#brad pitt makes a who reference

[veronicaphoenix]

zutto — chapter five | wc: 6.5k | series masterpost | prev. chapter

chapter summary: as night settles in and the rain pours on, Lia finally says the three magic words

tags and trigger warnings: fluff, fluff, more fluff, noah making jokes about cucumbers, noah being jealous of brad pitt, mentions of noah's nightmares and references to everything that's happened until now, specifically lia's drinking habits, sexual content including dry humping, oral sex (male rec.), swallowing, one mention of choking, mentions of birth control pills, and p in v (unprotected).

general trigger warnings: this work addresses and depicts issues related to addiction, abuse, & violence, contains explicit sexual content, and explores themes of childhood trauma. Reader discretion is advised. +18

💫 @bluestdai precious fanart of noah and lia in this chapter

The storm was still pounding hard on the apartment windows by the time Noah came out of the shower.

            In fact, it seemed to have gotten worse. Noah didn’t remember seeing on the news that such a downpour was going to hit, but at the same time, it’s not like he’d been paying much attention to the weather either when all he’d been focused on was Lia. 

            And Lia continued to be the center of his attention as he shamelessly walked out of the bathroom naked and into the bedroom.

            He could hear her in the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards as she decided what to make for dinner. They could have ordered something, but they’d already used that option several times since returning to Los Angeles. Besides, with the weather outside, it didn’t seem wise to bother the delivery people. 

            His eyes fell on Lia’s bra, still lying forgotten on the floor beside the bed. Smiling to himself, Noah picked it up and placed it on the dresser where he’d had Lia sitting a while before, as he kissed her and she squeezed her legs around it. He remembered how she had kissed him, her legs wrapped around him. After pampering and cleaning her in bed, Lia had put on one of his T-shirts, slipped back into her panties, and donned some socks. Noah had then gone to take a shower. 

            Nearby, he spotted the empty condom packet and tossed it into the small wastebasket in the corner. He dressed in a white T-shirt and joggers before crossing the hallway to the kitchen. As he approached, Lia looked up, her expression lighting up. 

            “Hi,” Noah said, leaning against the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining area. 

  ��         Lia had trouble looking away, admiring how handsome he looked with his damp hair and fresh scent. She had pulled her hair into a messy bun, but her flushed cheeks and the mix of sweetness and mischief in her eyes reminded Noah of a little girl who had just been kissed by the boy he liked. Unable to resist, he leaned toward her, resting his forearms on the marble countertop. He lifted her chin with two fingers and kissed her. 

            The kiss was brief but left a lingering warmth. When Lia pulled away, the sensation of Noah’s lips and fingers remained with her. Noah watched as she licked her lips, contemplating whether to take her back to the room or let her eat something first. 

            “You don’t taste like rain anymore,” Lia said, interrupting his thoughts. 

            “Ah, no? What do I taste like?”

            “Like Noah.”

            His smile broadened. 

            He moved around the counter to stand beside her, trying to keep the lingering euphoria in check as he scanned her bare legs. Picking up a piece of carrot Lia had been chopping, he playfully asked, “And now? Carrot?” 

            Lia’s laughter filled the kitchen as he kissed her again. Her joy warmed his heart.  

            “Can you grab the cucumber from the fridge?” Lia requested.

            “Sure thing,” Noah replied, retrieving the cucumber. “I didn’t realize it was that big when we bought it,” he teased, pretending to examine the vegetable closely.

            Lia rolled her eyes with a chuckle, her cheeks warming as she took the cucumber from him. 

            “What are you making?” Noah asked, glancing at the pot of boiling water on the stove.

            “Rice,” Lia replied. “I don’t want to upset my stomach. Is rice with chicken okay for dinner?”

            “Yes, that’s fine. Are you having a stomachache?” Noah’s concern was evident in the way he narrowed his eyes at her. 

            “No, just being cautious.”

            “Hm. And what’s that smell?” he inquired, scrunching his nose in curiosity as he looked back towards the stove. 

            “I added cumin seeds. They’re good for digestion.” 

            “Smells good.”

            "Uh-huh.”

            “I’m sure Davis’ used those before.”

            “Likely. Could you hand me the nuts from the cupboard behind you?”

            “Of course.” Before doing so, Noah leaned over and gave her a resounding kiss on the top of her head. Lia’s face flushed with a mix of surprise and delight as she began to cut into the cucumber. Although she was accostumed to his affection, she was aware that after that day, the line she had been so afraid to cross was now behind them. She would have to adjust to these new habits: Noah stroking her hair while she drew, her rubbing his leg under the table in public, sharing mischievous glances in crowded rooms, and exchanging kisses during mundane moments around the house. 

            A surge of happiness washed over her. As she continued with her task, she clung to that happiness, promising herself she would never let it go. 

            Together, they finished preparing dinner and ate with the rain and thunder as their backdrop. They chatted about the weather and other trivial matters. As expected, Lia brought up work and mentioned the trip to Japan. Noah steered the conversation away from becoming an argument by promising they would discuss it the next day, but not that night. 

            After dinner, Noah offered to do the dishes. Lia cleared the table and, once done, moved towards the bathroom for a quick visit before settling on the couch to watch a movie and fall asleep in Noah’s arms. However, as she took two steps out of the kitchen, she felt a tug on her shirt. Turning around, she saw that Noah had grabbed the stitching of her shirt and wasn’t letting go. 

            “What?” Lia asked. 

            Noah raised his eyebrows and said, “Give me a kiss.”

            The intensity of his gaze had grown since they’d made love, and the fluttering butterflies in his stomach had quickened. Lia’s confusing faded, replaced by a warm smile that spread across her face, turning her uncertainty into joy. 

            “Okay,” she replied, stepping closer and tilting her head up to meet Noah’s lips. He placed a gentle hand on her waist while his other hand held a plate. 

            “Get used to this,” Noah told her after pulling away. “I’m not letting you go anywhere without a kiss first, got it?”

            If Lia’s smile could have gotten any bigger, it would have. 

            “Understood.”

            Seeing her cheeks flush, Noah continued, “Gotta make up for all the ones we’ve missed.”

            Lia frowned in mock concern and replied in a low voice, “That’s going to be… a lot of them.”

            “Then we’d better start making up for them,” he concluded, dropping the dish he’d been washing. With suds-covered hands, he pulled Lia’s cheeks towards him and kissed her again. Lia’s giggles vibrated against Noah’s lips, and he felt the water from his wet hand slide down her cheek. 

            When they broke apart, Noah reveled in the fact that he was the one who could make Lia, whom he’d known all his life, so flushed.

            He pretended to focus on washing the dishes, saying to Lia, “I think you’ve got some suds on your face,” while gesturing to his own cheek. He let Lia turn away and lose herself in the hallway.  

            She was so consumed by love that after disappearing in the hallway she had to stop for a moment and steady herself against the wall.

            When she emerged from the bathroom five minutes later, the aroma of popcorn filled the house. Lia found Noah sprawled on the couch, legs outstretched, feet resting on a cushion on the coffee table. The TV displayed the Netflix home screen. 

            “I’ve made popcorn,” Noah announced, pointing to the bowl next to him. 

            “I can see that,” Lia replied, walking over and taking a seat beside him. 

            She couldn’t recall the last time Noah had seemed so relaxed. Even during the days they’d spent in her apartment, sheltered from the outside world, the tension had been palpable in his behavior. Despite their attempts to relax with movies, books, and tending to Lia’s flowers, Noah’s posture always hinted at worry, his attention frequently elsewhere. 

            As Lia settled next to him, she didn’t realize that that night, their focus would shift away from the movie and onto something much more comforting than the concerns that had weighed on them recently. 

            “Do you have any preference?” Lia asked, referring to the movie. 

            Noah shook his head. “Anything, but don’t make it sad.” 

            Lia leered at him a conflicted half-smile. She reached for the remote on the coffee table and perched on the edge of the couch as she navigated through Netflix. 

            Behind her, Noah’s eyes fell on her hair. She still wore it in a bun, exposing her neck, but a few strands had come loose. As his eyes traced down her back, almost smiling at how oversized his T-shirt looked on her, Noah couldn’t help but reach out and gently stroke one of the loose strands of hair.              

            Lia took a deep breath, struggling not to melt under his touch. She feared becoming like a lovesick teenager, but she let Noah touch her hair. As she pretended to be engrossed in choosing a film, Noah’s fingers continued to graze the stray strands of her hair before moving to trace gentle lines down her back over the fabric of his T-shirt. 

            “Are you feeling better?” Noah’s voice cut through the hushed tranquility of the apartment, his concern soft but clear amidst the rain against the windows. 

            Lia nodded, turning her head slightly to meet his gaze when she felt his fingers stop the patterns they’ve been tracing at her back. “I have a slight headache, but I can barely feel it,” she said, her voice carrying a trace of weariness but also relief. 

            Noah’s brow furrowed as his fingers resumed their soothing trail along her back. “Aren’t you tired? The withdrawal episode was pretty rough. And after that, we were cooped up in the room for a while.”

            Lia shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I might fall asleep ten minutes into the movie,” she admitted. “But I’m not sleepy—at least not yet—, which is strange.” 

            “We can go straight to bed if you need,” Noah suggested. 

            “No,” Lia replied, her hand reaching into the bowl of popcorn. “I feel like being here.” She popped a handful into her mouth, then glanced at him. “Should I bring something to drink?”

            “No, stay here,” he said, his tone dismissive.

            As Lia hit play and leaned back on the couch, the ambient light from the screen flickered softly around them, creating a warm glow. Noah wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her snugly against him. Lia curled up beside him, her legs folded beneath her, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. 

            “You don’t think about drinking at all?” Noah’s voice was barely a whisper, a low murmur that seemed to blend with the gentle patter of rain. 

