#only the exo for us to provide this

[e9g7videos]

Kyungsoo

[stclaretarot]

PAC ⭒ how will your future spouse show you love?

reminder that this is a general reading and messages found here may not apply to everyone. take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and don't force anything if it does not fit.

BOOK A READING WITH ME · LINKTREE · 18+ PATREON · TIPS ♡ tips, bookings, and feedback are highly appreciated!

GROUP ONE

cards pulled · queen of cups, four of pentacles, four of swords, four of wands, five of swords. 

channelled songs · no name no 5 by elliott smith. night away by taemin. sick, nervous & broke! by jpegmafia. 666 in luxaxa by backxwash. 

my dear group one  ♡ your future spouse may be a busy person with little time to themselves, let alone time for you. however, they never use this as an excuse. 

your future spouse may constantly be away from home, for some, as they are a trucker, or because they moved somewhere with better job opportunities.

however, to your future spouse, effort equals love and love equals effort, and so they will still do whatever they can to show you that they love you. in particular, they will write you long letters that they mail to you. or write you long paragraphs keeping you updated about their life and checking in with you about yours. or they may take the time when they have it to write you what is essentially a newsletter. 

they may also send you long voicenotes when they can, or make the effort to call you, even if only for a few minutes. 

GROUP TWO

cards pulled · the lovers, page of cups, ace of cups, five of pentacles, four of pentacles. 

channelled songs · fever by ateez. bolo by penomeco & ydg. lubie by lous and the yakuza. tender love by exo. 

my dear group two  ♡ your future spouse is the epitome of a romantic. they are just SO romantic. they are romantic to their very core, and is almost certainly the most romantic person that you have ever known, let alone ever been with. 

this may be overwhelming, and also too good to be true. 

they will dance with you, make you playlists, and go above and beyond to take you to all the best events and restaurants in town. this may be to an extreme, where they may not have a lot of self-control when it comes to spoiling you and romancing you. 

GROUP THREE

cards pulled · page of pentacles, queen of swords, ace of wands, three of cups, eight of cups.

channelled songs · man in the mirror - 2012 remaster by michael jackson. suddenly by nct 127. solange by tobi lou & glassface. diet coke by pusha t. 

my dear group three ♡ your future spouse  is practical and has a very level head on their shoulders. they are a careful and cautious person, who will show you love by extending this care to you -- especially in making sure that you are looked after financially. 

but, not just by providing for you, but by making sure that you are able to look after yourself financially. by making sure that you are independent, have financialy knowledge, and are able to look after yourself without them.

they will help you save money in the now so that you can look after and spoil yourself in the future. they will constantly be on the lookout for ways you can make more money. they will also make it a priority to be careful with your money so that you can travel, have nice holidays together, and experience all of lives luxuries.

GROUP FOUR

cards pulled · wheel of fortune, eight of cups, the hierophant, seven of cups, king of cups. 

channelled songs · love this by cosmo jarvis. rose parade by elliott smith. real you by twice. guitare et tambourin by dalida. 

my dear group four  ♡ your future spouse will show you love by being your biggest hypeman. they will hype you up and compliment you constantly. 

you may be somewhat or quite insecure, and so it may be a priority to your future spouse to let you know how beautiful and attractive you are. no, not only that, but how absolutely amazing and incredible you are. 

they will make sure that never a day goes by without complimenting you. they will make an effort to overcome your insecurities with you. for example, if you are insecure about your body and want to lose/gain weight, they will go on that journey with you, supoorting you all the way. or if you are insecure about your education, they will take full responsibility of your household and finances so that you can study full-time. 

nobody believes in you more than your future spouse. 

[masteryaddleisagilf]

I got curious, so I did a bit of “research”

The most popular fic in English is an NSFW (incredibly raunchy, wow) Guardians of the Galaxy fic with 128.179 kudos.

In Mandarin, it is a mature RPF fic of the actors from The Untamed that resulted in AO3 being blocked in Mainland China. It currently has 26.916 kudos

For Spanish, the prize goes to an explicit omegaverse & mpreg The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System fic with  3.245 kudos

Indonesian gives us a BTS college AU with 1.569 kudos and French stays on the bandom vibes by giving us an explicit One Direction dystopian story. But the band rpf award goes to Tagalog* ***, with their first page (sorted by kudos) being all Kpop (ENHYPEN, EXO & SEVENTEEN) and no-fandom.

(For those curious, Korean has a low amount of Kpop rpf on their first page. I assume they publish it somewhere else)

Egyptian Hieroglyphics (which, yes, is an option on AO3) gives us a beautiful song translation with an impressive 495 kudos. I really recommend everyone check it out; it is incredible. Welsh** (160) and Old English (222)  also had their most popular work have an English translation. Latin (124), on the other hand, is just fully in Latin. There are a few translations, but they are provided by other people and not the original author.

Greek has a lot of Greek political RPF. Like, a lot. 

I was incredibly surprised by the fact that you can write fanfiction in Quebecois sign language. I was not surprised at all by the fact that Sindarin was an option.

.

A few of the languages had their most popular stories not be in that language and just be a case of mislabelling (or, in some cases, people using less-used languages on AO3 as dumping grounds for tests or personal notes.) Also, there were a couple of languages with no stories at all. 

If you have been thinking about writing fic in a language other than English, take this as a call for action. There are a lot of people out there reading in all sorts of languages. Even in languages with only a couple kudos, those are a couple of people who are incredibly happy to find a story of a media they love in a language they love too.

. Edits from 7/12/2022:

* Filipino*** is the standardized version of Tagalog and the way Ao3 refers to the language, which is why that is the word used instead of Tagalog. Feel free to reach out if there is a better way to word that sentence. 

** Welsh was included next to Old English as they both had English translations, and not as an implication that it is a dead language. Welsh is a living, thriving language with more than half a million speakers.

.

Edits from 26/12/2022:

*** More Tagalog speakers reached out asking me to change the language name to Tagalog. I did. The original note is left for those looking at the notes/asks and wondering what is going on. 

[pearlsinmyhair]

please more x reader smut with jake or miles, im starving 😭😭

wrong.

a jake sully x fem!human!reader smut fic.

warnings: smut. pnv sex. cunnilingus. overstimulation/multiple orgasms. reader is in her early twenties. daddy kink. use of pet names. squirting. size difference. virgin reader. dilf!jake sully. possibly dark content, if you squint. no beta we die like neteyam (im sorry-).

words: 2.7k

a.n.: ask and ye shall receive! this has been in the cooker for a hot minute. @eddiemunsonguitar this is also for you.

Eywa, it was so wrong. Unbelievably so. So sinful that it made you burn with embarrassment and borderline self loathing every time you weren’t burning with desire.

Desire for a man old enough to be your damn father.

It was innocent enough at first. He was just so big, and caring, and funny. And as you got older, your mind started wandering away from a silly little crush to full blown fantasies. Fantasies of him coming into your room at night, grabbing onto you and having his way with you. Practically ripping off any clothes just to ravish you until you couldn’t so much as move the next day.

And at the center of all these fantasies were none other than Toruk Makto himself. Jake Sully.

How could you be blamed? The crop of scientists, as much as you loved them, hardly sufficed when it came to what you craved in a man. Besides, not one of them would even go near you in anyway other than platonic and parental; they had practically raised you.

You were isolated and horny, with no one and nothing to take your frustration out on. And the only one other than the scientists that regularly visited was the Olo’eyktan. Who never even really looked at you, frankly.

Then again, you didn’t see him up close and personal for the first eighteen years of your life; the first half of which was spent cowering in your room or behind tech, and the second half spent admiring from a distance.

Watching with greedy eyes how his abdomen flexed when he leaned over to study Norm’s tablet, or how his thighs tensed as he crouched, or how his fingers spread when he pointed to something.

You wanted to eat him. You wanted him to eat you.

It was only the night of your twentieth birthday and after one of the female scientists told you about na’vi mating traditions that you hatched your plan.

Reassured by her statements that na’vi didn’t stick to monogamy nearly as much as the typical human did, you put on the gifted tweng and matching top you got from Kiri and Tuk as a gift, strapped your exo pack over your face, and marched into high camp with your head held high.

Jake barely knew you when he first really saw you walking the perimeter of one of the huge fires in the caves of high camp. He knew of you, from Norm and Max and their off handed comments about the spoiled princess in their mix, but he’d never seen her.

‘Spoiled’ had always been a joke- you were a kid, and you had needs that weren’t always easy for them to provide. But they did their best.

His kids had mentioned you too; Kiri was especially fond of you (“Sometimes she’s the only one who really wants to listen to my thoughts. It’s refreshing.” Kiri had snapped one night not too long ago at dinner), and Tuk thought you made a great playmate. Lo’ak had considerably less to say, mostly because you didn’t come out of the Oxygen-Pods nearly as much as Spider did, and therefore you didn’t explore with them. Neteyam had escorted you to fetch a plant for Max’s research once, and claimed you were polite.

That was the extent that he knew.

And damn, he didn’t know shit if this is what you looked like. All long legs and coy smiles and soft giggles.

It was over the instant that you introduced yourself.

You both knew it.

ִ ࣪𖦹

“Fuck, Jake please-“ you whined, wiggling and bucking your hips in an attempt to get away from his flicking tongue. His massive hands held you in place, making your body sink into the mattress of your bed within your room. The poor thing creaked with each push of his hands and movement of your lower half, and you thanked Eywa that you had requested a private living space when you had turned eighteen. You don’t think you could face anyone with apologies for the noise of your late night escapades with the olo’eyktan.

“Hush… ‘m not done.” Jake mumbled into your folds, and you had to fight the urge to kick his chest as another shot of electricity made your whole body twitch.

