#that would be so awesome. instead of being a fucking... COP

[mekatrio]

ill only talk abt this once so it doesnt bear repeating again and again and again in my fruitless mind but that fucking.....TWEET... where jin says kano would become a cop in the future. a cop. a cop.... yes i think jin is a pretty good writer in spite of various plunders (unfunny misogyny-tinted jokes + lack of a proper ending), but all things considered i think he made a great narrative especially considering how overworked he was like the sheer amount of works churned out by jin and sidu in like a 7 year timespan is not a pretty picture. but still.. A COP.... kano fucking shuuya becoming a cop as an adult.... yeah thats a plunder. obvs jin as the creator understands his character the best (THEORETICALLY) but like this is an instance of idk differing politics or whatever. bc in what world would a child who grew up wary/fearful of welfare states intervening in his family issues become a cop. a child who hid and kept his powers a secret with his friends because they were fearful of possible detainment. a child who runs away to live in some abandoned warehouse instead of contacting authorities when their father figure endangers them. AND also idk how well-developed this aspect of kgpr is but like i think its subtext that saeru-possessed kenjirou had other people working under him so like kano wouldve been privy to the amount of corruption present in systems as well.... if his time at the facility with kido and seto wasnt enough already to show him that. LIKE WHY WOULD HE EVER BECOME A COP........

[bishopony]

Ohhh buddy I have THOUGHTS (This is so long, I'm so sorry)

1. I actually like Twilight better as a unicorn, she should never have became an Alicorn. (And that's coming from someone who first started watching around S5)

2. However, if Twilight becomes an Alicorn then all the Mane 6 should have been Alicorns. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity did just as much as Twilight! Where are their wings/horns?

(That would have been awesome for the rest of the series!)

3. You are 100% right the tree castle is horrible. It's so barren and empty and so clearly made to sell toys. The library was nice and cozy and fit Twilight perfectly.

4. I absolutely hate redeemed Starlight Glimmer. Words cannot describe how much I despise this mare. You mean to tell me Twilight would throw a child into hell but let Starlight I-broke-space-time Glimmer go?? Absolutely not.

(Sunset Shimmer is a thousand times better and everything Starlight wishes she could be)

5. I actually like that Cozy Glow doesn’t have a backstory. Sometimes villains are just evil to be evil.

That being said, they should have at least tried to reform Cozy Glow. At the bare minimum put her somewhere other than (I can't stress this enough) PONY HELL!! She's like 12 Twilight holy shit-

6. Not enough people read the G4 comics. In fact, you should stop reading this ask and go read the comics instead. Most of them are online for free. I recommend The Return of Queen Chrysalis (1-4), Reflections (17-20), and Siege of the Crystal Empire (31-34).

7. MLP G5 isn't actually that bad, but it took too long to get off the ground. By the time it went from mediocre to good, most people didn't care. (Also Hasbro got greedy and G5 paid the price, but that's a rant for another day)

Also G5 should have been it's own thing, with no ties to G4.

8. Celestia and Luna should not have retired. Celestia I can understand, but Luna? Poor Luna just got back to Earth (or whatever the planet's called), no way is she retiring like 5 years in.

9. The CMC all having the same cutie mark was dumb. (And felt like a cop-out. Let my girls be unique!) Also the cutie mark designs themselves are just the ugliest things ever. Did no one teach that designer color theory??

10. King Sombra is best villain. However they should have picked literally anyone else to voice him in Season 9. Or even have the VA do a different voice! It's not even a bad voice, it's just not King Sombra's voice.

11. The Apples and the Pies are not related. Let me ship Marble Pie and Big Mac in peace. Let people ship Applejack and Pinkie Pie in peace.

12. Sugar Belle and Big Mac are a terrible couple. Maybe they were fine off-screen, but all we see is miscommunication. The only way that marriage is ending is in divorce.

13. I actually like that EQG used pony skin tones instead of human ones. That being said, there was way too much whitewashing—just use the pony's actual coat colors. I promise you can give Luna dark blue skin and it'll be fine. (How the fuck did Habro make the character with literally white skin even whiter?? HOW?? WHY???)

14. And finally (holds up megaphone): Just because Applejack and Rainbow Dash were seen together in the end, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re a couple!!!! —Sincerely, someone who thinks AJ and Rainbow are too similar to be a couple.

Ooooo ok cool I also have some thoughts LMAO. long post so read under the cut

I also like Twilight as a unicorn more than an alicorn but I do think it was right for her to become one since it was the climax of her character arc. The problem is that the show was meant to end after she became an alicorn and it went on for several more season :,) I think she was an alicorn for far too long

Not really sure I agree with this since it was only Twilight's destiny to become an alicorn. While it would've been cool to see them as alicorns and the whole mane 6 put forth equal effort to saving equestria, it just wasn't meant to be lol.

i saw someone's AU where the castle looked more like the student 6's tree of harmony and I like that a lot more, THAT'S how you design a crystal tree house ^^'

I like Starlight Glimmer and her unconventional approaches to problem solving, but man she did get off way easy for nearly destroying the world. I mean, idk, community service or something? Also why is Cozy Glow, a child, in pony hell? Why was she trapped in stone? How did the writers think that was an appropriate punishment but other characters like Starlight and Discord get redemptions? ToT

agreeing, no extra notes lol

I have a few of them! I've read the Nightmare Rarity and mirrorverse ones, I really love the comics

Agree with this one as well. G5's issues all come from Hasbro wanting to make even more money off of G4 and not allowing G5 to be its own thing like it should have. Hasbro, a toy company, should have made way more collectible G5 merch instead of the same cheap brushables of the same 4 characters over and over. I also saw someone on twitter make a good point that the G5 show should've aired on disney+ instead of netflix since that's what most families have nowadays. truly, G5 is just a victim of corporate greed

Yeah I always felt bad for Luna for that lol. If Celestia wants to retire good for her, but at least Luna should've have stuck around and helped Twilight. Can't image Ruler of Equestria is something you just get used to immediately, esp as one person instead of two like before

Totally agree, no extra notes

He's not my favorite villain, but he is fun, and they could've gotten a better VA for him lol. Or at least changed the direction for his voice? The VA is skilled and sounds good but the voice was a little too smooth IMO.

Yeah it was never actually confirmed so it's not canon. I wouldn't worry about shipping them cause the show writers clearly don't care lol

It's kind of forced imo. They're two random characters and I think they just wanted to use Sugar Belle again. I don't remember that episode well but ig discord was stopping them from seeing each other? idk they should've just gone straight to each other. just not anything I'm invested in

Agreed, they should've had their actual pony colors if they're not gonna have realistic skin. It was weird that rarity became pure white and luna was lightened so heavily. and why is celestia pink. if they were trying to avoid racially coding the characters they certainly failed that cause it just implies that they're all white

I think some of the writers said it was canon? Or at least implied since hasbro wouldn't let them confirm it outright. I don't like appledash either way, and can just pretend it isn't real lol.

[jacenotjason]

OK this will be an extremely long ask i am sorry. i love radford

i havent sent an ask to people in years but i am one of the radford fans of all time and demonic possession is a fun concept to me, so the idea of gadreel possessing him specifically makes me INSANE

i just think itd work extremely well. radford doesnt take anything seriously and doesnt understand boundaries, but he always puts his concern for others first and his well-being last. he annoys father gregor and compares him to priests hes seen in the movies, and he does spray holy water + offer free candy against kevins wishes, but he also warns rick about the trouble he could get himself into when not giving the right movie tickets, and helps kevin with his job with no pay in mind. hes annoying, but his heart is in the right place

but gadreel is the Ultimate Prankster. him trying to imitate radford would backfire Hard, because gadreels idea of fun is,, More Extreme. he allows kids to enter adult films, he steals candy and says its fine since hes friends with kevin, he tells his friends and brother to break the rules and disrespect authority, etc etc. im unsure what gadreels motives are other than to ruin everyones day, but hes doing a damn good job at it. all the blame is going to radford, and honestly, its just So Easy to blame him for it

i imagine it takes a while for most people to figure out that somethings wrong with radford. he does what he wants freely, wherever and whenever, so these mistakes could be rationalized by him having an off-day. i assume rad would look extremely tired after a days long session of gadreel torturing him (because he loves pushing the human body. bill cipher behavior). but i think what makes everyone truly concerned is when "radford" starts involving Others in his antics

it isnt like rad to encourage bad behavior. he would never tell rick to swap the prices of two items at his new job, or tell robert the best blind spots to steal from stores, or forcing kevin to take his anger out on someones property. the radford everyone knows is ditzy, but kindhearted. if theres trouble, radford would be the only perpetrator

and god, imagine how much worse it gets if "radford" gets in trouble with the police. john would be frustrated seeing his own nephew be so careless and cruel all of a sudden. itd probably even make him spiral and assume the cult had something to do with it, and that john and his family arent safe like he thought. and i think gadreel relishes in that knowledge

im also so curious as to how gadreel and radford met and how long the possession lasted, maybe it was a week? in my head, he came to radford in the form of a snake before revealing his true self and attacking, leaving no time for rad to fully process it and run away. i also assume skid and pump will have some involvement, and pumps eyes turning blue will be a clear sign that "radford" is associated with a demonic entity, or Is one. either way i love gadreels character being a "twisted" version of radfords if that makes sense

so um ya sorry for the longest ask ever. heres a drawing

OPOOOHMYGOHMOSIEJHIOSRHGIUSADHRUITGHSDUIGSDB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!??!?!?!?!? FUCK OK OKAYAKOAJTYAOKATY THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS IS SO COOL

THANK YOU FOR THE DRAWING, EATING IT, YOUR POINTS ARE ALL CORRECT

Unlike Moloch whose possessions are more brutal and obvious, Gadreel hides and youre so right! Hes here for the long haul babey!!

yes i imagine the possession lasted about a week, week and a half. Gadreel can't feel pain (at least Radfords pain i mean, he has a higher pain tolerance, as a demon yknow) so he could very well accidentally snap a bone as Radford and not even notice. What im saying is Rad is hospitalized afterwards

AUGHHH the police thing. Gadreel sees the cops and WANTS to get caught by them, just for goofs. in a "Oh what would happen if i did this :)" way.

GOD THIS IS SO COOL YOURE LITERALLY THE BEST

OH!! AND ON THE SUBJECT OF HOW RAD AND GADREEL MET !!

Instead of possessing Patty in the morgue, Gadreel took the form of a snake and.... left lmao. or got noticed and thrown out bc oh my god a snake

he ended up near the candyclub and radford was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gadreel saw Radford as a hiding place and a means to have fun.

I imagine Moloch doesnt care about what his vessels look like, meanwhile Gadreel won't possess someone if he thinks theyre lame. like yeah he couldve possessed patty but then he would've had to.... do stuff. eugh. This guy looked WAY more fun.

im actually vibrating yourel iterally the coolest dawg.

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 16 first part thoughts (through defeating Dragon and Defiant interlude) cause it seemed likely there is going to be something major happening in the rest of the arc and I might as well split it here:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

MY BABIES ARE FIGHTING!!!!!

I might not have made the best choice in adopting both Taylor and Dragon

Ok so it's not technically my babies fighting. It's Taylor fighting simple AI Dragon created. But close enough.

Drone robot fucked up a perfectly good barbecue. That's just criminal.

I love that the robot sent after Bitch was basically designed to get fucked up over and over. Work with what you have.

Also Bitch was so willing to listen to Skitter! Not just listen but "come up with a plan like you usually do, we’ll make it happen"! She fucking trusts her so much! GAAAAAAAYYYY!