            Lia sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping slightly. Her eyes were fixed on the tv screen, where the familiar Tristar Pictures logo began to dissolve into the opening scenes. “I know it sounds hard to believe, but ever since I woke up in the hospital, every time I think about alcohol, I feel a wave of disgust. It’s not that I haven’t thoguht about dirnking—I have. I just wouldn’t do it now, but I’m worried. I’m scared that once all this calms down… I’m afraid this will be temporary. And if that needs come back along with the withdrawal symptoms…”

            “Whether it’s temporary or not, we’ll deal with it together,” Noah reassured her. “No matter what.”

            Lia lifted her chin and gave him a tender, grateful smile. “I know.”

            Noah kissed her forehead before sinking deeper into the couch, adjusting his position to make her as comfortable as possible. “What movie did you choose?”

            “Legends of the Fall.”

            Noah raised an eyebrow in mock exasperation. “Brad Pitt again?” 

            “What do you mean, again? I can’t even remember the last time I saw a movie with Brad Pitt in it,” Lia retorted, a playful edge in her voice. 

            Noah made a grand, exaggerated gesture of annoyance, raising his eyes theatrically to the ceiling. Lia pulled away slightly and scowled at him, unable to supress a giggle. 

            “Are you jealous, is that it?” 

            “Me? Jealous of Brad Pitt? He’d probably enjoy that.”

            Lia laughed, and Noah, seizing the opportunity, slid his arm down to her waist and attempted to tickle her. Lia squirmed and laughed louder, gasping as she tried to get his hands off of her. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.”

            After that, they settled into a placid time, the movie playing softly as the rain outside continued to fall, its rhythmic drumming blending with the flicker of the screen and making Noah and Lia’s effortless intimacy even sweeter. 

            Lia felt the rise and fall of Noah’s chest beneath her cheek, her hand resting on his thigh. Noah felt content; lost in the serene bliss of having Lia so close. He’d spent months —years, possibly— longing and dreaming of moments like this. The sight of her next to him, the ease with which they fit together, the memories of being inside of her and seeing his love reflected in her eyes, was a treasure he knew he would never take for granted. 

            Contrary to her earlier predictions, Lia remained awake as the film progressed. Her gaze drifted from the screen to her hand resting on Noah’s thigh. A subtle movement of her fingers, a gentle caress against the fabric of his sweatpants, distracted her. She wasn’t sure if she was more absorbed in the finger-dance she herself started or in the knowledge that she had her hand very close to Noah’s crotch.   

            As her thoughts drifted, she remembered the pleasure Noah had given her in bed, how it had allowed her to focus solely on the rhythm of their bodies moving together. It had been a welcome distraction from the pain she’d felt before, when her body had longed for a pill that would have done nothing to help. 

            But their lovemaking hadn’t been a mere temporary fix. It had been an act that solidified what had always existed between them and promised to be repeated in the future. 

            So, Lia found herself completely disengaged from the movie. Her hands, almost at their own accord, crawled towards Noah’s crotch. The moment she rested her hand on top of it, she felt his cock twitch beneath her fingers. 

            Noah, who had been making an effort to keep his attention on the film and resist the temptation of Lia’s touch, was interrupted when she touched him there. He looked at her, her large brown eyes brimming with a magical allure that always made his heart flutter. When Lia’s fingers moved to encircle the rapidly growing bulge in his sweats, Noah abandoned the movie entirely.  

            He set the popcorn bowl aside and pulled Lia onto his lap, her legs straddling him as her hands grasped his cheeks to draw him closer. Their lips met in a desperate kiss, as if the calm of the room had been merely a prelude to the passion that would consume them not long after right there. 

            Their breaths quickened with each brush of their lips, the playful dance of their tongues, and the fervent grip of their hands on each other’s bodies. Lia arched her body against Noah’s, pressing her chest into his. Her fingers glided down the back of his neck before returning to his face. She yearned to touch him everywhere, to feel every inch of his skin. Despite Noah’s hands holding her—one on her waist and the other one cradling her head, pressing her against him—Lia showed no intention of letting go. She tightened her grip behind his head, using the press of her mouth against his to convey that she didn’t want to be even an inch away.

            For a fleeting moment, as she heard a moan escape Noah’s lips, Lia opened her eyes. It was a brief second, but it was enough to send an electric thrill through her body. Seein Noah’s closed eyes and feeling his deep, passionate intentions toward her intensified her desire for him. 

            She relaxed in his arms, rubbing against him. A couple of hours earlier, she might have felt self-conscious about this, but now she was beyond caring. 

            She moved her hips against him, feeling Noah’s erection grow beneath her with each motion, warming her. Noah’s fingers fumbled with her hair stick, removing it and allowing her long hair to cascade freely. The scent of her shampoo enveloped his senses. Lia was all he could feel, smell, and breathe. He didn’t want it any other way. He caressed her hair, letting the strands slide through his fingers. 

            To his surprise, Lia pressed her body fully against him and grabbed his hair, tilting his head back and causing him to arch his neck. Without hesitation, Lia kissed her way down his jaw and chin until she reached his neck, where she nibbled on the red apple tattooed on his skin. 

            “Fuck, Lia.” His voice was restrained with pleasure. He melted beneath her, breathing softly in her ear, making a sound that seemed divinely orchestrated. 

            Lia continued to explore his neck, her lips trailing feather-light kisses. Her hands remained tangled in his hair while the other slid down to his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart. 

            Althought Noah had drawn the curtains on the balcony doors, a small gap remained uncovered. If Lia had looked that side, she would have seen her reflection—straddling noah while he reclined on the sofa, his profile illuminated by the soft light of a lamp in the corner, next to a strelitzia that Lia had tended to for over a year. 

            The tattoo on Noah’s neck seemed to writhe over his flexing tendons, its spirals a warning against anyone daring to disturb its owner. Lia lingered on the snake’s head before slowly moving up his neck and jaw, leaving a trail of delicate kisses. 

            When Lia released his hair, she moved back up to his mouth, mesmerized by the rhythm of Noah’s breathing. He lifted his head slightly, one hand slipping inside her shirt to rest on her side before moving to her neck, drawing her face closer to his. Lia watched as he closed his eyes and moistened his lower lip with a quick lick. He brushed his lips against hers with incredible softness, breaking contact for a few seconds and creating a tantalizing anticipation. With a slight tilt of his head, he lingered just out of reach. Lia felt gloriously overwhelmed when their lips finally met again, in a kiss so tender and unbearably slow that she felt like she was drowning in it, savoring the salty taste of the popcorn he had been enjoying.

            Gradually, Lia began to move against him with increasing fervor, driven by an energy she couldn’t quite pinpoint but knew she needed. She was desperate to feel Noah inside her again. While she was confident Noah would give her what she wanted, she didn’t want to rush. She was savoring the dance, and Noah was clearly enjoying it too.

            As her hands slid down his chest, expressing her desire to touch him, she pulled at his shirt. Noah lifted his arms obligingly, allowing Lia to remove it. Her lips immediately claimed his once he was shirtless, and Lia’s body responded to his nudity with euphoric intensity. Noah could feel her nipples hardening as she rubbed against him like a cat in heat.

            Driven by his most primal instincts, Noah grabbed a handful of Lia’s hair, kissing her with hunger. His cock throbbed in his pants, craving more attention than the heat of Lia’s groin. Noah’s fingers dug into her waist.

            However, in the midst of that moment, a memory struck him—his nightmare from the previous night, where he had been holding Lia so tightly he’d hurt her. His heart lurched in his chest. As Lia’s hand slid down his stomach and she nibbled on his lip, he almost stopped her, fearing he might be hurting her, someway, somehow. 

            Before he could react, Lia detached her lips from his and, in less than three seconds, slid off the sofa to kneel between his legs, her hands working on the knot of his sweatpants. Noah stared, stunned for a moment, his breathing ragged. Then, as the scene unfolded before him, he realized it wasn’t a nightmare. 

            It was a fantasy coming to life. 

            When Lia looked up at him, almost seeking permission, Noah noticed her flushed cheeks and a hint of embarrassment. She tugged at his pants, nonetheless, and Noah lifted his hips to help her remove them alongside his boxers. 

            Noah, breathless and overwhelmed, felt a rush of heat as Lia took him into her mouth. A curse caught in his throat as he let his head fall back against the sofa, consumed by the sensation of her fingers wrapped around the base. Her teasing licks sent shivers through him before she settled into a steady rhythm. Noah’s hand instinctively moved to her hair, and he tugged gently, his moans escaping uncontrollably. Unable to look away, he watched Lia kneeling before him, each pulse within her mouth heightening his pleasure. Lia, absorbed in the salty taste and strength of him against her lips, found the reality of being with him this way better than she’d ever imagined, though a flutter of doubt lingered in her mind. 

            Noah gathered Lia’s hair in his hands, his fingers brushing through the strands that framed her face. Lia was so absorbed in the need to please him and the softness of his touch that she wasn’t sure if his murmured encouragments were real or a figment of her imagination. Her fantasies seemed to blend with the sensations of the moment. 

            Overcome by a moment of insecurity, Lia paused, drawing a deep breath as she looked at the flushed tip and the veins tracing his length. He was breathtakingly beautiful. Noah’s hands fell from her hair. Lia placed her hands on his knees and met his gaze. 

            “Lia? What’s wrong?” Noah asked. Had he tugged to hard at her hair? Pushed himself to deep? Overwhelmed her? 

            Before he could voice his worries, Lia spoke softly, almost embarrased, “I’ve never–I’ve never swallowed.”

            If he was shocked by her confession, he didn’t show it. 

            “Lia, that’s okay. You don’t have to. It’s fine. You’re already—”

            “But I want to,” she cut him off, her big brown eyes starting up at him with such adoration that his cock twitched on its own. The realization of her wanting him to release in her mouth had his heart racing. 

            “I just—I might have to—” she trailed off, unsure how to express what she meant. Noah understood immediately and shook his head. 

            “It’s okay,” he reassured her. 

            “Can you just—not hold my head when you come?”

