#need to extensively interview the director about it

[franklyimissparis]

rewatched the miracle aligner music video for the billionth time. still gay.

[vague-humanoid]

The first significant emergence of organ trafficking accusations against Israel came during the First Palestinian Intifada in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. During this period, many Palestinian families claimed that the bodies of relatives who died in operations undertaken by Israeli forces were returned missing organs. Although initially dismissed as unfounded propaganda, the increase in similar reports strengthened speculation and concern. The case of young Palestinian Bilal Ahmed Ghanem, killed by Israeli soldiers in 1992, and a 2009 article in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet titled Our Sons’ Organs Were Stolen [4] further highlighted these claims. The article included interviews with families who alleged that Israel had harvested organs from deceased Palestinians and suggested a broader organ trafficking network connected to Israeli medical institutions.

Israeli officials have previously admitted removing body parts from Palestinians and other groups. In a controversial 2014 Israeli television program, senior officials confessed to harvesting skin [5] from deceased Palestinians and African workers, which was used to treat burns on Israeli soldiers. The director of the Israeli Skin Bank revealed [6] that the country’s human skin reserves had reached 17 square meters (183 square feet), a significant amount for a small population, suggesting a more extensive organ collection practice. Israeli doctor and anthropologist Meira Weiss, in her book [7] Over Their Dead Bodies (2002), provided details about the systematic harvesting of organs from Palestinians, which were used for medical research in Israeli universities and transplanted into Israeli patients.

A report [8] released by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor in October 2023 rekindled concerns over allegations of organ harvesting involving Palestinians, particularly in cases where bodies returned from Israeli custody showed signs of tampering. Gaza health officials have reported inconsistencies in the bodies released, pointing to organ removal. According to the report, Israeli forces collected dozens of Palestinian bodies from hospitals in northern Gaza, which were returned in a mutilated state. In July 2024, [9] Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the Israeli military held the bodies of 1,500 Palestinians at the Sde Teiman detention center. All these allegations highlight the urgent need for a thorough investigation into the dignity of war dead and broader human rights violations.

[agendabymooner]

ollie on thin ice(man) || ob8 (+ kr7) scenario

ollie bearman x raikkonen!ofc (ft. dad!kimi raikkonen)

EXTENSION TO ICE ICE BABY (SMAU)

ANOTHER RECOMMENDED READ: STOP THE WORLD I WANNA GET OFF WITH YOU (KIMI R. SMAU)

Summary: It was the Formula 1 summer break, meaning that The Iceman’s two driving children, including his beloved Romania ‘Aroma’ Raikkonen, were home. This also meant that a certain Ollie Bearman would make his presence known to the Raikkonen household- which was unpleasant for Kimi’s part.

Content warning: Dad!Kimi being protective, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is addressed as ‘Kimi’ by the Raikkonens but is addressed as ‘Andrea’ in narration, humour, wooing, Ollie wanting to cry really bad, Antonelli x Raikkonen!OFC (Rooney)

Note: this might not make sense to most but… enjoy regardless xx read the recommended fics for more context.

a - n masterlist // o - z masterlist

if you’d like to get on one of my taglists, check this post out

For Kimi, it was never a problem to have people over.

 He was retired and he pretty much had nothing all day but to spend some time with his kids all while his wife, the Academy Award winning director Vera Coppola, worked on days end while she travelled to New York for a week. 

It was a life he loved to live, really.

To have people over was a usual case for the Coppola-Raikkonen household, as Kimi had three children that were at the age when friends and peers were important. 

Kimi and Vera always thought that it was much better that they allowed their children to have friends over than having them go out and about at night— better be free at home than rebellious and endangered, right?

It was now the summer break of this year’s F1 season, which meant that his two children were also home and didn’t need to be travelling with their mum to wherever the next race was.

It meant that they didn’t need to do their schoolwork on the plane while their private tutors sat with them on the way to wherever. 

It gave the two young racers the break they needed from competing, anyways. If there was something that Kimi knew, it was that his eldest daughter and oldest son had the same drive as him. 

Though, if he was being honest, his son was more like him in terms of interviews and personality in front of the camera. But still… both were racing out of pure joy.

Thank goodness, their mother was a Coppola and Kimi made millions before this. 

“Dad, Kimi’s here,” Johann-Lauri Francis Coppola-Raikkonen, or simply Jo, announced as the fifteen year old walked into the living room where Kimi and his two younger kids sat. 

Andrea Kimi (whom Kimi was never confused with whenever Jo or any of his children said the name ‘Kimi’ as they addressed their dad as ‘Dad’) made his presence known to Kimi as he waved, “Good afternoon, Mr. Raikkonen.” 

“Ah! Andrea,” Kimi nodded. “Nice seeing you. When did you get here to Italy?” 

“Hm… We just got back from Nice two hours ago,” Andrea replied with a purse on his lips, “Mamma and Papa made sure I got here in time. I even brought an overnight bag.”

“Okay,” Kimi said with a nod, “Johann, did you clean your room?”

“Yes, dad,” Jo replied.

“Do you want me to order food later?” Kimi asked.

Just the mere utter of the words ‘order food�� had Kimi’s second daughter running from the home library to the living room.

“Dad? Why is it that every time Kimi’s around we always order food? Why can’t we order food when Kimi’s not here?” 

Rooney Italia Coppola-Raikkonen, at the age 17, never once enjoyed the presence of Andrea. But that was because they were both at that age when pissing each other off was just a phase. Now here she was, complaining about Andrea getting a special treatment.

“Bwoah, he is a guest, Roo,” Kimi answered plainly. “Mama isn’t here right now, and I’m sure you’d like some pizza too, no?”

“For dinner?” Rooney whined. 

“You can order off the menu and tell me later,” Kimi negotiated, making Roo jump excitedly. 

“Nice,” Roo said with a grin before she glared at Andrea, “You suck, Antonelli.”

“Rooney Italia—“ Kimi was about to scold his daughter, but she had already sped off to the home library once more.

Kimi sighed, watching the two teenage boys head upstairs to Jo’s room. Kimi looked down at his little boy and his toddler girl. Both little kids were less of a menace than the older ones, thankfully. 

Betty-Elina was suckling on her pacifier when she looked at Kimi and raised her comfort blanket up to Kimi’s chest level.

“Thank you, kulta,” Kimi told Betty with a grin. He turned to where his youngest son was. 

Henrik was snoozing on Kimi’s lap, not even minding the noise that his big siblings were making just about now. 

God. What a life he was living. 

Somewhere in the mansion, rather down the hall of the east wing, was a quiet muffling sound of a girl who was speaking to herself. Well, Romania Eleanor was barely speaking to herself.

She was streaming. It was her first stream ever since F2 had gotten to her system. 

Having to fight her friends to keep her second position before the season ends told her enough about how taxing racing could get. Thus she did the second best thing to racing and streamed cozy games to her fans.

Aroma, once she heard a knock and a creak of the door, looked over to see her younger sister Rooney. She paused her game, trying to see what the girl wanted all while her stream remained running.

“What’s up?” Aroma asked.

“Dad‘s going to order food,” Rooney started but was quickly cut off.

“Let me guess: Antonelli?” Aroma quipped.

Rooney huffed out, “As always.”

Aroma knew that the two, for some reason, hated each other’s presence. Or rather, Andrea Antonelli was simply amused at the one sided beef Rooney had with him. 

But regardless, the ART Grand Prix driver chuckled as she nodded. Aroma said, “If Dad is ordering from Signora Leona’s restaurant, can you ask if I can have some seafood fettuccine Alfredo?” 

“Got it,” Rooney raised a thumb up before she left the room. 

Aroma watched Rooney leave and shut the door behind her before she sighed, proceeding to play her Animal Crossing as she spoke to her stream, “It’s like I’m watching a cringe version of enemies to lovers.”

Ollie Bearman was never scared of anyone.

Anyone but one person that wasn’t his parents: Aroma Raikkonen’s father, Kimi.

He’s heard stories about The Iceman and how he couldn’t care less about anything that didn’t involve him nor his children.

Sure, for most people it wasn’t a scary thought. But in some ways, the British man was involved with Kimi Raikkonen’s eldest daughter. 

That alone was a scary thought. He’s had a crush on Aroma since they started racing together, back when Aroma raced around Europe while her mother Vera took her to travel. Ollie was a welcome face to everyone in the Coppola-Raikkonen household. 

But god… People called Kimi ‘The Iceman’ for a reason, Ollie thought. 

Kimi’s icy stares and cold demeanour were always directed to Ollie and no one else. Ollie knew the difference between ‘icy’ and ‘indifference’ especially when it came to Aroma Raikkonen and her ‘wholesome’ father. 

News flash: Ollie called bullshit on Kimi being a sweet man. Kimi’s stare could burn holes and Ollie could rot on them— so much for being the ‘Iceman’. 

Now here Ollie was in Italy, hoping to hang out with Aroma…

To sum it up: Ollie and Aroma had some sort of thing going on. One that Ollie wouldn’t dare show to Kimi because god only knows what the Finnish driver could do to the Brit. 

Anyway.

Ollie patiently stood in front of the Coppola-Raikkonen home, his posture still calm. He had just rung the bell, now he was patiently waiting for anyone to answer. 

He didn’t expect for the patriarch to answer the door, his brown eyes meeting Kimi Raikkonen’s blue eyes. 

Ollie grinned and politely greeted, “Mr. Raikkonen-!” 

“-You’re not the delivery man,” Kimi stated bluntly. 

Well… Ollie stood there awkwardly and nodded, “I am not, sir. I am here for Romania.” 

“…Bwoah?” Kimi asked, his head tilting as he watched Ollie nod in confirmation. “I was not told.” 

“I- uh,” Ollie’s demeanour grew awkward and uncomfortable as he stammered, “She- she didn’t tell you?” 

Now this could go two ways: The British driver would have to go back to his accommodation in Milan and wallow in self-pity because Aroma Raikkonen had completely forgotten about their plans during the summer break OR he would die in the hands of Kimi Raikkonen because Kimi’s daughter had forgotten to tell her father about the said plans. 

Either way, Ollie knew he was screwed. 

Kimi stated, his typical indifference seeping through his voice, “I can check with her.” 

Ollie sighed in relief and smiled politely, “Thank you-“

Kimi had already shut the door on Ollie, making the younger man sigh and wait by the front porch for five minutes…

Then five turned to ten…

Then ten turned to fifteen. There was no sign of Kimi. No signs of Aroma either. 

Ollie sighed and took his phone, trying to ring and text Aroma. There was nothing. So he did the next best thing and rang the only other guest in the Coppola-Raikkonen household. 

“Ciao, Ollie,” Andrea Kimi Antonelli spoke from the other side of the call, in the background was a multiplayer game of FIFA.

“Hey Kimi, listen,” Ollie started and looked around while he spoke, “You’re inside, yes?”

“Yes,” Andrea said shortly as he let out a ‘Idiot! Johann!’ “Anyway, why do you ask?”

“I’m outside—“

It seemed like Ollie was distracting the boy from an intense online game with him and Kimi Raikkonen’s eldest boy Jo. Because the next thing that interrupted Ollie was a, “Andreaaaa! What did you do?!” 

