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viv-hollande · 1 month ago

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Oh boy howdy, this is a long one.

Ok, so this has been brewing for a while, and I think it's more or less crystalized into a proper, if rambling, argument so here goes.

This example was the incitement of this argument, but the problem is really much bigger than just this. So . . .

The United States did not commit the Cambodian Genocide. The United States is not responsible for the Cambodian Genocide.

Pol Pot, and the Khmer Rouge he commanded, were responsible for the conception, planning, and execution of the Cambodian Genocide. Nobody was twisting their arm. No one was ordering them around. They, independently, made the incomprehensibly evil choice to commit genocide, and the ultimate responsibility for that genocide lies on their shoulders alone.

The United States was responsible for an illegal (both internationally and domestically) and grossly immoral bombing campaign that killed an unconscionable number of Cambodian civilians, and directly contributed to destabilizing Cambodia and driving recruitment for the Khmer Rouge. The United States is partially responsible for fueling the Khmer Rouge's conquest of Cambodia.

But the United States is not responsible for the Cambodian Genocide, and anyone saying otherwise is engaging in genocide denialism and absolving by omission the true perpetrators of one of the most brutal and comprehensive genocides in human history.

The men who ordered the bombing of Cambodia were criminals. Their actions are, to me, incomprehensibly immoral. And yet the decision to commit genocide, especially to commit it in the most brutal and actively tortuous ways, ways that make mass rape and gas chambers seem tame (I am not fucking kidding DO NOT LOOK UP THE DETAILS OF THE CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE unless you are prepared to have a really bad day), is a decision that would be as alien to those men as their decisions are to me. For a human being to do such a thing . . . responsibility for that kind of act cannot be transferred lightly.

And to those who hold out and maintain that creating the conditions that allowed the Khmer Rouge to commit genocide gives the United States primary responsibility for the genocide, I'll note that none of you have ever blamed Osama bin Laden for the Iraq War.

And while we're at it . . .

If we do want to talk about international responsibility for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and/or the Cambodian Genocide, we should probably start with, you know, the nations that funded, supplied, armed, and militarily assisted the Khmer Rouge's insurgency.

Pol Pot didn't conquer Cambodia with American weapons. He conquered Cambodia with Soviet, Chinese, and North Vietnamese weapons. Between 40,000 and 60,000 Viet Cong fighters directly engaged in military action against the Sihanouk and Lon Nol governments (not to imply that either were anything other than thug rule of different shades) in alliance with the Khmer Rouge. If we're going to point fingers at the international community, I'm afraid the US doesn't even podium at this competition.

To reiterate, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were solely responsible for the Cambodian Genocide. Not the United States, not the Soviet Union, not China, not Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge, and the Khmer Rouge alone. You can litigate responsibility for who helped the Khmer Rouge rise to power, and YOU CAN AND SHOULD acknowledge American responsibility for our bombing campaigns in Cambodia (which has left the country littered with unexploded bombs that regularly kill random unfortunate civilians btw). But for years and years I have seen American bombing seated center stage while never once has the responsibility of Pol Pot's actual military allies been mentioned or even alluded to.

And this extends far beyond Cambodia. The 'America bad' crowd consistently overstate the degree of American involvement in our sordid interventionist history.

The United States provided limited support for the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, and deliberately and directly tried to destabilize the Allende regime in years prior, but it was Augusto Pinochet and his fellow Chilean Army officers who independently planned the coup because they wanted to, and because it furthered their own political aims, and they would have attempted such a coup without any American intervention, if or when the proper circumstances presented themselves.

The United States almost certainly facilitated the supplying of Saddam Hussein with dual-use chemical precursors to chemical weapons under the guise of agricultural aid, which helped prop up Ba'athist Iraq's existing chemical weapons program. The United States was attempting to maintain Iraq's ability to engage in chemical warfare against Iran in the ongoing Iran-Iraq War.

