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kookslastbutton · 7 months

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Guilty Pleasures ༓ jjk, kth (m) | ch. i

✑ Summary: Three years of being Seoul's power couple earns you nothing but a big fat divorce settlement and your face plaster on every gossip column around town. You're angry, hurt, and desperately want to move on, but worst of all? You're still in love with the man who started the whole mess, even though the most he can ever see you as is a friend. The renowned actor you've hired to be your company's new endorser seems to have a soft spot for you though. He's easy on the eyes, you'll admit, but who actually wants a divorcee like yourself? It's unrealistic really.

pairing: ex-husband ceo!jungkook x ceo!reader, slight actor!taehyung x ceo!reader

genre/AU: angst, smut, loverstoexesto ?, unrequited love

word count: 3,328

Warnings: oc and jk are both 30, mention of gossip columns and unequal treatment of how oc is portrayed post-divorce, hint of differences between men and women in the business world, oc struggling to be professional, both care about each other and are not toxic but oc fell in love, oc has the need to groom him a little out of habit, talks about Bam, feat, Namjoon and Taehyung, and sexual content

sexual warnings: dom!jungkook, sub!reader, desk s*x, d*rty talk, oc is on bc, handjob, swearing, making out, neck kisses, clothed s*x, impulsive s*x, light praising, growling, some minor petnames (baby, Kook), mention of threesome, recalling of past sexual events

playing: Unkiss Me

a/n: uh…this one has been in my drafts and idk its kinda angsty but I decided I will share it. Enjoy! 🥰

series masterlist | next >>

From the moment he stepped into your office, Jungkook could tell every ounce of color was drained from your face. All except for your puffy red eyes that is, which he knows you've been rubbing fervently to keep your tears from rolling down your cheeks.

He doesn't blame you for it though–you're his ex-wife.

Recent ex-wife that is.

For three years the two of you masqueraded as the perfect power couple; appearing completely in love to the public eye in hopes of forming an unshakable business partnership (transaction more like). You attended charity balls together, collaborated on several work projects, and attended countless corporate functions to establish both your presence in your respective industries.

That's right, you and Jungkook were in an arranged marriage and it would have flourished into a classic love story if it wasn't for one obvious detail–you're the only one that fell in love.

Despite all the times he's called you "stunning" when you dolled up for formal events or that you "feel so good" during late-night sex, Jungkook never truly loved you. He cared about you, did his best not to intentionally hurt you, and even tried loving you back; thinking he could fall for you with time.

But the most he could ever see you as is a friend, a beautiful friend, though a friend nonetheless. He knows how much it pains you, especially after you've held out hope that he'll want you the same way someday. This one embarrasses you the most which he wishes it wouldn't.

Well, Jungkook doesn't want to trap either of you in a loveless marriage any longer. So even if it means being the center of gossip columns for a while, he's giving you a divorce so you can find the right person to share your love with.

After all, you deserve it; you both do.

Today's day one of looking at one another as exes and it's bittersweet, to say the least. The only factor that would make this worse is if children were in the equation, but there aren't any.

"Thanks for letting me swing by __," he speaks first, doing his best to conjure up a genuine smile. The black floral button-up he's wearing suits him well and his smooth chest peaking out near the collar is far too tempting, yet you know better than to let your eyes linger.

"Of course," you answer and grab a small box from behind your desk. "These are 100% yours so I wouldn't keep them from you." Jungkook takes the box of belongings from your hands with slight hesitation. You're keeping a brave front for the sake of civility and professionalism.

He doesn't blame you for that either.

As a CEO of a large multinational corporation himself, Jungkook's no stranger to the age-old philosophy that that office is no place to let your personal woes get out of hand; you have a team to lead and a reputation to uphold. The latter is proving to be harder for you than him, however, being that the media is portraying you as some kind of she-devil, spinster, or worse of all—a cheater.

Jungkook plans to personally make sure those articles get removed from the public eye before the end of the week. (Not that he'll tell you though.)

"I still could have dropped by the house to pick these up if it'd been easier. I feel bad for interrupting your work day over a couple of old books, records, and dog toys." He watches you nod silently as he vocalizes the inconvenience of it all; he really doesn't have to but he does it anyway.

"No, it's alright. You haven't been to the house since you moved out, so I thought it'd be better if we met here instead." You pause to check the time. "If there's anything you think of that you might've forgotten later, just let me know. In the meantime, I have a meeting in twenty so..."

"He misses you."

"I'm sorry?"

"Bam, I mean." Jungkook throws the box under an arm and pulls out his phone. He scrolls through his camera gallery until he gets to one particular photo of a red and tan Doberman. "He hates the new place and all he does is sulk by the door."

Your heart's already struggling to settle down from the painful reality that the man you love is leaving you, let alone being reminded of another forced separation. Bam's the closest thing to a baby that either of you ever had and he was one of the few things that bonded you and your now ex-husband together.

Being Jungkook's dog, however, he couldn't stay with you. That means no more visiting the dog park, sneaking treats behind Jungkook's back, and snuggling together in the king-size bed after a stressful day.

"I'm sure he just wants his favorite chew toy that's been held hostage at the house," you joke lightly, thinking it simpler to spin the topic. It's similar to what Jungkook does when he uses flowery language to soften the cold hard truth of your divorce; that he doesn't love you and he can't ever. "Give Bam a lot of attention for me. I miss him too."

"Of cour—shit!" When Jungkook moves to slip his phone back into his pocket he loses his balance, causing the box with his belongings to spill out on your office floor. Naturally, you kneel down to help him clean up the mess. It's not until your fingers reach for the same item and come into contact with each other that you quickly retract your hand. "Sorry, did I shock you?" He asks gently and tosses the last item into the box before standing up.

"No, you didn't." You rise to your feet as well, until you're face to face with him. This time it's closer than before. His hooded eyes stare straight into yours and you can't believe it takes being inches from his face to notice how bloodshot his eyes are. "You look exhausted. You should go home and rest Kook." The petname is out before your brain tells you to stop.

Jungkook's eyes widen, the corner of his lip subtly quirking up for the first time since the start of the conversation. "Don't worry about me __. I probably get more breaks than you do. But thanks." He briefly glances at the ticking Snoopy clock behind you, a Christmas gift he gave you as a joke last year. "You still have that?"

You look over your shoulder at the small, Snoopy-shaped digital clock on your desk. Ten minutes until your next meeting. "It's cute and it makes for a great conversation starter with clients so I guess so. If you want me to give it ba—"

"Keep it," he interrupts. "Please, it was a gift and I'd like you to have it if you enjoy it." Jungkook gnaws on his lip before continuing. "Speaking of clients and business partners, I should make myself scarce now shouldn't I?"

"Yes. I do have that meeting soon." But once he leaves, neither of you is sure when you'll see the other again aside from the odd charity event. The Annual Winter Gala in December is one that particularly comes to mind.

Most high-ranking executives like yourselves attend the function to keep up appearances and to network with other professionals. Last year, you and Jungkook were the center of attention however now that you're divorced, you fear you'll be avoided like the plague—they always preferred Jungkook over you anyway.

"You're forming a new partnership with that actor, right? Kim Taehyung? I read an inkling about it online yesterday." He also read his whole biography too. The man is equally handsome as he is altruistic and kind.

"Nothing's signed and sealed yet. I'm sure you've heard that he's gotten dozens of other offers on the table. To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't nabbed him yet."

"Yeah, we don't need...wait sorry, let me rephrase that. We aren't ready for a new partner or merger yet."

You can read between the lines despite Jungkook's correction. His company is thriving more than yours in every way, so he doesn't need the help of a third-party endorser...like you. Well, you're not doing too shabby yourself and this isn't simply about fame and fortune you want to argue.

The head poking through your door stops you from following through on that last line.

"Mrs. Jeon—shit." Your secretary Kim Namjoon screws his eyes shut at his drastic misstep. "Ms. __, Kim Taehyung called and said he'll be a bit late due to unexpected delays during his filming today. He apologizes profusely but is on his way over now. Sajangnim," he bows at Jungkook respectively.

"That's fine, Namjoon, thank you. You can send him in whenever he gets here. Mr. Jeon was just about to leave and I had the rest of my day cleared."

"Of course. I'll let him know to come in." Your secretary nods and shuts the door. Jungkook shifts between his feet once Namjoon is out of sight, a habit he's picked up that tells you he has more to say.

"Was there anything else, Mr. Jeon?" You shuffle a few files on your desk, prepping for your meeting with Taehyung. At this point, you're not even looking at Jungkook.

"Mr. Jeon? I think I prefer when you call me Kook more," he mutters, allowing his line of sight to catch a glimpse of your lips. "Can I...kiss you? Before I go."

The question knocks the wind out of your lungs and you instantly lift your head up toward him. "Kiss me?" You gulp slowly, then shake your head. "No, I'd rather we not. Goodbye kisses aren't really my thing." You couldn't be a bigger liar, evident from the sudden churning in your gut. Having Jungkook's lips on yours was the best and worst moments of your entire relationship but you have to fight yourself....your innate desires that tell you to say yes.

"Okay, I understand. What about a hug?"

"Jungkook..."

"I'm sorry, I'm pushing. Thanks again for my stuff." He gestures at the box under his arm. "I hope your meeting with Kim Taehyung goes well. Maybe I'll see you both at the next Winter Gala." He makes a beeline for the door.

"Wait!"

Jungkook stills in his tracks as he watches you stride in front of him. He's unsure what you stopped him for until your hands reach out towards his shirt collar, smoothing the delicate material down. A light smile plays on his face as you do this, though he says nothing aside from a simple 'thanks'.

"It was bothering me the whole time." You finish fixing his collar and peer up into his Bambi eyes. Out of all the potential suitors, you wish Jeon Jungkook didn't become your husband. It's not like you got to keep him or anything.

Jungkook once again flickers his gaze toward your barely parted lips. And this time, you do the same for him. Before either of you have time to back out you lean forward and kiss him.

It's a hard kiss too. Painful but so inviting that neither of you pulls away.

With his free hand, Jungkook snakes a hand around your waist to hug you close. Having his fingers pressed against the small of your back is so familiar and all you can do is deepen the kiss.

You're obviously not the only one that gets a sense of pleasure from this because, in a matter of seconds, the box from under Jungkook's arm falls to the ground. He then places his second hand on the side of your neck and jawline which you lean into, exposing the other side of your neck.

"Jungkook," you gasp when his lips attach themself to the soft skin, sucking lightly. His teeth come out and nip too. "Wait, we can't do this, we shouldn't. Taehyung, he'll be here soon."

"That would have sounded so convincing if you didn't just moan the words, baby." He walks you backward until you're forced to sit atop your mahogany desk.

"Don't call me that." You allow him to push up your pencil skirt and spread your thighs until your panties are the only material he sees. You decided to go with black lace today, his favorite now that you think about it.

"Did you—"

"No, they weren't for you."

A brief growl leaves the man's rose-tinted lips. "In that case, we don't need them." He places both hands on your hips and brings you into another kiss, messier than before. His tongue shoves between the seam of your lips to lick every crevasse he can. He hasn't kissed you like this for months and to be brutally honest, he's missed it as much as you.

Jungkook hasn't been with anyone else since marrying you either, which means he's completely adjusted to your body, your preferences, and what turns you on. The same applies to you so while he's busy shoving his tongue down your throat, you palm his half-harden bulge through his trousers.

"Mm," he groans and bucks his hips into your hand. You smile at how well you've managed to draw a response from him. With a little burst of confidence, you hastily move to unbuckle his pants. "What are you doing?" He mumbles between kisses.

You decide not to answer, preferring to reach inside his trousers to take his length out. You make sure to pump it a few times until he's fully hard. Jungkook has a gorgeous dick, and that takes a lot for you to admit.

"Fuck, that's it." He says with gritted teeth, now watching your hand as it moves up and down his cock. "Get me how you want me."

"We don't have much time." You slide your panties down your legs and spread your thighs wide apart, which makes Jungkook's eyes dilate about 10 meters. "Fuck me, please." One last time. Make love to me one last time.

"Are you sure? I don't have a condom."

"It's okay, I'm on birth control. As long as you're still clean then its fine."

"I am. I got tested recently. But are you sure you want this?"

You glance at his pulsating length, tip leaking with pre-cum, and swallow hard. "Hurry."

"Fuck, okay." Jungkook wastes not another second and guides you flat on your back, his hands resting on either side of your body. The coolness of your desk has you shiver slightly. He then urges you to raise your legs until they can wrap loosely around his slim waist. And as if second nature, you link your arms around his neck as he eases him into you. He's able to bottom out without much effort thanks to how wet you've become.

"Oh god." Your back arches off the surface of your desk as Jungkook thrusts into you. They're only practice thrusts at first to get you re-adjusted to his size, yet the pleasure zipping down your spine already has your eyes rolling up.

You shouldn't be doing this at all. Your conscious whispers to again to which you blindly dismiss. You'll enjoy it now and tomorrow, start a new—another lie you tell yourself.

"Fuckfuckfuck, you're so wonderful for me," he chants while pushing his cock in and out of you, the speed of his movements picking up to an insane rate. Jungkook never had an issue with quickies so he's likely in his element now. "You know what this reminds me of?" He cocks a smirk and kisses down your neck.

"Hm?"

"That time when we were abroad for a weekend conference. Remember when we stopped at my second office to pick up some files? You were so horny that day that you pushed me into my chair and demanded that I let you ride me. It took the wind right out of my sails to see you like that, so confident and in control." He prys apart the top button of your blouse until he can slide the material down your shoulders. He doesn't take it off completely, favoring the chance to place kisses on your newly exposed area instead.

"I was beyond stressed that day. It was the first time I had to speak at that conference and you looked so good with your freshly slicked back hair. I couldn't stop myself—oh fuck! Right there Kook, don't slow down. Please." Jungkook grunts at the use of his petname and fucks you rougher, sweat forming around his forehead as his dark hair dangles messily over his eyes.

You manage to sneak a glance at the time on your Snoopy clock between thrusts. "Shit, I need to come soon, or Kim Taehyung's never going to agree to do business with me." The man laughs and buries his head on your shoulder.

"You never know, he could be really into threesomes."

"Fuck! Don't joke about that." You claw at his back and surprise both of you with the unexpected clenching of your pussy.

"You're right, I take it back," he groans and continues to snap his hips. "Looks like he's not the one who wants a threesome after all, considering your body's response to the suggestion. You wanna ask him if he walks in?" He whispers in your ear and you're embarrassed that your cheeks burn at the thought.

Of course, Kim Taehyung was sexy and you've rehearsed to yourself dozens of times not to let yourself get any crazy ideas about him. Still, one unrequited love is enough for you; Taehyung wouldn't want a divorcee. You shake the train of thought before it has time to go any further. "Make me come, Kook. Need you to finish too. It's not just Taehyung who could walk in at any second."

Jungkook grunts and continues to thrust into you, bouncing you up and down his thick length as the desk shakes underneath you. He feels you getting closer and closer by the sporadic clenching of your walls squeezing him. A big part of him doesn't want this to end but it has to....he doesn't love you. He only wants to make you feel good before he has to say goodbye. Both of you come just before Namjoon calls your office phone, giving you a heads-up that Taehyung's about to enter your office.

Jungkook shoves his pants back on while you button up your blouse and fold over your skirt. You decided to shove your underwear in your bag with the lack of time. No one has any business digging in there anyway.

"How do I look?" You turn around to get a quick once-over from Jungkook but he's already out the door. Now the person standing in front of you is Kim Taehyung who has nothing but the most genuine smile.

"You look lovely as always Ms. __. I'm so sorry I'm late by the way. I feel terrible about it so I brought you these." Taehyung whips out a large bouquet of your favorite flowers. "Hope you don't mind that I did a little research on you ahead of time. I found out these have a special place in your heart."

