Rights reserved using Creative Commons Attribution license CC-BY-4.0.

Parts of this story take place on Hollywood-style movie sets. Instead of going into details each time, going to use a brief marker like the following:

Scene 23, Take 3

This will often be followed by a short paragraph that looks something like:

INT: A western courtroom.

That means that this is an interior scene on a set where the background, furniture and lighting are consistent with a Wild West courtroom. Exterior scenes (back lot or “on location”) are marked EXT.

Passage of the Voluntary Slavery And Assisted Suicide Act of 2025—better known as the Stacks-Yancy Act—created a new industry: snuff films. You might think it difficult to find someone willing to take the starring role. You would be wrong. The pay (to the star’s heirs) is amazing, and the opportunity to become famous—even posthumously—brings more volunteers than there are parts to fill. This is the story of one such star.

Monday

(click) “Mr. Toft, there’s one more actress here to see you. She’s not on the list from Central Casting.”

“Tell her to apply there first, Sheila.”

“She says she wants the lead. And she’s drop-dead gorgeous.”

“That good, huh? Okay, I’ve got an hour before I need to leave for the meeting with the money people. Send her in and let’s see if she’s any good.”

“Yes, sir.” (click)

Some moments later, the door opened and a willowy blonde entered the room. She wore a bright blue pantsuit with matching shirt. She stood there, only two steps into the room, as the secretary closed the door behind her.

“Okay, girl, what’s your name? And what’s your gimmick?” Toft asked.

“My name is Darlene Marchand. I like hanging.” She smiled shyly.

“And...?” Toft blew some blue smoke toward the girl, then set the cigar down in the ashtray. “Usually we only book from Central Casting. So why are you wasting my time?”

Whoa! That’s tough! But I’ve got a lot riding on this interview!” I am s-sorry, Sir,” I haven’t stuttered like that since Junior high “b-but I wanted to get a part in your D-dusky Horizons Series of Westerns. Me and my f-friends have watched every movie in that series. Three, or four times. She paused, went on, “ ... es-especially the han-hanging scenes.” Another pause. “I d-decided that’s how I wanted to go, over a year ago. If I signed a s-slave contract with Central C-casting, they might send me to some other studio.” “I’ve had over four years of acting lessons,” I’ve memorized this next part. “I played the lead in the school play in 12th grade, then second lead in community college my sophomore year. My parents hired me a hanging coach, and well, now here I am.”

Darlene paused. Toft just raised a brow.

“ ... If you want I can just undress here and you can look at what I have to offer.”

The director looked over the would-be star. Good bones in the face. Nice round chin, classic nose, lovely deep blue eyes. He picked up the cigar again and motioned for Darlene to go ahead. She removed her jacket and draped it over the back of a chair, then did the same with her shirt. She had nice rack with well-defined nipples. She unbuttoned her slacks and pulled them off, then her panties. She was already wet, always a good sign in an actress seeking the lead role in one of these films.

Toft made a circular motion with his raised index finger, and Darlene slowly turned around in place.

“Okay, just stand like that. We have a few things to discuss.”

“Yes, Mr. Toft.”

“Everybody calls me RT. I have a little time to spare, so I’m going to give you an interview. If I like what I hear, you’ll come back Thursday for a screen test. That still doesn’t guarantee you get the part, you understand?”

The actress nodded.

“Good. Now, a few things to discuss. If I decide to hire you, you have to sign a slave contract. That makes it legal for us to snuff you. And once you sign, you don’t get much choice. I’ll probably put you in The Dishonest Whore, but we might transfer you to one of our other departments—SciFi or Romance or War films. And I can put you in a couple of bit parts before casting you as the star of a film. So you can expect to get snuffed in the next few years, but not necessarily right away.”

“That-that’s okay. Really, I want this. I’ve done a lot of sports training, too. Weight training, ballet, gymnastics; I took the silver at the statewide competition.”

“That may not be enough. It can take five years or more to learn to act, depending on how much native talent you have. That’s part of what the screen test is about.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And, if you’re looking for the lead, you have to do the casting couch thing. I know that’s supposed to be a joke, something they do to naëve star-wannabes. But this role involves a lot of fucking and sucking, and you gotta be able to do that and stay in character.

