#release the snyder cut

[blatantprinterpropaganda]

i will not lie, i understand that they may have been a little less immediately plot relevant at this point, but i DESPERATELY wanted to see what nano and dylan wrote to him

[we-keep-odd-hours]

Book recs for anyone else upset that Near Dark is one 1.5 hour long movie with an almost unwatchable last ten minutes.

Below the cut, I've listed each title with an author and synopsis.

Please consider buying from your local independent bookseller. If you're not sure about any near you, or if you would like to support independent booksellers (and therefore authors!) by ordering online instead, you can search your area at https://www.indiebound.org/

I am not affiliated with IndieBound and don't get any money from sharing this link.

See more notes at the end of the list.

I Travel By Night by Robert McCammon. This is technically the sub-genre of "Weird Western" rather than horror; a Civil War soldier turned vampire wanders a strange west. Mysteries, ghosts, etc. Despite being from a major voice in speculative fiction, this is only available in digital.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. A First Nations vampire revenge story. If you don't know the historical event it was based off of, I'd suggest going in blind but following up your read with non-fiction: this one is heavy.

In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson. Pitch-black neo-noir Texas vampire novel. Takes place almost exactly in the same locales as Near Dark, only set a few years earlier. A killer is turned into a vampire, and hides out on property belonging to a young widow and her son. Gnarly and mean, the prose is rich without being flowery.

The Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson. RELEASE DATE: 9/9/25. Family tragedy, vampires, serial killers, and western vengeance set against a backdrop of the PNW and the Badlands in the 1970s.

Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite. Rice is the biggest name in late 20th century vampire literature, but Brite is right behind (note: he has gone by Billy Martin since the 00's, however still prefers the books to be under this name). These guys make the Lost Boys look like The Little Vampire. A punk and shock-goth classic, this southern gothic road trip is well worth the read.

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones. Yes, he's on here twice. A young boy travels from town to town with his aunt and uncle; they are werewolves, some of the last of their kind, trying to keep themselves safe and sane by any means necessary.

Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville. A single mother on the run with her teenage daughter becomes a serial murder suspect as she tries to dodge cops, FBI agents, creeps, and keep her strange daughter fed. The word ''vampire'' is never mentioned, but if you're into vampires to be reading this list, this is not a spoiler.

You're Always Welcome at the Bloodridge Motel by J. Hunter Richardson. A small motel off of the highway plays host over decades to a strange family comprised of people who look like they're from different eras, don't seem to age.

The Bloody Red Barron by Kim Newman. This is #2 in the "Anno Dracula" series, and does heavily rely on knowledge of the first book. An alternate history where Dracula's arrival in England and attempt to take over Europe gets farther than he did in the novel, this one makes the list because Severen actually has a very small cameo on it.

Midwestern Gothic by Scott Thomas. Four midwestern horror novels; there's one specifically that I could see taking place in the same universe as Near Dark.

American Vampire by Scott Snyder. The first volume is told in two timelines: the closing days of the American West that Never Was, and the early days of Hollywood in the 1920s. Skinner Sweet, extremely un-glamorous outlaw, becomes the first American vampire after trying to rob the wrong train. He goes on a killing spree

The Orange Eats Creeps by Grace Krilonovich. Part Outsiders, part Clockwork Orange, and part Near Dark. Teenage ''vampires'' wreak havoc in the Pacific Northwest as they wander in their respective packs. The writing for this is unique and wild and the novel is worth it for that alone.

The Lesser Dead by Chris Buehlman. Another novel where the author went out of his way to make his vampires into monsters, crooks, killers, without the frills and melodrama of the more gothic-leaning stories. Set in NYC in the 1980s.

BONUS NON FICTION: Near Dark by Stacey Abbot. A revisit of the making of, structure, and final story of the film from a pop-culture film and television critic and historian. Part of the BFI Great Films series. Yes, it's more or less a 100 page essay about the film, but if you made it this far in the list, you'd probably enjoy it. The writing wavers between that of a nostalgia review and an actual academic dive into the film.

BONUS NON FICTION: Our Vampires, Ourselves by Nina Auerbach. VITAL reading for vampire fans, tracing the development of the vampire from the early 1800s through Near Dark (a WHOLE academic chapter on the latter!) as a mirror to our own cultural and social turmoils.

Honorable mention to The Morganville Vampires series by the late and great Rachel Caine: she managed to include an evil vampire patriarch, his significantly younger blonde girlfriend, and their leather-clad attack dog/body guard/friend. They're YA novels from the 00s and the writing reflects this, the books didn't age very well, and I'm not sure I'd really suggest them, but damn did she ever pull that off and in the process get an excuse shoved in there to refer to the head vampire as "daddy."

.......if you think I'm reaching on why I'm 99% sure the trio was meant to be the gang from Near Dark, the leader's name was Bishop, and Ms. Caine was a noted Aliens fan--her short story "Broken" actually managed to get a reference in Alien: Romulus.

ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMERS AND DISCLOSURES:

-Why these titles? Because I found a couple of them and realized that there's a hyper-specific genre of vampire novels of (mostly male) authors trying to avoid the cliches of the ''gothic'' vampire novel (at least aesthetically, if we're talking gothic as a mode of literature then nearly all of these are gothic or heavily feature gothic elements).

-I have NOT read all of these, however I DO own them all, so I cannot personally vouch for most of them. Some that I read I loved despite any flaws, others I didn't care for despite them being ''good'' and three I'm still in the middle of. Unless someone specifically asks for books that I have enjoyed, I try not to let personal opinion influence recs.

-These are all adult horror novels, please check trigger warnings first.

[writingsbychlo]

the slytherin boys + barbie

draco: pouts when you say you’ll go with pansy but also refuses to dress up as ken, or dress up in the slightest. would take you both to watch it and surprises you last minute on the day by wearing a pink t-shirt he borrowed from enzo. rolls his eyes when you get excited but is actually very happy with himself for it.

mattheo: would want to do a double feature with oppenheimer too. makes it a whole date scenario. buys all the snacks but makes you carry them in your purse. wants to dress up for oppenheimer (???) so he wears a suit and a fedora and tells you to wear a pink minidress for barbie. highkey the best dressed couple to go see the double feature, everyone comments on it and he never lets it go. (“see!! I told you it would be cool to dress up for both.”)

theo: would say he’s only dressing up if he can wear the shirtless ken in the fur coat outfit. buys the tickets and the snacks and helps you pick your outfit even if he’s still pouting because you won’t let him wear the mink coat. has the “I’m just Ken” song stuck in his head for a week after and sings it non-stop, drives everyone insane. talks in your ear all the way through but in a funny/cute way, with jokes. (I firmly believe he would do this with every movie though). orders a “I am Kenough” replica hoodie and wears it to smoke in the astronomy tower.

enzo: had a google alert set for ticket release day bought them with the intensity one would buy taylor swift concert tickets. does not care in the slightest for oppenheimer. would wear a full pink outfit with you and possibly even let you bleach his hair to be ken as long as you promised to dye it back after. (“look, cousin, now we match!”, draco refuses to speak to him for a whole week.)

tom: agrees to go and will wear one of your pink scrunchies on his wrist as a gesture of love, and it works. does, however, love your barbie outfit and makes sure to whisper some very dirty things to be sure you know. is stoically thrilled when you surprise him with oppenheimer tickets for the same day. holds your hand through barbie and kisses your knuckles occasionally. scoffs when you laugh at all the ‘typical men’ scenes (Zack Snyder cut of Justice League 💀). is deeply concerned when you play “What Was I Made For” on the way home after and immediately switches it to the “Barbie World” credit song

[mintmatcha]

one, two, and....

Hanamaki x reader x Matsukawa

cw: cisfem reader, threesome, PIV sex, squirting

a/n: I've been working on this forever and I think it's time to release it into the world. Originally it was supposed to have three different endings to choose from, so maybe one day I'll release the Snyder Cut With all three lol!

"I've been thinking of starting an OnlyFans."

You and Makki turn to your friend, sharing identical blank expressions. Mattsun doesn't crack a smile, eyes never leaving the television screen. With a few swipes of his thumbs, the dark-haired man has knocked your video game character off of the map with absolutely no mercy, forcing you to half heartedly return to playing.

"You kinda gotta be hot for that," Makki chides. He's been dead for a while now, so he just tosses his controller to the side. He's on the other side of his friend, leaning back away from the arm of the couch with a half-cocked smile.

"I am hot. Like, really hot," Mattsun replies, "And I have a pornstar cock."

A heat washes over your face and drains down your whole body. You can't deny it: Matsukawa Issei is hot. Like, really hot. Even in the low light, with only the neon flickering of the television illuminating the sharp angles of his face, he's beautiful. Heavy lidded eyes and thin lips that break into a troublesome grin-- it's almost tragic how beautiful he is.

You'd give your right leg for either of them to think of you as anything other than a 'bro'.

"Shut the fuck up." You're jamming the controller too hard and the plastic whines under the pressure, " 'Pornstar cock.' As if. You're such an asshole."

"Nah, that's true. He does have a massive cock." Makki nods, sticking his tongue through the gap between his canine and molar. He's cuter than his dark haired friend, with round cheeks that dimple when he laughs and round eyes that almost disappear when he smiles. It's a different type of hot-- an imperfect one that you crave all the same.