“Listen, if you’re looking for Aroma she’s streaming— okay, ciao!” Beep.

Ollie was on the verge of tears; Being left alone in front of the house of the girl he was wooing (supposedly) by her father wasn’t in Ollie’s bucket list this summer break. He could have sworn that Kimi Raikkonen hated him. 

Now he did the last best thing: pay his way into the house.

[OLIBEAR8 HAS DONATED €5: “i just spent money so you can open the gate for me] Aroma listened to her text to speech donation as she was preoccupied from playing her game and paused briefly. “Huh?” She asked and looked at the text. 

She didn’t even realize who it was until she saw the donor. It was Ollie. 

“Ollie..?” The moment she peered down on her phone she saw the countless notifications on the screen. 

oli 🐻: hello 👋

oli 🐻: miss maam 🤓🤓 i’m downstairs

oli 🐻: if u see this i’m stranded downstairs. i can hear ur little siblings laughing at whatever ur father is saying

oli 🐻: if u see this i’m also prolly dead lmaoooo plz come downstairs

5 missed calls from oli 🐻

oli 🐻: aroma 😭 please i’m begging

“What the hell…” Aroma trailed off before asking aloud (particularly to no one), “Did Dad not even realize you’re at the front?” 

But it seemed like she was heard by a certain individual who remained watching her stream at the front porch since he donated once more.

[OLIBEAR8 HAS DONATED €5: “he did but he doesn’t like me”]

“Oh my goodness,” Aroma muttered and paused her stream, standing up as she said, “Dad needs to stop with the Iceman act already!” 

“Dad!” 

Maybe her father had good intentions, Aroma thought, but she knew better. Her father might be reserved half the time, but it didn’t mean that he had a hidden agenda when it came to her dating life. 

So much for being a ‘cool father,’ right? 

♡ moony’s reminder 🅶 (general): @hiraethrhapsody @avaleineandafryingpan @enhacolor @roseandtulips @woweewoowa @magnummagnussen @happy-nico @architect-2015 @hiireadstuff @biancathecool @scorpiomindfuck @stinkyjax @youdontknowmeshh @hyneyedfiz @decafmickey @lightdragonrayne

[jesncin]

The Potential of Asian Lois Lane. Pt 1: Girl Taking Over and American Alien, a comparative analysis

Lois Lane has had many iterations over the years. But specifically in the last decade, Lois has been reimagined as an Asian American woman in both the comics and recently in the animated show My Adventures with Superman.

I believe making Lois Asian is a very inspired choice for the Superman mythos! I would like to take a moment to analyze these versions of Lois from an Asian perspective, seeing what works, what doesn't, and what I'd like to see more of. We'll start with the comics first, as MAWS is going to need its own post.

Usual disclaimers: I'm just one Asian perspective, I do not and never will claim to cover every Asian person's opinion on a thing ever. We're not a monolith, we come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. I'm simply a fan who enjoys media analysis and believes it's valuable to have my perspective in this topic. Secondly, this discussion covers the comic run American Alien, which is written by Max Landis. He's an ultra creep and while I think the comic is worth a read for what it is, I leave it up to you whether you'd like to buy the comic. You can always arg-arg-ahoy otherwise.

I'd like to start with Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story written by Sarah Kuhn with art by Arielle Jovellanos. This is a self contained YA graphic novel about a young Japanese American Lois dealing with the ups and downs of breaking into journalism as a career in National City. When her dream internship at Catco gets a corporate take over, Lois seizes an opportunity to write an exposé on a shady art director. But when her story is turned down, Lois does some out of the box things to get the story of marginalized performers shared with the world.

Girl Taking Over is a fantastic story and I happily recommend it to anyone looking for how an Asian American Lois could be reimagined (with fabulous art by Arielle! The fashion especially is on-point). This story isn't just a diverse coat of paint on a Lois Lane story, being Asian informs Lois' experiences and choices. Both she and her frenemy roommate Miki, are ambitious Asian women yet have hidden insecurities where they still made themselves small to their respective white male bosses. They played into model minority in different ways, and it's only by working together that they're able to foster a community for their stories to be told.

Lois and Miki don't just "have a diverse friend group", that friend group is actively being taken advantage of and suppressed by white gatekeepers. By extension, Lois' friends from work find solidarity in each other. Lois looks up to Cat Grant, a Filipina-American journalist, because seeing Cat succeed made Lois feel like her dream as a journalist is possible. I love how Lois' mom (a character so rarely expanded on in DC canon) acts as a voice of comfort for Lois in the story. All these characters feel holistic and whole, going through their own unique struggles.

It's clear from interviews with both the writer and artist that they care for the history of Lois, and saw an opportunity to reimagine her in a way that aligns with her character but also revitalizes her for new readers of color who aren't used to seeing themselves reflected in media. It's taking Lois' ambition and fearlessness and channeling them into the need to be a model minority, and the insecurities that can come from the desire to succeed constantly. It's taking a character historically frustrated by sexism and disrespected by her male peers- including Clark Kent (who got better treatment than her as a man), and expanding her to be a Lois that has to deal with both sexism and racism in the workplace. It's humanizing Lois' excellence into something painfully specific and relatable for many Asian women.

The only thing I feel I want from this version of Lois is... honestly more of her! I want to see what Japanese Lois does when she moves to Metropolis and works at the Daily Planet. I want to see how her experiences in National City informs her adulthood. Girl Taking Over sets up an incredible groundwork for stories to be told in the Superman mythos. How would Lois react to Superman, a fellow immigrant? Would Superman see himself in Lois? Since she's someone who, in the American context, is perceived as the perpetual foreigner? What would their relationship be like? Out of all the Asian Lois' in media we have so far, this Asian Lois' story has the most rich potential in my opinion.

Up next, we have American Alien written by Max Landis. This 7 issue series swaps artists for each issue, as a means of reflecting different milestones in Clark's life. I will be focusing on issues #4, 5, and 7 since those have the most prominent Lois appearances. With that, I'd like to celebrate the artists for those issues: Jae Lee (issue 4), Francis Manapul (issue 5), and Jock (issue 7). All these artists did a fantastic job, their art styles are energetic and fun to look at. Lee and Manapul are both Asian artists (Korean and Filipino respectively) and I love how they draw Lois- who looks undeniably Asian in their art styles.

American Alien is a modern take on the Superman tale. It expands Clark's story to be connected to Batman, Green Lanterns, Green Arrow, and more. We see Clark grow from his days in Smallville to a city boy in Metropolis, coming into his own as Superman. It's a bold and pretty divisive take with some standout story moments. From what I know, this is likely the first time Lois has been reimagined as Asian- and continues to influence Superman media like MAWS (the producer specifically calls out this comic as inspiration).

In issue #4, Clark moves in to his Metropolis apartment and talks on the phone to his mom about "some bigshot guy named Louis Lane". The reader, likely familiar with the Superman mythos, knows Clark is coming in with biases and a preconceived notion of who he considers a promising student reporter. Once we meet Lois Lane however, the comic turns the reader's expectations on their head:

Lois Lane is an Asian American woman (it's not specified what her exact ethnicity is)! This is a fun moment where the comic metatextually challenged the reader's own biases, showing it's not just Clark who had a different idea of who Lois Lane could be.

Lois' introductory panel is my personal favorite part of her characterization in American Alien. Lois proudly stands as a wall of text behind her recounts how she was considered as a winner for the Daily Planet's Charlton Memorial Laureate Program. When asked why she deserves a place on the program, Lois snaps back that the very question itself is loaded. She's listed her credentials and looks professional- so she's either already been rejected and is just being made to "at least had my say" or she's been accepted and is "meant to garnish my success with eloquent affirmation" to which Lois refuses to do either.

This is a great defiant introduction to Lois, showcasing how jaded she is with the way the world perceives her- but is very confident in her self worth as a journalist. By the end of the issue she reaches out to Clark to combine their exclusive interviews into one story to make a big impression on the news. Her words inspire Clark to seize an opportunity to make a big change in the world as Superman.

Afterwards, the comic plays the classic Superman and Lois dynamic straight. Lois is initially suspicious of Superman, but eventually comes around and is inspired to hope through him. There's a great back and forth between the two where Lois' words initially inspire Clark to be Superman, then Clark assures Lois that Superman is probably just a good guy, and when Clark loses hope from a bad day of heroism, Lois gives him hope again. In the end, Lois realizes her love for Clark Kent over Superman and they share a passionate ending kiss.

Overall American Alien nails the Clark and Lois dynamic and understands their relationship. I consider this Asian Lois "just okay". I like that we get to see an adult jaded Asian Lois meet Clark Kent and Superman, and see them get together. Similarly to Girl Taking Over, I'd like to see how this Lois and Clark would play out. My only issue with American Alien's Lois is a sense of missed opportunities.

The writing overall leaves room for plausible deniability over Lois' Asian identity. The artists (particularly Lee and Manapul) are doing the heavy lifting delivering Asian Lois. If she was drawn as a white woman, none of the writing would need adjustment. Sure her introductory panel implies that people judge her based on her appearance- but that could be just sexism instead of the intersectional experience of Asian Lois going through racism and sexism. Clark did assume she was a man after all- it's never specified if he assumed she was a white man. The only thing you'd lose is the metatextual shock value of Lois Being Asian This Time. That's really what this Lois boils down to, initial shock value with no specific writing to follow through. Her marginalization and identity is written broadly enough that it could be attributed to general sexism and womanhood. It's not specific to being an Asian American woman.

However, because of its broadness, there's room for Lois' Asian identity to be built on in the world of American Alien. The story centers Clark's experiences, but I can easily imagine a continuation of the story expanding on Lois'. The basic groundwork is there. I think it's telling that in a comic called American Alien, we get a more diverse Superman cast system. Jimmy Olsen is Black, Lois Lane is Asian- when Clark moves to the city it feels expansive compared to Smallville. It's a world that feels ready to tackle themes of racism if it was ever to continue (and probably in the hands of a writer with that kind of life experience!). In the end, there's room for this Asian Lois to be something special. Clark isn't the only American Alien in American Alien, if you catch my drift.

You can see how Girl Taking Over has a huge piece of what American Alien is missing. The characters aren't just diverse for shock value, they're not an aesthetic change over historically white characters. They have a story to tell that is inseparable from their identities. Whereas in American Alien, the art is doing the heavy lifting with the reimagined diverse characters- Girl Taking Over has both the writing and art carry the representation. Lois can't be changed into being white in Girl Taking Over.

Both of these stories have potential- but if I had the choice to pick which story should continue, it would easily be Girl Taking Over. This graphic novel works for what it is: it makes sense that this is a younger and idealistic Lois that hasn't met Clark or Superman yet. It's a YA book and Lois can absolutely carry a story on her own. What I want as an Asian fan, is for the potential of Asian Lois Lane to be seen through to the point it's considered the definitive version. As of right now, Girl Taking Over is a fun twist on the Lois Lane story. Not something that is seen as inseparable from the Superman mythos. However! If those themes of marginalization and immigrant identity are tapped into for both Superman and Lois Lane? I feel that has the potential to radically strengthen the overall themes of Superman. It's certainly been touched on before.

