literally nobody asked for it, but here's my list of saltburn essays that i've slowly been drafting over the course of the last week which WILL be required reading for anybody trying to engage with me about this movie. my very personal saltburn 101 syllabus just dropped
A Wolf in Deer's Clothing: Saltburn's Attempt at Innocence
an examination of party costumes and our character's last attempts to masquerade as something they're not: felix—an angel, all-forgiving and all-knowing, something to be worshiped; and oliver—a prey animal, prey to class-divide, prey to saltburn, prey to felix.
thoughts about oliver specifically are loosely organized in my #bambi tag
A Midsummer Night's Mare: Farleigh Start as the Ultimate Victim of Saltburn
a farleigh character study, about the ways he was mistreated and manipulated at saltburn, about fighting to stay alive and the scars left behind by knowing when to give in
alternatively titled "QuickStart", may be adapted into a conclusive essay specifically focusing on oliver and farleigh's relationship
The Eye of the Beholder: On Saltburn's Voyeurism & Violence [working title]
how wealth and class pushes the catton's toward the volatile reality of being able to look, but not touch. on desire and the lack thereof, and portraying yourself as an object to be desired
may end up as two separate essays on wealth and aestheticism but i'm pushing toward a conclusive essay about the intersection of the two, which i feel is at the heart of saltburn
alternatively titled "Poor Man's Pudding: A Melvillian Approach to Saltburn's Class", again, may be adapted into it's own essay
Gender-Fluid: A Study in Sexuality and Saltburn's Desire to be Dry
a deep dive into the bodily fluids of saltburn and how oliver upsets the standard of men who are just so lovely and dry. on the creative choice to lean into the messy wetness of sex and desire and the audience's instinct toward repulsion
a celebration of the grotesque and an examination of why we would label it as such
least developed of the four, heavily inspired by @charnelpit's lovely post about the fluids in saltburn
if anybody is actually interested in any of these, i can work toward something closer to a finished piece instead of just bullet points and quotes in a google doc, but mostly this is so i can share my very brief takes on a multitude of themes in saltburn that have been haunting me
edit for people seeing this in the future: all posts about my essays are being organized into my #saltburn 101 tag if you’re interested in following these through to development!
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PAST LIFE⋆
dofp!logan howlett x mutant fem!reader
cw:fingering, cursing, dirty talk, mentions of motherhood, fluff
logan should've known when he accepted the mission to come go back in time to stop the sentinels that you would still be here.
"is there an issue here, hank?"
the sound of your voice made logan's heart flutter. you were barely peaking out from behind the door but logan could see you just fine. he couldn't stop staring.
"no, everything's fine." hank assured you. just as you turned to return to charles's office, you hear the door burst open. this handsome stranger hits hank right in the nose before continuing up the stairs to you.
logan had to take you in for a second. his beautiful future wife stood in front of him and she has absolutely no clue that their married because she's only twenty-five years old.
had you always been this gorgeous? was that even fair? all of these were questions that floated around in his mind.
"who are you and what do you want?" you asked as he reached out to touch you.
"so you've always been this beautiful, huh, princess?" he purred, tucking away a piece of your hair behind your ear.
sure, he was attractive in his brown leather jacket and sunglasses but this man looked in his mid-forties. logan was too busy staring down at your frilly yellow babydoll dress to notice where you're looking at him. his left hand; more specifically the gold band on his ring finger.
"i don't mess with married men." you glare at him. he couldn't help but chuckle darkly down at your innocence.
"oh, my wife wouldn't mind."
god, logan felt like such a pervert for coming on to you but he couldn't help it. you're ethereal beauty was unreal. not that you had aged much since present day, as you two have the slow aging processes in common. older hank would always tell logan that he should be lucky that you agreed to date him because there were plenty of people who would love to take his place. sure, logan believed him but now, he really understood what hank meant.
"where's charles at, sweetheart?" logan asks, inhaling your floral sent.
before you could respond, charles comes barreling down the stairs drunkenly calling after you.
"where've you been?" he asked you then turned to logan. "who the hell are you?"
this should be good.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・
"how do we know that you're actually from the future?" you asked, sitting atop charles desks, swinging your legs. hank and charles stood outside in the hallway discussing whether or not to trust logan.
"you've always been this stubborn?" logan says under his breath, rolling his eyes.
"how do we even know each other in the future?" you finally asked.
for the past hour, this man has tried to sell this absurd story about how future charles and magneto sent him here together in order to save mutants from sentinels. so far he's managed to convince charles but hank and you were still on the fence.