"Oh, you've seen his dick?" you ask, a bit sarcastically. They did play sports in high school; it's possible a penis popped out in the changing rooms.

"Duh." Makki puffs his chest, "We've had a threeway."

That's news. A sticky, dark feeling clings to your chest. It's wrong of you to want either of them, and yet you want both-- the idea that someone else beat you to it makes your stomach flip.

“It was a good one too.” Mattsun says. He doesn't even bawk, clearly more concerned with the game than this.

“Aww, it’s always good with you, babe.” Makki blows a kiss, with a flourish of his wrist, "That hand job? Phenomenal."

Your character dies in a blaze of color and lights, it's sad little noise soon drowned out by victory music. Mattsun tosses his controller to the side, pumping his fist in a rather calm victory. You quickly exit out of the game and let the opening screen loop, your mood soured.

"You guys are just fucking with me,” you grumble.

“Like I’d ever joke about sex.” Makki sends you a wink and you hate that it makes your cheeks a little hot.

“It’s the only thing he takes seriously," Mattsun agrees. They both elbow each other conspiratorially, sharing a laugh that might be at your expense. Mattsun’s dark eyes flicker to you and his wolfish smile grows toothier as he draws his gaze down, raking over every inch of your body. Oh, they are definitely lying. Your jealousy immediately drains from your body.

“Are you -?”

You interrupt Mattsun before he can even finish.

“Prove it then."

Both men turn in unison, Makki’s eyes wide and Mattsun’s narrowed.

“Prove you’re had a threesome,” you clarify with a shrug. Your voice is dripping with victory and you can barely keep the grin from your face.

“How can we prove that?” Mattsun laughs, “I didn’t take pictures.”

You pretend to think about it for a moment. “Kiss each other.”

“What?” It's Makki's turn to laugh.

“Kiss each other,” you repeat, making a jerk off motion in the air, “You guys rubbed cocks, but you won’t kiss? Really?”

They share a quick glance, communicating silently between themselves with fleeting expressions and pointing chins. Mattsun suddenly scoffs, turning back to you with a raised brow. Neither of them say anything and you know you’re won.

“‘I’m going to start an OnlyFans,’” you taunt, “‘I have a huge cock.’ ‘I’ve had so many threesomes.’ You’re such bad liars.”

Makki moves first. He presses forward on to his hands, gripping his friend’s thigh as he leans in head first. He lingers in the lack of space he's created, nose brushing up against his friends. They share a couple of unheard words before Mattsun closes the gap between them with a lazy tilt of his head, lips just barely touching the others in the faintest of kisses. Before you can claim that a kiss that chaste doesn’t count, Makki moves again, swinging a leg over to straddle Mattsun in a practiced move. You gasp out loud as they meet again, mouths parted and tongue sliding against each other.

Then, it’s a tangle. Mattsun’s fingers are woven into strawberry blonde hair, dragging him closer to catch Makki’s lip in between his teeth. He seems to enjoy the pain; Makki’s hums of approval rumble so deep you can feel it resonate in your chest, filling the space between your ribs with a burning desire. Hands wander, gripping shirts and hips and the back of each other's necks, barely giving them space to pull in a breath. It’s pornographic, the way they grind into each other, rutting like dogs. If it's an act- it’s a good one. Through the thick fabric of his jeans, you swear you can see the outline of Makki’s cock against his thigh, waiting for attention.

You want attention too-- you're dripping for it. You push back into the arm of the couch and clamp your legs together, hoping to smother the want that's built there. Part of you wonders if they’d ever notice if your hand slipped down the front of your pants; they’re so lost in the moment that you think they’ve forgotten you exist.

Just as you debate it, hand on the buckle of your belt, Makki’s head snaps your way knowingly. The dark haired man doesn't stop though; Mattsun's lips immediately latch onto the base of his neck, sucking a hickey on to freckled skin.

“C’mere.” There’s a pitch to Makki's voice as teeth sink in right before his Adam's apple. "C'mere."

There’s no time to hesitate. Makki’s hand clamps around your ankle and tugs, sliding you closer and trapping your legs between the men’s bodies. You barely manage to remain sitting up and you almost immediately regret not falling over. Makki is too close, watching you with a hazed over expression that makes your stomach twist tight.

Somehow, Mattsun is unphased, eyes so heavily lidded that you can barely make out how they flicker to you. At least, you think he’s unaffected, until one of his fingers catches under one of your belt loops. They pull you closer together, folding you until you're angled awkwardly beside them, legs still trapped.

"I-" you start, a pant to your voice. Sometimes you forget how tall they both are, but right now you are very aware; they both tower over you, a hunger in their eyes you barely recognize. "You guys-"

"Dude," Makki's breath tickles against your cheek, "Shut up."

"Yeah." Mattsun agrees into the soft of your neck, sarcastic as always, "Read the room."

The chaos of both of them slowly envelops you. Makki's lips meet yours as Mattsun's teeth nip and all you can do is gasp as every nerve in your body flares. It's overwhelming to be the center of both of their desires, being tugged and pulled back and forth, someone's hands digging into the soft of your stomach, someone else unbuttoning your pants.

When you break away to breathe, Mattsun is there, catching you right where Makki left off. He kisses differently- lazier, slower. His counterpart kissed you so roughly your lips burn where his teeth once were; Mattsun approaches with a feather touch, barely enough to satiate your need for him.

Hands snake across your back and around to your tits, greedily cupping them through your shirt. Somehow, you've migrated, now straddling Mattsun's lap with Makki at your back. Your bra gaps and gives and Makki grumbles in annoyance.

“Issei,” You’ve never heard Makki use his first name before, “Unhook her bra.”

Mattsun finishes the kiss, lingering, savoring, watching with his deep, dreamy eyes.

“Do it yourself.” His voice is practically a sigh. You want to melt into him, sinking into him to slot your mouths together.

"You know, last week Issei over here told me how bad he wants to suck your tits," Makki whispers into the shell of your ear. A warm touch slips under your shirt and your bra suddenly feels loose. You lean back enough to give the blonde enough space to go back to kneading your breasts and this time his long fingers roll your nipple between them, "He's been hard for you for a while now.'

A twitch has started in your legs, trembling tight as the hot feeling inside you screws tighter and tighter. The way your jeans sit gives you nothing to grind against, not even the rock hard cock that's pressed into your thigh. It's thick -- much thicker than you expected.

"I wanna suck them too, obviously," Makki continues, "I wanna put my mouth everywhere."

He pecks your earlobe. "Wanna suck your clit while you struggle to take Issei's cock."

Mattsun hums in approval as he grabs your hips, tugging your hips impossibly closer, "If she can even take it."

That turns your core molten. They want you-- they want you the way you want them. You wish they'd keep talking and blab about all of their dirty whims and wants-

"Yeah," you breathe, "Yeah, I can take it."

Mattsun slips his hand from your legs and ghosts them up to your waistband. The open button of your jeans makes it easy for him to slide in, dipping down under your panties. His fingers are wide, brushing against the cleft of your pussy delicately.

"She isn't shaved." He talks like you aren't there, looking over your shoulder to his friend.

"Oh, I like that," Makki chirps. The ministrations haven't stopped; he's still rolling and squeezing and pinching, watching for what makes you wiggle and gasp. He finds a good motion just as the heel of Mattsun's palm grinds against your clit. Those massive fingers waste no time, forcing their way inside you. The suddenness stretches you tender.

All three sensations combine and suddenly your brain is fuzzy-- your eyes can even stay focused. It's too much, it's not enough; you squirm and you can't tell if you're trying to get away or get more.

"Oh shit," Mattsun chuckles, scissoring his fingers side to side. This time you yelp-- mostly out of surprise -- and that spurs him on further. "There's no way you're fitting me. Fuck, I don't know if you'd fit Hiro."

"You're making me sound shrimpy."

"Shrimpier than me."

"I'm not shrimpy! Dude's like, inches longer than the national average. I've checked."

"You named your cock Dude?"

"Oi, it's a good-"

You cut in, voice flat. You love them both, but the quips just aren't that sexy when you're those horny, "Please stop doing-- that--" Oh, your voice is broken/, "You're killing my orgasm."

"Oh shit, you gonna cum?" Mattsun realizes, grinding back down again. That sparks something in you again, but not quite as bright, but your body cramps at the thought of not chasing it. "You that sensitive?"

"Love an easy girl," Makki chirps.

"I was going to-" You shook a glance between them, both sheepish and grinning- "until you guys opened your mouths."

"Aw, does that mean the threesome is off?" Makki says that as he's lifting your shirt up. You help, letting him strip your top bare.

"No," you admit in a low voice, "I wanna keep going.”

They exchange a look and you swear they are mentally high fiving each other. You wriggle off your pants and they both sudden spring into action, afraid of this moment passing by.

"You should ask Hiro to fuck you first." Mattsun pulls his own shirt off, "Let him stretch you out nice and good for me."

"Nah, fuck Issei first," Makki is quick to say, "I like sloppy seconds."

You don't have to think about it.

"Mattsun."

You're too greedy to wait.

Mattsun dips his thumbs under your panties and gently lowers them as he dips his face into the crook of your neck. There’s a surprising amount of stubble on his face- more than you’ve ever noticed before- tickling the softest softs of you. “These are really cute by the way.”