(TW/CW: racial slur mention in below image)

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Yang with art by Gurihiru is a retelling of the Clan of the Fiery Cross arc in the classic radio show The Adventures of Superman where Superman faces off with the Klan who had been terrorizing a Chinese American family. The graphic novel adapts the story to center the Chinese American characters, and makes it a point to show that Superman relates to them. If that dynamic was applied to Asian Lois, that feels like a definitive love story waiting to happen.

The classic two person love triangle with Clark and Lois is that Lois loves Superman and is indifferent to Clark Kent. She thinks Superman is this ideal macho man and Clark is a cowardly fumbling guy at work who rivals her. What happens when you take that dynamic and made it so Lois identified with Superman- the more othering identity? How complicated would that make Clark Kent feel? How would he navigate that when his marginalization isn't always visible? That's a whole new depth to the love triangle we're not used to seeing. I feel so far, none of these versions of Lois have touched upon this potential dynamic. The perpetual foreigner, Lois Lane and the ultimate alien foreigner that is Superman. The jaded city girl meets the alien farm boy who gives her hope. They inspire each other to be more of themselves in a world not ready to accept either of them.

Up next, we'll be discussing My Adventures with Superman's Korean Lois Lane in pt 2. It's well. You can probably guess how I feel about it from what I wrote here but welp. We'll talk about it.

[poomphuripan]

Producer 'Yuan' Wan Thabkrajang, CEO of YYDS Entertainment - iQIYI Exclusive Interview Transcript

[Why did you choose this novel to make into a TV series adaptation?]

First of all, I think it's the hardship presented in 2023, which is most Thai Y (BL) novels have already been chosen/bought by other production companies in Thailand. Moreover, after reviewing numerous novels from various publishers, none seemed intriguing or had a genre that was refreshing enough for me to buy the adaptation rights to make a series. So, I looked to neighboring countries like Japan, South Korea, or China. They've been rather successful with their Y/BL novels so there might have been some interesting plots. Additionally, China is a country with a flourishing novel industry and a platform, with many famous novels that have millions of readers. And "My Stand-In" is among one of the famous BL novels so I decided to adapt it into a series.

[How do you feel about this being the "first Chinese danmei novel" to be adapted into a Thai TV series?]

This marks the first time a Chinese danmei novel has been adapted into a Thai TV series. Besides, after selecting the project, there were extensive discussions with the director and scriptwriters on how to localize it effectively so that the audience can immerse themselves in the narrative. Because the original work is Chinese, the storytelling or even the storylines are all very based on Chinese culture. The key point of what we needed to do is to make Thai viewers immerse in the series, but still keep the intriguing and intense plots of the novel. This is the hardest thing. But after starting the execution, I felt like the story lines and plots of original Chinese novel can be kept in full, but we needed to choose which plot points to be the main storyline. And because there's only 12 episodes, we'd have to decide which plotlines we are going to cut/shortened. That was one of the things we have to do as well.

[What are the challenges of this series?]

The challenge is the original work, because the original novel has a lot of reader fans and has billions of views. The challenge is to make the book fans satisfied with the adapted plot while making it into a Thai version. At the same time, we needed to figure out how to make the TV series popular in Thailand. Because even though the original novel has a lot of views in China, it's still a relatively new work in Thailand. So we thought about how can we make this Thai drama popular around the globe?

[Why did you decide to work with Director Pepzi?]

It's rather a miracle, because like I had to do research first to see in the past year... So this project started around January 2023, first we started exploring over the last two years to see which BL series was kinda explosive on the market, like able to reach worldwide or international popularity. Because we aimed to create a Thai series with global appeal. And so Director Pepzi is one of the directors, who I felt, has an extensive portfolio of works, both domestically and internationally, so I tried calling P'Pepzi. And that day, that evening, we only discussed for one evening and in the morning the day after, P'Pep texted back 'Yeah Yuan, I'll take this drama" and it's decided right then.

[What are the difficulties in adapting this novel into a TV series?]

It was challenging, especially in discussions with Director Pepzi like "How do you feel about this?... how do you want this to be? like on how to portray certain scenes and characters. Or considering Joe's profession as a stuntman, which means that action scenes are a must. Because in the novel, the action scenes would be in the style of classic Chinese ancient times. However, replicating them in a Thai context proved difficult if we tried to doing them exactly like in the novel. We had to find a balance that resonated with Thai audiences while retaining the novel's essence, this is one of the hardest things. The producers also think, in this year, if we do it the ordinary or typical way, not up to certain standards or not having any challenges, then the series wouldn't meet the selection criteria of viewers. Because these days, viewers tend to select and has a demand for higher-quality content. So we collaborated with the production team to outline the requirements on how we can turn this series into a masterpiece in the industry.

I also disccused with P'Khom about the action scenes or about set designs, things like that. We also had our colleagues from the design department create new sets, for example like Joe's room, that room is originally a warehouse in which we constructed a brand new set (t/n: basically Yuan is trying to say that the design team built Joe's house from scratch because the originally the location is just an empty warehouse). I also felt that the producers were betting big on action scenes. Even though the proportion of action scenes didn't exceed 30%, they were all meticulously designed to look outstanding. This was to evoke excitement and showcase the excellent capabilities of Thailand's production team.

[Interesting facts about 'Up-Poom' and their characters 'Ming-Joe']

Regarding the casting process, it took us 8 to 9 months to finalize the entire cast. And Up-Poom is a pairing where I felt like they had very matching chemistry. Especially when they were paired up during auditions, they even switched roles, with Up playing both Joe and Ming and Poom playing both Ming and Joe. We tried switching the roles to test the chemistry between them. And we found that they were very natural and compatible together, making them suitable for the main roles. Hence, we decided we decided to cast Up and Poom.

As for Ming and Joe, you'll know after reading the novel. Ming is the most detestable character and so Up portrayed him excellently, making everyone itch with hatred during filming. We couldn't understand why Ming acted that way, feeling sorry for Poom's character, Joe, for being mistreated and have to endure to this extent. However, behind the scenes, Up and Poom were quite mischievous, often playing pranks on each other, which made us not feel as sorry for them. Nevertheless, both of them portrayed their roles excellently.

[Recommend 'My Stand-In' to everyone]

Everyone, please pay attention to Stand-in. This TV series has a fascinating plot with elements of drama, romance, and action. It's also the first Thai original series on iQIYI. Please follow it on iQIYI.

[heizelnutlatte]

💬 OSEN: Kim Yoonhye’s Challenge, Including a Same-Sex Kiss Scene with Jung Eunchae... “‘Jeongnyeon’ = A New Beginning”

On the 19th, an interview was held at a café in Gangnam, Seoul, with actress Kim Yoonhye, who played Seo Hyerang in tvN’s weekend drama Jeongnyeon, which recently concluded. Based on the webtoon of the same name, Jeongnyeon is set in post-Korean War 1950s Korea and depicts the story of Jeongnyeon (played by Kim Taeri), a natural-born vocal talent aspiring to become the best national theatre actress, amidst competition, camaraderie, and her brilliant journey of growth.

Kim Yoonhye, reflecting on the conclusion of the 12-episode series with its final broadcast on the 17th, said, “Because the preparation period was so long, I felt very regretful. While watching the last episode—this doesn’t happen often—I teared up a bit. I felt regret and a lot of emptiness. It’s a work I loved so much and felt so much affection for that I even thought, ‘I want to film it again.’”

Jeongnyeon achieved its highest viewership rating of 16.5% with the finale, bringing the series to a successful conclusion. Kim Yoonhye expressed, “I felt proud because I thought this drama was unique as the only one in Korea to feature female national theatre as its main subject. I loved the project, but I didn’t expect it to receive so much love. It’s a refreshing and captivating subject that everyone would find appealing, but since it’s unfamiliar, I was unsure how viewers would perceive it. I was surprised by the overwhelming response, and hearing from those around me that Jeongnyeon was being so well-received made me happy.”

Kim Yoonhye joined Jeongnyeon through an audition and played Seo Hyerang, the “princess” of Maeran National Theatre Company, known for her unparalleled dancing skills. She shared, “From May of last year until May this year, when we filmed The Fool and the Princess, I learned dance and vocal techniques. It wasn’t easy, but since dancing was important for Hyerang, I focused heavily on it. Some days, I practised for up to nine hours straight with my instructor. Since I performed the dances without a double, I wanted to ensure they were convincing to the viewers. So, outside of the assigned practice time, I rented a rehearsal studio to refine my drum dance and sword dance, putting in a lot of effort to perfect them.”

Regarding the preparation process for national theatre performances, she said, “When given the script for a national theatre scene, we would meet and build each scene step by step. There was a director specifically for the national theatre, along with dance and vocal instructors, and we had extensive discussions on how to express the vocals and which movements suited the scenes best. Since it’s national theatre acting, I tried to make it feel natural rather than overly dramatic. Hyerang had many solo performances, so before filming those scenes, I would try on the costumes, dance, and check for any discomfort in the movements, revising as needed to enhance the quality,” she explained about her meticulous efforts.

After immense effort, Kim Yoonhye successfully delivered the stage performances of Jamyeonggo and The Fool and the Princess in Jeongnyeon. She said, “I was deeply attached to Jamyeonggo because it included many solo dances. Since the stage had to be filled entirely with just me, the drum, and the sword, I was extremely nervous. I had to rely solely on my practice without help from anyone else. Although I felt great affection for it, the pressure was equally overwhelming. I even felt like crying after it ended but held back because I didn’t want to seem overemotional. While the pressure was significant, I also had a strong determination to succeed. For the drum and sword dances, as well as the solo dance Hyerang performs in Episode 2 in the courtyard, I thought, ‘By the time I shoot this scene, I need to be skilled enough to confidently wield the drumsticks.’ I worked hard with the goal of becoming fully comfortable with it.”

Given the historical setting of the drama, considerable attention was paid to styling. Kim Yoonhye shared, “For my eyebrows, I wanted to convey the feeling of an actress from that era, so I trimmed them thinly into a seagull shape and drew them on. There was much discussion about Hyerang’s signature hairstyle—whether it should be short or long. At the time, my hair was cut short, so I used hair extensions to create a more elegant look. The national theatre makeup took two hours to complete, as we focused on emphasizing its glamorous qualities. The hair, makeup, and costumes were beautifully crafted by the costume team, making the process enjoyable.”

Reflecting on her experience of numerous challenges and attempts through Jeongnyeon, Kim Yoonhye said, “I had never acted on stage before, but I found it charming and fun. It made me think I’d like to try stage acting if I get the opportunity in the future. While it was a great experience, there were also regrets. Watching the drama, I realized how beautiful and complete the entire stage was, which made me feel like my acting was lacking. I kept thinking, ‘I could have done better.’ I wish I had moved and expressed myself better—it’s something I regret.”