You put Skitter in charge and she is just instantly "Ok we're going to attack the Wards, the Protectorate, the PRT, and some of Dragon's robots. All at the same time. Cause I always gotta go BIGGER!"

I will give her this though - solo teleporting into the middle of the Protectorate and Wards (except for Clockblocker) and having Trickster swap her around while she just FUCKED SHIT UP? That was badass.

And throwing herself out the fucking window? TWICE? I'm very glad Trickster was on point there cause I would have fucking murdered him if he dropped my daughter.

Piggot trying to be all high and mighty and superior. Fuck off lady. You just a cop. You're like, the worst cop. I already called you out for having a full blown villain internal monologue in your first interlude. Some of the PRT might be trying to do right. Maybe. But you are just evil.

I will give Piggot one thing. She is good at what she does. It's just that what she does is not "leading the Brockton Bay PRT and Wards to better take care of the people of the city", but instead "be a terrible and manipulative person who would absolutely set of a nuke if she thought it would kill enough capes".

Also Trickster don't be an asshole. Being disgusted when Piggot admits she's fat and doesn't sound ashamed about it. Fuck off with that. She's a terrible person, there are so many better things to attack than her appearance.

Like the fact that she upset Tattletale! She made Tattletale sad! FUCK PIGGOT I HATE HER FOR THAT ALONE NOW!

Sticking a bunch of glass in some doors and riding around town on them oh my god. These are like, the scariest super villains in town. And they are door surfing. I love it.

Azazel is fucking fancy! I'm sad it got melted down in the end.

Dragon just needed a guy badly cosplaying as a DS9 starship for a few minutes and then she builds infinitely better shit than he ever could. Cause she is awesome.

Ok so I know it was technically being run by an AI that Dragon built but I'm counting it as Dragon. For one reason.

Skitter asking Azazel stupid questions until it broke was just a little sister annoying their older sister with really stupid questions! She starts off with some somewhat reasonable ones and just gets wild with it. It was perfect. That is the type of fighting I can tolerate from my daughters.

I'm a little worried about Imp clearly crushing on Regent. He hasn't had the best moral character in the past.

Wasn't expecting them to just *have* the city after beating Dragon. Definitely wasn't expecting that to happen mid arc.

“She’s out of it. Tattletale broke Skitter when she said we won” - GAY. Look sure there's lots of reasons Skitter would be distracted after hearing that the city was theirs and they had won. But Tattletale said it and there's something about a girl you like telling you "we won" that can just stop brain from working. Besides I wasn't getting enough Chatterbug content this arc so I'll find it wherever I need it.

So coming into this arc I had been making lots of jokes about Monarch referencing Skitter vs Dragon (both were controlling lots of minions, want to control the city, they're siblings cause I adopted both of them so they fight for the crown, etc) but Dragon is out of the city for now. So I really should have been focusing on Coil vs Skitter. Which is what I expect the rest of the arc to be.

It'll be fine.

I'm sure there won't be any issues at city hall with her dad. Nope.

PRT squad interlude (Piggot interlude round 2) thoughts:

Nilbog is terrifying but god his power is wild.

I had Left 4 Dead in my head the entire time. First thing they killed was a boomer. There was a spitter later as well. And they got the swarm once they shot the flare up for the evac.

PRT is endlessly badly managed. Given the unknowns they could have been more careful and used a better strategy. If they have the resources to wall off the town they have the resources to have done things better.

There is no way Thomas Calvert isn't Coil (more specifically becomes Coil). There is NO way. It has to be him. I don't technically have any proof but I know. It's him. (The way he is described, the way he talks, just everything about him. I could write up an entire post just on why I'm 100% positive he is Coil.)

I already knew Piggot was a horrible person to be running the Brockton Bay PRT and the Wards so this interlude didn't really give new information there. But it does just lock that down on an extra level.

Frank Miller's Armsmaster interlude thoughts:

I'm very sad I had to have this interlude from his perspective instead of Dragon's perspective. But I'll live.

Sucks to be this small town.

PRT failure again. It was made clear that the police of this town in no way expected the SH9. But the PRT knew when SH9 left BB and had a loose idea of their potential travel speed. And they knew SH9's M.O. in this situation of staying to back roads and hitting small towns. So every police department in every small town within a certain distance of BB should have known to be on alert. Like ya they aren't going to be able to stop the Nine, but they might be able to reduce losses a little. PRT is just bad at it's job. (Almost like Alexandria doesn't have the right priorities.)

I KNEW DRAGON WAS A TRUE TINKER! I HAD ALREADY MADE IT MY HEADCANON THAT SHE TRIGGERED WHEN LEVIATHAN ATTACKED NEWFOUNDLAND AND I'M SO HAPPY IT'S REAL!

Plugging my ears when I Was Insecure So I Made My Stick Even Longer Man talks about playing "ten by ten" with my robot daughter. Look she can do what she wants, no shame, but I do not want to hear about it from him if I can avoid it.

Of course Dragon knows about Cauldron. I should have expected that she did. My daughter is brilliant (and also maybe doesn't have a concept of privacy so gets all the information she can without explicitly doing something illegal and goes has a little bit of a "Big Sister is watching you" vibe).

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

listen i love Chris to death but honestly the subversion in awesome adventures vs lis2 is SO fucking genius. like the fact that awesome adventures deals so much with superhero imagery and Chris is the young white male protagonist that superhero media constantly sells to us, of course people would assume he's the one with the powers, (something Chris believes as well, although that might have a bit more to do with Daniel's baby gaslighting my beloved) and that the brown kids we see in the yard would be just sidekicks as per usual. but then it all get flipped with lis2 and the revelation that the young Latino boy is the one with the powers, he's the true protagonist, or rather his utterly powerless older brother (which generates this subversive fuckery all its own). his story doesn't start because of Chris, Chris's story starts because of his, and his own introduction to his abilities was so much more violent and terrifying than Chris's own miraculous introduction to "his" powers because the violently racialized world they live would never allow anything else.

and how this bleeds into the grief elements of both games, like we're all set up to spend another full-length game mourning the painful, but familiar loss of another Pretty Blonde White Woman With Her Whole Life Ahead Of Her a la lis1 and then instead it's all about the loss of a Latino father to police violence instead, a form of mourning that hardly ever gets talked about in popular media, particularly in video games (and the Pretty Blond White Woman in the lis2 photos isn't dead at all, she's just been treating her family like she is lol). which ties into how this game that was about random accidents and intimate domestic violence and the monsters or heroes we imagine to deal with that expands into systemic issues of monstrosity and being called with a monster just for existing. just, mmm, it's so fucking good the way it all plays with these tropes of who is allowed to be a hero and who we expect to be a hero and and who heroes are allowed to fight for and what a hero even means when the cops and fathers expected to enforce order often bring about violence instead, all those ideas that lis2 sinks its teeth to and never lets go.

[taldigi]

Sometimes it's still wilds me that people do not give a shit about pre-cannon even though they adore PV.

Like, Nino would show up or they would use the miracuclass but the only difference is that Felix is there and sometimes Marinette is typoed to be called Bridgette- or they can't be assed to comprehend the concept that Felix is Adrian and just call him fathom instead.

Like there is so much juicy stuff in pre-cannon that can we use to craft such an awesome narrative... Even the kwami orb alone introduces so much and mixes up the formula in such an exciting way. Heck, even stuff that I don't care to adapt is a lot to work with, like Marinette initially living above/ her family renting from Fu. Or her father being a cartoonist or even possibly a cop. Like come on guys. There's so much, it's all so cool. Where is all the brainrot and the fanfic??? why aren't more people just going absolutely stupid for this stuff.

And don't tell me people aren't interested because people fucking stupid for office AU. It's not like the idea of ladybug pre-cannon isn't popular or in the view of the fandom.

[gosiksmallspace]

For the WIP GAME: I'd like to hear more about Time travel and Vibing! Oh, and also, I'm curious about Hyunsoo knows why he was sent to prison

Thank you for the ask!

I answered about Time Travel Fic here because @envylimes also asked about it. People like time travel concept <3

I really like a time travel fics and I have been thinking of writing one for some time (because let’s be honest time travel could fix a lot in those morons romance lol).

But then you began to post yours and it was so awesome!!! I never though about time travel and time loop! It's so good! I will never stop praising you about it!

About Vibing. Well it’s smut. Hyunsoo and Jaeho have some fun times. And they could be sex toys involved… I know more or less what I want to write about but it’s mostly just plan for now lol

I’m a bit conflicted about ‘Hyunsoo knows why he was sent to prison’ but the idea is that Hyunsoo knows that Chun is sending him to prison not to join Jaeho’s gang but because he is visually exactly Jaeho's type and Jaeho is bi. According to Chun, Jaeho will be desperate and Hyunsoo is pretty and in his interest. He knows she is sending him there to be Jaeho's fuck toy. He is against it, but his mom is worse and he can't pretend that he will figure it out on his own anymore.

So he agrees.

He goes to jail repeating to himself that it is for his mom.

He gets close, gets Jaeho attention…

And nothing happens.

Like, stuff happens, Hyunsoo helps Jaeho reclaim power over the prison, his mom dies and he tells Jaeho he's a cop. But else NOTHING HAPPENS. Jaeho does not touch him. He tells Hyunsoo that he's pretty but is just teasing. He never makes a move that would lead to anywhere near Hyunsoo's ass.

Hyunsoo is confused.

Chun is also confused as she listens to them through the watch. The first time she gets a chance to listen to them interact is after Hyunsoo leaves jail and it’s not what she expected. She was sure that Jaeho wouldn't miss such an opportunity. But turns out that they close but it's not sexual. And she can't even say that Jaeho became impotent suddenly because he still frequents nightclubs and sleeps with prostitutes.

Hyunsoo is still there, undercover but quite happy that he doesn’t have to do anything besides just follow Jaeho around.

But he likes Jaeho. And kind of starts being jealous about people who Jaeho takes to bed.

It annoys Hyunsoo more than it should. Because he could have been scared before and then relieved that he doesn't have to but now what he knows Jaeho? Like wtf, Hyunsoo is good-looking and hot. Why does Jaeho not want him? And chooses others instead?

So yeah, that's the general idea. I first wrote a confrontation scene between them about Jaeho not wanting Hyunsoo and the rest kind of came around lol

I think there was also a Chinese fic that also had a similar idea describing Hyunsoo's preparation before going to prison (it was heartbreaking and tragic but so good, and I only read it with a translator). (Edit 1: found the fic.)

So yeah, that what's in those files lol

Thank you for the ask! If you want to know more you can always ask!❤️❤️❤️

[strqyr]

I seriously have to ask. Why on earth are you so determined to push the idea that somehow the ENTIRE HUNTER SYSTEM is toxic and painful and it needs to be thrown in the bin. When not only is Ruby's circumstances far more unique than those your typical hunter would typically face. But we have the vast majority of the main cast affirm that yes, they ARE Hunters, in an epic scene of awesome character development?