"we're married, sweetheart." logan smirks wickedly.
there was absolutely no way that you two were married. this man is grumpy, mean looking, and wears dark brown leather. you are an academic scholar who adores pastels and helping other mutants. he had to have you mistaken.
you squint up at him and laugh, "we are married?"
logan nods, walking over to you until he's standing in between your legs.
"tell me something only i would know then."
"your favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry, you hate the cold and winter, anytime you drink coffee you get nightmares, your favorite color is green; but your favorite shade is the color my eyes get when i look at you." logan could see the way your eyes widen, slowly starting to believe him more and more. he couldn't help but feel cocky. "would you like me to continue?"
"im not sure... think you're gonna have to prove it. another way." you challenge him. logan's hand trails up your thigh, playing with the soft yellow material.
"c'mon sweetheart, this is too easy." he mutters against your neck, placing soft kisses and nibbling on the skin.
logan knew you like the back of his hand. he knew exactly what you like and dislike. sometimes you would even tell him that he knew you better than you knew yourself.
"you like when i pull your bottom lip when we kiss. you blush every time i offer for you to sit on my face. one of your favorite ways to fuck is pressed up against a wall or bent over a table..." logan could go on and on.
"we do that...?" you whisper embarrassed by this version of yourself, trying to avoid his burning gaze.
"oh, all the time. sometimes you pull me down on the floor when i come home, begging to ride me right then and there." logan says, once he captures your attention again. you chew on your bottom lip adorably.
a small whimper passes your lips before you remember that hank and charles aren't that far away from the room. one of your hands comes up to logan's chest, slightly pushing him back despite not wanting to.
"w-we should stop." you warn him. "they can hear us."
this was when logan knew that you hadn't discovered part of your mutation yet. he had already assumed that you hadn't but this confirmed it.
"need you to relax, princess." he says, moving higher up to your jaw. your body betrays everything your mouth says, eating out of the palm of his hand. "i promise once you relax, it'll feel like time has stopped."
logan's lips taunt yours; not quite giving you what you want. fed up, you overpower him and push his lips into yours. the only word floating around in your head was 'relax'.
carefully, logan lays you back on the desk. something about being held in the strangers arms set you at easy; maybe he was really your husband?
"you don't know this yet..." logan huffs. "but you can stop time."
you scoff, thinking that you caught him in a lie. "no, i can't."
"if you relax like i said, then you can." logan mutters against your collarbone.
one of his hands slides up your thigh while the other rubs circles on your hip bone. was this wrong of you? if he is telling the truth –and it seems like he is– then technically he is your husband and it's not wrong to mess around with your husband.
"open up for me, babydoll." logan mumbled against your collarbones, placing wet kisses and nibbling on the delicate skin.
your legs spread with easy as his callused fingers rub over your cotton panties. the soft material of your dress is bunched at your tummy as he tugs your panties off, pocketing them for himself. his thumb returns to rub your button.
"p-please..." you whimper, looking up at logan with bambi eyes. "need more."
"anything for you, princess." he groans, slipping two fingers inside of you as gently as he could. this earned a loud moan from you when he nudged that spot deep in your gummy walls with ease.
"see how well i know my wife?" logan gloats, pressing soft kisses to your lips but never letting you catch him. "you usually prefer it rougher than this but i'm not cruel."
"y-you can go... can go faster." you pant, never having anything quite his size yet.
"i don't want to hurt you, baby." he says in a condescending tone. "wanna know something 'bout the future?"
it was difficult but your managed to nod your head despite how clearly fucked out you were at this point.
"a couple weeks ago, you came home telling me how much you want to be a mom; how you've always wanted to be a mom." he pulls back to look at your pretty face, lust darkening your eyes and slick pouring out of you, practically dripping down his palm onto the desk. "so, every chance we get alone you've been begging for me to go raw inside of you."
logan loved how even as you're all spread out for him, you're still blushing at his filthy words.
"look at you, blushing while you soak my hand." he mocks with a smirk.
"i'm s-so close, please!" you beg so politely.
his thick fingers pick up the pace as you clench down on them; jaw dropped and head thrown back. logan's other hand supports your back while your cute painted blue nails dig into his wrist as your climax starts to wash over you.
"hey sweetheart, look out the window." he chuckles, moving your chin to stare hazily out the glass window.
you couldn't believe it. every car, bird, street light, everything was stopped. everything but you and logan.
"how did you know that i could...?"