Well, I kind of expected this. Every episode of Dusky Horizons has at least three steamy scenes plus the snuff at the end. Darlene turned to face Toft and looked down, feeling her juices starting to drip. Yeah, getting turned on just thinking about it.

She stepped a bit closer to the director, tilting her hips to the front, showing her glistening pussy.

“So, I guess now you want me to ... to have sex with you while being in character?” she asked. “Like playing my role while sucking you?”

Toft opened a desk drawer and pulled out a sheaf of paper with comb binding and transparent plastic covers. “Not the role you’re auditioning for, but a scene from a film that we haven’t gotten a backer for. He handed Darlene the script, then went on. “Read the character summary at the front, then turn to page 44 and memorize scene 31, starting with ‘Judge Kendall... ‘ and then the sex scene.”

Darlene opened the script and read the summary. Her character was the cook at the town’s only café. She was accused of starting the fire that burned down the bar. She’d had a grudge against the bartender, even made some threats. But that was just drunken talk. And her alibi was out of town.

She looked at page 44. Scene 31 called for her to offer sexual favors, trying to bribe the judge to delay her trial so her best friend—currently out of town—could testify in her favor. Maybe she could escape the death penalty. As if ... Nobody will buy tickets or DVDs if the star doesn’t struggle and kick at the end of a rope. Darlene read further. The judge enjoyed betting and overestimated his ability to beat the odds.

And my character has the hots for the judge. Oh, yeah, I can handle that scene just fine... “Judge Kendall ... Your Honor...”

The Director interrupted. “Just call me Beau. We’re not in my courtroom, and we were on a first-name basis before you burned down the bar.”

“Okay ... Beau. I want to beg a small favor.”

“What is it? Lot of thirsty cowhands mad at ya, and the ‘tender’s right hand got burned so bad that he’s likely to lose it.”

“My friend knows what happened, but he’s gone to Dodge City for a month to visit his brother. If you would put off my trial for a few weeks, he can testify for me.”

“We’re pretty proud of our speedy trials here in Harmony Springs. I could put off yer trial for a week, but a month ... no way.”

“Well, a week then. Maybe I can talk somebody into going to Dodge and getting Oswald to come back sooner.”

“And why should I do that?”

“Well...” Darlene paused as if thinking, “ ... how about ... a bet. I’ll pleasure you with my mouth, and if it isn’t the best blowjob you ever had—in fact, the best sex you ever had, then I’ll plead guilty and save the town the cost of the trial. If I succeed, you put the trial off for a week. Okay?”

The Director put out a hand. “It’s a bet.”

Darlene took his hand and they shook on it.

“Take your clothes off and stand with your back against a wall. By the time I’m half done with you you’ll have a hard time standing up.”

The Director undressed, folding his clothing neatly on his desk, then leaned against the side wall of his office. Darlene left her clothes in a heap on the floor, then pressed her body to the Director’s, skin to skin, crotch against crotch. She pressed her lips to the Director’s, kissing him gently but thoroughly, rubbing her body against the Director’s from his chest down to his thighs.

When RT started breathing fast, Darlene gave him a last, deep kiss, then pulled back a few inches. She kissed her way down his front, paying special attention to his nipples and his navel. She ended up on her knees, one hand around his cock—now fully erect—and wrapped her lips around it. Darlene cupped his butt with her other hand and started slowly licking the tip. She teased him with her tongue for a couple of minutes, then slid her lips up and down a few times, then returned to the tongue tease. She sucked a little harder and used her hand to rotate his cock between her lips.

After a few more minutes, Darlene started sliding her lips up and down, but only about an inch. RT begged for more, and she gradually increased the depth. He was incoherent by the time Darlene was taking the full length of the shaft. She changed tactics slightly: sliding rapidly down and up the shaft, flicking the frenum with her tongue, but then pausing for a half-second before doing it again.

RT’s knees started to give way partway through this. Darlene held him against the wall with her free hand and sped up. She licked her way down the entire shaft, then slid rapidly up until only the head was in her mouth. Again and again, as fast as she could. The Director’s pleas went into the top of his vocal range and he was having trouble catching his breath in between strokes.