You smile and accept the bouquet with thanks. As you set them on your desk, a messages comes through your phone. You manage to give a quick look.

Unknown Number: Sorry I had to duck so fast! I know it looked rude but Taehyung was already opening the door and you were dressed so I thought it'd be better if I left. Hope you're meeting goes well! And thanks for everything today ;) if you need anything, you have my number.

You flip your phone over and invite Taehyung to have a seat. Business is business, and you have to carry on even if your heart has completely sunk to the ground. Kim Taehyung is sweet anyway, so you'll enjoy his company.

Too bad you don't realize how much he enjoys yours as well.

a/n: so, yeah... there's a potential for our Jk to actually love oc and not realize it but either way he does care about her (despite the impulsive sex). And yes, taehyung likes oc... it's like a double unrequited love 😔 okay bye lmk what you think, thank you! 😘

Also, lmk what you think about jk in this poll!

masterlist

no reposting, copying, or translating my work– © kookslastbutton

#jungkook angst #jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfic #jungkook x you #jungkook imagines #taehyung smut #taehyung angst #bts smut #bts angst #bts au #bts imagines #bts fanfics #bts x reader #fic:guiltypleasures #kookslastbutton

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bemusedlybespectacled · 4 months

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Question: I enjoyed s1 OF OFMD, but for various reasons I never actually got around to watching s2 (pick up most of the plot from tumblr tho). What exactly went wrong in s2 that got so many people upset?

Oh, boy. Very long rant incoming.

So, for context, S2 had a significantly smaller budget, which necessitated moving the filming location to union-unfriendly New Zealand, reducing the number of actors/number of appearances of established actors, and cutting down the number of episodes from 10 to 8. In a show where each episode is only about half an hour long, that last one alone was enough to seriously hamper any character development or plot. I am very comfortable putting the vast majority of the blame on HBO because of these financial decisions.

The short version is that Jenkins et. al. needed to address and build on the problems left hanging in S1 while also getting the characters to the end of their character trajectories in case there was no S3 while also leaving room for additional episodes in case there was a S3, in a grand total of four hours, and failed.

The long version is that there were a bunch of what I'd consider small problems in isolation that came together and exploded in the S2 finale.

The reduced cast necessitated breaking up the crew (ex: having Swede marry Jackie and stay on land with her, so they don't need to pay Nat Faxon for all eight episodes) and not spending as much time on their relationships as S1 did.

The reduced time meant that the entire season was rushed (in contrast to S1, which takes place over at least several weeks if not months, most of S2 takes place in roughly five days), leading both to a lot of telling rather than showing (because they don't have time to show you), including vital character and relationship development.

This includes:

Having the Kraken half of the crew beat Ed to death after months of being abused by him – abuse that is clearly shown to have given them PTSD and a well-justified fear and hatred of him – only for them to be okay with him two in-universe days later;

On that note, having Stede dismiss the crew's concerns about Ed because he loves him and also we only have three more episodes left to fit in everything so we need to get over it really fast, even though Stede is supposed to be well-meaning and caring (even if he's not good at it all the time);

Resolving the issue of Stede abandoning Ed in one day, then having them "go slowly" in their relationship for two days and then have some spur-of-the-moment sex, and then the next afternoon have them break up over their diverging career aspirations, and then the day after that resolve that problem and retire on land while the rest of the crew sails off into the sunset;

Stede becoming a fantastic pirate captain over the course of one day, becoming wildly popular in the piracy world two days later, and then deciding the day after that to never be a captain again because he is retiring with Ed;

Having Ed and Stede decide to retire together as what is implied to be the end point of their relationship arc, when none of Stede's issues from S1, like his poor self-esteem, have been so much as mentioned by anyone, implying that he's either magically gotten over them or they don't matter all that much, actually, even though they were the catalyst for basically everything he did in S1;

Ed having two separate character crises – "I am an unlovable person" and "I want to do something with my life other than piracy" – not spending a lot of time on either one, having moments that clearly indicate he is still working on both problems and they have not been resolved, and then apparently having them both be resolved in the final episode despite nothing occurring to actually make that happen, and in regards to the latter, despite the story actively undermining it by repeatedly showing he can't do anything other than piracy;

Related to the above, Ed ending the series as allegedly being loved by the crew as a family (thus solving Crisis #1) despite this never actually being shown, demonstrated, or even fucking alluded to onscreen. If anything, it shows the exact opposite.

This last point is especially galling to me because of what is probably the most divisive issue in the fandom right now: killing off Izzy Hands after giving him seven episodes of character development.

The show begins with the Kraken crew clearly trying to use the skills they learned as part of Stede's crew to cope with their incredibly shitty situation and care for each other, which includes Izzy. Izzy, on his end, tries to protect the crew and speak up for them, which results in him being repeatedly hurt (both implicitly, as Ed at one point says "that's another toe" in response to Izzy advocating for the crew and we later see he's missing more than one toe already, and explicitly, as Ed shoots him in the fucking leg in front of the crew when he stands up for them).

This camaraderie is shown again and again and again. Frenchie, Jim, and Archie take care of Izzy while his leg is infected, at risk to their own lives. Izzy's misery over losing his leg is what unites the PTSD-ridden Kraken crew and the well-meaning-but-ignorant-of-PTSD marooned crew, who are initially at odds, to make him a new prosthetic leg. Izzy gives Lucius advice about forgiving Ed. Izzy is introduced to drag and opens up enough to sing at a crew party, and the whole crew is having fun together while Ed and Stede are in their cabin having sex for the first time. Izzy gives Stede pirate captain lessons and bonds with him when Ed leaves him. Izzy provokes the season's villain into focusing on him and then gives a big speech about how piracy is about belonging to something, giving the rest of the crew time to try to escape.

Recall that Season 1 had some pretty well-established universe rules, one of which was that it runs on Muppet physics/magical realism. People can jump off yardarms, hit the side on the way down, and be perfectly fine. People can get stabbed in the liver and it's totally okay because it's probably not that important, and even can stay pinned to a mast all night that way with only mild discomfort. Buttons can talk to birds and see long distances without a spyglass and put hexes on people. Good people can be hurt (Stede is stabbed repeatedly), bad people can die (the Badmintons, Geraldo), but no one we care about is ever killed.

This is repeated in Season 2: Ed is beaten into a coma with a cannonball and wakes up like Sleeping Beauty after a spirit journey, with no injuries to his face or body. Buttons turns into a seagull after spending an episode doing a magic ritual and is never seen again (because they couldn't keep paying Ewen Bremner due to the budget cuts). Jackie microdoses her husbands with poison to build up their immunity, so that she can later pull a Dread Pirate Westley and poison the British with shared drinks.

So: in the finale, the villain of the season is taken hostage by the pirates (for reasons? unclear how that fits in the plan), happens to have a gun on him (no one checked??), shoots Izzy on the right side and then leaves with no repercussions. The entire crew stands around silently doing nothing while Ed cries over Izzy and tells him that he's his only family.

And Izzy fucking Hands, the guy who just spent eight episodes bonding with and protecting everyone, uses his last words to reassure Ed that him becoming Blackbeard/the Kraken was Izzy's fault and that the crew is Ed's family and they all love him. No one else says anything to Izzy or tries to comfort him or help him in any way.

I repeat: in a show predicated on the idea that bullies and bigots die stupid deaths while queer people and POC are basically magic, a show that was praised for being kind to queer people by not making them worry about their faves suffering or dying, a show founded on the strength of the relationships between the characters, the guy who went through a season-long arc of learning to embrace his pirate found family and his own queerness is shot for stupid reasons on the side we're told isn't important and dies while everyone just stands there. His last words are about the whole crew loving Ed when the only person that the whole crew has loved all season is him.

Anyway, never mind all that, let's cut to Lucius and Pete getting married and Stede and Ed retiring!

Complicating all this is that people who liked Izzy (or even said anything insufficiently mean about Izzy) were harassed for months in between seasons with insults, slurs, and actual fucking death threats. Izzy's growth was kind of a vindication for liking him: it meant that, despite all the harassment, we were right to like him and care about him as a character. Even people who didn't like him initially started to like him during Season 2.

And then he dies, and now there's a bunch of people saying that Izzy fans are big whiny babies who can't handle fictional death, and actually his death was so meaningful and beautiful and the only logical end to his arc, and it can't be bad writing because people die in real life all the time, and also he admitted he fed Ed's darkness so actually he was a terrible person all along anyway and they were right to hate him (and his fans)!

So, yeah, there are a lot of reasons why it's so hated, and I'm probably only addressing the problems of the pro-Izzy people (from what I can tell, BlackBonnet shippers who don't like Izzy think Ed and Stede's relationship is fine and dandy, but I'm sure that there are other criticisms they have that I have not addressed). I'm not even addressing the issues with Jim and Oluwande's relationship this season (and whooo boy are there issues).

It wasn't a universally bad season. There were episodes I really loved and still do. But the finale was a train wreck, and because it was a train wreck, a lot of people are looking back at what happened before the wreck and realizing that, oh, the train lost its brakes and steering because of the budget cuts and the engineers kept throwing fuel in the engine to make it go faster, and huh, now that I think of it, that part earlier in the trip was really wobbly but I didn't pay much attention to it at the time because I was sure the engineers had everything covered.

#ofmd critical #our flag means death #writing #izzy hands #ofmd meta #askbox #personal

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mochinomnoms · 3 months

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Who do you think would be the kind of dad to take their daughter on daddy daughter dates?

My dad used to do this for me and I loved it sm, imo I think everyone should experience that kind of love from their father <3

Ideally, I think all of them, cause that's just how a father should be. Who makes it a bigger deal, though? I think it's the following:

Deuce: He has such fond memories of going out with just him and his mom that I think he'd want to recreate that. He's taking his daughter out to a cute café near the house to spend some time with her and learn about her week at school. Afterwards he'll take her to play at the park and push her on the swings, blissfully listening to her happy squeals and laughter.

Riddle: His mother caused some permanent damage to his ability to make health relationships, this is just a matter of fact. Perhaps now that he's an adult, the relationship between them as improved, but Riddle is terrified of being like his mother. So, while still firm, Riddle indulges his daughter with several daddy-daughter dates, specifically once a week on Sunday from noon to 2pm. They go out to a lovely café that serves the Clover Bakery pastries and have lunch, tea, and strawberry tarts as he listens to her talk about school, friends, and her favorite books. It's his favorite event alongside your dinner dates.

Leona: Okay, so hear me out, if he were to ever have a kid, he'd spoil the shit of them to make sure that they'd never grow up they way he did. So daddy daughter dates are totally a regular thing. He orders all their favorite foods and drinks as he reserves the game room in the royal library, where he teaches her to play chess. His daughter growing up with confidence and assurance in herself is important, so he doesn't go easy on her. But he does offer very helpful tricks and advice til the day he's proud to admit she's locked him into a checkmate.

Floyd: It's less “dates” and more of “let's fuck up as much shit as we can before your other parent gets us in trouble.” Floyd thinks it's important that his daughter toughens up, so he rough houses with her when they go out, much to her delight. They've gotten kicked out of a few establishments under the sea. Azul begrudgingly lets them in his and his mother's restaurants, where they delight in tormenting him as they eat their takoyaki. They like to have fun.

Jamil: He wants to make sure that his kids know that he loves them and cherishes them no matter what, status or no status. It's hard, feeling like your parents are more concerned about the care and emotions of your charge instead of you. So he regularly takes his daughter on little dates where she can buy little treats for just herself, vent about her duties as a servant (though she gets along surprisingly well with Kalim's oldest), and offer her cuddles in the porch swing. The last one they went on, she got a pair of snake keychains, one for her and one for him. Jamil has it on his key ring when he's working.

Vil: He's thriving, actually. Daddy-daughter dates? No. Daddy-daughter outings! He has fond memories of going out with his father, even as a busy child actor. So, he takes his own daughter to the spa and shopping, instilling expensive taste much to your disapproval. Vil thinks he's simply setting her up with successful self care habits, which you can't deny. He won't mention that she allows him to use silly kid makeup on him in the privacy of their home after their shopping sprees, though. He scrubs his face clean, but always allows you to take pictures, as long as they don't get out to the press. He has an image to uphold.

Rook: The embodiment of a simp and a girl dad, Rook is so in love with his mini-him. Cause let's be real, no matter how much she might look like you, she is a Hunt through and through. Rook reserves one of his family's more remote cabins where he can take her out hunting. He's teaching her the basics of animal tracking, wildness survival, and even shooting. They do briefly turn into family trips instead of daddy-date trips after Rook has to go to the emergency room after accidentally getting shot in his shoulder. He's very proud that his daughter has figured out the basics, but she's crying, and you're frantic. Just in case of an emergency, you tag along with first aid supplies for a little while until your daughter is more confident with her bow.

Malleus: He is SO in love with being a father. He gives no shit about what's on his calendar, if it's daddy-daughter date night, then it's daddy-daughter date night! He will take her scrolling around the gardens as he holds her in his arms and tells her about all the grotesques and gargoyles on the castle. He was so lonely as a child, so he's determined to make sure his own children never feel the same. Between him and her, they have their own Gargoyle Club that meets weekly to visit other castles and admire their architecture. He's yet to convince Leona to let them visit Pride Rock Palace to look at their versions of gargoyles.

#mochi asks #twst #twisted wonderland #deuce spade #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #floyd leech #jamil viper #vil shoenheit #rook hunt #malleus draconia #the others would totes do this #but i think these guys in particular its personally important to do so

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calliemity · 3 months

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Orin Scrivello's Lost Head Prop: A Masterpost

Written and researched by Calliope Avery

Content Warning: Very very mild and low quality special effects gore, implied violence, uncanny valley stuff(?), Orin Scrivello's face.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) has an unfortunate reputation of leaving a lot of really cool things on the cutting room floor. The most infamous would be the movie's original ending, a beautiful and impressive sequence of puppetry that ended up completely scrapped. However, today we're talking about a prop that never made it into the final movie in any form:

Orin Scrivello's Decapitated Head!!!

Pictured above are the only 2 photos of the prop in its original state that I can find at the moment. The left photo was taken for promotion and advertising purposes, and the right image is actually a Topps trading card! (Which I have a physical copy of, hehe!)

To put it bluntly, I am slightly (very) obsessed with this prop head. There's so much mystery around it, and everything I've managed to dig up both fascinates me and makes me very upset. So much thought and hard creative work was put into the creation of this thing, and it was left completely left out and forgotten! I desperately want more people to be aware of this, so here is my big and (hopefully) well organized masterpost on everything for your learning pleasure. Alright, let's talk about some heads!!!!!!!!!

Forming a Timeline

The earliest mention of the head can be found in an early draft of the movie script, dated February 14th, 1985. There's plenty of concepts in this script that never seemed to get past this draft, but the severed head concept was not one of them. Here, take a look!

source

This section, found on page 66 of the script, not only established the existence of the head, but also establishes the facial expression it will later take on! Clearly, this concept was good enough to be held onto once actual production started, which is good for us! If it wasn't, then this post would be a lot shorter.

Early production of the prop began after the actors were cast, as face molds of Steve Martin were created as bases for the head.

source for the left image - source for the right image

Oooo, check these guys out!!! The left one is made of plaster, and the right one is made of rubber. The website sourcing these images included a quote from Steve Martin about the casting process. Here's the full provided quote:

"These molds were taken of my head for Little Shop of Horrors. It was cast on the lot at Pinewood Studios outside of London, and I got exceedingly claustrophobic during the casting. My entire head was covered with plaster and two straws were placed in my nose for breathing. Argh." - Steve Martin

I unfortunately don't have much information about the crafting process of the prop. I'm currently trying to track down anyone who could've worked on it, but the few people I've managed to contact haven't responded to me yet. So I can't say anything concrete about who worked on it and what went into creating it. The only thing I can assume somewhat confidently is that the creation of the prop happened around the same time as filming for Orin's scenes. It would allow them to make the face molds and also match up Martin's post-mortem Orin face with the facial expression of the prop.