You clearly weren’t expecting to get dick today; you’re in your full coverage, full butt panties, the ones that hang out in the back of your drawer and digs a bit too much into your hips. “Really?”

He tries to bite back his smile, tongue poked deep in his cheek as he helps you off of the couch and onto the floor. You can’t help but wonder the last time these guys vacuumed as you watch the brunette lay down, urging you on to this lap with gentle hands. You end up on his thighs, just low enough that the lump in his pants is right above you.

"Yeah. They’re like, I dunno, homey. Comfortable. " He runs his hand up your sides. The other man doesn’t join; Makki just scooches the coffee table over with his foot to clear a space for him to watch. His palm is pressing into the noticeable swell on his pants as he watches, eyes flickering between the two of you. Suddenly, your least favorite pair of underwear is your favorite. You can't help but preen and pose, arching your back and cupping a tit coyishly.

"You just gonna sit there and watch?" you tease, even though your heart is racing, “It’s not really a three way without you.”

"Hey, this is free OnlyFans content! I’m gonna enjoy it!” He jerks his chin towards his friend, "Plus, I wanna see your reaction.”

Your eyes roll themselves at that. You turn back to Mattsun, waiting for him to laugh or tease, but he just watches you back, an overly cocky smile smeared across his lips.

“Are we really going to pretend your cock is that big?” You let your fingers trail down his bare chest and hope he can’t feel like them tremble. God, you can see it kick through the denim. It’s getting harder and harder to tease him now that they both know you want this.

“You’re so right,” Mattsun’s voice drips with sarcasm, “I’m tiny.”

He finally pops the top to his jeans and snakes them down. The light blue pattern of his briefs does nothing to conceal the growing sticky stain that's formed on the front. Most of his length is still hidden under the denim, but the bit you can see is….

Fuck, that that cannot be a cock. Maybe a fucking TV remote.

“So fucking small, huh?” You realize you’re making a face when he starts laughing.

“What a shame,” he continues as he frees the rest, “Hot guy with a micro-- you should pity fuck me or something.”

It’s pretty. That’s the fucked up part about it. The head is a soft pink, glazed wet with precum, fading into a surprising tan color. It’s thicker than your wrist, with a single vein down the underside and would be perfect to drag your tongue across. Mattsun gives himself a single, slow pump, pulling a perfect droplet of clear liquid from his slit. With the other hand, he takes your wrist and pulls your touch to his, letting you grip his length. Your thumb and middle finger barely connect.

“Hey, Issei?”

“Yeah?”

Your fingers pulse, testing the firmness. There’s some give-- he’s not even fully hard.

“You were right, this is a pornstar cock.”

Mattsun rolls his eyes and gives you another toothy grin. His legs spread wider, therefore spreading yours too- so far that your labia slips free from the short fabric of your panties. The damp skin feels cold against the air, but the heat of anticipation is making you sweat.

“I told you.” Makki chimes in. You hadn’t realized that he had moved until his voice was rumbling against the fat of your ass. He’s the one who’s spread Mattsun’s legs, crawling in between them on hands and knees to press kisses against your back. “You gonna take it?”

You’re not sure you can. It’s a comical amount of dick, but your pride won’t let you back out. “I’ve taken bigger.”

“Oh yeah?” Your underwear digs further into your skin as Makki tugs it to the side and completely frees your cunt. “‘cause it looks pretty small back here.”

With a squelch, two fingers slip easily into you, reaching and curling deep. A moan hits you like a punch, crumpling you at the waist. Hands on Mattsun’s shoulders, you just brace yourself as Makki eases out and pushes back in, this time a bit slower.

“Are you sure you aren’t a virgin?” He wriggles for effect and your body clenches around him in response.

“Oi, lemme feel.” Mattsun’s hand pushes through the petals of you. Just as you think Makki’s going to pull away to give Mattsun space, the stretch grows more intense; two sets of hands are crammed into you, knuckles brushing against each other, and it makes your vision starred.

“Oh-” Your voice hollows out on you, “My god--”

It’s all you can do to take it, letting them squelch and move and prod asynchronistically. It’s clumsy and strange and honestly a bit weird, but your body seems to disagree; excitement is literally dripping from you, running down your thighs and smearing across their hands, popping and slicking and practically leaking. They’re treating you like a toy, you realize, exploring instead of trying to please you.

Someone's talking. Your brain tries to fight through the fog of pleasure to figure out what's being said, but the pulses and twitches of pleasure running through every muscle in your body are simply louder. Everything inside you is teetering towards the brink in a way you're never felt before. It's not like any other pleasure you've ever felt-- it's internal, it's uncomfortable, it's----

And everything lets go. You're cumming, you think. You realized your eyes have been closed this whole time, too absorbed in what's happening inside you.

"Ohmygodohmygod." It's been your voice this whole time. When you finally come down, you realize the two have gone still, just watching you.

"Damn." Makki whistles low."Do you always squirt?"

Oh, you burn with embarrassment. You tey to close your legs but there's two men in between them. "I've never done that before."

"That's so hot."

“Fuck,” Mattsun is trying to angle your hips with one hand and adjust his cock with the other, angling for your hole, “I’m gonna cum so quick, it’s gonna be embarrassing.”

Trepidation turns your stomach. You're wet all the way down your thighs, but Mattsun is a monster-- it's going to ache no matter what.

"Go slow, okay?"

"Aw, you'll take what I give you." Mattsun rolls his eyes with a smile, running his cock head through your folds. His cock slips and misses a couple times, prodding where it shouldn't be.

"You're embarrassing me," Makki whines, "Let me fucking do it."

Two fingers spread your pussy lips open wide. You can't see, but the strawberry blonde must be holding his friend's cock now because it immediately finds where it wants to be; the head catches against your opening and sinks in ever so slightly. You have to will yourself to relax and not fight the intrusion-- even though the stretch is wild//.

"Hey," Makki taps your thigh and you realize you're shaking. The pleasure and the discomfort are different sides to the same coin- both make your toes curl and your breath hitch as Mattsun sinks deeper and deeper.

"You have a pornstar pussy, baby." A finger runs over where your body meets cock and you can feel how taut you're stretched. Your body pulses at that realization and it rips a groan from the man under you. "It's so sexy to see you get ruined like that."

"Oh, it feels so fucking good too," Mattsun gasps. He looks so good like this, with pink cheeks and sweat touched hair. His pretty lips are pressed together with effort, trying to hold himself steady and he carefully gives you more and more.

Fuck, you swear you can feel him in your guts and he's not even halfway in. Your toes are curling from the pressure alone, but you refuse to make any noise about it; you’re not going to stroke his ego anymore. You can handle him putting it in-

"I'm gonna eat your ass-- is that cool?"

Makki doesn't wait for a reply. The sloppy wet prod of his tongue against your skin is the breaking point. It feels strange and wrong in the most delightful ways and your body absolutely betrays you again; your head is absolutely swimming as you bump and grind into both men, taking more cock than you can handle as Makki defiles you-

“Yeah, squeeze tight,” Mattsun is jerking his hips up, driving into you with short strokes, “Holy shit, girl, you’re gonna make me look fucking stupid-- squeeze, that’s it--”

“I'm going to fuck you the second Issei is done with you, I swear to god--”

That sounds good to you. That sounds very good. You hum a little agreement, and Makki just laughs.

Hands are pressing down on your hips and you swat at the brunette in panic-- only to realize it’s not his hands that are rushing you. Makki, as he sucks and slobbers, is urging you down faster and faster, trying to get your hips against his friend’s. You try and obey, letting him greedily force you down, but a sharp twist of a cramp slowly starts to twist inside you.

“Hiro--” Mattsun sucks air through his teeth, eyes screwed tight, “Hiro, youch, she’s full. I’m touching her cervix.”

Your hips feel like they are miles away from Issei’s. Holy shit. Holy shit. It should be illegal to be that long. It hurts, it makes your insides twist--

But, damn, you kind of like it.

You press up on to your knees and sink down again, locking into the gentlest of rhythms. The aching slow movement is enough to make your body spark, electricity thrumming through your core and up your spine. The man under you can only watch, those puppy dog eyes wider and wetter with every stroke. Eventually he starts moving with you, bucking up into your cunt hesitantly.

The two loudest, most annoying men in your life are now silent, too focused on you to do anything else. All three of you just sort of click into a groove, grinding and bucking and loving and squeezing, your body coiling tighter and tighter, every muscle twitching and tense with need-

Somehow, you don’t cum first. Mattsun’s hands are suddenly everywhere, gripping your ass and rolling your nipple under his thumb. He fucks up into you hard and that sharp cramp returns, followed by a familiar pooling, wet warmth right against your deepest parts. You can feel the throb of his cock as he unloads, giving you every fucking drop he can. Issei’s lips are parts with effort, teeth marks imprinted on his lower vermillion. There’s almost a haze to his eyes, caught in his pleasure and still looking for you.

“Oh, shit-” he hisses mindlessly, “Oh, fuck, shit--”

It’s dripping from you and down Makki’s chin.

“You on birth control?” Issei asks weakly, all tension drained from his body.

