opeña, Matt Hollingsworth, and Rus Wooton consistently make this worth the wait.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Sharkey: The Bounty Hunter #1 is the latest of Mark Millar’s Netflix feeder series, after The Magic Order and Prodigy, with Simone Bianchi and Peter Doherty rounding out the team. This one feels a bit like if Warren Ellis were writing Strontium Dog, and it works. The artwork from Bianchi is worth it on its own. Gorgeous character designs.

| Published by Image

Venom #11 is another holy crap issue from Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, Joshua Cassara, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and Clayton Cowles. There are some really big revelations about Eddie and his family that really need to be read firsthand. Amazing work.

| Published by Marvel

X-O Manowar #24 reminds us again just how good of an artist and storyteller Tomás Giorello is. The action sequences and battle between Aric and Hesnid is incredible, with fairly inventive layouts that just elevate the overall impact of the pages. Giorello and Diego Rodriguez really make this something joyous to behold.

| Published by Valiant

Other Highlights: American Carnage #4, Bitter Root #4, Black Badge #7, The Black Order #4, Breakneck #3, Coda #9, Death Orb #5, DuckTales #18, East of West #41, Evolution #14, Exorsisters #5, Go Bots #4, Grumble #4, High Level #1, Hot Lunch Special #5, Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter #2, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #5, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Discovery Adventure, Jughead: The Hunger #12, Lightstep #4, The Lone Ranger #5, Lucifer #5, Lumberjanes #59, Mars Attacks #5, Monstress #20, Outpost Zero #7, Rainbow Brite #4, Shuri #5, Solo: A Star Wars Story #5, Star Wars Adventures #18, Starcraft: Soldiers #2, Stronghold #1, Sukeban Turbo #4, Superb #17, TMNT: Urban Legends #10, Teen Titans #27, Turok #2, The Unstoppable Wasp #5, The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #3

Recommended Collections: Amazing Spider-Man - Volume 2: Friends & Foes, Bedtime Games, The Beauty - Volume 5, Black Lightning: Brick City Blues, Captain America - Volume 1: Winter in America, Days of Hate - Volume 2, High Crimes, Infinity 8 - Volume 3: The Gospel According to Emma, Old Man Hawkeye - Volume 2: The Whole World Blind, The Punisher - Volume 1: World War Frank, West Coast Avengers - Volume 1: Best Coast

d. emerson eddy would do anything for a Klondike bar, but he won’t do that.

[ryanmeft]

Movie Thoughts: Justice League

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS It has taken me a while to pinpoint why Justice League is such a bad film. Some of you saw that and immediately bolted for for the door, off to rail against my disdain for the latest in the moribund and joyless DC movie universe. I'll save anyone remaining some time: the rest of this review doesn't get any better. As Roger Ebert would have said, I hated, hated, hated, hated this movie. So now you know what you're in for. Critics the world over, even those who sort of enjoyed it, have frequently illuminated the reasons. The script is...well. Was it even there? Like Transformers, I can't see how the film, full of sleep-inducing exposition, jokes that land like concrete, and mind-numbingly stultifying speeches about hope, could have needed a script. Chris Terrio's work reminds me how far he's come since Argo, not much of it in a good direction.

The trailer had moments of promise for a much better film How does one get a cast like this together and manage to do virtually nothing with them that makes you glad you bothered to go to the theatre? It takes a special talent, I imagine, and Zack Snyder is up to the task. After first neutralizing the rather interesting take on a more cynical Batman from Batman vs. Superman, he and his team then hand Ben Affleck not one interesting word to say. The natural talents of Gal Gadot are utterly wasted, Jason Momoa is there to take his shirt off, and Ray Fisher as a man who becomes mostly robot after an accident is so wooden that he really does feel like the makers needed a token black guy.

If you're unfamiliar with Fisher and are wondering if he's got the goods, you won't find out in this movie The few bright spots in storytelling, like Superman's return or Flash's personality, are completely negated by Snyder and the writing team's total apathy toward doing anything impactful or interesting with those elements. They feel like someone technically put toppings on the burger, but they were an afterthought, slapped on a badly cooked patty after it was already on the plate between two sad store bought buns. This is especially true of the return of Superman, played by Henry Cavill for the third time. Cavill is one of the few consistently good things about the modern DC movies, which must be why he's been squandered since Man of Steel (which, yes, I enjoyed). Here, he is brought back from the dead by the revolutionary science of plot convenience, and for a few wonderful moments it seems like the film will really explore the ethics of that. Then we get a moment every bit as bad as the infamous "Martha" scene from BvS, some simplistic interaction between Cavill and a seriously under-utilized Amy Adams, and Superman is off again, ready for one-liners and punching. I'm sure this will make the kind of people with a full shelf of action figures and statues blow their loads. I would have rather had the entire last act of the movie take place on that Kansas farm.

Gal Gadot, expressing my thoughts visually

That's long been Snyder's problem. He gets a good idea, partially implements it, then sees a squirrel and loses interest. I really liked Man of Steel, where Snyder seemed more focused than in any of his other films.  Here, he barely seems to care, as the story is lazy by any possible standard. Batman knows there is a big threat coming from space, but how does he know? That's not discussed. Nor does any member of the team have any personal motivation or stakes for being there. They show up, fight, pose, and leave, and the movie seems to be relying entirely on fans bringing their previous associations with the characters into the theatre with them.

*ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

Nowhere is that more evident than in the villain. He is called Steppenwolf, for some reason. He has come from space with an army of big bugs to destroy the planet, for some reason. He casually mentions the name Darkseid once, which will mean nothing to non-comic readers and meant little to me. I had to ask a friend who that was. That seems to confirm my suspicion that the line is in there to make DC nerds wet themselves and begin speculating on the next movie, very probably to distract them from the mess that this one is. Steppenwolf is by far the worst misstep here. Voiced by venerable actor Ciaran Hinds, the waste of talent is comparable to Oscar Isaac's turn in X-Men: Apocalypse. Buried under CGi, stripped of all need to showcase actual acting, they could have stuck a lighting technician in there at no detriment to the film. I think this might be a new low for superhero movies, as even the execrable Suicide Squad had the deliciously nutty performance of Margot Robbie to spice up that trash sandwich. In Justice League, the actors are left in the cold, the script is mind-numbing, the villain will go down in the Hall of Bad Guy shame, and the entire affair feels like the product of corporate apathy. Wonder Woman proved DC characters don't have to be painful. I've become rather infamous in my personal circles, too, for being a big fan of Man of Steel and for defending some of the more wonderfully batty aspects of BvS. I've long hoped Snyder had something up his sleeve. After seeing Justice League, hope has left the building. If the company were smart, they'd let him go his own way (it really feels like he wants off the bull) and put someone like Patty Jenkins in charge of this universe. Batman vs. Superman was a serious blow, but Justice League just put it in the emergency room.

Note: I wish to note I am aware of the Snyder family's loss, which resulted in Joss Whedon being brought in to finish nips and tucks on the film. While I feel for the Snyders, when I write a review I must review the film, not the circumstances, and that often includes identifying who seems to be most at fault if a movie goes wrong. So it was here, and no disrespect to the family was intended.

[savetopnow]

2018-03-10 16 MOVIE now

MOVIE

Birth. Movies. Death.