Here's where it starts going downhill. From what I've found, the prop was never filmed with its face toward the camera. In the workprint that I accessed from the Internet Archive, the prop appears for 2 shots, and both of them only show the back of the head. Take a look:

source - timestamp: 1:02:59

[Video description: a low quality, slightly green tinted video depicting a deleted scene from Little Shop of Horrors (1986) where Seymour is feeding the decapitated head of the dentist, Orin Scrivello, to the plant. The video starts with a man in glasses reaching into a garbage can and pulling out a dark-haired decapitated head, holding it upside-down by the fabric on its neck. The head is faced away from the camera, so only the back of its hair is visible. There are vines flailing in the foreground of the shot. The video cuts to a shot of the plant puppet laughing silently. The video cuts again to a shot of the man slowly shuffling forward while dangling the head in front and away from himself. The plant is seen on the left side, still laughing and flailing its vines. Throughout the video, there are brief flashes of light that resemble lightning. The video's audio only consists of thunder noises and an unidentifiable sound that resembles chewing noises. End ID.]

My best guess for this choice is maybe it isn't as convincing when filmed? In the photos it looks really well made and realistic, but perhaps it didn't come across that way during shots. Regardless, the head was still in the film at this point, so that counts for something!

But as you and I both know, those 2 shots were left on the cutting room floor, completely removed from the final product. The prop was left completely unused and unspoken of... except for one instance.

Remember the trading card I mentioned at the beginning? It's a part of a full set of trading cards that were made and distributed by the brand Topps. Back when the movie first came out, you could buy a pack of 5 mystery Little Shop of Horrors themed trading cards, along with a stick of bubblegum. This 44-card set is notable for featuring a lot, and I mean a LOT of images from cut movie scenes. There's photos of the original ending, there's photos from the cut sequence The Meek Shall Inhereit, and of course there's also the card featuring the prop head! However, those 2 sequences would later be rediscovered, cleaned up, and then added into the Director's Cut rerelease of the movie. The prop head wouldn't get this treatment, staying obscured, unknown, and unmentioned.

Fast forward about 30 years. A certain unused movie prop would be offered in an auction, allowing us to not only see high-quality photos of said prop in its current state, but also to allow us to know the exact materials it was made of! Without further ado, I present Orin Scrivello's decapitated head, circa 2018:

source

This absolute freak of a guy was up for auction at the "Profiles in History: Icons and Legends of Hollywood" auction on June 5th, 2018. No one ended up buying it (I would. I need to buy it actually. Please sell it to me.), but the auction gives us some absolutely divine information about the prop, such as what it's made of and its dimensions! Here's a quote from the auction website describing its materials:

"Vintage original hollow cast resin character head painted in realistic flesh tones with brown eyebrows and eyes. The 13 x 8 x 9 in. head has been polyfoam filled for stability. Exhibiting cracks to the crown, which is brittle and with other wear and age. A striking likeness of Steve Martin. In vintage good condition."

How neat! The high-resolution images allow us to see the detailed sculpting of the prop, which is still evident and impressive with its age and missing parts! The creases on the forehead, and around the mouth and eyes, the realistically colored teeth, this was clearly sculpted with a lot of attention to detail. I would've loved to have an image like this back in the prop's prime, back when it still had hair and a fresh coat of paint.

Why was it Scrapped?

This is entirely just me theorizing, but I have a feeling it's for the same reason the original ending got snubbed.

If you take the time to watch the archived workprint, you'll find a lot of cuts and changes were made that changed the tone of the whole finished project. Orin's death and dismemberment scenes got edited down a lot. Shots of him struggling and knocking things down as he falls to the ground got cut, the voiceline where he begs Seymour for help is gone. The shot where Orin's legs jolt when Seymour brings down the axe is gone too.

It's not just Orin-related scenes either! Mushnik no longer cries out for Seymour when being killed and eaten, and that's ignoring how different the scene happens in the stage musical. And obviously, the entire ending got changed so that Audrey and Seymour survive, leading to the cut of the magnificent ending sequence where all the Audrey II's destroy New York. In a way, the film got murdered and gutted of any of its real horror, with attempts to cover up any of the blood they couldn't scrub out.

In the movie's later quest to rebrand as a softer version of itself, it only makes sense that 2 shots of a decapitated head wouldn't make it. The appearance of the dismembered leg made it through, probably because it's less gruesome, but a head is... different. I obviously think it should've been kept it in, along with almost everything they trimmed from the workprint, but alas.

Tldr, they cut the head off of the movie because it wasn't funny enough.

Conclusion

This is where the information I have ends, unfortunately. I do have more research routes I would like to take, but one of them involves desperately contacting random people who I suspect could've been involved (I've tried this, I've gotten no responses from those who I've managed to find an email for), and the other route involves taking a road trip to the actual goddamn Library of Congress, which is not something I can do right now or even in the near future. So this is probably as far as I'm getting!

However! If I find anything new, this post will be updated and/or remade again, depending on how big or little the info is. For now, I think this is good enough to share, and maybe letting people know will encourage others to research this prop as well! It'll probably be easier if it's not just me, y'know.

I'll finish by saying that I think research and preservation of art like this is very important. While it's common for cool artistic things to end up cut from movies, I think preserving that those cool things existed in the first place is something worth doing. Even though this prop head was a very small part of the movie, it's clear a lot went into creating it! I feel bad that I'm not able to credit any person or people for their work, but I hope getting the word out about it will do some justice.

If you've read this whole thing, thank you so much! I appreciate your interest and I thank you for taking the time to read all this. I hope you found it as interesting and fascinating as I do!

Oh, by the way, if this post looks familiar at all, you've probably seen the original version of this post I made awhile ago. I wasn't happy with the formatting of that post, and I ended up making too many discoveries to just continue updating it. I'll keep the original up to preserve it, but reblogs will be off for it, as I want this version to be the one to go around. Thanks!

#i dont usually do this but reblogs are So appreciated #i worked on this for way too long lmao #little shop of horrors #lsoh #little shop of horrors 1986 #orin lsoh #orin scrivello #lsoh orin #orin scrivello dds #steve martin

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cobra-diamond · 8 months

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My "Big Nos" For Spirit Temple

With Azula in the Spirit Temple nearing publication, here are my “Big Nos” for the story that, if any happen, will cause the book to be a failure for me:

1. The Kemurikage are not purged

2. Azula continues attacking the Fire Nation as a terroristic, stateless actor

3. The asylum is not criticized for its treatment of Azula and the Kemurikage girls

4. Azula does not criticize Zuko from a nationalist, old-regime perspective, instead just whines about him like a sore loser

5. Azula’s villainy is blamed on her personality, not the war

6. Tyzula is established without regard to Azula’s or Ty Lee’s established characters, and it becomes a distraction

Keep reading for details.

1. The Kemurikage are not purged

I don’t mean they need to be killed, or literally made to vanish, but the Kemurikage as a concept needs to end. The dressing up in costumes, throwing smoke bombs, and doing dastardly things not only needs to stop but it needs to be acknowledged as a mistake. Azula and the asylum girls can still be friends, maybe even remain a “group”, but the connection to Smoke & Shadow needs to be severed, which leads to the second no:

2. Azula continues attacking the Fire Nation as a terroristic, stateless actor

This has to stop and be acknowledged as a mistake. Full stop, it ends here. It should never have happened and Azula needs to feel bad for going down this path. Either Azula fights Zuko via a legitimate civil war, or Azula has to accept the country has moved on. She cannot act as a self-serving bandit harassing her country for mind-numbing reasons. The connection to Smoke and Shadow and all it was trying to do with this must be severed. Azula can rage about the events that caused her to go down this path, but she cannot continue down it, which leads to the third no:

3. The asylum is not criticized for its treatment of Azula and the Kemurikage girls

If the abuse at the asylum is whitewashed or ignored or even justified, that will be too much internal inconsistency for me to handle. The Search already tried to establish that the asylum experience was horrible for Azula and tried to break her. Azula can desire revenge, but not against her country and her people. She knows they don’t have that power. She has to hate the people chiefly responsible for putting her there, and letting her rot there, which leads to the fourth no:

4. Azula does not criticize Zuko from a nationalist, old-regime perspective, instead just whines about him like a sore loser

Princess Azula needs to show up. The one who is willing to use fire and lightning to kill people and conquer cities. She needs to hate Zuko on political grounds. She can acknowledge positive personality traits in Zuko that cause people to “like” him more than her, and she can complain about him as would an angry sister who has had her friends and family “stolen” by him, but she does not compromise her deeply held beliefs that the war, her father, and country were right and that Zuko and the Avatar were wrong, because she has not gone through that sort of journey yet, which leads to the fifth no:

5. Azula’s villainy is blamed on her personality, not the war

This better not happen. Azula having a personality that caused people to chafe around her is not villainy, it is a flaw. Azula was a villain because she furthered the Fire Nation’s war as one of her country’s leaders while being a model example of what her father and country expected from her, in other words, everything Zuko was incapable of being. The show even said this. Lording her “rightful” power over Mai and Ty Lee and having no respect for Zuko’s "weakness" is not villainy, it is, once more, a flaw.

If the narrative blames her interpersonal flaws for why Zuko turned against his country, why Mai and Ty Lee betrayed their crown princess, why she mentally broke and ended up in an asylum with Zuko replacing her as Fire Lord, and all the other events that have functionally destroyed her life as she knew it, then that leads to unfortunate implications. It means if only she had been nicer, Aang would have been defeated and the Fire Nation victorious and Zuko would be alongside her and their father helping dominate the Earth. It means if only she had been nicer, she would have been a more effective villain because she would have had allies to help her kill Zuko and Katara during Sozin's Comet. It means the war would have been fine as long as Azula was more like Iroh, smiling and drinking tea while razing villages and conquering cities instead of doing it with a smug smirk that makes grown men (and the viewer) feel small. And through all of it, Mai and Ty Lee would have been at her side, helping take over the world as loyal, loving friends, all because Azula was nicer.

Azula’s contribution to the Fire Nation's war and her belief in Sozin's legacy is why she had to fight the heroes, is why she lost to the heroes, but if it is blamed on her being an “abuser” rather than a military officer trying to take over the world, then this will be blatant character destruction that also diminishes the roll of Sozin and his war in corroding the spirit of the Fire Nation and its royal family, which leads to the sixth and final no:

6. Tyzula is established without regard to Azula’s or Ty Lee’s established characters, and it becomes a distraction

Azula could be a lesbian. She isn’t in the show. Azula and Ty Lee could fall in love, but the franchise decided to make Ty Lee hate Azula’s guts and Azula not have anything to say about it. In fact, Azula’s love life has nothing to do with the critical elements of her character that have caused her life to fall apart. Therefore, I can only conclude that Azula’s love life does not matter since the franchise doesn't think it matters. If this happens, it will be Korrasami pinkwashing to cover up franchise failures all over again. The internal inconsistency will be too much. Azula having a girl crush on “Beach” era Ty Lee is cute and makes sense, but Azula being a self-loathing, sexually frustrated, dark lesbian who is bitter she can’t have Ty Lee makes zero sense given all that has not happened to support either of them harboring such feelings for each other, and it will inevitably end up as the focus of Azula’s character development to the detriment of all else about her.

In conclusion, I don’t know what will make Azula in the Spirit Temple a good story, but I know what will make it a disappointing one. Faith Erin-Hicks was handed a massive task. I hope she was successful.

#avatar the last airbender #azula #avatar comics #atla meta #azula in the spirit temple

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just-prime · 7 months

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Ahsoka is so slow I could cry. She was trained by Anakin and presumably Obi-wan and several other Jedi, and Rosario can hardly do an actual lightsaber twirl, let alone make me believe she could survive Ventress, Maul, Grievous, or Vader, survive order 66, or run in a way that looks fast. Bo-Katan moves faster, Shin moves faster, Sabine moves faster, Ezra moves faster, even Ewan's lazy twirls while walking around and not actively engaged in battle in the prequels were roughly as fast as Rosario's in an actual duel.

It's also canon that in this era, in a less prequels flashy version of standard Jedi abilities, a Jedi can leap SEVERAL feet. Luke in ROTJ- even GROGU can jump higher, while Rosario's feet are consistently glued to the ground. Her choreography and speed are so inconsistent with this established era and people keep writing it off and praising it as her fighting like a samurai now, even though it makes NO sense for her to, given who trained her. She isn't A New Hope Obi-wan, nor sad cave dwelling Obi-wan who hasn't stretched or lifted a weapon in a decade, and a 44 year old Jedi is still supposed to be in their prime.

I truly wonder if part of it is that they can't keep her lekku on properly if she does a flip, and they are shorter because they were meant to be more practical, but I'm really not seeing a character agile enough to need stunt modified lekku.

If they couldn't bring this to life in live action convincingly, it should have remained animated and each passing week demonstrates this more and more.

I'm sorry to anon into your inbox like this, but your post about the last episode has been so refreshing, and I've felt like I've been watching a completely different show than other people and don't know how they considered any of the actors ready. (Rosario has said she was training during filming). Thank you for your brutally honest take, you're spot on on all counts.

Couple of things.

A) I agree with everything you just said. Always feel free to come and rant into my asks.

B) I HAVE BEEN ANTI TINY LEKKU SINCE MANDO S2. It's laughable that we've seen cosplayers with more Rebels accurate headpieces. And of course everyone defends it with the 'it wouldn't be fair to the stunt person to have them try and do flips in that' and it's like NEWSFLASH Ahsoka isn't doing flips anyway!!! And sure, they probably stuck Rosario in a 5 week sword training class, but she's clearly not had to do any serious combat training given how clunky her fights are. And again, this was also a problem back in Mando s2, only she was in the middle of a foggy woods, so it was easier to hide the fact that she is incompetent when it comes to fight choreography.

C) "If they couldn't bring this to life in live action convincingly, it should have remained animated" Exactly. This is why every passing day I am increasingly pissed that this show killed and ate the animated Rebels sequel series that was in fucking development. Everything about this show, from Ahsoka, to Hera (hell, even TBoBF cameos like Cad Banes) prove that Disney is not willing to shell out for a decent makeup and/or CG designer. No shade to the artists that are currently working on it, they are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. What I mean is they didn't have anyone on set that was in a high enough positions to say 'Hey, have any of you heard of contouring?' Like, just looking at the alien makeup of the OT...which somehow holds up better than state of the art Disney budget makeup. It's just fucking embarrassing at this point. There is no reason everyone should look as flat as they do, but it's no surprise that they do when mary elizabeth winstead is celebrating that her makeup only took an hour. Sure, it's understandable that you don't want to be sitting in the makeup chair every morning of hours on end, but in the end you are an actor who signed up to play an alien...Suck it up buttercup.

D) I totally understand how hard it is to be not liking this show right now. The amount of people who've told me that "well, clearly it's just not made for you" after I point out a simple fact that a character is out of character is painful. Looking at twitter after each episode as everyone seems to think Filoni is creating the second coming is painful. Because it really does feel like we're watching a different show than them.

Okay, I think I covered everything. Thank you again for your kind words and your wonderful rant!!!

#rambles #dave filoni critical #ahsoka critical #ahsoka series #ahsoka spoilers #star wars #prime responds #anti filoni

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scenikeight · 1 year

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What My Father Wanted was to Kill God: Reflecting on the cycle of Rebuild of Evangelion

It's been two years now, since Evangelion 3.0+1.0 hit Japanese cinemas for the first time.

I think many of us chose to say goodbye to Eva on that day, too, leaving satisfied. I can't fault anyone for this. But there's a part of me that stings knowing that 3.0+1.0 has been left relatively un-combed-through in comparison to the other films, and I don't feel right leaving it this way. Today, I want to dissect "loop theory" - what it was before 3.0+1.0 came out, in what ways we missed the mark back then, and finally, what the resolution of 3.0+1.0 meant for the story. I want to understand what it meant to kill God.