Two orgasms and this man still wasn’t done. He had practically ripped off your panties as soon as he was through the door, picking you up and (gently) throwing you down on the bed. How long ago was that? An hour? Two? It felt like you were melting at this point, and the slurps of Jake’s mouth on your dripping pussy made you shiver with embarrassment and overstimulation.

“Y’know what to say if you’re done, yeah?” Jake asked, pulling back just enough to make sure his words were audible. Daring to look down, you were met with the sight of strings of your cum and his saliva clinging to his jaw, his lips nearly shimmering and parted as he watched you. He brought a breathing mask to his face as he waited, rubbing soothing circles into your thigh with his unoccupied hand.

You dropped your head and with a frustrated whine, and he slapped his palm against your leg. With a yelp, you gave him an audible affirmative, restating your safe-word. Satisfied, Jake licked a broad stripe from your fluttering hole to your clit, sucking the throbbing bud into his mouth and rolling it on one of his canines. You cried out, the rush of popping sparks and burning pleasure returning.

“Just one more, sweet thing. One more and i’ll give you what you want.” he cooed, nipping your labia and tonguing your entrance.

“Need it now, Jake. Can’t take it anymore.” you nearly wheezed, huffing as you felt the coil in your gut tighten. Something was different from before, tingling just below the hot waves of pleasure rolling through your body.

Tonight, after months of eating you out and finger fucking you, Jake had finally decided to let you take his dick. Only one problem with that. Itsie bitsie, really. Nothing serious.

Just that you were a virgin. And taking a dick over twice the size of a human’s was gonna practically rip you open.

So that’s what got you here, approaching your third goddamn orgasm so maybe, just maybe, your slick would make it easier for him to slide in.

Fuck, you weren’t gonna walk for a week, dick or not.

A flood of ecstasy overwhelmed you, and you felt some kind of tingling between your legs before you were slammed back, white clouding your vision as you cried out.

When you came to and looked down once more, you watched as Jake lapped at the juices adorning your thighs and lower belly, wiping some kind of liquid from his face.

“Y’squirted, baby girl.” he hummed as he kneeled over you, picking you up and adjusting you so that your head rested against your pillows and he could rest his knees on the mattress, situating himself between your thighs.

“Prideful skxawng.” you whispered back, only to be muffled by his mouth on yours as his hands found the backs of your knees.

He pulled back, looked down at you with worried eyes as his gaze traveled between your bodies back up to your face. “You’re sure you want this? It’s not gonna be easy, or painless.”

You shifted up onto your elbows, brushing his blunted nose with your own. “Since when did you decide to be my daddy?” you asked, voice low.

Jake’s reaction was predictably dominating; he hissed low in his throat, pushing his forehead down against yours so that your head landed back on the pillow. He rutted his hips forward, and you whimpered when his dick brushed your oversensitive clit.

“This isn’t time for jokes kid. Talk to me.” he growled, and you sobered quickly as he moved the head of his cock to your entrance, applying pressure so you felt some semblance of the reality of what was about to happen.

Taking a deep breath, you lifted your hands to his face and pulled him down, trying not to think of just how much he had to crane his neck to lean closer. “Just… slow. If it doesn’t fit, then fine.” you tried, swallowing the lump in your throat as Jake nudged you again.

“Trust me, kid, it’ll fit. Stretched you to hell and back not too long ago.” he assured, pressing a kiss to your temple. “Just relax.”

“Oh, and let’s not call me ‘kid’ when you’re about to fuck me, yeah?” you snipped, tightening your thighs around his waist.

Jake chucked, muttered a soft “brat.” into your ear that got you to laugh. While you were distracted, he pushed his hips forward and slid the first inch of his dick in.

You squealed, and Jake had to keep his hold on your thighs tight and you tried to move away. Your hands flew to his shoulders, clawing into his skin deep enough to draw blood.

It should have hurt- he should have noticed the stings of pain.

But all he could register was tight, warm walls wrapped around his dick with a vice so harsh he swore they were gonna snap it clean off.

With breaks and whispered praise from him, he gradually suck inch by inch of his think cock into you tight little cunt, until finally, fucking finally, he bottomed out.

Tight. Tight around his tongue, tight around his fingers, but fuck. This was on another level.

You were so good- such a good girl taking all of that length, swallowing every inch he gave you with a few tears and quiet whimpers. He leaned closer, making sure not to rock into you too soon, and kissed at the tears tracking down your face, before finally pressing his mouth to yours, swallowing your soft cries every time you’d accidentally shift your hips or he his.

“Damn, pretty girl. Gonna cut off my blood circulation.” he grunted into your shoulder, and he was rewarded with a breathy laugh from you. Experimentally, he ran a hand down between your bodies, before having to mentally convince himself not to burst at what he found.

Leaning up, he looked down at the bulge in your tummy, running a hand over it before looking to your eyes. He found you looking down with awe, wide eyed and dropped jaw at the bump.

Jake placed his palm over it, and pressed down.

The moan you let out was sinful, so desperate and pleased that he nearly rammed into you just out of instinct. But he reminded himself to take it slow as he pulled out, feeling the warmth of your pretty pussy leave him, before pushing back in.

Eywa, Jake was huge.

Of course you knew he would be- you’re not delusional. But damnit, it was almost too much. Your legs quivered with each slow thrust of Jake’s hips, and you buried your face into his shoulder to quell some of your noises. It hurt. Hurt more than anything you’d experienced before. You were quite sure Jake would leave a permanent space for himself inside of you with how you were stretching.

Jake stroked his thumb against your skin where his hand still cupped the back of your thighs, pressing your knees up near your shoulders to get more leverage. The cot gave another soft squeak at the shift in weight, and for a moment you and Jake laughed, finding humor in the absurdity of fucking you into a rickety mattress in a room that Jake couldn’t fully stand up in.

The bulge in your tummy was only a physical manifestation of what you felt: fucking full. You could have cum just at the sight of it there, and by the foggy look in Jake’s eyes, so could he.

“Jake-“ you whispered, though it came out as more of a punched-out wheeze. “Move.”

His eyes flicked to yours for a moment, checking for any hesitation. When he found none, he shifted back on the bed, pulling away. You could feel the emptiness he left behind, and you opened your mouth to protest.

Before you could utter a word, Jake’s hands shifted from your thighs to your hips, and promptly rammed his cock back into you.

You screamed, the rush of pleasure and twinge of pain making you throw your head back as your hands flew to his shoulders, grounding yourself as he repeated the motion. You could feel him, deep inside of you, pressing against your cervix, his tip threatening to push past the barrier and straight into your womb.

That should have scared you, but it only made you rock your hips up to meet Jake’s with each thrust, reveling in the slick slide of his dick against your walls.

“Fucking hell, baby-“ he all but hissed, pinning your legs up again. “Taking this dick so well.”

You whined in response, trying and failing to assemble some kind of sentence to give him. Fucked out and cock drunk from just a few thrusts. How pathetic a sight you were. But no matter how humiliated you would feel later, right now you were confronted will all consuming pleasure and fullness.

Jake was confronted with the view of tears leaking from your eyes and drool dripping from the corner of your mouth, whining and moaning weakly as he continued to pound into you. He was sure he wasn’t much better, anyway. Jesus, he thought maybe you’d loosen, only to be met with a tight clench of your tight little cunt around his cock when he hit your g-spot.

Everything was on fire. Your body, your mind, your pussy. Fuck, you needed to cum. You needed to fucking cum.

“Daddy-“ you whined, finally meeting Jake’s eyes as he bent over you, letting his nose brush yours.

“I know, baby girl. Go ahead and cum around daddy’s cock. Make him proud.” he grunted out, feeling his own release pool deep in his stomach as he tucked his face into the space between your shoulder and jaw.

His permission was all it took for something inside to finally snap, and you could feel yourself gush around Jake’s dick as your whole body trembled, thighs shaking even as Jake held them. After a few beats the pleasure turned into overstimulation, and your moaning became sobs, whimpering into Jake’s shoulder for him to cum already-

Jake shuffled closer to press himself as far in as he could as he felt the coil in his stomach tighten one last time, and sunk his teeth into your shoulder, tasting salt and iron as his release filled your core.

You barely even protested, your body jumping slightly under his at the pain, but otherwise you were limp in his arms. Jake pulled back to look at you, letting one of your legs go and bringing his hand to your cheek. “Hey…” he murmured softly, running his tongue over the dribble of blood from the bite mark marring your skin, waiting for you to come down.

“Hey…” you responded after a second, pushing weekly at his shoulder in an attempt to get him to stop prodding at the wound. Jake chuckled and shifted.

“Pulling out.” he warned you, before pulling himself out of you with a wet squelch. If you weren’t thoroughly fuck out, you would have blushed. But right now, all you wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

Jake chuckled once more, curling next to you and cradling your body against his chest as you began to drift off. “Are you alright?” he asked, his tail curling around your thigh as his hand ran over your back.

“Mhm.” you managed, pressing a kiss to his pectoral as he hitched one of your legs around his waist. “Just gonna be sore in the morning.”

He hummed in agreement, glancing at the bruises on your hips and waist from his hands. Jake knew he should have felt bad for it, and yet his chest hummed with pride at the sight of the physical evidence of him on your body.

Mine.

He pressed a kiss to your head as your breathing evened out, feeling his own eyes grow heavy.

“We’ll worry ‘bout it in the morning, baby. Just rest.” he whispered.

And with an ache between your legs and dripping warmth in your core, you did just that, already drifting away into sleep as his body calmed against yours.

[zalia]

Episode Echoes thoughts

Pondering after Act 2 Part 2 of Episode Echoes because I have thoughts... They're not entirely coherent, and definitely aren't gonna be a definitive answer to anything, but there's some really old lore which seems extremely relevant right now, especially regarding the Conductor's possible plans/motives.

