#alan nguyen

[justplainwhump]

Job satisfaction

Tyler struggles to keep a facade in front of his colleagues and learns the whereabouts of Tara's informant.

Written for @whumptober 2022. Will be continued soon.

This is for Day 16, "no way out" and day 19, knees buckling.

A part of Tyler's arc.

Cw for BBU, institutionalised whump, facility whump, a bunch of professionally horrible people (WRU handlers and managers), referenced dehumanisation, (newly) reluctant whumper pov, shortly referenced noncon/dubcon (WRU romantic training), referenced torture

Tyler took the bus to work. He'd drunk too much vodka last night to be able to drive safely. He pressed his forehead to the window, greenish suburbs passing by the windows in a blur until the gray buildings of the industrial zone took over. Facility 002 was located far outside the city.

Hard to reach. Easy to control.

In his pocket, his fingers fiddled with his access card. It didn't say his name, didn't even say the company name, just a plain number, but still he had always kept it hidden. Odd, he realized. He'd told himself over and over again that he just did a job. People in his generation did what earned them money, and tried to be good at it. Nobody identified with what they did, or their employer, he was just like them, right?

Then why had he never told anyone? Even when it had all technically been legal, when he'd been working with voluntary acquisitions. Security, that's what he'd said when asked about his job. Corporate security for some high tech lab. Nobody had ever waited to know more.

The bus' doors opened with a hiss. "Industry Park South Entrance," the automated voice announced. "Last stop. This bus terminates here."

Tyler started, needed a second to find orientation, before he grabbed his backpack and got off. There were just a handful of other passengers left. All here for the same destination. A janitor, a receptionist. Did they tell others where they worked, he wondered.

Did it matter? They didn't do what he did. They weren't handlers. He remembered 238's screams last night, played to her over and over by him. He remembered the countless times he'd slept with her. He remembered her brown eyes, serious and solemn, when she'd told him 'I don't think I signed up for this'.

He'd taught her to never say it again.

Tyler wanted to scream. Instead, he put on an easy smile, nodded to the security officer at the entry, as he swiped his card. It hurt. The edges of the plastic card had cut into his palm, after clutching it too tightly. The pain felt oddly comforting.

"You're late."

Tyler looked up, meeting the gaze of Alex from Client Relations. Squinted dark eyes took him in critically, no doubt noticing the rings underneath Tyler's eyes, the slight trembling of his hands.

"Had a long shift yesterday," he mumbled. "Didn't sleep well."

"I know. Log out at 12.37 am," Alex said without even looking somewhere to check. They weirded him out. "No idea what you did that long, nor do I want to know, honestly. Anyway. Senior Handler Nguyen wants a word before you go in. He's in his office."

Shit.

Tyler nodded numbly. "Yeah. Uh. Thanks."

When he turned towards the office floor, Alex' hand stopped him. "I really don't care," they said. "But he didn't seem like he'd care much, either."

Tyler frowned at them, but they'd already pulled back their hand and were staring at their tablet.

"Oh. Important call. First product specification with Judge Nicholls." They rolled their eyes. "It's her fourth pet, and she's always such a diva. Anyway." Alex' looked Tyler down once again. "If you're sick, don't stay too close to me. There's a cabinet full of prescription drugs at Doctor Wood's office. She'll get you up to peak performance in no time."

"I'm goo-"

"Shhh." Alex was on the phone already, gesturing for him to shut up and pointing impatiently at Alan's office.

*

"238's a mess today," Alan said, without any preface. He didn't even look up from his papers. It felt odd, standing here still in civilian clothes and waiting for a uniformed handler to judge him. "You deviated from protocol, Parker. Why?"

Because it was easier to beat her and cause her pain than to fuck her while she pretended to enjoy it. Because like that, at least, they'd both known it was fucking wrong what was happening.

"Protocol for her current training phase is to simulate a domestic environment, Sir." Tyler crossed his hands in front of him and looked at the tips of his sneakers, hoping Alan wouldn't watch him too closely. His boss was insanely good at spotting a lie. Tyler could just hope that right now, he wasn't looking for one. "I've read her file and that on her prospective owner's other pet. He'd use pain in a domestic environment. So I prepared her for that."

"Huh." The rustling of paper indicated that Alan had put the file down. He hadn't been reading it anyway, Tyler wagered. Alan was playing mind games, always. And even though Tyler saw it happening, he usually got caught in them anyway. Alan was a master on his playing field.

He remembered, that on their first meeting, he had aspired to be like Alan one day. It felt ages ago. "I appreciate the initiative. Bold move though, to not discuss it with me beforehand." He paused. "Bold move especially, coming from you, Parker."