"you can't always control it but when you calm your mind, it's easier for you to do it."
"does it always happen when we...?"
"when we have sex...?" logan chuckles as you hide yourself in his chest. you nod. "no. over time you've found ways to control it. sometimes if we need more time, you might manipulate it."
"future me sounds cool." you giggle, lifting up to look at him. "how do we meet?"
"i can't tell you that." he smiles.
"well, then where are you in this timeline? how can i meet you sooner?"
"i'm not a very good man during this time, baby. you'll meet me when the time is right."
"what if you don't want me then? how do you know we will still get together?"
logan looks down at your pouty lips, swiping his thumb across it.
"i'll always come back for you. no matter the timeline or where we are in life; i'll find you again."
"promise?"
"i promise you, sweetheart. don't worry that beautiful mind of yours." he assures, kissing the tear strolling down your cheek.
logan reaches down and kisses you tenderly, pulling you out of the time freeze. suddenly the door swings open on the two of you. thank god, logan had quick reflexes, pulling your dress back down to cover you.
charles calls your name then asks, "what are you doing?"
"it's okay, he's my husband."
a loud laugh escapes logan at your lovey dovey tone, almost making hank and charles eyes fall out of their heads. you couldn't wait to meet logan again in the future.
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on biomechanics: No Significant Harassment
(i have been fighting with the tagging system for this post specifically as it won't show up in tags. ive narrowed down the cause to be the non-fandom tags [ie. my typical post-comic monologue lol]. those are under the cut if youre curious)
before the monologue id like to congratulate tumblr user mewguca for perfectly predictung the subject of this comic under my 5p one
anyways, tags:
NSH is so fascinating to me because of the way he completely memes on his intended purpose
#hes so unlike every other iterator we see in game. its like he doesnt even care about cycles or sliver the big problem at all
#this comic is my personal headcanon as to his thought process:
#hes a little jokester as a spiteful rebellion towards his purpose and creators
#but im sure he also finds it funny lol
#and the ancient's design philosophy as well:
#let them think and feel and be a part of the cycle to drive them to keep trying
#but dont let them ascend! because what would stop them from just solving the problem for themselves only and leaving you behind?
#making them fully mechanical would have forced the ancients to input solutions and think on the problem themselves.
#and i remember pearl dialogue where moon talks about how taboo it was for the ancients to aspire for anything in life
#even if that aspiration is death
#also its in my personal hc that rain world's surface is covered in a thick mat of piping and metalworks
#and that biological life forces its way into (much to the chagrin of the ancients!)
#theres patchy semi-deep ponds all over the surface due to drastic and irregular rainfall. basically like an overgrown industrial district
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jack champion x reader in behind the scenes of avatar where they're always seen asleep on each others shoulders?
THIS IS SO CUTE AAA
Good Days — Jack Champion ★
PAIRING: Jack Champion X gn!reader
SUMMARY: in Jamie’s little YouTube documentary he took of behind the scenes for Avatar you and Jack are always asleep on each others shoulders.
A/N: im going through my requests and doing my best to zoom through them also trying to get inspo for the new Jack fic 😛🫶 Hope you enjoy, my loves! ALSO THIS WILL BE TOTALLY INACCURATE idk what actors do when they aren’t filming I tried watching interviews to get info but they gave me nothing so this is the best I can do </3
this reminded me of good days by SZA 🥹
Since Avatar 2 came out in December a few behind the scenes clips have been released. The most popular one being Jamie’s documentary he made on YouTube. It was so cute it brought you to tears the first time you saw it, all the happy memories of filming overwhelmed you in the best way possible.
Before watching it you didn’t realize how you and Jack were almost always around each other. Specifically you guys were always asleep on each other. Your smile got even brighter as you watched a clip of you and Jack when you were younger resting before you guys had to film. You were both sitting in your trailer and still had the dots on your face and the performance capture suits on and your hair was still up. You could hear Jamie and Bailey laughing in the background as the went into they trailer and filmed you both.
Jamie and Bailey walked in the trailer, camera in hand, “Y/N can i get an interview with-“ he cut himself off when he saw you and Jack asleep. You were sitting on the small couch with your head on his shoulder. Bailey awwed at the two of you while Jamie boo’d and that made Bailey nudge him before they both walked out, playfully bickering with each other.
You kept watching the video and the second time you saw you and Jack asleep was in the car. It was taken at least a year later. The younger cast decided to go to the beach for a break and you two were asleep in the car. This time he had fallen asleep against you. Jamie was filming Trinity talking and she pointed out you and Jack.