“It’s a bit late to ask that,” Makki chimes in. The thinner man pushes you forward, shifting your weight onto your hands. Like this, Issei’s softening cock can’t stay in- it slides out with a dribble. Mattsun is now so much closer now, his face nearly nuzzling yours. Your eyes meet his, dark and tired, and you’re struck by the urge to kiss him properly.

You’re then struck by the sudden sensation of being stuffed.

Despite their teasing earlier, Hanamaki is //not// small. He's not inhumanely big like Mattsun, but you're aware of every inch, pressing almost as deep as before. The squelch of cum being displaced from you is loud and disgusting, but all three of you reveal in the sound.

“God, I love a fresh fucked pussy,” he coos. “You’re gaping and messy, baby.”

Where Mattsun moved slow, Makki does not. He's rutting into you hard, pushing you into Mattsun's chest. The man below you kisses your cheek with a laugh, clearly enjoying the faces you're making. You're wet down to your knees, smeared with a mixture of bodily fluids, and it offers no resistance for Makki as he enjoys himself.

It's like you're a toy, being used just for him pleasure, and you're body can't get enough.

“You gonna cum?” Mattsun asks mockingly. He just enjoy the sight, watching your tits hang against his chest. You almost say no, even though you're dangerously close to the edge again. “Ah, don't rush yourself. Hiro can last all night if you need it.”

“Hm, I'm just trying to give you some time to recover before round two,” Oh, you hate that he doesn't even sound phased, “I'm pacing myself.”

“Oh yeah?” Mattsun says.

Makki thrusts even harder, accenting his words. “How else are we supposed to go all night?

[jame7t]

I feel like “release the Snyder cut” was always a door or two down from the #Culture War so I appreciate Zach making bad superhero movies and then immediately making a bad “woke” Star Wars just to prove he can write men AND women just as flat and characterless.

[kupakaa]

Okay, according to the Twitch interview Necrit had, the Caitvi sex scene was written to be longer, but had to be shortened because of rating concerns from Riot (which is not surprising, MelJayce's scene was even lighter than this.) You can also see a lot of blurring censorship and how breast sizes are somewhat inconsistent so they don't show any nipples in the scene, especially while they're feeling up on each other and when Vi starts to go down on Caitlyn. Action was supposed to continue on the ground when Caitlyn leaned down out of the camera's view.

So... Hopefully storyboard or something in a blu-ray release? Snyder cut ft. boobs? Full episode screenwriting release? GIVE ME SOMETHING PLEASE!! I don't think it was fully animated but I'm sure someone in the fandom will gladly either animate it or turn it into a comic.

[sofiadragon]

Stanley Snyder centric fanfic in the works

Yep, his POV for an alternate season 4 where the KoS gang had a working petrification device. Obviously, this doesn't go so well for Xeno's side, but it diverges entirely from canon and Senku's big heart can't let sleeping dragons take their naps in a Disney castle unbothered.

Stanley has to stand trial for shooting at a humanitarian response to a distress signal, Xeno thinks Stanley's statue being smashed means he's dead dead, and Gen gets to play the role of therapist instead of spy.

Preview under the cut!

In his defense, he really hadn't seen the flag. He should have, so it wasn't much of a defense, but he'd only registered the flag as white and red. Xeno had said there was radio chatter in Japanese, so the color made sense. He hadn't checked if it was a Japanese flag. He knew better, but he'd been caught up in finally putting their plans into action to defend and grow their kingdom. After so long stuck in a holding pattern with progress happening by inches, they had the chance for a decisive leap, and he'd gone for it with all he had. He was dissapointed in himself for getting carried away like that, he was a professional for fuck's sake.

If he'd fired on anything displaying a red cross without additional confirmation back before the world ended he'd expect a court marshal. That was just a fact, and the normalcy was something he could hold onto amid the very unwelcome realizations he was being forced to confront. This wasn't all that out of line, if he thought about it that way. Out of order, yeah. It couldn't be more out of order. The two-toned hairdo person in a lilac robe said he was going to have a trial in the morning for the crime he'd already been executed for.

"I don't follow," Stanley said to that, feeling more lost than he could remember ever being. He'd been executed, and then they brought him back. Why? If they considered him a murderer and had the ability to revive anyone with their advanced technique, then what was the point in bringing him back?

"The trial will determine your punishment, or if being smashed, reconstructed, and resurrected was sufficient punishment," two-tone repeated, as if that was a completely normal sentance. The accent was comforting. Two-tone was as Asian as the rest of them and spoke in Japanese to the red-eyed boy and the two soldier types, but he spoke English in a southern American accent. No fancy school would have taught him that, so he had to have lived here in the States a while.

The red-eyed boy standingvoff to the side had performed the resurrection - dear God he'd been taken apart and reassembled like a rifle - and while his hands were calloused he was clearly a thinker and not a worker. Xeno took pride in his soft hands, protected them to make sure they stayed soft and unstained, but the albino looking kid had calluses like Brody while performing a miracle and checking Stanley's vitals like a well-trained nurse. He also had E= MC² on his knee-legnth coat, so definitely a brain box.

Red-eyes hadn't spoken to Stanley, or if he did it wasn't in English, but he did catch his eye for a half-smile and a thumbs up. Two-tone may have translated, but Stanley was having trouble focusing. He didn't want to bring that up, didn't want confirmation that his brain had been cracked and needed time to heal, and it was good enough to know his body was in working order according to basic life signs for now.

Two-tone had given Stanley his name, but Stan had been a bit too distracted by all the rest of the rapid explanation to catch it. "We've retreated in the meantime, so if you are released it will be with sufficient supplies to get you home from a safe location."

The last thing he'd said into the radio was 'green light, Xen, they can petrif…' and then it all went dark again. Then something happened, and Stanley's mind slid around it like a dream he couldn't remember. Something the human mind couldn't handle knowing about outside a dark, safe place with a trusted soul pressed up close to his body.

Stanley had woken up still feeling the adrenaline rush and panic from seeing the green light and knowing he was a dead man. He was trained to supress his panic on the battlefield, and he'd reported what was happening just as he ought to. He could be proud of his performance after the crash and before he was petrified, at least. He'd felt the panic, but did the job to the end. It was only after he woke the second time that he couldn't quite get back on form.

The second time he woke from stone was nothing like the first time, when he'd been aware and waiting for it. He'd been specifically targeted for petrification by people he'd shot at, people who took his plane down, and had no expectation of survival before he'd suddenly been breathing again with two stong men pushing him down to his knees in front of a red-eyed medic. He'd mastered his outward reaction and was calmly observing everything around him now, but for those first twenty or thirty seconds he'd been gasping like a landed fish. Then he'd swallowed something obviously medicinal without fighting it that tasted not quite like a shot of juiced wheatgrass, alcohol, and honey just because a gentle voice from just out of sight with a southern accent said it would help him recover. He wasn't sure if it was the shot or just his own mind finally getting a grip that got him back on-form. It was a sloppy and embarrasing lapse, even if had been for less than a minute.

They'd really fucked this up.

[rascalentertainments]

You know that Wish scene Featuring Starboy from the original version of the movie that Disney Unlisted? 👇

(Click right underneath the pic here, it's kind of small) 👆

Yeah, if you'd like to see it again, I posted it on my X account, with the link above. I've been a little quest to gain enough attention to it in an attempt to get the original movie released for us to see. Now that I know they pretty much made the original version and two scenes proved it would've been enjoyed, I just want what many deserved and felt like a Disney celebration.

Its like the animated version of "Release The Snyder Cut". Hell, we've gotten a lot of things come to light I'd never thought I'd see, including the Popeye animated movie, so why can't we get the original WISH too? If there's a way more scenes can get posted too, that'd be great! I'd love to get ball rolling, so reblog and comment as much as you want!

#ReleaseWish #ReleaseWishDirectorsCut

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

In 1992, Disney released a new movie musical featuring songs by Alan Menken and an unconventional hero who steals food, runs from the law, and lies about his identity.

Oh, wait.

Or did they release two?

Here is my incomplete list of similarities and connections between Newsies (released 10 April 1992) and Aladdin (released 11 November 1992)

1- Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Lyricist Howard Ashman is responsible for pitching the idea for Aladdin to Disney and initially it was him and Alan Menken who wrote the songs for the animated film. The same duo was supposed to write the songs for Newsies, however Ashman was unable to work with Menken on Newsies due to his illness from AIDS and Jack Feldman was brought in to write the lyrics for Newsies instead. Ashman died in 1991 the day before songwriting for Newsies officially began[x].

2- Street Rats. As mentioned in my introduction, Jack Kelly and Aladdin find themselves in very similar circumstances. The similarity between the two characters isn't hard to spot.

3- Rooftop Trust Exercise? In both the Newsies 1991 film script and Newsies: a novel, there is a scene on the rooftop where Jack, David, and Les are being chased by Snyder and Jack leads the Jacobs brothers between rooftops across a plank. In the novel, David looks down when he's halfway across and Jack calls out to him and holds out a hand to calm David and get him across.

Unfortunately, the scene was cut and isn't in the final film. However, a similar concept seems to have made its way into Aladdin instead. The one scene from Newsies is split into two and the plank part isn't in the middle of a chase (also, Jasmine takes the situation much better than David did), but the similarity is no less interesting. I think it's also significant to note that the Newsies scene is not found in Hard Promises and was in fact a Disney rewrite.

