#It's is one thing that actors don't care about the movie and the topic and have genuinely no idea like just doing their jobs

[jesuis-snips]

Yeah....well it is when the actor says that "that's the beauty of star wars, there is no good or evil" while the MAIN THEME of the whole franchise is just THAT. That there is good and evil. And the sith are evil. The jedi are the good guys in horrible situations that the sith put them into it. Like be fr pls.

Idiots online: THIS ACTOR IN A STAR WARS SHOW DOESN'T HAVE EXPERT KNOWLEDGE OF STAR WARS!!! ARRGGHGH!!!! STAR WARS IS RUINED!!!! Meanwhile Harrison Ford: Who the fuck is Anakin and why are you asking me?

[sp00kymulderr]

I'll go this way with you

Dieter Bravo x f!reader

Words: 565

Tags/warnings: Nothing major. Marriage talk. Loooove.

A/N: A short follow up to 'it might be nice', written for the @jolacheese trope search. Very loosely using soulmates. I have a whole world cooked up for these two, can't wait to get to writing it one day.

It's been a week since he asked you to marry him.

It's been a week and you still haven't answered. You've avoided the topic from breaching the surface, steering the conversation in other directions.

And Dieter isn't stupid, he knows what you're doing. He doesn't say a thing about it, but he knows. Maybe he's wrong, maybe he was wrong to suggest it. The question hangs in the air everywhere you two go, every moment you spend together. Unanswered and undetermined and a single line of worry that creases his forehead every time he watches you walk away.

"I didn't mean to...to..." He starts, hand in yours as some mediocre actor drones on the tv in the background. That could've been you, truly, you auditioned for that role. It could have been you.

"What?" you say, barely attentive, turning to him. Do you not understand.

"I didn't mean to pressure you. Or- I don't know. Make you feel like you have to marry me. You don't...it's not...it was just a suggestion"

"Dee, can we-" You can't get the words out, as much as you want to steer this conversation to clearer waters.

"I love you. But my love isn't conditional on you wanting to be my wife. I'll still love you if you say no. I'll still love you if you leave me for a- a- tentacled space monster" He says, gesturing to the screen, where said tentacled space monster is currently stalking it's prey.

You snort a little when you laugh. It makes him smile. Every time.

"I'm not going to leave you for a tentacled space monster. Not that one anyway"

His turn to laugh, goofy bright smile making you melt like it always has.

"Dee," You sigh and squeeze his hand, refuse to let it go. "It's not that I don't want to. It's not that I don't love you. It's just...it was never where I thought things were going. I didn't even know you- I thought you never wanted to get married again"

Dieter shrugs. He pauses the movie just as the poorly performed heroine is making her grand escape. He doesn't care about that crap, he only cares about you. He cares about you so much. Too much. Never enough. It's never going to be enough for what you deserve.

"I didn't think I'd want to, either. But jeez, I don't know, things changed when I met you. And call me hokey but I think maybe you're my soulmate, okay? And why wouldn't I want to marry my soulmate?"

You brush away what threatens to spill from your eyes. Bite your lip and try to control the aching love you feel for him. A year ago you would have laughed if anyone suggested you'd fall in love with Dieter fucking Bravo of all people. A year ago you were a depressed waitress with no hope and no friends. And now, now you had a friend and hope and love and so much more all rolled into one very cuddly, very caring package.

"You believe in soulmates?" you mumble, sniffling and avoiding his eyes.

And he pulls you into his arms. Warm and wrapped up and safe, cocooned. You could stay like this forever, burst forth as something new and brilliant whenever you want, and he would support you through it.

“Yeah, yeah I do. It’ll always be you”

[justhellabifandom]

The racism in the 9-1-1 fandom is horrible. A few days ago I made a post talking about people who have been treating Ryan Guzman,and one of the things I mentioned was the racism he gets.

Now yesterday on Twitter an old clip of Oliver resurfaced where he's reading a script and at the end of it he nearly says the n word before saying they gave him the wrong script. The people of color in the fandom started joking around with the video,then a white person started using it and being racist and making racist jokes.

Then people started sending a black content creator in the fandom death threats for not being in the Buzzfeed video. What the actual fuck.

Please stop saying you love the show,that you care about it if your going to be fucking disgusting and racist towards people. The majority of the cast isn't white,the lead of the show is a female black woman. Angela Bassett. The queen herself. We have Aisha Hands, Kenneth Choi and Ryan Guzman who as much as people love to white wash him,is Latino. The whole cast is diverse.

For more context the clip is from a comedy movie Oliver did back from before he came to the US. The movie is written and directed by a black man. The movie deals with the classes and privileges. In the clip Oliver is in character,his character is making a script he got,not Oliver himself. A character he's playing is. A big point of that was white actors shouldn't speak on something that has nothing to do with them.

And this brings us back to Ryan Guzman because people are trying to turn this around and compare it to what Ryan did in the past to this which what the fuck? People are trying to compare it and make them hating Ryan Guzman valid.

Don't get me wrong what Ryan did in the past was shitty and he suffered the consequences of that. However don't throw Ryan under the bus and try to use him as an excuse to be racist. You can't compare either of these situations to each other.

This topic needs to be talked about so this fandom can be safe for the poc communities. It's fucked up that this keeps happening.

It's easy to be a nice human being. It's easy to not be racist.

[rainbowsky]

Sorry I've taken so long to address this, I've had a very busy day and didn't have time to finish this post (which I started yesterday).

I'm talking, of course, about the incredibly controversial situation surrounding DD right now. I've gotten some messages about it so I figured I'd give my thoughts in a bigger post so that I don't have to keep repeating myself.

(CW: racism, spoilers FPU)

I know that by now most people are aware of the situation, but I'm going to start from square one for those who are just catching up on the topic.

There is a scene in Formed Police Unit where Chinese UN peacekeeping troops need to rescue a group of citizens who are surrounded by terrorists. In order to accomplish this they disguise themselves as people from the community. This being Africa, the troops were disguised using blackface.

Yes, I am saying that DD and his castmates appear in the film in blackface.

I am not going to post a picture of that here. It's just something I can't post on my blog. I understand that many of you will want to see for yourself so I'll link a clip of the scene, which was posted on Weibo. Please be aware before clicking - this is full-on blackface. Always take care of yourselves, and if you think it might be upsetting to you don't click. You don't need to see it to be a 'good fan'.

Background

For those who may not know, this movie was filmed years ago, in 2021. During those years I have seen many anti attacks against DD, claiming that he is racist and has worn blackface. Here's the photo that was circulating back then.

At the time I thought the makeup that he was wearing was likely anti-reflective black paint or camouflage paint such as is used by snipers (which he played in the film). I assumed that he was wearing his own hoodie over part of a military costume, because he was wearing a cammo shirt and what might have been combat trousers.

I was certainly not expecting full-on blackface from this movie.

There's no getting around it - this is extremely difficult to look at.

Blackface is widely viewed as offensive and racist. It shouldn't be hard to understand why. Putting on another person's ethnicity like a costume is deeply insensitive, particularly when you consider that BIPOC (black, indigenous, and other people of color) are so frequently targeted, exploited and marginalized. For those in positions of privilege and power to put on the appearance of the people who they oppress and exploit... it's just shocking and awful.

Blackface is most frequently talked about in an American context, but it's actually a problem globally - including in China. More on all that here.

The film

I have not actually seen the film, so I don't know much about the context beyond what is being discussed in the fandom. As I said earlier, in the film a group of UN police officers need to infiltrate an area in the community, and they take on disguises in order to do so.

In promotional media this film is being presented as based on true stories from real missions*. It seems the situation in question really happened on a Chinese peacekeeping mission, and the UN troops disguised themselves as black citizens in order to infiltrate and extract the endangered captives.

*I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt on this because it doesn't change how I feel it should have been handled.

This is important context that is being conveniently left out of much of the backlash about this situation. People are outright claiming that DD plays a black person in the movie - that he wore blackface to perform a role that a black actor could have played. This simply isn't true, and people making these claims are antis and liars. There's simply no excuse for not knowing the full context.

Having said that, I don't really think it matters how it ended up in the film. I do not think there is such a thing as a palatable or appropriate use of blackface. In this day and age it is nearly universally understood to be racist, and it's extremely controversial.

I can understand if they were trying to be accurate to the mission that they were portraying, but surely there are other ways they could have accomplished this scene (perhaps with the clothing but not the blackface). 'Historical accuracy' isn't as important as cultural sensitivity, not by any stretch of the imagination. In the interest of respecting audiences they could have adapted the scene to make the use of blackface unnecessary.

I really see no excuse for anything like this in 2024.

Audience reactions

Chinese sensibilities around these topics are very different from what we are used to in the West.

According to fan repos audiences initially didn't recognize any of the actors, and once it became apparent that they were in disguise, laughter erupted around the room. In fact, most fans are laughing a lot at the photos and video even on social media (although some Chinese netizens have been upset by it and have voiced complaints to various stakeholders).

It is also being widely discussed on Chinese social media as an exciting scene of heroism in the film.

I feel the need to point out that the laughter and mockery is a huge part of the harm, here. As if it's not bad enough that these actors are performing in blackface and presenting a perversion of black ethnicity, it also becomes an opportunity for audiences to mock and disrespect black people. It's become an opportunity for social media to be filled with racist jokes and mockery.

Roadshow statements

There have been some clips circulating of PR and roadshow moments with black cast members and some black audience members who have spoken up in support of the film and to thank the cast and crew for telling the story. Here's one example.

International fans have been dismissing those statements as ignorant or coerced, which I think is offensive and deeply fucked up. There's no planet on which I'm going to - with a totally straight face - say that a black person's response to the movie is not legitimate just because it doesn't comport with my own view.

This is a complex issue and there are inevitably going to be a lot of different perspectives. I hope people won't exacerbate the problem by supplanting black voices on this issue with their own, no matter what's being said. If there's any manipulation going on, let's assume it was in their choosing supportive black figures to speak for the film rather than claim that the black spokespeople are insincere.

China has a lot of issues with racism, there's no doubt about it. It's a huge part of why so many people try to whiten their skin, or why they mock each other when their skin gets tanned/darker. There is a lot of sinister, fucked up stuff going on in China around race - both in the country and in their dealings with other countries.

But we can't claim to speak for black people in China, particularly when they are speaking for themselves! I would hope this is extremely obvious!

Where's DD in all this?

It's understandable that bystanders will react to what they're seeing and might immediately deem it unacceptable - and DD along with it. Their reactions are valid, but as fans I hope that we can look at him with a bit more empathy. I hope that we can take a moment to try to see things from his perspective.

DD has been interested in and an avid fan of black culture since he was a small child. We've all seen how much he immerses himself in hip hop, street dance and the accompanying music and fashion. And yes, he's been accused of cultural appropriation in the past for wearing locs and durags.

However, I think fans need a bit of perspective here to get a sense of where DD might be coming from. Here's a guy who loves black culture, who has close friends who are black, who regularly works with black artists and who supports black artists, in a culture where racism against black people is prevalent and often extreme.

I think DD would probably be amazed to hear the accusations of racism against him. He likely has very few people in his orbit who are anywhere near as supportive of or as closely connected to black people as he is. He likely stands out in his circle as being particularly into black culture and connected with black artists, and probably regularly faces ignorant questions or digs from people around him about his close association with black artists and culture.

Not just because of racism alone, but also due to the racist parallels the government tends to draw between black culture, street dance, hip hop, etc. and criminality/moral degradation*. It's likely that ignorant people in his orbit have expressed concern or wariness toward him because of these associations.

*That is, until breakdancing became an Olympic sport, then they were suddenly onboard with some of it.

I'm not saying that he doesn't have a lot of learning to do (and if this situation becomes what I think it might become, he'll have a big opportunity to do so), I'm just saying that his ignorance isn't mean-spirited. He's coming at this from a totally different angle than any of us are, and he is immersed in a totally different cultural perspective than our own. In his world, his interest likely makes him a bit of an anomaly.

So those painting him as a horrible racist... it's just not how I see it.

The element of choice

I've heard many people say that DD 'didn't have any choice' about this role, that turning it down would not have been an option or that he would be under some kind of threat if he didn't take this role. I don't agree with that characterization of things. I don't think it's quite as 'gun to the head' as a lot of fans paint it.

I think it's more likely that he simply didn't realize that the role would involve blackface when he accepted it, or that he thought that blackface in this context - to infiltrate a terrorist cell and save civilians - would be fine. We don't need to depict China as forcibly compelling actors to take unwanted roles if we want to make sense of this. There are simpler, more logical explanations.