She candidly continued, “I felt dissatisfied with everything. Maybe because I was watching myself, I felt that early on, Hyerang didn’t seem to fit her proud and elegant demeanour. When the character started showing emotional changes, I think I became more flexible and was able to express her better, but until then, I felt some dissonance. Overall, I feel regretful. Since Hyerang had limited screen time, I worried about whether I had conveyed her well enough to viewers. I didn’t want her to appear as a flat, one-dimensional character. Hyerang’s attitude changes depending on who she’s interacting with. I wanted to portray those subtle emotions, but I feel I wasn’t able to do so effectively.”

In the drama, Seo Hyerang commits misdeeds out of obsession with her position as the “princess” of Maeran National Theatre, going as far as ruining Yun Jeongnyeon’s voice. Kim Yoonhye acknowledged that Hyerang’s actions are “inexcusable” but admitted, “I wanted to make Hyerang understandable, and that’s why I wanted to take part in Jeongnyeon.”

In particular, Seo Hyerang’s obsession isn’t limited to her position as the “princess” but also extends to Moon Okyeong (played by Jung Eunchae), often interpreted by some viewers as having queer undertones. Regarding Hyerang’s feelings for Moon Okyeong, Kim Yoonhye explained, “It’s a part that viewers can interpret in diverse ways. Depending on their perspective, any interpretation could be valid. However, while acting, I thought of Okyeong as the reason Hyerang exists.”

She elaborated, “When Hyerang started national theatre and became the top actress, Okyeong was always there. Without Okyeong, Hyerang felt like she herself didn’t exist and that she had no place in national theatre, which is why she displayed obsessive behaviour. There may be various interpretations of their relationship, but for me, I acted with the thought that Okyeong was Hyerang’s soulmate and pillar of support.”

Despite her extraordinary talent, Hyerang’s insecurity manifested in sensitive reactions. Kim Yoonhye explained, “I think Hyerang couldn’t trust herself. Even though she was highly skilled and performing well, she couldn’t see it and was fixated on the idea that ‘I have to be in that position,’ and ‘Okyeong and I must be the prince and princess.’ She clung to this idea so much that she couldn’t take care of herself. She thought, ‘Only if Okyeong is the prince can I be the princess, and only then can I exist.’ She could have stood on her own, but she placed her identity entirely on Okyeong, which led to her obsession.”

Interestingly, according to the uncut script for Jeongnyeon, there was a kiss scene between Moon Okyeong and Seo Hyerang following the performance of The Fool and the Princess in Episode 10. However, the kiss scene was not included in the aired version. Addressing this, Kim Yoonhye carefully said, “We did film that scene. We shot several versions, and I believe the production team chose what they felt was the best one.”

Despite the efforts poured into Jeongnyeon, concerns arose from fans of the original webtoon prior to the broadcast. These included the exclusion of significant characters like Kwon Buyong and the condensation of 140 episodes into a 12-episode drama, which led to mixed reactions about story and character adaptations. Kim Yoonhye responded, “While the webtoon has important characters, certain modifications were necessary when transitioning to a different medium. As the director mentioned at the press conference, they tried to incorporate (Kwon Buyong) into other characters, and I think they did that well. I wasn’t particularly worried or bothered by it.”

Regarding the open ending of the drama, which differed from the webtoon’s neatly wrapped-up happy ending, Kim Yoonhye shared, “I liked it. Jeongnyeon’s brilliant journey of solidarity and growth ends with her becoming the new prince and receiving applause. The characters support each other, Hyerang steps back to watch the stage from the audience, and I thought it was beautiful. While it’s an open ending, I felt hopeful that they would continue living their lives and performing in national theatre, with Jeongnyeon remaining the greatest prince of the era. I personally found the ending warm and uplifting.”

Kim Yoonhye described Jeongnyeon as “a new beginning.” She reflected, “Through Jeongnyeon, I was able to try so many new things. I’ve done smaller projects before, but I feel like Jeongnyeon allowed me to showcase a lot more. I think it will be a source of pride in the future that I was part of such a unique and captivating drama. Acting in such a compelling story and character made me truly happy.”

As she wraps up her challenge with Jeongnyeon, Kim Yoonhye looks forward to meeting viewers again in the SBS drama My Perfect Secretary, set to premiere in January. Comparing the two projects, she said, “The filming for Jeongnyeon overlapped with My Perfect Secretary. Since the characters were so different, I told myself not to slack off on preparation, especially during Hyerang’s emotional scenes. Although it wasn’t physically or mentally exhausting, I was determined to do well. In My Perfect Secretary, I play a lovable, cheerful, kind, and warm-hearted character. It was a big shift, but I had fun with it.”

Jeongnyeon, 2024

[ladylooch]

Hi I accidentally sent this in before seeing that requests were closed but since they’re open, did you see my request of the reader losing her virginity to Nico?? And he’s so sweet and gentle🥹 ilysm

Flower Picking with Nico Hischier 

A/N: Oh sweet, sweet 🌸 anon. Here you finally are! I know it took awhile, but here it is in all its smutty, sweet, shiny glory. Also peep how I always write Jack 😂 Sassy but funny. That kid cracks me up (before anyone asks, no I still can’t write about him because I’m too old! 🫣)

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: SMUT 18+ Content, Loss of Virginity, Swearing. 

The lights on the red carpet are blinding. You can barely focus any which way as people call out to you and Nico, desperate for the perfect picture. Nico’s hand on the small of your back is grounding at least. He leans closer to your head, resting his mouth on it for a moment.

“You’re doing great, baby. Just a bit longer.” You squeeze his back in acknowledgement.

Being in the spotlight has never been comfortable for you, ever. But, you’re more than willing to do these uncomfortable things for your perfect boyfriend, especially on a night where he is nominated for a prestiges award. It all feels a bit like a formality because in your heart, he’s already a Selke winner.

Once the pictures are over, autographs and interviews are next. You stand proudly off to the side, watching him do his work with your hands laced in front of you. Nico checks in on you frequently, making sure you’re as comfortable as can be.

“I’m doing great, babe. Stop worrying about me and enjoy the night.” You assure him after the tenth time he’s wandered over. 

“You’re smothering her.” Jack rolls his eyes at his captain. “Chill.”

“Why don’t you go fix your hair or something? Looks like you just rolled out of bed.” Nico chips back at him. 

“I’m just living in the moment, man.” Jack shakes his head, internal groan showing on his face as he is shuffled to the next interview.

“Nico, you’re done.” The Devils PR director says, waving us into the arena. We wave goodbye to Jack and shuffle out of the oppressive Nashville heat.

“I’m sweaty.” You groan, waving at your face, praying your make up isn’t actually melting off like it feels.

“You look gorgeous though.”

“Yeah? I’m glistening?”

“Glowing.” He wiggles his wide brows suggestively. “I know a way we could get sweaty later.” 

You pause, feeling a little panicked that he has figured out your surprise. When you heard Nico was a finalist for the Selke months ago, you knew exactly what to give him: your virginity. Yes, you’re well into your mid-twenties and yes pretty much everyone you know has already experienced sex, but you’re different. And that’s perfectly okay with you and Nico. You’ve had extensive conversations together about why you have waited and what you need before giving that part of yourself to someone. 

Truthfully, you’ve known for a long time it’s Nico you want to give this too. He treats you so well. Tonight is just the latest example of how he cherishes and protects you. You know he will take this piece of you and honor it forever.

But then he doesn’t actually win the Selke.

And you’re a little bit pissed because you think he deserves it. He squeezes your hand, then brings it to his lips to kiss before clapping for Patrice Bergeron after his video acceptance speech.

“Should have been you.” You huff at Nico, watching his face intently.

“It’s an honor to even be nominated.” He reminds you what he has been saying, but you can sense his disappointment. You find out later from Twitter that he came in second in voting and that cheers you both up.

After the awards, you find yourself at a restaurant with Nico and his family. You’re struggling to participate in the small talk which Nico notices. Usually, you’re animated and chatty with his family. You love them; they love you, but you can’t focus on anything other than what you’re planning in your hotel room later tonight.

“You tired?” Nico asks with his arm around your shoulders. He pulls your temple to his lips, awaiting your answer.

“Yeah.” You turn to him, brown eyes meeting yours with an inquisitive look.

After another round of drinks and dessert, you and the Hischiers take off to the hotel by the arena. You say goodbye to his parents and siblings in the lobby, then walk hand in hand to the elevator. You’re sure Nico can feel the sweat beginning to build in your palm.

“Dang. I’m tired too.” Nico groans as you enter your shared room. He kicks off his shoes immediately while you toss your shoes and clutch onto the chair by the TV.

“You’ve had a long day.” You murmur, swaying back over to him. You wrap your arms around his neck, lacing your fingers there. You use them to bring his face to yours. Nico pulls you tighter to him with a hand on your ass, giving it a light squeeze as you make out. Your tongues touch, tangling together before sliding out of the way for softer kisses. You can feel Nico growing against your stomach. You savor the feeling of reciprocated need building between your thighs.

Butterflies forcefully flutter in your stomach as you ghost your hand over his zipper. Then you get bold, sliding his belt apart and dipping your hand to touch him bare. Nico groans into your mouth. You stroke along his shaft, feeling the rigid pulses as he grows. He bucks his hip into your hand a bit while his eyes drown in desire. He presses two more soft kisses to your mouth before stepping away from your touch.

“Need a sec.” He murmurs, giving your hand a squeeze and moving to the bathroom. The soft click of the door makes you bite your lip. He does this when the desire to pin you down and fuck you becomes too strong for him to resist. Tonight, he doesn’t need the space, but there is no need to ruin the surprise before it starts.

You make quick work of your dress, leaving it in a pile on the floor. You whip your underwear off next then climb onto the bed. You’re not sure how you should sit except that definitely not cross legged because what the fuck is that? Instead, you pull your knees up, then cross your feet for some modesty. You can’t help but bite down on your tongue nervously biting back the slight nausea from the butterflies swirling inside of you. Maybe you should have brought the lingerie you were debating on after all….

Nico emerges from the bathroom, working at the buttons of his shirt.  Your heart leaps into your throat when he comes into your line of sight. He freezes when he sees you.

“Hi.” You whisper, hoping it doesn’t sound as choked as it feels coming out of your mouth.

“Hi.” His smile is modest as his brown gaze strokes along your bare skin.

“I want to have sex.” You blurt quickly. Shit, that was not how you had planned it in your head.

“Are you sure?” He crosses the room instantly, hands gripping your ankles. “I don’t want you to feel pressured by the big night we’ve had.” Nico licks his lips hesitantly.

“I know. But I want to do this with you, right now. I’m so proud of you, Nico. I want us to share this moment together, on this amazing night for you…. For us.”

“I am dying for that. But I need you to be sure.”

“I’m so sure. Think of how many other nights I wasn’t.” He stares into your eyes, pausing for ten more seconds before he leans forward to kiss you. It’s touchingly tender, a sweet press that melts your body. You untangle your limbs, wrapping your arms around his neck to keep him close. “I’ll take care of you.” He mumbles, stroking the bare skin of your back. 

“I know, Neeks.” You smile against his mouth, tongue coming out to graze along his bottom lip.

“You kinda already did some of my favorite part though.”

