Summary: You’re not just another one of Greg Simmonds’ disposable arm candy dates. You’re an arms dealer in your own right, playing the long game and keeping your enemies close. Greg thinks he’s the one in control—but you’re about to show him just how wrong he is.
⸻
You were used to men underestimating you.
It made things easier.
Easier to sit at high-stakes tables, smiling like you had nothing to lose. Easier to sip expensive champagne at galas like this, your diamonds glittering under the chandeliers, while the real power moves happened in whispers behind closed doors.
And easier, apparently, to have Greg Simmonds himself watching you like you were his next prized possession.
His arm was draped around the back of your chair, his thumb idly tracing patterns against the bare skin of your shoulder. A casual touch, but there was nothing casual about Greg Simmonds.
He was a king in this world.
And kings were always watching for threats.
“I have to say,” Greg murmured, swirling the amber liquid in his glass as he leaned in, voice a lazy drawl. “I find you absolutely fascinating, love.”
You arched a brow, smirking. “Of course you do.”
His lips twitched at your confidence. “Oh, I do. Beautiful, sharp, and—what was it again? Ah, yes. Very, very capable.” His voice was low, appreciative, but edged with something sharper. Curiosity. Suspicion.
Good. Let him wonder.
You tilted your glass toward his, the clink of crystal sharp in the air between you. “And here I thought you only kept women around for decoration.”
Greg laughed, full-bodied and amused. “Now, now, don’t be cruel. I’m a man of many tastes, darling.” He leaned in just enough that you caught the faintest scent of expensive cologne. “And right now, I’m very interested in knowing exactly what you’re doing in my world.”
You took a slow sip of your drink, letting the moment stretch.
Then, you met his gaze, dark and unreadable.
“I could ask you the same thing, Greg.”
For a fraction of a second, you saw it—the flicker of something calculating in his eyes.
Oh, he liked this game.
Liked that you weren’t just another pretty face fawning over his wealth.
Liked that you knew exactly who he was—and weren’t afraid of it.
Greg leaned back, considering you with open amusement. “You’re not here for me, are you?”
A slow smirk tugged at your lips. “Darling, I’m here for me.”
His grin was sharp, wolfish. “That makes two of us.”
The tension between you was thick, electric. A dangerous game with no clear winner—yet.
But one thing was certain.
Greg Simmonds wasn’t the only power player in this room.
And before the night was over, he was going to know it.
i did my best to use high-quality images, but i had to extract most of them from the trailer since the VOD release won't be until may here in germany
because of that (and because of all the movement in the trailer) sometimes the quality of the images is a bit underwhelming
Okay I know this post will gain absolutely zero traction but the more I think about it the more I want to cry about it??
slight spoilers for one of the character arcs in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre ahead,,,
So I saw Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre in the cinema today. I was alone, it was reasonably full, the film technically only opened two days ago, and it's wider release isn't for another week, but I had time to kill and it was the only thing that piqued my interest. It sits in an interesting spot tonally, comparative, I'd say, to Netflix Exclusive Michael Bay movie 6 Underground, though to use a more recent marker I'd drop it somewhere near Bullet Train (though it's definitely much closer to 6 Underground). All this context to say that I went into this Jason Statham-lead espionage action movie with zero expectations and almost completely blind.
So please believe me when I say I was truly blindsided with joy to have canonical, casual queer representation in this Jason Statham-lead espionage action movie.
Maybe it's that I don't watch a lot of media now, but it's something I noticed while watching Glass Onion too, both with Benoit and Hugh Grant (ha, put a pin in that) and especially with the character of Peg, and it makes me a bit teary and excited when I think about it. There's something to be said for how far we've come, to the point that Casual Queer Rep is even possible. There's something about watching Peg get all flustered talking to Helen and knowing that it's because she has a crush, without it having to be flagged, spelled out, or otherwise othered by the film or its writing.
It's normalised.
Which I know shouldn't be a big deal, but right now, to me, it is. I didn't realise I could feel this way; to see a full character who just so happens to be gay, where the plot doesn't revolve around her being gay, but that part of her identity is still made clear?? I love Peg so much holy shit.
But Glass Onion is the second in a series that has established itself as a forerunner for casual diversity. Let me tell you about how Operation Fortune made me want to YELL in theatres.