So, we've got Saint-14 with differing memories to Osiris. A version of Maya Sundaresh acting as the Conductor. A series of Battlegrounds featuring a giant Vex minotaur that looks a hell of a lot like Atheon. A Vex cyclops that looks like Dendron Root Mind, in an area that is very similar to the Pyramidion on Io (Ikora even comments upon it being like the Pyramidion in a voice line so we're meant to pick up on that, rather than it just being reusing assets).

First thought: Everything that is happening to Saint and Osiris feels very targeted. From what Saint says, the Conductor knew a lot about him, and about Osiris, about Sagira. Makes sense if she's scouring the Vex Network since they're probably the two Guardians the Vex know the most about (barring possibly Kabr who became Vex, and Asher who was partially Vexified and became subsumed in the network). If she's using the Vex's simulation abilities, I think even paracausality would not prevent them predicting that the Last City would send their Vexperts to investigate, even if they couldn't 100% accurately simulate the Light. If I was trying to take over the Vex, I would probably want to compromise the Guardian who killed so many Vex they built him a tomb, and the Guardian who wrested control of the Infinite Forest away from them. And she seems to know just where to dig in to Saint's mind. The Conductor also says some things about shaping people's realities in the Polychroma Ghost Shell lore:

Naturally, few are capable of positive contribution to this work, but that will be manageable. We don't need a chorus to form a quartet. People of science, vigorous study, those are the future humanity needs. There are individuals that would meet the qualifications, of course, and those who possess unique brilliance that is impossible to duplicate. What ease can we provide those careful few? How to best shape their world from the inside out?

The whole lore entry is rather disturbing (and in attitude towards people reads more like Clovis Bray than Maya Sundaresh. Or like the Witness in many ways). But wanting individuals with unique brilliance, and shaping their world from the inside out... Is Saint a test run for this? The entry also talks of 'more complex minds prove difficult'. Well, how about experimenting on an exo whose mind has a Radiolaria component. Something like imprinting a memory on the Radiolaria to affect the exo mind? To shape an individual's reality from the inside out. And Osiris also would kinda be one of those people with unique brilliance. And a whole connection to the Veil. Anyway, the main thought before that got away from me was... Saint's memories. We so far only have one very specific memory which differs, and that difference in memory only appears after he'd been yoked. Could be Saint from a different timeline, sure, that is a possibility. Could be an entirely fake memory that the Conductor has forced him to believe. What if it's a real memory from a different timeline's Saint, forced into this timeline's Saint? And that's where I come to think about mind-forking. Mind Forking is something that only comes up a few times in lore, always in connection to Maya Sundaresh (barring one time when it's just mentioned as a thing that raises concern in the Golden Age). The earliest mentions of it come from the D1 grimoire cards, specifically: Ghost Fragment Vex 4 and Ghost Fragment Vex 5 (CW for suicide)

In Ghost Fragment Vex 4, the Ishtar Scientists are releasing their simulated copies into the Citadel on Venus.

Chioma puts an arm around her. "That's what we're going to find out. Where the Citadel can send us. Whether we can come back." "They're not us any more." Maya looks down at herself, at the cache of her self-forks. "We're not going anywhere. We're sending them. They're diverging."

So the Vex simulations are like mind forks. (We will be coming back to this lore entry. In Ghost Fragment Vex 5, Maya is in Lhasa working on a project that will later become the Future War Cult's device.

We built the device in mimicry of the Vex gateway systems from Ishtar. An observatory, yes, but I think of it as a mind-ship. Capable of displacing its payload across space and time.

So Vex technology capable of displacing a mind across space and time (and don't think I don't see you there 'observatory' reference - I have no doubt the writers of the Final Shape CE lore were looking at this grimoire card for reference). Experimenting with this device goes... poorly. People are driven mad by it. Maya has an idea:

I’ve suggested that we attempt mind forking. We need more sane people to work with. Please forgive me, my love.

She doesn't explain what mind forking is, but she describes the copies of the Ishtar scientists as 'forks', and from the context, I'd guess that it's a way of creating a copy of a mind that diverges at a specific point. That copy can then be sent out using the device and if it goes insane or dies, well, you've got the original. If it goes well, the forked mind and the original reunite. Maybe? It's never quite that clean where this stuff is involved - the simulated Vex scientists were fully independent, sapient, entities. Not just computer copies. From another standpoint - it would be like having Saint-14 there, and then making another exo based on the original mindprint of Saint.

The Device is eventually picked up by the Future War Cult, led by Lakshmi-2, who is sort of but not quite Maya Sundaresh thanks to the Veil! Lakshmi-2 also talks about Mind Forking in Season of the Splicer

The Future War Cult has long used Vex-derived technology to see into the future. I won't bore you with an explanation of mind-forking.

The experiments with the device do not go any better and you can read them on the Future War Cult grimoire card.

No wonder the Device was abandoned. The human mind is too weak for it. Too weak to look into the Future, or to understand what it sees. What the situation calls for, little Ghost, is a better sort of witness.

(oh yeah the writers were absolutely looking at these grimoire lore cards for a lot of recent stuff.

We don't really hear anything about it again until... Season of the Seraph. In the Spire of the Watcher chestpiece.

[AUGURMIND] Predictive Matrix  Potential Colony Sites  Chronoscopic Analysis  MIND FORK II PROTOTYPE INTERLACING  PROJECT FILE: Ishtar-Joint, Sundaresh

Oh yeah, we've got Soteria the Occlusion in the Vex Network on Neomuna, Maya Sundaresh, one of the founders of Neomuna, and Mind forking. Is Soteria a mind-fork of Maya Sundaresh as well? Not enough info to say. But Soteria is very entwined with Maya and the CloudArk and thus, the Veil. She is also partially created from Vex prediction technology.

Where is this going? I don't know. Regarding Saint though... could the Conductor have found a mind-fork of Saint from another timeline and IDK, pasted that specific memory into his head?

One last thing, going back to the Vex 4 lore. In Season of the Wish, in the Starcrossed mission, we enter the Black Garden, and are confronted by a very specific Vex structure:

The Citadel on Venus. You can still see it in D2 from the starting area of the Vault of Glass raid. In D2 you get to climb it. It's a really specific structure which had not really been referenced at all since D1. And suddenly it's back in Season of the Wish. And now we have lore mentioning the Ishtar scientist copies and Praedyth.

In the Vex 4 lore, there is this conversation between the Ishtar Scientists.

"Do you think," Duane-McNiadh begins, halting, "that you could use this place to change things? If you regretted something, could you find a way through the Citadel, go back, and change it?" "I wish I could go back and change you into someone else," Dr. Shim grouses. Chioma's shaking her head. She knows physics. "Time is self-consistent," she says. "I think it's like the story of the merchant and the alchemist. You could go back and watch something, or be part of something, but if you did, then that was the way it always happened." "Maybe you could bring something back to now. Something you needed." Maya runs a hand across the surface of the Vex aperture, feeling it with sensors ten thousand times as precise as a human hand. These proxy bodies are limited— they crash and need resetting every few hours, they struggle with latency, they can't hold much long term memory. But they'll get better. "Or go forward and learn something vital. If you knew how to control it, how to navigate across space and time."

The Merchant and the Alchemist section sounds a lot like Saint's paradox. And there's a lot here that seems to point to the Conductor maybe possibly wanting to change time to fix something that went wrong. Also from Vex 5

I am beginning to wonder if we were wrong about the merchant and the alchemist. Or if that explanation of time was incomplete.

The Merchant and the Alchemist is also a reference to a Ted Chiang book where an alchemist shows a merchant a mysterious black stone arch which lets you travel to the future (and there is another gate which leads to the past). I haven't read it, so can't give more details but again, it's not an idle reference.

tl;dr there is absolutely a picture forming here, and, like a magic eye picture, I just haven't managed to make my vision go funny in the right way to see it yet.

[thorough-witness-enjoyer]

Hi hi!

I loved your rants on the Traveler and read your pinned post and was just curious to hear about your destiny OCs (or anything else you want to talk about honestly)! Please ramble as it's always a good time to read to have someone go on in detail about their interests.

Light be with you!

Greetings!!!

This was such a sweet message and I’m delighted that you found an interest in the things I discuss on this blog!!! Thank you so much for the kind words and for wanting to hear about my ocs!!

Okay so we have- *I fall down a comically long flight of stairs with my box of ocs as they go everywhere* Sorry, sorry!

Truth be told, I have a LOT of ocs from all the different species and societies of Destiny as I have been into the game for practically two-thirds of my life, more than I can possibly disclose in just one post (especially because I can talk forever about these things!!)

So, I thought it would be fun if I described my many characters and their stories as silly blog/news titles and opening statements! This is only a small handful of my ocs, but if you guys want more or see one idea you’d like to hear more of, I’ll consider posting additional content of them!

Here we go:

Infamous deathsinger-school drop out meets agoraphobic Eliksni captain at Eliksni-Hive bar, requires his and his sardonic, elder dreg‘s protection against her vengeful knight sister.

Small Uluran girl tends to her family farm with her Psion in-house caretaker, finds out the only thing more troubling than a poor harvest is Torobatl politics as her caretaker brings his fragile partner into the household.

Local Last City ghost sees success at the opening of her new therapy café despite not having hands and only employing other guardian-less ghosts.

Top ten activities to do with the goat your Witness does not approve of, but your acolytes adore! (Number 4 will certainly unleash its rage!)

BREAKING: Awoken guardian and her exo best friend are kicked out of Spider‘s Palace after starting a drunken fight over a gambling dispute for the 20th time. “I remember being young, desired, out until dawn, and unbothered by responsibilities” says their middle-aged Psion fiduciary.

This Vex harpy enjoys listening to a vagrant exo hunter play his flute and doesn’t enjoy Minotaurs at all according to the vagrant hunter that menacingly approached us.

EXCLUSIVE: We interviewed the Young Wolf on why they continue to slay gods and they said “There really isn’t much else to do and my only friends are Ghost and Crow”.