“Oh.. Uh.” You stutter, breaking away. You begin wiggling over to the side of the bed where you dropped your dress to the floor. “I can put it-”

“Baby.” He chuckles, slapping your bare ass. “Stop. We’ll have plenty more moments where I can undress you.” You flip onto your back, his eyes take all of you in, circling around your breasts and then falling to the apex of your thighs. “I was right though, that dress looks better on the floor.” He slides his hand along your stomach, wrapping it around your hip to pull you closer to him. He leans over you. “You know you can back out at anytime?” 

“I do.” You confirm, staring back into his chocolate brown eyes.

“Okay.” 

You and Nico have fooled around plenty, so he knows your turn ons. He starts with your breasts, savoring the soft moans you speak into the air. His fingers stroke your nipples into pointy buds, perfect bullseyes for his mouth to find. His tongue caresses your skin gently causing cascading tingles to spread along your limbs. Then his hand moves down, nudging your thighs apart so he can stroke you. His fingers on your bare skin is a craving you never knew you needed indulged.

His fingerprints paint along your clit, building into a steady circle that has your muscles squeezing tight in your core. Nico kisses your mouth greedily, devouring your lips and tongue like he didn’t just feast at dinner. While he touches you, you grope for the buttons on his shirt to get him naked. He eventually pulls back from you to drag the shirt over his head. His pants go next. When he reaches for the band of his underwear, you stop him. You pull them down his hips and large thighs, groaning at the way his cock bounces free. It slaps against his abdomen then falls into your waiting hand. You wrap him in a tight grip, bringing your face to his throbbing head. 

You’ve never done this for him before, but you’ve imagined it. A lot. Your mouth opens, you swirl your tongue along his head then bob down his shaft until you can’t take him any deeper. Nico’s strangled groan fills your ears. He reaches to your chest, rolling your nipple as you begin to bounce up and down faster.

“Baby, baby, baby. Stop.” Nico begs. You pull off of him immediately, eyes turned downward with worry. “Hey, no, don’t be upset. That feels so fucking good. I’m not gonna make it if you keep going though.” He brings your mouth to his with his fingers under your chin. “Fuck. Couldn’t even tell that was your first time. You’re a pro.” He licks along your lips teasingly. You feel pride stretch your chest, flushing your cheeks with excitement.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile.” You admit as you watch him walk over to his bag. He pulls out a box of condoms.

“Anytime, baby. Except right now because I’m dying to fuck you.” A small moan slips through your lips at the way he says fuck. “I just got tested not that long ago as part of my physical, but I think the first few times we should use condoms.”

“Okay. I’m on the pill.” You remind him.

“I know.” He kisses you, then rips open the box and pulls out a purple wrapper. “I’m not gonna lie, I brought these hoping this would happen.” You like that and reward him with a smooch.

He rips the wrapper open, tossing it onto the floor carelessly. You bite your lip, watching him roll the latex down. You feel like you should look away, but can’t. When he is fully suited, he comes between your knees, adjusting your legs wider t accommodate his body. He kisses you again and you wonder if he can hear the rapid beating of your heart as he adjusts you both for what is next.

“Tell me you’re sure?”

“So sure.” You repeat again. “Have me."

Nico laces your fingers together with his on either side of your head, then slowly begins to press forward. You close your eyes, taking in a measured breath as he gently nudges in, then right back out.

“Okay?” He asks. His breathing is heavy, nostrils flared as he checks on you.

“Yeah.” You nod too. 

He pushes in again, deeper now. This time it’s uncomfortable. He pauses there, leaning down to kiss along your breasts. His tongue slurps at your nipple, pooling warmth in your lower belly. He probes in further as your head falls back. Nico grins when he removes his face from your breast.

“I think you’re gonna like this, baby.” He chuckles, kissing along your jaw, then sucking at your throat as he pushes in to the hilt. Your hands unlace from his, instinctively going to his back. Your finger nails scratch softly at his skin.

“Me too.” You moan back to him. It feels exquisite. Slightly uncomfortable but also the best thing you’ve ever felt. Nico is doing everything to ease any discomfort or tightness. You’re so turned on and eager to feel what the next stage is like.

“Ready for more?” 

“Yeah.” You say back instantly. He smiles fully at you, then drags back so he can begin to leisurely pump in and out. Your breathing hitches again and he slows more, watching your face for any signs of further distress. They’re not there. “I’m good. More, Neeks.” You ask him. He closes his eyes in a long blink and quickens his pace, savoring the feeling of finally having you this way. Your mouth drops open but no sound comes out. You arch your back into his thrusts and he grips your hips, pressing his thumbs into them to pin you back down.

“Take it easy.” He laughs, leaning over you again. “Let me control the pace.”

“Then go faster.” You urge. 

“Why are you chirping me?” His smile presses into your neck.

“Because I want more of you.” You whisper, turning to capture his lips.

Nico begins to fuck you faster. It’s toe curling and intense. The sound of skin connecting fills the hotel room as you writhe beneath his toned body. His hips are perfect tempo setters. You clutch them with your fingers each time, feeling their power as he pumps into you. The whole things is overwhelmingly beautiful. And better than you even imagined it would be.

“I love you.” You say to him. Is that cliche to say during sex? Especially your first time? You’re not sure but know you have to say it. He pauses his thrusting to cup your face, kissing your lips with delicate presses. It’s so intimate, him filling you completely while sliding his tongue along your lower lip.

“I love you too. So much.” He pulls away to look down into your face as his hands glide your legs to wrap around his waist. His hips begin to move again. Goosebumps of pleasure break out down your body at the change in position. 

“Oh… my god.” You moan, thrusting your fingers into his hair and tugging. You turn your face into his cheek, wet mouth sucking his skin. “D-don’t stop.” You quiver with each one of his pumps.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” He groans as he keeps the pace. You agree. And tell him so by squeezing him with your orgasm. He follows suit, filling the latex while buried deep inside of you.

Everything slows down after that. Your legs fall slightly from around his waist. Nico breathes heavily above you; your abdomens sticking together from sweat. A light breeze of bliss travels from the top of your head to the tips of your feet. Your heart swells in your chest, feeling so connected to Nico after sharing this moment with him.

“How are you doing?” He asks quietly, face still buried into your shoulder. His hair tickles your skin when he pulls away to see you.

“Good. Great actually.” You insist with a grin. He matches yours with one of his own. He grips the edge of the condom, then slides out of you. You feel empty when he is gone and wonder how quickly you can get him to do this all again. 

“I’ll be right back.” He kisses you, then gets off the bed to head to the bathroom. His bare butt is quite the sight as he walks away. When he returns, he has a washcloth. “This should help with any discomfort.” He lays it between your thighs and you realize it’s warm. You smile at him, reaching your arms up to bring him into your chest. His lips press against your breasts as he nuzzles his face into them. “You might be sore tomorrow.”

“Okay.” You murmur into his hair. He’s so worried about you, wanting to walk you through everything. “So when can we do that again?” Nico chuckles into your skin. He wraps his arms around your back, spinning you both so you’re on top of his chest, looking down at him. Your hair cascades along your shoulder blades and down your spine. His fingers tangle in it there, kind eyes meeting yours.

“Give me 15 minutes and we can go again.” You bite your lip to suppress the wicked grin forming.

Nico Hischier is going to turn you into a freak.

[jangseonjang]

I really like this interview that I just have to share it 😚

Sports Seoul

Woo Da-bi: “‘Jeongnyeon’ Was a Turning Point, Working with Kim Tae-ri, Jung Eun-chae, and Shin Ye-eun Felt Like a Dream” [SS Interview①] By Ham Sang-beom Published: 2024.11.28, 6:01 AM

In front of her stood actress Kim Tae-ri, confidently resting a hand on her hip. To one side was the prince-like Jung Eun-chae, and to the other, Shin Ye-eun, a star graduate of Anyang High School of Arts. For rookie actress Woo Da-bi, tvN’s Jeongnyeon was nothing short of a dream come true.

Woo went through four rounds of auditions for the role of Hong Joo-ran, Yoon Jeongnyeon’s (played by Kim Tae-ri) one and only friend. It was a role with substantial screen time and significance that any newcomer would covet. In the early episodes, Joo-ran helps Jeongnyeon settle into the Maeran National Drama Troupe, while later on, she becomes a key figure in Jeongnyeon’s awakening. Woo watched the audition results with a pounding heart.

In an interview with Sports Seoul at a café in Gangnam, Seoul, Woo Da-bi shared, “For the audition, I performed ‘Namwon Fortress’ from the first episode of Jeongnyeon. The judges said, ‘It’s not quite singing or vocalizing, but it’s unique.’ I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or a critique. I went through four rounds of auditions, and I kept quiet because I didn’t want to jinx it. I just kept thinking, ‘Please, let this be it.’ When I got the part, I was so happy.”

Preparation for the role took six months. Once the cast of Jeongnyeon was confirmed, all the actors headed straight to the practice room, including Woo. The production demanded extensive training in pansori, stage acting, and dancing.

“We received lessons for the play-within-a-play scenes, as well as dance lessons. Led by Tae-ri unni, the Maeran National Drama Troupe truly came together as one. Even though Tae-ri unni was already skilled, she practiced so much. We all gave it our all, not wanting to fall behind.”

At the start of filming, Woo Da-bi wasn’t yet a widely known figure. She admitted to observing the other actors in awe, as if she were a member of the audience, completely captivated by their performances. It was an honor to act alongside Kim Tae-ri, whom she had long admired, Jung Eun-chae, a personal favorite, and Shin Ye-eun, her senior by two years at Anyang High School of Arts.

“Tae-ri unni needs no explanation. She’s probably the number one actress people my age dream of working with. Jung Eun-chae, our prince, is someone I’ve loved as a fan. For a while, she was even my phone wallpaper. Even though I really admire her, I couldn’t bring myself to say it aloud. As for Shin Ye-eun sunbae, she was like the school’s Moon Ok-kyung (Jung Eun-chae’s character)—popular and someone everyone looked up to. Rami Ran sunbae brought so much energy to the set, and director Jung Ji-in, whose work on The Red Sleeve touched my heart deeply, is like a god to me. Just being with them filled me with pride.”

The Complexity of Relationships in Jeongnyeon

Jeongnyeon explores themes of same-sex intimacy. The relationships between Moon Ok-kyung and Seo Hye-rang (Kim Yoon-hye) and between Yoon Jeongnyeon and Hong Joo-ran weave a tapestry of love, friendship, solidarity, and envy. Before leaving the Maeran National Drama Troupe, Hong Joo-ran tells Jeongnyeon, “My one and only prince.” It’s one of the drama’s most memorable lines.

“When I think about my acting career, that scene will probably stand out as one of the most symbolic. Physically, my chest ached while filming it. Even now, I feel like crying when I think about it. The relationship goes beyond friendship; there are such profound emotions there. I think it was love—something truly extraordinary. Tae-ri unni and I didn’t over-rehearse; we just relied on the emotions we felt in the moment. Jeongnyeon has given me so much. It will forever be a turning point in my acting career. I’ll continue to prepare thoroughly and live up to the opportunities I receive.”