            “Of course. Whatever you want. But I swear I’d be happy with just—”

            She didn’t give him time to finish. Her mouth was back on him, and Noah swallowed hard, trying futilely to grip the sofa. He knew he wouldn’t last long. He had imagined Lia sucking him off countless times, but he hadn’t expected it to happen tonight. He would have been happy just making her feel good, but it was clear now that in their relationship, they were both equally interested in providing each other with as much pleasure as possible.

            Two minutes into it, Lia licked his frenulum with a teasing touch that Noah had never experienced before.

            “Wha—Fuck. Lia—Fuck.” His orgasm hit him like a tidal wave, making him buck his hips involuntarily.

            She gagged slightly as she felt his warmth spreading along his length until it reached the tip. His release filled Lia’s mouth and the back of her throat. The new experience, the taste, was overwhelming, but she forced herself to stay calm. She slowly released Noah from her mouth and swallowed, ignoring his intense gaze, as if he were worried he might come again just by watching her. Lia stood up and hurried to the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of water and drank it in one go. Noah’s eyes stayed on her the whole time, even though he was sprawled on the couch, completely satisfied. 

            Lia took a deep breath as she set down the glass of water and smiled.

            “You okay?” Noah asked, amused, trying to recover his breath. 

            “Yeah,” she breathed out, catching her own breath. “Do you want some?” She lifted her now-empty glass. 

            “Yes, that’d be great.”

            She refilled her glass and poured another one for him. When he took it from her hand, he gulped it down and set it on the coffee table. Lia stood in front of him, eyeing the last drips of him that had come out. 

            “Do you need anything else?” 

            “Yes,” he said. “You.”

            He grabbed the back of her thighs and pulled her astride his lap, making her let out an adorable squeal. Before attacking her mouth, he grabbed the TV remote and switched off the movie that had been playing in the background. 

            “Fuck Brad Pitt,” he sentenced. 

            Lia’s mouth was hot, her lips slippery. 

            Lia’s clothes disappeared in no time—her socks, t-shirt, and panties scattered on the living room floor. 

            Noah’s lips traveled across her face, down her neck and chest, nibbling at her breasts and giving her nipples the attention they demanded. He was already hard again, and Lia would be lying if she said she didn’t feel a hint of pride in getting Noah so excited twice in less than five minutes. 

            Noah wrapped his arms around her and tried to move them so he could lay her down, but Lia pressed her hands on his shoulders and leaned her body weight against him, grounding him. 

            “I want to do it like this,” she said. 

            At this point, Noah was convinced he had been granted the greatest gift on earth. Lia wanted to ride him. There was no way he was going to deny her that. 

            “I’m all yours.”

            He slid down a bit, reclining his head and body so that he was half lying down, half sitting, but comfortably. This position would also give him a great view of her as she moved on top of him. His hands never left Lia’s hips. 

            “Condom?” he asked. 

            Lia’s eyes shot up. She glanced over her shoulder as if trying to recall if she had any condoms left anywhere in the house. She muttered a soft curse. “That was the last one,” she acknowledged, a hint of worry in her voice. Noah’s thumbs stroked her thighs. 

            “You’re not on the pill, are you?” he asked. 

            Lia shook her head. With all the medication she had been taking, one good thing was that she didn’t add another. Condoms had always been sufficient. 

            “I’m clean,” Noah said, hesitation in his voice. “I’m not saying it because I…”

            “I’m good, too.”

            “Lia…” he said, a warning in his tone. 

            “I don’t mind, really. I’d love to feel you like this. As long as… you know, just…”

            Noah nodded fervently, “I will.” 

            He fused his mouth with hers. 

            He had chosen her. Out of all the women—and men—at his feet, he had chosen her. A rockstar like him, with his bank account growing by the day, could have had anything, but he had chosen her. It had always been her. 

            “You’re going to spoil me, you know that?” Noah said. 

            “Maybe you deserve to be spoiled.” 

            She slowly sank onto him, her face contorting into an expression of blissful pleasure, mirroring Noah’s. She fit so well around him. 

            Just like that, she began a decadent dance on top of him, making the temperature in the room rise and their bodies start to glisten with a thin layer of sweat as they provided each other with pleasure not only through their bodies but also with the sounds escaping their mouths.

            Occasionally, Noah would grab Lia by the hair and pull her closer to kiss her, unable to stay away from her even while inside her.

            At one point, with their breathing calming, Lia rested her head on his shoulder. Her skin was flushed, and Noah’s kisses on her other shoulder and the caresses of his hands sliding up and down her back didn’t soothe her; they only heightened her arousal. Noah kissed her neck, lingering there longer than usual to leave a mark that would be visible for the next few days.

            “Tired?” he asked after noticing her movements had slowed.

            “Yeah,” she admitted, her breath heavy against his shoulder. “It’s been a long day.”

            He gently lifted his hips, his hands guiding her as he took control. As he eased her down onto him, she let out a deep sigh, her eyes fluttering closed in response.

            “I want to pleasure you,” she murmured, her voice barely audible.

            “What makes you think you’re not?” he countered, his tone light yet sincere. “You could be out in the garden, pulling weeds, and I’d still find pleasure just watching you. Don’t be silly, Lia.”

            His words seemed to drift away as her focus narrowed to the intense feeling of him filling her completely. Drawing on her remaining energy, she braced herself by placing her hands on his chest. Her expression was a mix of determination and fatigue.

            “As you wish,” Noah said with a resigned smile, lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender. 

            He observed her intently, his gaze tracing the subtle signs of her fatigue. The once-lively spark in her eyes was now dulled, overshadowed by a weariness that clung to her features. Her breaths came in shallow, uneven gasps, and her shoulders drooped slightly, as if the weight of her exhaustion had become almost tangible. Her movements, once fluid and confident, had slowed to a laborious rhythm, each shift of her body marked by a visible strain. The effort was etched in the way her brow furrowed and her lips pressed together in a thin line. Noah’s concern deepened as he noticed the tremor in her hands and the slight unsteadiness in her posture, the kind that spoke of both physical and emotional fatigue. 

            “Lia, stop for a moment,” he said, his hands gently gripping her hips. “You’re pushing yourself too hard. It’s not necessary. Try just moving your hips and let the rest of your body relax. Can you do that?”

            She nodded. Slowly, she began to shift her movements. With a deep breath, she eased herself up and then lowered her hips, her motions turning softer and controlled. Her body felt heavy, but she managed to find a rhythm, focusing on the subtle undulations of her hips rather than the whole of her being. Each descent was measured, the motion more fluid and less strained than before. She let her upper body remain still, leaning into his touch for support, while her hips did the work, creating a gentle, rolling rhythm against him. Her breathing steadied as she adjusted, her movements becoming a blend of exhaustion and desire, finding a delicate balance that allowed her to continue without overexertion.

            Noah’s hands remained steady on her hips, guiding her with a supportive touch, and his gaze softened as he watched her, appreciating the effort she put into adjusting her dance.

            “Feels good?”

            “I feel full,” she replied. 

            Full of me, Noah thought. 

         She looked so beautiful on top of him, with her head thrown back, neck exposed, lips parted, and the little furrow between her brows that told him she was lost in pleasure. He felt an intense urge to wrap his hand around her neck and apply just enough pressure to elevate her pleasure to new heights, but he hesitated. Knowing her past made him wary of pushing her boundaries. Instead, he let his fingers trail gently down her chin, neck, and chest. Her long hair, cascading over her shoulders and down her back, framed her as she moved her hips in seductive circles. 

            He knew there wasn’t anything in this world he wouldn’t do for her—his girl.

            They loved being in each other’s arms. It didn’t feel unfamiliar. It was comfortable and nice. If Lia had felt any shyness or inhibition about being naked and on top of him, it was gone. With the press of her palms on his chest, she helped herself move up and down on Noah’s cock, much to his pleasure. It was one thing to be inside of her, and another to see her use him to pleasure herself. She looked like a goddess on top of him, stunningly beautiful with her hair flowing freely. When she threw her head back one more time with a long moan, her lips red from his kisses, he grunted and his hips lifted uncontrollably, earning a follow-up cry of pleasure from Lia.

            She tightened around him in a way that nearly left him breathless. His brows furrowed, his body tensing.

            “What did you…? How did you do that? Fuck,” he managed, his voice thick with surprise.

            She did it again and smiled wickedly at his expression.

            “Are you trying to kill me? Is that what you’re doing?” he asked, his voice a mix of disbelief and challenge. Then he pounded into her hard, once, twice.

            Lia smiled widely. 

            “What are you smiling at, huh?” Noah asked, one hand sliding up to flick her nipple with two fingers.  

            “Nothing,” she replied with a smirk.

            “Nothing? You know exactly what you’re doing.”

            He thrust all the way in again, making her breath catch in her throat. She gripped his shoulders, her body surrendering to the overwhelming sensation of him buried deep inside her. 

            “Noah…”

            Both their orgasms were imminent. 

            A few more thrusts, their movements growing increasingly sloppy, and Lia announced she was about to come. The knowledge sent a jolt of excitement through Noah, his heart racing and his cock responding with fierce urgency. Lia clenched around him, rubbing her clit with the tips of three fingers, her moans building in intensity.

            Just as her cries reached a fever pitch, a particularly heavy clap of thunder roared outside, its explosive sound nearly drowning out her primal scream, the thunderous crack coinciding perfectly with Lia’s climax. She exploded in a wave of ecstasy, her cries mingling with the storm’s fury, as if nature itself was echoing the intensity of her release.

            Noah, driven by the electric energy of the moment, gripped her hips roughly and thrust into her with a raw, relentless rhythm. The thunder outside seemed to be in sync with his movements, each rumble intensifying his own impending orgasm. With a final, forceful thrust, he reached his peak, his body convulsing in a series of spasms as he pulled out of Lia, lifting her effortlesly from him. He unloaded himself onto his own stomach, a restrained wail escaping his lips, barely audible over the storm’s roar. 

            Breathing heavily, he drew her close, careful not to get her dirty with his come. Their movements were weary but the affection was still present. He kissed her, his touch tender despite the explosive moment they had shared. His hand moved to brush the hair from her face, revealing her post-orgasmic glow. She looked radiant—exhausted but deeply satisfied. 