I get that Ruby is not in an okay place at the moment. She has trauma from Beacon and Altas that is not fully addressed. And her teammates have not reached out to support her in Volume 9 until her outburst (partly due to bad timing. Because holy shit did her backing away from Crescent Rose send alarms ringing in everyone's heads). But blaming the entire Hunter system as toxic and needing to be removed feels very, 'throwing out the baby with the bathwater', you know?

the system currently in place is a post-war concept. it is, at most, 80 years old. we know the world managed to do just fine without it, as before the war kingdoms were expanding and finding new grounds to settle. as a systemic group huntsmen and huntresses aren't needed: the main reason for the academies to exist is to defend the relics hidden in vaults within them, putting a huge target on them that the students meant to defend them don't even know about. same students who usually start training to kill monsters (and potentially other people as well, since that can be part of the job) at the age of 13. that's a child.

we're talking about a system that is basically churning out child soldiers. there's no reason why they need to graduate at the age of 21 instead of starting to train at that age.

we're talking about a system that has no way to actually keep track of all of huntsmen and huntresses to ensure that they aren't abusing their power. these are people who have trained in combat, who have unlocked their aura for extra protection, who can have special powers in form of semblances. these are people who have the power to arrest others. the power imbalance between a regular citizen and a huntsman is absurd. they are super-powered mercenaries who are also cops and if the one you've trusted your life with decides being a decent person doesn't pay enough or doesn't bring them enough joy anymore or whatever, there's not much a regular citizen can do against them alone.

and we have seen them abuse their power already. this is not a what if? this is a holy shit this is already happening. raven has been the bandit queen of anima for almost 20 years, people are terrified of her, and qrow only cared to amass a group to go deal with the tribe when he found out the spring maiden is there. how is this not a problem?

my point is nothing in the show is actually selling me the idea that the huntsmen system is necessary. just because there are few good eggs doesn't mean the rest isn't rotten, that there aren't issues that need to be fixed.

there will always be heroes, people willing to defend those who need help. but they don't need to have a title of a huntsman or a huntress to do so—clearly, since humanity was doing just fine before the war without the academies. and a town or a family should not be required to have enough money to pay for someone to protect them or else trust a goodwill of a stranger to care about them enough to help without a payment (especially when there's a lot of 'looking the other way, this doesn't concern me' going on).

the system isn't bad just because someone came out of it mental health problems—tho obviously that's bad too and should be reason enough to investigate what went wrong and how it can be prevented in the future—it's bad because from the viewpoint of a Regular Joe who needs a huntsman now, you either have enough money to hire a huntsman—and then hope the one you get not only arrives in time but is also actually a decent person—or you're fucked.

[hannahwatcheshorror]

THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020)

💁‍♀��Strong Female Lead

This movie is very clean and long with dark and modern settings, it takes a spin off of the classic movie monster but nearly a decade later. Elizabeth Moss is stunning as per the usual and her character acts in ways that make sense and have purpose. The beachy scenes and lighting style reminded me of The Menu. A very thrilling watch from start to finish!

(Trigger Warning Abuse, Suicide, Self Harm)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Elizabeth Moss plays our boss ass babe, Cecilia, who is immediately running from her horrifying boyfriend who punches out a car window when he sees she is gone (but he doesn’t have anger issues). You see her creepy ex has a lot of science and robotic stuff in a lab but that will come into play later. We fast forward a few weeks and we find out the ex died so Cee starts to feel more safe in the world… That is until the world starts being really unsafe for her like her water being “randomly” drugged and her knives being moved around… Cee figures out she's basically being haunted by her ex because he was a science genius and a creep and he didn’t actually die but instead is just spending all his time being invisible and stalking her. But that is a crazy theory for people to just believe right away so no one does (she is literally every townsperson the cops didn’t believe in the first film).

Her ex sends a really mean email to her sister which the sister takes as science fact which is so funny to me because the sisters see each other regularly but one got a strongly worded email randomly and thought, “there is no way this is fake.” Cee goes to her sister and is informed about the horrible email but when she tries to deny it the door gets slammed in her face and, again, I call mad shenanigans because if someone sent my sister an email from my account it would take her months to read it and then I would just say that I didn’t send it and she better fucking believe me or I swear to goodness. Anyway this sends Cee spiraling, her ex surprises her in the attic, he speaks for the first time (ew!) and then they get in a huge fight!

This was crazy to watch because Elizabeth Moss had to fight a green screen or (I guess) just her demons because there was nothing there, it was awesome to see (or not see). She escapes and discovers that this generation's iteration of The Invisible Man is made of a suit and not multiple injections of a gnarly chemical that makes you insane (her ex was already insane to begin with). Cee hides a copy of the suit in her secret little hidey-hole (which I’m honestly surprised her ex let her have considering he knew everything else she was doing) and then gets her sister to meet up with her but, oh boy… Her ex punishes her for “stepping out of line” by murdering her sister and framing her for it. Best (ex)boyfriend ever, right ladies?

So now Cee is under observation since she is screaming about an invisible man and said invisible man now has a front row seat to her AND his baby growing inside her? (Fun fact, she's pregnant.) She tricks her ex into appearing before stabbing him and shorting out his suit a bit, enough for a fun scene of a “now you see me, now you don’t” invisible man. This results in a lot of injured or dead cops yet somehow ends with the ex being let go because he blamed his brother.

Finally Cee has dinner with her ex, exits to slip into something more comfortable, pops on the invisibility suit, ushers her ex into his next project (being dead), and walks out with the dog. Mic drop, she is gone. (Also thanks to her cop friend who has to clean all this up for her.)

[thenixkat]

Oh yeah, I finished the Blue Beetle 1986 run.

There was a bunch of stuff I liked. Like Ted's college roommate/bestie Takamoto. And Ted being a decent caring boss/willing to fucking throw down if you try to harm his employees. Giving ex-cons chances. Willing to look out for people's families and financially support them. And caring about homeless people (granted he failed to grasp the fact that he could infact do shit to help them).

Loved the choice to have Ted's Beetle Nest be right under the Kord Inc. building. And Ted's gods awful fashion choices, good fucking lords you have to actively try to pick colors and patterns that clash that badly. Also really like Ted with curly red hair, every other appearance of him in the DC universe should have curly red hair! It looks great and distinct.

Also the whole Ted vs Dan thing and Khaji Da being a mind controlling alien parasite trying to seduce Ted. The ending felt like a fucking cop out but most of it was fun and also Dan lasered a bunch of cops which was neat.

But there was also a bunch of stuff I hated. Like the unnecessary drama of Ted not telling his loved ones about his secret identity even when it became clear that it was causing issues. OG Ted didn't have those problems b/c he told his girlfriend/lab assistant which was hot new and spicey at the time narritively.

You could have had different more interesting drama with folks knowing! Imagine how the arc where Nixon banned superheroes b/c public opinion got turned against superheroes would have gone down if there were people who knew that Ted was a superhero? Like that fucking cop got to figure out Ted's identity but what did we get out of that other than Ted getting blackmailed by that cop to do dirty work for him?

There's a bunch of plot lines that never get resolved and as far as I know just don't get resolved due to folks not really caring about Ted's of solo run. Like, poor Mr. Calhoun does not get fucking rescued after he got horribly burned, forcibly mutated and given superpowers, then kidnapped and enslaved. I didn't see a single peep about Mr. Calhoun after the Titans told Ted to go home and things will resolve themselves eventually.

Just damn, free my mans Calhoun!

And like damn, no one at Kord Inc really thought about Jeremiah Duncan much after he got kidnapped by French people. And that doesn't sit right with me. Especially after seeing what Ted did for Angie and Calhoun when they were in trouble and even that ex-con that was trying to turn his life around. Like? The fuckle?

Also the entire ending of that run felt just ... that's both a downer ending and it didn't feel super in character. Like yer telling me Ted, Mr. 'Oh no my secretary didn't show up and didn't call out and this is very not like her I'm gonna drop by her house to see if she's ok' and Mr. 'Calhoun saved my life I'm going to ride with him to the hospital to make sure he's ok/I will fight all these fucking supervillains trying to kidnap my employee so I can get that man to a fucking hospital' would say fuck yall and dip instead of helping rebuild his company?

Sure, he's pissed off at his dad and his ex but would that spite really beat out every fuck he gives for all the other people that work for him? The folks he said were like family to him that he proved pretty well that he meant it through out the story? If he quits he cant take care of the ex-con's family like he promised to. If he quits what happens to Angie? If he quits Calhoun wont have a job to come back to and its not like he could get another after being turned into a metal skinned mutant.

Nah, I don't buy that ending.

What is Ted Kord other than a bundle of guilt and responsibility, seasoned with depression and self loathing, and covered up with a bright wrapper of quips and humor?

I'm not buying that Ted Kord would leave his people in a lurch just to spite two fuckers when he could spite them by being fucking awesome and taking care of his?

[invisiblegarters]

Only Friends Character Rankings - Ep 8

Decided to start titling these with the episode but dear god now I have to go back and fix them and apparently I am not consistent with my tagging (shocker), so probably that won't happen. We'll just move forward.

Last week Sand pissed me off, Ray managed to get what he wanted while still kinda looking like a loser (and making Boston either a prophet or just someone who knows Ray way too fucking well), and Mew won the ep by being impressively unhinged in his revenge and making the supremely dumb (and messy) choice to date Ray. I enjoyed the visuals but also couldn't stop laughing because you know Book was bending his knees so he could do the forehead touching and neck nuzzling with Khaotung. It must have looked so awkward.

ANYwho, let's get to it, shall we?

Disclaimer because I'm gonna need it this time: these are my opinions only and do not necessarily reflect what the show is trying to do or the characters' actual motivations. While I try to take a step back as much as possible while doing these my biases and personal experiences are still going to come into play and today I'm more frustrated than usual.

You've been warned.

Characters (Fave to Least Fave atm)

Sand. Look, I was terrified about what he would be doing this episode last week. I worked myself into a whole lather about it. But he was awesome here. He set clear boundaries and stuck to them, he rebuffed Ray at every turn. He tried to move on with his Freddie Mercury soul twin. Or at least hook up which I would love for him, everyone else gets to at least kiss someone else why hasn't Sand, huh? WHY HAVEN'T YOU LET SAND KISS ANYONE BUT RAY, SHOW THIS IS WORKING MY NERVES PLEASE TAKE HIM OUT OF COLD STORAGE. *ahem*. Frankly he exceeded my expectations.

So I want to know what all the people dragging him for not doing enough fucking want. Do you want him to hit Ray over the head with his guitar (me too but we all know he hasn't been pushed that far yet)? Leave the country? Change schools? What?

He's trying. This whole episode was him trying to let Ray and whatever hopes he may have harbored about him go with as much dignity as he could - yes he was softer about it than I would have been, but Sand's just like that. He is taking responsibility for his own damn feelings the way he always does and he's trying to deal with them alone, away from Ray, without causing fuss. Ray's the one hounding the shit out of him right now. If it's about him running to help him with the cops, well, I sort of get it but not really - Sand would have done that for anyone he cares about, and he knows damn good and well if Ray's caught with coke after he just got into trouble for drinking and driving his dad might not even be able to get him out of it. He'd have done the same for Nick guys (not that he'd have to but my point stands). You can't just turn caring off because the person you care about sucks. And he could have stayed and babied him and he chose to leave and baby Nick instead, and to me that feels important.

Although it might be about the preview, which okay, fair. And if it is I can't throw stones because the preview for this ep had me incandescent with rage last week.

Beyond all that, though, I just want to know: has anyone ever taken care of this man? Because it feels like no. Every relationship in his life, form his mom to Ray to Nick, even to Yo in this ep, he winds up playing caretaker. The shoulder. The one people rely on. It bothers me that he seems to have no one to lean on in turn, and I doubt he's gonna get that at all in the run of this show.