Hundreds dead and thousands more injured after a fairy betrayal in the Court of Understanding left the Great Navigator paranoid that necromancy was spreading amongst his closest circle (A fairy is a Hive class I invented that is akin to court jesters for the upper class, especially the Osmium siblings. They are light-weight and agile, possessing the ability to float, while also wielding long-range weaponry. I definitely plan to explain this concept in the future and perhaps provide artwork for them!)

Long lost sibling of the architect of The Witness found in reclusive cabin with non-verbal child, told us to “Fuck off” and “Tell that disturbed prophet I want nothing to do with them”.

How to answer your young child when they start asking questions like “Why do our neighbors have four arms?” and “If the Final Shape happens, do I still have to go to school?”: A guide written by an average Last City dad with a curious daughter.

Whats better than the daughter of a baron and a cynical knight running away to live a life of piracy and blasphemy together? Studies show it’s the daughter of a baron and a cynical knight doing all of that AND being lesbians.

Renowned Hive romantic novelist takes acolyte playwright under his wing after their work reaches acclaim in the Court of War for its depiction of the Eater of Hope’s trials with redemption and love. “This will definitely win back the hat loving wizard that I had spawn with” the novelist claimed as he flipped his decadent cape.

Old Psion yells “All paracasual beings need to die in their rotting entitlement, especially that red bloated bastard and that big eyed freak he calls ‘My Mistress’!”and immediately dies after telling his aids about his time spent directly under Nezarec.

HEARTWARMING: This Lubraen stalker welcomes newcomers by giving them a tour around the city and making their bigotry apparent.

Is this the style of the summer? Qugu person sports new curled tendril mane as they embrace the end of everything.

She’s a beefy wizard, he’s a scrawny knight, they are irritating rivals: The couple that fell in love again after becoming lucent thanks to their devoted spawn.

Potential assassin of the Witness found and held under that black liquid it comes out of until their will falters. “I had to do something to protect them. No one protected my planet. I didn’t care how much I’d pay for it” stated the now-disciple fish creature.

I have tons of concepts remaining and I thoroughly love all these characters, but I don’t want this post to be too long!! I adore expanding on unexplored areas of Destiny lore and I wish I had the time to make content for my ideas!!

Thank you again for the question and I hope I adequately answered it!! Light be with you too!!

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Western Hognose Shopping List

Thanks to their big, fun personalities and small size, western hognose snakes (Heterodon nasicus) are becoming a more and more popular choice for a first pet snake. Though they're not as easy as some other good beginner-level snakes, hoggies are absolutely doable first snakes as long as you do lots of research and plan thoroughly! These adorable little snakes average around 2 feet long for females and just over 1 foot long for males, and can live to be up to 20 years old with proper care.

Before buying your hognose snake, it is extremely important to make sure you find a snake who is well-established and eating consistently on frozen/thawed, unscented mice. Don't overlook this - hoggies can be difficult to get eating on your own!

An important note of caution: hognoses are venomous snakes. Their venom is not medically significant to humans and usually results in no more than mild swelling and itching, but this is something to be very aware of! Hognose snakes almost never bite in self-defense, but mistaken feeding bites can happen so it's important to be aware and prepared.

Enclosure setup shopping list:

It's essential to make sure your hognose snake has plenty deep substrate to dig in! You will need to set up a temperature gradient of 88-78 Fahrenheit. Hoggies are not picky about humidity, and as long as you always make sure they have access to fresh, clean water, humidity shouldn't be a concern for you.

Enclosure. Adult hognose snakes can thrive in a 40 gallon enclosure. You can get away with a 20 gallon for males since they are considerably smaller, but bigger is better! For a baby snake, you and your snake will likely have an easier time if you get them set up in a 10 gallon enclosure until they put on some size.

If your enclosure has a screen lid, don't forget the screen clips. Never bring a snake home without screen clips!

A dome heat lamp with ceramic sockets. Any big reptile brand is fine - Fluker's, Zoo Med, and Exo Terra are all trustworthy brands here. Make sure your dome lamp is rated for the wattage of bulb you will be using - 150 is usually a safe bet.

Heat bulbs. I use ceramic heat emitters for most of my hognose snakes, but some respond very well to halogen lighting and UVB. The choice of providing visible heat and UVB is yours; the only snakes I would avoid it with are snakes with melanin-reducing morphs (like albinos and toffees) because it can damage their more sensitive eyes. Arcadia makes high-quality heat sources your pet will love. The wattage you choose will depend on your enclosure size and the temperature in your home.

A thermostat to plug your heat source into. Vivarium Electronics thermostats are excellent but pricey; you can go as expensive as you like but here is a cheap one I swear by. Never use a heat source without a thermostat!

Digital thermometer/hygrometer reader with probes - Zoo Med and Exo Terra make great dual gauges. Avoid stick-on dials!

At least two identical hides, one on either side. A proper hide has three solid walls and a smallish entrance - you want your snake to feel snug and secure. Baby hognoses especially will do best with lots of extra hides.

A container to make a humidity hide. Simply cut a hole in the lid, fill with damp moss, and you're set! Providing your snake with a humid hide will help them have perfect sheds every time!

A large water bowl

(Insider tip: if you go to the grocery store and buy a pack of black plastic food storage containers, you can easily make hides, humidity hides, and a water bowl out of them! Here's my go-to option, you can easily take care of all that for one baby snake for like 5 dollars! Baby hognoses are extra tiny, so if you're buying a young baby, sugar caddies make perfect, cheap hides.)

Sphagnum moss for your humid hide

Substrate - for hognoses, I prefer aspen fiber because it holds hides well and isn't terribly dusty. Playsand/topsoil mixtures also work well. Whatever you choose, be sure to provide your snake with at least a few inches to burrow in!

Lots of clutter. Paper towel tubes are great, fun enrichment, and empty cardboard boxes are hits with lots of hoggies. They aren't big climbers, but giving them a few branches never hurts! It's very important to keep your enclosure cluttered so your snake feels safe. Crumpled balls of paper towel make for great extra clutter for small snakes.

Consider a blanket or other visual barrier to put over the enclosure to help your snake feel safe and hidden. Hognoses can be very sensitive and often benefit from a little extra privacy.

General care:

Feeding tongs.

Food for your snake. Baby hognoses can usually handle whole pinky mice. Your offered food should be about 10-15% of your snake's body weight.

A soldering iron, believe it or not! A cheap soldering iron will serve you well throughout your snake's life - you can use it to easily melt holes in bowls and containers to make hides.

And some common beginner mistakes:

Don't move your snake to a separate enclosure to feed. It's a myth that will make your snake "aggressive" - it can actually cause more mistaken feeding bites as they associate handling with being fed!

Don't worry if your snake spends most of their time hiding, especially while young. A hiding snake is a happy snake! It's very normal for hognose snakes to spend a lot of their time in their burrows.

Don't over-handle your snake, and always give them at least a week to settle in before offering food for the first time.

Never handle your snake for two days after they've eaten - that could cause a regurgitation.

Avoid heat mats as a heat source for hognose snakes. Because they need such thick substrate, the heat mat can cause dangerous hot pockets within the substrate.

And be prepared to be flexible! Hognose snakes are such wonderful, fun pets, but they certainly have a bit of a dramatic streak. Expect some hissing, puffy cheeks, and a few theatrics! These are snakes with opinions about how you should care for them, so listen to what they're telling you.

I don't know what life would be like without my pet hognose snakes! They're fun, engaging pets who will make you laugh every day, and if you do your research to get them set up properly, you're well on your way to many awesome years together.

[shadowkoo]

Kinktober Fic Recs

I won’t be able to fully commit to writing for Kinktober this year, so instead, I’ll be participating as a reader. I’ll be reviewing fanfics that align with each day’s theme (list provided below).

Want to get involved? You can send me your fic recommendations through my submission box using the format below:

writer name / url

fic title

link to the fic

the day & theme it falls under

what you like about it (can be just a sentence or two)

My personal preferences:

20+ idols

x reader fics or x o.c. only

oneshots preferred

series with up to 5 parts will be considered

ideally less than 30k words

tumblr links for fics (no wattpad, ao3, aff, etc.)

bts, ateez, seventeen, exo, got7, monsta x, stray kids, nct

please read the disclaimers at the bottom of this post

𝖈𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖘

⋆˙⟡ OCT 1 ⟡˙⋆ phone sex ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 2 ⟡˙⋆ mutual masturbation ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 3 ⟡˙⋆ thigh riding ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 4 ⟡˙⋆ shower sex ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 5 ⟡˙⋆ double penetration ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 6 ⟡˙⋆ bondage ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 7 ⟡˙⋆ mirror sex ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 8 ⟡˙⋆ face fucking ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 9 ⟡˙⋆ car sex ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 10 ⟡˙⋆ breeding kink ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 11 ⟡˙⋆ body worship ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 12 ⟡˙⋆ hate sex ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 13 ⟡˙⋆ blood play ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 14 ⟡˙⋆ power imbalance ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 15 ⟡˙⋆ humiliation ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 16 ⟡˙⋆ caught in the act ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 17 ⟡˙⋆ daddy kink ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 18 ⟡˙⋆ sloppy oral ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 19 ⟡˙⋆ age gap ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 20 ⟡˙⋆ cum play ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 21 ⟡˙⋆ pain kink ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 22 ⟡˙⋆ weapon play ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 23 ⟡˙⋆ gang bang ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 24 ⟡˙⋆ brat taming ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 25 ⟡˙⋆ orgasm denial ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 26 ⟡˙⋆ using toys ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 27 ⟡˙⋆ exhibitionism/voyeurism ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 28 ⟡˙⋆ sex tapes ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 29 ⟡˙⋆ dom/sub ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 30 ⟡˙⋆ big hands ↳ read reviews here

⋆˙⟡ OCT 31 ⟡˙⋆ monsterfucking ↳ read reviews here

*Please Note: You must be 18+ to interact with my page and submit fic recommendations. Submissions are not anonymous, and you're welcome to recommend your own fic or someone else's. Please limit your submission to one fic per day/theme (no pressure to submit for every day—that would be way too much to ask!). If you have recs for multiple days/themes, I’d really appreciate it if you could submit each one separately! Some days I may only review one fic, other days I may have multiple reviews. Not every fic submitted may be reviewed. I am starting this early so I can schedule my reviews ahead of time.