DD wouldn't have been the one deciding how to depict the scene - he didn't have that power in 2021 - but I also doubt he would have had a major problem with it given everything we know.

We must overcome our Western tendency to see things only from our own perspective. This has a totally different cultural context in China, and the voices we listen to about it should not be issuing exclusively from white faces that are not at ground zero of this situation.

Final thoughts

This film has had me worried from day one. I think most people have been expecting it to be full of offensive portrayals and propagandistic fuckery. There are so many ways in which a Chinese film about the UN is potentially a sticky, tricky mess. This blackface thing is likely just one problem on a towering pile of problems.

However, I'm not going to sugarcoat this - this has the potential to be a real shitshow for DD, and I am concerned. Especially if this film gets an international release.

We need to brace ourselves, because I don't think this is going to just disappear. DD has endorsements with international brands, and this could definitely cause backlash for those brands unless the issue is addressed and the scenes removed. There's no planet on which brands like Chanel and Lacoste can afford to have one of their spokespeople plastered everywhere in blackface.

If this film gets an international release and those scenes are left intact, it's possible he will lose some brands.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but let's face it - things like this have consequences, and that's why it's so important for producers and artists to be sensitive about what they're portraying.

While I think there's some endorsement risk here for DD, and the potential loss of some international fans, I want to be clear about one thing: I don't think this will threaten his career overall. In China this just isn't an issue in the way it is internationally.

I do hope the film team addresses this issue in some way, ideally by removing the scenes. They just finished doing a massive edit to remove ZZH from the film, surely they can handle something like this. But let's not hold our breath...

Everyone has the right to make up their minds about DD. As I've often said, being a turtle isn't for the faint of heart. That's not just because turtles are frequent targets for bullies, or because we have to constantly live with uncertainty and doubt.

Being an international turtle also isn't for the faint of heart because there are a lot of cultural and political minefields to navigate, and many ideological differences to adapt to. There's a huge learning curve and a lot of unknowns, and turtles who want to survive have to make peace with the fact that we and the boys are from different worlds in many ways. We may never know where they really stand on issues that are important to us.

However, in this case I feel confident that I know where DD's heart is on this issue. He simply doesn't hold hatred, disrespect or disdain for black people. Quite the contrary.

I think we'd all just feel a lot better if he had a good grasp on how to be a better ally.

And while we're waiting for that, I think we should put our money where our mouths are and learn more about these issues ourselves, both in China and locally at home. We want DD to be a better person; let's be better people too.

Edit: more on this here.

[kebriones]

Hey just letting you know that @/margaretkart is a racist and apparently some kind of modern greek supremacist. She plays the victim and acts as if Greek people are an oppressed minority in the world and refuses to acknowledge that race is a post colonial construct. Race as we know it did not exist during ancient times. She for some reason also is convinced that the worst thing in the world is having a person of color play a fictional Greek mythological character. God forbid the “purity” of Ancient Greek mythology becomes sullied by—gasp!—a Percy Jackson show. The Ancient Greek gods were the gods of all the people on earth like come on. That includes people of color.

1. What is the point of this ask. To inform me? It could've been done privately or out of anon. If you have issues with someone, block them or talk to them about it. Do not do this. Also why mention this person when there are many greek people on tumblr who hold very similar opinions? If you wanted to talk about the issue in general it would've been better to not mention one specific person. I haven't even seen this person mentioning this topic, but I have seen it before by other greek people here.

2. I've argued about this topic with fellow greek people publicly online here, in private talks and in real life. I am a firm believer that actors who play in movies as well as theater do not have to match anything from age to gender to appearance to origins of the character they're playing. Have I still complained that helen in the movie troy looks way too german? Yes. So do I understand where this sensitivity stems from? Yes. The systematic approach of ancient greek culture being a free for all for western countries while ignoring modern greek identity and how, for better or for worse, tied it is to the ancient culture, is an issue. I still think it's up to us to put ourselves in this narrative rather than complain that foreigners aren't catering to us.

3. I feel like describing someone as a racist and a "supremacist" over this is a little bit in bad faith. I have not had talks about this topic with this person, I don't care to have extensive talks about this topic in fucking general anymore because it's stupid and I know other people who feel that way and I'm not some morality police to go out of my way to go call them out. When the discussion reaches me, and when I'm talking for myself, I will say what I think. The way the discussion of race is online is so weird to me anyway. It's all way too saturated by current convoluted US ideas and I am not equipped to help detangle the mess for others.

4. Do I think that it's way more realistic for a movie about, say, classical era greece to have a character that looks to be of african origin than a character that looks Scandinavian? Absolutely. Did the actor that played Achilles in Troy:Fall of a city bother me? No, it's an actor playing a role, of an imaginary character no less. What bothered me was that he didn't have long hair, because hair was a very significant cultural element at the time, and his hair is used in the story. The same exact issue that I had with the actor that played hector in that series, who also didnt really look like a person from that area realistically, but who was otherwise very good at his role.

5. As for playing the victim and oppressed minorities: while i would not go so far as to use "oppressed minority" for the greeks of the diaspora, it's very real that modern greeks have been looked down at by westerners, historically. Do I think this justifies or has anything to do with being bothered about what actors who play ancient greek mythology characters look like or come from, in a foreign piece of art no less? No. But it's still a thing.

6. I am extremely stressed out and busy today but I still took time to answer this because i need to say again, please don't do this. If you want to help people to see things differently and maybe move away from biases, talk to Them. Just because I'm following someone or interacting with them online, it doesn't mean I'm endorsing or agreeing with or even KNOW everything they think and say and believe. I avoid reading posts from fellow greeks that are complaining about these things because i think it's an overreaction and I think we need to tackle deep and actual cultural problems that WE have ourselves and not care too much about what some Hollywood movie is doing. Whatever. Tired discussion.

7. Percy Jackson sucks and I do hate that it's based on anc greek mythology but I just don't interact with it. The fact that it is a generation's first taste of anc. gr mythology and thus has had an impact on their perception of it is true and important though. The same way it bothers me when all people know of the odyssey is epic the musical. But still, whatever. Some greek people might be more bothered by it all and need to talk about it online and I think that's perfectly okay and valid. I do my petty complaining now and then too.

8. "The ancient greek gods were the gods of all people one earth" you can say that of other mythologies that have an origin of the entire human race as part of their myths, that's how religions usually go. These gods were worshipped in specific areas in a specific time and the mythology was created by specific cultures of specific areas. This is a major complaint that greek people have, which I mentioned before, that this specific ancient culture's mythology is treated as a thing detached from the actual culture, the ancient one, and from its inheritors which happen to be the people that live here and/or have this specific cultural identity. I don't think this cultural identity has anything to do with the appearance of people, and we all know the greek identity has absolutely nothing to do with race and that's a very fundamental part of it.

9. I would try to make myself even clearer but I don't have time and I didn't want to leave this unanswered even though I also kinda wanted to because this type of anon ask does nothing good for anyone and I encourage you to engage with others in a way that is understanding and comes from a place of wanting everything to be better and kinder. And there's so so much you will disagree with, on fundamental levels, with other people online, if only because we all come from very different cultures with different values and upbringings, despite how it looks like we're all in a US-based melting pot. You have to make peace with that, and it can be difficult. I've had American friends that I deeply disagree with on important stuff, and I had to face the discomfort and take time to let myself understand that our cultures are different.

Anyways. I apologize in advance if anything i said makes no sense or is insensitive or condescending. I admit i was upset when I started my reply but if you want to discuss this further we can absolutely do that. I cannot reply privately to anon asks otherwise i would have. I hate call-out style stuff like this because they do nothing good.

[fillinforlater]

Loathing Love: Lavish Lies (Part 4)

Male Reader x Kwon Eunbi + Kang Hyewon x Jo Yuri

Length: 9060 words

Tags: emotional drama, smut, cheating, alcohol, rage, anger issues, bisexuality, girl x girl relationship, girl x girl action, threesome, literal breeding, mating press, face sitting, squirting, clit play, dirty talk, the dumbest, most improbable sex ever, this is NOT real life, very dark ending

TW: includes topics like cheating, alcohol, sex and death

Inspiration: "Look at Me" by XXXTENTACION, Hyewon x Yuri best ship, gay power couple; this had to be released in Pride Mont (glad I could make it lol), also @capslocked ; @iznsfw, I'm sorry.

(A/N: THE FINALE of my L4 Series. It's finally here. The promise is fulfilled. I hope you get the ending and don't hate me. It's all fiction.)

“Look at me, fuck on me / Look at me, fuck on me / Look at me, fuck on me.”

Volume decreased by eighty percent. You don’t need someone screaming in your ears right now. It only makes you want to scream back. The poor guy has been dead for almost five years now, he doesn’t really deserve it. If you’re honest to yourself, he feels way too on point. Better turn the radio off entirely.

His voice still resonates in your mind, as you get out of the car. Combined with Hyewon’s and Yuri’s moans, they form an inglorious, deadly symphony to fuel your hatred. Visuals of you screaming, scratching, beating fragile, pale skin pop up in your mind. This wave of emotions, it’s crashing in on you like a tsunami. Sadly, it doesn’t bury you. It only makes you angrier.

Push open the door and Eunbi gasps. She kneels on the living room floor, right next to the carpet. Her clothes are in tatters, her knees covered in bruises, but worst of all, her face is ruined with scratches, blood and runny mascara. It looks like someone already did the things you imagined in your head: beat her up and left her whimpering on the floor. The punishment for someone who cheats and lies.

Grab Eunbi’s lifeless arm and pull it up. Your fiance begins to cry, she begs not with words but with her eyes. The way she shakes her head is in honest fear. The potential strikes scare her, how your palm will meet her face over and over again in a loveless, hurt beating.

But you sigh.

"I can't," you squeeze out, voice cracking with every word. "I hate seeing you like this. You deserve to be thrown out and beg for money on the street. But I can't, I—"

You pull Eunbi into a hug. Her small frame melts into your arms, her feet unable to support her. She is like a wet sack, surprisingly heavy. You're barely able to drag her to the couch and watch her whimper and cry, face hidden behind her elbow.

"I still love you, Eunbi.

"Let's try again."

"Y-yes," she sobs and tightly grabs your shirt.

"Let's marry, Eunbi."

"Y-yes, th-thank you."

#

The proposal might have been a mess, but the marriage was not. Everything was meticulously planned, and even the tiniest details went perfectly. No one knew of Eunbi's affair, and you kept it this way. 

Even after your marriage, your luck did not run out. Everything was working out. Two promotions in a year, a new, bigger house, two cars, a part time job for Eunbi that she really enjoys. Talking about Eunbi, she became attentive, caring, adoring, loving to the point where your wound began to heal.

Eight months into your marriage, you became an actor.

No, not the type that moves to Hollywood, swims in money and earns fame with every new movie. The type who has to act all day every day. You have to pretend that it's all fine, smile at everyone, always say the right things—

Acting is lying. You lie to them, because you cannot live with her lying to you.

Eunbi does not know about the abundance of security cameras you installed around and inside the house. They are tiny, but very modern and always connected to your phone for constant surveillance of your expensive home.

Not a single criminal has tried to enter your home—but multiple other 'criminals' entered something else.

At first, it was one guy. Tall, handsome, expensive suit. Eunbi greeted him with a smile. You watched the footage quite confused. The two of them sat down in the living room and talked for a bit. It looked like he tried to sell her something, but it also looked fake, like they were—

Role playing.

A minute later, Eunbi's arms and feet were wrapped around him as he drilled his cock deep inside her cunt. There was no sound, but you could see her moan and scream as he went faster.

Three weeks later, another guy. He seemed to not like role playing. Eunbi opened the door and his tongue was in her mouth immediately. They fucked all over the kitchen, on every damn counter. At least this guy was somewhat attractive.

Things got horrible after this. Guy after guy walked into your home and fucked your wife. Hole after hole, day after day. Whenever you were at work and she wasn't, a cock was inside her. One time, someone seemed to comment on her hair and the next day she went to dye it blonde. 

That was also the day you decided to not touch her anymore. You stay at work longer, until late at night. Work frees your mind a little, and soon they will promote you to the second highest position. 500k after taxes, seemingly infinite money, yet you still weep and down whiskey each night watching guys go to town on her.

Today, two guys arrived together. They spit roasted her on the bed, which was already covered in her juices and sweat from another guy an hour before. 

The video flashes before your dead eyes. You drop another piece of ice into the glass, watch the auburn whiskey sway and cool. Down it goes as Eunbi gets ready to take a cock up her loose asshole. For the first time, you look at the new guy who groans as Eunbi takes his cock.