Subsequently, Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons to carry out the genocidal Halabja Massacre, as well as in the wider genocidal Anfal Campaign. It is basically unconfirmable, but likely, that some of the chemical weapons used in these attacks were created from US-supplied chemical precursors. The United States did knowingly lie and blame Iran for these massacres to protect Iraq and hobble Iran on the international stage. But it was Saddam Hussein, and Saddam Hussein alone, that committed these genocides.

Small diversion, but Saddam Hussein also carried out a genocide of the Marsh Arabs (despite the name, Marsh Arabs are ethnographically and ethnically distinct from Arabs) by draining the Mesopotamian Marshes (thus making this an ecocide as well as a genocide), forcing the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Marsh Arabs from their indigenous homeland. For those in the 'America bad' camp who still lionize Saddam Hussein and violent, genocidal dictators like him just because of their opposition to the United States, fuck you.

Real responsibility . . .

None of this is intended to minimize the United States' involvement in these and other horrible events, because it's not minimization to correctly characterize the nature of US involvement in them. It's being historically accurate. We can do that and acknowledge the things America is directly responsible for.

The United States was directly responsible for the 1915 invasion and subsequent occupation of Haiti until 1934 by US military forces under direct orders from Woodrow Fucking Wilson, which resulted in thousands of Haitian deaths and likely strongly contributed to the ascension of Papa Doc to power two decades later.

The United States was directly responsible for atrocities committed by United States forces in Vietnam, including massacres and bombing of civilians and the ecological devastation of enormous parts of the country with extremely carcinogenic pesticides that continue to cause cancer and birth defects in Vietnam today at a nearly incomprehensible rate.

And finally, the United States is and was directly responsible for our support for brutal regimes across the world, regardless of whether we were directly responsible for the crimes perpetrated in the affected nation.

That the United States is or is not directly involved in a particular incident has no bearing on how seriously our actions should be taken. To knowingly support and defend brutal dictatorial regimes is just as immoral as directly perpetrating the crimes of those regimes.

But I rarely have I seen a mention of Pinochet or Cambodia that doesn't center the United States' involvement, which flattens the crimes that took place and reduces them to rhetorical ammunition to use against America.

If your accounting of these events talks more about America's role than the actions of the perpetrators, then you aren't telling the story of these events properly. If one is telling these stories properly and centering the victims and their experiences, the perpetrators are impossible to miss because they are in the fucking room. America's role in these events must be included in a full retelling. It should have its own dedicated chapter or two or the story isn't complete. But it shouldn't be the whole damn book.

The Sorry State of Leftism

There is an infuriating kind of infantilization inherent to this kind of thinking. It is partially a result of the moralization of oppressor-oppressed dynamics where evil is solely the product of the imagined cohesive, organized oppressive 'system', and that implies or outright states that without the interference of the 'American empire' oppression, state violence, racial strife, indigeneity conflicts, and economic exploitation will greatly diminish or outright cease to exist. It denies entire races and ethnicities their fundamental humanity, which includes their extremely human ability to commit atrocities without direction from an outside force.

The United States is not an incorporeal devil planting foul thoughts into the minds of dictators and plotters. Far more often than not, the United States encourages and supports what is already there. American involvement in regime change and national destabilization in Latin America should be a topic of great discussion, but far too often these discussions omit the actual perpetrators of the crimes attributed to the United States, nor acknowledge that many of these coups and massacres and genocides around the world probably would have happened whether the United States was involved or not.

There is in addition a profound double-standard to which the United States (and Israel) is held; not one where the United States is extraordinarily and unfairly maligned, but one where the opponents of the United States are absolved, either by trivialization, omission, denialism, or apologism, of their actions, systemic inequalities, and unjust histories.

Frequently is the real, oppressive, colonial history of the United States with regard to native American Indians spoken of. Yet rarely do I see the same standard applied elsewhere.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many ethnic minorities in Russia, or in China? Did you know that, on the whole, minority communities in Russia and China are poorer and less developed than those of the majority ethic group? Have you ever noticed that many of the neighbors of both nations are both historically and currently extremely wary of them?

Have you ever wondered how the world's four largest countries, Russia, Canada, the United States, and China, all got that big? Could there, perhaps, be something they have in common?