[daiki1k]

“familiarity breeds discontent.”

Daiki, Guardian EXO’s prized human - the handsome eye catcher of season 39!

Daiki, Guardian EXO’s prized human - the handsome eye catcher of season 39!

After 7 years of working in various scenes, EXO enterprise’s most favored human has won its first round. Daiki has been seen on many jobs provided by Guardian EXO, these jobs include: modeling, commercial use, singing (venues, parties, private events, etc.) and [INACCESSIBLE.]

move forward with the interview now.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DAIKI!

You’ve been in this industry for a while, how do you enjoy it?

Yes, I have been huh? And I’m so grateful for all my fans~ now. . of course I enjoy it. I get to express myself and make Guardian EXO proud. Being able to interact with cute fans is also a pro♡

How do you feel after your first round on <ALIEN STAGE>?

So very proud of myself and thankful to Guardian EXO for providing me with all the tools needed to get where I am now. It’s a shame to see a talent like Tallis gone, though. If only he was more . . . popular. hm.

You take part in many forms of entertainment! What’s your favorite?

I do like modeling, especially showing off things fans send me. I’m always put in the most amazing outfits, I’m glad you all like seeing me dolled up~!

What’s your favorite memory in <ANAKT GARDEN>?

Meeting a good friend of mine, this friend has helped me with so much.

Is your relationship with your guardian good?

Of course~! A good bond between pets and their owners is so important. Without Guardian EXO I wouldn’t be here. (sighing) Everything they’ve done for me is so appreciated, I hope you’ll all support them and the newest <EXO CLUB> opening. Maybe I’ll see you all there soon~?

END OF INTERVIEW!

Tallis: @lookatmysillies

Season 39: @season39

.. .-..-. -- / -. --- - / -.-. .-.. . .- -.

[bluginkgo]

On today's Ginkgo rambles, we have

what is going on with Tessa and why I find her very suspicious.

Spoilers, duh

The main thing that glares at me is how she interacts between the team and what she says. Or, more specifically, how inconsistent she is with the information she gives us. When we first see her, she says:

"Her [Cyn] last known act was siccing you lot on human exo-planets."

N: "But why?"

J: "That's what we're trying to figure out, bozo."

And-

"If she [Cyn] wants these labs. We burn them down!"

But later, she switches it up.

"When we get to the lab and find that list..."

Why was there a switch? She went from "we are burning this sh*t down!" To "I actually need the labs to get the list of drones that are infected."

So what gives?

The only thing I can see is J's presence. It's strange too isn't it? Tessa specifically told J to stay back and mind her ship. Illiciting this weird pause in the trio.

The entire time in N's memories/flashback, it's shown that J follows Tessa all over. Granted, N's memories are a bit of a shaky land to base anything off of. Many of the things that happened in N's memories did not actually happen in real life. More specifically, the gala massacre happened, yes. But N, V, Tessa, and J most likely did not fight eldrich Cyn like in Episode 5, Home. Given that we have nothing else, we can at least infer that J and Tessa are pretty close friends- specifically taking the scene when Tessa asks J to act as a "ripping royal stud." J, who we have seen to be very strict, showed concern for Tessa's hand injury (which is another thing I'll touch on).

With all this in mind, why would Tessa do that? They've been together ever since the first clip of then in episode 3, The Prommening. Why would Tessa forgo the extra security that J provides? Supposedly, Tessa knew that N and V have forgotten about her due to the CYN administration program. We see this from when Tessa first interacts with them,

"N! You remember- *cough cough*" It seems that she knew that N and V, to some degree, do not remember her or working for her as butler and maid. That detail would put her at a risk, wouldn't it? N and V are almost like strangers, not to mention Uzi bit her the second she got close enough. Having J with her would be safer for her. Instead, she tells J to mind her ship.

Now, there are a couple of things that I could think of.

1. J is a liability somehow. This is the more insane and unhinged idea, therefore has more holes. But basically, the thought is that the absolute solver somehow has a stronger hold on J and is using her to gather data on Tessa's movements. Tessa might have realized that the corrupted core with ths absolute solver in J is a liability to what Tessa is actually trying to do. Therefore, she says "we burn the labs!" When J is there, but when she's gone Tessa switches to her true goal which is "get the list." There is a glaring hole here tho. How would Tessa know that the corrupted cores in N and V do not have a strong hold on them? Maybe the hint to her was that N remembered her. But J hasn't shown signs that she doesn't remember Tessa either. But the counter to that could be that J views Tessa as a JcJenson technician, therefore Tessa is already supposed to have that level of respect/loyalty.

2. J is backup. This would make more sense. We can't have the entire gang going down into the labs, and not have someone as backup in case things go south. They'll need someone to either drag them out or finish the job of burning the labs down if the gang isn't successful.

3. Tessa herself is what's weird. J, N, and V are all acting like themselves, the only person that we've seen to have a change in their personality is Tessa. Maybe Tessa is posessed with something something, more unhinged idea rant. But you get the idea. Of course, no one can go through seeing your parents and friends killed, and then kinda causing the fall of the entire planet earth and come out with the same personality as you had originally. So maybe, she simply matured rapidly, and that gave her the more cold side we often see throughout Episode 6, Dead End.

I'm mostly very suspicious of Tessa because V was too. While the trio were making their way over to the elevator, V had one of her eyes/sensors on Tessa the entire time.

After V saw that Tessa was no longer trustworthy and that the sentinels did not listen to her, she stopped following along with Tessa. Just as many more people have mentioned, it's really sad how V's true personality and care only shone in the second half of episode 6. How protective V became of Uzi and N. Taking lead while walking down the corridor, and taking lead in fighting the sentinels.

Now as for this! Tessa's hand injury, or something at least being wrong with her hand. Liam would not include this just because. Something is wrong with her left hand, and we have to keep that in mind for some odd reason. I have a feeling that the injury will come up later in eps 7 and 8. Perhaps if the theory of this Tessa being the imposter, then the gang will have to figure it out by basing it off of Tessa's left hand injury. That, or maybe this Tessa is the real one, and the injury might cause a hiccup in the fight that is gonna go down in ep 7 or 8.

Of course, as per usual, I could simply be looking in too deep to this. Feel free to gut this! ^_^

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Y’all, please stop sending me questions you can google or questions on topics you already know my answer to, or questions that you know nobody this side of the internet has any answers to.

I understand it could be nerve-racking and unsettling to not have answers you want or to not have them presented in the way you want.

But this is not about you. And I’m quickly losing patience for the people in my inbox who simply cannot resist the impulse to center their own desires and expectations over whatever is actually going on with their biases and/or within HYBE which nobody here actually knows.

What I do know,

- is seeing akgaes complain about BigHit neglecting Jimin for years because out of all the vocal line members, he never had a solo OST project. Like, before BTS’s PET era, this was one of the topics his akgaes would be getting hit tweets on practically every month. This was their raison d’être. How could the company that shunned solo work allow that solo opportunity for other members but not Jimin? Nobody got any answers or even acknowledgement of this great disservice from the company, for years. Not until early 2022 when Jimin casually mentioned that he was never interested in that sort of opportunity in the first place until a friend personally asked him as a favour.

- is seeing akgaes claim the company never acknowledged Jimin’s historic BB Hot100 win, when anybody can google to see that’s clearly not the case. I’m convinced the only reason this continues to be a talking point is due to akgaes and their sympathizers centering themselves in an equation that has nothing to do with them. Jimin has said his team acknowledged it, we can see this from their main sm profiles and the members’ personal sm pages, just as was done for Jungkook, we know HYBE’s management highlighted it as the main accomplishment in the quarter to their investors, and his achievement was positively highlighted in many articles on the k-side. But just as with the cake situation, the people complaining about this want the company to respond in a way that reflects their own personal expectations regardless of the reality of what actually happened, what the members have already said and what they actually wanted at the time.

- is seeing akgaes assert blindly for months that HYBE partnered with Billboard to delete Jimin’s week 2 and all D2C sales. Assert that HYBE masterminded the buttfuck that was the deletion of sales by Hanteo, by Billboard, by *insert random industry player*, only for it to be revealed that Billboard treated every HYBE artist mentioned in their expose article dishonourably, including NewJeans who akgaes have decided for whatever reason is why their chosen idol is not getting the recognition they want for him. It’s been clear that issues with shipping and stocking are not even limited only to BTS members much less just Jimin, and so HYBE must be sabotaging TXT, Enhypen, and the other artists in the company they’re supposedly pushing to replace BTS and Jimin. HYBE must’ve also been behind BTS’s sales irregularities on Hanteo as well as other groups’ including Twice and EXO’s sales deletions in the past.

- is seeing akgaes assert for almost a year that the decision to use Weverse albums and not provide an option for physical versions was forced on J-hope by the company. His akgaes demanded answers for months and received no answers and no acknowledgment. Only for Hobi to reveal almost a year later that he chose that option out of his own desire to try something very different, despite advice to the contrary from others within the company including other BTS members.

Notice, all of this have been things to be legitimately upset about, but akgaes taking control of the conversation has only served the purpose of redirecting any focus away from the members, to render them powerless, shifting focus away from third-party industry players who work independently of HYBE and have their own motivations, and towards the company where they aim to remove their chosen member from to exert more control. 10 times out of 10 this has been the case, even when it’s not just irrational to arrive at that conclusion, but flat out counterproductive. I don’t even like HYBE, but it’s annoying to constantly point out obvious holes in logic or in situations that anybody with any knowledge of how BTS has operated for years can easily see.