His smug grin. It's the same motherfucker, the one you caught with Eunbi a bit over a year ago. 

For the first time, you stop your mindless staring at the screen. You pause the security footage as rage builds up at this stupid expression on this stupid face. Without hesitation, you reach for the glass and repeatedly smash it into the screen. It breaks in violent sparks and the room goes fully dark. 

You tear the screen off the wall, the same way you tear out the self-pity in your sorrow-filled heart. A violent kick sends the monitor into the computer and the thousand dollar set-up is reduced to broken scrap metals and torn wires.

The entire office is suddenly so dark and silent. Not that you were watching with sound, but the vivid pictures produced enough sounds in your head. It's all gone now, together with the dirty light displaying dirty pleasure. 

Don't lie to yourself; this was stupid. But as much as it was stupid, it was also necessary and it felt so right. Even though your favorite whiskey glass fell victim to your rampage, you don't regret it. You need more of this.

Throughout the entire night, you continue to mess up your workplace. You stuff bins and trash cans with everything in your office: Semi-important documents, plants, cables, liquor, chairs and especially all the unnecessary, lavish accessoires you gathered here for some reason. At dawn, the only thing that remains is a table, a chair, a laptop with a charger and a bottle of water. A frugal set-up, but more than enough for your job.

At 6:30 am, you arrive at home and jump right into bed, next to your snoring wife. With a quick glance you check her hand; the ruby embellished gold ring sparkles at her finger. A real, absurdly expensive piece of jewelry on a fake piece of shit, you think but smile nonetheless. There is some irony about it that you can't pin down yet, but you'll look for it a bit more.

#

A knock at your door. 

"Come on in," you say without looking up from your screen. It's probably the intern again, asking for help or another task. To your surprise, it's someone far more important.

"Still feels weird, when you remember what this room used to look like." A man, two decades older than you and a decade more work experience in this company carefully scoots into your office and wanders around it. "It's surprisingly vast."

You close your laptop when the man does not watch. It's out of respect, but for some reason, you do not fear him anymore. His name is Sakimoto, member of the board of directors and chairman of the staff council. Usually, there is only one reason for him to come into your office himself—and it's not a good one.

"How can I help you, Mr. Sakimoto?" you say with an insincere smile.

"Tell me," he responds, eyes wide in either insanity or genuine interest, hard to tell with someone like him. "Why did you throw it all away? It looks like a cell."

"It—to be honest, I—

"Well that's the point. None of the stuff is helpful in any way, even worse, it's distracting, unnecessary bullshit that keeps me from focusing. I don't need it, I don't want it anymore."

Sakimoto nods at your words, his expression never changing, not even at the use of your obscene slip. Maybe being a psychopath is a job requirement for Sakimoto's position. You can't bear to look at his slight smile and wide orbs any longer.

"Intriguing," he finally says and turns towards your door again. "You'll be at the board meeting tonight, 8pm flat."

"Yes, Sir," you calmly say, something grinding on your nerves as Sakimoto leaves without saying goodbye or closing the door. That's it, career over.

#

They’re gonna fire me, fuck.

This thought knocks on your mind the entire day, only getting stronger with every step you take towards the meeting room. Someone must have noticed your indefensible, erratic behavior, but how? Everyone was gone that night like they all are every night. You made sure of it by checking the nearby offices of your subordinates and co-workers. You even made sure to stuff all your furniture and electronics down to the bottom of the waste containers.

Maybe the board had a meeting and someone heard something? Fuck, that can’t be it, can it?

Deep breaths, calm breaths. If they know what happened, your fate is decided. You have enough money anyways. Other companies will still take you. You’re gonna be okay, this is just a small hit, a dent in the fast, unstoppable car that is you. If you’re honest, it’s a lot easier when you don’t care about the passenger or who she is fucking.

Bang the door thrice with confidence. The silence behind it becomes even more quiet, until someone urges you to enter in a strict, booming voice.

“You are a bit early,” the CEO says from the far end of the long table, his back to the setting sun visible through large windows behind him. The other board members look at you, some with a perfect poker face as if they are in serious business talks, others seem amused, maybe even a little tipsy, but what surprises you the most are those who look at you in anger and fear as if you were the grim reaper, coming for their souls.

“Better than being too late,” you respond with charme, your calm heart picking up in pace. 

“That is true!” the vice-CEO shouts and most board members fall into a short fit of laughter. They seem so odd, maybe they are making fun of you before forcing you to sign the resignation. You can already see the stack of paper in the CEO’s hand.

“Enough of this nonsense,” the CEO shouts. The laughs evaporate instantly, yet somehow, the positive vibes remain. The vice-CEO is grinning at you, even the CEO himself cracks a smile. He gets up from his chair, the paper firmly in both of his hands, and walks around the table towards you. Your feet seem to grow roots as he stops before you.

“Congratulations, Mr. Kwon,” he says cheerfully and hands you an—

“Official Invitation to the Board of Directors,” you read out loud in utter disbelief. 

“Mr. Kwon, why do you sound so shocked?” someone in the back asks and the CEO nods towards them with a sly grin.

“I did not inform him about our vote last week. Even Mr. Sakimoto only told him to be here today.

“Mr. Kwon, do you accept our invitation? You will be the thirteenth member, as Mr. Muentrich-Schleuser will resign next month. We all think that you are physically and mentally capable, have the pedigree and skill and most importantly, the outstanding drive to push this company forward. The growth in your department has been unmatched the past few months.”

The smooth, freshly printed piece of paper is in your hand. The other members gradually rise from their seats, all looking at you intently. They seemed so much bigger, when you entered the room, but now they are just like you. All you have to do is take the CEO’s stretched out hand, and you’ll be atop a mountain you never even dreamed of reaching. 

“D-do I have any other choice?” you say cooly, only your stutter betrays your facade. A couple of chuckles, the CEO looks at the ceiling and pretends to think.

“Well, you can’t go back to your apartment, as your successor has already been chosen. You could be transferred to Japan and lead the department there. It’d be the same pay as here but—”

He leans closer to whisper.

“—you’d have to pay more taxes there.

“What will it be, Mr. Kwon?”

#

You find yourself on the road again. Somehow, fate has you connected to your car. Whenever something big happened or is about to happen, you find yourself sitting in it, music blasting loud and numbing everything out. Tonight however, you purposefully turn the radio off and drive carefully. 

Let me celebrate somewhere; but where?

You won’t go home to your wife of course. She is more than undeserving to celebrate this moment with you. Most of your other friends and relatives are either asleep already or would ask stupid questions about Eunbi and why she isn’t celebrating alongside you. No, you need someone to not ask you about anything and just parties the night away.

Ah fuck it; strangers will do.

Park your car at the side of the road, don’t care for a ticket, hell, don’t give a fuck if someone decides to steal it. It’s used and you can easily buy a new one tomorrow if you want to. You wander down the street, busy with party-goers, drunk, high or both, some are a lot more focused and carry their drunk, high or both friends home. You loosen your tie, no need to look formally if everyone around you doesn’t either.

Suddenly, a familiar sight, a wooden structure with warm lights and that unmistakable smell. It’s almost nostalgic, magnetic, unavoidable, you just have to walk in there. As you grab the handle of the door and see the long, smooth, wooden counter, it hits you.

Oh my God.

“Oh, wow, haven’t seen you here in forever,” the bartender says when he sees you. His face hasn’t changed, his smile is the same, but you need a few moments to really recognize him again.

He takes a step back and smirks, firm grasp on a bottle of tequila.

“Well, yes, it has,” you respond and walk up to him. “It has easily been a year since my last visit, how the fuck do you remember me?”

“I have this tendency to remember people, especially because you were the last man to ever take her backstage.”

He winks and you throw your head back. Time flies, it really does, yet you find yourself sitting on the exact same stool on a very similar night with the same bartender. Even your wife is still a whore, fucking the same guys, probably right now as well. 

“So I take it that Hyewon is not coming here anymore?” you sigh and point at an expensive bottle of wine. The bartender swiftly uncorks it.

“I did not say that. She is just a lot more, let’s call it, picky. Okay, you know what?”

With an elegant pour he fills you a glass and places the dark ruby liquid on the counter before continuing.

“You can ask her yourself. She’ll be on stage in a couple minutes.”

A waft of wine hits your nostrils, but it’s a lot weaker than the words coming from his mouth. The thought of Hyewon blows you away, stronger than any liquor, no matter how high the amount of alcohol or the years it has matured. Hyewon, the kind stranger, the hot stranger, the stranger to fuck your stress out. Hyewon, the crazy friend, the bisexual friend, the let's-have-a-bar-backstage- threesome-with-this-hot-singer-friend. She was a big reason why you got over Eunbi cheating on you—but it has sadly not led you to the brightest of futures.

Maybe I should have stayed with her.

Take a sip of the wine. It’s delicious, celebratory, a drink for victors who have gained status and wealth beyond imagination, and you are now part of that group. At least you feel like it, even as the bar gets flooded with more and more people from all walks of life. Some look as well-dressed as you are, others clearly struggle to make ends meet in some months, but they're all here for the same thing.

Wait, what is Hyewon going to do on stage? Is she going to sing?

As you still wonder and savor the wine, one of the waitresses moves from light switch to light switch and slowly but surely fills the room in darkness. The crowd goes quiet as tension rises. Everyone is excited for sure, but none of them reach the level of thrill you feel when the spotlight illuminates the stage and a beautifully dressed woman appears behind the curtain.

Resounding cheers, applause, the occasional toast around you, inside you, but all you can do is watch in awe. Hyewon looks angelic, on one hand illegally beautiful, on the other illegally hot. Something about her is distant yet warm, unreachable yet magnetic, strangulating for the heart yet easy for the lunges—she is oxygen, or even better—the breathable air of heaven.

Hyewon.

Confidence in her stance which silences the crowd again, confidence in her hands which raise the mic to her glossy lips, most importantly, confidence in her voice as she starts the song with a powerful low note that almost throws you off the stool. 

It shouldn’t be such a shock. Hyewon’s voice is mesmerizing, you should have noticed it when she spoke to you or at least when she moaned, but only now you see the full beauty of it. It’s befitting of her, and you will enjoy every second of it. She carries this song gracefully, giving it a special touch that will keep the listeners yearning for a studio version, which would be an efficient side hustle for her.

Wait, what if Hyewon becomes a musician, with songs on the radio and the first glimmers of fame? What if she is already quite popular, an underground artist on the rise, from covering songs to writing her own? What if there is a whole story happening in her life that you missed entirely, just because you stuck to your whore-wife and mind-numbing job? This fear of having missed out on something this big and beautiful, maybe even life itself, shakes your heart with a strong aching, until—

Another voice. The first verse, the pre-chorus, the build-up, it all leads to another voice coming in with unbridled power and passion. It cannot be contained in the way it booms through the speakers and puts goosebumps on every single person in this room. You’re included in this list, but when you recognize the voice and see the woman step out on stage, those goosebumps turn to a full-on rush of nostalgic emotions. 

Back then, her singing was the catalyst for an unforgettable night. Unexpectedly wild, a lot of fun, but the stinging arrow of envy made things bitter-sweet for you. Watching the two of them be so close, intimate and loving had you yearning for more than just enraged sex. You wanted this too, and there was a time where Eunbi provided it. But the veil has been lifted. There is no love, just despair.

Yuri.

It’s certainly a touching thing, seeing that Hyewon and Yuri are still close friends, connected through the language of music. Apparently they were always here, right in this inconspicuous bar, pulling the stress out of people with nothing but their voices, which combine at the end of the second verse and rush ahead into the chorus. It’s an invasion of your ears, low and high, soft and powerful, caring and overwhelming. 

This performance is greatness, the best of what humanity has to offer—and you feel like the embodiment of an embittered, wasted life.

#

Yuri hits the final note with such perfection that the first few people have already jumped up from their seats and cheered without holding back. Thunderous applause is an understatement to how hard everyone claps their hands or stomps the ground. They’re shaking the entire bar, which has the bartender holding onto some of the bottles with a worried smile. You on the other hand are glued to your seat in deep regret. Not enough to make you cry, but enough to keep you from giving the two angels what they deserve. 

Take a look at your wine. It has been untouched in your glass for a while now and it’d be a waste to throw it away just because you’re facing the cold, harsh truth again. What even is true at this point? Not the stuff you promise your customers and certainly not your relationship. Fuck it, take a large sip.

“They are awesome,” the bartender gasps. “They should finally do this professionally, this stage is too small for them.”