Isn't it odd that Arab culture and ethnicity, originating from one little peninsula in the Middle East, achieved hegemony over more than a dozen states as distant as Morocco and Indonesia? I guess it's only cultural genocide when white people do it.

American military support for Israel become a global cause célèbre, yet I have not seen mention Saudi Arabia's ongoing war in Yemen outside of token lists of "Eyes on . . . so and so" in years.

As I am writing, Greta Thunberg's little PR stunt with her dumb empty aid yacht is front and center on every corner of this accursed website, and yet not once in the year-and-a-half since October 7 have I seen mention of the years-long ongoing Saudi blockade of Yemen. Not. Fucking. Once.

So many here cheer on Russia and call Ukrainians Nazis. They ignore or, worse, deny the Uyghur genocide because it is inconvenient for their anti-American agenda. They hyper-focus on the violence Israel is committing in Gaza, and ignore every other brutal or genocidal conflict on the planet except to virtue-signal their moral correctitude by reblogging meaningless lists of who to 'keep your eyes on' compiled by people who obviously know fuck-all about the actual conflicts they list except that they are useful for their own projection of personal righteousness.

The historical imperialism of the Soviet Union is ignored because it is inconvenient to the historical narrative of 'America bad'. The current imperialism of China and Russia are ignored because it is inconvenient to the current narrative of 'America bad'.

Long lists of books on the history of Israel and Palestine are presented everywhere as essential reading, but memory of the crimes of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, the twin perpetrators of the two largest sets of atrocities and genocides in human fucking history which continue to have lasting repercussions on the contemporary world are not considered important. The crimes of the Soviet Union, a strong contender for a not-so-distant silver medal in that competition, are not merely ignored, but often denied.

Hamas, a brutal regime that executes queer people, murders political opponents and journalists, commits war crimes and terror attacks on civilians, deprives the people it rules over of liberty, steals aid from the mouths of Palestinian children, and commits all manner of other horrors universal among authoritarian regimes against the people of Palestine is hailed as a revolutionary liberator. Fuck. Off.

I am not saying and will never say that we shouldn't talk about America's very real crimes. Concerning our initial example, I think the story of the US bombing campaign in Cambodia, and Indochina more broadly, deserves far more attention than it currently gets. I think especially that comparatively much is said but not much is done. If I were president, one of the many things I would do would be to send over the US army or UN peacekeepers or whoever the fuck I can get and have them doing nothing but bomb disposal for the next half-century.

The point of this post is not to downplay American crimes, nor is it an attempt at whataboutism. It is to hopefully push back a bit of the blindness brought on by this 'America bad' obsession and get more people to acknowledge the reality of our history, and perhaps open some people's perspectives a little bit to get them to subject America's opponents to a great deal more scrutiny. Us-vs-them can be hard to fully overcome. I sure as hell haven't, but I like to think I'm making progress.

The potential to create and maintain oppressive systems, commit genocide, conduct imperialism, obliterate or assimilate foreign cultures, exploit the labor of others, excuse systemic and literal violence for the sake of personal profit, is universal. We are all capable of it; many nations and peoples, around the world and throughout all of human history, have done so.

Stop infantilizing and sanitizing the oppressed peoples of the world. As humans they are just as capable of committing all of the evils of the world as today's oppressors. By that same token, they are also capable of joining hands with those of us who are fighting for a better world for all people, without exception.

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just-ornstein · 1 year ago

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[JK] My first job was as an Assistant Producer for a video game company called Interplay in Irvine, CA. I had recently graduated from Boston University's School of Fine Arts with an MFA in Directing (I started out as a theatre nerd), but also had some limited coding experience and a passion for computers. It didn't look like I'd be able to make a living directing plays, so I decided to combine entertainment and technology (before it was cool!) and pitched myself to Brian Fargo, Interplay's CEO. He gave me my first break. I packed up and moved out west, and I've been producing games ever since.