This article was heavily inspired by "What was loop theory? Investigating the truth after Evangelion 3.0+1.0", by Japanese fan-channel Eva Fan. If you want to understand the meta angle of Rebuild better (i.e. "why does Rebuild even exist in the first place?"), please watch the NHK Professional documentary on Anno and the production of 3.0+1.0 (not "The Final Challenge of Evangelion" version on Amazon, although you should watch this one too because they're both great.) The meta of Rebuild is outside the scope of this article.

SECTION 1: WHAT WAS LOOP THEORY?

If you're already familiar with the basis of loop theory, you can probably skip this section and head to section 2. This is gonna be a lot of recap. I, for one, have never been a huge fan of the idea of "loop theory". This isn't to say that I've ever disagreed with the conclusion that Rebuild's world is stuck in a loop, more that I felt like painting it as a "theory" is seeding more ground to bad faith actors in the fandom than necessary. However, I'm using the term here to refer generally to different theories about the loops, namely those regarding Kaworu and potential connections with End of Eva. Now that all of the disclaimers are out of the way... ESTABLISHING OUR BASES, PART 1: THE MESSENGER

From the moment he's introduced, Kaworu's entire purpose in the first two films seems to be establishing the loop to the audience. His familiarity with previous versions of Shinji is front and centre in the very first line he speaks.

Some relevant lines from Kaworu in 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. Full sized image here.

While at this stage, we lack information on how much Kaworu knows, we are at least aware of his knowledge of previous iterations of the Eva world in that first line there: "The Third one again". This is compounded at the very end of 2.0, in which he declares that "this time" (as opposed to previous times, presumably failed attempts), he will make Shinji happy. In 3.0, there's a moment in which he seems to confirm to himself his musing in NGE of having been "born to meet" Shinji (notice the lack of のかもしれない "probably"), and following some more ambiguous lines we'll skip over, at the end of a long speech about parts of ourselves remaining in the world even after we're gone, he suggests he and Shinji will see each other again just before he dies.

These lines lead some fans to believe that the loops were in some way or another, under Kaworu's control. This iteration of loop theory suggested that the loops exist so that Kaworu, who remembers the events of NGE, can achieve his goal of "making Shinji happy".

ESTABLISHING OUR BASES, PART 2: THE RED SEA

Non-exhaustive chart of potential connections between Rebuild and NGE/EOE, compiled by users on /a/ board in 2011. Full sized image here.

There are several environmental aspects of Rebuild's world that seemed to suggest a connection to The End of Evangelion, most obvious amongst these being the red sea. As Kaji explains in 2.0, the seas were blue prior to Second Impact. Flashbacks to this event reveal that it bore slightly more in common with EOE's Third Impact than NGE's Second; note the presence of the Black Moon in the comparison above. Early on in 1.0, there's a shot that shows cross-shaped white outlines in the red sea, that appear to be remnants of EOE's crucified mass production units. The moon in Rebuild also has a large, red streak on its surface, that could be the bloodstain that was left there by Lilith in EOE. Additionally, Shinji's SDAT in NGE always looped the same two songs, shown under the track numbers 25 and 26. In Rebuild, Shinji's SDAT's track number begins at 27, and goes up from there (it seems to represent the relationships he forms with other people). Some iterations of loop theory suggested that Rebuild was set directly after End of Eva, and that the events of Second Impact as remembered by the cast were actually EOE's Third Impact. Additionally, though its relevance to any canonical NGE content is tenuous (tenuous, but not irrelevant when it comes to Rebuild; see the bonus chapter), Sadamoto's NGE manga also ends with a kind of timeloop.

From the epilogue chapter of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's Neon Genesis Evangelion manga. Full sized image here. After Instrumentality, the epilogue flashes forward to a long time in the future, where the crucified Evas are seen as some kind of relic from an unknown time. We see Shinji, Asuka and Kensuke reincarnated, and Shinji and Asuka meet for the first time, with some sense that they've seen each other before.

Full sized image here. This ending could be seen as an explanation of sorts of what's going on in Rebuild; the characters have been reincarnated a long time after the fact, while elements of the old world remain as part of the environment.

ESTABLISHING OUR BASES, PART 3: DOUBT

It should go without saying that, even at the time, these particular conclusions had holes in them. (This is to say nothing of the hundreds of other iterations of loop theory; if we went through every whacky headcanon explanation people posted on Reddit under the guise of it being any kind of genuine theorization, we'd be here all day)

Sequel Theory, especially past 3.0, required you to ignore contradictory information being presented in the same scenes the evidence being drawn on was. The comparison image I included earlier (it pre-dates 3.0's release, but was certainly spread around long after the fact) suggests that the Four Adams as they appear in 2.0's flashback could have been the Mass Production Evas (of which there are 8, not 4!). Two of the lines from Kaworu it included also don't support this line of reasoning; both "This time..." and "You don't change" imply multiple previous loops, not a singular. And while we haven't mentioned them so far, the coffin he emerges from in 1.0 being one of several was also something people were aware of back then. Speaking of Kaworu - Shinji's Happiness Theory doesn't seem to line up with the way he goes out in NGE, either. He asks Shinji to kill him with the goal of achieving true freedom; it doesn't seem like he's looking for a next time, but rather an ending, away from his destiny as an angel. It doesn't really follow that Rebuild's loops would be a journey he'd set himself on willingly, rather a circumstance he's put into by some other force.

SECTION 2: PAYOFF

3.0+1.0 responds to the foreshadowing of previous entries in a way that's kind of inconclusive, on its face. I'm going to save the potential answers for the next section; for now, let's just go over the information we did get, including some things you may have missed. PAYOFF, PART 1: OUT IN THE OPEN

Kaworu describes Gendo as being the origin of the cycle. Full sized image here.

Our first piece of confirmation, and first in-universe mention of the loops (or "cycle"/"circle"), is this line. "Gendo was the center of Instrumentality this time", the "this time" implying there have been other Instrumentalities with other person/s at the center. "Origin of the cycle" may indicate that Gendo is in control of the loops as a whole, or it may instead indicate that different people start them, perhaps through Instrumentality.

Asuka wakes up on the beach. Full sized image here.

After coming to terms with her feelings, Asuka "wakes up" in the same spot she was lying at the end of EOE, wondering if she was asleep. This is still in the anti-universe, but as was established by Gendo earlier on in the film, the Evangelion Imaginary and the anti-universe as a whole manifest as parts of one's memory. Asuka is our POV character for this section with her, so she must recall having been here. Maybe you could interpret "was I asleep?" as Soryu, specifically, having woken up.

Selections from Kaworu's Instrumentality. Full sized image here.

Anything that focused on Kaworu here was always going to be the juiciest in relation to the loops, but it's surprisingly upfront even then: There have been multiple previous loops, and Kaworu is not in control of them, he just continues to exist without agency over them like all of the other key players do. (That's both of our aforementioned Theories disproven in one scene!)

Kaworu introduces the "Book of Life", Kaji clarifies the details. Full sized image here.

We're also introduced to a new concept here, the "Book of Life". There's very limited information on what this does, but at least Kaji is here to fill in some details Kaworu conveniently leaves out, as he likes to do (that, if nothing else, Shinji and him meeting over and over again is something Kaworu has power over.)

Rei and Shinji discuss the birth of a new world. Full sized image here. Most of Rei's instrumentality scene exists to wrap up the other aspect of Rebuild's narrative we're not talking about here, so I'll skip past all of that to this: with Unit-01 and the Spear of Gaius, Shinji is capable of creating a new world, through a power known as Neon Genesis. It may be worth noting that Shinji has to clarify that he isn't going to rewind time or revert the world, just create a new one on top of the existing. This may establish a precedent for characters in control of Instrumentality being able to do both of those things.

PAYOFF, PART 2: A CLOSER LOOK NGE has a LOT of references to the years its set in. Even beyond the on-screen text, there's plenty of instances of plaques and other signs with the 2015 date on them. Rebuild, however...

Yui's grave as it appears in 2.0. Full sized image here. The only time we ever see a date in the first three films is here, on Yui's gravestone in 2.0. It's partially obscured by flowers, and may appear at first to read the same as her NGE grave did. On closer inspection, though, you can clearly see there's a 0 in front of 2004.

This could be what the gravestone has written on it. Full sized image here. One time could mean anything, but it becomes a pattern when we see more dates in 3.0+1.0...

The manufacture information on the railway track turntable in Village-3. Full sized image here.

The plaque on the AAA Wunder. Full sized image here.

Looking at that date given on the railway turntable, the earliest date 3.0+1.0 could take place is the year 12001. This, combined with the physical evidence present in the first two films, seems to imply that Rebuild follows the same rules established in the Sadamoto manga, that the loop isn't necessarily a reset of the world, but rather a continuous stream of time in which the characters are reincarnated. It makes sense Sadamoto would use this as the basis for his ending, too - he worked on the first two films, and the Mari bonus chapter clearly demonstrates that certain aspects of Rebuild were solidified during their production. Furthermore, the scene in which Shinji asks Gendo what he wishes for has more visual references to EOE than you might think...

Gendo grasps his right arm, as if he remembers the time he lost it. Full sized image here. The arm thing is obvious, and the line he says there could be about EOE, but you might notice something else in that image on the left there. There's a picture of Shinji in the background. That image comes from one of the flashing sequences in EOE's Third Impact, in fact, the entire sequence is overlaid on top of that shot of Gendo.

This shot in 3.0+1.0 versus the same sequence in EOE. The encode of 3+1 I was using was dropping frames here, so I had to cut some of it out. Video mirror here.

By the way, adult Asuka's official name, as used in every piece of merchandising she's been in so far, is just "Asuka Langley", not "Asuka Langley Shikinami" or "Asuka Langley Soryu".

Good Smile Company's "1/7 Scale Figure: Asuka Langley". She has a fair few figures, all of them with this name. Other merchandise never calls regular Asuka this. Full sized image here.

Rei holds a doll of Tsubame. Full sized image here.

The same thing ends up happening with Rei in-universe. The version of her with long hair is clearly Rei from 2.0, who has been inside the entry plug this whole time, but when we see her on the stage, she's holding a baby doll. It has Tsubame (Hikari and Toji's daughter)'s name written on it. It seems to follow that different versions of the same character end up re-joining into one during instrumentality, be that cross-loop like Soryu and Shikinami, or in-loop, like Rei and Sokkuri (Lookalike). This would appear to go beyond just regaining memories of previous loops, as Rei and Sokkuri existed in the same loop independently of one another.

SECTION 3: A PROPOSAL

And now, to get into the real meat of the issue. ...Whose doing was this, exactly?

Here's the thing: Kaworu, we can already rule out. We know it wasn't him. The next most likely candidate you might think of is Gendo, but... is he, really? Because Gendo died in EOE (perhaps not physically, but regardless), killed by Yui, but ultimately of his own volition. He had come to terms with himself when he died. He doesn't seem like someone who would have still had unfinished business. Then, what of Shinji? Well, I think it's the same deal with him, too. Shinji might not have found his place in life at the end of EOE, but he also doesn't seem like he was clamoring to start over, after all of that. In their video, "What was loop theory? Investigating the truth after Evangelion 3.0+1.0", Japanese Eva fan, Eva Fan (lol), of Minna no Eva Fan fame, gives us a different answer:

It was Yui.

Yui entered the Eva experiment for Shinji's sake. Full sized image here.

Yui's motives in NGE may have been left mostly up to the audiences' interpretation, but I don't think there's any doubt she loved her son more than anything.

As Unit-01, she becomes God at the end of EOE, accepting the burden of being the eternal proof of mankind's existence. She leaves Shinji behind, knowing that he still hasn't found his place in life.

A PROPOSAL, PART 1: YOU WERE WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT

Yui leaves Shinji as he comes into his own. Full sized image here.

The end point of the loops and emergence into the new world: Shinji makes the decision to create a world that doesn't need the Eva. Shinji and Yui, previously one being, separate. Shinji breaks the curse of the Eva, becoming an adult, and now away from his mother, emerges into the real world.

As explained by Gendo, the anti-universe, the end point of Rebuild's story, is also the beginning, and somewhere Yui, at one point, resided.

The beginning and the end are one in the same. Full sized image here. The anti-universe is "the one and only place fate may be bent to one's will". Shinji, in his parting words to Yui in EOE, tells her he thinks he'll keep making the same mistakes over and over. To quote Hideaki Anno: Eva is a story that repeats. In the aforementioned Eva Fan video, they suggest that the anti-universe may in fact be the world of NGE (perhaps, the world inside of Unit-01). Yui creates a new world through Neon Genesis, one which resembles the old, to tell the story of Shinji anew. To give him another chance to grow. For as long as Eva is Shinji's story, it is Yui's; her goal was to bring Shinji a bright future, after all. The act of piloting the Eva sees the child return to the place they resided before birth; back into the comfort of their mother's womb. In Rebuild, the “mother” seems to become all but irrelevant - Yui Ayanami may reside inside Unit-01 but this is never touched on in the same way; Asuka’s mother doesn’t seem to even exist, and her original seems to reside inside Unit-13. The existence or non-existence of a mother’s soul inside of an Eva dictates nothing about who can synchronize with it (see: Unit-02, Unit-08, Unit-13, etc). However, taking a step back, it’s almost as if the reason why the presence of the “mother” is missing from the material world of Rebuild is because the entire series takes place within the world the mother created. If Shinji entering the cockpit of an Eva unit in NGE is returning to the womb, then what is Shinji doing by existing in the world of Rebuild?

In deciding to create a world that doesn't need the Eva, Shinji is accepting life without his mother. The parting of mother and son represents the break in the loop. He emerges into the new world, reborn as an adult.

INTERJECTION: WHAT’S IN A NAME?: YUI IKARI/YUI AYANAMI

Rebuild’s Yui’s name isn’t Yui Ikari (at least, her maiden name isn’t) - It’s Yui Ayanami. In NGE, Gendo took her surname when they married. In Rebuild, Gendo already had the surname Ikari, and Yui Ayanami took his.

I think fans have been generally puzzled by the purpose of this change, but this interpretation - that Yui Ikari from NGE is the heart of the loop, the God that created the world and the God that Gendo would kill at the end of 3.0+1.0 - would seem to explain why this is the case. She’s Yui Ayanami because she’s a copy - like Rei is - of the original Yui. A Yui created by Yui Ikari. This also may explain why the date on Yui's grave says "02004" - after all, it's the grave of Yui Ikari, not the grave of Yui Ayanami.

Rei of NGE is more than just a clone of Yui, she also holds a piece of Yui’s soul (in the form of emotional memory), while Yui herself resides in Unit-01. Therefore, it stands to reason that Yui Ayanami is not really an individual, but rather someone who holds a piece of Yui Ikari’s soul - I think even more so than Rei (who undeniably is an individual). Yui Ayanami may function as a kind of messenger for Yui Ikari, who holds the knowledge she has and steers the story in the direction it needs to go. There are many players in Rebuild who are more like symbols than characters, and I think this is a huge part of why Yui Ayanami is not a character like Yui Ikari was.

For the sake of brevity, I’m going to use “Yui Ikari” to refer to Original Yui, and “Yui Ayanami” to refer to Rebuild Yui, unless stated otherwise, for the remainder of this post.

A PROPOSAL, PART 2: ...WERE YOU THERE THE WHOLE TIME?

Kaworu himself wasn't brought into Instrumentality in EOE directly. Rather, the fetus of Adam was, through Rei intaking Gendo's hand. If souls like Rei and Sokkuri are capable of rejoining into one in Instrumentality, I wonder if the presence of Kaworu in Instrumentality can be explained by his soul rejoining with that of the Adam fetus. He definitely appears as Adam there, the same way Rei is Lilith. Which brings us to this:

Shinji and Gendo upon seeing familiar souls: "Were you there the whole time?". Full sized image here.