Email: intellybeast@sportsseoul.com By Ham Sang-beom

[lopposting]

Hello Puppet pals + Romeo fans

would you like a fresh, fun new dose of pain tonight

On Romeo (long post)

So way back in april, in the taiwan event they showed some material from what looks like early builds of the game. this is the still i want to talk about today

It's gepetto (romanized to "zepeto" here) asking if we've "killed the beast".

In the released version, we meet him outside in rosa isabelle street after the KOP fight. It looks as though he's even beside the same lamppost. There's no other similar scene of us meeting gepetto like this, so it's likely referring to the puppet king. (When we meet him on the bridge, he's seen that the donkey has been killed, so we wouldn't need to lie.) but the thing is, this question is a YES OR NO ANSWER, meaning one or the other would be a lie.

So maybe in the early versions of the game it was actually possible align with/spare the puppet king (and by extension romeo) and then lie to Geppetto about it. (I mean, it's possible that it's simply just lying about not killing him to G, and we couldn't spare him to begin with)

I think they realized that they couldn't possibly make such a narratively important boss fight optional and that story-wise it wasn't linear enough to work. The story as a whole is not nearly as effective without his loss.

TLDR: I'm speculating that that image was from an early version of the game, and Romeo could've actually lived but the devs made the hard call against this.

[It's also possible that they just made that image for the purposes of presentation, and that it doesn't mean anything, or that it's another beast entirely.]

But still, somehow it makes it the more tragic. *stares blankly into space.*

(bonus fun notes below)

In this IGN interview before release, Director Choi dropped a big hint about romeo here.

"Yes, this is the king of puppets. And we want to call him a character and not a monster, because he will be the centre of the story. So if you play more and discover more about him, you'll find out more about what he is and who he is."

the puppet king being lampwick was also inadvertently leaked by IGN in this video:

I don't think people unfamiliar with the story would know anything, but pinoheads definitely would've and did recognize what "romeo" alluded to

They kept Romeo's ENTIRE EXISTENCE a secret up until launch. During the roughly two years of promotions before release there was never any mention of Romeo before release. Zip, Nada, so much so that the budding fanbase was starting to assume that he wouldn't even be in the game. NO ONE saw it coming when we found out who exactly we killed. Developers did consider that people who had read the book would catch on to particular things, so, bravo neowiz

And here's the other ingenious thing - they showed us the "Mad Donkey" boss early on in the demo and NOW I'm starting to wonder if this was a deliberate play. Almost everyone assumed this was already the game's iteration of Lampwick, so Romeo came as a surprise, and I think the proceeding story reveals about who the King of Puppets truly was were very effective.

also.. it's extremely cute what they did with the character. Of course, Romeo is the canonical name of Lampwick in Pinocchio, but the name "Romeo" is also probably the most heavily associated with Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet (which also takes place in Italy, as does Pinocchio!). And then we meet him in a theatre, and he puts on a play for us before we fight. Romeo supposedly had an affinity for acting, as Carlo did with the piano (I have heard this around on reddit, I don't know where this originates from, please lmk if you've seen these lore items). But most of all, Romeo and Juliet is a deeply remembered tragedy - like Lampwick in collodi's pinocchio. They are two young boys who didn't get away.

(maybe all of this was so obvious to everyone else but i love it still haha)

Fun to revisit this stuff after release with new clarity.

[To Reiterate - All of this is just my speculation]

[my-mt-heart]

NYCC 23 Thoughts

I know Caryl fans are more than ready to celebrate. I am too for what it's worth. Believe me, I'm so ready, but I also have concerns that some may not want or need to hear right now. And I get it. Fandom is supposed to provide a space for us to enjoy our favorite shows and characters without real life obstacles bleeding into it. My blog has really pushed those boundaries over the past year and half, so if that's not what you're looking for, feel free to scroll on by or block. If for some reason my rants are of any use to you, however, then here goes another one. Ahem.

Four middle-aged white men walk onto a stage...

…And proceed to make complete asses of themselves.

This is my biggest gripe with TWDU right now. It perpetuates the same tired, limited perspective of the upper class, middle-aged white man in not one, but all of the new spinoffs. TOWL is supposed to be about Rick and Michonne, but it's no secret Gimple favors Rick. Dead City is supposed to be about Negan and Maggie, but the showrunner only goes on and on and on about Negan/JDM in his interviews. S2 of le spinoff is supposed to be about Daryl and Carol, but...well, I'll get to that. My point is, representation offscreen matters because it affects what we see onscreen and which viewers will be drawn to watch. Personally, I didn’t feel drawn to anything during that panel, not because Melissa finally being announced isn’t exciting, but because the people speaking on her behalf always find ways to ruin the moment.

If Gimple wasn't going to talk about his show, I don't understand why he needed to be there. If it was a tradeoff, I would've rather seen Melissa up there and hear what she had to say about her own return and her own character in her own voice. If that still wasn't possible, I fully respect that, but there has to be some other way to deliver news besides constantly relying on male EPs who don't understand what her fans value about her. I worry this is how it's going to feel when I'm watching S2. I want Carol, but not a misrepresentation of her. Greg Nicotero is directing the premiere. Okay...and what about the other two blocks? Any women/POC directors? Anyone who's going to honor Carol the way she deserves instead of treating her like an extension of Daryl's story?

So, yeah. About that title. First of all, “The Book of Carol” is an odd choice in itself. The biblical allusions are annoying because they don't speak to who Carol is as a character. I’m not mad that it implies we’re getting Carol’s POV—quite the opposite—but I don’t like the confusion it’s causing either. Let’s be clear, Carol is not a short chapter in Daryl's story. She is Daryl’s story. Calling Melissa a "series regular" is extremely poor wording, and a sincere fuck you to whoever approved it for the announcement. She is a lead with EP credit and creative input. I am so sick of AMC leaving it up to the fans to debate her worth. Tell us she’s vital to the show, tell us it’s her show, and use clear language. Stop giving her haters more ammo they don't need and stop giving her fans more anxiety they really don't need.

Honestly, it would’ve been easier to accept if S2 was formally called TWD: Book of Carol. The problem is "The Book of Carol" is not the title. It's a subtitle of a (sub)title, and it's bullshit. It feels like a scam, another way to try to convince us we're getting what we want when we're not really getting much of anything. I don’t know if they're worried about false advertising since S2 won't be a Daryl and Carol story—more like a Carol story which, again, I’m not mad about as long as it leads to a reunion and canon by the end. Or maybe they’re stubbornly clinging to the belief that Daryl’s name is what sells despite the atrocious ratings suggesting otherwise. Daryl AND Carol do sell though, so why not lean all the way into it? Why risk turning the show into a laughing stock with obnoxious titles? These characters don’t deserve that.

Another thing that worries me is how it'll be promoted. As "The Book of Carol" or Daryl Dixon S2? Is it going to vary based on who AMC is trying to placate? Is "The Book of Carol" going to be smaller than Daryl Dixon on all the key art? Including Carol in the title was supposed to show that Daryl and Carol are equals. That way, Norman and Melissa would also be treated as equals by viewers and by co-workers. This doesn't look very equal to me...

Why —why 😩— do they need to keep rehashing the filming location's origin story, and by rehashing, I mean lying about it and dragging Melissa and her fans through the mud when all we want to do is move the fuck on? I don't like that Gimple (savagely) threw Norman under the bus, and I don't like that Norman, whatever his intentions were, threw Melissa under the bus. Again, this is why we need to hear Melissa's thoughts on the show, specifically what Carol's (and Caryl's) journey will entail not just plot-wise, but emotionally. It's not fair to put all that responsibility on her to make everybody else look good, and I hope it won't come to that, but the people on that panel yesterday really weren't doing themselves or the show any favors. I was pretty unsettled by the number of times I heard the phrases "I wanted this" or "we wanted that." Has anyone ever taken the time to understand what their audience wants? Or has the show really just been a vanity project all along?

I was wary about Zabel pretty much from the start, but finally getting to hear him talk about Daryl cemented how poorly he understands who he is and more importantly what he means to fans. A man being torn between his former way of life and his new one is nothing groundbreaking. It's actually a pretty standard formula that can fit a lot of conventional heroes, but it does not work for Daryl Dixon. Daryl Dixon is not a conventional hero. Daryl Dixon is the most loyal character in TWD history, and it's been well established his loyalty is to his found family of over a decade--Rick, Michonne, Maggie, and especially Carol. We will never buy that Daryl could be torn between them and people he's only known for weeks/months. Someone who tries to force that should not be showrunning. Period. I am terrified to learn more about how Zabel views Carol because so far, it sounds like he doesn't think much of her at all. If he did, maybe he would've written something more substantial for her in the finale.

We'll see what happens on Sunday. Hopefully they'll release the S2 teaser. Hopefully it’ll provide more reassurance. Hopefully something will. At the moment it just doesn't seem like AMC is capitalizing on Melissa's return as much as they could, and they're definitely not capitalizing on Caryl yet. That being said, and I can’t stress this enough, I do trust Melissa’s judgment. If she chose to come back—and she did—it’s for good reason. The wait is going to be difficult, but next year we’ll have six full episodes of Carol trying to find her soulmate. Nobody is taking that away from us no matter how many times the men put their foot in their mouths.

[princesssszzzz]

I think if daemon is neglectful to baela it’s probably not because it’s laena’s daughter but because she’s A daughter. We already saw he’s okay with the strong boys and guides them. So it’s natural he would want to do the same and teach more of his #1 skill aka warfare to his sons who need to do this to prove themselves and secure their position (unlike baela from whom fighting isn’t necessarily expected, she’s probably expected to carry children like aemma says)

Not excusing misogyny in any way though. If baela is interested (and she is!) he should pay her good attention

I’m also bitter they cut out the scene of him comforting his daughters after their mother’s death

I think people are mixing headcanons, show canon, and book canon for Daemon as a parent or stepparent. And then I think people are mixing up personal vs political interactions. Show only what we see on screen for season 1, Daemon has not built a deep personal connection with anyone from the younger generation regardless of gender. He’s not teaching Jace how to fight, and his interaction with him is very “professional” and dismissive. He didn’t teach Jace to speak Valyrian. At this point, all we know is they just happen to live under the same roof together and any type of bond Jace would feel as a fatherless young man is not being reciprocated by Daemon. Daemon is not going out of his way for Jace the way Rhaenys has done for Baela. That’s why I dismissed Harry Collett’s “Jace wants to be a mini Daemon.” He’s speaking for his character’s POV, not Daemon’s. His scene with Jace during the finale is a result of his brother dying and him wanting the “heir” to force people’s loyalty during a war, there was nothing fatherly to me in that scene. Harry did say in an interview Jace is acting professional with people, and I agreed with him because that’s also how I saw it. It’s not father/son interactions but the fandom has collectively agreed Daemon is the “father that stepped up” but is he really?? The directors can want people to think this but really what is on screen?