SXSW 2018 Review: TAKE YOUR PILLS Shines A Light On An Alarming Problem

Is Denis Villeneuve Still Making a DUNE Movie? Nope! Now He’s Making TWO Of Them

FIRST MATCH Trailer Takes A Girl’s Troubles To The Mat

Wes Anderson And Bill Murray: A Cinematic Rapport

Book Review: S. Craig Zahler’s HUG CHICKENPENNY Is A Touching Gothic Parable

CineVue

Film Review: Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

DVD Review: La Prisonnière

Oscars 2018: The Shape of Water wins Best Picture, Best Director

Film Review: Annihilation

Oscars 2018: Our final predictions

Cinema Blend

To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right A Wrinkle In Time Ticket

Super Seducer Game Won't Be Sold On PlayStation 4

Fortnite Update Adds New Game Mode

How Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just Confirmed A Huge Fan Theory In The 100th Episode

Sea Of Thieves Final Beta Is Now Playable

Cinema Scope

Madame Hyde (Serge Bozon, France/Belgium)

The Green Fog (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, US/Canada)

Cocote (Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias, Dominican Republic/Argentina/Germany)

The Uses of Disenchantment: Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water

3/4 (Ilian Metev, Bulgaria/Germany)

Comicboook.com

'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' Set Photo Reveals New Costumes

Star Wars: Daisy Ridley Doesn't Believe Rey Has Any Weaknesses

Kristen Wiig Cast as 'Wonder Woman 2' Villain Cheetah

Samuel L. Jackson's 'Captain Marvel' Behind-The-Scenes Photo Has Fans Speculating He's A Skrull

Fans React To 'Christopher Robin' Trailer

Film Comment Magazine

TCM Diary: Secret Ceremony (1968) + The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)

Deep Focus: A Wrinkle in Time

Film of the Week: Montparnasse Bienvenüe

Readers’ Poll 2017: Your Comments

Interview: Ashley McKenzie

Film Inquiry

DEATH WISH: A Poorly Timed, Generic Remake

Away From The Hype: GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)

“It Takes Me Right Back To Those Early Days; I’m Living It Again.” Chimps, Oscar Snubs & Favorite Films With Dr. Jane Goodall

Art Vs. Artist: What Do We Do When Our Heroes Fail Us?

Anarchic Cinema: The Anti-Film & Why I Hate Andy Warhol

Film School Rejects

Gorgeous New ‘Suspiria’ Restoration Comes Home to Blu-ray from Synapse Films

Here’s Your Chance to Experience Westworld at SXSW

The Spirit of ‘Black Dynamite’ Lives On in ‘The Outlaw Johnny Black’

The Academy Needs to Wrap its Head Around Mo-Cap Performance

Netflix Goes Extreme for Rob Liefeld

Reddit Movies

Todd McFarlane's 'Spawn' Film To Start Filming In May

Netflix Subscribers Streamed Record-Breaking 350 Million Hours of Video on Jan. 7

Sam Neill & Ewan McGregor Re-enact Iconic Jurassic Park Scene on The Graham Norton Show

Kristen Wiig will star in ‘Wonder Woman’ sequel as the Cheetah, director Patty Jenkins confirms

Which movies get worse with every viewing?

Roger Ebert

A Wrinkle in Time

The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Death of Stalin

The Hurricane Heist

Thoroughbreds

Screen Rant

Dungeons & Dragons Movie Reboot Might Be Headed to the UK

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds 2018 Plans Revealed As Fortnite Overtakes

Star Wars: Who Mark Hamill Would Cast As Young Luke Skywalker

Agents of SHIELD’s 100th Episode Finishes What The Avengers Started

Agents of SHIELD Confirms Major FitzSimmons Fan Theory

Slash Film

Daily Podcast: Visiting Westworld, Contemplating The Art of Magic, Bloodshot, Call Me By Your Name 2, Marvel, Black Panther, Infinity War, His Dark Materials, VHS Rental, Dune, Spider-Man

Superhero Bits: Spider-Woman Rumors, Metallo Concept Art, Batman: The Animated Series Art Show & More

‘The Director and the Jedi’ Documentary Will Show Us the Making of ‘The Last Jedi’

Superman is Immortal in DC Comics Now

Shuri Concept Art Showcases Early Designs for Black Panther’s Sister

[danime25]

Masterlist

From now on this is where I'll link my fics. If you find something on my ao3 that you want on here, just lmk.

RYGOS CHARACTERS

Ken:

Ken Seeking Barbie: ao3- Ken x Reader- +18

He's just Ken. Looking for his Barbie out there in the real world. Who knew you could find someone on Craigslist? Ken certainly didn't.

Whatta Man: ao3- Ken x Reader- +18

After a year together, Ken has been living happily with his Barbie girl, and nothing was going to change that for Ken.

I'm Just Ken (And That's More Than Enough): ao3- Ken x Reader- +18

Ken had it all. A long term long distance low commitment girlfriend that he adored, and now he was about to be the breadwinner with a degree in his hands!

Cherry Pie: ao3- Ken x Reader- +18

As punishment for Patriarchy©, President Barbie had given him a choice. Either he had to reap what he had sown and become a subservient little thing or leave Barbieland forever.

Sierra Six:

Someone To Watch Over Me: ao3- Sierra Six x Reader- +18

Six had done everything right up until this point. Everything he did was in Claire's best interest. Who would have thought that he'd risk it all for a barista?

You Had Me At Soup: ao3- Sierra Six x Reader- T for Teen

While in the Sierra program, Six never got sick. Now that he was adapting to civilian life with Claire and the woman he roped in to play Claire's mom, he seemed to be down with a bug of some kind.

Holland March:

Sweater: ao3- Holland March x Reader- +18

Holland wanted to spend a night out with his girl. She had other plans.

Break Your Dad's Back: ao3- Holland March x Reader- +18

Chiropractors were becoming the hot thing for the stars in Los Angeles. Not that he was a star. After hearing from Janet about the miracle that was chiropractors, Holland March just had to try it out for himself.

Give Me The Night: ao3- Holland March x Jackson Healy- +18. COLLAB WITH @drivinmeinsane

Like most jobs involving stakeouts, the night is going by slowly. That all takes a turn, however, when March finally pushes his fellow detective too far.

Don't Go Breaking My Heart: ao3- Holland March x Jackson Healy- 18+ COLLAB WITH @drivinmeinsane

Even during the most wonderful time of the year, Holland March can't help but be clumsy. A stressful hospital trip to set the detective's re-fractured arm leads an unfortunate revelation about his relationship with Jackson Healy. Part two of the Butterfly Effect Series. (Can be read as a standalone)

Richard Haywood:

Want You To Want Me: ao3- Richard Haywood x Justin Pendleton- M for Mature

Richard was tired of the girls. Girls at school looking at him, asking for his number at lunch... not when he had his eyes set on only one person. And he only wanted the other's eyes on him too.

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

ANGUS SAMPSON CHARACTERS

RAY JENKINS:

Ain't That A Kick: ao3- Ray Jenkins x F!Reader- +18

Gavin plays a trick on Ray one night after drinks. Ray gets a little bit more than he bargained for.

ORGANIC MECHANIC:

Something So Right: ao3- The Organic Mechanic x F!Reader +18

Both of them knew that their love wasn't allowed, but that didn't stop them.