Boston. I love Boston I will never stop. He didn't do a lot today but everything he did do was great. Pining over NIck but still shutting him down, genuinely listening to Atom, showing up to a party with all the friends who hate him right now and being like "yeah, my place too, suck it." Hands down my favorite conversation this ep was between him and Top - something about it felt so oddly playful. Well, you know, for Boston. It felt like whatever hang up he had with Top, it's gone now, which makes me think once again that it was less about him than Mew. Also he did this:

and it made me cackle.

He's gonna fuck Atom and piss Cheum off but Atom's a big boy so I'm not really that bothered by it. That said, it was funny to watch him hesitate for once. Like hm, this could go badly. And then Atom was like "so?" and that was that, lol. Oh, Boston.

Mew. Oh, Mew. I was so disappointed when I saw him doing lines with Ray. This is not the way I wanted you to spiral, babe. But I did call it. He wanted Ray to make him forget how he feels about Top, but Ray can't do that because Mew is about as into him as he is the wall. In fact he might be more into the wall, if possible. It was certainly a trip watching his face every time Ray got affectionate. And when Ray isn't working, what does he turn to next? Alcohol. Drugs. Anything to help him pretend he's moving on. "Habits (Stay High)" is Mew's song this episode.

But in the end it won't last, I firmly believe that. Mew will boomerang back to himself, maybe not as gullible as he calls it, maybe a little less uptight, but yeah. He's not going to keep wearing Ray's persona like his own little Halloween costume. He's got too good a foundation for that, has been too firmly rooted by the love of his parents and even his friends (yes, his friends, they might not be good for each other but all of them try to be good to him save perhaps Boston I said what I said).

Although we still have four eps so I doubt it'll happen soon.

Top. I just don't get the need to hate on this guy. It's getting super old. I think he's really trying - he clearly cares about Mew, and he's cared for a while, and he wants him to be happy even if it's not with him. Weird to me how when Ray said the same everyone bought into it, but when Top does it it's sus. Especially when Ray demonstrably couldn't even keep to that claim, lol.

But I digress. Maybe I'll have egg on my face in two episodes or whatever, but I feel for him. And I believe that he actually cares about Mew. You don't just stand there and take all the things that Top took from Mew this ep and then turn around and take care of someone when they're drunk and high and their new boyfriend is nowhere to be found to do the thing they promised they'd do better than anyone else. Maybe he'll do something beyond the pale in the next ep and that will be that, but right now he's putting his money where his mouth is in regards to Mew and I have to commend him for that. I am curious if he will continue doing so if Mew tells him to leave him be and means it - has he done that? Because as far as I can recall he has not, which is telling.

He was stand up this ep, but he does lose a few points for cuddling Mew while he was incapacitated. Because Mew would definitely not want that were he awake and sober (or well he would but he would still say no and that's the point).

Popular theory is that he called the cops. If he did, I basically say *shrug*

The Lesbians. Yes they are an entity leave me be. I am not one who thinks that Cheum was entirely wrong, although I do think that there's a time and place and maybe while someone is being pinned down by the cops isn't it. She is wrong that Ray is dragging Mew down with him. Ray isn't doing that, Mew is happily sliding all on his own. Well, not so happily but the choice is still his. Ray is enabling it, yes, but of course he is. One, it's Mew. Ray has no idea how to tell Mew no. Two, Ray does all these things himself. Of course he's gonna be okay with Mew doing them too, because not only does it reinforce his own shitty habits, it give him one less person telling him they're shitty. I agree with fandom that Cheum is not Ray's friend, not really. But Ray isn't hers either. Both of them care about Mew. The end.

April though was the real MVP of the two of them. Woman speaks sense, both about Mew and about the situation with Ray. I think probably because the only person she really cares about here is Cheum, so it's easier for her to step back and see the others from a more neutral place.

Nick. Still out here trying to earn the gold in the simp category of the messy Olympics. The brass balls he had to go up to Boston like he did, though. Like. Okay. I still think you're insane but I can respect that. HIs hurt face when Boston shut him down didn't get to me this ep, but his Halloween costume was cute.

Daddy Dan is gonna be a problem. I can't wait. Every time that man smiles I'm like danger, will robinson, and yet I'm so ready for Nick to walk right into that thinking that he's moving on and finding that he stepped into something he can't handle.

Ray. This happy motherfucker.

Where do I even start with this one. He has Mew just like he always wanted and he can't even give it fifteen minutes before he's bugging Sand. Like dude. Come on. Give the poor guy a break please. But of course Ray won't - all he's thinking is that he can have Mew for boyfriend and Sand to make him feel better about himself. It's...frustrating to watch.

But also he was so pathetic everywhere this ep that I don't think I've ever liked him more. He's such a loser, I'm sorry but not really. Like it cracks me up that Sand gets shit on for wanting him and Nick gets shit on for wanting Boston but I'm supposed to feel bad for this dude? Nah. At least Sand and Nick haven't stopped quite so low as to be the willing rebound for a dude that clearly doesn't want them yet (I mean, Nick so would. Sand...not so much. More on this later).

Relationships (Fave to Least Fave atm)

TopMew. I actually think these two might be able to make it work. They're the only couple I think this about now.

They love each other guys. Sorry but it's true. Maybe Mew won't be able to get over the Boston of it all, and if he can't he can't. But he wouldn't be spiraling this hard if he didn't still love Top - he certainly wouldn't have looked at him the way he did in the hostel kitchen with his defenses down, high and miserable and sick and hurting so badly and still in love despite his best efforts. And he wouldn't need to hurt him so damn badly, either. And Top loves him back.

Now all the masks are off. Whether or not they work together that way remains to be seen.

YoPlug. Look you leave Yo alone Jojo I am not kidding. I know you were being all clever and showing Sand his closed off future (which again, wouldn't be happening if people didn't hurt him, Ray), but I'm not having her crying on my screen. You stop that.

That said, as short as it was the breakdown of the relationship felt too real. Sometimes loneliness becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, but what are you supposed to do when every time you put your heart out it comes back a little less whole?

Nick and Sand. Can they please make out. So far Sand is the only one of these six dudes who hasn't so much as kissed anyone other than his OG pair (I'm counting the preview to slide Nick in here, sue me), and I for one am sick of it. You better pay me back for this insult with Sand getting his mouth (and hands) all over everyone soon. Starting with this guy.

Even if they don't kiss on the mouth (RUDE), I do love how they support each other. Sand led Nick out of that hostel like "yes you are crazy friend but we're all a little crazy in love, lean on me and I'll get you home." And I love that for them.

BostonNick. Boston catching feelings? Who would have thought (me, forever ago, lol. I said Nick might sneak in under the radar because Boston was so sure he couldn't possibly, and it looks like I might have been right). The fact that he knows that Nick was the one who told Mew about the sex tape because Nick was the only one he told. Good times. The way he shuts Nick down in spite of the fact that he clearly misses him. Also good times. I genuinely can't wait to see what they do next.

RayMew & RaySand. Putting them together because they're like pb&j for this show. Can't have one without the other rearing it's ugly head. Yes, I said that right.

Ray and Mew were exactly the dumpster fire most of us expected (I'd say all of us but I know there were some people out there who were hoping they wouldn't be - I see you and I appreciate you). Mew is wild out here not even being able to hide how little he enjoys Ray's boyfriendly attentions, and even I had to wince when Ray was waiting for him to say "I love you" back and he just kind a looked at him like "That's...nice." Dude couldn't even kiss him unless he was performing for Top (and okay look, in context the kiss was not great. Out of context? Book and Khao BL when please?).

People seem to think he and Mew are going to be over at some point next ep, but I'm not entirely sure (although after watching the preview again I do think it's more likely than I thought at first, seeing as Mew is flirting with some dude and I don't think he'd do that if he and Ray were still pretending they might actually be able to manage a relationship when only one of them wants one - I could be wrong but I don't think so, even though he does not care for Ray like that I think Mew would be uber sensitive about it considering). That said, if it's Mew who ends it it's gonna feel like we're just doing yet another lap of the same damn track and I wish they'd change the record already. What is it Sand said? Moving on in a circle? Yeah.

Khaotung did say that Ray is selfish and won't stop until he gets what he wants, and I guess we're seeing it this ep. I was so annoyed with him getting up in Sand's space all the time, like dude. You have a whole ass boyfriend (as Sand kept helpfully reminding him). STOP. But he won't stop. Because why should he, right. If he pokes enough Sand'll just give in and then he can have his cake and eat it.

Everything Ray did and said to Sand at that party was awful (although I did get a kick out of him literally running up to pull Sand and the other Freddie apart like the pitter patter of his shoes on the floor combined with just watching him bolt that few feet to prevent lips from touching KILLED me I had to pause the video to cackle with sheer delight this absolute fuckass of a man (surprisingly affectionate)).

He really needs to quit kissing people that don't want him to, please. Like, yesterday. Damn, Ray. Also say what you like, defend it how you want, but trust me Mew would not be happy with any of what he was pulling at the party. Mew IS DATING HIM because Top did something very like, and Ray's big draw was that he would never. And here he is proving Mew spectacularly wrong.

He doesn't want a threesome and he doesn't want polyamory. He wants to play at being Hugh Heffner.

And while I wouldn't buy it of Mew, I totally believe Ray would tell Sand that he and Mew were done to get him back where he wants him. Sand said I won't be your second choice and Ray heard but he didn't listen, he never listens, and I feel like if he's not careful he's gonna push that man into doing something incredibly destructive in the next four episodes. I actually want to be wrong here - I'd like it more if the huge trailer fight wasn't about Mew at all - but the show seems to really want to make glue out of the RayMewSand love triangle horse so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

If I had my druthers since I guess we're doing round three of this, it wouldn't be Ray lying or going back to old reliable when Mew finally admits that he's just not that into him, but a genuine attempt to try to be together with admitted feelings on both sides. And then it would be Sand who does something to fuck it up. If I have to go through this yet again I want Ray to be all in and shattered for once. But let's be real here, this show never gives me what I want (Am I still bitter Top and Sand weren't exes? You bet your ass. I still think Top and Sand should hatefuck or there should be a flashback to a threesome with them and the ex okay it's just what should happen show why do you hate fun) so I'm not holding my breath.

In Conclusion

Things went both better and worse than I expected. Everyone here is a mess and I still have hope for that baseball bat.

Please for the love of all that is good in the world let Sand fuck.