Top: Newsies 1991 film script and Newsies: a novel excerpts. Bottom: Aladdin (1992) screencaps.

4- Importance of Identity. Once again there is a similarity between the two main characters. Francis Sullivan becomes Jack Kelly, and Aladdin becomes Prince Ali. I think it could be argued that in both cases the facade or new identity is used as a form of escapism so that the hero can at least try to obtain the thing he wants. Francis Sullivan has a father in jail and a dead mother (and brother), but Jack Kelly has a family waiting for him out west. Aladdin is a thief with no honest money to his name, but Prince Ali can afford luxury and win the heart of a princess.

5- Proud of Your Boy. The song, "Proud of Your Boy" was originally written in 1988 by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman for Aladdin, however it was cut when Aladdin went through rewrites that cut Aladdin's mother from the story. Later on, the song would be reincorporated into the stage musical version of Aladdin, but before then it would gain an odd connection to Newsies.

There have been rumors that "Proud of Your Boy" might have been intended to be used for David in Newsies, and while it's not impossible I have found no evidence that the song was ever officially associated with Newsies beyond the fact that Howard Ashman was supposed to have written the lyrics for Newsies as stated in my first point. However, regardless of whatever Disney intended to do with the song, an "illegal" stage adaptation of Newsies cropped up written by Philip L McBride that gave the song to David anyways. I have a post that explains this further which you can find here.

Left: "Newsies Libretto," page 57. Right: Aladdin Jr. script, page 18.

6- Stage Adaptations. Curiously, just as the original films were both released in 1992, Newsies and Aladdin both took to the stage for the first time in 2011. Newsies at Paper Mill Playhouse, and Aladdin at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.

Honorable mentions:

The Aladdin (2019) chase scene has been described as being more similar to the chase scene in Newsies (1992) than to the original in Aladdin (1992). [x]

This last note is more of a fun fact, but Pierre Marais who played Jack Kelly in the Theatre Under The Stars production of Newsies last year was also in Aladdin.

Left: Pierre Marais as Aladdin in Broadway's Aladdin on tour, and Right: Pierre Marais as Jack Kelly at the Theatre Under The Stars.

I think it's interesting that, although these two stories seem to be intertwined, Newsies initially flopped whereas Aladdin was met with wide success and became the highest-grossing film of 1992.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 23, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Feb 23, 2025

Something is shifting,” scholar of authoritarianism Timothy Snyder posted on Bluesky yesterday. “They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading. Nervous Musk, Trump,

Vance have all been outclassed in public arguments these last few days. Government failure, stock market crash, and dictatorial alliances are not popular. People are starting to realize that there is no truth here beyond the desire for personal wealth and power.”

Rather than backing down on their unpopular programs, Trump and the MAGA Republicans are intensifying their behavior as if trying to grab power before it slips away.

Trump’s blanket pardons of the people convicted for violent behavior in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol were highly unpopular, with 83% of Americans opposed to those pardons. Even those who identify as Republican-leaning oppose those pardons 70 to 27 percent. And yet, on February 20, the Trump Justice Department expanded those pardons to cover gun and drug charges against two former January 6 defendants that were turned up during Federal Bureau of Investigation searches related to the January 6 attack.

Then, on February 21, a number of people pardoned after committing violent crimes, including Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio—who was sentenced to 22 years in prison—and Proud Boy Ethan Nordean (18 years) and Dominic Pezzola (10 years), as well as Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes (18 years) and Richard “Bigo” Barnett, who sat with his feet on a desk in then–House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office (four and a half years), held a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to announce they were going to sue the Justice Department for prosecuting them.

Kyle Cheney of Politico reported that the group followed the route they took around the Capitol on January 6, 2021, then posed for photos chanting as they had that day: “Whose house? Our house.” Protesters nearby heckled the group, and when one of them put her phone near Tarrio’s face while he was talking to a photographer, he batted her arm away. Capitol Police officers promptly arrested him for assault.

A number of the January 6 rioters were visiting the Capitol from the nearby Conservative Political Action Conference being held in Maryland. There, MAGA participants continued to normalize Nazi imagery as both Steve Bannon and Mexican actor Eduardo Verástegui threw fascist-style salutes to the crowd.

Yesterday, Tarrio posted a video of himself following officers who defended the Capitol on January 6 though the lobby of a Washington hotel where the anti-Trump Principles First conference was taking place. According to Joan E. Greve of The Guardian, Tarrio followed officers Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn, Daniel Hodges, and Aquilino Gonell, saying: “You guys were brave at my sentencing when you sat there and laughed when I got 22 f*cking years. Now you don’t want to look in my eyes, you f*cking cowards.” Fanone turned and told him: “You’re a traitor to this country.”

Today, the hotel had to be evacuated after someone claiming to be “MAGA” emailed a threat claiming to have rigged four bombs: two in the hotel, one in Fanone’s mother’s mailbox, and one in the mailbox of John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor turned critic. After listing the names of several of the conference attendees—and singling out Fanone—the email said they “all deserve to die.” The perpetrator claimed to be acting “[t]o honor the J6 hostages recently released by Emperor Trump.”

Billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are also ramping up their behavior even as the public is starting to turn against the government cuts that are badly hurting American veterans, American farmers, and U.S. medical research. The courts keep ruling against their efforts and their claims of finding “waste, fraud, and abuse” are being widely debunked. Rather than rethinking their course in the face of opposition, they seem to be becoming more belligerent.

On Saturday, Trump urged Musk to be “more aggressive” in cutting the government, although the White House has told a court that Musk has no authority and is only a presidential advisor. “Will do, Mr. President,” Musk replied. He then posted a command to federal employees: “Consistent with [Trump’s] instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” Shortly after, emails went out giving workers 48 hours to list five things they had accomplished in the past week.

This sparked outrage among Americans who noted that Musk has spent 24 hours tweeting more than 220 times and engaged in public fights with two of the mothers of his children while allegedly running companies and overhauling the government, while Trump spent at least 12 nights at Mar-a-Lago in his first 29 days in office. S.V. Date of HuffPost noted on February 18 that Trump has played golf at one of his own properties on 9 of his first 30 days in office and that Trump’s golf outings had already cost the American taxpayer $10.7 million.

Reddit was flooded with potential responses to Musk’s demand, scorching it and Musk. The demand also exposed a rift in the administration, as department heads—including Kash Patel, the newly confirmed head of the FBI, as well as officials at the State Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of the Navy—asserted their authority to review the workers in their own departments, telling them not to respond to Musk’s demand.

Then users pointed out that the new government employee email system the Department of Government Efficiency team set up explicitly says that using it is voluntary, and that resignations of federal employees must be voluntary. Musk responded by sending out a poll on X asking whether X users think federal employees should be “required to send a short email with some basic bullet points about what they accomplished” in the past week.

The entire exercise made it look as if the lug nuts on the wheels of the Musk-Trump government bus are dangerously loose. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo commented: “Drunk on power and ketamine.”

Historian Johann Neem, a specialist in the American Revolution, turned to political theorist John Locke to explore the larger meaning of Trump’s destructive course. The founders who threw off monarchy and constructed our constitutional government looked to Locke for their guiding principles. In his 1690 Second Treatise on Government, Locke noted that when a leader disregards constitutional order, he gives up legitimacy and the people are justified in treating him as a “thief and a robber.” “[W]hosoever in authority exceeds the power given him by the law and makes use of the force he has under his command…ceases in that to be a magistrate; and, acting without authority, may be opposed, as any other man, who by force invades the right of another,” Locke wrote.

Neem notes that Trump won the election and his party holds majorities in both chambers of Congress. He could have used his legitimate constitutional authority but instead, “with the aid of Elon Musk, has consistently violated the Constitution and willingly broken laws.” Neem warned that courts move too slowly to rein Trump in. He urged Congress to perform its constitutional duty to remove Trump from office, and urged voters to make it clear to members of Congress that we expect them to “uphold their obligations and protect our freedom.”

“Otherwise,” Neem writes, “Americans will be subject to a pretender who claims the power but not the legitimate authority of the presidency.” He continues: “Trump’s actions threaten the legitimacy of government itself.”

In the Senate, on Thursday, February 20, Angus King (I-ME) also reached back to the framers of the Constitution when he warned—again—that permitting Trump to take over the power of Congress is “grossly unconstitutional.” Trump’s concept that he can alter laws by refusing to fund them, so-called impoundment, is “absolutely straight up unconstitutional,” King said, “and it’s illegal.”

“[T]he reason the framers designed our Constitution the way they did was that they were afraid of concentrated power,” King said. “They had just fought a brutal eight-year war with a king. They didn’t want a king. They wanted a constitutional republic, where power was divided between the Congress and the president and the courts, and we are collapsing that structure,” King said. “[T]he people cheering this on I fear, in a reasonably short period of time, are going to say where did this go? How did this happen? How did we make our president into a monarch? How did this happen? How it happened,” he said to his Senate colleagues, “is we gave it up! James Madison thought we would fight for our power, but no. Right now we’re just sitting back and watching it happen.”