Gendo offers Shinji the apology he never got to hear in EOE, and then realizes: Yui's soul was residing in Shinji. Instrumentality likely reconciled the souls of Yui Ayanami (the individual who became Unit-01 in this timeline) and Yui Ikari (the soul who lived on as God, and in her son), the same way it may have reconciled Kaworu and Adam's.

For as long as Yui's soul resided in Unit-01, and in Shinji, her story was not over. For as long as Shinji was stuck in his loop of making the same mistakes over and over, Eva's story was not over. For as long as the Eva exists, Yui will, and End of Eva leaves Yui there, in space, as the eternal proof mankind existed at all.

If 3.0+1.0 says "goodbye to all of Evangelion", it must be the end of Yui Ikari's story, too.

INTERJECTION: WHAT’S IN A NAME?: “SHIN EVANGELION”

The Japanese title of Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time is シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版𝄇, (Romaji: Shin Evangerion Gekijouban𝄇, English: Shin* Evangelion Theatrical Edition𝄇”).

There are three points of interest in this title:

Shin - The use of “Shin” here falls in line with the titles of Hideaki Anno’s other recent films: Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and the upcoming Shin Kamen Rider. While I’m not really the best person to explain this as I’m not really familiar with the source material, the other Shin films are based pretty heavily on earlier works in their respective franchises (I believe both Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman have sequences that are recreations of scenes from the original movie/series). Shin Eva also, obviously, does the same thing with NGE and EOE scenes. *According to an interview with producer Akihiro Yamauchi on Shin Godzilla, the title of “Shin” was chosen for the film due to the variety of meanings it conveys. In all four titles, it is written ambiguously, and could be read as “new”, “true”, or “God”, amongst other things.

Evangelion - NGE’s title and Rebuild’s title are actually spelled differently. エヴァンゲリオン is the spelling of Evangelion used in NGE, ヱヴァンゲリヲン is the spelling used in Rebuild’s title (not the in-universe machines, for the record). They’re pronounced the same way, but Rebuild’s spelling uses characters that are a little archaic (if you want to get technical, it could be romanized as “Wevangeriwon”; note the use of “wo” instead of “o” just like in Kaworu’s name, and you probably get it.) Shin Evangelion uses the NGE spelling, not the Rebuild spelling, which makes it sound like “Shin Neon Genesis Evangelion Movies”, not “Fourth Entry in the Rebuild Franchise” (in fact, “Evangelion Gekijouban” comes from Death and Rebirth/End of Eva’s Japanese names). Earlier posters for this film in English gave it the NGE font rather than a Rebuild style logo, which pretty accurately represents how this looks.

The symbol at the end - The symbol at the end of the title, is a symbol that’s used in sheet music. This could be read two ways - “Shin Evangelion Gekijouban: End”, or “Shin Evangelion Gekijouban Repeat”; If you assume 𝄇 is one symbol, then it’s a “repeat” sign (tells the player to repeat a section of the sheet music). If you assume it’s a colon and then a subtitle, then it’s an “end” sign (𝄂, signifies the end of the piece.)

A PROPOSAL, FINAL PART: TO KILL GOD

Full sized image here. Gendo's goal in NGE and Rebuild is the same: To be reunited with Yui. In Rebuild, he will become God through the use of the Key of Nebuchadnezzar and trigger the Additional Impact with himself at the center, so he can see her again in Instrumentality. But there's a second aspect to this plan... Killing God.

Gendo lays out his intentions. Full sized image here.

I think it would be naïve of me to suggest that Gendo had any intention of ending things when he said this. These lines obviously pertain to something else (I think all of this is covered in the process of beginning the Additional Impact anyway), and it's made clear that he goes into Instrumentality as stubbornly as he always is. He fully intended to destroy all of the spears, so nobody would have any way of manipulating or ending Instrumentality, so he could live peacefully with Yui for the rest of time.

Whatever it might have meant there... "Killing God" takes on a completely different meaning by the end of the film. Yui Ikari is an existence that will live on indefinitely; someone who will never die, even long after humanity is gone. In becoming Unit-01, she alone will wait in the universe forever. She once resided in the anti-universe; the Promised Land, the one and only place fate may be bent to one's will; she created the world of Rebuild of Evangelion, the beginning of everything. Yui did all of this to give her son a better life. To let him try over and over again until he broke the curse of the Eva, and emerged into a brighter future.

She, Unit-01, Evangelion as a whole, could not rest until Shinji grew into his own. Gendo comes to the conclusion during Instrumentality, after bleeding his heart out to his son, that he isn't any closer to reuniting with her.

Full sized image here.

But after acknowledging Shinji's adulthood, accepting his own fragility, and resolving their story...

Full sized image here.

...He realizes she was right in front of him this whole time.

Full sized image here.

With this, Gendo exits the train - the same train his story began, the train station he abandoned Shinji at all of those years ago - his story is over. He no longer seeks eternal life with Yui. As Shinji breaks his own curse of Eva and is reborn out of the comfort of his mother's world, and into a world of his own creation, he says goodbye to all Evangelion.

Full sized image here. Gendo, in peace at the end of his own long journey, is willing to let Yui sleep. And so, he kills God.

Full sized image here.

#evangelion #rebuild of evangelion #neon genesis evangelion #analysis #yui ikari #gendo ikari #shinji ikari #kaworu nagisa #yui ayanami #evangelion 3.0+1.0 #shin evangelion #shin eva #nge #eva #loop theory

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captain-lessship · 18 days

Text

Kurt Cobain x fem!Reader Headcannons (NSFW included)

A/n: Was a request from for ever ago

- You and him were.. very different.

- To start, you were a sunny vacation town girl who’s daddy dearest owned several businesses in. You were on the more popular side in highschool, prom queen and Miss Seaside winner for two years in a row. Your parents expected you to go off to college, get an excellent degree and marry a lawyer. You didn’t go that route.

- You went to a few auditions and you got casted in a movie and that set off your career.

- They were proud that you were a Hollywood gal. Their sweet little girl? an actress! A loved one: funny, pretty and kind. You demanded the focus of the camera and it loved you. Now they expected you to win awards and marry an attractive actor like Johnny Depp or Leonardo DeCaprio. But the one you picked? Kurt Cobain. He wasn’t even an actor!

- Kurt was the kinda man your mom would faint and send your Dad into heart attack if you ever told them that you and Kurt were together. (Thank god you told you mother near a soft couch and your father has great health insurance.)

- It shocked at lot of people when you were seen at Nirvana shows, singing along and vibing with the rest of the crowd. It shocked them even more when Kurt came to your movie premiere. He wasn’t a formal guy yet here he was: by your side, supporting your achievements.

- Your parents eventually came around to the idea of him and warmed up to him being around. Kurt knew he was officially part of the family when he saw a stocking his nitial on your alls mantel.

- Kurt was a very gentle person despite the persona he developed for the stage.

- Many thought that he didn’t love you when the pictures of you both appeared in magazines. In those pictures, he looked like being with you was torture but that wasn’t the truth at all.

- In the majority of the random paparazzi pictures, Kurt seemed standoffish like a cat who had its tail stepped on, while you were just rattling on about what your plans were. You both blamed it on no context.

- Your voice always grounded Kurt and sometimes his anxiety would hit him in public.

- But the ones your loved ones took?Kurt looking at you like you are the love of his life (you are). Your favorite was from the Christmas dinner you and the rest of Nirvana decided to have while on tour. You were sitting in Kurt’s lap and you were unwrapping the gift Krist had gotten you. Kurt was looking at you like you were an art piece and you frozen in laughter. You kept this photo on your bedside table and had another copy in the hallway.

- After it was well established that you both were together, Kurt was affectionate in public. He would pepper kisses to your cheek and the corners of your lips when you sat in for interviews, leaving the talking to Dave. He could be seen resting his head against your shoulder during car rides, award ceremonies and when you guided him home when he had too much to drink or smoke, his lips would always try to attach themselves to yours.

- If Kurt was ever missing, all they had to do was find you and he wouldn’t be more than a few feet away.

- If you’d let him, he’d be in the bathroom while you took a shower. You didn’t mind it because it was never an inconvenience. Kurt knew when he could and couldn’t be attached to you.

- Kurt jokingly covers Dave’s and Krist’s eyes if you have a semi-nude scene in a movie. But if they were to stare too hard (they don’t), he would throw something at them.

- You both share cigarettes often. He used to grumble about the lipstick stain you left on them but he grew to love them and miss them even.

- He was even more affectionate in private, constantly laying his head in your lap, pulling you into his lap on the rare occasion he was sitting up. Krist and Dave joked that if he wasn’t touching you, he’d die.

- It was half true. He was saddened and moody when you weren’t around. Krist gave up and called you when they were trying to take the pictures for the Nevermind album. The second you walked in the building, Kurt’s mood improved tenfold

- It was mutual. Any time you were having a near breakdown over something, someone just had to call Kurt. He once came to your studio to console you over your hair, which the stylist who stepped in for your regular, had just melted with bleach. He assured you that you looked sexy with shorter hair and you felt better and the stylist lived to see another day. (He was right and you were a real trend setter with your shorter hair with layers.)

- At home, you and him were very quiet (strange ik). But it was comfortable quiet and it never was completely silent.

- Only the sound of soft guitar playing and the flipping pages of your book could be heard. It was peaceful.

- People were always shocked to hear you say how good of a lover he was, which highly offended you.

- “He can be a four to you and a ten to me and that’s alright cause he’s not for you.” Is what you snapped at an interviewer who was wondering why you were dating Kurt.

- They wanted you to say either money or fame but your answer was what you thought. Kurt was pissed that they were all but calling you a gold digger when you actually had your own gold and no need for his.

- Flowers came to you every time he was away. You kept a dried flower from every bouquet

- He would pick a necklace from your jewelry box and wear it if he was going to be gone for a while.

- He kisses you softly, as if he would bruise you if he did other wise. His finger traced shape into your arms and on the top of your hand.

- His stubble tickles you often and he purposefully rubs his face against the side of your neck or your face to get you to laugh. (You go through the stages of grief every time he shaves)

- Matching tattoos <3

- You took great care of Kurt. When he would go into a depressive episode, you would tenderly coax him into still taking care of himself.

- You would sit in the bathroom with him when he showered, sometimes even wash his hair for him. You would wrap him in a bath robe and have him face the wall and you would blow dry and brush his hair. He hated seeing himself in this state so you had him avoid the mirror.

- You would sit out clothes for him and he’d get dressed while you made him something to eat. He would eat and you would talk to him, hopefully keeping him distracted from his thoughts.

- “You deserve better”

- You didn’t believe him when he said it. “I think you’re perfect for me.”

- That eased his thoughts for a while. He believed that you deserved someone who wasn’t sick, in pain and moody all the time but you wanted him. He knew he had to wife you up.

- To give him credit, he took great care of you. He would paint your nails, clean your makeup brushes, rub your shoulders and would leave you little treats in the house or in your car.

- Every night that he was home, he would hold you and rub your back til you fell asleep. If you held him, you would play with the hair at the base of his neck til you heard soft snores.

- He was always appreciative for all that you did for him, often gloating and talking about you. “Oh my girlfriend? The angel that was sent to earth? Yeah she likes my songs.” “My girlfriend can do that.” “Have you seen my girlfriend in that new show?”

- He worshipped the very ground you walked on.

- You and him were acting like an old married couple from the day you made it official. With wild careers, you didn’t have it in you to have wild free time. You were both gentle souls deep down and it was brought out when you were together.

- When you and him got married, it was a bitch to plan. He had shows, you had filming. After months, you decided on a September wedding at a nice venue. Everything had gone perfect until your reception. You had changed into your shorter party dress and were heading to see Kurt when it happened.

- It started to rain. Kurt looked at you and you looked at Kurt. You both had the same idea.

- You kicked off your heels and he took off his jacket and out you two went: playing in the rain.

- You both were soaked and laughing. You and him were kicking water at each other. Some of your less up tight guests joined in. Slowly turning it into a muddy brawl.

- Best Wedding Ever.

——————NSFW——————

- The first time you and Kurt had sex was after one of your award shows, you didn’t win but you were about to win something else.

- Kurt had been loving how you looked in your dress. When you returned home, your usual make out session seemed to have more behind it. You picked up on what he wanted to do before he admitted it.

- It was an experience. He fucked you like you’d never been fucked before. He held one of your legs up by your ankle and had magnificent rhythm. He loved the honey dipped noises that came from you.

- Has effectively ruined the idea of ever having sexual encounters with anyone else (not that you would ever think about it but if anything ever happened between the two of you? It’s a life of nun hood for you.)

- After you were finished and cleaned up, you and him laid next to each other, smoked a cigarette and looked at each other with nothing but love.

- Playful wrestling was typically how you ended up making love. You either ended pinning him down or he would hold you back by the band of your bra, pushing him to be tempted to take it off of you.

- There was another popular reason that lead to sex. You were not oblivious to how the grunge girls looked at him like some sort of god. You weren’t typically the jealous type but just something about the very dedicated fans hit a nerve. grabbing his hand and leading him away.

- He was confused the first few times this happened, thinking you were mad at him but it clicked when you entered your hotel room. You simply took off your shirt and pants and Kurt got the hint.

- While Kurt didn’t get jealous of your male co stars, he would jokingly make fun of them to Dave and Krist. If they were staring at you or were trying to get that on screen romance to translate to real life, he would simply enter the conversation and mock them to their faces. He did it in a way that they really couldn’t do much without having to admit they were after a taken woman.

- He then would take you home. He would ask things like “Do you think he could do it like this?” I am better than him, right?” (This lead to neighbors being able to faintly hear you scream Kurt’s name)

- Kurt is the president of the thigh lover club. He kissed, bit and sucked hickeys on them.

- Kurt isn’t mean persae but he has a mean streak. He would hold off thrusting back into you if he wanted an answer from you, take a little too long to do things or his famous line that he gives if you say speed up. “You do it then.”

- You do it then = He would lay on his back and let you ride it out like a maniac with very little input from him.

- Most of the time, if neither you nor Kurt had the energy but the urge, you would simply rest yourself on his cock and stay until either you had to separate or one of you wanted to properly fuck the other.

- Due to his back problems (it’s what he blamed it on in the beginning before you told him that having preferences were important and his were respected), his favorite positions were ones where you were on top or were you both on your sides.

- ABSOLUTELY loses it when you look back at him while you are reverse cowgirling.

- When he was on top, he had to be looking at you. He wanted to see your expressions. The turned on haze your eyes made him cum almost instantly.

- You and him have had “funny” sex. Meaning you will try things you see in movies and pronos that you both know wouldn’t work between the two of you but would be funny to attempt (Mythbusters of Sex). Even if it completely failed, you both would laugh it off and go do something else like you riding Kurt for dear life.

- Since you were an actress, you had access to costumes and props. You would have sexy fashion shows. His personal favorite was the 70s go-go dancer get up, mainly due to the moves to match.

- There have been some absolute sexual blunders; You were slightly sticky which made you uncomfortable after he finished licking whipped cream off your tits and he nearly froze to death during the lead up shower sex. A sticky woman is an unhappy woman and a frozen man is an unmotivated man.

- When he would go off on tours, you would eventually get so horny that you would have to call him just to listen to his voice. When he figured out that you were touching yourself during these phone calls, his mean streak took hold. It was like a game: he would say the most perverted things to you and you would have to tell him when you came.

- You loved this game, which is why you kept calling.

- When he got back home though, it was your turn to play around. You acted completely oblivious to the call you made and this confused the man. He wasn’t a beggar but an only after a few hours of being home, he would be begging.

- You mercilessly teased him about it, sometimes throwing his word back at him.