We’re not actually privy to the full conversations the members are having with the company about their career strategy and goals.

What we do know is that like any other team, resources are allocated and the results nearly every time have been greatly influenced by their own input. We can judge for ourselves that despite the members working within the constraints at BigHit, such as:

- Yoongi being told he couldn’t release D-2 in 2019 due to unknown constraints but released it in 2020 to no issue,

- Yoongi being told he couldn’t give Jimin a song he wrote due to PDogg’s refusal but this not hampering the artistic output of either artist,

- Jimin being refused his request to have a visual album but no expense was spared for his very elaborate production choices…

…that while the company sometimes says no to the members for reasons we don’t know (and can’t know, we’re fans not A&R managers for BTS), in retrospect these decisions appear tied more to logistical and strategic constraints, sometimes incompetence, rather than malicious intent. The company still supports the members’ projects and all seven members are happy enough with their current management over any other option, that they’ve chosen to renew their exclusive contracts early, not just once, but twice.

I too want Jimin to have received nominations for the MTV EMAs. I want that for all my biases but especially Jimin because his chart and sales performance dwarfed most of the competition, but even more so because Jimin released one of the most remarkable works of art created in 2023. And it deserves to be recognized and celebrated.

But already, the conversation is shifting towards HYBE propping up Jungkook to shaft Jimin, deliberately refusing to submit his work (which just like the other claims about Billboard and Hanteo, none of these people can provide any evidence to support except this happened to another artist years ago and HYBE bad), etc - all akgae talking points that have as little basis in reality we know as any other conspiracy theory you see in any solo space in BTS fandom. These theories only support the idea that the members are in direct competition with each other, do not deserve their team, and should leave the group. Because there’s a whole host of explanations for what we’re seeing here, but the constant impulse to reach for that particular reason is because it leads to only one goal.

I already said months ago after the Billboard article, that it served the purpose of handicapping Jimin’s chart performance to look overly reliant on Asian buyers (read Chinese money) reducing its legitimacy for Western awards, and we’re already seeing that play out. This has nothing to do with HYBE, and everything to do with the carelessness of the fandom in blowing up funding sources while aiming to shatter yet another Western record. When history has shown us every time BTS as a group did this, the industry responded by looking for a way to handicap the group. Which was then done for Jimin as he was the first to break that record.

HYBE could’ve sent his songs to radio. His songs have very good commercial quality. HYBE could’ve sent Still Life ft Anderson Paak to radio too as it had very good commercial quality. But we also know the members chose their roll-out strategy and suit of promotion tools and this likely influenced decisions like why some songs were sent to radio and others weren’t. And the first thing I noticed about all the EMA nominations is every artist had their songs sent to radio. Every single one. And so if the Billboard expose didn’t completely handicap Jimin, then it’s possible because his songs weren’t sent to radio he wasn’t even in the running in the first place. Here, feel free to blame HYBE all you want. I blame them too, but just as I did in Hobi’s case, I also believe this was in part influenced by his own decisions and hold him responsible as well.

I don’t baby any of the members in BTS. I’m not their mother. And when I see things I don’t like, I don’t absolve them of all responsibility and place it squarely on the company, because the members know more than me about their own situations, and are grown Korean men who have all the privileges and options that entails, and who continue to remain in a team they keep saying they respect and are grateful to.

I cannot want more for my biases than they want themselves. That’s not why I’m here. I don’t see myself as their advocate, contract lawyer, mother, manager, or girlfriend. I’m their fan and so I’m ARMY. I’ll support them as much as is within my means and preferences, object to actions of the company that directly impact me or on issues that I find morally repugnant based on having all the facts at my disposal, not based on fan theories made by groups of people who have a history of working outside of the members own interests and desires.

I can manage my disappointment on various things while recognizing all the above. Perhaps after this first set of debuts, both the members and HYBE will rethink their promotion strategies, make modifications, and maybe they won’t. That’s their cross to carry, not mine.

This is my position on everything that happens in Chapter 2 and 3, (because all these grumblings will only metastasize when the members come back, as that’s how it’s typically goes in every k-pop fandom, regardless of the fact this only ever works counterproductively for the artists).

Please read this the next time you mean to send me an ask on a related topic. While I might share your disappointment, I don’t share your anxieties, and I don’t have the answers you’re looking for. The only people who do are the members and they don’t owe you any explanations unless they think it’s necessary. I’m not trying to be rude, condescending, or harsh. This is what I genuinely think.

[happykjd]

Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin’s full statement through their legal representative.

This is lawyer Lee Jae Hak of the law firm LIN, representing EXO members Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen (Byun Baek Hyun, Kim Min Seok, Kim Jong Dae, hereafter “artists”). Hereinafter, our legal representative would like to express the position of the artists regarding the exclusive contracts between the artists and SM Entertainment (hereafter “SM”).

Previously, the artists sent certifications of contents to SM seven times through their legal representative from March 21 until recently, and through this, they repeatedly requested copies of transparent settlement reports and settlement grounds.

It is the bare minimum and legitimate right of the artists to request accurate and transparent basis for settlements that have not been clear until now, and SM is also obliged to comply in accordance with the exclusive contracts and the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act. However, SM eventually maintained an unjust position stating that they cannot provide copies of the reports.

In addition, after SM signed long-term contracts with the artists that span over 12 to 13 years in the past, they pushed for the artists to sign subsequent exclusive contracts once again, resulting in long-term contracts that span over at least 17 to 18 years or more. SM has been repeatedly committing unjust use of power such as this.

Regarding this, the artists feel that SM is using their superior position to force artists to sign so-called slave contracts that span over almost 20 years including their training periods, which are also far from being short. The artists would like to convey the various injustices that they have not been able to speak of through the statement below.

1. The artists’ positions regarding their activities and SM’s refusal to provide settlement reports

1. The artists signed long-term exclusive contracts with SM for more than 12 to 13 years and have faithfully carried out entertainment activities as members of EXO.

2. During the period of long-term exclusive contracts mentioned above, the artists only believed SM’s explanation about the settlement amount and received their shares only by referring to the reports unilaterally made by SM, which had no specific and objective evidence. Regarding this, the artists have recently officially requested copies of the settlement reports and the basis for their settlement several times through the legal representative, but SM responded that they cannot provide copies of the reports in the end.

3. SM has an obligation to provide settlement reports and settlement basis including details of total income, details of expenses subject to deduction, and details of amount subject to deduction according to the existing exclusive contracts and the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act. Moreover, since the above exclusive contracts state that the settlement cycle comes twice a year, the above settlement reports and settlement basis must also be provided twice a year. However, during those 12 to 13 years of the exclusive contract period, SM has not properly provided such settlement reports and settlement basis to the artists.

4. According to a judicial precedent, an exclusive contract is based on a high degree of trust. Thus, if the agency does not fulfill its obligation to provide settlement reports, the artists’ rights to review the settlement of profits and file an objection against the agency are not properly guaranteed, resulting in failure to provide settlement reports to be a reason for terminating the exclusive contract (refer to Seoul High Court order from 2019Na2034976 on January 31, 2020). Despite numerous requests made through the artists’ legal representative in the meantime, SM has failed to fulfill its obligation to provide reports, and as a result, grounds for termination of the existing exclusive contracts have arisen.

5. Although the artists earnestly requested that copies of the settlement reports be provided by May 31 through certifications of contents on several occasions, [SM] refused to provide the basis for their settlement, so it was inevitable that they have come to notify SM of the termination of the existing exclusive contracts as of June 1.

6. If SM had accurately paid the settlement to the artists, there would have been no reason why they could not provide the settlement reports and settlement basis. The fact that SM is unable to provide such settlement reports and settlement grounds is strong counter-evidence that SM did not properly pay the settlement to the artists. Thus, the artists plan to take all civil and criminal legal action including a lawsuit for settlement payment against SM in order to check the exact details of the settlement.

7. Furthermore, as in the case of the artists (Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen), if settlement reports and settlement basis have not been provided to other SM artists, this is not just a problem for Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen but a potential issue for all artists under SM.

8. In fact, it is very difficult for Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen to file a legal lawsuit against a large enterprise like SM, but they undertook it with the thought and courage that this is also for [clarifying] various doubts that many SM artists have.

2. Artists’ positions regarding the unjust long-term contracts and attempts to extend them further

1. The artists have signed exclusive contracts that are over 12 or 13 years with SM. This is far beyond the seven years determined by the Fair Trade Commission for the Standard Exclusive Contract Form for Entertainers, and it is unilaterally disadvantageous to the artists as it exceeds a reasonable limit at the very least.

2. Previously, regarding the 13-year contract period, which includes the extended period from the provisional injunction decision at TVXQ’s case, SM received the judgment that it is an excessively long-term exclusive contract that is unilateral in structure and that it is a contract that excessively infringes on the economic freedom and basic rights of the applicants (TVXQ members) by imposing excessive quid pro quo (benefit in return) or an unreasonable burden on them, exercising unfair control using their superior position. As it is a legal act that violates good moral and other social order, it was judged that there is considerable room to consider that all or part of the contents of the contract are invalid or that its validity has expired due to the expiration of the reasonable duration (refer to the Seoul Central District Court order from 2009KaHap2869 on October 27, 2009). In addition, in the case of provisional injunction in the above case, the court once again pointed out that it is very difficult for idol stars such as the applicants (TVXQ members) who have teenagers as their main fanbase to maintain their existing popularity in the same field until or after they are in their 30s. Thus the exclusive contracts with unreasonably long contract periods deprive the artists of the opportunity to acquire appropriate compensation for their exceptional talent and constant efforts they put in to succeed in the entertainment industry, and in fact, they may perform the same function as lifelong contracts (refer to the Seoul Central District Court order from 2010KaHap1245 on February 15, 2011).