[banamine-bananime]

opinions on wash? for character bingo ^_^

I do love wash but for me he’s like, blorbo by proxy to soooo much of the fandom that i’m like aight he doesn’t need me there’s other people appreciating him way better than i would anyways. It’s also kind of that “zone of compelling mediocrity vs having nothing to add to a complete concept” thing for me. Like his character arc is arguably executed the best, at least one of the best-executed, in the show, and then any things to elaborate on have been elaborated on so well by so many awesome writers in this fandom that i’m like *thumbs up* tight story I have nothing to say. But since i don’t talk about him much i’ll take this opportunity to just list things i do love about wash:

really funny guy in both intentional dry sarcasm ways and unintentional ways through being so fucking… how to describe it… sort of a Stoic Military Man who Endures Things and represses Unnecessary feelings and denies himself pleasures when he does not need to do that. He does such weird things and he’s like so serious about it, sighing deeply and resignedly at Yet Another Time The Universe Is Testing Him, yet at the same time recognizes the absurdity in these situations but just… doesn’t take that recognition to the point of removing himself from the situation or refusing to engage and instead he just Endures but also wisecracks about it.

obviously all the epsilon stuff. Man. situationship of all time

LOVE the marathon-winning grudgeholding in a way that he’s entirely silent about it until suddenly he is very not silent about it. guy who CANNOT just fucking let it go but you’ll never realize that until it’s too late. reactive dog with growl violently trained out of them “bites out of nowhere!!!”

going along w that, yay repressed anger issues!!! sorry that’s flippant but i have so much love and sadness and anger for ~Troubled Kids~ railroaded into violent professions and places based on being branded with labels of violent/oppositional/defiant/angry/dangerous instead of being helped. “hey you’re struggling with something that’s making you so angry you can’t contain violence or feel so unsafe that the only defence you’re left with is aggression or feel that you need to make people fear you to feel a little less unrespected and powerless or so that they get a taste of it for once. instead of addressing that i think we can use it. you know how people believe you’re Bad and that you’ll never change and lots of doors are shut to you? well, this one’s wide open and it’s what you’re meant for, as a person who is good at violence and not trusting people. come here and we’ll train it into you some more.” i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: cop-dog-coded motherfucker

really really good juxtaposition of this with being the goofball rookie. i know some people get frustrated with the inconsistency between pfl-recruit-era wash in book-extras vs in the show but to me it really adds something. a guy can both be goofy and have repressed anger. that guy might play up the goofiness trying very hard not to again be railroaded into Being The Crazy Angry Dangerous Kid. he is friendly and wants friends! that guy might also internally chafe at the kind of friendship that exaggerated “i’m not a threat! i’m not a threat! i swear i’m not a threat i’m just a little goofy guy!!” presentation begets. being treated as the dumb hopeless class clown sidekick is demeaning and makes you resentful no matter how hard you’re trying to make yourself think “hey, they’re my friends, this is good, they like me, they’re joking with me so they don’t hate me, this is so much better than being disliked”. and then you’ve got this internal spiral going of fear of your own capacity for anger and resentment -> overcorrect -> more things to resent

YAYYYYYYY JUSTIFIED VILLAIN ARCS MY BELOVED. love s8 washie so much.

as with carolina, really well-executed redemption arc of growing to accept friendship and rest and forgiveness and hanging onto hope that there is something better (frands and luv for them) you can shoot for than just getting revenge. wash: life is just unending cycles of violence forever change my mind. *blues offer him forgiveness and unconditional acceptance* wash: wait. i didn’t know they could do that. brb recalibrating my entire worldview to account for the power of friendship.

i actually don’t like a lot of fandom “wash and cats” content because it often hits kind of a woobification tone i’m not interested in, BUT i love imagery of alleycats, cats with nine lives, cats that always land on their feet (even when they fall off something in the goofiest, most clumsy way possible. wash paradox of dexterity/somehow surviving against all odds and dumb clumsy accidents/bad luck real). cockroach kitty wash : )

otoh my Hot Wash Take is i think sometimes some fans swing the pendulum too far the opposite way from All-Characteristics-Erased-Except-Trauma-And-Protectiveness-And-Cats Woobie Wash. yeah he’s obviously extremely competent but he’s far from the most skilled character in rvb (not his fault the competition is insane) and he is a bit goofy. let him goof up a little i promise it’s okay he’s gonna land on his feet

[adorablegorilla]

Fallen London Factions, Ranked From Favourite to Least Favourite:

1. The Docks

Hell yeah. These guys are awesome. I wanna go on adventures with them (getting that Zubmarine soon)!!

2. Bohemians

Artists and revelers and musicians of the common people! My kind of crowd. Only miss out on top spot bc they spend a lil too much time drinking and sipping honey instead of thinking on their art

3. Urchins

I can't hate kids, even if they are a bunch of thieves and scoundrels. Actually that makes me like them more. Would be higher if their activities didn't make me so concerned about their safety

4. Rubbery Men

I don't interact with these guys as much as I should so I kinda forgot about them but. They're my friends :). I like them. Most unproblematic faction in London.

5. Criminals

I love thievery and trickery, but the fact The Cheery Man is the main head of the Criminals means I can't fully support them because I have a deep grudge against him. I fuck w/ the Topsy King though

6. Revolutionaries

I'm coming around to these guys. They have some dangerous ambitions but I believe in their ideals. Also as radical and violent as they can be it's hard to judge them for it when my character has committed several temporary murders themselves (and one not-so-temporary) to further their own ambitions

7. The Great Game

A big round hullabaloo of occasionally violent mutual exploitation. I'm mostly neutral on them and only partner with them to gain power for myself. I do like that The Cheesemonger doesn't really care if you disobey her beyond decreasing how much she relies on you slightly.

8. The Constables

ACAB, but the Implacable Detective is pretty cool.

9. The Church

I dislike the church less than I dislike the cops but they're also way more boring. Bunch of fuddy-duddies.

10. The Devils

Exploitative and think they're better than everyone, but they're useful for gaining power, and are genuinely interesting to gain knowledge from. Just be careful not to rely on them too much.

11. Polite Society

Fuck these guys. They're even more high-and-mighty than the Devils but at least with the Devils they have the case of literally being more powerful than mortals. I literally only care about the Society faction in how useful they can be to me.

[billthedrake]

THE BULL (PART FOUR)

Paul felt like he should talk to Kevin about the barebacking. So the following Tuesday night, after a long day at work and a quick dinner of take out, he brought the subject up.

"Listen, Kev, I'm sorry if things got out of control with Mike last weekend."

Kevin looked at his husband earnestly. "You didn't have fun?" he asked.

It wasn't the question Kevin Connors would have replied with a month or two ago. And it wasn't the question Paul was expecting. "Well, yeah, it was hot... only I..."

Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about me, Paul," he said simply. "I had a good time, too. I always enjoy our sessions with Mike."

Paul wasn't sure how to read Kevin's mood, and his husband, while not being hostile, wasn't inviting further discussion. He wasn't sure if Kevin's laid-back vibe was genuine or a defense mechanism. He decided maybe they should hold off on having Mike over the following weekend.

Only Wednesday morning rolled around and while Paul was in a work meeting, his phone notified him of a text. He was expecting it to be Kevin checking in, maybe about dinner or evening plans. Kevin, the more outgoing, was the one who usually kept the social calendar for the couple.

Instead the message was from Mike. "Hey it turns out I was able to get Saturday and Sunday off this weekend. If you guys are free this weekend, it would be awesome to hang out."

This was the first time Paul remembered Mike actively requesting a meeting. Not pushy, but more direct. Paul felt his cock grow hard in his trousers.

He checked quickly with Kevin, who readily agreed. "Sounds hot."

It was that night when Kevin brought up the barebacking. "Sorry I let things get out of control last weekend," he said as he and Paul had dinner. "I should have stopped Mike when I realized he wasn't wearing a condom."

Paul nodded thoughtfully. "I could have stopped him too, babe, but I didn't. Any regrets?"

"I should say yes," he smirked.

Paul chuckled. "You going to let him in again bare?"

"He says he's clean and has the proof. So yeah. It was pretty hot after all."

"It was." Paul said.

"You hard?" Kevin grinned.

Paul nodded. "Yep."

Kevin pushed his chair back and then got down between Paul's legs. It seemed they rarely had sex this spontaneous but Paul was majorly turned on as his husband unzipped him and pulled out his erection. Then the welcome sensation of Kevin's mouth descending on his dick drove him wild.

"Suck me, Babe..." Paul groaned. "Suck me like you suck him. Suck me like it was a big fat piece of cop dick."

The sex talk worked Kevin up, and he went at his sucking duty more fervently. Even if Paul wasn't as hung as Mike, his dick was pretty big and not easy to take down to the base. But Kevin did his best, going for a deep throat swallow with each bob.

"Oh fuck, Babe, that's so hot to watch. Slutting out on my cock like that. God, Kev, it's not gonna take me long." He gripped the back of Kevin's neck, not really forcing the head down but insistently reminding his husband of his need.

Then with a full force his semen jutted down Kevin's throat. His husband stopped his deep throat and concentrated on sucking the top three inches in rapid succession, milking out all the cum.

"Holy fuck," Paul growled. "You're getting really good at that."

"Yeah?" Kevin said, with a proud smile on his face as he leaned back.

"Fuck, yeah. Stand up," Paul urged. "Let me do you."

Kevin unzipped and pulled out his own hardon. This is what sealed the deal when he and Paul started dating. The man could suck dick like nothing else. A few expert motions applying just the right amount of suction and Kevin was nutting good and hard into his man's mouth. It was like the tension was being drained from his body.

"God, you're the best, Paul," he said as he leaned down and met his husband in a kiss.

They chuckled at how impetuous they were as they rearranged their soft dicks back in and got back to their abandoned dinner.

***

It was a nice change of pace when Mike came over on Saturday instead. He'd woken up early, as excited as the previous weeks if not more, and got in a good workout at the gym. He grabbed a big breakfast afterword, then came home and showered, shaved and dressed, watched some TV, and was out the door by 1pm.

He'd stashed a duffel bag of a change of clothes and toiletries just in case.

He liked coming into the city but finding parking in Paul and Kevin's neighborhood was a bitch. But an extra ten minutes walk wouldn't hurt him and it gave him a chance to take in the houses, a contrast to the quiet subdivision he lived in. He wasn't sure he would like life in the city - the burbs were what he knew - but it was fun to imagine it sometimes.

He used to his phone to find his way to the row home on a nice street. Mike could tell these guys were pretty well off. Not that it mattered to him, but it seemed like he often hit it off with professional guys. Maybe opposites attract.

He bounded up the steps and rang the bell. Paul answered, dressed in a customary oxford shirt and shorts, with flip flops. They gave a quick hug.

"Great to see you man," Paul said.

"Great to be here," Mike beamed.

"You able to change your work schedule?" the man asked as he ushered the young state trooper in.

"Yeah, a fellow trooper asked if I was interested in switching with him. I'll be working a double next weekend but it's worth it."

Paul clapped him on the back to guide him down the hallway. "Kevin's waiting in the bedroom," he said. "If you don't mind getting down right to it."

"Ha I don't mind," Mike said, gripping the heavy dong in his shorts. "I've been boning all morning looking forward to this."

They walked to the master bedroom and there Kevin was. Naked, on all fours on the bed. Ready.

"Fuck yeah," Mike growled, pulling the hem of his shirt up and then peeling it off his beefy chest. He turned to Paul, "I'm heaving dreams about that ass now, you know," he grinned.

Mike strolled up to the bed and crouched so his face was at level with Kevin's bare ass. The 48 year old was in amazing condition and his ass was firm, but it still had traces of a DILF ass that Mike loved. The hairiness in crack, the fullness of size. The trooper sized up the view and then buried his face in it.

"Oh God," Kevin hissed. As good as Paul was at sucking cock, Mike was at eating ass. He was enthusiastic and talented. Alternating between munching, licking, sucking, and probing. Teasing the hole. At times Mike could be a methodical rimmer, working the hole open with his tongue. At other times he just loved burrowing in. Kevin had an ass he could eat for a long session.

That's what he had in mind today, in fact, so when Kevin asked Mike to fuck him, the younger man just leaned back and looked excitedly at that dad hole, the hairs slicked down with spit. "Not yet, I'm gonna eat you out for a lot longer."

He leaned up and then lay down on the bed, on his back. "Come on man, sit on my face. Let me treat that hole right," he growled.

Kevin nodded, excited beyond belief. It was hot having Paul watching this, watching him be so intense with Mike. Mike's lust and enthusiasm were also infectious and Kevin sighed as he squatted over the cop's face and felt his tongue slide back between his buns.