Daemon only brought Aegon and Viserys to King’s Landing to petition his brother and ask him for something, not out of pride for his sons and wanting to show them off. Same as Rhaenys said, Rhaena was only brought there as a tool to get something from her. Phoebe Campbell even said this new set up is not what’s being portrayed. Rhaenyra is not her new mother like some people claim and Rhaena sees Aegon and Viserys literally as half brothers so everyone is not as close as the fandom keeps claiming. Daemon does not participate in any conversation around Baela and Rhaena getting betrothed and just concedes to what others are saying. He doesn’t speak to Rhaena once during the dinner scene despite sitting right next to her, and now we know from that interview that it was on purpose.

The closest thing to a fatherly Daemon was him teaching Baela Valyrian in Pentos, her kissing his cheek, and her laughing at him at dinner in Pentos. After that he completely checks out so I’m waiting for season 2 to decide what exactly he’s doing as a parent. The only attention Daemon has paid to Harwin’s sons is just as an extension of their mother. If they really wrote him to only ignore Baela AND Rhaena because they are Laena’s daughters or if he’s generally ignoring all his kids like Matt Smith says we can’t tell right now. I don’t fully agree with all the actors because Matt Smith has contradicted himself before regarding Daemon and who he has love for, so we’ll have to wait and see. Show Daemon for Baela and Rhaena, I would like their interactions to be personal, with them talking about Laena and how the girls are feeling and not political just talking about the war like he’ll do with Jace. My POV if Daemon is going to build some form of semi-decent relationship with any children going forward in S2/S3 it’s gonna be Baela. The question is if the writers will bother to do her justice or just dismiss her like they did Laena.

[jechristine]

Agree with mari0rt on considering the actions of Z in context. She was criticized by prominent black voices saying that the role of Marie should have gone to a middle-aged dark skinned black woman even though Z herself requested the project made for her and JDW came on board later. She's frequently criticized for being given priority in the industry over dark skinned black women and that would be more amplified if she worked as a lead in a project of a black director. So her only recourse would be to be just a supporting actor in that kind of project (which she was in Space Jam 2 when Ryan Coogler asked her to voice Lola Bunny at a late stage because they needed more star power to sell the movie). Also let's remember that she was supposed to work with Nia DaCosta in A White Lie and despite securing distribution rights, the movie fell apart at the last minute and that's when she decided to do Euphoria. Then the movie Passing was made dealing with a very similar subject matter during a similar time period, making AWL even more unlikely

We sometimes forget that Z has worked on just a few projects and based on her recent statements we should expect her output to slow down. It's hard to get $50M in financing for a movie starring a Black woman like Amy Pascal was able to get for Challengers. I just listened to a podcast interview with Halle Berry in which she talks extensively about the dearth of offers even after she won the Best Actress Oscar and she was still considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. Even when Z works with white creatives, she has fought to hire black creatives in the projects, be it dark skinned actors as her family in KC Undercover, the hair and makeup team in Euphoria and Challengers, Darnell getting an assistant producer credit in Challengers, Law getting a costume design credit in Malcolm & Marie, bringing her own black glam team for the very white companies Lancôme, Bulgari, Hilfiger, Valentino and LV, etc

Thank you for this context, Anon.

@marie08rt

[kiseichew]

Im-patient

A semi-original Parasyte fanfiction. Prompt: A doctor performs the first head transplant. By the end of the surgery, the recipient's original body had greatly degraded. Even if something had gone wrong, there was no going back. It was only a question of whether they would lose one life or two today.

It was the year 2130, and the world was about to witness the first vertebrae-to-cranium full head transplant. The surgeon presiding over the highly experimental operation was one Doctor Jonathan Jameston, the foremost specialist surgeon of Xenia Hospital.

As the most senior surgeon and head physician, he had the unenviable task of making sure the transplant succeeded. Thousands of eyes were watching and waiting to condemn the procedure should it fail. The transparent smartglass walls of the specially made public operating room would display the surgery as it progressed; there was no room for mistakes.

Around the glass-encased room, the amphitheater held hundreds of anticipatory watchers, ranging from wealthy benefactors to medical experts to staff within the hospital. The rest of the room was filled with large hovercameras vying to get the perfect view. Thousands more people were watching the streams each camera fed to their respective network.

While Jameston checked the equipment setup, a particularly audacious reporter aimed their camera to hover beside him. “Sir, do you have any comments on this monumental event before you begin?” asked the tinny voice coming from its speaker.

He gave it a disgusted look. “If you’re looking for soundbites, feel free to replay the director’s interview from last week. And keep cameras away from the operating areas at all times. I don’t need to remind you of the malfunction a few months back that left States Station 14 in shambles.” There were still vultures picking at the ruins of that bankruptcy.

The camera backed off. Behind him came the rapid clicks of Director Meriau’s heels, no doubt swooping in to catch the attention of the camera crews and smooth out their PR.

“Please excuse Doctor Jameston,” called out Meriau. “He claims his expertise is in the operating room and isn’t fond of people who can talk back.” A weak chorus of laughter erupted.

Jameston scoffed.

“Moreover!” she continued. “We are embarking on a new frontier, not in space or the wilderness but here in our very cities. This surgery was only approved after extensive testing and trials in our efforts to further the well-being of our species. At our current amount of development only certain demographics are eligible, but the treatment is sure to be safe…”

Jameston let the salesman-style spiel wash over him and worked on double checking all preparations. He didn’t know how she had the energy to fake such intense vigor and enthusiasm, but Meriau could talk for ages if given the chance. 

He met Nurse Zheng’s eyes past the operating room’s smartglass. They nodded to confirm that the team was done with preparations within the surgical area. Both the donor and the patient had been set up on their monitoring surgical beds, bodies flushed of foreign matter and carefully given custom mixtures of anesthesia.

He could also feel the team’s disdain for the audience watching them, but there was nothing to be done. If anything went wrong today, their current lack of resources would make the next few years difficult to survive. A success on this scale would bring in much greater resources that they dearly needed, but any sort of failure would have them remembered as the hospital who gambled to defeat biology and lost.

Jameston pushed open the door to the decontamination chamber.

-----

Even with the assistance of autopilot nanotech scalpels and wound-sealing nanomites, the experimental procedure was a complex team effort that took over two hours. By the end of it, the recipient's original body had greatly degraded. Even if something had gone wrong, there was no going back. It was only a question of whether they would lose one life or two today.

The donor had been a formerly athletic young man named Timothy Sarkovich, who had become comatose due to severe brain damage. He had offered his body for medical advancements shortly before being pronounced braindead.

The operated-on patient, Antonio Ramirez, was one of many old, rich benefactors who had patronized their hospital. Jameston knew his will had even more money designated to them in the case this surgery went wrong, but money unfortunately wasn’t the main resource they needed. If he died, the situation was one powderkeg away from imploding once his will became public.

It had taken multiple trials to find someone compatible with the donor’s body down to its antibodies, and even further tests to make sure the body wouldn’t reject the patient anyway. Due to the nature of this treatment, relying on anti-rejection medication was unviable; only a perfect match would do for both the patient and the hospital’s PR.

As the nanomites flushed the remaining anesthetics out of the patient’s new body, it began to stir. Jameston lowered the strength of the false lungs and external heart, making sure Ramirez had begun breathing for himself once again.

It appeared the takeover was a success, but there was no telling how well it had worked until the man had woken up fully and began controlling his new body.

While nanomites continued closing the last of the surgical wound with artificial skin, Jameston monitored the patient’s vitals. He could tell Ramirez was beginning to stir.

The world outside held its breath.

Slowly, gradually, Ramirez sat up, as if his arthritis and old age had followed him to the younger body. Jameston had no idea if it was a facade or genuine.

He gestured to signal the others to discreetly remove the original, nearly deceased body. Best not to draw attention to it. “How are you feeling?” he asked the patient.

“Like someone cut my head off,” creaked Ramirez’s voice. He shook his head. “How long am I supposed to stay down?”

“The nanos should have healed everything internally, but it would be safest if you took at least a week of rest,” Jameston said, mostly for the benefit of the viewers. Ramirez didn’t look at him while he spoke, which was somewhat irritating, but the man was already aware of this information; they had gone over the procedure and expected recovery multiple times beforehand. “For the moment, I would like you to try to walk around to be sure the nerves have connected properly,” he added.

Slowly, but gaining speed, Ramirez began to get up from the bed. Jameston stood by his side in case the transfer had disoriented him.

Though Jameston didn’t care about appearances—one of the hospital’s specialties was extreme cosmetic surgery—the murmur coming from the crowd watching them through the glass reminded him the average person watching was likely unnerved by the contrast of Ramirez’s ancient white hair and wrinkled face sitting atop the young and once-handsome body. He said quietly, “If you like, we can offer an immediate facelift and full hair restoration in private.” Despite his low volume, he knew the cameras would catch and caption his words.

“No, thank you,” said Ramirez, still not looking back at him. “I don’t need any plastic surgery.”

Jameston leaned back in surprise. Ramirez had been one of their most frequent “customers”; he was well aware of the benefits of making an appointment with a paper trail.

“This body feels strong and healthy, far more than the previous one,” Ramirez continued, flexing his arms.

 Jameston felt the creeping awareness that something was wrong.

Despite his misgivings, the formerly old man had started walking out, and Jameston had no choice but to follow him.

The glass door was pushed out of their way. Without the transparent barrier, the crowd’s uttering was much louder than Jameston had expected. It was clear that their team was making waves, but he was no longer sure if they were good ones.

He met Director Meriau’s eyes and tried to convey the feeling that she should be cautious. Her cheery expression dropped a fraction.

Ramirez was already walking towards the stage’s exit and Jameston barely managed to clap a hand on his shoulder before he left the viewing area. He sensed a shock of fury, then impatience, before Ramirez turned his head.

“What is it?” the man snapped.

Jameston opened his hands, pretending to be helpless. “I’m sorry, but we need to confirm the donated body is working well,” he said. Ramirez should have been aware of this too. Jameston hated repeating himself, but it was safer to pretend it was unplanned if his patient didn’t want to cooperate. Suggesting that the procedure had somehow decreased the patient’s mental facilities so that he needed a reminder would be as bad as an outright rejection.

Ramirez turned to him fully.

“Please stretch out both arms and bend forwards towards the ground,” he said.

For a moment, he thought the other man would attack him. 

Ramirez eventually obliged and spread his arms open wide, glaring at Jameston.

A sudden buzz swept through the air before he dropped like a sack of flour. Jameston froze for a second, hearing wheezing and coughing coming from the now prone man. He was horrified to see the man claw at the place where the surgery had sealed him back together. In that distress, Ramirez’s facial features looked like they were melting.

Thinking quickly, he hauled the patient up against his shoulder, braced his body like the other man needed his support, and walked briskly towards the operating room, dragging the near-limp body along.

From the side of his eye he saw Director Meriau make the hand signal to shut everything down and the security to usher the public out immediately. She met his eyes before he closed the now-opaque smartglass door.

Jameston hauled the man that he had thought was Ramirez onto the surgical bed and turned on the diagnostics tools. Frustrated rage welled up in him.

As the programs booted back up, Meriau entered the room. “What’s the problem, Jameston?” she asked, her cheery facade now gone in favor of cold pragmatism. Her eyes raked over the shuddering body and its horror movie-like facial features before pinning him.