“Yeah,” you answer with a weak smile. “Imagine an entire stadium full of people being this ecstatic. The world would hear it.”

“Well, I tried my best convincing them,” he says and looks right next to you with a sly grin. “Maybe you have more success than I did.”

Time freezes when you feel the familiar busty body around your own. You did not see Hyewon launching herself at you, don't realize what's happening until she starts talking.

"Oh my God, it has been so long! Wait, is it really you?"

"Hyewon, I, uhm, yeah. I'm me."

"It's so crazy to see you again! How are you, how is life?"

"Well, it's—"

Hyewon squeezes your body tighter. She pouts when you look down at her until you finally get it. Return the embrace and Hyewon squeals in happiness.

"You don't have to say anything," she coos softly. "I'm just happy to see you again."

"Likewise," you respond with a sigh.

You could stand around like this for eternity. Hyewon's deep breaths and her steadily decreasing heart rate start to heal you from within. The pain and suffering caused by Eunbi's constant cheating, it doesn't matter right now. You deserve a break from the mess that is your life—you feel like you can celebrate your promotion for real now.

"Hyewon, I—no, you. You were wonderful on stage. Your singing, it blew me away."

As you gush about her performance, Hyewon blushes and disconnects the hug. You notice that she has this heavenly aura around her, like she is spraying sparks of love and happiness that try to ignite everyone around her. No wonder that she had this excellent stage presence during her duet.

"Thank you so much—

"Oh, babe~ I'm here~"

You jump at Hyewon's sudden call, which is not directed at you of course. Before your eyes can search for the person Hyewon just called babe, they have already arrived. Delicate fingers entwined with Hyewon's, they both go for a quick peck on the lips.

"Yu-Yuri?" 

Your shriek makes the duo—the couple?—look at you with wide eyes, glossy and full of love for life—for each other? There is still too much to process for your brain, it can't handle another input. 

"Hey, is everything alright?" Yuri asks with concern in her voice and a caring hand on your elbow.

"Ye-yeah, ju-just not up to date at all. Are you two like… a thing?"

Hyewon has this bright smile on her face. She wraps an arm around Yuri's hip and the younger girl leans her head on her collarbone. Yuri raises a hand up to your face. There is a simple silver ring on it, and you see her eyes scintillate when she shows you it.

"We married two months ago," Hyewon giggles. "So much has happened since we met last time. I can’t really sum it up."

"Don't feel forced to explain yourself," you respond with an awkward laugh. "We had a short stint a while back, I only saw you falling for each other—

beyond that, our lives have happened far apart. But not going to lie, I'd love to hear your story if you're down for it."

Hyewon and Yuri share a glance and then start to laugh for seemingly no reason. It turns into a full fit that suddenly has you in a tight, three way hug. 

"We'd love to," Yuri says when she catches her breath again. "After all, you somewhat got us together. I told Hye that we should try to invite you to the marriage."

"Nah, it's good. How about I pay for the first round of drinks because of your amazing performance and then for the second round 'cuz I got a big promotion today."

"What if I want a third round though?" Hyewon asks jokingly.

"Babe, you can never handle three rounds," Yuri responds with sass and pulls the two of you to a nearby table.

"Looks like you just qualified yourself to pay for the third round then, Yuri."

#

"Like I said," Yuri babbles, her pitch high as the love story reaches its conclusion. "Hye was so scared to tell her father, but I had already bought the rings and planned the dresses, the cake—her mom was literally involved in everything—so on a Saturday night I poured her a third tequila shot—look how done she is after only two!"

Yuri points at her wife, whose head rests on her shoulder with heavy eyes and a rosy hue on her cheeks. Hyewon is in a drunk-dazed heaven, smiling stupidly, while trying to disagree with sounds that almost sound like words.

"Anyways, she was loose and so I dragged her over, we told him and—it was a stressful minute, I tell you that—after a minute he hugged us wordlessly. We kinda had no idea what it meant but during the wedding he looked happy, at peace basically."

"Okay, wow that is—"

Even your tenth reaction to Hyewon and Yuri's story, from threesome over dating to coming out to marriage, is cut short, this time by Hyewon groaning out a functioning sentence from her lip stick and alcohol covered lips.

"Babe, you, you forgot the part where, when you had to quit your job then."

"Oh, I'd love to hear about that too!" you quickly add, reminiscing about their amazing vocal performance. "Why did you decide to only sing for a living?"

Yuri puts on a sad smile as she strokes Hyewon's hair. Her gaze rests upon her empty glass, her orbs turn glassy for a moment then she shakes her head as if to shrug off what's bothering her.

"That's just about, you know, my former job. When I quit because we wanted to focus on music, some were angry because they thought I abandoned the team for childish dreams while others were… not so supportive of us. Ah, just forget it, it's fine."

"Sorry you had to go through it and sorry for bringing it up," you quickly apologize.

"Jeez, I said it's fine, don—"

"Let me make it up to you with a third round and the promise to meet the two of you here again."

Raise your hand to call the waiter while Yuri searches for something in Hyewon's pocket, but the older keeps nuzzling closer and closer as she dozes off. When the drinks arrive, Yuri slips you a phone.

"Put in your numbern" she whispers. "I bet she'll want to hear more from you too."

"Thank you. I assume you don't want to hear from me then?" you chuckle.

"That's right!" Yuri shouts and lifts her glass on high, so the entire bar can hear her. "I'm only here for the drinks. Cheers!"

#

Even the greatest party needs to come to an end at some point. 3am is when you pay for the drinks and call a cab. You barely find your way up the drive way into your house, which is not that bad, because now you don’t need to go sleep in the same bed as Eunbi and instead have the couch for you alone. It has never been so cozy.

Speaking of Eunbi, her acting is almost great. She apparently was so worried about you last night, and all the other nights the last couple of months. Now she found you on the couch, an obvious hangover by the way you scrunch your forehead. She puts her hand on your shoulder, rubbing it in circles, playing the worried wife like it’s in her script. 

“No, this looks wrong, I swear,” you try to laugh it off but Eunbi is just getting closer. God, you can smell all the other people on her. It’s like she showered in a dozen different men’s perfume and deodorant just to taunt you. Ignore the mocking, you’re above this. 

“Then what is it supposed to look like, babe?” Eunbi asks, her eyes wide and shimmering. “I’m willing to believe you, but you have to tell me why you got so wasted.”

“Well, I…” 

It’s best to mix the lie with some truth to the point where you might believe it yourself.

“I, surprisingly, got a great promotion, and we went out partying for a long ti—”

“Oh my God, babe, that’s awesome!”

Out of nowhere, Eunbi casts aside all her concern and launches herself atop of you. You immediately tense up. Feeling the incredible curves of her body has never felt so wrong, so traumatic. Groan and put a palm to your temple to signal her your distress, but she continues to bounce on your lap. 

“All your heart work paid off, I’m so proud!” she shouts gleefully, her arms tight around your throat in what looks like a loving embrace but feels a lot more like someone strangling you. “I almost thought you were out there getting addicted to whiskey every night.”

And you are addicted to men, Eunbi.

Addicted to sex, to being unloyal, to being creamed by other men.

You are the addict, you heartbreaking bitch.

But the words don’t come out. They run circles in your head while Eunbi’s clothed entrance rubs circles over your not-growing, not-aroused dick. You’re not going to surrender to her fuckable body, instead gently pushing her sides and groaning unduly. 

“Yeah, no, this was a one time thing. I should sober up, my head fucking hurts.”

“Should I get you some water and painkillers?” Eunbi asks and gets off of your lap to jog to the kitchen.

“Yes, please—”

—and then get out of my life.

#

The following months brought some drastic changes. Not only is your work harder, it’s also not optional anymore. You started to put up better numbers because of your overtime work, which was due to Eunbi. Now, you can’t escape it anymore. Working from 6am to 10pm is normal, hell, on some days you wish you could sleep three hours. 

But everytime you look at your new bank account—can’t let Eunbi have all the access—it all seems worth it. The pay is ungodly, you have way too much money. Even after taxes and buying two new cars to not look ‘broke’ next to all the other board members, you still have no clue what to do with all of it. Two or three more years, and you could retire wealthy beyond belief. Begs the question why these people usually don’t and continue working.

Another change to your life comes through Hyewon and Yuri. By themselves, they installed a new social life in your life. At least two times per month, the three of you meet up in a bar. You get to know new people, entirely different from you, but also basically the same. Everyone is tired from work, so it’s time to drink and party. You almost forgot how good it feels to have a variety of friends—from those that are perfect for loose parties to those that deeply care about you. 

Hyewon is the best of those friends. Nothing about your brief yet intense past seems to stick on her. She is chill around you, goofy and not at all awkward. Yuri is quite similar, though a bit more extravagant and flamboyant, which makes them the absolute gay-power couple. They just click, it’s perfect, young love. 

“Reminds me of myself.” Your lips betray you.

“What?” Hyewon shouts back, over the obnoxiously loud bass of the rock band on stage.

“Ah, nothing. Just a little envious~” you respond with fake annoyance and raise your glass for a toast. Hyewon hesitates, very out of character.

“Nah, I’m not toasting your glass before you tell me what you mean,” Hyewon says and stares into your soul with her drunk, teary eyes. Maybe she is not that drunk? Maybe you can finally open up about it?

“Really, it’s nothing.”

“Nuh-uh, tell me outside.”

And with that, Hyewon walks out the front door, you in tow as your tie becomes completely undone and your shirt is a mess. Outside you do not find privacy, just a lot of strangers talking, laughing, smoking. This time you pull Hyewon further down the street next to your parked Porsche, where it’s less likely for someone to hear you.

“Now you gotta… tell me,” Hyewon babbles.

“You are drunk, you’re not gonna remember it anyways.”

“Nuh-uh,” she says again, hitting your chest with her long, painted nails. “You need to spill it now, I’ll remember. Like I remember you only asking about me and Yuri and never talking about yourself.”

She’s spot on. You never wanted to talk about it. Eunbi’s name is pain, you don’t need to make the newfound pleasure and joy in your life go away because of her. This cheating whore—she should just go away at this point.

“You remember why we met?” you carefully ask Hyewon, testing if she is capable of understanding even though she is under heavy influence.

“Yes, your girl cheated on you.”

“Guess what: I married that girl.”

“Oh,” Hyewon says and after some delay smiles brightly. “So you talked it out and things got better? That’s why you didn’t come back, right?”

“Let’s just say that,” you gulp and your hands form fists. “Some people don’t change.”

“Fuck,” Hyewon’s pointy heels hit the sidewalk hard. “I’m sorry about that. Was it a bad divorce?”

“Huh? She still lives with you? In the same house? You share the same bed?”

“I—I did not divorce her.”

“I-I did not say that!”

“But it’s true!” Hyewon steps closer and grabs your collar. “I can see it in your eyes, you can’t let go. You hate her, but you can’t throw her away, although she deserves it.”

You want to grab Hyewon’s wrist, push her to the side and run away shouting words of denial that you are stronger than this, that she is wrong, that she doesn’t get it. However, Hyewon doesn’t deserve it—even worse, she is absolutely right.

“Yes,” you whisper.

“Yes,” she whispers and lets go. The two of you lean onto the Porsche in silence, watching customers of the bar pass by without worries, without hate, without defeat. The liquor has done wonders, turning a negative week positive. The same can’t be said about you. You feel exposed, utterly defeated by Hyewon’s words. 

“Fuck you,” you groan, face hidden in hands. “Fuck you for being right, Hyewon.”

“Sorry, but you had to hear it,” she responds and pats your back. “You need to tear her out of your life, like a terribly written chapter in a book or like awful lyrics that you wrote while high on midnight wine and sex.

“You get me?”

“I think.”

“Good.”

The world might not be good at this moment, yet Hyewon’s reassurance, her slow pats on your shoulder, her strong posture in her stunning red dress and the loving, tipsy smile on her beaming face are enough to show you the light of a better world.

“What about you?” you suddenly ask, wiping away tears you did not weep. “Something you’re hiding or keeping down?”

Hyewon looks away, her smile filling with a hint of agony, though nothing of her stunning beauty fades.

“You got me there. It’s something that’s been bugging me for maybe half a year. I know I shouldn’t but—I can’t get away from the thought, you know?”

“I would know if you would tell me,” you say playfully. Now it’s your turn to massage her shoulder, give reassurance, though you don’t know if you have any.

“It’s just that I—

“I want to have a child—my child. I love Yuri more than anything, I will never regret choosing her and only her, but this longing… it does not go away.”