[wknc881]

CLASSIC REVIEW: DEAD KENNEDYS- Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables 

BEST TRACKS: Kill the Poor, Holiday in Cambodia, California Uber Alles, Ill in the Head

  “Just when you think tastelessness has reached its nadir, along comes a punk rock group called ‘The Dead Kennedys'” read a San Francisco Chronicle article from November 1978, “they will play at Mabuhay Gardens on Nov. 22, the 15th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.“  Geez, what kind of chutzpah do you need to mock America’s most tragically iconic family on the anniversary of its most notable horror? Well, the Dead Kennedys were all chutzpah; in fact, they were practically bursting at the seams to brutally mock any American institution guilty of abhorrent injustice (and of course, there are many).  Though not attacking the Kennedy family directly so as to twist the magic bullet (I’m sorry), the apparent curse upon the 20th-century clan of American idealism was a perfect brand for a group whose entire existence hinged on a sardonic articulation of anarchist paragons. The Dead Kennedys were the first explicitly political American punk band.  Bands like X or Black Flag may have been indirectly political in their focus on youthful alienation, but the Dead Kennedys, specifically lead singer Jello Biafra, were completely committed to calling out by name each and every faceless establishment villain who was unfortunate enough to find themselves caught in Biafra’s latex-coated crosshairs. It was not introspection; it was full-fleshed Juvenalian satire. While Black Flag was screaming about being a skate-punk burnout in LA basements, the DKs were hammering Pol Pot, Jerry Brown’s “zen fascists”, privileged college students, unmitigated capitalism, and police brutality in San Francisco’s, well, basements.  Their sound was an absurd combination of screeching feedback, overly laid-back surf rock, spoken word, and performance art. Biafra, always keen on any form of the alternative spotlight, was never at a loss for intentionally aggravating pranks which furthered his desire for total demolition of post-war America. These included illegally using warped pictures of other bands for liner notes, abrasively declaring that then-Governor Jerry Brown was actually a hippie Nazi, or running for mayor of San Francisco on a platform of outlawing cars and demolishing all Government buildings. Whatever cliched pattern that today’s alternative rock falls behind in their lazy conviction of powers-that-be (ahem American Idiot) is derivative of the Dead Kennedy’s extremely meticulous establishment of punk rock as a political force.  They were ideologically consistent, absolutely non-partisan, and, perhaps most importantly, fully committed to an absurdist approach to music that highlighted the very serious realities of injustice. 

  In 1978’s San Francisco, 20-year-old guitarist Raymond Pepperell put out an ad in “The Recycler” for bandmates for form a punk group.  Two people responded: bassist (and banker) Geoffrey Lyall and poet/singer Eric Boucher. The three were rechristened as East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and, of course, Jello Biafra.  Their first shows around the Bay Area garnered significant attention (both positive and negative) for somehow being in worse taste than even the raunchiest American punk acts. Cartoonish, catchy, and absolutely confrontational, Biafra gained infamy through his highly animated stage presence which included often dousing the audience in beer or destroying pieces of the stage.  It is important to note, however, that the Kennedy’s performative violence was not out of angst, but rather part of a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards the establishment. A typical snapshot of a Kennedy’s live performance saw East Bay Ray hammering away at distorted spaghetti western riff while Biafra bellowed out how much the government wanted to kill you while kicking at the walls with a massive grin on his face. Declaring himself the band’s primary songwriter, Biafra would tape record melodies using only his voice which his band would later transcribe onto their respective instruments.  Of their early written material, one song stood out for being particularly catchy and scathing. “California Uber Alles” was released Summer of 1979 as the Dead Kennedys’ first single. With military-esque drumming, bastardized surf guitar, a cheeky flamenco melody, Jello’s typical outrageous bellow, and lyrics condemning then Democratic Governor Jerry Brown as a hippie fascist, the band distilled everything in within the DKs essence into their very first recording. And while their embrace of non-power chord guitar lines and heavy political overtones was enough to set them apart from any American contemporary, it was “California Uber Alles’” subject matter which is most representative of while the Dead Kennedys were such a unique and integral group.  Attacking Jerry Brown, at first, is incredibly confusing. Ronald Reagan, Brown’s predecessor as California’s governor, had just been elected president and, unsurprisingly, was incredibly unpopular among punks. Why would they go after California’s new “cool guy” Democrat as opposed to Ronald fucking Reagan? Well, simply put, the Gipper was too easy a target. Jello Biafra wanted confrontation, an interruption of American organization beyond partisan attacks on low-hanging fruit. Of course Reagan was terrible, but so was Brown. The Dead Kennedys were anarchists; attacking Reagan would be redundant and a lazy cash grab for a band whose entire ethos hinged on a dismantling of the state. And ultimately this decision was imperative for the band eventually signing a deal with independent British label Cherry Red; the DKs now had the chance to record a full length album.  A whole album was given to Biafra and his band to yelp and screech about international injustice in the most sarcastic manner possible. As one would expect, it’s a lot to get through in one sitting; and as one would expect, it’s an amazing album. 

  “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” opens with a fitting introduction to the listeners next 40 minutes of acerbic, macabre, and ludicrous fun: “Kill the Poor”.  The song begins with massive chords reminiscent of over bloated 70s arena rock laid on top of Biafra’s lyrics concerning a government who has discovered the neutron bomb and will subsequently use it to kill all of their nation’s poor.  A blistering surf-punk riff tears down its introduction and the song instantly transforms into a breakneck bounce of sing-along melodies that wouldn’t be out of place in a Disney movie. “Kill the Poor”, despite its placement at the top of the tracklist, is a pinnacle only matched by two other tracks. One of these is a crisp re-recording of “California Uber Alles” while the other is, well, probably pretty familiar to a lot of you readers.  The Guitar Hero Classic: “Holiday in Cambodia”. The angst-infected alt-classic opens with an atmosphere, echoed guitar chaos lightly strewn over the unforgettably chunky, descending bass riff before erupting into the bone-chillingly excellent main riff. Churning like an unpleasant halloween acid trip, the song is undoubtedly Biafra’s most scathing performance on the album. As he attacks privileged Americans by contrasting their life with victims of Pol Pot’s Cambodian regime, the other Kennedys lock into a terrifying groove filled with bastard surf motifs and disgustingly sweet distortion. The chorus, as with any classic Dead Kennedys track, is incredibly catchy.  It entices the listener to sing it to themselves when they’re aren’t even thinking of it, as if to trick them into condemning very basic pieces of American civilization. There’s a reason “Holiday in Cambodia” is still the DKs most well known song: it’s haunting, brutally honest, wholly subversive, genius, ear candy. 

  “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” is the album most people immediately associate with the Dead Kennedys, and this is by no means something to complain about.  Hosting three of the bands best songs and even providing insanely smart and concise parody in its filler, the album is a perfect representation of punk rock’s potential as a force of American political commentary.  No punk band before the DKs came close to explicitly tackling horrendous societal hypocrisies and I don’t believe any band that has come since has done this nearly as well. In an alternate timeline without our anarchist heroes, the landscape of all American music would be undoubtedly changed.

  -Cliff Jenkins

[googlenewson]

Good afternoon, readers.

One day, I’m going to have do an empirical study on the correlation between eye-catching public health stories and the time of year (I have a strange suspicion that they tend to spike round the summer time). The latest: A claim by Australian scientists that frequent use of cell phones, tablets, and our various other black mirrors are literally changing our skeletons – and may even lead to something akin to “horns” in adolescents.

But let’s dig a bit deeper before we start slapping the “horn” warnings on iPhones. For one thing, this research is actually a year old but has caught new wind. For another, it’s an observational study that relied on existing X-ray imaging to reach its conclusions, rather than a randomized, long-term clinical trial.

Basically, the researchers noticed a higher frequency of bone spurs (the aforementioned “horns”) in the head and neck regions of younger people’s X-rays (and these are all from Queensland, Australia). It’s not entirely clear just how concerning those spurs may be

That’s not to say that new technologies and working habits don’t have real effects on our bodies – just ask the millions of working Americans with lower back pain, a trend that’s spiked in an increasingly sedentary work culture. Just don’t worry too much about sprouting horns anytime soon.

Read on for the day’s news.