Time to finish. She slid her lips rapidly up and down the shaft, flicking the underside quickly and lightly with the tip of her tongue. She slid her lips rapidly up and down the shaft, flicking the underside quickly and lightly with the tip of her tongue until Toft yelled, “Oh, YES!!!” then swallowed his semen. She continued licking until he made quiet protesting noises, then helped him slump safely to the floor. He lay there, breathing hard. Darlene waved a hand in front of RT’s eyes; they moved around but not in sync with her hand. Darlene waited, and the Director’s eyes eventually focused on her hand. He shook his head, rolled over, grabbed Darlene’s hips, and pulled himself onto his knees. He grabbed Darlene’s hand with both of his, and slowly got to his feet, his hands clutching her shoulders to help him balance. He stayed like that, wobbling slightly, while his breathing returned to normal.

“Wheeee-oooooo! If that had been a real bet you’d have won it for sure.”

Darlene smiled a bit smugly.

Darlene was excited. And still unsatisfied. “Ummm ... I’ll think about it and let you know my decision. After my screen test.”

“There’s still one more test before I go to the expense of a screen test. Turn to page 67, then come over here.”

Darlene walked over and stood in front of the desk. RT opened another drawer and got out a coil of rope with a noose in one end.

“Wait,” Darlene objected, “You’re going to...?”

“Only a little. Don’t worry, you haven’t signed the slave contract yet. Vortex Features operates strictly within the law. But I want to see your reaction.”

“Umm...” Darlene hesitated for some seconds. “ Okay.”

Toft climbed up on the desk and put the rope through a ring attached to the ceiling. He opened the noose, slipped it over Darlene’s head, and pulled it snug around her neck. Then he climbed down and stood next to her. “Now,” he said, “imagine yourself about to be hanged. You’re naked, just like now, standing on the edge of the gallows platform, with a noose around your neck. Your hands are tied, so clasp them together behind you and keep them there.”

Darlene closed her eyes and did as he said.

“There’s a couple dozen people standing around looking at you, eager to watch you swing.”

I didn’t think I could get any more excited. Guess I was wrong.

“The town boss wants to make sure everybody gets a good view of your nakedness, so he licks his fingers...” he suited action to words, “and starts playing with your clit, flicking it every few seconds, but not hard or fast enough to get you off.”

Oh shit! This is impossible. If he keeps this up I’m going to have cramps inside.

“Then he suddenly pushes you off the platform.” Darlene felt a tug around her neck and the noose grew tighter. It was very uncomfortable, felt like she was choking. She could still breathe, but it felt raspy in her throat. She made involuntary choking noises every time she pulled air into her lungs past that constricting knot.

“And there you are, hanging, nothing under your feet, the noose tight around your neck. It hurts. Not just a little discomfort like this, but really painful. You need air, your muscles strain but you can’t breathe at all. Your feet kick as you dangle in mid-air. And you need to cum so bad...”

Toft cupped Darlene’s ass. She felt his hand stroking her clit, a little faster now, but still too slow for her to cum ... except for that feeling of the noose around her neck.

“Soon your face turns red, then purple. Your feet kick, but weaker. Everything is growing dim ... imagine the world of color around you turning to gray, and you know it means you are fading out forever...” The stroking stopped, but Darlene didn’t even notice as she imagined herself strangling to death in a noose. RT added a second finger, then a third, and plunged them in to the hilt.

It was too much. Darlene came explosively. Her knees gave out and she sagged into the noose; it tightened up and choked her completely. She grew aware that she was getting lower, her legs folding up.

The pressure on Darlene’s neck eased, and she realized that she was lying on the floor, with the noose draped loosely around her neck. As her orgasm faded into afterglow, she found herself wondering ... she opened her eyes and saw the director looking at her.

Darlene reached for coherence to ask a question. “How...?” she started, “If you had one hand in my pussy and one holding the rope, where did the hand on my ass come from?”

The director smirked. “Once I’d got the tension right on the rope, I just put a foot on the loose end.”

“Oh. Well ... wow! That was terrific!”

“Yeah, you did pretty well. You’ve earned yourself a screen test. Come back at 9AM Thursday — is that time okay with you?”

“Yes. I have a part-time job in the afternoons, but we should be done by 2, right?”

“Yeah. Either you’ll be going back to work, or you’ll be calling to tell them you signed a slave contract.”

“Uh, right.”

“Study the script in the meantime. When you do the test, I want you thinking about the emotions you’re conveying, not struggling to remember your lines.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you so much, sir.”