“And adopting is not an option? S-sorry if that was insensitive…”

“No, it’s fine. I just want to be pregnant and raise my child together with her. You know what, forget that. It has to remain a dream.”

Suddenly, a friend of both you and Hyewon sprints out of the bar and looks around in dramatic panic until he finds the two of you. He takes leaps towards you, almost lands face first on the concrete before catching his small frame and coming to a halt.

“Hyewon,” he gasps out in between huffs and puffs. “Yuri is—she is so full, completely—you know?”

“That girl,” Hyewon sighs.

#

You return home on the same night. Your chat with Hyewon sucked out all the power the liquor usually has over you. It means that you are able to think about her words and take her seriously, but you’ll also have to live with Eunbi laying next to you, smelling like foreign sweat and cum again. You could choose the couch, but you haven’t gotten around to having it replaced with a couch where it’s better to sleep on. 

The moment you open the main door, you hear screams coming from the bedroom. Deja Vu, not the subtle kind, more like a fucking train running you over. You still remember the one time she did it almost two years ago where you caught her. This is basically the same. The same sounds, the same gut wrenching punch to your gut, hell, even the groans by the guy sound the same—

Could it be?

Eunbi, in her brand new bikini, rides the same fucking guy from back then while he has his disgusting, greedy hands all over her skin, spanking it and making her scream even louder. 

Like a silent assassin, you sneak towards the slightly ajar bedroom door. Dimmed lights illuminate the room which is filled by the smell of sex and the repetitive sounds of skin on skin. You take out your phone and use it as a mirror to catch a glimpse of what’s happening.

“You like that, you whore?” he growls at her, smiling stupidly dazed.

“Yes, oh God! Hit my tits!”

“I swear to God, your husband must be such a faggot for not immediately fucking you in that outfit. You look like a fucking breeding cow!”

“Yes, I’m cumming!”

“He can’t make you cum!”

The guy squeezes, then twists Eunbi’s breasts as she trembles, screams and squirts to an absolutely ridiculous level, one that even pornography can ot reach. She lets herself fall forward and the guy finishes inside her after a couple of thrusts. His rancid cum leaks out from every corner of Eunbi’s loose pussy. 

You almost throw up. You hurry towards the front door and hide in the back of your car. There is rage, embarrassment, pain—you can’t confront her, hell, you can’t even confront him when he leaves the house like a king, the sun slowly rising in the background. 

Your mind is empty, empty to the point it’s completely clear. You wait for Eunbi to fall asleep, then collect all the camera’s you have installed and throw them in a public trash bin. Afterwards, you clean up the house, dusting off as quietly as possible while also collecting dirty clothes to wash them (there is fucking leftover cum on some of her clothes and towels).

Lastly, you lay down next to her for a second and check if she has cleaned herself properly. 

This fucking whore, I—

“Honey, sorry for not making it last night,” you shout, pretending to come home at 5am. Eunbi shrieks and shoots up, still dressed in the brown bikini, still cum oozing from her cunt. She tries to hide herself underneath a blanket.

“Ba-babe, tha-that’s totally fine,” she responds nervously, looking very puzzled because of your tired yet bright smile.

“I saw you cleaned the house, it looks wonderful!” you compliment her.

“I, uhm.”

“Hey, even the washing machine is running—and did you bring out the trash already?”

“Well, I—”

“God, you look so hot in that bikini,” you lean down to her and cup her bountiful breasts. “I could devour you right now. Did you really wear it just for me?”

“I—

Eunbi hesitates, turns away for a second to look out of the window. She is thinking about it, clearly. This is where her final redemption can start, the way to salvation is to reveal all of her sin, the only way she can come back is to…

“I’m glad you noticed, babe,” she says with the fakest of smiles. “And yes, I would only wear this for you. B-but I’m not feeling it right now, you understand?”

You nod.

“I love you, Eunbi.”

You lying devil.

#

How did you end up here?

“Are you sure about this, Yuri?”

“Yes, do you really want this, babe?”

Yuri folds her arms and raises both her eyebrows.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Yes, I want this!”

With all doubts seemingly out of the way, the three of you make your way to the bedroom. Hyewon’s and Yuri’s apartment is small, but very cozy, the perfect place to live a relaxed, problem free life. 

But they decided to get you involved. You’re a problem here. Sure, you might have helped at starting their relationship in the first place, but now you’re here for chaos. 

Hyewon sinks onto the sheets first, Yuri’s fingers entangled with hers. Your fingers find the hem of Hyewon’s short dress. The angelic garment feels incredible, pure even in your hand and so you only hike it up with care, deeply in awe of what you’re about to see.

Meanwhile, Hyewon is a lot less pedantic and awestruck. She yanks Yuri closer, shortly fiddles with the button of her jeans and then quickly starts to undress her wife. The denim is quickly gone and before Hyewon can attack the white lace panties, Yuri shoves her lover's face into them. 

“Use your precious tongue, honey~”

Oops, you almost started to stare for too long. Better continue your hike up Hyewon’s beautiful, bountiful legs to her holy sanctuary, covered by the same lace she so greedily licks and nibbles on. Your digits hook into the white fabric and slowly pull it down, making Hyewon melt further into Yuri’s pussy. 

“You’re getting so excited, huh~?” Yuri teases and pats Hyewon’s head. The older girl nods while you start to fold her dress to finally see her wet, shaven cunt. You can smell the excitement, the arousal, the anticipation of what is about to happen to her. Now you consider yourself lucky to not have slept with anyone, which potentially avoided any and all STDs. 

It lets you create trouble.

#

How did you end up here?

It’s two days after Hyewon officially asked you to impregnate her. Tomorrow she will ask her wife in what you can only imagine will be the most stressful talk in her entire life. Today however, is not tomorrow. Today is the day you got your STD test back. Hyewon wanted you to take it for if things go her way and Yuri actually agrees to this chaotic proposal.

To no surprise, the results are negative. After all, you haven’t touched Eunbi in forever and by the way she lets seemingly everyone cum inside her, you wouldn’t be surprised if she caught anything. In the end, that was not enough however. You needed to make sure.

A bottle of champagne, neatly placed on the living room table. You put some decorations around it. Eunbi will appear here any minute, you told her you have a surprise waiting, something that will make her speechless, breathless even. 

“Hey, honey,” Eunbi announces her return, grocery bags in hands. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”

“Eunbi, I—the reason why I even took a day off is—nah, come on over! Let’s raise a glass first, shall we!”

The glasses are already filled, well prepared. Eunbi seems utterly perplexed. “Champagne in the middle of the day? Honey, what are you planning~?”

Trouble, bitch.

#

“Oh, yes, eat me, Hye, eat me.”

Yuri has started to tear off her t-shirt, the top underneath as well, to sit on Hyewon’s face completely naked. You on the other hand have only fished out your hard cock, which the incredible display of passion and erotic has surely made harder than ever. The straps of Hyewon’s dress have also started to fall down her shoulders. Finally, the chaos is coming together.

“The two of you are so hot,” you compliment and lean towards them. 

“I know,” Yuri responds in between moans and grinds her soaking pussy more and more on Hyewon’s mouth. “Your mouth is so pretty, so go-good.”

“Hyewon, are you ready?” you ask the woman below you, her nipples peeking out from her dress, her legs spread wide and invitingly and her pussy twitching when you rub up and down her labia. 

Hyewon finds her way out from in between Yuri’s thighs and rests her head back against her lover’s tight stomach. Deep breaths and eyes of absolute need signal you that yes, she is more than ready. The same goes for Yuri, who is on the one hand very fixated on rubbing and drooling all over Hyewon’s collarbone, while her eyes are focused on your cock.

“Watch him closely,” Yuri whispers. “He is going to give you our child.”

With that, you push inside of Hyewon’s awaiting pussy.

#

“What are we celebrating? Did you get another promotion?”

Eunbi looks genuinely curious. Strange, she hasn’t asked about your work at any previous point in time, unless it was about when you would be home. Keep the sarcasm to yourself, you don't want to spoil the actual surprise.

"Oh, sweety," you laugh with full bass. "No more promotions needed, we are set for life. Which is why I bought a new house!"

"No, you didn't!" Eunbi shouts and almost drops the glass.

"Careful, careful, don't spill it."

"Oh my God, you are crazy. Where is this house? Still in Korea or…"

You raise your glass towards her and smirk.

"I'll only tell you if you would do me the honor."

Eunbi reciprocates the smirk.

"Of course, darling."

The two of you set the glasses to your lips. Your eyes are wide open, your heart beats in an uncontrollable flurry as you watch Eunbi down the champagne quickly, almost in one go. You're quick to follow, while a new wind of fresh air fills your nostrils.

This should not feel this good.

#

"Ah!"

Hyewon screeches when you pierce her tight pussy open. She clings onto her wife's thighs, gripping them tightly while blurting her initial, high-pitched moans straight into the pussy above her.

"You take it so well, baby," Yuri groans and rubs Hyewon's breasts with the sweaty palms of her hands. "Squeeze him dry."

Place both hands on Hyewon’s hips and begin to slowly pump into the woman, your cock stretching her walls, filling her whole. When Yuri suddenly starts to play with the small, hidden clit above the entrance, Hyewon becomes noticebly wetter, to the point where you hear the wet sounds of her arousal. It spreads around her crotch, your crotch, her legs, your legs, the bed’s legs, until everything is a glorious mess.

“Oh, I can feel him inside you, baby,” Yuri husks as her hand roams Hyewon’s abdomen. She has gotten off her lover's face and is now gazing at it, her eyes lustful, demanding for Hyewon to be bred. “Soon, I’ll feel something else knock from inside.”

“Yu-Yuri, I’m getting close!” Hyewon screeches, her fingers wrapping around your wrists as you grip her pale body tighter and tighter as she gets tighter and tighter. “I’m about to—”

“Don’t hold back,” Yuri demands and her hand slips down to Hyewon’s clit again and rubs furiously. “I want to see you cum, cum as you finally receive this gift.”

Well, there goes the last shadow of a doubt that Yuri might have something against this crazy idea. Turns out she is even more insane than you or Hyewon. She gets off on you pounding, dominating her wife and she does the same, finally choking Hyewon’s throat gently while bringing her to a loud, splashing orgasm. From the corner of her eye, you see her urging you to not cum yet. 

If she just knew how hard this is with Hyewon wringing all over your lubricated, diamond-like cock. Her pussy sucks you in, takes your breath away, yet you are able to make Yuri’s wish come true. Just close your eyes and imagine something normal is happening, a walk in the park, a nice summer breeze, the beautiful green of the leaves—

“You are so hot, baby, eat me~”

Yuri climbs on top of Hyewon’s face again, her subtle ass turned towards you as she slams her pussy on Hyewon’s panting mouth and rubs herself all over the most flushed, most perfect features to ever graze the earth. Hyewon is barely able to stick out her tongue to tickle Yuri’s clit and it’s so endearing, you just have to make it more difficult for her.

Fold Hyewon. It's as easy as folding a piece of paper. Hyewon’s feet dangle in the air, her toes curl frantically, trying to reach the ceiling to find grip, but she is helpless. At first she lost control over her body due to the mind-blowing orgasm, now it’s because Yuri and you use her as you please. Hyewon is a tool for pleasure and she couldn’t feel more pleasure.

“Your tongue, baby, put it in—ah!” Yuri’s climax was predictable. Her small frame trembles throughout, her adorable butt is right in front of you. You take a risk and fold Hyewon further, your lips now right on Yuri’s cheek. Your lick right across it. “N-not you! B-but don’t stop now!”

So you continue. Your tongue travels all over Yuri’s cheeks, an adventure almost as good as the adventure your cock takes inside Hyewon, exploring every single place inside her scorching cunt. You eventually end up in Yuri’s butt, twirling your tongue, getting her addictive taste on your tastebuds. Sadly, you’re unable to go all out on Hyewon in the meantime, so she scrapes your shoulders, probably feeling neglected. When you look down however, she opens her mouth wide and begs in the most adorable, lewd voice:

“Share?”

You drool right into the awaiting Hyewon, transferring the taste of her wife’s asshole, but it’s not enough, you need to dive into her lips and force her tongue around in her mouth. There is no other option, you need to melt into Hyewon to give her the perfect child, a child conceived under the most ridiculous, feverish and unexplainable circumstances possible.

Yuri’s nails dig in your neck.

“Enough fun. Give her your fucking cum!”