“There’s absolutely no reason this should be happening,” he said. “We’d already confirmed a partial graft of the patient onto the donor body before.” He lifted one of the man’s hands to display the grafted finger. The attachment location was invisible, with no scars to be seen, and it was behaving as expected of a finger. Not so the man’s head.

“Put me back,” croaked Ramirez’s voice. His head had stretched itself out grotesquely, draping past the headrest of the surgical bed.

Both Meriau and Jameston ignored him. Meriau asked, “Are we certain neither this host body nor the patient body had complications?”

“I double checked the preparations,” said Jameston. He gestured towards Zheng’s team, who were ignoring the ruckus in favor of making notes and tidying the room. “They did everything right. The only reason this would happen is if the body is rejecting him.”

Meriau narrowed her eyes. “And the only reason he would be rejected is if this isn’t the Parasite we picked.”

Jameston nodded. The distressed mental waves of the dying Parasite was distracting, but he was more concerned about the fallout. An impatient imposter stealing Ramirez’s place had set them back years.

While Parasites had done “head transplants” to themselves in secret, this was the first transplant in human awareness. They had hoped the fame would bring in more “donor bodies”, as other places would be unable to successfully copy it without the awareness that it only worked for their species. The fact that their very existence was considered a 21st century folk tale made the discerning hospital’s choices of patients seem almost random.

Not all of them were lucky to have picked a young, healthy body at the beginning, and even the youngest and healthiest of them were approaching their expiration dates. They would need many new bodies to find matches without the deadly risk of rejection.

Their species, unable to multiply, was dying out.

Meriau stared down at the Parasite who had taken Ramirez’s place. “You should have waited,” she said. “Is the original dead?”

“Let me back,” it groaned. Its voice was no longer human.

“There is no going back,” said Jameston. “Your stolen body is dead.”

“If you answer our questions, we may find you a new host,” Meriau told it. Jameston looked at her, surprised as always that she could lie without a single flicker in her signal.

It groaned again. “Killed it last night. Saw transplant planned. My body was dying.”

Meriau let out a human-like sigh. “Had you not taken over its host, we could have transferred you more safely,” she said honestly. “But you have complicated our plans.” Her hair merged into a shining blade, as clean and sharp as any scalpel. “For the crime of self-destructive impatience, I sentence you to death.”

The Parasite shrieked and twisted to defend itself, but Meriau easily bisected its sluggish tentacles and decapitated it fully.

Without saying anything, Jameston sent the dormant nanomites to cap off the bleeding of the host. If they were lucky, it was still salvageable as a host or spare parts for another one of them. Unfortunately, it had likely degraded a great deal due to the stress of the usurper and the long-term lack of a proper controlling brain.

The pieces of said usurper he left to wither away on the floor. Even dying parts were capable of small bodily invasions, which would be troublesome to purge. It was best to wait until it was fully dead.

Cynically, he compared its feeble struggling to how their species was doomed to die no matter how much they stretched their lifespan.

Meriau stood next to him. “Is there a way to salvage the PR problems from this?” she asked almost rhetorically. She looked down at the remains of their years of work, and nudged a piece that had stopped twitching with her shoe.

No human expression showed on her face, but he could sense the resignation from her.

“You know that’s your job,” he said. No doubt she could sense the frustration in him as well. It was echoed by the others around them; they felt of anxiety, anger, irritation, despair, and more.

“I was hoping you had thoughts,” her voice said. His senses said she hadn’t expected anything otherwise.

Jameston shook his head. It was easy to get lost in the collective murmur, but he didn’t have the luxury to do so when they had to face the media soon. They needed to seem as normal as they could. “Other than cleaning this mess up and finding someone compatible, I’m as lost as you.”

“Into the slavering maw of humanity together, then,” Meriau said as she exited the glass room.

[metamatar]

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3174605 I think you'll like this :D

You were right. From the 1990's, so maybe this marks a seminal and widely known advance in gender construction for intersexed infants now but it is so revealing. Quotes pulled below.

Current attitudes toward the intersex condition are primarily influenced by three factors. First are the extraordinary advancements in surgical techniques and endocrinology in the last decade. For example, female genitals can now be constructed to be indistinguishable in appearance from normal natural ones. Some abnormally small penises can be enlarged with the exogenous application of hormones, although surgical skills are not sufficiently advanced to construct a normal-looking and functioning penis out of other tissue. Second, in the contemporary United States the influence of the feminist movement has called into question the valuation of women according to strictly reproductive functions, and the presence or absence of functional gonads is no longer the only or the definitive criterion for gender assignment. Third, contemporary psychological theorists have begun to focus on "gen- der identity" (one's sense of oneself as belonging to the female or male category) as distinct from "gender role" (cultural expectations of one's behavior as "appropriate" for a female or male). The relevance of this new gender identity theory for rethinking cases of ambiguous genitals is that gender must be assigned as early as possible in order for gender identity to develop successfully. As a result of these three factors, intersexuality is now considered a treatable condition of the genitals, one that needs to be resolved expeditiously.

...

Almost all of the published literature on intersexed infant case management has been written or cowritten by one researcher, John Money, professor of medical psychology and professor of pediatrics, emeritus, at the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, where he is director of the Psychohormonal Research Unit. Even the publications that are produced independently of Money reference him and reiterate his management philosophy. Although only one of the physicians interviewed publishes with Money, all of them essentially concur with his views and give the impression of a consensus that is rarely encountered in science. The one physician who raised some questions about Money's philosophy and the gender theory on which it is based has extensive experience with intersexuality in a nonindustrialized culture where the infant is managed differently with no apparent harm to gender development. Even though psychologists fiercely argue issues of gender identity and gender role development, doctors who treat intersexed infants seem untouched by these debates. There are no renegade voices either from within the medical establishment or, thus far, from outside. Why Money has been so single-handedly influential in promoting his ideas about gender is a question worthy of a separate substantial analysis

...

The geneticist argued that when parents "change a diaper and see genitalia that don't mean much in terms of gender assignment, I think it prolongs the negative response to the baby…. If you have clitoral enlargement that is so extraordinary that the parents can't distinguish between male and female, it is sometimes helpful to reduce that somewhat so that the parent views the child as female." Another physician concurred: parents "need to go home and do their job as child rearers with it very clear whether it's a boy or a girl."

...

Money's case management philosophy assumes that while it may be difficult for an adult male to have a much smaller than average penis, it is very detrimental to the morale of the young boy to have a micropenis.In the former case the male's manliness might be at stake, but in the latter case his essential maleness might be. Although the psychological consequences of these experiences have not been empirically documented, Money and his colleagues suggest that it is wise to avoid the problems of both the micropenis in childhood and the still undersized penis postpuberty by reassigning many of these infants to the female gender.

[destinyc1020]

I'm on other side,I'm okay him doing him roles that risky and on edge but not okay him playing teenager roles. When I saw scenes with him in school I was boiling inside,so fed up with this. Dude 27 like seriously? Anyways I hope it's worth it at the end, he fuck up his mental health during filming hard add to this constant jokes on his looks that will stay forever on internet. And the way he transform his body for tcr,he was so skinny in March I remember,it was scary,he really looked like kid...I hate it so much,I get it,all for role,but it's too much

Anyways I hope it's worth it at the end, he fuck up his mental health during filming

First of all Anon... The TCR role did not mess up Tom's mental health. Idk where you're getting that from, but that's not what he said. He mentioned in the interview that he had a hard time shaking the character during and after filming. That's not uncommon actually.

If anything has "messed up" his mental and emotional health, it's probably social media, and the massive amounts of fame in connection with all of that.

Tom has NEVER said that acting itself harms his mental health. He's always said it's social media...which, by extension is in part due to his level of fame.

add to this constant jokes on his looks that will stay forever on internet.

People criticize everything on the internet about everybody these days. When you're in the public eye, that's just a given. Instead of blaming the actor, why not blame the people who are doing and saying these hurtful things online instead? 🥴🤔

And the way he transform his body for tcr,he was so skinny in March I remember,it was scary,he really looked like kid...I hate it so much,I get it,all for role,but it's too much

He wasn't dangerously skinny for this role Anon. 😒 He didn't even get as skinny as he got for his "Cherry" role (which, I thought was getting borderline scary for me). He lost a bit of weight for this TCR role. That's what an actor DOES. They transform themselves and their bodies depending on what the role entails and based on what the director wants. Just like Tom bulked up for Spider-Man and "Uncharted". Same thing. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I'm on other side,I'm okay him doing him roles that risky and on edge but not okay him playing teenager roles. When I saw scenes with him in school I was boiling inside,so fed up with this. Dude 27 like seriously?

Do you know that most "teenagers" onscreen are played by 20-something's Anon?? That's usually the case due to work-laws, sometimes due to subject matter, and the fact that actual teenagers still need to be in SCHOOL, so sometimes working around their school schedules can be a bit challenging. But usually it's due to the working laws and the subject matters that might be depicted in the roles onscreen. This has been done for ages.

I'm ready for Tom to not play teenage roles anymore either... and who knows, maybe this will be his last? 🤷🏾‍♀️

But you may need to look at some other films and TV roles depicting teenagers Anon, because you'll see that 9 times out of 10 the actors playing those roles are in their 20s.

Case in point... Tobey Maguire was about 27 years old when he filmed his FIRST Spider-Man movie which came out over 20 years ago.

I don't see the problem...

Would you REALLY want an actual teenager playing this role that Tom is playing in TCR?? Like, c'mon Anon.... 😒

[emptyanddark]

"

Located west of Gaza City, Al-Rantisi Hospital for Children is the only health care facility in the Gaza Strip set up to give care to pediatric cancer patients. Currently, said Dr. Mustafa Al-Kahlot, the director of the hospital, there are 70 children registered as patients, along with their displaced families. 

Urgent action is required to facilitate the patients’ treatment abroad, Al-Kahlot said: Swift intervention will significantly enhance these children’s chances of recovery. Yet the necessary treatments remain beyond reach in the Gaza Strip.

The need has been acknowledged by outside authorities: the patients had secured medical referrals to leave for hospitals in Egypt before the outbreak of the war, but Israeli authorities are refusing to allow them to be transported out of the strip for treatment.

In an interview, Al-Kahlot painted a bleak picture of pediatric patients grappling with a severe lack of treatment options. Their fear is exacerbated by repeated attacks on the hospital’s vicinity, most recently a November 6 attack that struck the third floor. The damage was extensive, several were wounded, and four people were killed.

Things have gotten so dire that most hospitals that remain open are running short on basic supplies like cotton suture thread, said Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, director of Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Any small hospital, he said, would need these supplies for routine daily work.

It is exactly these types of shortages that have been at the center of what little international diplomacy has been undertaken on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has boasted about getting Israel to let several aid trucks into Gaza at a time.

Asked about the medical aid that entered the Gaza Strip from the Rafah crossing with Egypt, Al-Hams sighed. “It is not enough for one day in a hospital,” he said. Half the aid that reached the Al-Najjar Hospital was burial bags, he said, and much of the second half was water bottles and other materials that don’t meet the hospital’s basic needs.  

“They just want to help us with burial and not medicine,” he said, “or what we need inside the operating rooms.”

"