            Outside, the storm continued to rage, its fury unrelenting. The heavy thunder that had marked their climaxes now became a distant rumble, a lingering reminder of the night’s dramatic and passionate intensity. Lia carefully turned around and reached for the box of tissues on the coffee table, her movements slow. With a slight grimace of effort, she grabbed a few tissues and returned to him.  She began to clean him. The soft rustle of the tissues and their quiet breaths filled the room, the rain and thunder background music.

            As she worked, a hint of wistfulness crossed her face. “Do you remember...” Her expression was bittersweet, as if she was wrestling with her own emotions. Noah’s gaze shifted from her fingers, carefully wiping the last traces of his release with a crumpled tissue, to the way her lashes cast shadows over her eyes. “The night we had sex—drunk sex,” she clarified, avoiding his eyes. “It was also raining.” 

            Noah’s gaze softened as he took in the reminiscence. 

            “I remember,” he said, his voice low and reflective. He placed his hands on her hips and begand rawing circles with his thumbs, sensing how she relaxed under his touch. “Maybe the rain knew all along… It knew this was meant to be, you and me.”

            “Then it had more clarity than I did,” she replied, a trace of frustration in her voice as she chided herself.

            Determined not to let Lia’s demons intrude, he sat upright and lifted her, instructing her to lie down and relax. He placed her back on the sofa, picking another tissue to wipe her before he took the rest of tissues from her hands and walked to the kitchen to dispose of them.  

            When he returned, he found her lying on the couch, utterly spent. Her body was relaxed, one of her hands grazing her clavicle, her legs bent comfortably with her feet flat on the cushions. He sat down beside her, a satisfied smile gracing his features. With an almost reverent touch, he extended his arm and placed his hand on her stomach, starting to run his fingers up and down in an hypnotizing pattern. His expression changed, softening as he took in the sight of her, vulnerable and serene. The warmth shared, the scent of their coupling, and the gentle rain outside made the room feel like a safe haven.

            “Lia, I need to hear you say it,” he said then, softly, his voice rich with earnestness.

            She paused, taking in his request. It took her a moment to speak, not out of doubt but because she wanted to convey the full depth of her feelings. It was the first time she would vocalize them, and she wanted him to fully grasp the significance of her words.  

            After a deep, steadying breath, she finally said, “I love you, Noah.”

            The way he smiled then could’ve stopped wars.

            Moments later, he lifted her off the sofa, eliciting a surprised little scream from her.   

            “Where are we going?” she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and excitement.

            “To the bedroom,” he replied. “So I can keep loving you. Think you can give me a fourth one?” His hand slid down to her bottom, giving it a gentle, affectionate pat, as his question vibrated in her ear. 

            She nestled against his neck, a mix of sleepiness and joy washing over her. “That depends on your performance,” she murmured, fully aware of how her words would tease him.

            “On my performance?” He said, souding both incredulous and slightly amused. His tone shifted to a teasing lilt. “Seems like you haven’t seen me on stage.”

            Lia giggled against his shoulder.

            “I have… But you might have to remind me,” she replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.

            He carried her to the bed, laying her down gently. He turned her onto her stomach and dove straight into her left buttock, nibbling and growling playfully. Her laughter bubbled up as she lifted herself on her forearms, watching him over her shoulder. Her gaze was filled with both trust and desire as he positioned himself behind her.

            “With pleasure.”

— prev. chapter | chapter six

Taglist: 

@sweetwombatpizza | @missduffsblog | @shilohrosechicken

@somebodyels3 | @respectfulrebel | @xcllnt | @bluestdai

If there's anyone I'm forgetting or that wants to be added to the taglist, please let me know 🥰

[longwuzhere]

My Adventures with Superman Season 2 Easter Eggs

Welcome to another week of My Adventures with Superman! We got a heist episode with some returning characters! Hell yeah!!!!

My Easter eggs lists for season 1 is here if you haven't seen it!

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 2 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 9 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 3 post is here

Spoilers if you haven't seen the episode

After what happened in episode 5, Amanda Waller puts Metropolis in martial law and has sent out the HDC, the Human Defense Corps. her military personnel roaming around and harassing innocent civilians.

The HDC makes its first appearance in Human Defense Corps, in its own limited series back in 2003 where they were a military unit that fights back against extraterrestrial forces [Cover art by Clement Sauve, Juan Viasco, Guy Major]. They have been folded into the US military to help fight back against New Krypton in Superman: War of the Supermen #3 (2010).

Also if you want to see what crazy shit Amanda Waller is doing in the comic book universe give Absolute Power #1 (2024) a read and you will see how ruthless she can get. Out on July 3rd. And just look at that amazing cover art by Dan Mora too and he'll be doing the interior art too with the fantastic Mark Waid as the writer! Also give their World's Finest series a shot too!

The episode's title is a reference to Ocean's Eleven. Ocean's Eleven is a 1960s heist movie about Danny Ocean, who he and 10 other associates of his team up together to rob several Las Vegas casinos. I first watched this movie when it was remade in 2001 starring former Batman, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon and have watched the later 2 sequels and the Oceans 8 spinoff starring Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, Danny's sister. Fun movies if you haven't seen them.

Later in the episode, Lois plans on stealing the Jump Drive Ship from S.T.A.R. Labs and the design of it kinda reminds me of...

the space ship that brought Superman to Earth from Superman the Animated series. Also a good Superman cartoon if you need your Superman fix when waiting for new MAwS episodes!

Lois and Jimmy head to Leslie and Rory's place to hire them to break into S.T.A.R. Labs to steal the ship. I talked more about them in here and here respectively. Nice to see the both of them as a couple during the final day of Pride Month! #LoveIsNotForCowards

And speaking of queer couples, when later in the scene Rory decided to "leave the mission" Jimmy brings along Mallah and the Brain to help steal the ship as well! I talked a bit about them here and here.

Mallah and the Brain recount to everyone their multiversal hopping and I talked about the DC multiverse here and Mallah finally gets his beret to match his comic counterpart and the Brain looks just like a Dalek from Doctor Who.

Not surprised that the MAwS crew are Doctor Who fans.

As Leslie details out a plan for them to steal the ship, we see that one of her sources has told her that the guard has a family member at Silver Age Nursing Home.

So for those not in the know, comic book history is divided up into eras. From 1938 (Superman's first appearance in Action Comics #1) to 1956 is considered the Golden Age, the Silver Age was from 1956 to 1970, the Bronze Age was from 1970 to 1985, and the Modern Age was from 1985 to now.

Specifically, Silver Age of Comics was from 1956 to 1970. It began thanks to the success of the reintroduction of the then newest Flash, Barry Allen who debuted in Showcase #4 (1956). This era of comics is much more focused on science fiction and thanks to that a lot of powers and origins of superheroes now have a science/science fiction element to it for example the then new Green Lantern, Hal Jordan received his Green Lantern ring from a dying extraterrestrial, Abin Sir and Ray Palmer a.k.a the second Atom gains his powers from a white dwarf star matter. This was also the era where the Justice Society of America from the Golden Age was reimagined to the Justice League of America.

When Lex gets a surprise visit from Waller and Slade, he decides to show them Project M and explains what it is and shows off its capabilities when they go hunting Lois, Jimmy, Mallah, and the Brain. and based on what Lex says and the subtle design of the Project M robots, we can assume M is for Metallo like what AmerTek and Thomas Weston was developing in episode 3. I talk more about Metallo here.

And with that we finish the Easter Eggs and references of the episode! Come back next time to see how the gang free Clark from Brainiac and see what happens next for Kara after her realization of what happened!

My Easter eggs lists for season 1 is here if you haven't seen it!

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 2 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 9 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 3 post is here

[aoioozora]

So I drew Hesh in different hairstyles

since it was in high demand (?) and I reblogged it from that post directly but I think it deserves a post and a whole analysis of its own.

Here's the entire piece of 5 sketches:

I get quite lazy to draw and even though it wasn't specifically requested of me, I went ahead and drew Hesh in diff hairstyles because it's a fun concept to think of and honestly it was so much fun!

I got to study the face of this Sexy Man™. I hadn't noticed it before but he had low cheekbones! Now I'm not used to drawing low cheekbones since my default state is drawing them high, but it really challenged me

Right here in the first sketch. His face looks so flat 😭 I had to get my eyes used to the low cheekbones. Looks like I have a lot to learn lmao

As for the hairstyle, I love it, but I definitely think that Hesh wouldn't have his hair like this. He seems to prefer his hair on the shorter cleaner side, like this

But I can see him having a phase where he had long, luscious hair enough for Elias to go "kids these days..."

I honestly think he'd rock long hair ngl. Maybe he had a Metal phase at one point lol

I enjoyed drawing the long hair the most because I love making long, loose strokes. For once I got to fix the faulty way I draw side profiles, and improve my observational skills because Hesh looks a bit like Hesh over here lol

But my obs skills improved way more because Hesh LOOKS like Hesh in this one

Realistically he'd have this hairstyle since he's a 90s-00s boy. Saw the Brad Pitt reference and I just HAD to draw it. If I'm not wrong, he has a similar hairstyle at the beginning of the gameplay

It's really giving surfer boy. And since he's from California, he must've dabbled in surfing, who knows

Also this one is my personal fav. I think this hairstyle REALLY suits him.

Also also appreciation for his big ass nose.

In conclusion:

IMHO Hesh looks best with a style slightly longer than a buzz (clean and Brad Pitt)

Hesh is hard to draw (including his facial hair)

That being said, if you have more hairstyle ideas for our big boi here, let me know ;) I'd love to draw them hehehehe

[vro0m]

the worst thing I think atleast for me is the more people talk abt the movie even in a pirating sense or making fun angle the more they bring the attention to it. I bet you there were so many people who weren't really aware of it but found out just through people talking abt it.

Honestly we should all ignore the thing and pretend like it doesn't exist and if you have to speak about the thing then just bring attention as to why the movie shouldn't be supported any way whatsoever because I personally know alot of people who still aren't really aware of the amount of damage that man has done and bringing more awareness is never a bad thing.