“Just be here. You can get dressed and leave now.”

Darlene was dripping semen from her cunt, but she couldn’t be bothered to clean up right now. She put her clothes on again, then left Toft’s office with weak knees, a pounding heart and trembling fingers.

The secretary gave her a reminder note with the date and time of her screen test. “Show this at the gate when you come back.”

Darlene left, still feeling a little dizzy, and wandered out toward the subway. She was aware of the naughty remains on her private parts, now hidden beneath her slacks. Her mouth felt dry and her throat was still hurting. She needed something to drink. She turned around and headed to a hot dog stand, got a coke and swallowed it as quickly as possible. The cold, bubbly liquid helped cool her throat.

“Are you okay?” the vendor asked, looking a bit worried.

“What, me? S-sure...” Darlene stuttered. “Very much. I’m getting a screen test!”

“Oh good to hear ... so you go to the movies? You know, lots of stars pass here ... buying my dogs ... even once, Zeke Hillcrest had a coke right where you are standing now!” The vendor crossed his arms, obviously proud, holding a big fork in his hand. “And even lots of the ... well ... one-show stars buy my food. I have the best dogs by far!”

“One-show stars?” Darlene asked.

“Ya...” the vendor smirked. “you know that ... uhm ... snuff stuff ... like Sisters in Arms, or that Dusky horizons series. They are always cute gals$mdash;like you,” he leered, “and real nice, but well...” he shrugged. “They do one film and then you can buy their meat at some auction.”

“Uhh ... well...” Darlene blushed now, unsure what to say. “Y ... you don’t like that stuff?” she asked.

The vendor laughed. “Ohhh ... no, just the opposite. They are so hot to watch. I never miss one ... Especially Dusky Horizons.” He smiled. “They took the Western genre to a whole new level ... I mean, before it was all like old fashioned...”

“I ... know.” Darlene dragged a foot along the asphalt. “To be honest ... the film I applied for is one of those ... Dusky Horizons.”

“Oh really?” the vendor grabbed a bun and put a sausage on it. “Then ... well. good luck ... And this one is free!” he added onions and mustard and gave the hot dog to Darlene.

“Thank you!” Darlene said, smiling. “But Y-you don’t need to do that...”

“I will enjoy your show and fap a lot!” the man laughed, patting her shoulder. Then he looked more serious, eyeing her up and down. “And you really look gorgeous ... and ... well...”

“Thanks, Mister...”

“By the way ... my name is Hendrik!” he offered his hand. “If you need some tricks or things like that. I can help you. As I said, I know some of the guys here...”

“OK, Hendrik ... I’m Darlene!” She took the hand.

“So ... was it a really tough interview? You look like they really put you through the mill.”

“Well, there was the casting couch...”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard rumors about that on the street. I hear it really is a casting couch: the directors don’t just use it to get laid, they test your reactions.”

“Well, mine got tested all right. First he fucked me but didn’t let me cum Then he put a noose around my neck and made me imagine myself hanging; I came so hard ... But even after that I’m still horny.”

“Well, I could eat ... something, you know...?”

“Really?” she asked.

“Sure. Just a sec...” he whistled loudly. Another vendor a half-block away looked up and whistled back. Hendrik pointed at his cart, then pumped his hips a couple of times. The other vendor nodded. Hendrik turned a control and closed the cover on his cart. “He’ll watch my cart while we’re gone. My place is just a couple of stops away. What do you say?”

“Sounds wonderful,” Darlene answered. She followed Hendrik down the steps to the northbound platform. A few minutes later, Hendrik led her to a nearby cluster of buildings and up the elevator to his apartment. As soon as they were inside, he led Darlene to the bedroom. “Here, kid, lie down and let Hendrik take care of you.”

“Nuh, uh,” Darlene said, “Let’s take our clothes off. If you’re going to do me, I want to be able to see you.”

“Okay.”

Hendrik started pulling his clothes off, tossing them into a corner. Darlene took off her shoes, undid her shirt, her slacks, then took off her bra and panties.

“Wow!” Hendrik said when he saw Darlene naked. “All that for me!” He was already more than half-erect. He looked again, noted the mess on her pussy, and clicked his tongue. “Tsk! Messy. Just a sec.” He went into the bathroom and came out with a warm, damp towel. He reached down between her legs to clean between them, and slowly, lovingly sponged off her privates.