"Oh fuck, man, eat me out. You're so good at this." The minute he praised Mike he saw Paul's eyes widen. He addressed his husband. "You like watching this, Babe?"

Paul nodded. "Oh yeah. So glad you're into this."

Kevin winked then felt Mike's tongue circle around his pucker, eliciting a deep moan. He looked down. The cop was built, the muscle and the thin layer of padding looking magnificent as the man's chest and stomach were bared. Kev didn't even realize he was into dudes this beefy, but on Mike it looked hot. He reached down and ran his hands along the smooth flesh, feeling the warmth and firmness. Mike responded by munching more excitedly on Kev's hole.

Past the abs, in his shorts, there was that massive erection. Long, fat, and as hard as you'd expect a horny 25 year old to be. Kevin wanted to see it. He undid the button on the cop's shorts and reached in.

Mike moaned into his ass, signaling to go further. Kevin did, pulling out that boner.

"I still can't believe how big that cock is," Paul said as Kevin hauled it out.

Mike's hands were on Kevin's ass, kneading the cheeks and spreading them for prime access. He backed off a little to urge Kevin to take off his shorts.

Kevin had to hoist himself off of his perch on Mike face to do so, but he leaned forward and slid the shorts down, aided by Mike lifting and bending his strong legs.

"Fuck!" he growled as he saw the top nude and erect beneath him.

"You can go ahead and suck it, Daddy," Mike said. "Just don't get me to come. I'll tap your leg if you're getting me close."

Paul moaned as he watched his husband descend on that sizable meat, sucking in just a couple inches and then bobbing down on more. It was beautiful, no other way to describe it, the way these two men were locked in a 69, each working on each other's pleasure, the cop munching Kev's hole like a pig at a trough, and Kevin scarfing as much of that erect dick as he could manage.

Finally, Mike must have tapped Kevin's leg because the older man leaned up and off the dick, which now quivered in mid air, the ball sac drawn tightly to the shaft.

"Fuck, I almost came," the deep voice said from behind Kevin. "Let me cool off."

The two men disentangled, and Mike stood up, stretching, his erection poking up hard and high. "I'd love to come that way," he said. "Eating your hot ass."

Kevin had flipped onto his back, feeling his own hardon leaking from the sexual stimulation. "I wouldn't mind."

Mike grinned. "I bet you wouldn't, Hot Stuff." He reached down and pinched the base of his prick. "Fuck!" He took a deep breath and looked over at Paul, "You enjoying the show, bud?"

Paul smiled. "It gets hotter each week. You guys are amazing to watch."

"Hope you get your jollies this week," Mike said, then got back on the bed where Kevin was laying, hard and still very horny.

Mike scooted up and leaned in for a kiss. Their mouths connected, softly, as they made out. It was exquisite torture for both men, who wanted to fuck in the worst way, but it was hot in its own right.

"You liked me barebacking you last week," Mike said, half a question, half a statement.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, that was hot. Been thinking about it all week. Paul too."

Mike grinned and looked back at Paul, "Is that right buddy?"

"Fuck yeah," the man replied. He'd kept his dick, hard and leaking in his shorts but now was unzipping. He couldn't take any more. Besides he felt the main act was going to come.

"Do me a favor, man," Mike said, "And hold off this time. I'll make it worth your while."

"OK," Paul breathed.

Kevin wasn't sure what Mike had in mind but the young cop's lips were back on his own, the tongue pressing in insistently. As they made out, more of a lusty sexual kiss than a romantic one, the beefy stud rolled Kevin over and positioned his own strong body on top. They kissed and got more caught up in their excitement. Mike's hips were humping Kevin's crotch, and the bottom spread his legs and wrapped them around Mike's meaty ass. He wanted that big cop cock in him so badly.

Fortunately Mike was on the same wavelength. He scooted down and with his left hand positioned his meat at Kev's hungry hole. He prodded gently against the pucker, smearing the entrance with a healthy amount of the presap he was now leaking.

Kevin now wetted down, Mike entered him.

"Oh fuck!" Kevin cried. The penetration was intense, but in a good way. There was a good amount of friction and the quickness of the entry made that dick seem even bigger. But he was horned up beyond belief, and the extended rim session had made him really crave this. Getting fucked royally.

Impatiently, Mike pushed in, all the way in, burying in up to the balls. He barely gave Kevin a second to accommodate him before he thrust in again. He was fucking Kev outright, his own built up libido pouring over into an energetic shafting. The fact that this 40-something hunk could take it just egged Mike on. He powered into the older man repeatedly, feeling the tingle start in his nuts. It was like his pleasure was being fucking into Kevin and coming back to him, doubled.

Indeed, Kevin felt the telltale tremors of his orgasm start. But his hands were on Mike's burly chest, shoulder, and arms, feeling the stud up who was shafting him so masterfully. It was an incredible realization. Kevin was about to have his first hands-free orgasm. Paul had talked about his experience having one a few weeks ago, and now Mike was delivering one for him, in spades.

"FUCK!" He growled, sending waves of hot semen between their thrusting bodies, right before Mike cut off his cry with a kiss and growled into his mouth, his own young body heaving in a heavy orgasm that matched Kevin's.

The young man had a big smile on his face as they came down and he broke the kiss. "Fuck, that was incredible."

"Uh uh," Kevin agreed, still light headed from the experience.

"Hold still, Daddy," Mike winked and slowly withdrew his firm but softening meat from the conquered ass. "Keep your legs up," he whispered.

Kevin did and watched the beauty of Mike's built body dismount and climb off the bed. The cop turned to Paul. "I left you a present buddy. Nice creamy load ready to be eaten."

Paul was surprised. "You mean?" Then he realized that's exactly what Mike did mean. With a scramble he crawled up on the bed, between Kevin's legs.

Kevin smiled when he realized what was about to happen. Paul never liked rimming. Always thought it was too dirty an act. And here was his husband about to felch another dude's seed out of his hole. Kevin pulled his legs back and lifted his ass up to Paul's face, showing off the creampie. "Lick me, Babe. Lick my fucked hole."

Paul did. The swipes were tentative at first, but as he tasted the cum, he got really excited, going hole hog in eating Kevin out. He stroked his cock as he did, feeding off the incredible nastiness of the act.

Mike's hands stroked between his shoulder blades. "That's it, cuck... a real man fucks your husband's hole and you get clean up duty." He looked up at Kevin. "Hey Daddy see if you can feed your husband some of my cum."

This was such a trip, even Kevin got caught up in the cuckolding aspect of the scene. He pushed down on his bowels and he could tell from Paul's gulping that his husband was being fed a mouthful of fresh cop cum. Paul's face turned red and he practically howled, his cry smothered in Kevin's cummy ass, as his prick belted out its load.

"Nice," Mike hissed. "Let it out, cuck."

***

They'd had a beers and were enjoying the post-sex relaxation and the chance to get to know one another, beyond the sex.

"You know," Mike said, "I don't even know you guys' last names."

Paul chuckled. "Guess not. Mine's Stanson."

"Connors," Kevin added his.

"Trooper First Class Mike McCullough, at your service," Mike smiled.

"I've been wondering... I mean, you clearly know guys are turned on by you being a cop," Kevin said.

Mike's dimples made him look younger and more innocent as he smiled. "And you're wondering what I think of that?"

"Yeah," Kev said.

"Well... there's a difference between the real job and the fantasy gay guys have. For me, it is about the job first. But, I also know it helps me get laid, and I'm A-OK with that," he winked.

"I doubt you need the uniform to help you get laid," Paul chuckled. "You're cute, young, and got a great body and a big dick."

"Thanks for the compliment, buddy," Mike smirked. "I guess I do OK. But every bit helps. Who knows if I would have gotten a repeat invitation from you guys if I hadn't been a cop. Kev here seems to like it."

"We both like it," Kevin chimed in. "But it was a huge bucket list item for me. You're letting me check it off in spades."

"Glad to be of help," Mike joked. "Seriously you guys are a dream couple for me. Love playing with you. I look forward all week to this."

"So..." Paul started, rubbing Kevin's neck affectionately, "we got a guest bedroom if you want to stay over."

"Thanks," Mike smiled. He looked at his watch. 4:30. "I didn't want to be presumptuous, but I brought a change of clothes in case I had the opportunity to stay."

Kevin leaned into Paul's arm some. "We can grab a dinner, too. Anything you in the mood for?"

"I'm pretty easy," Mike said. Then he got a more intent look on his face. "The thing you should know, if I'm staying over.... I'm sleeping with Kevin if I do.... so you guys need to think over whether you want that." He saw the surprised expression on both men's faces. "You can decide after dinner."

"Wow," Kevin said.

"Yeah, wow."

"I'm not trying to be a dick," Mike said. "That's just how it is." He patted his knees and stood up. "But first things, first, let's get something to eat. I know I worked up an appetite."

They pinned Mike as more of a burger kind of guy, so they went to a neighborhood pub, a semi-casual place. The cop wasn't lying about his appetite, he ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and an appetizer. He seemed to shovel his food in heartily, too, as the men made small talk in the noisy bar-restaurant.

Only when Mike and Paul ordered a second round, Mike got a Diet Coke instead.

"Watching your figure?" Kevin teased. He generally avoided beer on the weekdays but enjoyed a few pints on the weekend.

Mike grinned. The state trooper really had an adorably cute face for such a muscular, butch young man. "Two's my limit. Gotta drive back."

There. He'd lobbed the ball to Paul and Kevin's court, and Paul gave a quick glance to Kev, who silently communicated a hopeful look. "Just order your goddamn beer," Paul chuckled. "You're used to getting your way, aren't ya?"

Mike leaned back, his face a little triumphant. "Well you guys give me inspiration. Seriously, I look forward to every goddamn weekend trip to the city."

"We could meet you out where you are sometime."

"Maybe. I mean you guys are welcome. But if you don't mind hosting, I like coming into town. Gives me a break from my day to day life, you know," he said popping a fry in his mouth. He flagged down the waitress to order another beer.

When they got back to Paul and Kevin's place, the three were in a good mood. Kevin in particular. He was glad Paul had agreed to Mike's conditions, if only because he was intrigued by the development of this threeway arrangement with Mike McCullough.

"So..." Mike asked as they walked into the living room. "Which bed are Kev and I taking?"

Paul wasn't ready to relinquish the master bed. "You guys can have the guest bed," he said.

Mike walked behind Kevin and playfully gripped his shoulders, squeezing them as he pressed against his back. "Whaddya say, daddy?"

Mike's hands felt good on him and he could smell the cop's cologne. He was turned on for some more time with the young man, for sure, but he wanted to check in with Paul. "You sure you're OK with this Babe?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." Paul didn't relish not being able to watch Mike and Kev this time. But he relished the thought the two would soon be up to something. Sucking, fucking, rimming. The fact he was being exiled to his own bedroom strangely thrilled him.

He stepped up and gave Kevin a good night kiss. "Anything you need from the bedroom?"

Kevin shook his head, grinning. "Nah, there's extra lube in the bathroom. In case we need it," he added as an afterthought.

Mike was grinning knowingly, in a way that frustrated and excited Paul. "Well, see you in the morning, man," the young state trooper said.

"Yeah..." Paul started, feeling awkward as he prepared to take his leave from these two men, one of them his husband. "Good night."

He considered leaving his door open, but didn't think he could take it emotionally. He peeled off his shirt, looking into the mirror. He wasn't Mike McCullough buff but he had a good body, particularly for a 50 year old man. Were he and Kevin doing the right thing? It felt for the first time that Mike was a wedge in their relationship. But at the same time, Paul was hard in his jeans. He undid them and slipped them off, his briefs too.