Sy Mukherjee @the_sy_guy sayak.mukherjee@fortune.com

DIGITAL HEALTH

A fascinating look into the world of VR. I strongly urge all of your to read my colleague Aric Jenkins' fascinating, and deeply reported, look into the world of virtual reality (a field that carries significance for both leisure and business alike, including very real implications for health care). Aric explores the rise, fall, and rise again of VR, and the challenges that remain for a technology that's finally matured. (Fortune)

INDICATIONS

Trump to reportedly issue health pricing transparency order. President Donald Trump will reportedly issue an executive order next week aimed at boosting transparency in the health care sector, including among health insurers and doctors. The most important part of the order will be its approach to just what must be revealed - as readers know, list prices rarely tell you much about what customers may eventually pay in health care, so a requirement to divulge negotiated discounts on health services could prove more valuable than a simple list price revelation. (Reuters)

THE BIG PICTURE

Kaiser launches studies to see how physicians can curb firearm injuries. Nonprofit health giant Kaiser Permanente announced Thursday that it's funding three separate studies to examine how doctors and medical professionals can help curb gun violence. "We know that firearm injury is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., and we can leverage our research capabilities combined with our deep clinical experience to help tackle this issue," said Kaiser CEO Bernard Tyson in a statement. The studies will examine everything from web-based tools to teach patients at high risk for suicide about safe gun storage to suicide prevention training for health workers.

REQUIRED READING

What's Next in Blockchain? Ask This Teenage Engineer, by Natallie Rocha

Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray: Why We're Introducing Social-Emotional Learning in New York City Schools, by Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray

Ripple CEO: Facebook Libra Cryptocurrency Push Makes Me Happy, by Jonathan Vanian

Tech's 4 Biggest Cash Burners Have Torn Through $23.9 Billion Combined, by Shawn Tully

[ceo_attribution author="Produced by Sy Mukherjee" email="sayak.mukherjee@fortune.com" twitter="the_sy_guy"] Find past coverage. Sign up for other Fortune newsletters.

from Fortune http://bit.ly/2ZyF5as

[katebushwick]