- “Missed me? Poor baby.” “So turned on you don’t even know what to do?” “Tell me exactly how you want it.”

- Neither one of you were set in the dominant or submissive role, it depended on the mood.

- You would be the more submissive one if Kurt was gone for a long time or if Kurt seemed very happy.

- Kurt would be the more submissive one if you were mad at your job or if you were the more horny one.

- This man tries to seduce you in the serotypical ways (He read those romance books with the shirtless cowboy men on the covers) but it doesn’t work on you. But when he isn’t even trying, you’re looking at him like a sex god.

- One time, all he did was walk up behind you and massage your shoulders as you were venting about a particularly stressful day, the only difference to the million other shoulder rubs was the fact he leaned in and whispered in your ear. A few hours later, you were spent, half asleep and Kurt was laying there with a hundred yard stare and the post nut shivers.

- You have flashed him during a Nirvana show and he turned bright red and nearly forgot the words to the song.

- Poor Dave has walked in on you guys once. Was traumatizing and he couldn’t look you or Kurt in the eyes without turning red. (May or may not have was to teasing from the both of you like offering him the chance to join, asking if you both could make it as porn stars and asking if what design of tramp stamp you should get since he’d see it too)

- Suffice to say you and Kurt have a healthy and gratifying sex life.

#fanfic writing #fanfic #romance #x reader #female reader #romantic relationships #nfst #romance headcannons #relationship headcanons #kurt cobain x reader #kurt cobain #nirvana #request

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pb-dot · 11 months

Text

Some Thoughts on the Reddit Blackout

Like many new arrivals on Tumblr these days, I used to be a Redditor until recent developments encouraged me to take my business elsewhere, and I have been following the development of the story as thoroughly as I can without actually giving Reddit any more traffic. With the most recent development of the Reddit admin corps taking on a suite of strategies lifted straight from the depression-era railroad baron playbook, I figured the time has come to talk a little about the wider implications of this whole story.

The Tech sector is, to the best of my understanding, in a vulnerable place right now. After the Web 2.0 gold rush and years of consolidation and growth from the biggest actors, your Alphabets, Twitters, Metas, and so on, many of the larger sites and services are reaching the largest size they can expect to grow to. How, for instance, could Facebook or Twitter grow much more now that everyone and their mother is on Facebook and Twitter? Prior to the Musk buyout, Twitter seemingly settled on upping engagement, making sure people were on Twitter longer and invested more energy and emotion in the platform, usually by making damn sure the discourse zapping through that hellhole was as polarizing and hostile as possible. Meta, meanwhile, has been making bank on user data as advertisers, AI folks, and any number of other actors salivate over getting their hands on the self-updating contact and interest registry that is Facebook.

With the rise of what we apparently have decided to call AI, data is now more valuable than ever. I consider this to be yet another Tech Hype Bubble on the level of NFTs or Metaverses, but, like with the two above, I can imagine it's hard to explain that when you are a Tech CEO and your shareholders ask you "Hey, how do you plan on earning us money off of this AI/NFT/Metaverse thing?" This is not to say CEO Steve Huffman isn't handling this whole thing with the grace of a three-legged hippo, but merely to suggest that his less-than-laudable decisions and actions in this mess don't arise from his character alone but also is a result of wider systemic issues.

One of these issues is the complicated role user data plays in modern websites and -services. Since its inception as a publicly accessible space, the question of how to monetize the Internet has been a tricky one for site and service owners. Selling ad space on your website or service has long been the go-to, but this in itself presents its own issues, having to curate content that is considered ad-friendly, malicious or careless actors making using said service or website less attractive for customers, and finally how to convince your advertisers that they get what they pay for in the first place, ie. "how do I know people even look at our ads?" All of this is before you even stop to consider how ads massively favor large, established actors.

It's no small wonder, then, that several startups in the era of internet mass adoption chose to forgo ads, or at least massively deprioritize them and/or relaunch them as "promoted posts," in an attempt to escape the stigma around ads. Meta/Facebook is probably the biggest fish in this particular pond, but we also see other services such as Twitter and Reddit follow the same pattern.

What makes this work is that the data these platforms collect from their users isn't all that valuable on a person-to-person basis, knowing that so-and-so is 32 years old, lives in a traditionally conservative part of the city, goes to Starbucks a lot, and listens to Radiohead isn't particularly useful information for anyone but a dedicated but lazy stalker; When viewed as an aggregate, however, large collections of data on a large population becomes quite valuable. This is especially true if you're working with, say, targeted ads or political campaigns. Look no further than the Cambridge Analytica data scandal for an example.

Now, all this is to illustrate the strange position the user occupies in Web 2.0. We tend to think of ourselves as the customer of Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, and so on, but it isn't the case. After all, we don't pay for these services, and if we do it's to buy freedom from ads or other minor service modifications. It is more correct to say that we make up the product itself. This is true in two respects, first, an active social community is vital for social media to not be entirely pointless, and second, we generate the data that the platform holder seeks to monetize. This hybrid product/participant role doesn't map cleanly to traditional understandings of "worker," but I argue it is a closer fit than "customer."

All of this is to say that it is immensely gratifying to see the Reddit Blackout taking the shape of a strike rather than the more typical boycott model we've seen in the internet-based protests of yesteryear. Much of this, I think, we can thank the participating Reddit moderators. While the regular platform user can be *argued* to be a worker, the moderator inarguably is one, and the fact that they aren't paid for their efforts is more a credit to the prosocial nature of humans than to the corporate acumen of the platform holders. Either way, moderating a subreddit is work, if the subreddit is large, it's quite a lot of work, and moderators keeping malicious actors, scammers, and hatemongers out of everyone's hair is a must for any decently sized social space to not be an objectively terrible experience. So, if you were to, for example, withhold your labor (moderating for free) which you as a worker can do, it would be plain irresponsible to leave the place open for said bad apples to ruin everyone's bunches, thus the shutdowns.

I don't think it's a controversial take to claim that the Reddit admins also view this more as a strike than a boycott, given their use of scabs, intimidation, and other strikebreaking tactics in an attempt to break the thing up. This is nothing new, and the fact that Reddit admins are willing to stoop to these scumbag tactics tells us that their bluster about the shutdown not affecting their bottom line is nothing more than shareholder-placating hot air.

As this entire screed has perhaps demonstrated, I believe the Reddit Blackout is important. My stay at Tumblr so far has been excellent and will probably continue past this strike no matter what outcome it has, but for others in my situation, or perhaps entirely alien to the Reddit biome, I ask you to consider: If we do not stop this level of consumer and user-unfriendly bullshit Reddit have been pulling on the API change, where will it pop up next? Who's to say the next bright idea in corpo-hell isn't "Hey boss, how about we charge these nerd losers a dollar per reblog? And maybe a fiver for a Golden Reblog (TM)?"

This is perhaps getting into grandstanding, but I believe we are way past due for a renegotiation of what it means to be a platform holder and -user on this hot mess of an internet. If we as users do not take an active, strong stance on the matter, the Steve Huffmans, Elon Musks, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world will decide without us. One does not have to be a fortune teller to see that the digital world this would create would not have our best interests in mind any more than the current one does.

So, in closing, I wish to extend my wholehearted support to the participating Moderators of Reddit and everyone who has decided to take their business elsewhere for the duration of the shutdown. Even without getting into the nitty-gritty of the API situation, this is a fight worth having, and may we through it make a world that's just a little bit less shitty.

Become Ungovernable

Become Unprofitable

Stay that way.

#reddit blackout #reddit #long reads #Oops my hands slipped across my keyboard a bunch #Tech #Peebs thinks #capitalism #fuck capitalism #big data #information technology

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fursasaida · 2 months

Text

[same article as this post, different excerpt]

Emma Saltzberg: When Israeli state actors were trying to influence the American Jewish conversation, what did that look like? What kind of activism were they targeting?

Geoffrey Levin: One of the main figures in the book is Don Peretz, a pacifist-leaning American Jew who volunteered to help displaced Palestinian Arabs in Israel in 1949, wrote the first dissertation on Palestinian refugees, and later became a major scholar on the subject. In 1956, the AJC hired Peretz to be their first Middle East consultant, and he wrote pamphlets for them about Arab refugees that did not rule out return as part of a possible solution. Later that year, Israeli diplomats pushed the AJC to fire him. The AJC compromised by allowing Peretz’s writings for them to be looked over—or censored—by the Israelis. Eventually, the AJC did push Peretz out. Israeli diplomats also successfully lobbied the London-based Jewish Chronicle, as well as several mainstream American Jewish publications, to disaffiliate with their longtime writer William Zukerman because he repeatedly wrote about the Palestinian refugee problem and was upset about refugees not being able to return.

A lot of these figures they went after, including Zukerman and Peretz, were not radical anti-Zionists. But Israeli diplomats were actually more concerned about these people who were operating within the American Jewish mainstream, because during its early years Israel relied heavily on American Jewish financial and political support. And they were afraid that the American government might pressure Israel to accept a limited refugee return, which they opposed because they wanted to maintain a larger Jewish demographic majority and to avoid having to return land to its previous Arab owners. So they didn’t want the American Jewish community wavering on its opposition to that. As far as Israel was concerned, it was best if American Jews just didn’t talk about Palestinian refugees at all—unless they were repeating Israeli talking points.

ES: What about the CIA and Arab state actors? How were they trying to influence American discourse on Israel/Palestine?

GL: Surprisingly, one of the main reasons American Jews were thinking about Palestinian refugees in the mid-1950s is because this CIA-funded anti-Zionist organization called the American Friends of the Middle East (AFME) was raising awareness about the Palestinian cause. This was part of the Eisenhower administration’s effort to create more political space to push Israel to make concessions to Egypt to help them court Arab nationalist Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser as an anti-Communist ally. In the US, AFME ran propaganda campaigns against Zionism. Many of its members were white American Protestants, though AFME also sponsored the creation of the Organization of Arab Students. So the first national American Arab student organization was funded with CIA money, though the students didn’t know that; they were just advocating for their cause.

There were also Arab state actors who were advocating for Palestinians in the US; I focus on the work of Fayez Sayegh, who was running the Arab League office in the US for a short period in the mid-1950s. At that moment, there was a hope amongst some in the American foreign policy establishment and some more conservative Arabs—often Christian like Sayegh—that America and the Arabs would align to counter Soviet influence in the Middle East. But by the ’60s, and especially by the ’70s, that dream was falling apart as Cold War alliances solidified. And so you had Arab states and the Palestinians moving in an anti-US direction, turning toward Third World alliances and alignment with global anti-colonial struggles. In fact, In the early ’70s, that Arab student group that was first funded by the CIA ended up being monitored by the FBI.

#USA #israel #CIA #arab league #cold war

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eemcintyre · 1 year

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Surprise Me (Tom Cruise)

I've been pondering on this absolute unit for a while. Please appreciate the amount of time, energy, and NYC restaurant research I had to do, lol

TW- none

Summary- One of your friends, after a poor track record of setting you up on blind dates, gets one more chance and makes the most of it. You meet the date for dinner at an elegant NYC restaurant to discover that your friend has set you up with Tom Cruise.

Y/N was one of those people who had told herself, her whole life, that she would never go on a blind date. No matter how many months or years went by of being single, she had refused to stoop to what she perceived to be such a desperate level. Moreover, she was not actively looking for a relationship, as she was generally happy on her own, living a full life of work, hobbies, travel, and friendship.

However, one lapse- one lonely, alcohol-induced, self-pitying night of self-disclosure with a friend later, and that friend, Nikki, had become obsessed with setting her up. Nikki had arranged a number of dates for her with a number of men, who despite Nikki’s good intentions, mostly turned out to be questionable at best, and occasionally were potential serial killers at worst. Tonight was Nikki’s last chance- she promised that this time would be different and would make up for all of the other terrible evenings and to just trust her. Promises, promises.

Y/N exited the taxi that had taken her to La Grande Boucherie, the restaurant that she and her date had agreed on for the evening. It was an open-air French establishment situated in an alley between two avenues. From across the street where the taxi had dropped her off, she could see fairy lights wrapped around several small trees inside the restaurant, twinkling in the descending dusk.

All she knew about her date, from their text conversations spanning the last few days and the description of Nikki, was that his name was Tom, he was handsome with dark hair, fun and energetic, and that he worked in the filmmaking business. As Y/N lived in New York, it was not at all unusual to run into people in the film industry rather frequently- even she herself had worked in costume design, and currently production design. Although, he and Nikki were both a bit vague when she asked what exactly it was that he did. She figured that meant he was probably one of those “aspiring actors” who really make their living doing guided NYC tours or waiting tables and had a bit part in a B movie once.

Y/N had never been to La Grande Boucherie before, and it looked a little more high-end than she had anticipated. Elaborate fixtures of spherical lights hung from the vaulted ceiling, and large tropical plants provided a small canopy by one of the walls. Although “Tom” had mentioned that the place was on the elegant side, she almost wondered if she was underdressed, in a simple, mid-length, classic black dress. But she figured the date wouldn’t last a particularly long time anyway.

If tonight’s a disaster, this is the last time you set me up and I swear I’ll key your car in revenge, she texted her friend a final time before slipping her phone into her purse and crossing the busy street. She wondered why she was feeling a bit nervous when she had been on so many unsuccessful dates and her expectations had become so low. No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, it appeared that a miniscule part of her remained hopeful about finding someone. And at this point, she really had no idea what to expect, as this was a much nicer place than where her previous dates had invited her. Though, of course, men with money had just as much potential to be terrible dates as those without, she was terribly curious, and equally intimidated. What had her friend gotten her into this time?

Upon reaching the front of the restaurant, she briefly scanned her reflection in the window, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder and shrugging. She also took a moment to evaluate the atmosphere of the restaurant up close. Soft jazz music glided through the entryway, and the building smelled of a combination of rich, sizzling French meats and soups, and the luxury perfumes and colognes of the affluent people who dined there. She was not necessarily worried about the dinner being expensive- she made enough money to be able to splurge on something nice from time to time- but doubted that the overall night’s experience would be worth it, no matter how good the meal was.

Her gaze roved over the occupants of each table, but none of them appeared to be the mysterious “Tom,” either not fitting the description or already accompanied by other guests. Luckily, “Tom” had texted her a table number to look for. Approaching the hostess’ podium, Y/N inquired “Hi. Can you point me in the direction of Table 16?”

The hostess answered with a knowing smile that puzzled Y/N. “Good evening. Of course. It’s the one in the far-right corner by that display of pink flowers.”

“Thank you,” Y/N murmured, spotting the table and the back of the head of the man sitting in one of the chairs.

“Enjoy your night, ma’am.”

“You too.”

Y/N crept slowly across the tiled restaurant floor to Table 16, frustrated with herself at how on-edge she was. Feeling like she was being observed by everyone she passed, she almost tripped on a chair leg. Rounding the last corner and reaching her destination, she braced herself to greet “Tom” and finally see what he looked like.

Sitting at the table was a man in a simple black suit and white dress shirt with the first two buttons undone. He had short, dark brown hair, a few strands brushing his forehead, with green eyes that stood out against his pale skin, and a distinctive mole on his left cheek. Y/N froze, momentarily forgetting everything about what she was going to say, where she was, what she was doing there, and how to talk.

From his seat at the table, Tom Cruise grinned and said “Hello.”

“Oh gosh… wait- oh my gosh, you’re…”

“I am,” he grinned wider and shrugged. He was about to say more, when Y/N continued:

“I am so sorry, I- I must be at the wrong table. They told me Table 16 and pointed me this way-” she gestured frantically, feeling her face grow hot.

“Well, you found it,” Tom confirmed, gesturing to the small sign on the tabletop. “This is Table 16.”

“Oh, um, well, he must have texted me the wrong number… I am so, so sorry, this is embarrassing. I was supposed to meet someone here, and…”

“Wait, hold on- is your name Y/N?” Tom inquired, cocking his head to the side.