“Look they’re asleep!”, she whisper yelled. “Oh, when are they not?” Jamie responded before turning the camera to you both. You were against the window and Jacks head was on yours, because of the height difference. “They look so peaceful.” Bailey quietly laughed before Trinity got bored and bugged her to play something with her.
You grinned as you watched different clips of you and your cast mates. Premieres, hang outs, dinners, little interviews. You were really glad Jamie put this together. There was a clip of Jack giving you a piggy back ride while Trinity chased you two around. You listened to what Bailey, Filip, and Jamie had to say about the whole process while clips of you and your cast mates having fun played in the background.
Near the end of the video there was a third clip of you and Jack asleep. You truly didn’t know that it was a thing between the two of you before watching this video, but it was special. In the third clip it was when you guys were a little older, at least 15-16 and you were in a hotel lobby. Bailey had the camera this time.
The camera was pointed at the two of you, “And here we have the two lovebirds!” She then pointed it back to herself. “I wonder how many shots Jamie has taken of them asleep. How many do you think, Trinity?” Bailey pointed the camera towards Trinity, who was next to her. She put her finger on her chin, pretending to think. “At least 10.” “10? I think it might be a few more but I’m not sure how many he’ll use.” Bailey flipped it to you both again while her and Trinity made bets. Your head was on his shoulder and your hands were intertwined.
The video ended and you closed your computer and smiled to yourself as you looked to see Jack asleep next to you.
THIS IS SO ADORABLE AND NOT PROOF READ!!
tags: @ashlesys-blog @dizzyscreams @beary-rambles @ang3lik
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i have a question and sorry if it sounds incoherent. why is it so important to marxists to distinguish that marxism is not “moral” or “ideological”? i understand that marxism is grounded in historical materialism and that it aims to understand how existing structures and institutions function with the specific goal of abolishing them in favour of a marxist state, but when it comes to understanding how to move forward past capitalism, how can MLs claim that it’s entirely objective and scientific? isnt the fundamental purpose of marxism (abolishing the oppressor class and putting the proletariat in power) a subjective one, given that it to support that you need to believe that abolishing the oppressor class is desirable in the first place? how would ML “scientifically” help people decide where the line is drawn on subjects like the death penalty and incarceration if its committed by a communist party (given that the decision that the cost of killing/imprisoning people is worth the boon it would give in establishing a communist state is still based on subjective goals?)
i don't think modern marxists should claim they're not ideological. im sure some do, but imo the correct claim is marxism is not idealist. i think some of this confusion comes from a popperian view of science as "neutral" or "objective" outside of time. how the political economy affects the propagation of ideology and the process of science as practiced in reality is very standard marxist analysis now. some of the claim to objectivity is something that most people claim belongs to their favourite philosophical project see the rawlsian veil of ignorance in liberalism. marx is also writing in a world where theological and religious reasoning have a lot of primacy in philosophy and he is drawing a clean break from that by hewing to scientific characterisation of his methods.
idealism, in the kantian sense is a philosophy that argues that our ideals (about say, fairness, justice etc) inform how we organise society. marxism, as philosophical project develops in response to kant and hegel to argue that the political economic base, ie the productive relations of society actually inform superstructure of ideals. to quote marx in the preface to critique of political economy: "it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness."
for clarity's sake the idea that changes in the mode of production (mostly due to technology) transform the relations of production which is the main driving force of history is historical materialism. the analysis of why existing structures and institutions must be abolished therefore has to be grounded in analysis where such structures are considered variously – unstable, internally contradictory etc. if you view historical materialism as true, your theory of change cannot be that you'll change the world because it is unfair (an idea.) you can view the world as unfair as a marxist and talk about it to propagate the necessity of your project but that doesn't actually give you a blueprint on how to change it.
capitalists are oppressors, but marxism doesn't view the problem in their oppressive or evil natures. capitalist economies demand even the most moral capitalist to exploit the proletariat. but! it is desirable to abolish there class relations not merely because they are unfair and exploitative but because these class relationships cause workers to develop class consciousness, recognise their power and abolish capitalism.
on your specific example, i don't think marxism can or should claim their are no moral dilemmas. historical materialism doesn't assert that there are no conflicting understandings of history. walter benjamin's theses on the philosophy of history is imo good reading here.
so i dont think your concern about why it's important for marxists to believe this makes sense, because this is what marxism is. if you don't find this convincing, you're not a marxist. you could be an anarchist, or a social democrat or a radical liberal.
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