It's the 8th of January, and it might be a bit early to call it, but Danny Francesco might be my favourite character of the year.
Is he perfect? God no, he's objectively not a great person; he's sleeping with his sister-in-law, he's a Hollywood diva, he's demanding, and he (spoilers, seriously) ends up engaged to a war criminal. Who happens to be the main antagonist. Who happens to be Hugh Grant. Danny is the light of my life, however, and I love him with my whole heart.
So in the beginning we're told that Danny turned down $10m because he didn't want to jump out of Greg (Hugh Grant)'s cake and sing Happy Birthday; whatever, I thought, Greg is a rich, eccentric with an obsession with celebrities, and Danny is the biggest star right now, I shouldn't read anything into it because Sometimes Rich People Just Do Things For Status Reasons. We're also told, and subsequently shown, Greg tries to take celebrity's partners/girlfriends. Cue Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) in a bright red dress that I will dream about for the next month.
Also, in the scene where Danny, Sarah, and Orson (Jason Statham) are joining the fancy party, there's some distinctly fruity vibes between the three of them, but I'm not here to push my Orson/Sarah/Danny polycule agenda, just know that I have one.
So obviously Greg is excited to see Danny, but later makes a Very Distinct Pass at Sarah, inviting both her and Danny to stay with him for the weekend, with an implied Wink Wink Nudge Nudge.
While they end up taking him up on that offer, Danny, who started the film having refused Greg's Rich Weirdo Request, and now having to spend time with him for the job, finds that he actually genuinely likes Greg, who appears to genuinely like him back, doting on him, even giving him gifts.
When Danny says to Sarah "(I'm paraphrasing, about Greg) he's really into you! If you don't take him up on his offer then I might!" my eyeballs were Out Of My Head. Like sure it sounds like a joke that would be written in to simply highlight Danny's materialism, a whole 'gay for pay' joke, something about his vanity, or even just an offhand joke that I might hear one of my straight friends who were super comfortable and confident in their sexuality say about their best friends, I was So primed for this to be something that the audience could laugh off or dismiss in hindsight. Like in my mind that solidified my headcanon of Danny as bi, but I was so used to queerbaiting and years of being told I was reading into things.
So as the plot continues, Danny's fondness for Greg goes on, turns into something incredibly genuine, and looking back, he clearly has a hero-worship crush on Greg by the end of the film.
The last shot we see of Danny and Greg is the pair of them getting into an elevator after Greg pulls a stone cold power move on the films secondary antagonists, which he had Danny assist with for flare after Danny asked specifically to stay with him for that event. In the elevator, Danny tells Greg that that was "the coolest thing he's ever seen someone do" and that's the last we physically see of them.
HOWEVER!! THE ICING!! THE CHERRY!!
At the very end of the film, one of the protagonists mentions how he's gone into the film industry, and the response he gets is;
"You better not be talking about Danny Francesco and his fiancee Greg Simmonds!"
an accurate depiction of me as the credits began to roll;
WE WIN THESE!!
BOTH DANNY AND GREG ARE CANONICALLY BI/PAN IN THIS JASON STATHAM-LEAD ESPIONAGE ACTION MOVIE IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2023!! THEY BOTH LIVE UNTIL THE END!! THEY'RE ENGAGED!! THEY'RE BOTH ABSOLUTE DISASTERS!! THEY'RE BOTH FULL, ROUNDED CHARACTERS WHO HAPPEN TO BE QUEER!!
I get choked up thinking about it now, considering how quietly overwhelmed I felt in the theatre realising that Danny and Greg's comments and moments throughout the film weren't some elaborate joke, the dialogue that reminds me of my friends, the moments that felt true to my life as a queer person, they werent the setup for any kind of homophobic mixup, miscommunication, or microaggression; no, I finally, actually felt like I saw a part of myself, of my community represented in media.
Everyone in that movie is terrible in their own way, but Danny and Greg just happened to be terrible people who are also queer. Are they perfect representation? No! Thank fuck! I think we deserve more dumbass, disaster, unethical queers in media.
Even if I don't necessarily recommend this movie (it's pretty okay if you're a fan of the genre I suppose), I subjectively love it and especially it's characters, with my whole entire heart.
Danny Francesco is canonically a dumbass, bi disaster who fell for his sugar daddy, war criminal Hugh Grant. Good for him. It's what he deserves. 🥰🥰🥰