I do think it will give it more publicity but beyond that what annoys me is how f1blr compartementalizes things.

When the Horner allegations came out, and I'm insisting on the fact that they were allegations although I do believe he is guilty on a personal level but my personal opinion is irrelevant, some chunks of f1blr acted like the entire team was responsible for Horner's actions because some chunks of f1blr like to act like Redbull Racing is fucking slytherin. Horrible reference to Harry Potter intended because it has about the same level of depth.

What I'm saying is, if you like to pretend some people in F1 are inherently Good and/or some of them are inherently Evil, and you like to, as we refer to coloquially, moral wank over how your blorbo is A Better Human Being for unknown parasocial reasons and/or a different driver is A Bad Human Being for similar unknown parasocial reasons,

but you're capable of setting all of that aside to watch that movie which is let me say it again both Brad Pitt propaganda and Brad Pitt's wet dream even though he is a well known trialled abuser, either because you want to or want to "make fun of it" : you're a hypocrite.

If you're fine being a hypocrite then great, don't mind me.

If you're not fine with being a hypocrite you need to either stop assigning morality to F1 (easy solution) or be coherent (hard solution).

[gemsofgreece]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGejUxD5k/

The comment of making a song in Ancient greek just to piss of Greeks what's the purpose of it? As a Greek i wouldn't mind someone foreigner trying to learn Greek, so just making this comment a video provokes a negative behaviour.

My problem with this is that I am so annoyed at the person who made the request like this ("make the Greek mad") but it gets worse because there are Greeks getting mad at the comments in a wrong way so that person is proven right :////// That person makes a reference to the long standing animosity between modern Greek speakers and western classicists obsessed with the Erasmian pronunciation. Or the reconstructed one. The TikToker has had beef with Modern Greek speakers in an older video. That's what was referenced there.

Anyway, the tiktoker himself is not wrong in his recitement when it comes to the technical aspects of it. The problem with it is that - who knows how - even though he employs the prosody in the recitation, he still sounds incredibly monotonous. And incredibly English lol. If I had to listen to all that by a rhapsodos as an Ancient Greek I'd rather kill myself. Imagine 15,693 lines of verse like that. Listen to it and tell me I am wrong.

And not to be that person, but the TikToker kinda looks like he's torn between being the most English person ever and the descendant of Brad Pitt's Achilles.

I am so mad at Greeks because the radical western classicists (new term I just invented!) lack so much self-awareness that it would be easy for Greeks to argue, and yet Greeks are divided between "GREEK PRONUNCIATION SAME ALL THE WAY BACK TO 1000000000 BC" and "a blondie said it therefore it is the unquestionable truth and I dare not develop an insight on it by myself". There's no in between. I hate us.

And I say they lack self-awareness because even though they obsess so much over the textbook, (which is western theories mixed with western interpretations of scarce ancient Greek sources, without questioning even for a second the accuracy of said interpretations and even the ability of the ancient texts to convey in script the sound and the oral delivery of the language accurately and easily enough for foreign people to understand it perfectly many centuries later and with no exposure whatsoever to said language), they fail so much at removing the inherent elements of their own language.

Like, when Ancient Greek was said to be a very beautiful and unique sounding language, and you end up sounding like the blandest English gibberish poem ever, something must not be quite right. This is not evident just in Greek. He speaks a lot of languages (and kudos to him) but he said Mahabharata and it was like "Muh- hub- arr - atttah... and a cup of tea, please". Come on. I was petty enough to pronounce Mahabharata loudly and then went to GoogleTranslate and listened to the pronunciation in Hindi (no pronunciation option available for Sanskrit). I am closer to it than he is. (3,2,1 until some wild Brit classicist claims the English version is closer to Sanskrit than Hindi is XD). But okay it was petty and not all that scientific on my part, I admit.

Whoever wants a GOOD recitation of Ancient Greek, try Ioannis Stratakis - Podium Arts on YouTube. He sticks to the "textbook" and so far he is the best I have heard.

P.S. I saw somewhere in the comments under his posts the explanation / excuse that some words have to be pitched / stressed incorrectly in prosody because otherwise they won't fit in the hexameter.... while this indeed has to happen sometimes, if it happens too often you are doing something wrong, Greek is one of the best languages to modify and switch the placements of words in order to fit in the meter or rhyme just right and if memory serves me, “having to be incorrect” not as a frequent occurence as stated.

PS2: the more I listen to it the more need for such excuses I notice….

[umlewis]

At the Invitation of Rimowa, Lewis Hamilton Makes A Pit Stop With ELLE

One of the most influential drivers in Formula 1 and protagonist of Rimowa's new campaign, Lewis Hamilton talks about traveling the world, his motivation after seven world titles, and his passion for fashion.

Lewis Hamilton started traveling at the age of thirteen because of motorsport. At 22 he joined Formula 1, which meant visiting around twenty countries for nine months, each year of the championship, and he has contested eighteen seasons so far. "Getting to know different places, and especially different cultures, really helped expand my mind and my understanding of the world," says the pilot. Naturally, then, the Englishman is one of the protagonists of the new campaign by Rimowa, a German brand that is a reference in luxury luggage. Named Never Still (or "always on the move"), it brings together personalities who have travel as the engine of their personal journey and evolution. And Hamilton never stopped surpassing himself. Born into a working-class English family, he has won seven world titles, a feat he shares only with Michael Schumacher. He also has the highest number of victories, pole positions and podiums in the most important category in world motorsport. After 945 days without a win, he took the top spot on his home podium at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last month in one of the most thrilling achievements of his career. "There were times when I thought this would never happen again. (…) I had never cried when crossing the finish line," he said in the interview after the race. "That's what happens when you keep going. We stand up," he wrote on his Instagram profile, thanking his team, Mercedes. In the following race in Hungary he achieved the 200th podium of his career. After twelve years at the German team, the Englishman will start racing for Ferrari in 2025, in one of the most talked about moves in the sport in recent times.

The first (and still only) black driver in F1, he became a voice against racism and in defense of diversity in the sport, taking a firm stand in the midst of Black Lives Matter. Hamilton was not afraid to contrast the homogeneous look of his circuit colleagues, with his dreadlocks, tattoos and jewelry. His passion for fashion is clear-he has walked the Met Gala red carpet a few times, collaborates with major brands, is a constant presence in the front rows-and his willingness to dare. The driver shows a lot of his choices behind the scenes on the circuit, reinforcing his connection with fashion under the spotlight of F1. "I don't always get it right, but I think it's a matter of personal expression," he says. The Englishman also expressed several times his admiration for Ayrton Senna, who he chose as an idol when he was still a child. In 2022 Hamilton gained the title of honorary Brazilian citizen, and at the beginning of this year he went to Bahia to spend his rare days of dolce far niente. Away from the track he opened his own film production company, with which he is preparing a feature film about F1 with Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem, in which he will also act. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), the production had scenes filmed at the British Grand Prix last year. At a pit stop in Seoul, where he posed for the photos that accompany this article, the driver spoke about his connection with Brazil, his admiration for Senna, travel, and fashion.

You will turn forty in 2025. What has age brought you? How different do you see yourself, compared to your twenties and thirties? "Deep down I'm still the boy I always was, but much more sure of myself, of what I want and where I want to go. I'm more comfortable with myself, in my own skin, enjoying my creativity, whether in music (Hamilton composes), or in fashion and sport. This brings me a lot of joy. At twenty everyone is a little lost, trying to figure out what they are and what to do. I feel like I have a north star. I think the forties will be the best. I will make them the best."

You've won seven world titles, broken a series of records, founded your own charity organization, and star in Rimowa's campaign. What motivates you? What are you looking for in the coming years? "You need to remember that life is short, to be present and find a balance between work and family. I am extremely motivated and I want to use the time I have here well. One of the things I'm most proud of is Mission 44 (an institution founded by the pilot with a focus on creating a more inclusive future for young people) and the work we are doing. Last year in São Paulo I managed to take sixty children from the city to the Autódromo de Interlagos, showing them the circuit, the pits and everything. I spent some time with them, who had ideas on how to solve some of the problems they face in Brazilian education and society. These are things I want to continue developing. I want to find out how I can use this initiative to impact people, especially children, who are the future. We need to encourage and create platforms for the next generation; the new innovators, the new designers, the new artists."

You've spent much of the last few years traveling the world. How did this influence you as a human being and as a pilot? "I started traveling when I was thirteen years old. I'm very lucky to be able to see the world. It's very different when you start traveling at a young age. Everything is the first time; the first time in Brazil, the first time in Italy. This news is so special. It's sad that you don't have the first time again, because it's very difficult to have the same feeling. Getting to know different places and especially different cultures really helped expand my mind and my understanding of the world, how vast it is and how different people interact. At the same time, we are all human beings and have a lot in common. I feel like it helped me understand humanity better, to have compassion, and I think you can be a better person when you have that understanding, unlike being in one city or country for many years."

What's never missing from your suitcase? "Face mask, a book or two, my laptop and headphones. These are the things I can't travel without."

You always seem very comfortable in Brazil. What attracts you to the country? "The thing I love most about Brazil is the people, the energy. When I was younger, growing up in England, it was the colors-the green and yellow of football shirts-that attracted me. I watched many Brazilian team games. And, of course, there was Senna. When I saw advertisements and documentaries about him, I could hear Brazilian music and drums in the background. I saw Carnival and how people celebrated. Every time I met Brazilians in England, they said, "I love it, I love the country." I don't think I've ever met anyone of another nationality who was so passionate about their country. So when I finally went to Brazil, I felt the energy. It's a very diverse country, which I love. I feel at home."