Hendrik’s hands gently urged Darlene to lie down on the bed, face up. He settled down between her legs and began licking the tip of Darlene’s clit. He seemed to be in no hurry, just enjoying the taste and texture of her special place as his tongue swirled over it. When he was satisfied with that, he began licking the labia. Then he returned to her button, making her gasp in pleasure.

This felt very nice, but her time on the casting couch had left Darlene very needy indeed, and she whined in protest at the slow pace. Hendrik glanced up at her face and nodded, then inserted his tongue into her center.

“Ahhhhh...” Darlene moaned. Hendrik sped up just a little, but went no deeper, seeming to be lost in the taste of her cunt. After a few minutes of pleasurable torture, Darlene was relieved when he transferred his attentions to her clit again, wrapping his lips warmly around it and teasing it with his tongue. But Hendrik still moved slowly, savoring the sensations in his mouth.

But something was missing for Darlene. This was incomplete. She pulled herself up from the well of tingling pleasure emanating from her center, and realized what it was. She touched Hendrik’s cheek gently with one hand. “Me, too,” she said.

Hendrik pulled back just long enough to say, “Okay, if you want.” He turned around until his crotch was centered over her mouth, then resumed licking her.

Darlene opened her mouth and wrapped it around the vendor’s organ. She tasted his precum and found herself even more turned on. She wrapped one hand around it and began sucking it in and out of her mouth, trying to match Hendrik’s rhythm.

They went on like that for minutes that seemed to last an eternity of pleasure, but Darlene found she couldn’t stand the slow pace. She sped up, moving her hands and lips faster, licking Hendrik’s frenum whenever it passed over her tongue. Yes! She wanted to make her lover scream in pleasure, cum hard, pump Darlene’s mouth full of his semen. The moans from Hendrik’s throat told her how fast, how hard, she needed to suck at each moment, and she was soon rewarded with a mouthful of cum. She slowed down as Hendrik’s noises started to sound more like pain than pleasure.

The vendor hummed a sound that might have been “Thank you,” and kept licking Darlene’s sensitive button. She was aware of a change inside her, a growing need ... She took her mouth from Hendrik’s penis and pleaded, “More ... please...?”

Hendrik responded by speeding up, sucking a little harder on Darlene’s clit while three fingers slipped quietly into her well-lubricated and almost oversensitive cunt. Darlene felt the storm build, then let go with a ferocity that whited her consciousness out with pleasure. She cried out once, then collapsed back on the bed.

Hendrik licked up her juices as she came, then slowly backed off and kissed his way from her clit to her bellybutton. He paused, looked up at Darlene, and saw that she had slipped into a deep sleep, a satiated smile on her lips.

“Yeah!” Hendrik said quietly, and lay down next to Darlene, wrapping his arms around her chest. He put his head next to hers, inhaling her scent, and in a few minutes was snoring quietly.

Darlene woke up to the smell of coffee and a mixture of smells that made her belly rumble with hunger. Hendrik was moving around in the kitchen. She pulled her panties on and went into the kitchen. “What smells so wonderful?”

“I’ve got dinner in the oven: pizza with ‘da meats’: pepperoni, Italian sausage, meatballs, ham, Canadian bacon, onions, and fresh roma tomatoes.”

“Wow, so that’s what smells so good.”

“Sure is, and I make my own dough. But it’s too much trouble to make for just one, so I only have it when there’s somebody over. Like today.” Hendrik turned and grinned at Darlene.

“Okay, you sold me. And speaking of wow ... WOW!”

“Yeah,” Hendrik grinned again. “Wow!” He poured a cup of coffee and offered it to Darlene.

Darlene looked at the clock. Early evening. “Hey, what about your cart?”

“Vangelis—that’s the vendor down the block from me — is an old friend. I called him, and he put my cart next to his and ran it, too. He keeps half the profits from my cart. That’s our deal when one of us wants to take off a few hours to get laid, deal with bureaucracy, see a doctor, whatever. I’ll have to go retrieve it before he goes home for the night at eight, but there’s lots of time for dinner.”

The timer buzzed, and Hendrik opened the door and used a paddle to pull a beautifully gooey pizza out of the oven. He set it to cool while he opened a bottle of Barbara Superiore and poured two glasses. Then he cut the pizza into six slices and put three on each plate. He gestured and they sat down and started eating.