The second mode of apprehension, nonauthentic and shocking, is exemplified by a YouTube user with the handle omgtkseth, posting in the comments field of a Getty Museum (2012) film clip that explained the research behind the Gods in Color project. In response to a question from handle MILITARcz about why the statues struck some people as unrealistic or kitschy, omgtkseth wrote: Because of the materials, perhaps. Im [sic] a little familiar with canvas painting, and one notices how certain colors are unachievable depending on your paint type. Perhaps the colors are based on natural paintings made with fruits and flowers of the area. But I agree they arent [sic] very pretty. They are very bright and many colors are mixed. Like a nerdy girl dressing with rainbow leggings and so on. . . . I would have used a soft copper for the scales. Having demonstrated his or her credibility in painting and pigments, omgtkseth focuses on the implausibility of the materials used to produce the Gods in Color statues. Omgtkseth knows that “certain colors are unachievable,” particularly if the colors are derived from plant and other nature-given matter. The statues are also shocking (“arent [sic] very pretty . . . very bright and many colors are mixed”). The painted statues, according to this viewer, are nonauthentic (because the way in which the pigments were produced is suspect) and shocking (garish and too bright). Within the basic modes of apprehension there was a range of opinion about the color, from generally positive through neutral/curious, skeptical/negative, and hostile. The strongest theme to emerge, however, was ambivalence. Many respondents were caught between appreciating the science behind the polychrome and disliking the finished product. This position is especially evident in the comments by readers who selectively endorsed the polychrome—in other words, they liked some of the painted pieces but not all of them. Reader “flapperlife,” writing in an online chatroom about the Gods in Color show, confessed: I think the sculptures showing the human anatomy look better without color. I feel like the color would take away the full effect of the presentation of the body. [T]hat being said, I think some of the other sculptures are equally as lovely with color. The lion sculpture really stood out to me as something that color enhances.12 Flapperlife accepts the color per se but does not think it works on all of the pieces. There are limits, it would seem, to the acceptable reach of colored paints. “Scholars give us antiquity—the colorized version,” went one headline, but the issue was not just that antiquity had been given a splash of paint (Gewertz 2007). The intensity of the color, and its alien presence in cherished aesthetic terrain, proved too much for some. “Wrong, Wrong, Wrong”: Painted Marble The Gods in Color caused a sensation when it toured the United States and Europe.13 The exhibit featured painted casts based on Greek and Roman figures: gods, mythical characters, heroes, statesmen, and ordinary people. The statues provided a stark contrast with popular images of pristinely white, marble classical sculptures (Figure 1).14 The director of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, which hosted Gods in Color in early 2007, summarized his guests’ reactions thus: “Some [visitors] like it, because they did not know [about the color] and it was a discovery. Some are disappointed. [They] have said to me personally, ‘You have completely ruined the image we had of antiquity.’”15 On YouTube, a film clip of Vinzenz Brinkmann demonstrating his UV raking light technique generated this comment from a viewer: “Interesting, but I’m really glad that paint went away over the ages!” (Getty Museum 2012). And a reviewer of the exhibition’s installation at the Sackler Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from late 2007 through early 2008, confessed that although he was fascinated by the objects, “All this color feels wrong, wrong, wrong” (Cook 2007). What were they upset about? We can consider, as a starting point, the portrait of Augustus from Prima Porta (Figure 2). The original statue was discovered in Rome in 1863 near the ruins of a villa associated with Livia, the Emperor Augustus’s wife (Liverani 2004). Scholars identified the statue as a portrait of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, on the basis of stylistic features and iconographic clues, including the Eros and dolphin at his feet (both serving as visual reminders of Augustus’s immortal ancestress Venus) (Fittschen 1991; Hausmann 1981; Schmaltz 1981). The Gods in Color version presents a festively adorned man with bright red lips. The eyes are carefully painted and framed with eyebrows and long eyelashes. Pigment free, the emperor is the model of omnipotence, severity, and divine detachment. Under colored paints, he is simultaneously human and alien, awesome and vulnerable. Each of the pieces in the Gods in Color exhibition was a provocation to received wisdom about the classical aesthetic. Even so, there was something especially jarring about the Prima Porta Augustus. Here was one of the most recognizable images of Western antiquity—the face of the young Empire, harbinger of eternal Rome—utterly transformed (Zanker 1998). As generations of young classical archaeologists have been taught, the Prima Porta Augustus exemplifies the imperator’s masculine virtue through its “neatly arranged hair and with facial features . . . classically calm” (Pollini 2012:175). But the classical calm dissipates beneath the painter’s brush. The red and blue paints on the breastplate turn an arcane set of mythical images into a graphic novel whose characters leap off the surface (on the ambiguity of the meaning of the images, see Squire 2013). According to the team of art historians, classical archaeologists, and chemists who worked on the exhibit, this is how the Prima Porta Augustus originally looked: “Everything irrespective of function was colored in the same lively colors. The sculptor conceived the three dimensional form which he chiseled out of the stone always with a view to the coloring” (Brinkmann 2007:29; see also Brinkmann and Koch-Brinkmann 2010; Kader 2009). Critics, nonetheless, saw red. Scholarly fights over painted marble have a long history (Bradley 2009). In the late eighteenth century, German art historian J. J. Winckelmann popularized the idea that Greek and Roman marble sculptures were intended to be white. Winckelmann linked white marble with purity and natural form, the very definition of beauty in the Enlightenment period. His moralistic teachings on marble statuary found material justification in later scholarship. In ancient Greece and Rome, marble was a luxury material that was expensive and difficult to obtain. Covering white marble sculpture with colorful paints would therefore have been a symbolically destructive act. But even as Winckelmann’s ideas were taking root among European scholars and connoisseurs, contrary evidence mounted. Fresh archaeological discoveries showed that Greek and Roman sculptures, along with temples, had in fact been finished with bright paints.16 By 1835, when the British Museum established a special committee on the question of color in classical sculpture, the debate over painted marble raged across the continent (Jenkins and Middleton 1988).17 At stake was the moral basis not just of classical culture but also of nineteenth-century Europeans’ pretenses to classicizing progress (Hamilakis 2007; Hoock 2010; Rose-Greenland 2013). It is now generally accepted that Greek and Roman marble statues and public buildings were finished in such a way that their surfaces were polychromatic. Scholars interpret this finishing treatment, moreover, as having been integral to the meaning of the objects (Palagia 2006; Walter-Karydi 2007). But while many scholars agree that metal attachments, fabric, floral crowns, and targeted (but limited) paints were used to dramatize the visual impact of the statues and buildings, what remains controversial is the specific idea that marble was painted (Bradley 2009, 2014:189–90). The Gods in Color exhibit revealed the rawness of this controversy. Despite the painstaking efforts of the statues’ makers to support the color reconstruction with scientific and archaeological evidence, they failed to convince their audience to believe what they were seeing. Color as Material At the heart of the Gods in Color project were two tasks: identifying paint traces, or “ghosts,” (Harvard University Art Museums curator Susanne Ebbinghaus, quoted in Reed 2007) on the surface of Greek and Roman marble statues and recreating the original paints using the same ingredients, ratios, tools, and techniques of the ancient ateliers. To achieve these tasks, the men and women involved in the project used sophisticated equipment—a point repeatedly stressed in the Gods in Color catalogue, museum didactic boards, and affiliated scholarly publications. In their essay “On the Reconstruction of Antique Polychromy Techniques,” published in the edited volume that served as a scholarly complement to the exhibition catalogue, Brinkmann and Koch-Brinkmann (2010) wrote, About four years ago, our efforts in this area [color reconstruction] reached a new scientific and technical height: thanks to the non-contact analyses made possible by UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence measurement, our understanding of the pigments has become substantially greater and more specific. . . . We can meanwhile adjust the colourants employed for the reconstruction to correspond quite precisely to those of the antique original. (P. 115) Reproducing the colors quite precisely required a degree of ocular precision of which machines are capable but the human eye is not: Due to the fact that UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy is a physical and optical method of measurement, not only can the respective colourant be identified, but the shade exactly defined in a chromatic diagram. As a result, it is possible to determine the hue independently of the individual sensory impression. (Brinkmann, Koch-Brinkmann, and Piening 2010:200) Accompanying this passage are a series of color photographs showing UV-VIS spectrum readings, chromatic diagrams on the x-y axis, and small piles of granular yellow ochre earths at various stages of shading after being burnt. The scientific work behind the statues appears bulletproof: Machines take the readings, locate the color traces, and guide the process of recreating colorants. “Individual sensory impression” is not up to this task but is in fact something to be overcome by technology. In saying so, the researchers offer a preemptive response to critics: Whatever personal taste might dictate, we know we got the science right. For the Gods in Color statues to be faithful re-creations, one more step was required. After the colors were correctly seen, they had to be correctly made: The preparation of the natural pigments through a process of grinding and washing is the prerequisite for attaining paints of a quality and vividness so great that [the sculptures’ subtle] characteristics are still visible today. Especially in the case of the yellow and red ochres, the preparation requires tremendous effort, since the procedure has to be repeated fifteen to twenty times . . . (Brinkmann and Koch-Brinkmann 2010:126) The researchers avoided modern, synthetic paints to the extent possible and drew attention to their effort to recreate the pigments using original, organic materials. At the Institute for Archaeology at Georg-August University in Göttingen, two glass cases displayed the tools and materials of the pigment re-creation. The accompanying labels named the substances (“azurite,” “ochre”) and their places of origin. The unlabeled tools were meant to speak for themselves: raw-wood pestles and mixers and the finished, ground product in small glass dishes. This arrangement of tools stressed the traditional nature of the practices within the precise techniques of science. From the perspective of the Gods in Color researchers, creating the paints properly was the core achievement because it was the only guarantee for knowing the statues properly. The paints were the material of consequence, the true object of scrutiny through the UV-VIS readings and chemical analysis. Why did viewers fail to notice? Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann blamed what she called “Marmorweiss,” a socially constructed sensibility about marble and how it should look, behave, and be thought about.18 Marmorweiss translates into English as “white marble,” but it can also be a word play on “marble wisdom” or “marble sense.” For centuries, marble statues were adorned with paint, jewelry, metal attachments, floral garlands, and clothing. The unpainted version that we know today is an accident of entropy legitimated by Western civic values. With their brightly painted surfaces, the Gods in Color statues challenged this accomplishment. The punch line was that the statues were made of plaster, not marble. Plaster casts of marble statues have been made and displayed for centuries. They allow lifelike replicas to travel widely for study and artistic experimentation (Frederiksen and Marchand 2010). The Gods in Color scientists bracketed the plaster and prioritized the pigments, imagining the end products as historically accurate study pieces. Skeptics, on the other hand, struggled to decouple color from material. Marble Sense and the Impact of Time Why is a particular image of antiquity so important to us—in this case, the one that centers on white marble? There are two aspects to this question. One concerns the lionization of select historical moments. A robust scholarly literature argues that specific events or epochs are narrativized and sometimes romanticized to explain contemporary social structures and project for ourselves an edifying imagined past (Anderson [1983] 1991; Goody 2006; Halbwachs [1950] 1980; Sewell 1996). The second aspect of the question concerns the evolution of the white marble statue as the most visible and iconic symbol of Western civilization. That aspect has received less scholarly attention. Answering it, I argue, begins with material historiography. Statues of people and gods were an everyday sight in ancient Greece and Rome. Their abundance prompted ancient writers to describe statues as the “other population” of Greece and Rome.19 More than mere backdrop elements, statues had important social functions. Sculpted gods directed worship in temples and formed the centerpiece of religious processions. Commemorative statues recalled the deeds of war heroes, philosophers, statesmen, and civic benefactors. Imperial portraits served as a constant reminder of the emperor’s authority. They were, in short, an active, vibrant component of social life. Marble is an ideal material for statue carving. Although statues had long been made from a range of materials (wood, bronze, limestone, and terracotta), by the first century ad, marble had become “the great prestige building material of its time” (Ward-Perkins 1992:23). Materially, marble is softer and less friable than limestone and tufa, making marble amenable to carving cascades of drapery folds and curly hair. Marble is also luminous, a product of its crystalline calcium carbonate content. The crystalline calcium is what gives the surface a glow and makes the sculpture seem alive. With this particular combination of physical and visual qualities, marble was used to create the most important, expensive, and elite statues, reliefs, and monuments. Its preeminence is summed up in the emperor Augustus’s claim that he found Rome a city made of common bricks (latericius) and left it, at his death, a city of marble.20 Augustus granted access to the vast network of imperial marble quarries cautiously and with nepotistic priorities. This example set the pattern for subsequent emperors who treated marble as a prized resource available only through the beneficence of the imperator (Fant 1988:150). The power of marble lay not just in what it stood for (wealth) but also in what it could do materially. The literary record provides rich examples of intense encounters between fleshand-blood people and their marble counterparts. Pliny, the Roman historian, describes the destruction of the late emperor Domitian’s portrait statues: [Domitian’s] countless golden statues, in a heap of rubble and ruin, were offered as fitting sacrifice to the public joy. It was a delight to smash those arrogant faces to pieces in the dust, to threaten them with the sword, and savagely attack them with axes, as if blood and pain would follow every single blow. (Pliny, Panegyricus 52.4–5. Reprinted and translated in Varner 2004:112–3) The mutilation of the statues, writes Varner, “represents the collective destruction of the emperor himself in effigy” (Varner 2004:113). What brought the statues to life, and what led to their death, was color. Pliny describes Domitian’s statues as golden (aureae), meaning they were carved in marble and covered with a thin layer of gold leaf. Pliny’s passage allows us to imagine the contrasting visual impact of the statues as they gleamed in the hot, bright Mediterranean sun, with the charred gold leaf scorching the face in the fire. By Pliny’s time, white marble stood for purity, homogeneity, excellence, and authenticity. These qualities connected directly with the mos maiorum, the mores of the ancestors, which served as the moral absolute among the Romans (Jockey 2013:77). Subsequent imperial iconography alternated colors and whiteness to signal different aspects of the subject (Bradley 2009). But a new moral weight was assigned to white marble. As painted marble statues lost their color due to natural processes of fading, unpainted marble became the default material state. Natural fading does not produce stark-white surfaces. It produces, rather, dulled shades of the original hues. For this reason, the project of whitening developed its own expertise—scrubbing away the surface impurities, discrediting textual evidence of painted marble, and producing replica study casts using white plaster. The work of lightening and whitening was naturalized, and the whiteness of classical marble statues became a convenient fact for a range of nineteenth-century scholarly arguments. Whiteness signaled humanism, civilizational progress, and moral purity (McClintock 1995). Twentieth-century Color Science and the Correct Polychrome The link between color and cultural values was systematized in early twentieth-century color theory. The most prominent of the American color systems, the one founded by Albert Henry Munsell (1858–1918), pushed beyond the latent chromophobia of classicizing whiteness. On the contrary, Munsellians believed that the right color palette—that is, the careful arrangement of colors within a balanced system—could be beneficial to individual health and social welfare. For example, Munsell urged that “beginners,” including children, should avoid viewing “strong color” because “extreme red, yellow, and blue are discordant. (They ‘shriek’ and ‘swear.’)” (Rossi 2011:4, quoting Munsell 1906). The potential of color to modify group behavior appealed to a broad set of actors in the penal system, government, and private industry, and the Munsell system became a near-ubiquitous technology for standardizing color. In a Munsellian system, colors occurring in nature are inherently correct because perfectly balanced but manufactured colors are wrong for being used in unbalanced combinations and proportions. The same principle applies to Greek and Roman art, which provided a useful teaching example for Munsellian theory since Greek and Roman art predated synthetic, chemical-based dyes and paints. A 1924 article in Color News, an official publication of the Munsell Research Laboratory, accepted that classical sculpture was polychrome: . . . sculptured figures were very generally painted. There are only a few traces of colored pigment found today on any Greek sculpture, but it seems likely that color generally appeared in the hair, the eyes, borders and costumes, and other decorations. (Nickerson 1924:12)21 The Romans used colorful paints, too, and exceeded the ornamental limits of that medium by adding another layer of visual emphasis: Painting was evidently not ornamental enough, for they decorated their sculpture with heavier, more impressive and ornate metal work. (Nickerson 1924:14) The core issue in Munsellian color systems was not whiteness against color but rather natural subtlety against gaudy excess; the high points of ancient art are those moments when artists achieved balance within an established “hue circuit.” The proper balance of “warm” and “cool” within a circuit generated colors pleasing to viewers. In early Greek art, for example, warm reds and yellows were balanced with cool blues and greens, “resulting in a more neutral effect” (Nickerson 1924:5). Neutrality, nuance, and harmony—the very features that Munsellian scientists advocated over modern synthetic palettes—were said to be the hallmarks of Greek painting. Where evidence pointed to bright and bold colors, as in the Parthenon in Athens, the Color News writer denies that the paints were meant to be seen in any detail: “Used as it was, in the upper part of the structure, where one had to look at it from a distance, the effect might be very pleasing. Seen nearer, it might seem rather crude to users of more subtle color” (Nickerson 1924:11). In Roman architecture, by contrast, colorful paints were restricted to the private interior of temples and homes. The public palette was “nearly neutral in color” and “austere”—a decision supposedly explained by the social character of the Roman nation (Nickerson 1924:14). Color, according to Munsellian thought, is a powerful social element, and its best expression is found in balanced systems of hues and tones. No color is “wrong, wrong, wrong” on the face of it; rather, its associated colors give it meaning and logic. The Gods in Color scholars continued this tradition by attempting to correct how we perceive color. Introducing “colorized” antiquity via sculpture, they wanted viewers to accept the colors as part of a historically accurate system of pigments and material practices. Despite their airtight scientific case, the Gods in Color researchers could not dislodge cherished ideas about the culture of antiquity. In that imagined antiquity, the emperor’s new (Technicolor) clothes are a fantasy. “Kitsch”: Scholarly Criticisms I asked Koch-Brinkmann whether, among the negative responses to the exhibit, there was one particular line of criticism that was surprising. Yes, she said, the allegation that our work is ungrounded. Because, of course there were people who just didn’t understand what we were doing and who were never going to accept paint on the statues, but [specific scholars] criticized our method of paint reconstruction. . . . They could not outright deny that [paint] was there. But they hate that we made them. (Interview in Frankfurt, Germany, June 27, 2011) This line of criticism finds its full expression in a review of the exhibition and its accompanying catalogue, published by German classical archaeologist Bernhard Schmaltz. He criticized Brinkmann and Koch-Brinkmann for allowing their imaginations to intrude on rigorous application of their scientific approach (Schmaltz 2005). The crux of the problem, Schmaltz argued, was the researchers’ selective use of evidence. In his discussion of the skin color of the painted statues, for example, he insists that the selected specimens do not present the solid case that Brinkmann and his colleagues want them to. Schmaltz acknowledges that the skin portions of the original sculpture were probably altered in some way to appear lifelike. The question, however, is whether paint was used to achieve this effect and, if so, with what intensity. Doubting the representativeness of the evidence as presented in the catalogue, Schmaltz wrote: Only three examples in the catalogue are considered on their own [the rest are collapsed into groups], and in two of those cases B[rinkmann] wrongly believes that a silver skin finish is present. . . . The examples are not even representative of the range of remaining marble sculpture, as it is for example at the Acropolis. (Schmaltz 2005:26) Citing the Acropolis as a counterexample draws pointed attention to the failings of Brinkmann’s team to look carefully even at the obvious evidence; ancient sculptural evidence does not come more visible or significant than that. Further, The examples (“S.44”) for painted skin from large sculptural pieces are remarkably uneven (bemerkenswert disparat) yet for B. they are completely valid. It is completely questionable why B. didn’t undertake a systematic look at his own catalogue since the whole point to the project is to give a