Open your eyes a final time to find Hyewon, fucked silly, sweat, tears, girl cum all over her face and hair, eyes barely open, mouth barely closed—why is she more perfect, the messier she gets? You thrust deeply a couple of times and with a final sprint, you finish the race, with Hyewon bred and Yuri rubbing her clit in a daze. 

“Don’t pull out yet,” she babbles. “I need to—fuck—I need to get the plug first.”

#

“It needs to look like champagne, untraceable, no weird smells or anything.

“Yes, I know that that is fucking elaborate and costly, I don’t care.

“Do you want to be on the board or not? I thought so.

“We have a deal then.

“Hm? No, her death does not need to be quick.”

Infact, I want it to be as long and painful as possible.

# 20 years later #

You open the window and watch the wind splash water against the shore of Malta. This view alone is worth thirty million euros apparently—you’re inclined to agree. The blue of the ocean meets the white stones, it’s a perfect match. No matter how rough the wind comes and goes, no matter how high the sea levels may rise, these two will never betray each other.

A knock on your front door. The way she knocks is unmistakable. Ever since moving to this long forgotten, barely reachable island, you have never felt the need to hurry about anything. It’s all calm and quiet out here—you’d need to go back to Korea for your life to be busy again. But if you’d go back again, your need to see her would be too big.

You couldn’t do that to her mothers.

“Hello, dear Godfather,” the beautiful girl says with a smile and playfully bows her head.

“Hello, dear Godchild,” you return the smile and the bow. “Didn’t your mother teach you how to properly bow?”

“Which one?” she asks, not able to contain her laughter. “The one that sings or the one that sings?”

“It’s nice to see you again, Minju.”

I missed you, my daughter.

(A/N: I hope you all had a happy june/Pride month!)

[low-budget-korra]

Honestly you're overreacting. The intimacy coordinator thing didn't make waves at all outside on social media. The idea that Anora winning is "dangerous " is utter bs. I do think that intimacy coordinators should be there but making a boogeyman out the film isn't gonna solve anything.

Also "Mikey was probably exploited and doesn't realise" is such a horrifically condescending and insulting way to talk about her, she isn't a child. Unlike those other examples you mentioned, she has the resources for help available to her and has spoken about how safe she felt and how she notes the backlash and look forward to working with ICs in the future. But I guess its Believe All Women until they say something you don't agree with, right?

It wasn't even the only Best Picture nominee to not have one. (And Margaret Qualley has spoken about how horrible filming certain scenes of The Substance were and no one cared). But I know you wouldn't be weighting this pearlclutching post if any of them had won because the Internet didn't tell you to care about them.

Yeah I'm overreacting for understanding the importance of a professional and for not wanting abuse, harassment and uncomfortable situation happening in scenes where the actors are the most vulnerable.

Do you really, really think that the winner of the biggest Hollywood Award doesn't send a message from and for the industry? If not, you're just naive, I'm sorry.

Sure, Mikey is a grown woman but she is still a young and inexperienced actress. And guess what, putting your actress through unnecessary and not artistic shooted sex and nude scenes is kind of exploiting her. And this does not mean he is abusive or a creep, I'm not saying this. But he is a man making a movie about a sensitive topic surrounding women, it's not crazy to think that his male gaze gets in the way of some scenes that could be better if it was a woman directing them.

"but I guess it's believe all women until they say something you don't agree right?" Okay Sean Baker, I see it's you lmao. But seriously tho, it's good that she felt that way and everything. Again, I'm NOT mad at her, not at all. My ""anger"" is towards the director.

Ooh look who is being condescending now... You're probably talking about the Pump It Up scene where Margaret said it was like the hardest scene for her to shot bc of the close ups on her body. But the thing that you seem to not understand is about what is necessary and unnecessary in a scene. For instance, it was necessary for Sue to have this scene exactly the way it was shot? Yes, because she is seen as merchandise other than a person, so she is often shot like that, like a merchandise. And is one of the premises of The Substance. Now for Anora, do we really need all those sex scenes who tell us nothing new about the character or her relationships and are not even "artistically" shot? The movie is supposedly an ally to sex workers and yet reduces their main character into her work and the men in her life. She is basically treated like Sue, the difference is that Coralie Fargeat intended to treat Sue as a merchandise, meanwhile Sean Baker acted all "white savior" thinking he was doing this great help and revolution towards how ppl view sex workers when he was actually doing the same: Treating Anora more as merchandise than person. (At least In the first half of the movie)

And why do i say this? Okay let's talk about Anora. What are Anora's dreams? What are her fears? What does she like to do in her free time? Does she have any hobbies? Or religion? We know little to nothing about Anora besides her work and work relations. And the script doesn't decide if she is supposed to be a baddie or stupidly naive. Sure these two traits can coexist in a character but the way the script does is just not good. In summoring, who is Anora? She is a sex worker who lives with her sister, they don't seem to be close with each other. She also has a beef with the management of the club she works on and beef with a colleague. And she has a Russian background.

In comparison, let's see Ivan. Ivan is rich and comes from a traditional and conservative family. He is that kind of guy that is so rich he doesn't give a F about how much he spends and at a first look he seems really cool and someone you want to be friends with. He likes to challenge/get the attention of his parents, yet at the time is afraid of their punishment. He is impulsive. He likes to play video games, parties and smoking. He is childish and spoiled af, and seems to never really had faced any consequences for his actions. And he doesn't really change, he is the same from start to finish. And Boros, Boros is a family dude who babysits Ivan, and had to deal with his bullshits for years. He is also afraid of Ivan's parents, especially Ivan's mother. We know his family situation may be screwed after he left his grandson baptist to deal with Ivan's bs. He is a decent man.

See the difference?

Anyway....you may not even read all this but still.

[kingconia]

could i request Vil with gn!younger sibling that looks up to Neige?

A/N: That was actually kind of fun to write. Poor Vil, he just can't take a break from Neige's fans...

GN!YOUNGER SIBLING OF VIL, WHO LOOKS UP TO NEIGE CONSTANTLY

— Since Vil was always working, he was prepared to miss changes in your character and life. You were growing up, getting new hobbies, and... Oh? You wanted to became an actor as well? Really? What made you–

— ...What do you mean you want to become like Neige Le Blanche?!

— I don't think he would be mad, most like disappointed and genuinely betrayed by this statement of yours. Why of all celebrities that existed you chose Neige?

— He will be very insecure because of that. You are his sibling, his family—if he is not enough for you, then how can he be enough for auditory and other people?

— However, I don't think Vil try to show his feelings about this matter openly. He would never confront you, because he understands that it would look too petty;

— But his eyes will always lose a certain type of sparkle, when you start speaking of Neige;

— Little did he know the origins of your strange dedication to him, though...

•

When you shyly invited Vil to come along on your first big interview ever, just as a moral support, he was more than happy to accept.

You worked hard for a while, and Vil couldn't miss something like this—you finally got the recognition you deserved, and not because of the family name as you afraid it would happen.

And, even more he was happy to see, that even throughout all these years, you still counted in his company in moments like this. He couldn't let you down.

However, when the interviewer brought up the topic of Neige Le Blanche, Vil definitely wasn't happy...

”Y/n-san, as far as I remember, in the last year, on the premiere of your first movie, you had mentioned that your first inspiration ever was Neige Le Blanche,” the woman started, looking through her notes. ”And, oh, I think we all love Neige, that is undoubted, but... I can't help but wonder what was the exact moment, when you realised it? What he said—or did, perhaps—that changed your life so suddenly?”

Vil scrunched his nose.

Truth to be told, it was the question he didn't know the answer himself.

When it came to speaking of this little devil, Vil ignored whatever you said. And eventually, as you noticed this tendency of his, you stopped talking about him at all.

”Oh,” your face softened instantly, smile raising on your lips. ”When I was a little kid, I often was left all alone—my dad and my big brother were always working, that was why—and so, I spent most of my time, watching something on the TV. And that was when I stumbled across his interview. Yes, yes, I am going to be honest with you—before that, I had never seen him acting. It was after this interview, when I started to learn about him more.”

Vil raised his eyebrows in a slight surprise. He always assumed that much like others, you saw talent in his roles. And now, your obsession seemed even more strange.

”It was an interview for the Magicgue, where he told about his way in the industry. He spoke a lot about his motivation, and his family situation—how he came there only to earn more money for people, who took care of him so wholeheartedly,” you started to explain, hands playing with the ring on your index finger. ”Oh, it is an amazing interview, by the way. I watch it often, even now.”

”Ah, yes, I remember it, too.”

”This interview got me thinking about so many things at the same time, but... Let me share with the most important ones,” suddenly, Vil noticed a hint of embarrassment on your face. ”Back then, when I first saw it, I used to be mad at my brother a lot. He was always away, tending to forget about me. And only when Neige spoke of how hard it is, to be a young actor and celebrity in general, I came to realisation that... My brother forgets about me not intentionally. Filming is not a silly entertaining work. And that the fact he still manages to remember about me, through whole labour he goes through—that what should matter the most.”

He had never thought about that. He didn't even know that you used to resent him before. Vil could never guess that you cared that much about his absense.

”... Instantly, I wanted to understand how can I help him,” you continued. ”I wanted to support him. And that only meant that for that, I need to understand him. So he could share with me the weight from his shoulders. It was the first reason I decided to try myself as an actor. Of course, later I found out that there so much more interesting and thrilling, though, tiring things about acting, but...”

Vil didn't hear the rest of it.

You were right, he realised. He was distant from you, until you decided to became a celebrity yourself. And if not for that, Vil would never share his fears and insecurities, different kind of experience with you. Because, he did only to help you in the future—either way, Vil would keep it to himself until the very end. How could he burden his little one like that, after all?

Suddenly, Vil couldn't be bothered by your Neige's obsession anymore. Not when it was always about him, in the first place.

Not when you cared about him all this time.

”We have a footage after that,” Adele hissed in his ear suddenly, tugging him on the sleeve.

”Yeah,” Vil nodded automatically, a loving gaze directed fully on you. ”And?”

”Stop ruining your mascara, idiot.”

He blinked a few times, and only when his fingertips touched his cheeks, he realised that there were tears, running down his face.

Yet, it only made him smile.

Today was a good day.

”I am just very proud of them,” he muttered.

And that was, indeed, a truth.

[emotreech]

tell me the mizzen thoughts i beg

YES HI I LOVE TALKING ABT HIM

okay so to preface mizzen is my fave character in the series if i am thinking abt the hunger games im probably thinking about mizzen and / or district 4 ( d4 tributes get behind me )

anyways recently ive been mostly thinking abt his family dynamic and how it intertwines with his relationships in the book. i feel like he lives in a pretty matriarchal household , purely self - indulgent but his mom is a single mother in my eyes. i also think he has an older sister whom he really looks up to / tries to emulate , leading to his close relationship with coral and pippa , two strong women who entered his life when he was incredibly vulnerable and needed support. also just him in d4 in general. who were his friends?? did he have to work?? we know he's good w a net and has basic trident skills so maybe he had to do stuff w that. did he do well in school?? what was his dynamic w his siblings?? what was his favourite subject??

wait i just realised i turned him into prim whoops 😭 coral and mizzen as katniss and prim parallels or smt even tho they are barely similar

( editing to say: i personally headcanon mags to be mizzen's older sister for no reason other than sad bcus there is NO canon evidence to support that )

for a tribute so young he lasted an incredibly long time in both the book and the movie , surviving a couple pretty close encounters ( moreso in the book but in the movie too , ) only being stopped by extraneous factors ( teslee's drones and gaul's snakes. ) id love to see how far he'd last were it to have been " fair " ( though i argue that technically teslee didn't do anything to crazy all she did was manipulate the capitol's faulty tech which , though im sure the capitol didn't like it , is really their fault that it was able to be manipulated so easily. ) im also interested in how she managed to do that but that's another topic.

i don't usually think abt the mentors a ton ( besides festus and the usual sejanus and coriolanus ) but ive been thinking abt pippa a lot recently. idk just their relationship in general , ik it's not that realistic to think they formed a pseudo - sibling bond in the time they spent together but let me dream 😭 she obviously cared about him more than coriolanus' unreliable pov would let us see cus he was too busy claiming lucy gray and being mad at sejanus for existing. you're the pippa expert im sure you have better thoughts on their relationship ( which i NEED to know btw i love reading your writing. )

unrelated but his actor was perfect he looked so little ( obviously because he was young filming it ) it made me even sadder having to put a face to the character

okay final one i think but i canNOT stop thinking abt coral and mizzen. did they know each other before the games?? were they just super close immediately because they were thrown in the situation together?? are they family friends?? they obviously had this incredibly close connection that honestly i don't think we saw between any other two tributes in these games. they seemed to be able to speak to each other without words and she trusted him with things im sure she wouldn't trust tanner or treech with ( taking her trident to find lucy gray for example. ) ugh she just protected him and was softer with him and he was rlly one of a few people to see past her angry protective exterior i wish we could've seen them outside of this because i love them sm.

no i don't like mizzen wdym 🤧

delilah be normal challenge ( impossible )

[sheigarche]

hello!! since u are one of the very few people i've seen that ships vinh/max, can i ask for any romantic hcs u have?? thanks!!