[JK] I loved my time at EA. I was there for almost a full decade, and learned a tremendous amount about game-making, and met the most talented and driven people, who I remain in touch with today. EA gave me many opportunities, and never stopped betting on me. I worked on The Sims for nearly 5 years, and then afterwards, I worked on console action games as part of the Visceral studio. I was the Creative Director for the 2007 game "The Simpsons", and was the Executive Producer and Creative Director for the 2009 game "Dante's Inferno".

[JK] I haven't played in a long while, but I do recall that after the game shipped, my wife and I played the retail version for some time -- we created ourselves, and experimented with having a baby ahead of the actual birth of our son (in 2007). Even though I'd been part of the development team, and understood deeply how the simulation worked, I was still continually surprised at how "real" our Sims felt, and how accurate their responses were to having a baby in the house. It really felt like "us"!

Now for some of the development and lore related questions:

[JK] So I ended up in the incredibly fortunate position of creating the shipping neighborhoods for The Sims 2, and recruiting a few teammates to help me as we went along.

Around the same time, we started using the Buy/Build tools to make houses we could save, and also bring them into each new build of the game (correcting for any bugs and incompatibilities). With the import tool, we could load Sims into these houses. In time, this "vanguard QA" process turned into a creative endeavor to define the "saved state" of the neighborhoods we would actually end up shipping with the game.

On playtesting & the leftover sims data on various lots:

Basically, we were in the late stages of development, and the Save Game functionality wasn't quite working. In order to test the game properly, you really needed to have a lot of assets, and a lot of Sims with histories (as if you'd been playing them for weeks) to test out everything the game had to offer. So I started defining a set of characters in a spreadsheet, with all their tuning variables, and worked with engineering to create an importer, so that with each new build, I could essentially "load" a kind of massive saved game, and quickly start playing and testing.

It was fairly organic, and as the game's functionality improved, so did our starter houses and families.

The thought process behind the creation of the iconic three neighborhoods:

I would not say it was particularly planned out ahead of time. We knew we needed a few saved houses to ship with the game; Sims 1, after all, had the Goth house, and Bob Newbie's house. But there wasn't necessarily a clear direction for what the neighborhood would be for Sims 2. We needed the game to be far enough along, so that the neighborhood could be a proper showcase for all the features in the game. With each new feature that turned alpha, I had a new tool in my toolbox, and I could expand the houses and families I was working on. Once we had the multi-neighborhood functionality, I decided we would not just have 1 starter neighborhood, but 3. With the Aging feature, Memories, a few wacky objects, plus a huge catalog of architectural and decorative content, I felt we had enough material for 3 truly distinct neighborhoods. And we added a couple of people to what became the "Neighborhood Team" around that time.

Later, when we created Strangetown, and eventually Veronaville, I believe we went back and changed Pleasantville to Pleasantview... because I liked the alliteration of "Verona-Ville", and there was no sense in having two "villes". (To this day, by the way, I still don't know whether to capitalize the "V" -- this was hotly debated at the time!)

Pleasantview:

Anyway, to answer your question, we of course started with Pleasantview. As I recall, we were not quite committed to multiple neighborhoods at first, and I think it was called Pleasantville initially, which was kind of a nod to Simsville... but without calling it Simsville, which was a little too on the nose. (There had also been an ill-fated game in development at Maxis at the time, called SimsVille, which was cancelled.) It's been suggested that Pleasantville referred to the movie, but I don't think I ever saw that movie, and we just felt that Pleasantville kind of captured the feeling of the game, and the relaxing, simple, idyllic world of the Sims.

Pleasantview started as a place to capture the aging feature, which was all new to The Sims 2. We knew we had toddlers, teens, and elders to play with, so we started making families that reflected the various stages of family life: the single mom with 3 young kids, the parents with two teens, the old rich guy with two young gold-diggers, etc. We also had a much greater variety of ethnicity to play with than Sims 1, and we had all new variables like sexual orientation and memories. All these things made for rich fodder for a great diversity of families. Then, once we had family trees, and tombstones that carried the actual data for the dead Sims, the doors really blew open. We started asking ourselves, "What if Bella and Mortimer Goth could be characters in Sims 2, but aged 25 years? And what if Cassandra is grown up? And what if Bella is actually missing, and that could be a fun mystery hanging over the whole game?" And then finally the "Big Life Moments" went into the game -- like weddings and birthdays -- and we could sort of tee these up in the Save Game, so that they would happen within the first few minutes of playing the families. This served both as a tutorial for the features, but also a great story-telling device.