"I… I like to do things right. This, um. This didn't seem bold to me. It was within my scope of decision. I thought."

Alan chuckled quietly. "Well that does sound more like you for sure. Next time, write that reasoning down in your report, too."

Tyler nodded, trying to hide the relief in his voice. "Of course."

"I ordered solitary for her for two days or three. The uncomfortable kind. I think your intuition was right. She needs to take any attention her owner gives her as affection. So we lock her up, let her crave any human touch, and you'll get back to her the day after tomorrow and give her both. Fuck her and hurt her. Fuck her hard. And if she doesn't get it, she'll get one more day of solitary, and we'll try again."

Tyler felt a hard knot in his stomach. Fuck her and hurt her. Again and again and again. That was his job. In contrast to her, he had signed up for it.

Alan didn't seem to register his discomfort. "We have all the time, her prospective is overseas for the next six weeks."

"Good."

It wasn't enough, it seemed, because Alan paused for a moment. "Everything alright, Parker? I'm giving you praise, and a break for today. You're unusually passive about it."

Tyler cleared his throat. "Bad night. Personal, Sir."

"Huh. Don't let it interfere with your work." Alan tilted his head. "I was thinking about filling you in on one of my other cases today. But in that case, let's postpone it. You can go ask Handler Thompson if she's got some work for you while 238 is on hold. Heard her bragging about some special assignment."

Carly. Tyler had to hold back not to grimace. He'd tried to befriend her, in the beginning. Always important to be on good terms with the colleagues, after all. But she was… something else. Something he never wanted to be. He should've understood back then, already.

"Sir, maybe I should-"

"Her methods are very different from mine. I don't think highly of her. But you can learn from her nonetheless."

Tyler swallowed. "I… Sir, I thought I might just call in sick for the day."

"Huh." Alan raised an eyebrow. "Well. If it's that bad, I guess there's no better day than today either. Good work, in any case." Something fell on his shoulder, and Tyler flinched before he realized it was Alan's hand, in a rare gesture of reassurance. "You're on a good path, Parker. Keep that private life separate from work and vice versa, look closely at how things work in this facility, and your next career move won't take long to come. You have a lot of potential. Use it."

Tyler didn't feel like it.

*

He managed to pull himself together as he left the office. Still in his civilian clothes, he felt the weight of his phone in the pocket of his jeans. He'd go home and call Tara. He'd meet her and come clean with her and he'd convince her to be safe.

"Hey, T!"

Tyler almost flinched when he heard Carly's voice. She was sitting in Alex' office, lounging in the visitor chair with her feet on their desk, pointedly ignoring their eye roll. "Short day, or have you pulled an all nighter with that raunchy trainee of yours? She as flexible as she looks?"

"Very," Tyler said.

Carly grinned. "Too bad your boss doesn't let me touch her. I'd love to give her some... specialty training." She put two fingers to her mouth and finished the gesture with a slow flick of her tongue. As if they wouldn't have understood before.

"Not on her training plan," Alex' voice was flat, almost a little bored, but Tyler still noted some annoyance. "She's in the box today anyway. Tyler is off duty. In contrast to you."

Tyler raised his eyebrows, but didn't inquire, how the hell Alex managed to get their hands on information that quickly.

"Oh, I have plenty time." Carly smirked. "Got my pet lib bitch strung up in a nice little stress position. She's going to be soft as a kitten when I get back with her."

"Technically, she's not pet lib," Alex corrected coldly. "These potential sign-ups she made trouble about, they weren't pets. She's anti WRU. There's a distinction."

"She messed with our business. And she is working with pet lib, I'm sure about that. Two or three hours more with her, and I promise she'll spit out some names."

Tyler leaned to the door frame as casually as he could. He feared his legs would give out. "Who -?"

"002242. Our latest acquisition. Social worker. Seriously interfered with recruitment down town."

'My informant was arrested', Tara's voice echoed in his head. 'WRU recruiters all but hunting homeless kids. Tried to do something about it. Now she's gone.'

He didn't feel well.

"We...," Tyler cleared his throat. "I thought involuntary acquisitions meant custom orders."

"It is a custom order. Internal one. Director Fisher's. He's unhappy with pet lib and anti WRU sentiment in this town. Need to smother some voices, re-educate some others. Luckily, it's just a small number compared to the ones that actually bring us money. Financially, each of these trainees is a disaster. Can't offer them via our website, can't give them to anyone who keeps their pets in public - at least nobody local, and shipping pets overseas is such a hassle."