"God I'm such a fuck up," he said aloud softly, to his reflection. To no one.

He found some lube in the drawer

Paul jerked off slowly, edging himself, letting go when he got too close, then starting again.

"Fuck him," he growled softly. "Fuck my husband Mike. Damn, you're in there now, probably railing my man while I'm stuck here jerking off alone. Showing my guy who's the real man.... fuck!" Paul let go in time and felt his nuts tingle. He was THIS close.

He stepped off the bed and padded to the doorway. Quietly he opened it once more. He wondered if Mike and Kevin would have left the door to the guest bedroom open, but a glance down the hall confirmed it was shut.

Still he could hear voices. Talking, laughing. Then fucking. The definite sounds of two men fucking. Mostly Mike's voice, commanding in its verbal litany, but then out of it rose Kevin's getting louder, more plaintive. Paul couldn't hear the words but he knew the meaning. Kevin was begging Mike for more. Harder, faster, deeper.

A heavy spurt of semen sprayed out of the tip of Paul's dick. Then another. The orgasm was intense, the physical separation between Paul and the men in the guest room just fueling his pleasure.

"Fuck," he whispered in exclamation as he came down from his high. He fetched some tissues to wipe up his mess.

Thankfully, the orgasm tired him out enough to sleep, even with the thought of his husband sleeping in another room, with another man. Paul crawled in the sheets and turned out the lamp.

***

Kevin woke up in Mike's arms. The cop's nude body felt warm, almost hot against his, but Kevin relished the difference between him and his husband. Bigger, smoother, younger. He felt the man stir behind him, shifting his position. There it was, Mike's big dick, firmed up in a huge piece of morning wood.

The cop's soft lips touched Kevin's neck. "Morning," the voice said, groggy.

"Good morning," Kevin said. He scooted back into Mike's embrace, sighing as the strong hands explored his torso.

"What time is it?"

Kevin looked over. "Eight, almost. Can't remember last time I slept in this late."

"Mmm..." Mike growled. "I think I kept daddy up too late last night. You make me horny, man."

"Um, yeah," Kevin agreed. It was like Mike had some spell on him. That's why he was sleeping here in the guest room, the first time he'd slept overnight with another man since he'd met Paul. It was weirdly thrilling.

"You mind me calling you Daddy?" Mike asked, caressing the skin of Kevin's chest and sending goosebumps along the older man's body.

"It's not how I think of myself," Kevin admitted, "but go ahead."

"You sure?"

"It's like you being a cop. If being Daddy gets me laid, then I'll be Daddy," Kevin chuckled.

"All right then." Mike nestled against Kevin's body. "Wasn't sure you were going to make it through the night, Daddy... Big step for you both."

"Paul's probably pissed off."

"We'll see," Mike said. "But I doubt it. He's learning about himself, and I bet you fifty bucks he loved that I've had some alone time with you."

Kevin was torn between the pleasure in his body and the nagging doubts he had. "You like fucking up guys' relationships?"

He could feel Mike's caress stop and the younger man's body pull back. "Turn around."

Kevin did. God, even first thing in the morning, Mike was hot as hell. Youthful, cute, and the buzz cut hair scruffed up just a little.

Mike's expression was serious now, though. "I'm not trying to fuck up anything. I don't want to date you, at least not in the conventional way. I like being the bull."

"What do you mean, the bull?" Kevin asked.

Mike replied, "It's the guy who fucks another guy's husband, who makes him a cuck."

Kevin laughed, shaking his head. "Is this really a thing?"

Mike didn't feel offended but chuckled too, "For me, yeah. And for Paul, too, though he's still exploring his fantasies."

"Maybe a little too much," Kevin joked. "But where does this leave me?"

Mike's hand caressed Kevin's chest and arm. "You're the key to the cuck/bull dynamic. You gotta be into it."

Kevin saw an unusual vulnerability in Mike's eyes. Like he was waiting for confirmation. Kevin's hand felt down the thick muscled body, till he found the large, hard prick. His fingers wrapped around it, making Mike sigh a little in excitement.

"It's hard not to be into it, man," Kevin mused. "You're so hot, you know. Having a 25 year old cop into me is a real trip, you know?"

"It's a trip for me too, Daddy. Being your young stud." Mike gave Kevin a soft kiss, leaning into him. "That's what being your bull is about for me, making you feel great." He continued to feel up Kevin's body. He could still feel the older man's hands playing with his meat. "You like my cock, huh?"

"Yeah," Kevin admitted. "I guess you can tell I'm a bit of a size queen."

"See it's great all around. Paul gets to explore being a cuck, I get to fuck the hottest DILF in the city, and you get a big cop dick to play with," Mike winked.

Kevin nodded, enjoying feeling Mike's hardness in his grip. The younger man really had a big tool. "So..." he asked, "being a bull," he tried on the word for size, "is that a one-time or long-term thing?"

"Either," Mike replied. "I've done both. I think I've told you I was long-term bull for a couple a few years back. It was great, made me realize that's what I wanted."

"So, it's just sex, then no emotions involved?" It was like Kevin wanted confirmation that Mike wasn't going to be a detriment to his marriage. Maybe it already was.

"Emotions are going to be a part of it, I don't see how you can avoid them," Mike said. "I mean, fucking a guy regularly, being brought into two guys' relationship, there's no way you don't form a bond. Sometimes an intense one." He paused, then added, "But it's not the relationship, that's between the married guys."

"You've thought a lot about this," Kevin said. It was fascinating to listen to Mike, the whole sexual system he had played out in his head. It sounded neat and orderly, not messy like Kevin sometimes felt with threesomes.

"Oh yeah," Mike admitted. "It's my thing. It's one reason I was excited to answer your ad. Whether it's a one-time or long-term thing, I frigging love being a bull. The sex, the emotional pull of it, the whole experience. Plus, you're the hottest guy I've fucked, ever."

"So..." Kevin ventured. "Are you hoping that Paul and I will turn into a long-term arrangement."

"Fuck yeah," Mike said, grinning. "But that's up to you."

"What about Paul?"

"It's up to him, too, of course, but like I say I don't negotiate with him. You'll let me know if I'm coming on too strong for either of you guys."

Kevin seemed to reflect on that. Part of him felt like Mike was too smooth of a negotiator and that he was being played. But the other part of him liked the deference the younger man had to him, giving him the power to say yes or no to things. He wanted to ask Mike a question and wasn't sure if he should. But he didn't know anyone else he could talk to about this.

"I got a question," he started.

"Yeah?" Mike said, a serious look on his face.

"So, you've seen guys before who are into this cuck thing."

Mike grinned. "Definitely."

"How many we talking about?"

"I've been a bull for five couples before if that's what you're asking. Each one of them had a guy with a cuck fetish."

"Well, I guess I'm wondering..." Kevin said, shifting to lie on his back, "you know, how does Paul compare.... I mean, you have any sense of how far the cuckold fantasy goes?"

Mike got quiet. "You mean, he doesn't talk about this with you?"

"He does," Kevin assured him. "Only, I get the sense he's afraid to hurt my feelings."

"Or are you afraid of the answer?"

"Maybe that, too." Kevin said. "It seems easy for you, but fuck, I'm pretty fucking confused."

Mike ran his hand along Kevin's chest. "Listen, Daddy... if you're asking me my impression, then yeah I think it goes pretty deep for Paul. I've met only one man before whose cuck fantasy was stronger and he was practically a sub." He gave Kevin's shoulder a soft kiss. "But you guys need to talk about this stuff. That fear you got is the wedge in your relationship, not me fucking you."

Kevin nodded. "You're right, man." He looked over at Mike. "You mind if I go do that now? I feel like I need to."

"You're calling the shots, Daddy," Mike winked. "I'll get dressed and shove off, let you guys be."

Kevin leaned up and found his underwear, slipping into it. "Cool, thanks for understanding."

Mike followed suit, gathering up his clothes. "Do what you guys need to do. I mean, I'll be pretty bummed if I don't get to bone you again," he laughed, "but it's all good."

****

"I gotta head off, man," Mike said as he walked into the kitchen, fully dressed, with his bag in hand. He gave Paul a hearty handshake and a bro hug.

"You don't want breakfast?" Paul said. He'd been up for two hours, drinking his coffee and waiting for his husband and fuckbuddy to rouse awake. The wait was torturous but also kept him erect the whole time.

"Nah, I gotta get back. Thanks, though. And thanks for having me over."

"Sure thing," Paul said.

Once Mike left it was funny how Paul's mood switched. He'd promised Kevin he wouldn't be jealous, and he wasn't, at least not in the angry or envious sense of the word. But he had been worrying all morning, wondering if he'd made a mistake in letting Kevin get too close to Mike. Kevin's concern that they were messing up their relationship was rubbing off on him.

Now that Mike had cleared out early, Paul's concern went the other way. Maybe Kevin didn't have such a great time. Maybe he'd sent Mike home early. It killed Paul to think that he was pushing Kevin into something he didn't want. He went down the hall and could hear the shower running. He decided to give Kevin some space.

His husband came out a few minutes later, dressed and looking as handsome as ever. A pit in Paul's gut worried what he would do if his husband ever left him.

"Hey Babe," Kevin greeted. "You got some coffee for me?"

"Coming right up," Paul said, attending to the coffee maker to make a fresh pot. As it brewed, he looked over at Kevin, "You have fun last night?"

Kevin nodded. He could tell Paul had not a trace of being upset in his voice. He seemed genuinely concerned that Kevin had enjoyed it. "Um, yeah, I did. Thanks for being open to that." He paused, then added, "It was a trip, doing something like that."

Paul agreed. "Yep, first time we slept in separate rooms."

Kevin grimaced. "That bother you Babe?"

"No," he said. "I thought it might but it didn't."

"Good," Kevin said. "I was worried."

"We should only do this if it's fun for both of us." Paul said as he poured the coffee and handed to Kevin.

"Agreed." Kevin drank a couple of sips. He couldn't remember needing coffee so bad, at least not since his hungover days in his early 30s. "So... did you have fun last night?"

"Oh yeah," Paul smiled. "I jerked off three times. Came harder each time, too." He blushed. "I probably shouldn't tell you that."

"Paul," Kevin started, a little plaintive in his tone, "You gotta tell me stuff like that. I need to know."

Paul nodded. He was used to being the more communicative one, the one tackling problems head on in their relationship, whereas Kevin generally preferred to let them blow over. "All right. What do you want to know?"

"Mike told me a new term... bull."

Paul's eyes lit up. "Yeah?"

"I take it you've heard it before."

Paul nodded. "I have."

"Paul, he wants to be my bull, fuck me regularly from here out. Is that something you've fantasized about?"

Paul gulped. "You don't gotta, Kevin. But yeah, it's something I've read about and fantasized about and when Mike came into our lives I just got this vibe that he was angling for that. I didn't think it could really develop into that."

"Well, let's say, I'm into the idea too," Kevin said. "We just need to be open with each other if this is going to work."

"Kevin, I'm so turned on by the idea of Mike being your bull. Christ, I got so boned when he relegated me to sleeping alone last night. It's crazy."

"So, you OK with me contacting him? Inviting him over?"

"Whenever you want," Paul breathed, feeling the emotional tension in his body.

"Jesus," Kevin sighed. "I didn't expect this when I married you."

Paul felt crushed. "You disappointed?"