Anyway, it all just flowed from there, as we started creating connections between families, relationships, histories, family trees, and stories that we could weave into the game, using only the simulation features that were available to us. It was a really fun and creative time, and we wrote all of the lore of Sims 2 within a couple of months, and then just brought it to life in the game.

Strangetown:

Strangetown was kind of a no-brainer. We needed an alternate neighborhood for all the paranormal stuff the Sims was known for: alien abduction, male pregnancy, science experiments, ghosts, etc. We had the desert terrain, which created a nice contrast to the lush Pleasantville, and gave it an obvious Area 51 vibe.

The fact that Veronaville is the oldest file probably reflects the fact that it was finished first, not that it was started first. That's my guess anyway. It was the simplest neighborhood, in many ways, and didn't have as much complexity in terms of features like staged big life moments, getting the abduction timing right, the alien DNA thing (which I think was somewhat buggy up until the end), etc. So it's possible that we simply had Veronaville "in the can", while we put the last polish on Pleasantville (which was the first and most important neighborhood, in terms of making a good impression) and Strangeville (which was tricky technically).

Veronaville:

But my personal favorite was Veronaville. We had this cool Tudor style collection in the Build mode catalog, and I wanted to ship some houses that showed off those assets. We also had the teen thing going on in the aging game, plus a lot of romance features, as well as enemies. I have always been a Shakespeare buff since graduate school, so putting all that together, I got the idea that our third neighborhood should be a modern-day telling of the Romeo and Juliet story. It was Montys and Capps (instead of Montagues and Capulets), and it just kind of wrote itself. We had fun creating the past family trees, where everyone had died young because they kept killing each other off in the ongoing vendetta.

[JK] You know, I have never seen The Lone Gunmen, and I don't remember making any kind of direct references with the Strangetown Sims, other than the general Area 51 theme, as you point out. Charles London helped out a lot with naming Sims, and I'm pretty sure we owe "Vidcund" and "Lazlo" to him ... though many team members pitched in creatively. He may have had something in mind, but for me, I largely went off of very generic and stereotypical ideas when crafting these neighborhoods. I kind of wanted them to be almost "groaners" ... they were meant to be tropes in every sense of the word. And then we snuck in some easter eggs. But largely, we were trying to create a completely original lore.

[JK] Well, I think we kind of pushed it with The Sims 2, to be honest, and I remember getting a little blow-back about Bunny Broke, for example. Bunny Broke was the original name for Brandi Broke. Not everyone found that funny, as I recall, and I can understand that. It must have been changed before we shipped.

We also almost shipped the first outwardly gay Sims in those neighborhoods, which was bold for EA back in 2004. My recollection was that we had set up the Dreamers to be gay (Dirk and Darren), but I'm looking back now and see that's not the case. So I'm either remembering incorrectly (probably) or something changed during development.

In general we just did things that we found funny and clever, and we just pulled from all the tropes of American life.

[JK] The alien abduction started in Sims 1, with a telescope object that was introduced in the "Livin' Large" expansion pack. That's when some of the wackier ideas got introduced into the Sims lore. That pack shipped just before I joined Maxis in 2001; when I got there, the team had shipped "House Party" and was underway on "Hot Date". So I couldn't tell you how the original idea came about, but The Sims had this 50's Americana vibe from the beginning, and UFOs kind of played right into that. So the alien abduction telescope was a no-brainer to bring back in Sims 2. The male pregnancy was a new twist on the Sims 1 telescope thing. It must have been that the new version (Sims 2) gave us the tech and flexibility to have male Sims become pregnant, so while this was turned "off" for the core game, we decided to take advantage of this and make a storyline out of it. I think this really grew out of the fact that we had aliens, and alien DNA, and so it was not complicated to pre-bake a baby that would come out as an alien when born. The idea of a bunch of guys living together, and then one gets abducted, impregnated, and then gives birth to an alien baby ... I mean, I think we just all thought that was hilarious, in a sit-com kind of way. Not sure there was much more to it than that. Everything usually came from the designers discovering ways to tweak and play with the tech, to get to funny outcomes.