Hi, friend. Thanks for the ask 🥰

I've been thinking about so many headcanons with them. From the heavy, angsty ones to some more silly/clichés ones. I think I'll choose some fun ones so the post doesn't get too long:

They have movie nights almost every week.

At first, Max was a little hesitant to reveal her taste in movies, because she knew Vinh was a fan of big Oscar-winning dramas, while she preferred low-budget horrors, slashers, and maybe, depending on the mood, a few rom-coms.

Max’s concerns were allayed once she realized that he loves movies in general. As an actor, Vinh loves analyzing others actors' performances, expressions and range, in all types of films, so even if a genre isn't his cup of tea, he still finds ways to genuinely enjoy it. So they can have fun no matter what they're watching.

Their first real date was a disaster.

Their Uber got a flat tire on the way; they arrived late for their restaurant reservation and had to wait in line; there was a noisy table next to theirs, with people so loud they could barely talk without being interrupted; they missed half of the movie session; they barely got a ride back home and had to walked or wait ages in the cold;

Every little thing that could go wrong, did go wrong that night.

But you know what? They loved it.

Max didn't think about trying to use her powers even once, nor did Vinh think about asking her to, because, despite their bad luck, they loved every second they spent together and had fun even struggling to make it work. Their company was always the highlight of their relationship, no matter the occasion.

I don't know who would say "I love you" first, but I do think it would slip out as an accident.

They'd be casually chatting about their day-to-day lives over a drink or two and a "just because I love you" (or something along those lines) would come out naturally and they'd barely notice until they got home and realized, "Oh shit, did he/she really just say that?"

Then they'd start freaking out because they didn't say it back and end up texting all night trying to bring it up.

Max was nervous about their first time.

As far as we know, she has much less experience with men than women, added to how Vinh seems to have a lot of experience over all, she ended up overthinking a little too much about everything.

Of course, that was just her initial thought. When the moment came, Max insecurities were put aside by the way Vinh always knows how to make her feel comfortable - both of them really - and how much they cared and love each other. So the intimacy they shared feels just like a natural step in their relationship.

Max and Vinh have the best pillow talk.

Always being able to talk about absolutely anything late at night: from her cross-country trips to Vinh's family stories; sharing experiences about the storm, lost friends, traumas or unimportant everyday things; and no matter how dark or light-hearted the topic is, in the end they always manage to make each other laugh, or even just feel comfortable with what they shared.

And here it is. I hope you like it 🥰

[gemsofgreece]

I don't care let's sign a petition to boycott Nolan's Odyssey. Simply guys don't give this movie money. Don't go and watch it. It you want so much then pirate it.

Here in greece as well people shouldn't be praising a film that mocks Homer's legacy! They don't see the issue and it's time people realise that Hollywood isn't making just a movie but a cash grab

Personally I would not go see it anyway.

The problem with Nolan is that ever since he made Inception (another far fetched beyond belief nonsensical movie) he has earned extremely dedicated fanboys, everywhere including Greece, who will defend just about everything. I will say the Dark Knight is a cool movie but only thanks to Heath Ledger. Imagine it without him. Long, bleak, convoluted, dragging to no end. Like Oppenheimer which got the Oscar for no reason last year. I can't with Nolan. His movies bore me to death. I would see a full 10 hours of Killers of the Flower Moon again than 10 minutes of Oppenheimer. How do you take such an interesting topic and one of the most talented and popular actors and turn it into this pile of shit, I wonder. The Oscar, of course, he got it due to American guilt syndrome plus an effort to placate his fanboys for ignoring him for so long (rightfully).

And based on the topics he usually occupies himself with, he really has no business touching the Odyssey. It's like he goes for the career changing move.

But let's put a disclaimer here: You just never know. There are ways to produce a good thing even if the ingredients seem subpar at first. I mean, look at Troy. It is so inaccurate. But it is a legit movie / retelling. So, I do think Nolan's Odyssey is going to be shit but I am just leaving in the air the acknowledgement that it might also be okay somehow.

[jakey-beefed-it]

I watched Alien: Romulus tonight, after having wanted to see it since it came out. Spoiler-free review: It's a B that could've been an A. Probably the best Alien movie since Aliens, definitely the best since Alien 3. It's at its best when it's doing it's own thing, and at its weakest when too directly trying to be "just like Alien/Aliens!". If I have one chief complaint, it's that it would benefit from a stronger 'less is more' approach than it takes. Spoilers below the cut.

So one problem I have is the timing. The alien's lifecycle, as established in other films, takes time. It's fast as hell compared to normal things, but on the order of hours and days rather than months and years, rather than minutes. They could've tossed in a single comment to the effect of "the scientists extracted the black goo compound and refined it, testing it on the facehuggers and whoops their lifecycle got sped WAY the fuck up" but they didn't so that's the realm of headcanon rather than text.

EDIT: rewatched it today and there is some commentary over how the xenomorph has a measure of control over its metabolism; the reason it's able to mature so rapidly and yet also shut down for long-term vacuum survival. It's not quite as apparent as I'd like but it definitely qualifies as offering at least some textual explanation so my above complaint is less 'this makes no internal sense' and more 'this strains my suspension of disbelief even more than the things' ability to grow to prodigious size without seemingly feeding on anything already did.'

Speaking of the black goo, yeah, it ties back into Prometheus (which I saw, and personally didn't much like) and Covenant (which I didn't see owing to not having much liked Prometheus). On the whole I don't know that this was the right move for the franchise, but the film mostly makes it work. The final monster being essentially a xenomorph/engineer hybrid was not a premise I was excited about and the stills I'd seen made it look kinda stupid, but in the actual execution, it is suitably unsettling/uncanny and imo it actually works.

There were a couple of nostalgia lines that made me roll my eyes pretty hard- when Andy rescues Rain toward the end by zero-g divebombing an oncoming xenomorph, shooting it and saying "get away from her" i was like "yeah great, good callback, good moment". When he then adds "...you bitch" I rolled my eyes. Didn't fit the moment or the character, was strictly there to reference a better moment in a better movie.

Which isn't to fault David Jonsson, who plays Andy extremely well. Due to synthetic fuckery he has basically 2, 2 and a half personalities throughout the film, and he does them all very very well. Stand-out performance IMO, would love to see him in more stuff.

Cailee Spaeny does a good job as Rain, there were a couple moments early on where I wasn't 100% convinced of her authenticity, but as the film wore on, I saw that it was an acting choice to make Rain a bit socially stunted, coming across as awkward.

None of the actors were bad at all, and while I have some ethical concerns with digitally resurrecting a cgi Ian Holm circa 1979, the effects were cromulent and whoever they got to do most of his voice work was quite good, and Rook made for a decent antagonist.

On the topic of 'less is more' I mentioned above, I really wish they'd used fewer aliens in a couple of the big set pieces. You don't need a dozen scrambling facehuggers to be terrifying, you honestly don't need more than one, but the pair of them from the scene with Ripley and Newt proves that 'one per endangered character' is a fine guideline. Likewise when they get to the hive section of the station, they could've kept it every bit as terrifying (and indeed probably more so) with fewer, stealthier aliens than they used.

EDIT: the things a lot of horror fans care most about that I didn't mention on my first pass. The SFX are great, very effective. I'm not sure to what degree they relied on practical effects but there's a much more tangible feel to a lot of things that are very hard to get with cgi. There are a couple of cgi moments that are less effective imo- the zero-g acid blood wasn't 100% convincing though it was by no means bad -but for the most part, it was all very convincing and suitably visceral for a franchise so thoroughly rooted in body horror. The deaths were gruesome in a franchise-appropriate way, for the most part, and people who watch horror movies with that as their priority should be reasonably satisfied. The lighting was dark in a good way- not so dark you couldn't see what the fuck was happening, but dark enough that the shadows were ominous and potentially hiding threats. Set design was flawless, no notes.

From a scientific standpoint, i didn't like how solid the rings were. Planetary rings are absolutely a feasible astronomical hazard one would want to avoid crashing into, but that's less to do with their status as what looked like a frozen sea of bumper-to-bumper icebergs, and more to do with their being composed of eighty fucktillion objects moving at orbital velocities which will absolutely shred any object moving perpindicularly (more or less) through them. This is admittedly a pretty nerdy quibble that most viewers won't give a shit about and I'm willing to mostly overlook it for the sake of the film but it did make me pull a scrunchy Kermit face.

My most minor complaint was the (in my opinion) overuse of the Weyland-Yutani name and logo. A single use of the logo would've been sufficient. Since the film's mission statement was basically a return to the whole cassette-futurism of the first two films, calling it simply 'the Company' would've gone a long way toward that.

Probably my most significant complaint pertains to misogyny. Like, okay, this is an Alien film, it's going to be chock-full of reproductive body horror, big creepy bio-mechanical genital-lookin stuff, etc. But of the four characters who die, both men die of 'being attacked by a full-grown alien'. One dies by being impaled by a phallic tail, so that's something, I guess. The other dies by getting whomped upside the head and falling into the stream of some acid pouring from a distinctly vaginal alien coccoon. He'd just rammed a phallic tazer thing into it though, so maybe it's some weird sort of payback if you want to psychoanalyze it. Both women, however, die due to alien pregnancy- one from a normal chestburster, the other killed by the weird uncanny human-alien-engineer monster her fetus turned into after she tried to save her own life by injecting the black goo. Not by its birth, despite the size of the coccoon thing she passes and the accompanying blood loss, but when it comes back and chomps on her a bit with its more eel-like pharyngial jaw. Which is also rather phallic now that i write it out like that. Meh.

EDIT: there's also a bit of unfortunate implications wrt race. Two points, outlined below.

The most obvious is that the artificial person owned by the company is a black man, but given that previous synths in the franchise have all been white actors (Ian Holm, Lance Henriksen, Winona Ryder, Michael Fassbender) it probably gets a bit of a pass. Only a bit of one, in that Andy is outright stated to be a more menial model than, say, Ash or Bishop given the designed role of 'mining colony asset' rather than 'science officer' or 'colonial marines assset' which has some unfortunate implications. I might have more to say on the matter if I myself was black, but I'll leave that to other reviewers.

The other thing is that the survivors are the white woman and her synthetic brother (played by a black man, as mentioned above). Which could be worse, for sure, but it doesn't sit entirely right with me that the brown guys (I couldn't speak to their specific ethnicity though I'd take a stab at 'mixed' with some white ancestry in there too) and the brown woman (definitely a latina) get killed off. As a mixed white/latino guy, I just wanna see a brown person survive the whole horror movie sometimes. I'm often disappointed. At least the director is a latino guy? It's something.

On the whole though, it's a pretty effective, decent Alien film that could've been a very effective, great Alien film if it had a bit more restraint. Your mileage may vary, of course, but in my opinion, the weaker elements don't wholly overwhelm the stronger ones, only dragging it down a peg or so.

[hydrangea-moobloom]

I have a couple things I'd like to say about current trends in the Dark SBI tag. (For full transparency, I don't explore or read from the DSBI tag very often, despite the majority of my writing falling under it. Mostly I read the isolated works of a few close friends and fellow authors. Everything I'm about to mention was originally brought to my attention by and discussed with these other writers.) One of the most unique parts of the DSMP, from the beginning, was the overlap of character and content creator. And even though we are writing and reading about the characters the cc's put forward, there also needs to be awareness that unlike with movies and tv shows, the "actors" are tied even more intrinsically to their characters. In name, appearance, and personality in some capacity or another. Because of this, be careful of what tropes you use and what it may be saying to your audience.

Most notably, I'd just like to urge all authors, whether it's your first time or your hundredth posting to ao3, please be sure to use robust tagging. It isn't just disheartening to potential readers when a fic isn't tagged properly with something they might not enjoy. It can potentially be extremely triggering. Especially with very dark topics like dehumanization, suicide ideation, self-harm, kidnapping, etc, etc. There's been a very strange and sudden surge of fics featuring topics such as slavery and/or ownership. If you truly want to write that kind of thing, I cannot stop you, but I beg of you, tag that shit. Tag it to hell and back. Everyone should have the ability to filter that out if they don't want to see it. Making readers walk in blind to potentially hurtful and disturbing topics is not cute.