full look at the early classical sculptural evidence. It is a serious omission! (ein schwerwiegendes Versäumnis!) (Schmaltz 2005:26) The problem is not just that the polychrome researchers cherry-picked their evidence or overlooked other cases; according to Schmaltz, they were overly bold with the paints. Even if the scientific instruments were correct in identifying traces of pigment, Schmaltz averred, the scholars failed to provide cultural justification for their particular painted reconstructions. The works were out of step with their imagined Zeitstellung, or time period (Schmaltz 2005:31). The Gods in Color researchers had prepared themselves for skepticism. In the official catalogue, Brinkmann predicted, “This project will be reproached with having ventured into the realm of fantasy”; and, further, “Responses such as ‘primitive’ or ‘kitsch’ will be heard, but this first shock has to be overcome” (Brinkmann 2007:27). Brinkmann and his colleagues remained confident that the weight of scientific evidence behind their project would overcome prejudicial viewing by helping audience members to “learn afresh to accept the coloring of statues as an art form. . . . Twenty years of research, the last ten of them with the aid of color reconstructions, were just long enough for me to master this process” (Brinkmann 2007:27). The ontological basis of Schmaltz’s criticism, however, was essentially cultural rather than epistemic. What Schmaltz did was shift the terrain from materials science—terrain on which the Gods in Color scientists were strong—to cultural history, which was more open to interpretation. He was prepared to accept polychrome statuary to an extent. But he was unconvinced of these specific reconstructions in the cultural matrix of imagined Greco-Roman antiquity. There was something about the painted casts themselves that was perceived as excessive. That same doubt was echoed by Ebbinghaus, albeit in a more positive light: “There is a big difference between this abstract notion [polychrome sculpture] and actually attempting to imagine what the sculptures might have looked like” (Reed 2007). Imagining painted statues was fine; making them into material objects was not, because materialization imposed particular colors on the imaginary landscape. To suggest that the painted statues were illogical in their Zeitstellung is to insist that they do not have a legitimate place in that imaginary landscape and, by extension, in antiquity itself. The Gods in Color scholars sketched a picture of antiquity with ancient texts and archaeological evidence. Circumlitio (Brinkmann, Primavesi, and Hollein 2010), for example, includes an image of a Pompeian wall painting showing a statue of Artemis on a base, brightly colored with yellow, purple, turquoise, and gold paints from head to toe (Figure 3). In the museum guide and on exhibition didactic boards, readers were told of an “abundance of reference to Antique statuary polychromy” (Brinkmann, 2010:15). But the same information was freighted with cautionary notes: Pompeian wall paintings and other such images cannot be treated as records of true depictions of now-missing artworks, for example, and there is the open question of why so many ancient paintings present monochrome, rather than polychrome, statues. The Gods in Color scientists were appropriately circumspect, engaging in the correct form of scholarly dialogue. For Schmaltz and for nonspecialist viewers, however, what was missing was a clear picture of what all of these colored statues meant or did in antiquity. Did those bright reds and blues seem as bold to the ancient viewers as they do to us? Can the scientists’ “paint ghosts” sustain these shocking reproductions?22 And if Augustus really wore such gaudy clothes, does this require revising his historical image? Zeitstellung is not a simple matter of having the right evidence. It is also a matter of how that evidence is presented, particularly if it conflicts with a collectively held image of history. This implies, further, that the careful efforts of the Gods in Color team were irrelevant beyond the simple effect of thrilling the modern museum audience. While the technical goals of the Gods in Color project were to master the observation and re-creation of pigments, the broader epistemic aim was to rethink the sociocultural landscape of antiquity by imagining a riot of colors among the statues. For Schmaltz, the question of kitsch was actually less important than that of fit. A failed Zeitstellung suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of the world that the painted statues were meant to recreate. The achievement of authentic paints and pigments could not overcome that misunderstanding. Extending Schmaltz’s critique beyond the specific question of evidentiary choices, the problem with the Gods in Color statues is that they are only accurate in a particular moment in ancient history—and not necessarily the one we care most about. They are accurate, moreover, in a particular contemporary moment, as the product of current scientific techniques, pigment production, and ways of seeing. Color, intended by the scientists as an empirically grounded historical corrective, became instead an unwanted aesthetic intervention. The colors made plain the fault line between technical accuracy and cultural validity. This brings us to an apparent confirmation of Fleck’s maxim that “only that which is true to culture is true to nature” (Fleck [1935] 1979:35). Discussion and Conclusion Color is grounded in deep cultural meaning. Anthropologist Victor Turner reminds us that color use is socially patterned and reflects basic life-and-death processes and emotions (Turner 1967:88–9). My discussion has highlighted one aspect of color, namely its vulnerability to competing, socially grounded systems of perception. The important point for a sociological theory of color is that even when people are past the “purity” threshold—in this case, their acceptance of a (shocking) new understanding of classical marble statues—there is another set of constraints operating on the tone and hue of the colors. As my data demonstrate, perception is constrained by collective ideas as well as intellectual training. In the Gods in Color case, the salient perceptual systems can be distinguished from each other as empirical and cultural. Both of them sought to make definitive meaning of color by interpreting its application to reworked classical pieces. The Gods in Color show was no ordinary curatorial project. It was an assertion of the central role of science in revealing historical and aesthetic truth. In an age in which science and technology hold sway over many people’s hopes for longevity and powerfully shape a vision of the future, the Gods in Color show suggested that technologically grounded empiricism is needed, too, to correct our vision of the past. The problem for the exhibition’s creators was that the statues had been overhauled to the point where they were no longer recognizable as historically authentic. They were, instead, hybrid creatures straddling Rose-Greenland 99 science and art, struggling to gain credibility (Gieryn 1999). Viewers accepted the basic idea of polychrome sculpture but were turned off by the specific colors used. The colors were too bold. Bright colors and bold color patterns may have a charming ethnic romanticism in Western fashion practice, but they signify persons and practices as nonwhite, socially transgressive, and Other.23 What the Gods in Color viewers seemed to want from their statues was classical authenticity, which is the product of acquired sense and collective wisdom rather than historically or chemically precise renditions. Authenticity, I have argued, operates on two levels. First, from the material point of view, there is the issue of historically accurate ingredients made to produce the pigments. Second, from the point of view of reception, there is the issue of cultural plausibility. Authenticity, in sum, is an outcome of our own experiences and socially cultivated understandings. It is not interchangeable with accuracy. What the case presents is a conflict between scientific and cultural authority mediated at the level of sensory perception and made visible through the addition of color. These two forms of knowledge, the scientific and the cultural, have no inherent relationship. They may be cooperative, as when the rules of science and the frisson of cultural creativity combine to produce high-end modernist cuisine (Borkenhagen 2015; Lane 2014), or, as the present case demonstrates, they may be in conflict. The nature of their relationship varies because science itself can be used in the name of tradition and authenticity (e.g., conserving ancient objects by slowing their rate of decay) or innovation (e.g., remaking the same objects to the way they “really” once were). I have argued that a sociological theory of color must engage with materiality as a multifaceted phenomenon. In the present case, the materiality is two-fold: the substance of the color itself (plants, pigments, chemicals, dyes) and the object to which the color was applied. Each of these elements has meaning and is open to contestations over credibility and meaning. “Marble sense” (Marmorweiss), Koch-Brinkmann’s term for a shared disposition toward marble and its appropriate uses, highlights the importance of material sense more generally. Marmorweiss is rooted in centuries-long processes of natural material decomposition and change as well as social forces of historical mythologizing, institutionalized aesthetics, and conflation of material, color, and norms. With any given cultural object there are several materials at play, and each material is differentially visible and significant according to audience, context, subject matter, and the qualities of the material. Just as materiality is a moving target, so is the setting in which the object is received and perceived (on socially shaped perception of time and symbols, see Zerubavel 1997). Where do we go from here? I suggest two research directions that have potential to strengthen and extend sociological theorizing with color. The first concerns the intersection of color perception and time. Every restored historical object has, simultaneously, two temporal dispositions: past and future. The (newly) painted (ancient) statue, as I have tried to demonstrate, is one object through which the tension between these dispositions came out particularly strongly. The painted statues were an affront to temporality because the rules of Western classicism were changed halfway through the game, without warning or explanation. Taste is a factor here, to be sure, since the high modernism currently in vogue is clean and tends not to be polychromatic (or, when polychrome is called for, it is used judiciously against a monochromatic background). But taste is only part of the explanation. The rules of tasteful erudition clashed with the rules of good science. Where ordinary museumgoers and classics fans saw shocking reproductions of white originals, the Gods in Color researchers looked at white statues and saw a massive historical error. The emotional aspect of this tension—the sense of losing or gaining control over a cherished mental image of a fetishized historical period—merits further development, empirically and theoretically. 100 Sociological Theory 34(2) As a second contribution, the paper calls for renewed thinking about what aesthetic knowledge is and how it operates (Chong 2013; Shapin 2012). New technological tools have opened the door to previously unimaginable feats in reconstruction and conservation work. These achievements pose difficult questions for aesthetic knowledge, primarily because people generally do not like to be told that their admiration for an artwork or building is misplaced because the artwork or building is technically false. When the Sistine Chapel paintings were restored in the 1990s, for example, some art historians severely criticized the restored versions for being garish and distracting (Beck and Daley 1995). The newly “revealed” hues were not, in short, what they preferred to associate with one of the crowning works of the Renaissance. Sociologists are beginning to think more systematically about how aesthetic knowledge is codified, imbued with authority, and negotiated. Continuing this line of enquiry is essential for claiming aesthetic knowledge as a patterned and observable facet of social life.