[JK] Possibly we were just testing the functionality of the Wants/Fears and Memories systems throughout development, and some stuff got left over.

[JK] I can't remember, but that sounds like something we would have done! I'm pretty sure we laid the groundwork for more stories that we ended up delivering :) But The Sims 2 was a great foundation for a lot of continued lore that followed.

I once again want to thank Jonathan Knight for granting me this opportunity and taking the time from his busy schedule to answer my questions.

#BURNING LORE QUESTIONS FINALLY ANSWERED!! :D #the sims 2 #ts2 #sims 2 #ea games #ea #electronic arts #sims #the sims #strangetown #veronaville #pleasantview #jonathan knight interview #the sims 2 development #sims 2 development #sims 2 beta #I'm so glad I got this opportunity man.

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twice-inamillion · 1 year ago

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The Company

High Mile Club

Smut (Deep penetration, orgasm, turning into sex toy)

Chapter 11

3,210 Words

(A bit of info on Wendy and future endeavors within the company. OC's new flight attendant, Kim Ji-Yoon (Kim, Jisoo's sister), becomes OC's new sex toy. OC goes to visit Jessica in San Francisco on his time off.)

It’s been a few weeks since Wendy offered you her virginity in exchange for leaving Irene alone. You gladly took the offer of deflowering another idol and even continued having sex after that one time.

You stopped pursuing Irene for a while. Irene wondered what was going on at first but didn’t ask. It was better for her if you didn’t call her to satisfy your needs and thought that you might have found someone else to fill that role. This was better for her, and she didn't look into it much. Little did she realize that you were satisfied with your needs by one of her members.

Wendy and her team members exit the room after going over their weekly emulation and head to the cafeteria. They continue to talk as they line up to scan their IDs when suddenly you feel someone bump into you.

You turn around and see the newly debuted group Red Velvet with their food trays, “I’m sorry, I bumped into you.”

”It’s okay, don’t worry about it, Seulgi.”

Seulgi slightly bows and apologizes for not looking, “It’s okay, you don’t need to apologize, it was an accident.” Seulgi smiles and bows once more.

You grab your food and find a table to have your meal. Out from afar, you see the Red Velvet members walking in your direction. They kindly smile as they pass you until you see Wendy at the end. You give her a soft grin, causing her to misstep and almost drop her food. “Oh, are you okay?” catching her and preventing her from falling.

“Umm, yes. Thank you.”

”Be careful; we don’t want you getting hurt,” you say as you hold her hand.

Wendy nods and tries to pull away when you say, “I’ll see you tonight.”

She freezes up and stares at her members, waving at her from the table. Wendy recalls the last session, making her remember the soreness she felt from getting her insides stretched.

————

During one of your meetings with the company executives, you feel a couple of text messages come in all at once. You secretly pull out your phone and see that you got a couple of messages from Jessica and open them up.

“It must be early in the morning over there, but I wanted to tell you that I went to get an ultrasound taken. They said the baby is healthy and will probably know the gender during the next visit.”

You scroll down and see Jessica sent you a picture of her ultrasound. Now, it feels real; you’re going to be a father. You stare at the photo for a couple of seconds, and then you see another message pop up: a photo of Jessica showing her baby bump.

“I will be free in a few days, so I can visit you soon.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then. It’s late over here, and I’m ready to go to sleep.”

”Goodnight, and I'll message you when I depart. .”

——

As you continue with your meeting, one of the executives mentions the importance of expanding into other areas within the entertainment industry, such as commercials and dealing with actors.

You mentioned that you’ve also had the same idea and even considered setting up an acting label in the company.