“…Yes, it is,” she answered slowly, feeling lightheaded.

“Do you know Nikki?” He leaned toward her from his chair. The look on her face was her answer. “I think we’re supposed to go on a date tonight,” he stated matter-of-factly, beckoning to the chair across from him. “Sit down.”

“Oh, there’s got to be a mistake here somewhere…” Y/N said, her stomach performing feats of acrobatics as she stood rooted to her spot.

“You won’t even give me a chance?” he teased, fixing her with puppy-dog eyes. “I thought we got along pretty well over text.”

“No- I mean, it’s not that, I just…” Y/N brought her hands to her head in embarrassment as she stammered, finally managing to move and take a step back from the table. “I’ll be right back; I just need to- I just need to use the restroom- I’ll just be a minute.”

“You will come back, right?” he joked, although his eyes betrayed genuine concern that she was about to make an escape.

“Yes, I’ll be back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” She spun around and took several rapid steps in the opposite direction of the table before she heard him call out “It’s the other way.”

“Wow. I can’t believe you; I mean, what the fu-” Y/N hissed into her phone, holed up in one of the women’s bathroom stalls of La Grande Boucherie.

“-What?” Nikki’s voice sounded from the phone speaker innocently.

“You know exactly what you did-”

“-Are you actually calling me right now to complain about being set up with Tom Cruise? I told you that I was coming in clutch for you this time.”

“What the hell are you trying to do to me?? I am not prepared for this!” She snapped, detecting the footsteps of whoever else had also been in the bathroom as they exited rapidly.

“What do you mean? I’m sure you’re wearing something nice, you always do, and I know you know how to eat…”

“YOU SAID HE WORKED IN THE FILMMAKING BUSINESS, NOT THAT HE’S THE MOST FAMOUS ACTOR IN THE WORLD.”

“Okay, okay, calm down…”

“Why didn’t you tell me??” Y/N groaned, emerging from the stall to examine her hair, makeup, and outfit, which seemed to have gone from “possibly slightly underdressed” to totally inadequate.

“You know you never would have gone if I’d told you. You would have either thought I was trying to prank you or you would have had the aneurysm that you’re having right now.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” Y/N snapped defeatedly.

“Act like yourself? Do what you would normally do?” Nikki replied, exasperated. “He was interested in you just off of my description and you guys’ texting.”

A pink tint rose to Y/N’s face. “He was? You’re not just telling me that?”

“Hey, I’m a little crafty, but I’m not evil.”

“…What did he say?”

“He thought it was cool that you’ve done production design and costume work, he liked that you’re kind of outdoorsy… he was interested, okay? Get out there and talk to him instead of talking to me!”

“We are going to have a serious talk about this…” Y/N muttered, straightening the wrinkles in her outfit and heading for the door.

“You can tell me all about it tomorrow. Trust me, I’ll want to know every detail.” Nikki paused. “And you said I’d never set you up with anyone good.” Y/N could hear the triumphant smirk in Nikki’s voice and hung up, rolling her eyes.

“Be calm. He’s just a person. He’s just a guy,” she said to herself as she neared Table 16 once again, relieved to see that Tom still sat there.

“I told you I would come back,” she managed a smile, moving to slide into the other empty chair, when Tom rose from his place to pull it out for her.

“I’m glad you did,” he added, smiling back and looking equally relieved as they finally faced each other at the table. “I ordered us an appetizer and some drinks while you were gone. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so hopefully it’s all okay…”

“Oh, I’m not picky.” Silence fell briefly, and before it could become too awkward, Y/N decided to address what was certainly weighing heavily on both of them. “So, you and I got off on the wrong foot and I want to apologize. I was just totally caught off-guard…”

“Nikki didn’t tell you?”

“No- well, she knew I never would have gone if I’d known-”

“Do you really hate me that much?” he chuckled. “I mean, I know not all of my movies have been great…”

“Not at all, it’s not that, I just would have been too scared.” Y/N dropped her gaze to her hands, twisted tightly together in her lap.

“Well, it’s normal to be nervous, but come on, I’m not so scary now, am I?” He leaned forward with his elbows on the table, smirking.

Y/N gathered the courage to meet his gaze. “No,” she admitted, with a grin. “I just feel out of place here, in this restaurant, in this whole situation.”

“I think you fit right in,” Tom assured her. “Actually, before our conversation went off the rails earlier, I was going to say that you look stunning.”

“T-thank you, you do too,” she stammered, feeling the blush creeping over her face again, cringing at her reply. He laughed, but it was a good-natured laugh, not seeming to be at her expense.

“Thanks. I tried.”

Y/N finally took a sip of the drink that Tom had ordered for her, a sparkling cocktail that tasted of cranberry and lemon. “This is good,” she nodded.

“I made a good choice?”

“Yes, you did, thank you.”

Soon after, the appetizers arrived- a roasted beet and endive salad. As they started to eat, Tom suggested:

“Now, why don’t we just start the night over? Hi, I’m Tom.”

“I’m Y/N,” she replied, and they both laughed between mouthfuls.

“You mentioned that you do behind-the-scenes work for film projects- what are you working on right now?”

“Oh, just a local documentary thing. Street art and its origins, styles, and cultural significance. Terribly exciting, I know.”

“Of course it is. But you’d rather be doing something else?”

“Like everyone else around here, I have higher aspirations. I know everyone has to work their way up- you know that better than anyone- but I also know that not everyone who puts the work in ends up making it, and it usually just comes down to chance and luck- being in the right place at the right time or knowing the right people. I’m just afraid that my miracle is never gonna happen, y’know?”

“Well, I really believe that if it’s what you’re meant to do, as long as you stay dedicated and a step ahead of everyone else, it’ll happen. We’re just not all on the same timetable. It happened early on for me, but for a lot of other people, they didn’t ‘make it’ until they were in their thirties, forties, hell, fifties…” He took a taste of his own drink- a non-alcoholic cocktail.

“I hope I don’t have to wait that long,” she said, half joking and half serious. “But what projects are you involved in at the moment?”

He obliged to the change in topic. “I have a lot going on with this action-movie satire piece. It’s one of those ones that’s been stuck in development hell for a few years, so there’s just a lot of negotiating back and forth; it gets tedious after a while, but I think we’re finally getting things nailed down. It’s looking like it’ll be a lot of fun once we get past the initial stages.”

During the course of this conversation, they realized that they should begin perusing the menu and decide on their main courses. As she examined the options, Y/N reminded herself that she could afford to spend a bit extra once in a while, yet the prices still managed to stun her. It must have been visible on her face, because Tom said “Order whatever looks good. I’m buying tonight.”

As Y/N opened her mouth to strongly protest, he held up his hand. “Nikki said you’d complain, but you can’t change my mind. It’s been a while since I’ve gone out, I want us to have a good time, and besides, it’s the way I was raised.” He shrugged, folding his hands in front of him on the tabletop. “Don’t worry, I don’t expect anything, and I know you’re capable of paying if I let you, I just want to. Okay?”

When the server appeared with their entrees, the dusk had long since turned to nighttime darkness, allowing the fairy lights and orb ceiling fixtures to bathe all of the restaurant’s occupants in a warm glow. Y/N had ended up deciding on a mushroom ravioli dish, while Tom ordered a filet, and they shared a portion of seafood that he insisted she try. She was surprised to admit that she was feeling remarkably more at-ease.

“I am obsessed with this place,” he said offhandedly, having made it about halfway through his steak.

“I can see why,” Y/N giggled. “So, tell me: what is it you like to do when you’re not sword-fighting people or scaling the sides of buildings?”

Tom laughed, using one hand to smooth his hair back. “On those rare occasions, I like to do things like rock-climb, fly…”

She coughed on her food. “Fly? Oh yeah, that’s right.”

“Or cook, watch sports... I can have fun with both feet on the ground too. I’m down for just about anything.” He cocked an eyebrow. “What do you get into when you’re not designing the aesthetics of local documentaries?”

“Well, I enjoy a good hike or some skating, and I can be a bit arts and crafts-y when I want to. I do some drawing and painting when I’m between big work projects.”

She was amazed at how attentively he listened, and how he didn’t do it just to respond, but to ask questions as well. She was used to enduring her date’s life story without getting more than a few words in edgewise. She reminded herself that his entire job was to be a convincing actor, and so to not become too optimistic or believing of how he appeared. But damn, if it wasn’t difficult the longer they maintained eye contact and sat so closely and laughed with each other amidst the dim, cozy lighting and the soft jazz piano. Maybe she wouldn’t totally eviscerate Nikki after all.

After making it to the end of dinner, standing on the street outside, they prepared to part ways.

“You can ride along with me and my driver can drop you off,” he proposed.

“No, that’s extremely sweet of you, but you’ve done more than enough,” Y/N insisted. “You can’t change my mind.” Her eyes gleamed mischievously at him as she referenced their conversation near the beginning of the evening.

“Well, Y/N,” Tom sighed, “I’ve got to admit that tonight was the best time I’ve had in a while. You didn’t think it turned out so bad, right?”

“Not bad at all,” she replied, clutching her coat in both hands as a soft breeze passed.

“Good enough to do it again sometime? Soon?” he asked, eying her expectantly as the two of them shifted awkwardly back and forth on the pavement.

“Oh, I suppose,” she teased, though her expression was beaming. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a while too.”

A limousine pulled up to the curb next to them. She deduced that it was Tom’s aforementioned ride, but he was determined to stay until she flagged down a taxi, uncomfortable with the idea of leaving her on the street alone at night.

“You’ll have to think about what you’d like to do next. Maybe we could go flying,” he joked, as she eventually caught a passing cab driver’s attention.

“Maybe,” she chuckled as she approached the taxi. Tom opened the door for her, and before she slid inside, he placed a hand on her shoulder and murmured “Have a good night. Be safe.”

“Goodbye, Tom,” she slid into the backseat of the cab, smiling at him and then to herself as the cab started on its path to her home. Basking in the feeling of his touch on her shoulder and the slight giddiness that the earlier cocktail afforded, she lost herself in contemplation of the evening’s events, wondering where they might lead.

#tom cruise #tom cruise fic #tom cruise fanfic #tom cruise imagine #tom cruise x female reader #tom cruise x reader #one shot #creative writing #just for fun #imagine #tom cruise fluff #fluff #x reader #fanfic #self insert #reader insert #first date #blind date

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cellarspider · 2 months

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2/?? Prometheus attempts to establish themes

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

Several minutes into Prometheus, we have had no dialog, and we are going to wish that it stayed that way.

This is by little fault of the actors themselves. They all put in solid work. Many of the problems come from the writing, and others from the mismatch between their characterization what we’d call “informed traits”: What the movie tells us we should know about these characters.

Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway are archaeologists. We see them with a dig team on the Isle of Skye, where they have just discovered their latest piece of evidence towards a radical theory. They have noticed something astounding that nobody else has dared to consider: evidence of alien contact with Earth, recorded in the art of disparate cultures from around the world. We, the audience, already know that they’re right.

And we, the audience, know that the History Channel has had kooks on it for ages, ranting about Ancient Aliens. We’ve all seen the meme guy.

Okay. Let's try to meet this movie where it wants to be, thematically. These are its first two scenes, it's still establishing its direction, and nothing openly egregious has happened yet. We will ignore nitpicky stuff, like the fact that this previously undiscovered dig site is right next to a well-known tourist spot on Skye with 400 reviews on Google Maps.

This movie is establishing an existential premise for its themes. It implies aliens had some hand in shaping not just our culture, but our evolution. The questions it invites at this time are equally existential: why would they do that? What was their purpose here? What was their purpose for us? Why did they stop contacting Earth?

Whether life has a purpose is one of the core debates of philosophy and religion. This movie is beginning with the premise that terrestrial life does have a purpose, implied by the deliberate sacrifice of a thinking being to shape it. This supposition could create a more focused exploration of one possibility, within its narrative space.

I think it fails to deliver on this. The writing specifically fails to deliver on this, which will become apparent once we have more dialog. But there is also an issue with the framing of this premise, which the movie ultimately does not manage to avoid. An issue of cultural context.

Because this is where I, as somebody with a background in history, start to brace. The idea of extraterrestrials visiting ancient peoples is a discredited mid-20th century theory, which stems from ignorance of the historical record, and assumption of ignorance and incapability of ancient peoples to achieve great things, particularly outside of the cultures placed in the prized pedigree of European civilization.

Such theorists look at the Great Pyramid of Giza and scoff at the idea that they it have been made without outside help, completely unaware of the century of more experimental pyramid-building that had preceded it, and the fact that we have written records that help us chart the progress of Egyptian mathematics for six hundred years prior to its construction.

They point to the Ramayana–likely written down around the same time that the Ancient Greeks were getting along just fine without aliens–and they say that the flying castles and chariots described in the text must’ve been aliens, who were mistaken for gods, and technological achievements such as rust-resistant iron must have been alien-made. Never mind that the period had a lively scholarly culture that was incorporating ideas from their Greek and Egyptian counterparts, and the people of the Indus Valley built well-planned metropolises with the world’s first known urban sanitation systems three thousand years before that.

They think the Moai of Rapanui, some of which were being erected while Shakespeare was writing his plays, were erected with the help of aliens. The actual answer, as usual, seems to be much more interesting: the Moai walked there:.

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This is what ideas of ancient aliens are culturally tied to. You throw this into a movie, and even with the foreknowledge that they’re going to be proven right, I start out skeptical of these people from moment one. I was less likely to give them the benefit of the doubt, and less able to suspend my disbelief around them specifically. This will not get easier as we go.

Which is unfortunate, because most of the next scene is back to being phenomenal, and managed to bounce me back into going along with their premise.

...A side note as we close this out: Getting way too deep into the weeds here, but the art style of the cave paintings is worth mentioning. It appears to be a mashup of two famous cave’s painting styles: The animals are near-replicas of those famously seen in Chauvet (35,000 years old), and the humans and attendant dots are somewhat similar to Lascaux (17,000 years old), both caves in France. Here's an excellent little video from Tom Scott about the former, and the way that you can go see the cave paintings without endangering the site itself. There's a similar museum for Lascaux, shown below!

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I say the human figures are somewhat similar to Lascaux, but I can’t find a match for the style anywhere. The closest I can find is from Tassili n’Ajjer in Algeria (6000 BC) or the Cave of Beasts in the Gilf Kebir mountains in Egypt (5000+ BC). This is because depictions of humanoid figures in european cave art are rare–ranging from a single bird-head figure in Lascaux, to the possible hoax at La Marche.

This produces an interesting implication, if we take the movie’s premise at face value. If humanoid figures were avoided as subjects for cave art for thousands of years, their inclusion here is especially significant. Perhaps indicating that the alien visitors instructed that some visual representation of this scene to be made, or did so themselves. Thus, it is slotted in amongst the pre-existing animal art, creating a culture clash.

…However, cave lions never made it as far north as Skye. Their known northern range tapped out at about London. While it’s certainly possible that people could’ve traveled that far during this period, local animals tend to be the focus of cave paintings. So we’re getting the visual sense that a French stone age painter was doing a residency at Skye. Amusing, but odd.

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Citations for alt text ramblings:

1. https://www.isleofskye.com/skye-guide/top-ten-skye-walks/old-man-of-storr 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariots_of_the_Gods%3F 3. https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ 4. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/royalty-calculator 5. https://search.worldcat.org/title/7625265

#Prometheus 2012 #The Storr looks amazing #so does Chauvet 2 #isn't it cool that we have physical recreations of art that's over 30000 years old?#So that we can experience some fraction of the life and works of people otherwise lost to us #without disturbing their legacy #also there's a movie I'm talking about in here somewhere #I guess I can thank the movie for getting me thinking about this

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accio-victuuri · 28 days

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from this article with WoF’s screenwriter Weng Liangping! this person contributed alot to make the drama what it is, especially the plot and it’s nice to know that WoF is his debut work! <3

i’ve added some excerpts from this interview about him + of course more on mentions of Wang Yibo & Ruolai.