“This is the most serious assault on our Constitution in the history of this country,” King said. “It's the most serious assault on the very structure of our Constitution, which is designed to protect our freedoms and liberty, in the history of this country. It is a constitutional crisis…. Many of my friends in this body say it will be hard, we don't want to buck the President, we'll let the courts take care of it…. [T]hat's a copout. It's our responsibility to protect the Constitution. That's what we swear to when we enter this body.”

“What's it going to take for us to wake up…I mean this entire body, to wake up to what's going on here? Is it going to be too late? Is it going to be when the President has secreted all this power and the Congress is an afterthought? What's it going to take?”

“[T]his a constitutional crisis, and we've got to respond to it. I'm just waiting for this whole body to stand up and say no, no, we don't do it this way. We don't do it this way. We do things constitutionally. [T]hat's what the framers intended. They didn't intend to have an efficient dictatorship, and that's what we're headed for…. We’ve got to wake up, protect this institution, but much more importantly protect the people of the United States of America.”

Senator King, along with Maine governor Janet Mills, who stood up to Trump in person earlier this week, are following in the tradition of their state.

On June 1, 1950, Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) delivered her famous Declaration of Conscience, standing up to Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI), who was smearing Democrats as communists. “I think that it is high time for the United States Senate and its members to do some real soul searching and to weigh our consciences as to the manner in which we are performing our duty to the people of America and the manner in which we are using or abusing our individual powers and privileges,” she said. “I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny—Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.”

On July 28, 1974, Representative Bill Cohen (R-ME), who went on to a long Senate career but was at the time a junior member on the House Judiciary Committee, voted along with five other Republican members of the committee and the Democratic majority to draw up articles of impeachment against Republican president Richard Nixon, fully expecting that the death threats and hate mail he was receiving proved that that vote would destroy his political career. But, Cohen told the Bangor Daily News, “I would never compromise what I think is the right thing to do for the sake of an office; it’s just not that important. Only time will tell if the people will accept that judgment.”

Days later, the tape proving Nixon had been part of the Watergate coverup came to light. “Suddenly there was a switch in the people who had been defending the president,” Cohen recalled. “That’s when people back in Maine, Republicans, started to turn around and said, ‘We were wrong, and you were right, and we’ll support this.’ ”

It’s a good week to remember that politicians used to use as a yardstick the saying: “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[kiraridertime03]

We need to free the Weasel

A brief discussion about the way that Creature Commandos uses politics in its narratives.

Spoilers for it and everything else James Gun DC up to this point though, below the cut.

Also, it is a busy post, content warnings for discussions of white supremacists and cops, as it is necessary.

With the release of the trailer of James Gunn's Superman film, hype for his grand DC Universe has kicked into high gear, and for good reason. That trailer, no matter the quality of the final film, is a goddamn work of art. A piece of film that understands Superman better over the course of 2 minutes and 20 seconds than Zack Snyder did over the course of 3 overlong movies. That mixed with his solid back catalogue of Superhero films. However, slightly more obscurely, this universe has already started with the animated series Creature Commandos, and especially with the fourth episode, which released hours before Superman's trailer, shows the kind of skill and thought Gunn and co. are putting into this new universe.

At its front, Creature Commandos feels very... blunt, in a lot of ways. It's like The Suicide Squad but with Creatures! It's big and raunchy, being an animated series with blood and swearing and sex and whatnot. And, when it comes with its politics, some of the early villain's mooks are a bunch of weird incels, and one of the main characters constantly advocates for killing Nazis. It is a work that immediately shows its hand, making the type who would decry the wokeness of modern movies and games or whatever. However, with these early examples, it can feel like a bit too much, maybe. I love it, don't get me wrong, I'm the type to really enjoy blunt earnestness. Though, given the more comedic approach that many of these elements take in the early episodes, it can feel a bit like it's only there for the bit.

Where the series really starts to excel, though, is when it starts integrating its flashback segments. As a whole, even outside the point of this post, the flashbacks feel like a wonderful decision. A way of fleshing out our characters while giving each episode a distinct feel, justifying the series as, well, a series rather than just one long movie. However, here, I want to discuss some of its political ideas, and how they integrate. Because, for these, they integrate more thematically, being an undertone to each character's own story.

For the bride, her story is centered around this idea of the objectification of women. I mean, it makes sense. She was literally made to simply be the bride of Frankenstein, an object of his affection. However, as she gained her own independence, the masculine figure who feels he is owed her hand in marriage breaks out into a rage, harming her and the person she actually loves. This story is what gives her the cynical edge she gains in the series proper, giving her an interesting, sympathetic story while using the elements of said story to say something about how many men perceive woman. A strong enough parable that acts as an undercurrent for her character.

Then, we get to G.I. Robot's episode, a real tear-jerker of a thing about a silly robot character, the exact thing to set my brain off in all sorts of ways. Much of this story is designed to set up his tragic past, so that we can feel catharsis once he gets his big moment, then feel the tragedy when he gets brutally murdered. However, it again is saying a lot of complex things. Many have discussed the PTSD angle for GI, which I do see, however, in GI's story specifically, I see the way that the American state treats veterans. Like, think about it. This being who was forged and created for the purpose of making war, goes to war, then once the war is over, they are, best, used for spectacle on live TV (Where they are unable to properly adjust to the tone of peacetime, accusing the audience of being Nazis themselves), studied not to help them, but to make the next generation of soldiers even more efficient at their goal of warcraft, then thrown to the side when they are no longer useful. The man selling GI to the collector literally says he slipped through the cracks. It, again, is a wonderful metaphor that takes advantage of what GI is, and uses it to emphasize these issues in a more literal way. It is a lot easier to show a robot who was programmed in a specific way weird the room out than the rocky adjustments a veteran may have to go through. It then, also, shows the kinds of people who really benefit from this warcraft, those it appeals to. The collector who buys GI turns out to be a part of a White Supremacist group in America, a group of people who gladly use Nazi iconography, identify with it, and gladly push it. Those also happen to be the types who want to buy old war memorabilia. Obviously, not all war collectors are Nazis. But these are people who see this kind of might makes right ideology that America so often employs with its military, and latch onto it. GI, rightfully, finds this appaling, and kills them on sight. It is this wonderful moment from this delightfully twisted series.

However, even that could be seen as a tad blunt. Again, GI is very clear with his words, he doesn't hide much. So, where I see this series going from good to great is with Weasel's flashback segments. This begins when a lawyer, a member of a nonprofit, demands she see Weasel, as she is putting on a case for him. In essence, she states that, at least to her and her organization, he was unjustly prosecuted. To both Rick Flag and us, this seems absurd, as we have a lot of predisposed biases towards Weasel. You see, he is one of the few pre-existing characters in this cast. Weasel was previously seen in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, though only briefly. There, as a member of the Decoy Team, he makes weird, gross noises, they make a joke about him having killed 27 kids, then have him promptly drown before the mission even starts (Though, in the post credit, it turns out he survived, because that's even funnier). Even if you hadn't seen that film (Which you should if you haven't), they reestablish all that in this series in the first few episodes, portraying him as a stupid, vulgar, violent creature who isn't worthy of rights. However, expertly, this is all a front.

In the flashbacks, we learn that Weasel only interacted with about 8 kids, a bunch of students left at an after school program. Contrary to what we had been told, he really just played around with the kids, chasing around a ball. They eventually get inside the school and, while messing with stuff they shouldn't have, start a small fire. However, some antics are afoot. While he is playing around, an old senile man sees this and, rather than asking about what's going on, decides to run back to his home, call the cops about what is a clear, if odd, misunderstanding, then grab his gun to try to take things into his own hands. And, as he does, shakily trying to shoot Weasel, he makes the problem of the small fire worse, shooting a gas canister behind them, turning the small fire into a school-destroying explosion and fire. Then, the cops show up. Many of the kids are already dead, seemingly, but one survived. So, as he pulls her out of the wreckage, what do the cops do? They start shooting. Throughout this whole sequence, the cops do nothing but shoot and get in the way of things. It all culminates in the final shots, where Weasel has dropped the kid after being shot. And, instead of either of them going to get the kid, they both pin Weasel down, try to pull him out. This leaves the young girl to be crushed.

This is a massive tragedy, a game of tragic misudnerstandings that gets kids killed. However, again, it does this by hiding its politics into a genuinely moving character based story to make them more effective. It is a story, in part, about our predisposed biases. I mean, the narrative literally sets this up. Characters around Weasel say things about him without him being able to have a say. Because he's a Weasel. Then, our characters make judgments based on what they believe and what they've heard from secondhand sources over what they actually see. Even when Weasel is his most violent (taking down Circe in episode 3), he does it to protect his teammates, and he doesn't actually kill her. In his backstory, characters make rash decisions based on their misinformed judgments in hopes of "protecting the kids," when all they are actually doing is harming them. They get 8 kids killed all because Weasel is a little freaky.

Then there's the cops themselves. It so masterfully uses showing rather than telling. The most it tells us is of the trail at the start, and again, this is moreso used as setup, playing into our dispositions. However, when it is time to actually depict the injustices, it shuts the fuck up. It doesn't just say that cops are bad with a couple of clear shitheads and moves on. It shows how cops are bad. Their only answer to this situation is violence. They don't actually serve their community, in this instance the children stuck in the fire, their only answer is to start shooting things. Because they have no other answer than state sanctioned violence. And they did this all with an episode about FUCKING WEASEL!