3. The existing exclusive contracts have contract validity periods that severely bind personal rights for a long period of time, which is applicable to “making transactions with the other party to the transaction by unfairly taking advantage of the bargaining position of the business entity itself” from Article 45 Paragraph 1 (6) of the Monopoly Regulation And Fair Trade Act. In addition, according to the types of unfair trade practices from Table 2 of this act’s decree, enforcement of a long time period like this applies to “coercive provision of benefits” or “provision of disadvantages.”

4. Moreover, SM made the artists sign exclusive contracts for seven years based on their debut date and an extension of additional three years in the case [they do] overseas activities. However, in the case of K-pop artists, it takes at least a few months and up to several years to debut after signing an exclusive contract, and overseas activities are presupposed. Furthermore, even though Xiumin and Chen are the members who [SM] planned from the start to be active in China, they were forced from the beginning to sign long-term contracts which span over 10 years or more from the date of their exclusive contracts.

5. Meanwhile, as if a 12 to 13-year-long contract period is not enough for them, SM is trying to claim a contract period of at least 17 to 18 years by having the artists sign the subsequent exclusive contracts again. This is SM repeatedly perpetrating extremely unjust use of power against their artists.

6. In the process of sealing the subsequent exclusive contracts, the artists were unable to negotiate properly, and it was difficult to reflect their wishes or set the terms of the contract on equal footing. Even in the case of the provisional disposition for TVXQ, the court determined that the applicants (TVXQ members) only passively signed a fixed exclusive contract presented by SM, and they were not involved in determining the contents of the contract through negotiations with SM. In the case that an agreement was not drawn between the applicants (TVXQ members), it should have been possible to stop existing negotiations and start negotiations with entertainment agencies other than SM, but no choices were guaranteed, and therefore, no negotiations in the true sense of the word could occur between the applicants (TVXQ members) and SM. Even if there was an annex agreement after the applicants (TVXQ members) became established as celebrities, as applicants who were already bound to the pre-existing contract, they could not link their elevated status to strengthening their negotiating power. It was determined by the court that subsequent contracts are unfairly signed contracts with defects due to the difference in bargaining power (refer to the Seoul Central District Court order from 2010KaHap1245 on February 15, 2011).

7. Furthermore, regarding the act of signing a subsequent exclusive contract, we criticize that it falls under Article 45 Paragraph 1 (6) of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act under “making transactions with the other party to the transaction by unfairly taking advantage of the bargaining position of the business entity itself.” Compulsory long-term periods such as this using subsequent exclusive contracts applies separately to the “coercive provision of benefits” or “provision of disadvantages” of attachment 2 of Table 2 of the act’s decree.

8. Furthermore, we are aware that long-term exclusive contracts such as these are the similar cases for the majority of SM artists and not only just Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen.

9. Regarding the act of signing a long-term existing exclusive contract as well as a subsequent exclusive contract, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen are sincerely considering filing a complaint to the Korea Fair Trade Commission.

3. Words to fans

1. We apologize for causing great concern to fans through this issue, and there is no way to fully express our apology.

2. Although legal action is inevitable due to a difference in our position with SM, we will do our best to find a wise way to resolve this dispute so that we do not cause fans too much concern.

3. As we try to speak up with our small voices regarding the unfairness we couldn’t speak of until now, we are actually very frightened and fearful of this moment right now.

4. We hope that you take interest in what we are saying as well as our difficult courage. We once again sincerely thank our fans who have supported us for a long time.

source

[au-not-alternate]

alien physiology and small culture tidbits (transcript under the cut)

page 1: highly sensitive eyes (very shiny). [referring to hand diagram, picturing a hand with two thumbs] double the thumbs, double the musical capabilities. [referring to antennae and eyes] extra sensitive to sound + light (picks up more wavelengths). long, prehensile tongue used for both tasting + smelling (and also affection). two rows of 'teeth' (exoskeletal).

page 2: blinking is almost diagonal. long tail for balance + support. [referring to quadrupedal mode] quadrupedal (hunting, climbing terrain). music is very important culturally as well as other forms of art (due to hearing + vision sensitivity). neck/spine has big range of motion. bones are more similar to cartilage-- flexible, yet sturdy, takes a lot of force to break.

page 3: body language as a form of communication. skin sheds once yearly-- 'year' is equal to about 8 months in Earth time. different years have different seasons. summer/winter = 6 months, fall/spring = 2 months. planet climate is mostly cold though only mildly so in most regions-- some regions are extremely frigid. [referring to aliens] though they are resistant to extreme cold, they tend to enjoy warmth and will huddle together when sleeping.

page 4: written language is similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics. [referring to language] very angular, as most of their earlier writings were on rocks/slates. [referring to aliens] most of body is soft excluding teeth and spikes. combo exo- and endo-skeleton. bones from inside for plates/extrude on hard regions (coloration remains the same (shifting)). communicate in squeaks, chirps, clicks, growls, and hisses. culture is very science-based, values learning and expression. incredibly intelligent species-- finds no use for clothing, however.

page 5: sex organs are internal (similar to a cloaca). only one sex (contains both sperm and eggs). hatchlings are soft + squishy as their bones have not fully hardened until a week after hatching. self-fertilization is possible, though takes more time than sexual reproduction (only marginally, can be sped up with medical assistance). hearing is impaired for a short period after hatching. 'pods' contain embryo which develop for ~4 months before hatching. pods that are deformed/premature may have embryo removed and relocated in artificial pods that will provide nutrients and supplements.

page 6: individuals will often hold pillows to simulate the feeling of nestmates. they will nest together in large groups of up to 6. nesting provides warmth, comfort, and protection from predators. it is done both indoors and outdoors. [referring to aliens] not a hivemind. both community and individuality are valued. most have similar ideals and goals, and so forming a tight-knit community is not difficult. any members left out will be accommodated for and helped to fit in or find their own community.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Are there any magic system ideas from other stories you have read that you would like to see implemented in Marvel's magic system?

Not necessarily. For one thing, I actually think it's important that magic remain somewhat fluid. The function of magic, specifically spellcasting, is to meet the needs of the story. So, it kind of has to be adaptable. Besides, one of the things I like about Marvel is that is there are so many different kinds of magic, and I think that imposing a universal system would kind of detract from that.

There are already some universal underpinnings in the Marvel world that I like, such as the breakdown of eco-, exo-, and ego-centric power sources. Fine-tuning that concept and using it more consistently would help magic feel more coherent and grounded across the board, but still leave room for each character or realm to feel unique.

Having said that, I think my favorite magic system, ever, is the one from the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. It revolves primarily around a universal language, called the Speech, that can be used to name or describe pretty much anything in reality. Spells, therefore, take the form of complex sentences, equations, sometimes songs or poems, which describe, in detail, everything involved and what it needs to do, how it needs to change, etc. But beyond having the power command or transform reality, the Speech allows wizards to communicate and form relationships with almost any kind of life, any kind of matter, any kind of energy. It's incredibly versatile, and I really love that while it can be very exacting and clinical, it requires an empathetic, relational approach with a real human core.

Part of what I like about this system is that it bridges the gap between magic and science. It often requires wizards to have a detailed knowledge of whatever they're working with, and it provides opportunities to demonstrate that knowledge to the reader, which is an important part of how you make magic feel earned. That's something that's missing in a lot of modern comics-- we don't get to see the thought process or the effort that goes into spell casting. And because the system is simultaneously complex and intuitive-- it's just language, after all-- once your reader is reasonably familiar, you can actually get away with glossing over the details when you need to keep a scene moving. The reader will infer the detail on their own because you've taught them how the system works. It's just... brilliant. Duane is a genius to me, and I love these books so much.

Using universal language or code as magic works really well for characters like Doctor Strange-- I think they tried to do something similar in the movies, only far less artful-- and the correlation of practical knowledge to magical efficacy is perfect for something like Wanda's hex power. Importing the Young Wizards system into Marvel comics wholesale probably wouldn't work out-- it kind of relies on prose-- but there are a lot of great lessons and helpful ways of thinking about magic to be gained from Duane's writing.

[exoluxionlove]

[INFO] EXO Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin express intention to continue with EXO activities even if their exclusive contracts are terminated.

230602 Rough Papago translation of EXO-CBX's second legal statement

"This is Lee Jae-hak, a lawyer for Lin, a law firm that acted as legal representatives for Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen (Byun Baek-hyun, Kim Min-seok, Kim Jong-dae, hereinafter referred to as "artists"). In the following, the legal representative of this party would like to share the artists' position on SM Entertainment's claim on June 1.

1. SM's claim to intervene in external forces is merely a false fact to evade the essence of artists' legitimate exercise of rights and further mislead public opinion.

The feelings of the artists who heard the official data of SM, which calls for a third external force, are very miserable. I feel even more miserable because SM's perspective on artists seems to have been revealed.

Is it the third force again?

Our artists are definitely adults who can think for themselves and take responsibility for their decisions. And it's an independent thinker and judge. I had doubts for decades, and I had to ask questions that I didn't dare to bring up when I was a rookie, so I had the courage to be so scared and difficult.

Our artists asked and listened to many people around them what was the right thing to do and how to come up with a wise solution. There were family members and acquaintances around him, seniors and juniors in the music industry, colleagues, and even staff members who worked with us.

Some gave us worried stories, some gave us warm encouragement, and some gave us support and support. I have to ask you again whether all of these people are the third forces, the impure forces, the evil forces.

Our artists are strictly personal, able to judge and act on their own.

The decision to find their rights, such as asking for settlement data, was made by our artists themselves after a long period of thinking and agonizing, not by any means intervening.