"Your perspective is so cold, Al." Carly rolled her eyes, ignoring Alex' quiet correction, "Alex."

"Talking like they're objects, not people, with real feelings." She swung her legs off the table to lean in. "Feelings, Al. Pain. Despair. Fucking bleak and hopeless sadness. And that little, devastating moment when they understand that this is it." She all but moaned. "Fuck, I could drink that in with a straw."

She checked her watch and got to her feet. "Time to work on that, I guess. Cheers, Al. T, you coming? I could need a hand."

"Actually, Tyler has signed o-"

"Sure." Tyler talked over Alex, feigning a grin of his own. "Yeah. I'm in."

Carly bumped her fist into his shoulder. "Great, buddy. I promise, working with these assholes before the Drip, it's even better than fucking them later." She let out a chuckle. "And doing it both? Man, that's the real thing. Fuck, I love my job."

I don't, Tyler thought, with the dawning realisation it was far too late for that.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

I'm Working on the Winners from the Last Round of Ideas (Having a Tough Time Writing Two of Them) SOOOOO...

Hiccup in Time: Upon Meloni's return to the home she built with her husband and sons, she's haunted by echoes in her memories. She believes these echoes are the key to discovering what happened to her missing family. (flashfam; horror/supernatural AU)

Blood Lines: Jade and Roy's pasts come back to haunt them (literally) when their curses collide. (arrowfam; horror/supernatural AU, no capes AU)

The War Inside: Runaway turned military school student, Grant Wilson, risks expulsion when he falls for a troublemaking classmate. (boarding school AU, no capes/no powers AU)

Star Light, Star Bright: AU where Natalia didn't die or lose custody, and she accompanies Bruce and Jason to Ethiopia. (batfam; canon divergent AU)

Bunk Buddies: AU where Alan develops feelings for a friend at his boarding school during wartime. (jsa; boarding school AU/dark academia AU)

Chicken or Fish: Garth and Arthur age swap AU where tiny!Arthur becomes Garth's first friend/brother. (aquafam; ageswap AU)

Alone Together: AU where a freshly emancipated Thad is Bart's estranged older brother who takes him in after their Uncle Max falls ill. (flashfam; ageswap AU, no powers AU)

The Inside Scoop: Promising teen reporter, Linda Park, gets a scholarship to attend boarding school after her friend's sister was murdered. (flashfam; boarding school AU, dark academia AU)

The Outcry: Grant Wilson feels as if he's always lived in his brother, Joseph's shadow in this ageswap AU. (ageswap AU, no powers AU)

Before I Hurt You Too: Orion's deceased friend's brother begins to follow him despite Orion's objections. (fourth world; boarding school AU, dark academia AU)

Broken, Left Unspoken: AU where Thad returns three days after Mercury Falling and Bart and Thad move from Alabama to Kansas together. (flashfam; canon divergent AU)

Until Friday: Bart and Jason run into each other at the physical therapist's office and start to hang out as a result. (flashfam, batfam, yj98; no powers AU)

[splooosh]

“at the hands”

Doug Mahnke - Tom Nguyen

[lgspears]

here's my redo Street Fighter fancast with new actors, Noah Fleder, Andrew Koji and Ross Butler as Ryu, Trevor Logan, Cody Christian and Lucas Till as Ken Masters, Gemma Nguyen, Selina Lo and Jade Xu as Chin-Li, Kellan Lutz and Alan Ritchson as Gulie, Vanessa Kirby and Wallis Day ad Cammy White, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Braun Strowman as Zangief, Brandon Vera as Sagat, Sebastian Rulli and Alex Perea as Vega, Robert Christopher Riley and Mustafa Shakir as Balrog.

[gay-arnold]

starting the year off right with some funnies, some angst, anddddd micah UWU i know robert would never have the guts to tell his mom that she's being mean but it had to happen for the sake of the joke 😂 elliot's not laughing for homophobia reasons he's simply delighted at the fact that his goofy ass son just told on himself completely by accident. and sammy doesn't know he's biting off a lot more than he can chew by starting this conversation :3

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

The Sympathizer is an upcoming drama television series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name written by Viet Thanh Nguyen. The series was developed by co-showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, with Park directing for the series as well. The series is produced to air on HBO by A24 and Rhombus Media.

The series is based on the story of the Captain, a North Vietnam plant in the South Vietnam army. He is forced to flee to the United States with his general near the end of the Vietnam War. While living within a community of South Vietnamese refugees, he continues to secretly spy on the community and report back to the Viet Cong, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life.