You are an honorary Brazilian citizen. "Yes. I need to learn Portuguese. [laughs]"

Your admiration for Senna is well known. Among so many F1 idols, how did your connection with the Brazilian come about? You were only nine years old when he died. "I started watching races when I spent the weekends with my father. I remember starting to watch them when I was around four years old. I was a very active boy and getting me to sit down was not easy, but for some reason I stopped with him for the grand prix. Ayrton's toy car models were what I wanted for Christmas. When I watched his videos, I felt like I understood the things he represented, how honest he was. I wanted to drive his way. I felt a connection. I remember I was racing (in a kart) the day he died and my father came to deliver the news. It knocked me down. At nine years old I had not yet had this experience. I remember crying for weeks. It was difficult and strange because I didn't know him, he wasn't from my country, but he meant so much to me. Over these years, I learned to love the person he was."

You really like fashion; you have a defined style. How would you describe it and what do you enjoy using it most? "I would say it is urban chic, quite sophisticated. I like taking risks. I love fashion, and when you enter this world you see how diverse and creative it is. I love being in that space, because I absorb a lot of inspiration. In everyday life, I love being comfortable. For example, I flew here in this sweater. Right now I'm creating amazing tailoring, something similar to suits but more comfortable than regular suits. I'm constantly learning from people and the fashion world. I don't always get it right, but I think it's a matter of personal expression."

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/5/2024: INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1994)

I'm sorry, but this movie fucking sucks. I hadn't seen it in decades and I thought it was probably "OK"; I devoured the books as a kid and I didn't remember hating the film, but I should have realized that it was a red flag that I didn't love it. I have now discovered that it's bad enough that it failed to thrill me when I was a morose little horror dork who was really the target audience, and as an adult I can hardly stand it.

Daniel Molloy (Christian Slater, dressed up as Art Spiegelman for some reason) interviews for-realsies vampire Louis (Brad Pitt, still looking like he spends a lot of time in the sun) about life with his master Lestat (Tom Cruise, who knows why) and their eternally-childlike daughter Claudia (poor li'l Kirsten Dunst). Suddenly I feel like I don't know what to say about this, as I'm writing, even though I enjoyed the book and also the superior-in-every-single-way TV show. You know. Louis is really sad about being a monster. Lestat is really happy about being a monster. Claudia is really mad about being a monster. They have interpersonal problems. Later they meet some other vampires, and have interpersonal problems with them. At the end Louis is angry with Daniel for not getting the point, but maybe neither did I.

To some degree the problems of the movie are the problems of the book, but on the page they're basically forgivable for various reasons. I'm probably not going to refresh my memory, but as I recall Anne Rise has a way of really drawing you into her world, which is so literally-sensational that it makes up for her boy-crazy humorlessness. Everybody basically has one characteristic, outlined above, but the visceral pleasure of the prose takes over--and to be totally fair, it was novel at the time. It was the vampire story we had all been waiting to hear. (Ok, so the book is from 1978 but it still felt fresh in 1994) But when you port all that to the screen and leave the telling to these actors who are almost universally miscast, it all just lies there, dead.

I thought my hesitation about rewatching this was related to my petty aversion to Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise specifically. I really don't enjoy either of them in general, and I also felt like they were profoundly wrong for the roles; neither of them could be less goth, less tortured, less otherworldly. It feels criminal to fill these classic queer outsider roles with alpha males who seem like they would have beaten up your weird gay friends in high school, and their performances are not remotely good enough to make up for this impression. Kirsten Dunst is perfectly awful but like...you just can't have a 12 year old playing a person who is any older than 12. It cannot work. It's not her fault, it's just a bad idea.

The only guy who is any good at all in this is Stephen Rea, a staple of director Neil Jordan's films, who I almost didn't even recognize because his Santiago is so uncanny and dynamic and fun despite having very little to do. I love the way his look references LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, it made me wonder how much more could have been done by subtly comparing Rice's vampires with their cultural predecessors. Rea lights up every scene he's in because he's so mischievous and unpredictable, and he's also almost the only person with any standout stunts--which helps me segue into the other main gripe I had with this movie, that it is incredibly stiff and static. It's like a prison. Everyone is totally weighed down by their giant ridiculous wigs and seven layer costumes, so even though the movie is supposed to be all sensual and shit, it's like nobody can even move.

Dealing with INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is making me realize that I'm not quite sure what I think about Neil Jordan. I have this kneejerk reaction that he is Great because THE CRYING GAME is such an institution, and MONA LISA is real good too, but I might have found all of his other movies kind of humorless and stiff and like, beautiful but not altogether meaningful. I really struggle with THE COMPANY OF WOLVES because of its terrific FX and handful of fun scenes, but there is something about it that fails to connect with me. Sometimes it's overly pretentious, I mean paralleling a maiden's coming of age with the blood on the white roses is like...pretty gross, dude. But overall there is something about it that just lacks substance, despite its relentless and oppressive Symbolism. It seems like this problem should have been smoothed out for INTERVIEW since it was shot from Anne Rice's own script, but according to me, it really does not work out.

[atopvisenyashill]

do u remember the characters who were complimented the most by their beauty in the books?

off the top of my head (and keeping in mind i’m still on asos and haven’t reread feastdance at least since the show ended so like 3-4 years) characters who get complimented most often for beauty are -

cersei

sansa

dany

margaery

jaime (not joking, he doesn’t get called handsome, he gets called beautiful. think more brad pitt and less george clooney)

joffrey (similar to jaime, altho tbf most of the comments on his beauty come from sansa)

loras

characters who are less complimented mostly due to them not being in every book but still notable beauties include-

arianne

catelyn & lysa - i’m like 80% sure people comment on lysa being beautiful when she’s younger & less so now, but don’t quote me there. i know people comment on cat being hot af when she’s younger, and multiple people remark on her hair so she clearly still Has It, she’s just not in a position where men are throwing themselves at her feet in the series given, ya kno, the war

melisandre

roslin frey

margaery’s lady’s court - her girls, taena, and alerie are all described at some point or another as being beautiful

taena of myr - wanted to mention her specifically, people tend to think of her as striking

val the wildling

ygritte the wildling - notable that this is incredibly conditional bc jon only starts referring to her as beautiful after they start sleeping together BUT the wildlings consider her beautiful bc of her hair

rohanne webber

characters noted to be beautiful by people who are clearly fishing for a compliment to pay her (aka, She Is Beautiful To Me, I Understand Her)-

jeyne westerling - i want to add her bc you have cat, robb, and jaime all acknowledge she’s “pretty enough” but are won over by her after talking to her, which probably speaks more to how she carries herself than her actual looks. but as a westerling stan, it’s notable To Me haha

brienne - i need to include this bc the “she could almost be a lady she could almost be a knight” is one of my favorite lines in the series, it makes me crazy and i think any post about beauty that doesn’t include brienne isn’t complete. that brienne gets the “brienne the beauty” moniker bc she’s ugly even as jaime keeps thinking about how she’s beautiful in some way or another is, imo, notable in how george sees & defines beauty (very much in the eye of the beholder, and that love can make you search for beauty in someone who is objectively not beautiful according to The Societal Standards)

arya - ned compares her to lyanna (and obviously ned isn’t gonna tell his daughter “you’re an uggo my sister was hot as fuck tho”) & gendry & edric both get a lil flustered over her

ellaria sand - noted that she’s not strictly beautiful but “something draws the eye” which seems like jeyne it’s about how she carries herself than her actual looks

jeyne poole - i mean. lots of comments about how she’s pretty ish and they’re clearly meant cruelly, almost as a way of tormenting her (no fancy last name, no wolf’s blood, not even pretty enough to get someone to rescue her)

pre-asoiaf mentioned in the main series for their beauty include-

lyanna stark

ashara dayne

missy blackwood

barba bracken

rhaegar targaryen

and pre-asoiaf characters noted to be beautiful in twoiaf or f&b-

rhaenys targaryen (the conqueror)

nymeria of ny sar

rhaena the lesbian

alyssa velaryon

jocelyn baratheon

viserra targaryen

rhaenys velaryon

rhaenyra targaryen - notable that she’s considered beautiful as a child but less so as an adult (bc westeros is full of fucking weirdos)

helaena targaryen - described as being more beautiful than alicent and that’s really it

daenaera velaryon - ditto on westeros being full of weirdos lol

jaehaera targaryen - again. she is like 12 when she dies but half the realm is commenting on this beautiful child. i hate these people so much.

baela targaryen

lady sam hightower

something that’s notable is that george makes a continued distinction between “pretty” and beautiful - alysanne targaryen is considered pretty but not beautiful, for example. so there’s people like jeyne westerling who are “pretty enough” as in, not ugly, not plain, but not, as jaime puts it “beautiful enough to lose a kingdom over” as in they are drop dead, model, helen of troy type gorgeous.

that’s also why i wanted to include the “fishing for compliments” type girls bc these women are very aware that they’re not pretty enough and often wind up carrying themselves differently as a response to this - if they can’t be gorgeous they’ll be so disarming, so striking, that people will spin back around to beautiful. ygritte is the biggest example of this imo because how jon perceives her beauty is very tied to how his relationship with her develops - he purposefully conflates her beauty with her violence bc he wants to find her violence beautiful bc that would make his life infinitely easier, and after she dies he’s very clear headed that she isn’t that pretty but she is TO HIM, she is beautiful in his memory because of his feelings for her. it makes him very wary of melisandre & val as a result - because he conflates beauty and violence in ygritte, it makes him wary of other harsh & beautiful women. or take lyanna, who is remembered often as being beautiful yet in ned’s memory, this beauty is part of what dooms her and he is outwardly hostile whenever people mention her beauty - to ned, that beauty brought only horror so he doesn’t dwell on it.

there’s lots of commentary here on what “beautiful” actually means from person to person, so while i would say the first group are more objectively beautiful, it’s also important to think about context - who is thinking they’re beautiful, why they’re thinking this, and what their relationship is.

[eretzyisrael]

by Jordan Hoffman

In Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, the decision of Cillian Murphy's J. Robert Oppenheimer to make the leap from theoretical physics to practical applications is a personal one. "It's not your people they're herding into camps," he says to Josh Hartnett's Ernest Lawrence. "It's mine."