Now, imagine what they can do with Superman. It doesn't even have to be political, like these previous examples. However, to me, this shows that he can do what, to me, some of the best storytellers do. They weave every element of their story together with deliberate choices that strengthen each other. If anything, more than any well edited trailer, it is that that excites me about everything James is working on. Of course, he is doing this with a team, but James is the type to surround himself with smart people who understand these things inside and out. That one David Corenswet quote about the shorts proves that to me in shades. That's what gives me hope about these works. That they will be movies and shows that mean things. Which seems like a low bar, but hey, so many fail at it that it's kind of impressive.

[ace-and-ranty]

So, initially, between Fiyero telling Elphaba she's been "Galinda-fied" and the classroom scene, there would have been a montage of all the squad hanging out together and being friends and bonding.

Which is where that shot of Galinda and Elphie by the poppy field is from.

AND I'M.

GIMME. GIMME. RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT RIGHT NOW.

[crascet]

DC's Absolute Universe Wave 1 Write-Up (Origins and Characters)

Now that I finally have the current three Absolute Universe books, I can now talk about them. Now, DC's Absolute Universe is essentially DC's answer to Marvel's current Ultimate Universe, although I wouldn't say that it was the first time DC did something like this. About 15 years ago, DC released the new imprint Earth One, a sort of late answer to Marvel's original Ultimate universe in how it reimagines and modernizes the origins of many DC heroes, like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and even the Teen Titans. Now despite being a new imprint of a new universe with these newer versions of the classic heroes, there never really was a crossover in this universe as they were all stand-alone stories. Apparently in an interview a couple of years ago with Grant Morrison, they expressed how a crossover in Earth One would happen eventually, but I'm not sure if that is still in production or if it was scrapped altogether. Even then, the similarities with the original Marvel Ultimate universe are there in not just making more modern origins and stories with their characters, but with how these stories served as inspirations for a lot of their respective movies. The Earth One Universe is still going, but with the irregular release schedules, I'm feeling that DC just scrapped the whole universe entirely and they never mentioned it again.

Now back on topic here, the Absolute Universe have currently released the first two issues of what I would call the "Wave 1" series of the universe, with the debut of the Absolute Trinity with Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, and Absolute Superman. So, for this post I will be talking about the new origins of these characters as seen in their first and second issues, express my thoughts on them and these new versions of said characters and their cast. So, let's discuss these new origins about these versions of Bruce, Diana, and Kal-El (more on that later).

Spoilers ahead as I'm talking about the new Absolute Universe here.

Absolute Batman (Snyder/Dragotta): Now I'm sure that mostly everyone knows about the origins of Batman, right? Young rich Bruce Wayne lost his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne one night after leaving the theater by cutting through to Crime Alley and ended up being shot and killed by Joe Chill which traumatized poor Bruce and ended up becoming the Dark Knight we know today. Now for the Absolute origin, there's some key changes here. For one thing, the traumatic moment that changed young Bruce wasn't at night, but during the day and at the Gotham Zoo during a field trip with his teacher, who is actually Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father. During this trip, a shooter, who is confirmed to be Joe Chill in the second issue, comes in and starts killing people, including Thomas who moved Bruce all the students in his class to a bat enclosure to protect them. Unfortunately, one of the stray bullets that shot Thomas went through the wall holding the bat enclosure and hitting the glass in front of the bat exhibit, releasing all the bats and completely cover Bruce in one of the most haunting images comic pages I've ever read. Now there are other changes here too, with the first notable changer being that Bruce's mother, Martha, is still alive and has a close friendship with Jim Gordon, who is the mayor of Gotham City in this universe, following the incident. The other difference here being that the Waynes are not rich here, instead being a more middle-class family, which shows a more grounded approach to Batman here as it has Bruce pretty much work on the ground level of Gotham, with construction and waste management.

Now for Bruce himself, we all know about the pics of how huge Bruce is, and man he is buff, literally a brick wall of muscle, which provides a more intimidating impression to him when he steps out as Batman. Another thing to note is that his entire suit is essentially a huge utility belt alongside the actual utility belt: spikes on his back, forearm guards and blades, his bat ears are actually big batarangs to be thrown, even his huge bat emblem on his chest is a weapon as it's actually the blade to a freaking battle axe he wields. But my favorite part has to be the cape, which works like how bats would use their wings to walk as Bruce uses it to be on a higher position or just uses it to grab someone at a distance and throws them with strength and velocity. Bruce himself also seems to be a bit more brutal as although he doesn't kill any criminal he comes across, he will still injure them by breaking their bones or by cutting off their hand like in the first issue.

I also just like the supporting cast here and how they're integrated here. Alfred is now a mercenary hired by a mysterious client to observe the Party Animals, a criminal group that is terrorizing Gotham being led by Black Mask, and to kill Batman if he interferes. However, he is actually inspired by Bruce on his crusade on crime and actively wants to help him and sort of act like a mentor to him. This dynamic really does compare itself to the dynamic between Terry McGuiness and Bruce in Batman Beyond, with it being a young man who wants to stop crime due to a traumatic event that ended with the death of his father being trained by an older, sort of jaded individual who is more experienced in the field. Some of Batman's rogues from the main universe here being not villains, but instead Bruce's childhood friends: Waylon Jones (Killer Croc), Ozwald Cobblepot (The Penguin), Edward Nigma (The Riddler), Harvey Dent (Two Face), and Selina Kyle (Catwoman) who didn't show up until the last page of issue 2 and would play a role in the next issue. This is a really interesting view on them as a possible what if for if they just had a normal life, but I'm willing to say they might turn into villains in the continuing series possibly.

Absolute Wonder Woman (Thompson/Sherman): Now compared the Trinity, Wondy's origins are the least well-known, with her original origin and her New 52 origin. The original origin has Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons on Paradise Island, better known as Themyscira, wanted a daughter, so with the help of the Greek pantheon, Hippolyta created a clay figure of a baby, and the gods imbued their powers to said figure, creating Diana aka Wonder Woman. Years later, an Air Force pilot named Steve Trevor crash lands on the island and was found unconscious by Diana and decides to nurse him back to health, much to her mother's dismay. It was here that Steve tells Diana about the outside world where he hails from, which made Diana becomes curious about the World of Man. So, she decides to help Steve go back home and discover the outside world and all its curiosities. As for the New 52 origin, the main change here was that instead of being formed from clay, she is actually the biological daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus because well, its Zeus and he has sex with women all the time, but the rest is still the same.

In the Absolute Universe, it starts to be similar to the main comics, just with Circe, a sorceress and normally a WW villain in the main universe, seemingly about to make something with clay on the Wild Isle, an island located in Hell where Circe is held as a prisoner from the Greek gods. However, Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, arrives to the island in front of Circe telling her that she has a new prisoner to live with: baby Diana taken from the Amazons of Themyscira following a betrayal from them towards the gods and as a result, make the word "Amazon" to never be said again. Meaning that Circe is now stuck in Hell with a baby she doesn't care about. But as time goes on, Circe bonds with Diana and becomes a mother to her, teaching her spells and helping her find out who she actually is in such an emotional moment in the first issue. The origin follows back to the original as Steve Trevor washes ashore in Hell as Diana finds him unconscious and nurses him back to health with the help of Circe. Steve tells Diana about where he came from and helps him get back to the living world, the way they do it is not revealed yet in the story, but it is implied that it involved a resurrection spell of some sort.

As for Diana herself, she is sort of like her main appearance, but now has spells taught to her from Circe and some of her familiars, mainly her skeleton Pegasus who turns out to be the Pegasus of the original Greek myths. She also wields the Athena blade, which is a buster sword like Cloud has in FF7. Her most notable weapon here is her version of one of Wondy's iconic weapon, the Lasso of Truth. Now normally, the Lasso of Truth would wrap around an opponent and makes them tell the truth on what they've done and any sort of secrets they held. In the Absolute Universe, it's instead called Nemesis and in lieu of the original Lasso, it hurts the opponent based on how many sins they have committed, making it be a more painful experience for whoever is wrapped around it. Essentially, its similar to Ghost Rider's Penance Stare, just in lasso form. Diana herself is similar to how she in the main universe: compassionate yet stern when the situation drives her to but wants to spare life and not kill her enemies, even if they're demons.

For the supporting cast there's two notable characters: Circe and Steve. I guess there's also the Greek gods, but other than Apollo showing up in the first issue and some references from Diana in the story, they don't show up that much. Circe is Diana's adopted mother and helps her be the kind, strong, woman that she is, but is still stuck in Hell. I do have a fan theory that Circe could be the one that sent the demons to the surface world as a sort of revenge towards humanity and Diana for leaving Hell, but I'm probably leaning that she had to sacrifice herself to get both Diana and Steve to the surface world, but the rest of the first arc would reveal what happened to her now and how she was imprisoned to Hell in the first place. Steve is still the same in the main comics, a noble soldier that cares for Diana and helps her in the outside world. So not much else.