[lalalearn-blog]

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

“Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story.”

Marvel Cinematic Universe as transmedia storytelling (or narrative). Marvel Cinematic Universe is not only cinematic, but also interconnected fictional universe that consists of feature films, television series, short films and comic books. Stanley Leiber is perhaps the most well-known Marvel creator, though most people know him as Stan Lee. He made his debut in 1941 (while it was still known as Timely Comics) with Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge.

Marvel characters which started in comics, now you can find them in animated and live action films and tv shows, video games, websites, toys, even clothing. The comics are still being published, you can even get the digital version on the Marvel website. In 1993, Marvel Studios was formed. A number of live action films were made, but it seemed the first big break by the studio was the release of X-Men in 2000. In 2009, Marvel Studios was acquired by Walt Disney Company.

By now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has become the world’s highest grossing movie franchise with 9 billions dollar revenue worldwide. What connects the individual movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—besides its intertwined plots and characters—is their common tone and feel. No matter what other genres they get inspiration from, these motion pictures remain superhero movies with intense action sequences, optimistic mood and a little bit of humor.

Besides the released and upcoming feature films, there are several television series which are part of the MCU. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered in 2013, Marvel’s Agent Carter was first released in 2015, Marvel’s Daredevil and Marvel’s Jessica Jones have been available on the popular streaming service, Netflix since 2015. Besides these series, Marvel produces 4–14 minutes long short films, also known as “Marvel One-Shots,” which are featured as bonus material in Marvel’s movie releases, for example, on Blu-ray. These “One-Shots” provide more insight into the MCU and elaborate on the minor details that could be interesting to fans of the franchise.

Henry Jenkins writes that “to fully experience any fictional world, consumers must assume the role of hunters and gatherers, chasing down bits of the story across media channels...” and interpreting these stories in fan communities. Here it is important to note that the audience’s construction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe story is an essential aspect of how these franchises are conceived. Marvel has made sure that the audience gets a similar experience with every product of theirs; as if they watched different episodes of the same series. The audience stays invested in the fictional universe of Marvel, because they get more and more new material to their excitement.

“The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an example of transmedia storytelling. The MCU exist within a continuity (a radical intertextuality) that provides potential sequels with different (subjective) points of view. The seriality of the MCU makes it possible to populate the same fictional universe (storyworld). The multimodal nature of the MCU could appeal to various audiences, including cinema-goers, the audience in front of their television device, or the Netflix subscribers who love binge-watching. And, on top of that, there are tidbits even for comic book readers, or hardcore fans who watch all the Blu-ray extras. Due to the vastness of this transmedia universe, fans can form knowledge communities online, and they can reconstruct the minor and major details of their favorite storyworld by creating web-based encyclopedias (wikis). Marvel provides enough material for interested viewers to be able to immerse themselves all the time.” (Adam Richter)

References: http://henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4791&context=etd http://americanaejournal.hu/vol12no1/richter Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3

Qurrota Ayuni Alamsyah // 1506756255

[savetopnow]

2018-03-10 13 MOVIE now

MOVIE

Birth. Movies. Death.

THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT Review: Home Invasion Leaves Home

The New Poster For BLINDSPOTTING Tests Your Bias

Details Come Out About That Already Weird-Ass Joker Movie

EVERTHING SUCKS! Isn’t Perfect, But It Certainly Doesn’t Suck

Friends Who Kill Together, Stay Together

CineVue

Film Review: Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

DVD Review: La Prisonnière

Oscars 2018: The Shape of Water wins Best Picture, Best Director

Film Review: Annihilation

Oscars 2018: Our final predictions

Cinema Blend

Super Seducer Game Won't Be Sold On PlayStation 4

Fortnite Update Adds New Game Mode

How Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just Confirmed A Huge Fan Theory In The 100th Episode

Sea Of Thieves Final Beta Is Now Playable

Nintendo Direct Reveals South Park, Okami, And More

Cinema Scope

Madame Hyde (Serge Bozon, France/Belgium)

The Green Fog (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, US/Canada)

Cocote (Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias, Dominican Republic/Argentina/Germany)

The Uses of Disenchantment: Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water

3/4 (Ilian Metev, Bulgaria/Germany)

Comicboook.com

'Hellraiser: Judgment' Director Offers Internet-Only Commentary

Kristen Wiig Cast as 'Wonder Woman 2' Villain Cheetah

'Halloween' Sequel Producer Teases a Cut of the Film in Six Weeks

'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' Set Photo Reveals New Costumes

'Wonder Woman 2': Why Kristen Wiig as Cheetah Could Work

Film Comment Magazine

TCM Diary: Secret Ceremony (1968) + The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)

Deep Focus: A Wrinkle in Time

Film of the Week: Montparnasse Bienvenüe

Readers’ Poll 2017: Your Comments

Interview: Ashley McKenzie

Film Inquiry

DEATH WISH: A Poorly Timed, Generic Remake

Away From The Hype: GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)

“It Takes Me Right Back To Those Early Days; I’m Living It Again.” Chimps, Oscar Snubs & Favorite Films With Dr. Jane Goodall

Art Vs. Artist: What Do We Do When Our Heroes Fail Us?

Anarchic Cinema: The Anti-Film & Why I Hate Andy Warhol

Film School Rejects

Gorgeous New ‘Suspiria’ Restoration Comes Home to Blu-ray from Synapse Films

Here’s Your Chance to Experience Westworld at SXSW

The Spirit of ‘Black Dynamite’ Lives On in ‘The Outlaw Johnny Black’

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Netflix Goes Extreme for Rob Liefeld

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Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One’ Eyes $45 Million Debut

Netflix Subscribers Streamed Record-Breaking 350 Million Hours of Video on Jan. 7

Sam Neill & Ewan McGregor Re-enact Iconic Jurassic Park Scene on The Graham Norton Show

Kristen Wiig will star in ‘Wonder Woman’ sequel as the Cheetah, director Patty Jenkins confirms

Which movies get worse with every viewing?

Roger Ebert

A Wrinkle in Time

The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Death of Stalin

The Hurricane Heist

Thoroughbreds

Screen Rant

Agents of SHIELD’s 100th Episode Finishes What The Avengers Started

Agents of SHIELD Confirms Major FitzSimmons Fan Theory

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 15 Unresolved Mysteries And Plot Holes

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Set Photo Reveals Team’s New Costumes

15 MCU Cast Photos That Would Get Them Kicked Out Of The Avengers

Slash Film

Daily Podcast: Visiting Westworld, Contemplating The Art of Magic, Bloodshot, Call Me By Your Name 2, Marvel, Black Panther, Infinity War, His Dark Materials, VHS Rental, Dune, Spider-Man

Superhero Bits: Spider-Woman Rumors, Metallo Concept Art, Batman: The Animated Series Art Show & More

‘The Director and the Jedi’ Documentary Will Show Us the Making of ‘The Last Jedi’

Superman is Immortal in DC Comics Now

Shuri Concept Art Showcases Early Designs for Black Panther’s Sister