The series will be released on Max in 2024.

[onlylonelylatino]

Zatara, Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane by Dustin Nguyen

[graphicpolicy]

Preview: The Joker Uncovered #1

The Joker Uncovered #1 preview. The Joker: Uncovered to see a murderer's row of the world's greatest comic book artists commit the Joker's beautiful image to dozens of wonderful variant covers #comics #comicbooks

[theenbynightingale]

STRANGE WORLD Is a Worthy Addition to the Disney Animated Canon… With One Big Problem

Strange World hits Disney+ tomorrow so here I am to review it before you all see it. Especially since Disney seems to be giving its streaming release more of a promotional push than its theatrical one. Seriously, what the hell, Disney?

Disney isn’t just the house that Walt built but also the house that animation built. Mr. Disney famously once said “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it all started with a mouse”. Without Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or Cinderella, the company wouldn’t be anywhere near the terrifyingly whimsical powerhouse it is today. So why does it seem like animation…

[stuff-diary]

Strange World

Movies watched in 2023

Strange World (2022, USA)

Director: Don Hall (co-directed by Qui Nguyen)

Writer: Qui Nguyen

Mini-review:

I'm honestly surprised this movie flopped so hard. Like, it's not a masterpiece by any means, but it's a pretty fun old-school family adventure movie, which is clearly what they were hoping to achieve. The animation is great, the locations are really pretty and colorful, and the creature designs are really cool, too. Neither the story nor the message are groundbreaking, but they are well told enough, so it's not boring. There's also the whole thing about including the first openly gay main character in a Disney movie, and I have to say it's well handled too. It's done in a very obvious way so that there's no doubt about it, but it's not a major part of the plot or anything like that, it's just another of the character's traits. So yeah, this movie it's pretty okay, even if it won't blow your mind.

[justplainwhump]

I'm thinking about Handler Tyler and his growing doubts about his job, and how that'd go if he confided in his colleagues.

(All of these are only hypothetical. For now.)

@for-the-love-of-nsfwhump tagging you because I figure you'd enjoy it.

Cw BBU and the power of WRU

Tyler: "Do you ever think that what we're doing here is wrong?"

-

Alex Nadler, client relations:

"Listen, there's no 'we'; you're the handlers. I never even touch one of these trainees." They grimace. "That would be gross. What you're doing is gross. Wrong? I don't know, I try not to think in these terms. But I mean. The clients paid for it. Someone has to do it. So you do your job, I do mine."

-

Senior Handler Alan Nguyen, supervisor romantic division:

"That's a thought you shouldn't have, and much less express. I think you should take a week off, go on vacation with all that money the company pays you, have a beer, get laid, and think more. If that thought festers, throw away your credit cards and take the next bus to another country. You know which ones. There's a list. Live abroad, probably in poverty, far from your friends and family, and always, always on the run." (He shrugs.) "If you decide to come back, I'll suggest you for a raise. But if you ever mention this notion to me ever again, I'll report you myself."

-

Handler Carly Thompson:

"Geez, someone fucked you with some moral agenda, huh? Hope it wasn't your trainee." She smirks. "I mean, not everyone is cut out for the job. I always thought you were a big softie. Would look better on the other side of this arrangement." She pushes a button to lock the door and tosses over a shock collar. "Here, puppy. You know the drill, don't ya?"

Taylor stares at her in shock, until she starts laughing.

"Just messing with ya, buddy. Shiiiiit, your face, it was adorable. Worth it." She ruffles his hair, and he doesn't even fight it. "Yeah. You take my shift tonight."

Of course, she's going to report him anyway.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Chapter Fics Poll (I came up with like 14 good ones that I really like)

The Harvest Killer: Wally and Linda cross paths while Wally investigates a possible serial killer at large

Prime Suspect: Jay Garrick’s interrogation as prime suspect in his friend Alan’s disappearance

Pretty Lies: Roy interrogates Jade when he finds out she’s a suspect in a murder case

Gladiator Girl: Wally meets his rival in the new pole vaulter on his track-and-field team

If Ever In My Nature: Guy volunteers with his high school’s special education buddy program and befriends a boy named Taylor

The Pointe of No Return: Jade struggles to balance her new co-parenting schedule and her role as principal dancer after moving to California 

Exhibit One: Cassie is framed for murder and Tim takes it upon himself to hide her until he can find the proof he needs to exonerate her. Even if that means becoming the target of the actual killer

[kermodefan94-blog]

The Odd Case of Disney's Strange World.

On the discourse around one of the blandest movies of 2022.