Weng Liangping, who majored in drama, film and television literature at university, entered the TV drama production center of Jiangxi Radio and Television Station after graduation and worked as a planner and editor for ten years. He has served as the script coordinator for many popular film and television dramas such as "Azalea" and "Feng Yun 1911".

Speaking of his first screenwriting work, Weng Liangping smiled and said: "Because of the artist's reasons, this drama has not been broadcast yet."

In 2018, Weng Liangping resigned from his job in the system and became a full-time screenwriter. "War of Faith" is the first script he wrote independently.

The inspiration for the script came from his work at a television station. When he was looking through materials on the history of the revolution, he accidentally discovered the history of the Soviet State Bank. "Most of the previous dramas that wrote about the history of Jiangxi's revolution (screenwriters) wrote about front-line battles and the story of the barrel of a gun. The money bag, that is, the logistics support such as money and food, was rarely touched upon. "Weng Liangping immediately felt that this was a story worth exploring, but considering the setting of the plot and the shaping of the character's growth, he finally targeted the protagonist at a fledgling young man in the central bank established by the Kuomintang.

Then there are the joining of several young actors. When it comes to starring Wang Yibo, Li Qin, Wang Yang and other actors, Weng Liangping was full of praise. "Wei Ruolai was portrayed very well, like the drunken scene when he was out of the circle, and the scene where he was tortured by Captain Lin in prison. Also when Wei Ruolai's brother passed away, the actor performed the panic and sad feeling. I myself It made me cry.”

The actors' outstanding performances made the characters in Weng Liangping's script come alive.

There is a lot of discussion about the character online. The audience called Shen Tunan a financial tycoon, and gave Wei Ruolai an affectionate nickname: Financial Milk Crocodile.

There were also many enthusiastic viewers who analyzed the historical archetypes of Wei Ruolai and Shen Tunan. Weng Liangping also responded positively to this matter, "Actually, these characters have no fixed prototypes." Talking about the character Wei Ruolai, "He is a little man in the background of the times, smart and stubborn. When facing his master Shen Tunan , and he is very sincere. But behind the sincerity, he has his own opinions and plans for many things."

In addition, the constant output of golden sentences in the play also prompted "War of Faith" to continue to break out of the circle. A set of golden sentences produced by Wei Ruolai in his speech to recover the custody rights of tariffs were also one of the most impressive scenes when Weng Liangping wrote the script. "When I first wrote it, I was thinking about why Wei Ruolai could persuade others. In fact, the people present gathered together for nothing more than profit. And the manifestation of profit was to seize the market. Then I checked various population data at that time , economic data, and with the continuous support of the director team, this speech will be gradually improved."

In the final TV series, Wei Ruolai stood on the stage and gave a passionate unscripted speech, which not only aroused the resonance of the 124 members in the audience, but also burned into the hearts of the audience.

interview source.

#wang yibo #wei ruolai #war of faith #war of faith spoilers #accio victuuri translation

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wenella · 1 month

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Zhu Yilong: My War

EN translation of Zhu Yilong's GQ Magazine March 2024 Issue Feature Interview by wenella

The interview took place a day before Lunar New Year’s Eve and the cold snap in Beijing has yet to end. It has been a hectic day for Zhu Yilong and our shoot ended only at 10pm.

Zhu Yilong sat in the dressing room, wearing his casual clothes and a beige velvet cap. It looked like Zhu Yilong is less reserved than before.

And it was indeed so. Now, Zhu Yilong exuded a sense of calmness and ease. He said that he has learnt to be accepting and embracing; he has put down much of his baggage and knows how to take things lightly.

In 2023, Zhu Yilong's works were released one after another. Audiences were surprised by his change; he has transformed from a young actor into a well-acclaimed actor. From Lost in the Stars to Only the River Flows, Zhu Yilong has used his characters to break through the thick wall. The thick wall that consisted two sides - behind the wall is an actor’s responsibility; beyond the wall is his self-expectation.

And now, his story will continue.

PART 1: SLOWING DOWN

Zhu Yilong went through several stages before this breakthrough.

Before 2015, Zhu Yilong was waiting patiently for his chance and had occasional success in the industry. During this period, he moved very quickly; once he joined the set, he would set his makeup and get into his role once the camera rolled.

2018 was a year to be called his own. He became active on major social media platforms and was surrounded by fans. However, he was still sincere and humble, maintaining the qualities that he had since young. During his interviews, Zhu Yilong admitted that he was afraid that his works did not live up to his fame.

Besides maintaining his humility, Zhu Yilong continued to work hard. Finally, his acting career reached another new height in 2022.

At the 35th China Golden Rooster Awards, Zhu Yilong won the Best Actor Award for his role as Mo Sanmei in Lighting up the Stars. Since then, he has more time than before and the autonomy to make choices.

Slow work makes perfect work; this is a truth that most people in the acting industry are aware of. Zhu Yilong has chosen to slow down. He said that the production period of making a film is now longer than before. From pre-production preparation, scriptwriting, and communication with the director, he would try to establish a cooperative working environment by involving himself in the creative process as much as possible.

Actors not only have to focus before the camera but also create their roles by immersing themselves in unfamiliar terrains and seeking new perspectives from literature and history. This is how Zhu Yilong fights his war; he has learnt to do desk research before the start of each production.

Recently, he read German philosopher Byung-Chul Han’s Die Austreibung des Anderen (The Expulsion of the Other) that discusses how people should break out of their information cocoons. Zhu Yilong's thoughts echo the author’s viewpoint. An actor should slow down and experience different ways of directing, narrative styles, and visual languages.

He should also head out – chatting with young domestic directors and actors, or interacting with foreign actors, directors, and producers. A movie is the result of a group effort and not an individual’s spontaneous creation. Heading out has brought Zhu Yilong pleasant surprises. He has received not only goodwill for expressing himself but also feedback that have served as inspiration. Zhu Yilong is extremely satisfied with his current state and hence feels at ease with himself.

Now, Zhu Yilong has more time and choices. Yet he still treats acting seriously and holds the “rein” for his roles tightly. He wants to keep his desire for creating new roles, which has been his original intention since he embarked on this career path.

The tensity of the “rein” is like the career anxiety everyone has experienced before, and it does trigger Zhu Yilong occasionally. In order to alleviate his anxiety, he chooses to compete with himself.

PART 2: IMPORTANT MOMENTS

Everyone has important moments in their life. For Zhu Yilong, attending Beijing Film Academy is one of them.

Zhu Yilong was a clueless high school student who has never learnt acting or attended art schools. He was just like any other regular high school student, who decided to take the acting entrance exam simply because of his mother’s love for acting. He said he was lucky; he secured a position in BFA after taking only 3 months of preparation classes.

However, Zhu Yilong had a tough time when he first entered BFA as he was unconfident and clueless. He was clueless as he wasn’t sure if he could excel; he didn’t dare to express himself as he wasn’t confident at all.

Zhu Yilong can never forget his first day at school. The teacher asked them to make fools of themselves on stage. Many of his classmates, who were trained in acting, knew exactly what to do, but Zhu Yilong didn’t. He felt embarrassed, stood frozen on stage, and was at a loss.

The moment that changed Zhu Yilong was an objectless performance at the end of the semester, titled "Waiting." He pretended to hold two ice creams in his hands and sat by himself waiting for his date. Time ticked by; he looked occasionally at his watch while the ice cream melted and dripped on his clothes and hands.

When his performance ended, his teacher Cui Xinqin gave him high praise. Up till today, Zhu Yilong still doesn't understand why, but this event gave him a boost of confidence – it laid the first foundation in him to become an actor.

Thereafter, Zhu Yilong suddenly realized that acting didn't seem as challenging as he thought. He seemed to have found an entry point – and the right one – for his acting career.

Zhu Yilong became confident gradually as he started exploring the more superficial aspects and then the deeper side of acting. He devoted himself to acting, adapting, and performing on stage, and started to enjoy the stage.

But everything became different once he graduated from BFA. It took a long time for Zhu Yilong since his debut to fully relax and transform into the Zhu Yilong we see on screen today.

He said that audiences can only see the actor in front of the camera. But while on the set, there might be more than a dozen crew members surrounding the actor. The sound engineer might even be lying underneath the actor to record the sound. In such a situation, it would be difficult for an actor to be completely relaxed.

He knew that this was something every actor had to go through. He just needed time.

Zhu Yilong cherishes every theatrical release of his works. Whenever the credits rolled and the lights came on, Zhu Yilong would always be filled with emotions as he stood before his audiences.

He cannot forget a conversation during one of the post-screening events.

A girl, who was going through a rough patch, hoped that Zhu Yilong could offer words of comfort. It was a quick interaction that left no time for elaboration. Zhu Yilong told her to broaden her perspective, to not limit her gaze to the present, and to focus on the future.

After a while, their conversation resurfaced on social media. It was only then that Zhu Yilong realized that the problem the girl was facing was not as simple as he thought. When he looked back, he felt bad as he thought that his reply was rather thoughtless and imprudent. Since then, listening attentively has become not only Zhu Yilong’s habit, but also a kind of self-expectation.

"You have to learn to listen in order to understand what is really going on, rather than to simply offer your thoughts immediately."

The second critical moment is the 35th Golden Rooster Awards.

After receiving the Golden Rooster Award, Zhu Yilong did not do anything to celebrate. He simply enjoyed a meal of Sichuan cuisine with his colleagues and celebrated in his own manner – eating a mouthful of rice.

Zhu Yilong has given up rice for a long time. He said, “It's not because I want to keep myself in shape. I just wanted to set a goal for myself and, in a way, compete with myself. So, I decided not to eat rice."

Zhu Yilong didn’t expect to win the Best Actor award for his role in Lighting up the Stars.

"I think it’s fate," he said. Many things happen by chance. Even if he produces a work that is better than Lighting up the Stars two decades later, it may not win any awards. There's no such thing as the perfect timing in life and these unknowns are what make life interesting.

After receiving the award, he went back to work immediately the next day, as though the ceremony was just a formality. But the award did help to ease Zhu Yilong’s anxiety.

He believes that an actor's right to choose his scripts depends on his skills and ability rather than awards and glory. The mutual attraction between actors and directors arises from deep communication, the ability to tap into different states and roles, as well as to create outstanding works together. This was one of the reasons why Zhu Yilong was highly praised by Chinese novelist Yu Hua after the release of Only the River Flows.

Zhu Yilong seldom think about the impact of his roles on him beyond the film. He would consciously change the habits he had developed for his role once the film wraps. Whenever he hears “It’s a wrap,” he will immediately remove himself from the context of the story.

Zhu Yilong has formed his own insights after acting for so many years. He said, "If you think you have mastered an acting method, it might actually pose a problem. There is no fixed method of performance."

For Zhu Yilong, acting is never straightforward. Acting evolves with time and the lifestyles of its contemporary audiences.

"If acting was just mere repetition, who would want to watch such shows?"

PART 3: NO EXPLANATION GIVEN

Regarding other people’s evaluation of Zhu Yilong, the only thing he can do is not to explain himself.

Not explaining does not mean indifference. In reality, when an actor debuts, there is only one path to take. He will join a set after graduating from film school. As a newcomer, the only thing that he can do is to seize all available opportunities. Choices? That’s a later story.

The same was true for Zhu Yilong. He realized very early on that every production is like a college entrance exam for an actor. The main difference is that the real college entrance exam has its rules, norms, and grades. But in terms of the acting profession, there are so many factors that can affect one’s career.

It is just like the jungle life in the film Tarzan of the Apes. One may mistakenly assume that they are familiar with the danger and the location of the beasts. Yet everything in the forest can shatter one’s confidence instantly. All Zhu Yilong could do as a newcomer was to push on even though he was unsure of what laid in front of him.

People in the jungle may offer him advice, dangle temptations or provide shortcuts. But Zhu Yilong knows that since he has chosen to venture into the jungle, he must persevere, and time would give him an answer; he needs to rely on himself to get out of this muddy terrain.

Zhu Yilong remembers a quote: the world is a stage for amateurs.

He said, there are people who gain fame and profit every day in his line. But Zhu Yilong, who has been through all of it before, has learnt to focus on nurturing himself and to remain focused about his career.

"Everyone has their niche. There’s no need to compete with others or to self-aggrandize."

Whenever Zhu Yilong is not on the set, he will be in his studio. Sitting in his studio, watching a film, or reading a book – these are his ways of relaxing.

Zhu Yilong is more attracted to the idea of travelling for work than leisure.

A few months ago, Zhu Yilong visited a wildlife sanctuary in Africa with WWF. He said that the trip has made him more determined to open himself up, to head out more, and to learn more about the world.

"Leaving the concrete city for the vast grasslands of Africa and enjoying the starry night skies. When you return to your everyday life and work after such an experience, you will have a different understanding of the world."

PART 4: THERE IS NOTHING IMPORTANT IN LIFE

Zhu Yilong, who is now at ease with himself, remembers up a line from Lao Mo in Lighting up the Stars: There is nothing more important in life than death.

As an actor, Zhu Yilong evaluates his career using a multifaceted approach. He does not think that winning one performance award meant that he has succeeded and adapted well in the industry. On the contrary, he feels flattered by this recognition, as always.

Outsiders view awards as an actor’s honor. Yet, to Zhu Yilong, an award is a steelyard. He needs to do better in order maintain the balance of the scale.

In addition, he said that it is also an honor for him to be an actor.

By now, Zhu Yilong is no longer reticent or doubtful. By accumulating his acting experiences, he is now able to communicate with his role and script on a deeper level. The sense of immersion, realism, and achievement during the acting process, stimulate Zhu Yilong's dopamine.

Actors respond to challenges in different ways. Zhu Yilong chooses to remember his original goal, his passion for creating characters, and his thirst for works. Zhu Yilong said that he just wants to compete with himself when he is working hard; this has nothing to do with being “juan” (involution/excessive competition with others). Sometimes, he is living life to his fullest; sometimes, he “wastes” time too. He enjoys playing basketball and visits the court whenever he has time. He plays the piano, sings, and plays computer games during his free time. Zhu Yilong is no different from ordinary people in his everyday life.

The term “traffic” is an unavoidable issue for actors. It signifies commercial value and the recognition of audiences. He said that the term has been misinterpreted.

"It is only normal for an actor to be recognized by the audience if he had produced a good work."

Actors, who have gone through this process, will have more choices and can produce more works for audiences. In Zhu Yilong's view, this is a natural process.

And that's how actors, past and present, have moved from the sidelines into limelight. The best thing that can happen in the future is for people to define the success of an actor not only by "traffic".

Up till this point in his career, Zhu Yilong said that his biggest reward is the audience's recognition of his works.

"Zhu Yilong’s films? I want to watch it." - Zhu Yilong hopes that this will be audience’s expectation of him many years later.

As for Zhu Yilong, his expectations of himself have never changed – that is, his original goal of, and his persistence as, an actor.

He said: "There are many actors of my age around the world who have reached where they are, and I still have a long way more to go."

After all, in his mind, acting is no small matter. On this path, he will continue to compete with himself.

**THE END**

Post-translation note: Translating this article took up my entire Saturday, but I’ve no regrets because this interview really marked a remarkable growth in Zhu Yilong. I highly recommend it.

I’ve been translating his interviews since 2020 and it moves me so much to see him grow so confidently and quickly as an actor over the past few years. As I was searching Weibo for pictures for my thread, I realized that it has been nearly two years since the release of LITS and Golden Rooster Awards. Time flies. This July will mark my 6th year as his fan.

Happy weekend reading! If you’d like to re-translate this, please DM me for permission + credit.

#zhuyilong #朱一龍 #朱一龙 #zhu yilong #wenella

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