“It actually works out pretty well,” Hendrik explained after their initial hunger had been assuaged. “You see, there are some hours where there’s more traffic at the buildings where he is, and other hours more where I am. When one of us is running both carts, he just moves to whichever spot is busiest right then. So the total sales are almost as good as if both of us were there. Of course, whoever’s doing that has to really be on the hop at busy times.”

“Well, I must say you’re quite a good cook. You have really good hot dogs, but this is just so much better than even a perfect hot dog...”

“I know. I’ve been experimenting. I may be able to come up with a way to get a pizza oven into a cart. If I can make it work, I’ll graduate from selling food to selling carts.”

“Good for you!”

“Well, good for you that you got a screen test!”

They toasted each other again, then sat down on the couch to watch TV for a while.

During a commercial, Hendrik turned to Darlene and said, “I’ve been looking for a good way to say this, but I haven’t found one, so I’ll just be direct. Any time you get horny...” he paused and handed Darlene a card, “just give me a call. That’s my cell number. Just think of me as a fuck buddy you can call on whenever you like. Or ... more like your own personal groupie. You want, I’m available, okay?”

“Wow! Okay for sure!” Darlene said and kissed him.

After dinner, Hendrik went off to get his cart from Vangelis. “Go through the DVDs in that rack and pick a couple for us to watch when I get back.”

While he was gone, Darlene got out a two DVD set: “The Best of Dusky horizons”. It had all the sex scenes, the major plot twists, and of course the hangings from the first 15 movies in that series. The two watched the first one, then got about halfway through the second, before they couldn’t stand it any more. Darlene started unbuttoning Hendrik’s shirt and kissed her way down Hendrick’s chest. He didn’t quite rip Darlene’s clothes off, but it was a close thing. He wanted her to get on top, and she was happy to oblige, controlling their movements so they both came at about the same time. They fell onto the bed and were asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Darlene spent the next two evenings studying the script. First she read through the entire script to get the overall “arc” of the story. Then she read the director’s notes on how her two scenes should be interpreted. Then she went through the scenes, memorizing her lines and cues.

Darlene took her supervisor aside Wednesday afternoon and explained that she had something she needed to take care of on Thursday, and would either come to work around 2:30 or not be in at all, depending on how things worked out. The supervisor looked Darlene over carefully. “You have stars in your eyes. I know the look. Which studio are you auditioning with?”

“Vortex Features. I’m hoping to land a role in the Dusky Horizons series.”

“Well, I wish you the best of luck.” The supervisor gave Darlene a pat on the rump. “Now get back to work.”

Darlene smiled and got.

Thursday

Darlene called Hendrik at 7 in the morning. “Hey, Hendrik, can I come over this morning? I want to try a little rehearsal with a partner. We’ll be done before you have to go set up your cart.”

“Sure. Come over when you’re ready.”

Darlene poured some cereal in a bowl, added milk, and ate rapidly. She threw on some clothes, brushed her hair, and took the #5 train. From there it was only a short walk to Hendrik’s place. The vendor opened the door and greeted Darlene with a kiss. “C’mon in. And you can stay as long as you need to. I called Vangelis and he’ll run both carts unless I call him back and say I don’t need him today.

“Great.”

“So, what can I do for you?”

“I think I’ve memorized all my lines from these two scenes—the ones with thick red lines down the margin—but I want to have somebody feed me my cues and make sure I can say them without having to think about it.”

“Hey, glad to help!”

Darlene opened the script to the arrest scene and handed it to Hendrik. Here, start with “Sheriffs. Everybody stay where you are!”

They spent the next two hours going over the script.

“Did I do good, ma’am?” Hendrik prompted.

“You were ... acceptable.” Darlene drawled.

“I think that pause should be just a trifle shorter. You don’t want the audience to laugh at that point, do you?”

“I guess not. Let’s try it again.”

Later

Hendrik gave her the cue: “Hey, what about me?”

“Sorry, Trudi. I’ve chosen Caroline this time.”

Hendrik applauded. “Perfect!”

“I’d say you’ve got it cold. I’m not the director, but I think you’ve got the timing right and you’re putting across the emotions you want. Go out there and knock ‘em dead!”