Do you know that there was a theatrical Walt Disney Animation Studios production pushed out into the world on November 22nd 2022? Better question. Did the mouse house want the general public to know that this release even existed? That is the question currently surrounding the discourse one of the most memorably notable flops this author can remember in his time as a film watcher. $72 million…

[macrolit]

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

NYT Article.

*************

Q: How many of the 100 have you read? Q: Which ones did you love/hate? Q: What's missing?

Here's the full list.

100. Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson 99. How to Be Both, Ali Smith 98. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett 97. Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward 96. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, Saidiya Hartman 95. Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel 94. On Beauty, Zadie Smith 93. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 92. The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante 91. The Human Stain, Philip Roth 90. The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen 89. The Return, Hisham Matar 88. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 87. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters 86. Frederick Douglass, David W. Blight 85. Pastoralia, George Saunders 84. The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee 83. When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamin Labutat 82. Hurricane Season, Fernanda Melchor 81. Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan 80. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante 79. A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin 78. Septology, Jon Fosse 77. An American Marriage, Tayari Jones 76. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin 75. Exit West, Mohsin Hamid 74. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout 73. The Passage of Power, Robert Caro 72. Secondhand Time, Svetlana Alexievich 71. The Copenhagen Trilogy, Tove Ditlevsen 70. All Aunt Hagar's Children, Edward P. Jones 69. The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander 68. The Friend, Sigrid Nunez 67. Far From the Tree, Andrew Solomon 66. We the Animals, Justin Torres 65. The Plot Against America, Philip Roth 64. The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai 63. Veronica, Mary Gaitskill 62. 10:04, Ben Lerner 61. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver 60. Heavy, Kiese Laymon 59. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides 58. Stay True, Hua Hsu 57. Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich 56. The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner 55. The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright 54. Tenth of December, George Saunders 53. Runaway, Alice Munro 52. Train Dreams, Denis Johnson 51. Life After Life, Kate Atkinson 50. Trust, Hernan Diaz 49. The Vegetarian, Han Kang 48. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi 47. A Mercy, Toni Morrison 46. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt 45. The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson 44. The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin 43. Postwar, Tony Judt 42. A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James 41. Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan 40. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald 39. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan 38. The Savage Detectives, Roberto Balano 37. The Years, Annie Ernaux 36. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates 35. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel 34. Citizen, Claudia Rankine 33. Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward 32. The Lines of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst 31. White Teeth, Zadie Smith 30. Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward 29. The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt 28. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell 27. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 26. Atonement, Ian McEwan 25. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc 24. The Overstory, Richard Powers 23. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, Alice Munro 22. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo 21. Evicted, Matthew Desmond 20. Erasure, Percival Everett 19. Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe 18. Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders 17. The Sellout, Paul Beatty 16. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon 15. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 14. Outline, Rachel Cusk 13. The Road, Cormac McCarthy 12. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion 11. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz 10. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson 9. Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro 8. Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald 7. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead 6. 2666, Roberto Bolano 5. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen 4. The Known World, Edward P. Jones 3. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel 2. The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson 1. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante

[closetdbisexual]

in honor of autism awareness month i will now list some characters i think are autistic

barry berkman

fox mulder

dana scully

gregory house

james wilson

allison cameron

lawrence kutner

diane nguyen

bojack horseman (also he has bpd. ok.)

annie edison

abed nadir

troy barnes

adrian monk

dale cooper

will graham

patrick bateman

stanley the stanley parable

chell portal

GLaDOS

OJ haywood

nicholas angel (his special interestt is. being a cop)

john kramer saw (his special interest is killing people)

cameron ferris buellers day off

veronica sawyer

artemis fowl

charlie kelly

mark s severance (not mark scout)

irving b severance (irving bailiff also) (is that really his name .?)

orel puppington

running out of characters. uhhh

that one fox from fantastic mr fox

alan resnick alantutorial

bill hader real life

nathan fielder real life

i dont know any other characters who exist ever sorry

[graphicpolicy]

Horror invade the DC Universe. Discover the Knight Terrors that await DC's super-villains!

Horror invade the DC Universe. Discover the Knight Terrors that await DC's super-villains! #comics #comicbooks #dccomics

DC has pulled back the curtain a bit more about what will stalk the DC Universe this summer in the upcoming event, “Knight Terrors.” Taking place in July and August, it features multiple two-issue miniseries that will spotlight a hero or villain confronting their worst nightmares. Find out what’s coming along with the creating teams and be ready to see what goes bump in the night! Knight…