If you are an author unsure of what tags to use, I recommend exploring what tags do exist and whether they apply to your fic. Additionally, I advocate for writing warning briefs either in the beginning or end notes. This can be a list of warnings relevant to the current chapter or a cut-and-dry summary of actions. Whatever works for you personally.

If you are a reader of one of my fics and believe I've missed tags/warnings, please let me know! I'm not a pinnacle in this fandom by any means and I always have room to grow and learn.

If you're a reader and truly dislike or are disgusted by what an author writes, don't send hate or death threats. Use ao3's blocking abilities and move on. I'm not pro-censorship, I'm pro-self-moderating.

[shesalittlelost]

I’m afraid it’s not just shippers’ problems in this case. Judging by all said by cast and crew they were not trying to portray CSA. Depp outright said Ellen was not a victim and that she desired Orlok. Plus whole there’s love triangle thing. It for sure gives a whiplash. CSA is too sensitive of a topic, you can’t treat it in the vocabulary of love triangles and oh, it’s just a twisted romance. But they do. Since I hope creators didn’t want to romanticise CSA in such a cunning way, the takeaway is that they were not trying to portray it in the first place and like with whole Wuthering Heights stuff screwed up. I also would like to point out that this whole Thing of Ellen being this wild fairy human girl with magic powers who runs around the woods and summoned Orlok and bound himself to her is exclusively original to 2024 remake and didn’t appear before. But it did shift the focus to Ellen more actively attracting vampire to herself, even if by accident and I don’t think it was a smart plot change. Not to mention it doesn’t make much sense in the long run, Ellen has these mighty powers that she could reanimate vampire and connect with him long distance when she’s teenager but otherwise her powers don’t affect the rest of the plot much or don’t play any significant role and her outcome doesn’t change from what was in 1922 movie. Sloppy writing. I’m afraid a lot of that sloppy writing and creators clearly fumbling intent vs execution is responsible for shippers being the way they are.

Aside from that one interview of Eggers where he talks about taking inspiration from Wuthering Heights, I've not seen any others and I'm not planning on it either. Because I just don't care lol. Like I know people will not agree with this but like I really don't care what this actor or that actor said. I personally don't think what they say in their intws changes anything at all about the movie once it's out. I mean, yeah it does give us a better idea of what the original intent was and how they approached it but I've said this before and I'm saying this again, I'm going to form my opinions on the movie by watching said movie and not the off screen comments from the cast.

And frankly I've grown very tired of this recent trend where the effort of carefully building up a narrative to tell a story has been replaced by the creators just telling the audience what they want them to think in their BTS interviews and it rarely aligning with the actual piece of work they produced. Seen this happen with SaB and then HotD. It's exhausting.

Having said that, I don't think Lily saying Ellen desires Orlok & Robert Eggers calling it a love triangle negates the presence of grooming and abuse in their dynamic. There's room for more nuance than you give them credit for. And it's the lack of exactly that on both sides with one using her attraction to/desire for him as an evidence that it wasn't abuse and the other erasing it completely, that's resulting in such horrendous takes all around. Survivors absolutely can be in love or desire their abuser and an abusive relationship such as Ellen and Orlok's can still make for a twisted sort of romance. This idea that love is a Pure emotion that is felt only by Good people is flawed and untrue. Horrible people, can love too. Yes, even monsters. In their own horrible and monstrous way and I think that was what Eggers was trying to do with Ellen and Orlok. I can see how WH might've influenced this as an amoral sort of romance between two very shitty and selfish people who happen to share this emotional/psychic bond that exists beyond their physical bodies and tends to consume them, defying even death (Cathy's ghost haunting Heathcliff just as he had asked her). But like I said, for that to happen Orlok needed to be an actual character that's more than just a physical manifestation of evil, greed and hunger and the movie should've done more to establish his and Ellen's relationship outside of just sex that, on-screen, she's mostly coerced into having with him.

Ellen's character was actually the most compelling part of the movie for me and Lily's portrayal of her was beautiful. I've to disagree that her being the one to summon Orlok was a bad idea. It gives her character more depth and agency in the story since she is the one who basically moves the story forward due to these unique psychic powers and also makes her emotional struggles and plight all the more impactful. Her powers do serve a significant purpose in her story. They're used to show how strictly moralistic the society she existed in was. Had she existed in another time, she wouldn't have been judged and removed from the society because of it but the time and place she's born in only punishes her for it. Like it is her being different and “strange” that scared her father so much that he would cringe away from even her touch. And it is that loneliness and hurt that makes her seek for any other presence that would love and comfort her. Orlok is the only one who hears her and fills that void in her life, “At first it was sweet. I'd never known such a place.” she recalls, which is what makes his eventual psychic/spiritual subjugation of her feel all the more violating and gross. A very clear portrayal of abuse and grooming--an abusive/neglectful family that ostracizes the child instead of offering compassion and understanding, making them more vulnerable to predators who use their desire to be loved and understood to completely hijack their life.

Lastly, as someone who initially liked how Orlok wasn't humanised at all giving him little screen time and how the movie primarily focused on Ellen and the pain his actions caused her, simply because I'm tired of seeing male characters take up too much space in anything to do with vampires in popular media and the girl just becoming his side piece, I'll say this that I don't think that a piece of work should have to dial back on the portrayal of its character complexities just because the audience are incapable of understanding that a story can be many things at once.

[lol-jackles]

Hello,

I saw the news about the scripts and the start of filming for TB. EK mentioned that the scripts are being written and sometimes even rewritten on the day of shooting.

https://x.com/CultureCrave/status/1880384079528620174?t=jVIFNvgaDLRF3c8gH_4RnQ&s=19

Some time ago, you mentioned that EK was aiming to create a cultural impact with TB, which could explain the insistence on Jared's presence. The phrase "JP and JA's reunion will break the internet" makes me wonder how EK plans to achieve this.

Since it's the final season, the storylines need to be wrapped up in a satisfying way. I don't think a possible on-screen reunion of the J2s would create the cultural impact EK is hoping for. The audience of TB is different from that of SPN, and many may not have seen SPN. While I can understand that if EK revisits some of the enthusiastic ideas from SPN, it might stir things up, here the J2s would need to be on board for that to happen. Even then, would it be enough?

TB is coming off a fourth season that received heavy criticism for its plot holes, and this final season must improve the script. From what we know, JP's role could be a cameo or a minor one. How do you think EK plans to achieve this cultural impact? A simple romance or a suggestion of a shared past with SB doesn't seem like it would be enough, especially since SB isn't the main character, nor one of the primary ones.

In my opinion, what could be generated is an increase in viewership. What do you think about all this? Do you believe EK will achieve what they want, and how do you think they will do it?

Anyway, he has a lot of material to draw from if he wants to, which is happening right now. I know TB is based on a comic book, but what I don’t know is whether the show will follow the story of the comic. Will it?

Sorry for the long text, and thank you for taking the time to read it.

Link. Very true that tv script edits are made all the way through post production. What you see on screen is the final edit.

I agree with you that shoehorning in J2 appearance will not create a cultural footprint that Kripke has been chasing since season 2 by using #SPNFamily every chance he got in hopes of getting SPN fans to watch TB and make it culturally relevant like they did for Supernatural. But part of the problem with TB is it was nearly 1:1 topical and they are very rarely relevant and gets memory holed as soon as the series ends. It's why many sitcoms try to avoid topical references because they know it will massively hurt them in syndication.

The only time topical reference work in the long run is if the creator has deep abiding love for it.  Seth MacFarlane loves old musicals and make a lot of refence to them in Family Guy, which drives his fans to google-research those musicals.  But it’s pretty clear that Kripke has no love for the topical subjects he bashes over his viewers’ head. The audience will forgive a movie or show for their meanderings plots, mediocre acting, and butchering canon as long as it was crafted with love by the actors and writers. But without that then the same audience will nickpick at the weaknesses that they previously didn’t care about. Like this commentator:

So to answer your question, Kripke can't attain cultural relevance because he has no love for the topical subjects.

The Boys have always been irrelevant in terms of cultural impact, that hasn’t changed since season 1. As soon as the series finale episode is dropped, it’s going to be forgotten. 98% of popular tv shows are lost to history and memory holed.

[therealdesitalk]

hi!!! since we're questioning stuff, i wanted to say this, it's been on my mind for a while now.....

what is bollywood trying to do making AND promoting films like 'animal' and 'kabir singh'?????

they are clearly promoting toxic masculinity and violence which is affecting the public sooooo much......and they got the nerve to defend it as well????!!!!!

there are sooooo many films now which promote violence......ranbir kapoor is an excellent actor, yet it's sad to see his most successful film was 'animal' and not 'barfi' which is actually touching.....you know why?? because this is exactly what people want to see, violence, uncontrolled rage and madness......

the uneducated section of the society is very influenced by this and this is pretty well known, then why make films like this???

why not make more films on moving topics THAT ACTUALLY FUCKING MATTER and cause people to change their mentality????

people are much more affected by movies than by books, especially in our country, where sadly, a large population still does not have access to books and education.....what's worse is that learned and educated people also don't actually fucking care and promote this kind of bullshit......

please share your opinion and also reblog.....i wanna hear more about this from different people as well......

Thanks for reaching out i appreciate you taking the time to ask a question, And i am happy that every girl is asking such questions to support each other

So namaste everyone

In my view many directors in India focus on making movies that make a lot of money. These movies often include things like sex, violence, and negative portrayals of women which have been popular for a long time. Unfortunately people have gotten used to these kinds of movies and directors care more about making money than about the impact their movies have on society however not all directors are like this. Some directors want to make movies that show women in a positive way It's important to support these directors and their movies so that we can have more respectful and inclusive films. But people don't give much attention to good movies if we create good marketing of good movies and make their good scenes go viral on the internet maybe it's possible that more people will watch good movies This way directors will also realize that people's preferences are changing

The Impact of Such Movies : Movies that glorify toxic masculinity and perpetuate misogyny can have a detrimental impact on society. They reinforce harmful gender norms, normalize abusive behavior and contribute to the marginalization of women. Additionally they can influence audience perceptions and attitudes shaping societal beliefs and behaviors. It's crucial to critically examine these movies and engage in discussions about their implications while also advocating for more socially responsible and inclusive storytelling in the film industry.

👉🏻 So Let's Jump On Some Questions 👈🏻

Why Male Directors Make Such Kind Of Movies?

Male dominated industry : The Indian film industry is largely controlled by men. This means that the stories being told are often filtered through a male lens and women are frequently portrayed in one dimensional or stereotypical ways.

Audience demand: There's a perception that a large section of the audience prefers these kinds of films. Masala movies with over the top action romance and violence have long been a staple of Bollywood and filmmakers may be reluctant to deviate from this formula for fear of losing box office revenue.

Societal factors: Sexism and misogyny are deeply ingrained in Indian society nd this is reflected in the films that are produced. Films often mirror and reinforce existing social prejudices making it difficult to break the cycle

👉🏻 So, What Can Be Done To Reduce Sexism In Indian Films?👈🏻

Encourage more women in filmmaking: Increasing the number of women in key decision making roles, such as directors, producers, and writers, can help bring about a more balanced perspective in films.

Because guys! if movies are made from a female perspective there will be significant changes seen in the movie industry so encourage your friends and cousins to talk about these things

Make Everyone Aware! Aware! Aware! :

If someone in your house talks about movies like "Animal" and "Kabir Singh" and says it's just a movie sit down and explain to them that what you watch is not normal. Even if you receive negative feedback you know what your job is - make everyone around you aware of this issue. Don't let these movies be normalized which people have modernized.

Take Advantage Of The Internet : Promote Media Literacy educate the public through internet especially young people about media literacy and critical thinking skills teach them to analyze and question the messages portrayed in movies on Instagram, Twitter (X) Reddit , Facebook , Blogs including recognizing and challenging harmful stereotypes and representations

👇🏻👇🏻

Last note : And we should keep hyping movies like women empowerment on the internet. We have the internet in our hands so let's make good use of it. Otherwise what's the point of sitting and thinking about what's happening in society? Don't just think do something even if it's a small step like what I'm doing with my blog. I know that not many girls will reach it but those who do are a big number for me. So, spread women empowerment movies and their scenes everywhere on the internet whether they are old or not just make them viral and spread awareness through social media and blogs

Thanks everyone. Please Reblog this. 🪷🦢🐚