Oppenheimer's Jewish background (and that of many of the brilliant people portrayed in the film, like Albert Einstein, Edward Teller, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Richard Feynman, Leo Szilard and others) is a key component in their determination to prevent the Nazis from being first to create an atomic bomb. You would not know this, however, if you saw the movie in Arabic. 

As reported in The National, an English-language news outlet based in the United Arab Emirates, the Lebanon-based company that translated the film for the region has dodged the specific word for Jews and, instead, has opted to use word ghurabaa that translates as stranger or foreigner.

Egyptian film director Yousry Nasrallah criticized the decision, saying "The Arabic translation of the dialogue was strikingly poor. There is nothing to justify or explain the translation of Jew to ghareeb or ghurabaa. It is a shame."

An unnamed representative for the film told The National that this is not atypical for Middle Eastern censor boards. "There are topics we usually don't tackle, and that is one of them. We cannot use the word 'Jew', the direct translation in Arabic, otherwise it may be edited, or they ask us to remove it."

They continued, "In order to avoid that, so people can enjoy the movie without having so many cuts, we would just change the translation a little bit. This has been an ongoing workflow for the past 15 or 20 years." (In 2013, though a large section of the Brad Pitt action film World War Z was set in Israel, Turkish translations changed all references to simply "The Middle East.")

There are several moments in the film in which the impact is blunted by this censorship. Oppenheimer's foe, Lewis Strauss (played by Robert Downey Jr.), is also Jewish, and mentions it in the film — but then is particular about the Americanized way his name ought to be pronounced. When Oppenheimer meets Rabi, who is first to voice ethical concerns about the creation of the bomb, he refers to himself and Oppenheimer as "a couple of New York Jews," marking themselves as distinct from mainstream American culture. The National reports that the translation reads as "inhabitants of New York."

Oppenheimer has seen tremendous box office success both domestically and internationally, with a cumulative gross of $650 million — a remarkable achievement for a historical drama. Last week it became the highest-grossing World War II film of all time, has extended its 70mm IMAX run in several markets, and even surpassed Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the biggest earner at Hollywood's Chinese Theatre.

[nancydrewwouldnever]

I always thought Chris evans is A-list celeb , I don't know how we can see celeb as A-list

So, here's the thing, A-List has a very specific meaning, but it's become somewhat overused these days. A-List should be used to denote only those actors who are basically known to the general public on a first name basis in a discussion. So, if we're talking movies and I said "Brad," you'd probably automatically know I meant Brad Pitt. Meryl - you know that one. If I said Angie/Angelina, you know who it is. If I say Tom you might have a moment deciding between Hanks and Cruise, but the context of our discussion would make it clearer. The criteria for that A-List also means they are able to sell and open a movie or project on their name alone. Tom Cruise puts butts in seats off the name Tom Cruise, and the track history of his films. Same goes with other huge A-List stars, like Dwayne Johnson (although he's had more than a few flops).

However, these days, this gray area is coming into it because of social media and its influence. So, you see some people referred to as A-List who don't have the immediate name recognition or box office track record, but they do have SM saturation and recognition. This, I think, is becoming more important in the younger generations coming up.

But, even by these metrics, you see how the "A-List" status really had to do with Marvel/Captain America in the years 2016-2019. It was when those movies hit their peak that Evans got the added shine and "list" bump. I think now he should only be slotted into B-List, and that's still hinging on the success of all those Marvel films. He still hasn't been able to open a movie in his own right, even after all this time.

[thenarddogmeister]

Fight Club. Dir David Fincher. (1999)

I re-watched this film a couple of days ago and I want it to be my first review of 2024.

Firstly, I love the aesthetics and the ideologies in this film, I think they both support each other to make a very interesting film, that has a lot to say. I love how generically ordered the Narrator's apartment is to showcase his obsessive and meaningless consumerism and the juxtaposition presented to us when we see Tyler's place - a dilapidated ruin of a house. This house is dirty and disrepaired and contains no furniture, a complete reversal of the Narrator's apartment. These battling aesthetics show us the polarising lifestyles regarding consumerism - complicitly giving in to it or radically opposing it. I think Fincher wants us to see that both lifestyles have their flaws. Many people confuse Tyler to be the aspirational man but the dirty aesthetic and his destructive acts negate this idea.

I love the metaphor used through the Narrator having insomnia. "Woke" has become a popular term to refer to progressive qualities and being socially or politically aware so I think the Narrator's insomnia is a signifier for him being painfully (he is miserable due to his lack of sleep) aware. Moreover, he says a line about insomnia stating that when you're affected by it "everything is a copy of a copy." This almost resembles Baudrillard's theory, which implies we live in a post-modern world where everything (down to the products we consume) are just copies of earlier things. The Narrator's awareness of this makes him utterly miserable, which can be relatable even more so in 2024 due to the rise of social media, which thrives in incessant advertising and inevitable regurgitation.

Brad Pitt's character is a symbol for chaos and pure destruction - what would happen if we opposed the system too radically. We see this pure destruction in his action but also in the way he breaks normal rules surrounding films. He breaks the 4th wall by appearing in ironic flashes during frames (a reference to what he does working as a projectionist), he also breaks the 4th wall in lines of dialogue such as "flashback humour" which makes us aware that, yes, the joke is funny because it uses a flashback. This destruction of traditional film immersion also alludes to his over-awareness and "wokeness" as even as a character in the film, he is extra aware of what is happening. After all, he's the one that confirms the Narrator was Tyler all along. Brad Pitt's character represents the opposite side of the capitalistic spectrum and whilst he is used as a useful mouth piece to share valid criticisms of capitalism and consumerism, his level of demolition is obviously not aspiration as it's depicted as grimy, upsetting (Bob's unnecessary death) and chaotic.

And obviously, I absolutely love that last shot where the Pixies begin to play and the bombs (the most iconic symbol of destruction there is) begin to blow. The window separates him from Martha and he is trapped and alone - perhaps ultimate destruction is just as imprisoning as capitalism. He's just one man, who has caused all this wreckage, and was it worth it? I don't think so but I guess it's up to the audience.

[theangryman]

fight club

i think a lot of feminists have written off fight club by association

it’s such an accurate portrait of certain types of damaged men that it resonates with them, while being at the same time a deep critique of them and everything they believe in (see other examples: BoJack Horseman, Rick Sanchez, Joaquin Pheonix’s Joker)

chucky P is gay

his books are all hinged on mega weird and unreliable narrator(s) + big twist

(fun fact - basically every single song on this album is a reference to a Chuck P novel. I don’t recall any Fight Club refs atm, it’s mostly his other work. Taking Back Sunday has an entire music video that’s basically a recreation of the movie though)

his book is basically an exploration of the drive straight cis men have towards fascism. it is deeply homoerotic, but of the type tinged with fascism. the desire for righteous annihilation, betterment for physical violence. women as invisible (they are not nearly as much in his other works)

Chucky P wrote a book called Pygmy that’s narrator is a North Korean (?) spy sent to perform some sort of terror attack. it is written from his perspective, using broken English. (Also it’s pretty terrible IMHO, that’s about where I stopped reading him)

we might find it interesting that he is better able to write from the perspective of his proto-stochastic terrorists than he is from the weirdly racialized spy in Pygmy. but depiction does not equal endorsement. unreliable narrator stories are supposed to make us question everything

Fight Club works as a metaphor for a man who becomes radicalized and violent. embitterment and grievances slowly build up until in a sudden outburst of violence, they take it out on anyone around them (this is pretty explicit in the “go make a stranger fight you” scene in the movie)

the movie undercuts the film by having the plan succeed; it’s almost like a reverse Starship Troopers. everything about the film looks fun. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter are vamping it up. the movie leaves out the weirder bits from the novel; there isn’t as much to distance the viewer from identifying with the characters (like Tyler Durdens compulsion to jerk off in peoples food, or at least Fincher didn’t seem compelled to include it as much…)

like spoilers:

the book ends with protagonist waking up in a hospital, after shooting themselves in the head. the plan to blow up the buildings failed, but one of the nurses says something that hints to him being a member of Project Mayhem

which again, is an examination of the way these kinds of movements spin out of control. I doubt the people who were originally posting on incel forums wanted Elliot Rodgers. how many movements end up eating their own? there’s even that fun scene where they threaten to cut the protagonists nuts off….

[romilly-jay]

I want to love you (more than I love you)

***spoilers***

I was pretty sure I was the ideal audience for The Lost City. And - TLDR - I did really enjoy it the first time I saw it but have struggled to get through it on the second time of viewing, a year later. (WHY?)

Still loved the opening though - the setting and the scrubbing out.

First - why am I the ideal audience?

Do I love Romancing the Stone? Back in the day, wholeheartedly. These days? Probably, definitely, undeniably not ALL of it. Hasn't ALL aged very well, has it? But Kathleen Turner's Joan Wilder and the journey/s she goes on, particularly the emotional one? YES PLEASE.

Sandra Bullock is Loretta Sage who is a sort of Joan Wilder for the 2020s. Both are super successful romance novelists, but LS leans academic and tough, plus also - grieving - whereas JW is ALL Mills and Boon, soft, longing for love, cat-lady-in-training material. Both end up on a treasure quest because someone took their books a bit too seriously (although, sometimes having your books taken seriously can be a good thing, per this lovely clip via YouTube, below).

Do I love Lara Croft? Not as much as I feel I should. Shout-out to Brad Pitt's character cameo (I think it's a cameo?) as a guy who surely would be at home in either of those movies IMO.

Do I love Indiana Jones? Is the Pope a major figure in the Roman Catholic church? Does Indy have a fraught relationship with snakes?

See - makes sense of the snakes, right (and I can 100% imagine the writers being like FINALLY I have chance to question the snake logic!)

Big shout-out to Daniel Radcliffe who for me was the absolute and slightly unexpected highlight of this movie, especially on the second run at it, and who could have credibly villained up in any of the previously mentioned flicks, or, another obvious inspo - James Bond.

Closer to home - am I a big fan of Sandra Bullock?