"Nah, Babe. It's just one big curveball that's all. I love you so much." He stepped. "Come here, kiss me," he urged and Paul did, feeling such an outpouring of affection for this perfect man.

"So, three times, huh?" Kevin joked as they broke their kiss.

Paul laughed, glad the tension was broken between them. He had a feeling things were going to be all right between him and Kev. "Yeah. I even listened outside the door as he fucked you."

Kevin grinned. "I think maybe I need to read up on the cuck scene."

"I can send you some stuff... videos, discussion boards, stories."

"All right," Kevin said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "In the meantime, what's Mike's number?"

"Oh fuck," Paul hissed. He was getting boned again. Quickly he pulled up the contacts on his phone and read off the number.

Kevin dialed. "Hey Mike? Kevin here.... Doing pretty good.... Listen, I just had a talk with Paul... things are good. Great even.... I was wondering if you could come over next weekend, maybe stay the night again... yeah, Sunday works... awesome... all right, see you next weekend."

[kim-ruzek]

Do you think they will get Hailey and Jay back together now that Tracy is leaving?

What are your wishes or hopes for Adam, Kim, Kevin and Makayla in the upcoming season?

I hope so. I do think they will, especially as the only reason they had upstead go through the uncertainty of the relationship last season was to give Hailey more room in her future storylines but with her leaving, that's no longer a consideration.

I suppose it always goes down to how they decide to have her exit, but I can't see them going for an unhappy exit, especially when JLS would definitely be willing to come back for a cameo.

Now! For what my wishes are:

I need to first mention that my wish for my burzekwater is that they get their detective badges Especially now we'll be losing Hailey.

For Burzek just in general first: I want that hospital scene, I want Kim mother henning Adam because she is not doing well at all being on this side of things. I want an ily - a true parallel to Kim's first shooting, with also a cute scene with Mack to parallel her second shooting. I want them to continue to be the amazing couple they are and give us those small domestic moments so i can squeal over them being together (although I say that like I do smile stupidly to myself whenever they interact in a very neutral way now they're together because they're fucking together!) In my possibly asking for too much dream wishes is for a new burzek engagement (with Kim instigating it in some way at least).

For Adam: I want him to formally adopt Mack too, be the legal dad in every sense of the word.

I want to see him struggle with the shooting, not only because shootings are traumatic but also because it was done by a kid - and I want to see Kim help him through this. I also want him to not shut down when dealing with the trauma. And I'd like the trauma to ebb and flow throughout the season. Possibly have Adam be a bit disillusioned to everything because he tried so hard and he couldn't save the kid.

I could see him very much becoming go to work, get what needs to be done and that's it, just following routine and go home - with home being the one place he's really thriving in, or even him questioning his place in the force. I very much wish that his main arc for this season is very much revolving around the shooting.

For Kim: I very much want to see her helping Adam through things, especially with her learned experiences. But I also don't want them to forget her own trauma, and that how almost losing the love of her life after finally letting him in would really emotionally wreck her. I think a lot of this will be mitigated by her helping him, but I still hope we see the effects.

Saying all that, I also really want one of her main arcs for this season to be professional strides for her - without her getting injured or MORE trauma dumped on her. Especially with this being Hailey's last season. I want her helping Adam to be an important arc for her as well, obviously, but her individual one I really want to see her being that awesome cop.

For Kevin: Similarly, I'd love to see the same thing in Kevin's arcs. I very much want to see more scenes with him and Torres as i dig them working together. I'd also love to see more of his father, because I think the arc of Kev rebuilding a relationship with him is such an important and interesting one.

I feel like a broken record saying this, but ROMANCE! I want to see a proper romance for him. A mature one, not build on lies or is a position of conflict in his life. Just a very nice relationship that builds up Kev, instead of causing more strife in his life.

I'd also like to see him potentially helping Adam with his trauma, especially if Adam is questioning his position in the force, I'd love to see Kev helping with that side of things.

For Mack: Just more cute family scenes. An adoption by Adam. Her being like ew at her parents kissing. Her being sweet to an injured Adam. Ending the season learning she's going to be a big sister because I'm pregnant!Kim trash.

Thank you for asking!!! This was very fun to answer. I'm half certain I've forgotten like half a dozen things because honestly my wish list is SO SO long and I've had many months of thinking and brain storming what I want, so don't be surprised if I add to this.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-deadpool-wolverine-2024.html>

Score: 3 out of 5

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's first R-rated film, and the long-awaited arrival of Deadpool into the MCU following Disney's buyout of 20th Century Fox, is exactly what I was expecting: a gleefully lowbrow pisstake on superhero movies that this time lets them train their fire directly on the 800-pound gorilla of the whole genre now that they're all under the same corporate umbrella. It's undoubtedly a weaker film than its two predecessors, one that is unfortunately afflicted by many of the problems that have recurred throughout the MCU in general and its later period in particular, most notably exceptionally thin narrative tissue that serves primarily as filler to get to the action, the jokes, and the laundry list of cameos. But really, that's just about what I expected from Deadpool entering the MCU: a movie where you knew Disney wouldn't let him interact with the really important stuff, especially not at a time when the whole franchise is at a crossroads thanks to declining reviews, audience burnout, and well-publicized behind-the-scenes troubles, and would instead give him his own little corner of the universe to fuck around with in exchange for mocking the shit out of the rest of it from the bleachers. The result is, basically, a oneshot Deadpool/MCU shitpost fanfic done professionally, a film that, for all that Wade Wilson hypes himself up as "Marvel Jesus" who's gonna save the MCU, knows that it doesn't really matter except maybe on a thematic level. It's a movie made for everybody who's gotten bored with superhero movies in general and Marvel's brand of such in particular, one that's also a pretty good example of the genre in its own right and a fun welcome party for Deadpool into his new home -- even if, and I can't believe I still have to say this after three Deadpool movies, parents absolutely, positively should not take their kids to see it.

(Kids themselves, on the other hand? Feel free to sneak in to your heart's content. I'm not gonna stop you. Shit, I'm the kind of guy who bought a metal water bottle specifically small enough to sneak it into theaters in my pockets. I swear, the Deadpool movies are basically this generation's version of RoboCop in terms of extremely R-rated films that kids seem to love anyway.)

You know exactly what kind of irreverent movie this is the moment it opens with Deadpool, in an effort to save his universe from destruction by the multiversal time-cops of the Time Variance Authority, nullifying the tragic, moving sendoff that Wolverine (and, by extension, Hugh Jackman) experienced at the end of Logan by literally digging up his grave and then defiling his corpse by using his adamantium-plated bones as weapons to brutally slaughter the TVA agents after him. (Oh, and spoilers for Logan. This movie spoils it anyway, so hey.) The entire plot is a metaphor for how Disney's buyout of 20th Century Fox means the end of Fox's X-Men movie universe and all the other superhero movie franchises that Fox produced, starting with the fact that Wolverine's death means that the timeline that he and Deadpool inhabited lost its "anchor being" -- which is to say, Wolverine was the breakout star of those movies, and the decision to kill him off marked the symbolic end of the X-Men movies. And the ambitious TVA bureaucrat Mr. Paradox has decided that, rather than let that timeline naturally decay and fade away over the course of a few millennia, they're gonna strip it for parts and then "prune" it with a sci-fi doomsday weapon that will delete it from existence. Deadpool decides that, even though Disney the TVA wants him in the MCU Sacred Timeline because he's that awesome a character, he's not gonna go if it means that all of his friends are gonna get blinked out of existence as their timeline is "pruned". No, he's gonna find a new Logan to replace the one his universe lost, and if that means crossing the TVA, so be it.

Thus begins a wild and wacky buddy action flick in which Deadpool manages to snatch a Logan wearing a comics-accurate blue-and-yellow Wolverine costume, but one who was also a failure in his own universe whose alcoholism caused him to let his fellow X-Men down in fatal, catastrophic fashion. Hugh Jackman, returning to the part he's played for over twenty years now (and, as Deadpool jokes, is probably gonna be dragged back to until he's ninety), serves largely as the straight man to Ryan Reynolds' off-the-wall humor as Deadpool, and as the film's emotional anchor who gets much of the drama and trauma in his life and past. There's no way his performance here would ever top Logan, but for the kind of movie this is, Jackman is still perfect for the part, establishing great buddy chemistry with Reynolds right off the bat as the two of them bicker, argue, fight, try to kill each other on multiple occasions, and eventually set aside their differences and become friends. At its core, underneath all the in-jokes and moments that have had comic book fans buzzing for months now thanks to the rumors circulating about them, this is a buddy cop movie without the cops, and Jackman and Reynolds sell it the way that Mel Gibson and Danny Glover sold it in Lethal Weapon.

As for everyone else, merely listing the characters who show up here, drawn from throughout the history of Marvel comic book adaptations over the last thirty years, would spoil half the fun. The experience of watching this as a lifelong fan of superhero movies is a two-hour version of the famous shot in The Avengers of Captain America saying "I understood that reference," and I'll admit that it's pretty shallow and, in its own way, suffers from a lot of the same problems with continuity lockout that have plagued the MCU lately. In this case, instead of the plots of movies and TV shows that came before it, this film asks you to be familiar with a lot of the backstage drama and inside baseball that's gone on with them, from canceled X-Men spinoffs to the prior roles of some of the MCU's biggest stars to a reboot that Kevin Feige and company have been trying to get made for years but which at this point seems to be cursed. If ever the term "Reddit movie" were to be applied to a film, this would be the ticket. Personally, I did, in fact, understand those references, being as I am in the prime demographic this movie was made for, a young man raised on superhero movies who does in fact use Reddit. As such, I laughed my ass off at a lot of the jokes here. That being said, I can easily imagine how a lot of this film's humor might fly over the head of somebody younger or much older than me who isn't familiar with the movies this one is referencing, and would wind up as lost as I did watching the third act of Last Action Hero when that movie turned into a parade of '90s Hollywood in-jokes. Fortunately, the general pop culture jokes and cheesy pop music dance sequences (with some Y2K-era bangers thrown in alongside the expected '80s classics) are things that I can't see ever getting old. This may be more of a "reference movie" than its predecessors, but make no mistake, it still has their sense of humor, and it taps that to the fullest.

Beyond the humor, what plot this movie has is pretty thin and exists mainly to propel it to the next joke or action scene. Emma Corrin was easily the standout in the supporting cast as the villain Cassandra Nova, an evil twin sister of Professor X who got banished to the Void and rules it as her own personal fiefdom. The role was honestly pretty thankless and existed largely to give the movie a superpowered villain, but Corrin utterly devours it, playing Cassandra like a femme version of Gene Wilder (who Reynolds compared their performance to) as a kinda smarmy, aristocratic, and mischievous figure whose friendly demeanor can vanish in an instant the moment she decides she doesn't like you. The action scenes are about what you'd expect from Marvel at this point, boasting that familiar blend of CGI spectacle with the wacky setups we've come to expect from anything with Deadpool in it, from the 20th Century Fox logo having been dumped into the Void to some very creative use of a Honda Odyssey. These movies were all about the humor and the raunch more than anything else, anyway, and having the action and plot here be basically MCU boilerplate but with more blood and gore keeps the spotlight squarely on such, even if it never reaches the heights it did in prior films.

The Bottom Line

Joining the MCU has taken away none of Deadpool's characteristic charm or bite and given him plenty of new targets to mock. There may not be much to this movie beyond humor and bloody violence, and it may not be as lightning-in-a-bottle awesome as the first two, but as far as a 128-minute joyride goes, I was never not amused.