Furthermore, SM claims that it has signed or attempted a double contract with our artists, and Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin have not signed or attempted any other exclusive contracts other than the existing exclusive contracts currently signed with SM. SM should refrain from making false claims.

SM said it would only allow "reading" without "providing" the settlement data because it was feared to be provided to external forces. However, even if artists receive settlement data and receive advice from their legal representatives as well as other accountants around them, it is a legitimate exercise of their rights. In the exclusive contract, there is no provision that the artist must not show the material provided to the artist to others, and therefore must review it alone. Rather, there is only a clause in the contract that requires artists to review the materials received from SM for 30 days and raise objections if necessary.

SM, which does not even provide settlement data, and party legal representatives and entertainers around them who advise of the unfairness of such a situation. I can't help but question who is pointing out the fault to whom.

Again, the artist and his legal representative have consistently requested the provision of settlement data, but SM finally refused to do so, resulting in the cancellation of the exclusive contract.

2. The settlement data is supposed to be "provided" under the exclusive contract, so it cannot be considered that the obligation has been fulfilled by "reading."

The premise of SM's claim is that SM fulfills its obligations by giving it the opportunity to 'read' the settlement data. However, under the exclusive contract, the settlement data is agreed to be 'provided'. Therefore, it cannot be considered that the obligation has been fulfilled simply by "reading."

Article 14 (5) of the exclusive contract signed by SM and artists states, "A (SM) shall provide the following settlement data to B (Artist) at the same time as the payment of the settlement amount. Within 30 days of receiving the settlement data, Party B may object to Party A, such as over-estimated expenses or under-estimated income of Party B, and Party A shall faithfully provide the basis for the settlement. Therefore, the data should be 'provided' rather than 'read', and the objection period of 30 days is also calculated from the date of 'receiving' the data. It doesn't count from the date of 'reading'.

In addition, SM and the artists signed an additional 'agreement' around 2014, Article 4 stipulated that 'A shall provide evidence when paying the settlement amount under Articles 2 and 3 to B (paragraph 1), and 'A shall provide detailed settlement data to B once every June according to the exclusive contract (paragraph 2). It also stipulated that evidence or detailed settlement data should be 'provided'.

There is a huge difference between "providing" the material and "reading" it, which is difficult to compare in terms of the right to know and protect property rights of artists. In particular, the settlement data is in SM's control area, and I would like to ask you again how you can check whether the details are correct or not by simply coming and looking. In addition, Article 14 (5) of the exclusive contract gives a 30-day review period from the date of receipt of the data, and the content of the exclusive contract is that the artist sufficiently reviews the data for this 30-day period and raises objections if there is any objection.

It is the settlement data that we agreed to take a close look for 30 days, but asking them to come and see it with their eyes is only a justification for SM's claim that "we have shown the data, so we have done what we have to do." And because we could guess what SM meant, we couldn't compromise by giving up on being "provided" and responding to "reading."

For this reason, the standard contract announced by the Fair Trade Commission also stipulated that "A will provide settlement data to B at the same time as the settlement payment" and stipulated that "A will provide it."

Essentially, refusing to provide data while calling for infringement of trade secrets regarding the performance of the artists themselves cannot justify breaking the exclusive contract.

3. Artists and their legal representatives have consistently requested the provision of settlement data. It is the core and substance of the case that SM finally rejected this and reached a notice of termination of the exclusive contract.

SM claims that it was sufficient to "read" the settlement data, but that the artists did not raise any problems with the data before, but suddenly asked for the provision of settlement data when appointing a legal representative, and then suddenly notified the contract to be terminated.

It is the legitimate right of artists to request the provision of settlement data under the exclusive contract. And SM's claim that "the artists suddenly began to make claims as the legal representative changed" is nothing more than an argument not to exercise their legitimate rights for a long time. Above all, the artists' claim as if they were swayed by someone and demanded the provision of settlement data is a disregard for the artists' own high sense of rights and knowledge. During the consultation process, the legal representative confirmed the artists' high sense of rights and high insight into the realization of the right to know.

And just as the records requested by the content certification remain objectively, the artists and their legal representatives consistently requested the "provide" of settlement data from the beginning. And SM maintained its position that 'reading' the settlement data is not enough. However, as you saw earlier, SM's claim was not acceptable to us as it did not meet the exclusive contract, and the positions of both sides were not narrowed, so the artists and their legal representatives ended the exclusive contract according to the precedent.

In other words, the exclusive contract is based on a high degree of trust, and if the agency fails to provide settlement data, the entertainer will not be properly guaranteed the right to review and dispute the profit settlement.

This is the progress between SM and the artists involved in the settlement data, but it is not true to claim that the artist or his legal representative has changed his or her position, distorting and misleading the core and substance of the case.

4. The problem of the long-term exclusive contract period that is unilaterally disadvantageous to artists beyond the minimum reasonable degree

As I already said in today's first press release, artists have previously signed exclusive contracts with SM for more than 12 to 13 years. This is too different from the standard contract for pop culture artists (singer-centered) announced by the Fair Trade Commission based on the seven-year contract period, and it is unilaterally disadvantageous to artists beyond the minimum reasonable extent.

In addition, SM is trying to claim a minimum contract period of 17 years or 18 years, respectively, by having artists sign a follow-up exclusive contract again, not even enough to sign an exclusive contract for 12 to 13 years as above.

It is pointed out again that such subsequent signing of an exclusive contract constitutes "an act of unfairly using the status of the transaction" in Article 45 (1) 6 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. In other words, the long-term compulsion using a subsequent exclusive contract is considered to correspond separately to the "compulsory provision of profits" or "unprofitable provision of transaction conditions" in attached Table 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act.

In response, SM argues that when artists signed a follow-up exclusive contract, there was an agent who was a lawyer for a large law firm, but when the agent changed, it is not reasonable to suddenly claim the unfairness of the follow-up exclusive contract.

However, to claim that the appointment of a legal representative is problematic in claiming that an objectively unfair contract is unfair is a blur of the nature of the issue.

Article 5 (1) of the subsequent exclusive contract states, "This contract is… for five years from. However, if the minimum number of albums specified in Article 4 (4) is not released within the same period, the contract period shall be automatically extended until the time of implementation.' There is no upper limit to the period of automatic extension.

In this way, the clause that the contract period is automatically extended without a cap is clearly a slave contract, and the legal representative pointed out that it is an act of "unfairly exploiting the trading position to deal with the other party," and the artists agree.

And with more than a year left of the existing exclusive contract, it is not justifiable to "tie" the artists by signing a follow-up exclusive contract without a limit on the period. SM has never paid artists a down payment for subsequent exclusive contracts.

Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen are seriously considering filing a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission against the long-term existing exclusive contract and unfair subsequent exclusive contract signing.

5. About EXO's future activities

Our artists are looking to continue their EXO activities faithfully with other EXO members even if they terminate their exclusive contract with SM. In fact, the artist preemptively suggested a negotiation plan to work with EXO even if Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin leave SM.

Apart from solving the legal relationship with SM, the artists are deeply grateful for the great love and support that fans have sent to EXO for a long time. And no matter what form of legal issues are resolved in the future, we will continue to work hard and faithfully as a team called EXO."

Source

[psychicreadsgirl]

reading on exo chen’s marriage?

I sense a lot of guilt from Chen towards his spouse, Mihee. Chen got a lot of hate, backlash, and sort of a pause in his career due to this marriage. This was not what he expected. He knew there'd be some backlash but didn't anticipate it to be so severe. Also the pregnancy was not what he had planned for at the time. The pregnancy triggered the couple to marry (even if he says otherwise in public). The 2nd child also came unexpectedly. He had wanted to have children at a later time in life like at least a few years after marriage.

Chen is very stressed and frustrated these days. With 2 young children, he feels very overwhelmed. He wasn't ready for fatherhood and I sense that Mihee is quite needy and dependent on him. She forces him to do a lot of the work and handle a lot of things because she feels like she already gave birth and he needs to do his share. She also feels like he owes her a lot because of all the hate she got. I do sense she may be suffering from postpartum depression. She often feels very depressed and easily angered. She needs Chen to do a lot of the work like if deliveries are coming then Chen needs to be there because she can't handle delivered by herself.

Mihee had wanted Chen to marry her for a while now and he kept waiting and waiting. It was only after she get pregnant did he finally decide to marry her. She felt very aggrieved throughout the relationship like she felt like she waited for him for a while, sacrificed a lot, looked over many things in the relationship, etc. Even after getting married and having children, she still feels rather unhappy. She felt Chen didn't handle releasing the news about their marriage and her pregnancy very well. He told her that he'd take care of it, but she still got so much hate.

Overall there's a lot of tension between Chen and his spouse. Chen feels very fatigued and overworked. He can't really do much work with his spouse's constant demands. He also feels kind of upset that his colleagues or friends seem to be doing better than he is career wise.

Chen may have to use his spouse and his kids to give his career another boost. For example, he participates in those variety shows where celebrities show what their family lives are like. I think this will just make things more tense between Chen and his spouse.

The wedding they recently had was also to try to make his spouse happy and to generate some talk in the media.

This marriage has a 60% chance of ending in divorce. They will both have to put in a lot of effort to sustain the marriage. Both have to learn to compromise and also she will need to let go of feeling aggrieved and accept the situation as is. There's only so much someone can do to try to appease her. He also needs to communicate his thoughts to her more directly; he has a tendency to avoid things and run away or procrastinate. He didn't provide her with much security before the marriage and he did do some hurtful things to her, making it really hard for her to trust him fully and to be secure in this relationship. I feel like she stayed in this relationship for quite a while and this has led her to feel like she has to get a "result" from it, like get married etc. She felt like she invested too much time in Chen so she can't afford to give up on the relationship.

Mihee still loves Chen a lot but wants him to make it up to her. (I feel she loves him more than he loves her.) Chen feels more responsible and sorry towards his spouse, rather than feeling that he loves her a lot.