Yes, really am, and I think my favourite of her movies remains 1995's While You Were Sleeping though I accept that the dumb McGuffin that gets the plot going is now considered ethically ICK (and, it was never, as such, a move we were supposed to approve of?)

But come on - is this guy... leaning? Still (to me) adorable.

BTW had absolutely not realised how Proto-Sopranos the landlord guy is (can't remember - is that his role/relationship to the SB character? - can't quite summon the energy to go and find out). And, indeed, having looked up the actor, he was considered for Tony Soprano when that series was created a few years later (greenlit 1997 and on screens from, I think, 1999) and played a small role in S1.

I did really enjoy the Channing Tatum character, though he was playing, of course, a zillion times softer than in my current favourite of his movies. No, not Magic Mike. Not even Step Up* (which I liked).

[*There's a moment later on in The Lost City where they dance and - wow - it's really something to see someone on screen who can REALLY move. SB perhaps not so much, but CT? Fluid to the max.]

For reasons that probably speak to some personality deficiency or psychosis, my fave CT movie is 2013's White House Down, naturally:

So - the issue? The out-of-water environment was GREAT. The constant references to ridiculous treasure hunt / action adventure movies also really worked for me. I think big picture the movie stands or falls on how much the viewer can believe there's a soft, worthwhile person under the surface of SB's dismissive, superior veneer and whether it's fun to watch Person In Position of Power Being Mean to Lovely Softer Person Who For No Obvious Reason Adores Them.

Turns out that I can go with that only once.

Perhaps 1st time through I'm expecting the Mean Person to get over themselves faster. On a second viewing, my patience is lower and I want her to behave better, faster. No, I don't think that being scared of moving on or commitment or fresh heartbreak is a good excuse.

It's also a close revival of The Proposal - except that CT is all sweetness, no snark while RR is always at least a little bit of a blend.

I enjoyed The Proposal - but I didn't entirely enjoy it. (And again, there's some secondary material that hopefully wouldn't make the cut if it was being made now and that would be frankly unregretted.)

PS Thought RR's snark was on point with his birthday message to SB last year - how very on brand to reshare this Gorgeous Bodies image while simultaneously joking about how industry standards have changed AND, I think, by doing this publicly, jokily, reaffirming the idea that this was one of the movies With Nothing To Hide.

[fayevalcntine]

Seeing any kind of Brad Pitt defense over his portrayal of Louis in the 1994 movie is actually insane to me because that man did not emote a single time in any proper way throughout the film. Making a sad face while barely trying to bring any shred of emotion in your line delivery when your character is literally narrating the story to someone (and in doing so needs to be able to pull that person in with their storytelling) while at the same time blatantly showing his own hypocrisy in what he believes in vs what he does is not actually "being the perfect Louis".

Book Louis is a hypocrite and an insane man who thinks himself exempt from the judgement he places onto Lestat for doing outlandish killings or throwing out his anger onto the mortal world. He tentatively agrees to referring to himself as his slave while also having been a literal slave owner. The fact that he controls the money, the investments and even owns the house where the entire unholy family live is what further drives that point home. But book Louis is also supposed to be charming in his own way. He pulls in Lestat, Armand, even Daniel with his own contradictory behavior. He's not just a pretty face who got targeted by a vampire, he's a man who was never morally pure to begin with, and that allows him to even survive as a vampire, despite his moral dilemmas over feeding off of humans and the purpose of his own existence when he questions it against the backdrop of his Catholic faith. Brad Pitt didn't even try to understand this basic reading of his character, let alone emote it.

[keldjinfae]

I was tagged by my musical doppleganger @oldefashioned to list my top ten recent(ish) movies, but my memory is absolute shit and what feels like was "just last year" was probably back in 2017. I also can't remember if I've already responded to this one. Thankfully it's not a coffee pot or the house'd probably have burned down by now.

Edit: Thanks to an artwork reblog, I remembered that 1) my sister and I also saw Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and 2) it was released in 2019. We enjoyed the hell out of it, and it's a shame that there likely won't be a sequel.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - I went to see this one with my sister right before the pandemic shut-ins, and we loved the hell out of it. We expected to because it was a Tarantino movie, but both DiCaprio and Pitt were brilliant in it, and were each given the opportunity to stretch their comedic muscles in a way that the '90s and early '00s didn't really allow for because they had to be Hollywood's ideal of "leading men." They're both just dudes in this movie--totally relatable dudes.

Bullet Train - I actually went to see this with my sister right after the pandemic shut-ins, and we thought it was poetic to be bookending the experience with Brad Pitt in another oft-times comical role. The whole thing is a very black comedy, but it's so damn good. The timing is perfect, the acting from everyone is spot-on, and Pitt is only arguably the main character in a brilliant ensemble cast, because he often just sits back and lets everyone else steal the show. Also, there's something about Michael Shannon that draws me into every single thing he's ever been in, so...

John Wick Chapter 4 - also went to see it with my sister, but this was the one that we finally managed to get my brother-in-law to go see as well and thereby pulled him into the John Wick 'verse. Sis and I also flailed around like idiots over the reference to The Warriors, and I'm never going to dismiss a chance to see something with any of the Skarsgards.

Love and Monsters - I put off watching this one for a while because of the marketing for it, actually. I thought it was going to be another movie about a protagonist who was the butt of everyone's joke, and I eventually "went in" prepared to cringe hard and take frequent pause breaks... only to be very pleasantly surprised when this wasn't the case at all.

Red, White, and Royal Blue - again, one that I put off for a bit partly because of aversion to secondhand embarrassment, but also because I'd been in the middle of writing a Sterek fic with an approaching deadline. Still, I was also once again pleasantly surprised.

Joker - yet another one I went to see with my sister. Appropriately twisted, had Joaquin Phoenix, and we both walked away wanting to get our hands on the soundtrack.

Bohemian Rhapsody - I know this one was pre-pandemic, but 2020 was also the year that my back gave out and I've more or less been struggling just to get by ever since, so "recent" is going to have a somewhat warped definition. It wasn't "the perfect biopic," but it was still enjoyable, and my sister and I went to see it with our mom and her best friend, who've both been die-hard Queen fans since they were twelve. We couldn't afford to take Mom to see Queen in-concert, so we took her to see their movie instead.

Deadpool 2 - loved it just as much as the first Deadpool, though I do wish that the movies would just let Vanessa be Copycat already instead of making her a damsel in distress/killing her off every time.

Infinity War - I honestly preferred Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2, but there were plenty of moments in this movie that either hit hard or hit right.

End Game - I saw it, though I don't remember a lot of it. Not because it was a terrible movie or anything, it just came out less than two weeks after my father passed away, so my sister and I basically went to see it because he didn't get to see the last two movies of the series. Well, before they went ahead with Phase Four, that is. Dad, Sis, and I were all die-hard Captain America: Winter Soldier fans and we'd loved the hell out of Civil War, too, so Dad would've wanted to see how everything resolved. More no pressure whatsoever tags for people who have hopefully been able/willing to see more movies than me in the past few years: @vmures @nerdherderette @ice-mage @dear-massacre @renmackree

[1004sface]

TV Guide 1997.01.23 - 'Solving the H.O.T. Syndrome' (pt. 2)

Scans credit: hot.dataclub.net · part 1, part 3

Privacy questionnaire

A. Your secret

B. Your insecurity

C. Your first kiss

D. Your celebrity crush

E. Your unique jinx

Moon Heejun / Kissing? I don't know that stuff yet

A. My contact information. I can't share that information because so many fans camp at our dorm around the clock.

B. I live life thankful of every part of myself because this is the body my parents gave me.

C. I'm still a minor, why should I have had a kiss?

D. That's a delicate matter. I do have one, but it's definitely not Song Jina from Young Turks Club.[1]

E. Strangely enough, my body gets all sweaty after I dance to Candy.

Kangta / The "short legs" teasing gets to me

A. I have a mole on my lower abdomen.

B.  My short legs. Because of this, my peers keep on teasing me by calling me "short legs".

C. With my elementary school seatmate. It wasn't a kiss, just a peck.

D. Kim Jaok. Her smile on stage left an impression on me. I think she's like a princess.[2]

E. When I pick my socks wrong, things tend not to go well.

Jang Woohyuk / Out of celebrities, I like Kim Jaok nuna

A. I have a significant goal I have to make reality no matter what, but I feel like if I say it here people will sneer at me, so I won't. In the future, I'll be reborn as an "all-purpose entertainer".

B. "Ugly Complex". When Young Turks Club sing that song, I feel I can relate to it.

C. How can I reveal that in such a public space like this?

D. I like Kim Jaok too. I like princesses, and that glare she just happened to shoot in the waiting room once was no joke.

E. When I have nightmares, good things always happen, and when I have good dreams strange things happen.

Tony An / I have many surprising secrets, but I can't tell

A. It's obvious not to tell secrets. I do have lots of surprising secrets, but I'll reveal them one by one later.

B. That I'm not good-looking. I should've at least looked like Brad Pitt...

C. I haven't had one in Korea as of yet. As for in America, I'll leave that as no! comment.

D. Kangta. He has a cool, sexy gaze. Please don't take this in the wrong way.

E. I get unbearably cold in the winter, and since I sweat more than usual in the summer it's hard to live.

Lee Jaewon / Insecure of his "scrawny long-legs" physique

A. I look reserved on the outside, but with my friends I'm a real big talker.

B. My small build. I'm a tall 180 centimeters but only weight 59 kilograms, so I feel from now on I've got to eat a lot and gain some weight.

C. I'm 17 years old right now. If I had a kiss I would've been kicked out of school.

D. Insooni sunbaenim. I'd like to be like her, who's steadily active even in her forties, and be a singer who'll be long remembered.

E. If I don't go out wearing shoes, I feel weird all day.

–––––––––

Translator's notes (marked with small-script numbers in the text)

Song Jina and Moon Heejun had a very persistent dating rumor in their respective groups' early days.

Kim Jaok, Korean veteran actress—the constant princess references are because at the time, she had released an album, its title track called "The Princess Is Lonely" (공주는 위로워).