Absolute Superman (Aaron/Sandoval): Everyone and their grandmother knows about Superman, right? I not, here's a speedrun. Born on the doomed planet Krypton, Kal-El was sent in a rocket as a baby by his scientist birth parents to save him from the exploding planet, knowing there won't be a way to fix it. Kal crash lands in Smallville, Kansas on Earth, raised by the Kents as Clark Kent, Clark finds out who he actually is, Kents teach him all about right and wrong and to always help others, Clark develops superpowers and first becomes Superboy to understand his powers either by himself or from the help of the Legion of Superheroes depending on continuity. Clark moves to Metropolis after graduating, becomes reporter for the Daily Globe, meets and befriends Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, becomes Superman, fights bald millionaires, lightning women, parasitic monsters, evil toymakers, evil Kryptonians, aliens, fifth-dimensional beings, flaming skull people, and space biker. Later marries Lois, dies in a fight one time but then brought back because of course, and finally has a son. That was not as quick as I thought, but the main components are there.

In the Absolute Universe, Kal-El had a life on Krypton before he escaped to Earth; actually, having an actual childhood there. Another change is with his birth parents, now in the main continuity, they were both part of the Science Council of Krypton or at least Jor-El, Kal's father. However, in the AU, the El's are part of the working class of Krypton, a lower class in that society compared to the science council, who are the highest class in Kryptonian society. You know the emblem on Kal's chest that stands for the House of El in the main comics? Well, that emblem stands for the working class in this universe, making Kal feel closer to his Golden Age appearance. Another thing to note is the name: Kale-El is not Clark, well right now at least. It's not revealed yet in the story, but it is clear that he fled Krypton when he was either in his teen years or when he turned to a young adult. He may have crash landed through the Kent house as revealed in the epilogue of issue 1, but its unsure if he actually met the Kent's or if the encounter didn't end well. It's all still pretty much in the dark about this Kal's origins on Krypton, but his character is honestly really interesting here.

Kal-El is still like his main counterpart in how much he wants to help others, especially the oppressed. The writer of this series, Jason Aaron, said during an interview that this Superman will feel close to his original Golden Era role, helping those that are helpless from those that have higher power over them. In issues 1 and 2, Kal helps a mining village in Brazil from the overpowering company that owns the village, the Lazarus Corporation, by helping them get diamonds in the dangerous mines, heavily filled with asbestos. Kal also has two sides to him: a brave, helpful personality in public towards those he helps and a more shy, timid personality he has with himself, which in a way feels more relatable to me in wanting to help others but still feel nervous about how to do them. As for his powers, he actually gets them thanks to his suit. In the main series, Clark simply got his powers by absorbing yellow sunlight through his skin, which allows him flight, super speed, strength, durability, freeze breath, and x-ray and laser vision. In the AU, his suit has an AI named Sol that gives him these powers at the cost of the solar power the suit gains during the day. One interesting thing to note about the suit is with the cape. The cape is actually red sunstone dust that can be activated by the suit, and the cape itself is not just a shied to protect Kal and others but can also heal those that are injured. A very unique concept of how this Superman got his powers.

For the supporting cast, there's some interesting ones here. First there is Sol, who's main purpose is to protect Kal on Earth at all costs, which includes convincing Kal to not help humans and just retreat from attackers, which Kal very easily ignores. It'll be interesting to see how Sol was created by the El's and how they wanted Sol to protect their son. Next are the villains with the Peacemakers, who are a sort of police corps that work for Lazarus Corporation, and they are the mass oppressors that take over the mining village in Brazil. Their weapons are also really cool in how they change and adapt on who the target is, which is also really terrifying when they attack the innocent villagers. Other than a certain Peacemaker who is referred to as Smith, there's not much to them. Then there's the AI that works for Lazarus, simply known as Brainiac. He's still sort of the same as the main comics, an AI figure that is into researching certain things on Earth and life on other planets by shrinking them down and putting them in enclosures, as seen in the issue 1 epilogue, with his primary focus now being on Kal. People are theorizing that this Brainiac is also a fusion of Lex Luthor given the color scheme, it could be a chance that it is, but we haven't seen this universe's version of Lex just yet as he could be the head of Lazarus, or it could be someone else leading the corporation, most likely an Al Ghoul given the connection to Lazarus in the main comics. Finally, and certainly not the least, there's Lois. Now there is one key difference between the reporter of the Daily Bugle of the original universe and this one is that she's not a reporter, instead, she's one of Lazarus' soldiers sent to take down Superman, most likely going down this path thanks to her father Sam Lane, who is a general in the main comics. During the mission, she handcuffs herself to Kal in an attempt to subdue him but it's from this, that she gets an in-depth look to Kal and what he's doing. From this, she becomes more interested and wants to know more about him. After reporting about this to Brainiac which led to the program wanting to terminate Superman, much to Lois's displeasure, she decides to write about him herself in her reports, which she very much appreciates when she does, essentially making her close to her main counterpart.

So that's the Absolute Trinity for right now, all still the same despite the changes to their origins which could make or break to you, but I really love these stories, and I'm invested in these new versions and want to learn more about them. For my favorite, it has to be Absolute Batman, with WW and Superman being tied as 2nd, I do love the action and art in WW, but I love the characters in Superman. I slightly like Absolute Superman more than WW right now, but that could change with the next issues. I will be more in-depth when their first arcs are finished, so I'll write that in the future. Speaking of the future, there's three more Absolute series coming out next year: Absolute Flash by Jeff Lemiere, Absolute Green Lanter by Al Ewing, and Absolute Martian Manhunter by Denis Camp. Out of the three, I'm excited about AMM the most as John Johns is one of my favorite characters in DC and I'm absolutely loving Camp's work with the Ultimates in Marvel's current Ultimate Universe. The Absolute Universe is going off great and I want to see where this universe goes with Darkseid and his ultimate goal and when this universe clashes with the main DC universe.

[james-stark-the-writer]

well, that's a bummer. so, i forgot Justice League came out before Aquaman bc i was just skipping Justice League theatrical cut because i had no need or desire to see that (maybe after i'm done with this DCEU rewatch and am in a mood to torture myself) and i forgot that i was supposed to watch Zack Snyder's Justice League in the place of that because even though it released later that's where it was supposed to go in the timeline and i started Aquaman and i got 30 minutes into it when they made a reference to Justice League that i realized i needed to watch Zack Snyder's Justice League before it. this has literally never happened to me (well, except for the time with Nausicaä but that's because i was looking at the wrong list, i was still following the right order) because i'm usually extremely meticulous about making sure i do this shit in order but i guess there's got to be a first for every fucking thing. so. now seated for a fucking 4 hour movie. i know Snyder expects you to watch this in two settings so i'm going to get some food after that midway point he talked about but alright. now fucking seated for Zack Snyder's Justice League. let's do this.

[motion-of-love]

Superman/Clark Kent in live action

Kirk Alyn:

The first actor to play Superman/Clark Kent in live action, in 1948 'Superman' a 15 part film serial was released

in 1950, Kirk Alyn played the role again in 'Atom Man vs. Superman'

George Reeves:

in 1951, George Reeves became the second actor to appear as Superman/Clark Kent in 'Superman and the Mole-Men'

Reeves then went on to play the role in 104 episodes of 'Adventures of Superman' (1952–1958)

Christopher Reeve:

in 1978, Christopher Reeve became the third actor to play Superman/Clark Kent in 'Superman: The Movie'

Reeve also went on to play the role in Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and his final appearance as Superman in 1987's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

In 1988, John Newton became the fourth actor to play Clark Kent (Superman in his younger years) in the first season of 'Superboy'

from 1989 to 1992, Gerard Christopher took over the role in Superboy to become the fifth live action Clark Kent

Dean Cain:

In 1993, Dean Cain became the sixth actor to play the role, in 87 episodes of 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman' 1993–1997

Tom Welling:

in 2001, we saw Tom Welling become the seventh actor to play the role and begin his journey as Clark Kent on his way to being Superman in 217 episodes of 'Smallville' (2001-2011)

he returned to the role to cameo in Arrowverses Crisis on infinite Earths crossover event (2019/2020)

Brandon Routh:

in 2006, Brandon Routh became the eighth actor to play the role in live action, Routh played the role in Superman Returns (2006)

Routh would later briefly returned to the role as Superman in Arrowverses Crisis on infinite Earths crossover event

Henry Cavill:

In 2013, Henry Cavill became the nineth actor to play the role in Man of Steel (2013)

He also played the role in Batman v Superman (2016), Justice League (2017)/Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and his final appearance as Superman in Black Adam (2022)

Tyler Hoechlin:

Tyler Hoechlin became the tenth actor to play the role first appearing in Supergirl 2x01 before making more appearances in Arrowverse including crossover events 'Elseworlds' & 'Crisis on infinite earths'

then Hoechlin played the role in 53 episodes of 'Superman & Lois'

The series currently airing it's final season as Warner Bros sold 'The CW' and new owners were reportedly looking to cut costs, the series was cancelled but given a limited episode season to finish right.

David Corenswet:

David Corenswet will be the eleventh actor to play the role, he will appear as Superman/Clark Kent in 'Superman' (2025) to be released in July 2025

Hopefully in future there are more actors to play live action Superman/Clark Kent and we get to be entertained by Superman for many years to come.

If you read to the end, Thank you and I hope you have a Super Day/Night

[ironwidow10]

Guys is there any way we can get that CaitVi scene released like the Snyder cut😭

I mean getting something like,

“Release Extended CaitVi Scene”

trending on twitter might help