With some positive feedback from the rest of the executives, you all come to the conclusion of increasing your reach in the industry and increasing profits by creating an acting subdivision.

“Do you have any suggestions on who to bring into the acting label?” asks one of the executives.

“I think it would be nice to get some that are already established in the industry and some new talent.”

”What about recruiting someone well-known like Park Min-young? She’s had a good amount of roles and is attractive?”

One of the executive’s assistants pulls up Park Min-young’s acting profile and puts it on the large screen.

“She has a youthful face. How old is she?”

”She's 28 years old, sir.”

“How many roles has she had so far?”

“About ten so far and one on the way.”

”Then we should look into recruiting her.”

”Will do, sir.”

“Any other suggestions?”

Another executive mentions, “For fresh new faces, how about Shin Hye-sun or Moon Ga-young?

”Send me their profiles, and I will look into them.”

”Also an upcoming actress, Lee Hyeri.”

”Okay, send it to my office or through my assistants,” as you wrap up the meeting and prepare for lunch.

———

Some of the trainees have noticed an increase in activity in the company's main building. For the past few days, they have seen blacked-out sedans and bodyguards in the main lobby.

”What do you think is going on?”

”Maybe investors?”

”Yeah, maybe.”

A sedan pulls up, and they see a bodyguard come out from the passenger door, then head to the rear door and open it. Out comes a woman dressed in a nice outfit. The bodyguard escorts the woman into the lobby and is greeted by one of the employees.

“Hey, isn’t that the actress from that popular drama?”

”Oh, you’re right. What is she doing here?”

”Wait, do you think they might be recruiting actresses to the company?”

”That would be cool, maybe they might set up an acting division. I would be interested in joining if that’s the case.”

“Let’s go say hi.”

The two girls walk calmly towards the group gathered at the help desk. “Umm, do you happen to be the actress from ****?”

The actress softly nods before she is interrupted by one of the CEO's assistants, “Thank you for meeting with us. Let’s move on to one of our meeting rooms.”

The two girls watch as the group heads to the hallway and press the elevator button.

“See, I told you it was her.”

”You’re right; let's tell the others, they’re going to be excited!”

———

“Welcome aboard, sir.”

“Thank you. How are you doing?”

”I’m doing well. Let me help you with your items.”

Ji-yoon takes your bag and places it onto one of the seats. She helps adjust your chair and asks, “Would you like a drink before liftoff?”

”Just the usual.”

”Of course,” and walks to the minibar. You notice a difference in her outfit but can’t seem to get what it is. It isn’t until she bends over to fix her shoelace that you notice that her skirt is shorter than usual.

You can get a better view of her thighs and even a small glimpse of her red-laced panties. “Damn, she looks nice.”

Ji-yoon returns with your drink, “Here you go, sir.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kim.”

”You’re welcome, but call me by my given name.”

”You sure?”

”Of course, we’re not strangers.”

”Okay. Thank you, Ji-Yoon.”

”That’s better,” gives you a soft smile. “I’ll let the pilots know we're ready for takeoff.”

Ji-yoon exits the cockpit, comes towards you, “The pilots will be taking off shortly,” and grabs your seatbelt, fasting them.

She walks towards the seat before you and fastens her belt as the plane goes down the runway.

The pilot announces that the plane is in taxi and ready to take off. The plane turns around, and you hear the engines getting louder. The pilot steps on the accelerator to the max, feeling the plane moving rapidly down the runway.

Ji-yoon looks out the window, and you are surprised when you notice the sight of her laced panties. You ask yourself if this is an accident or if she is doing this on purpose, but don’t mind the nice view.

It’s a few hours into your flight; you’ve been going over the profiles of potential actresses that you are interested in joining the company.

“Would you like another drink, or should I prepare the bed for you?”

“Another drink would be nice.”

She goes off to the other side of the plane and brings your drink for you, “Here you go, sir.”

“I thought you said to act informally with you, but you keep calling me sir.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Call me by my name instead.”

Out of nowhere, the plane hits some turbulence, making Ji-yoon lose her balance and fall. Luckily, you get a hold of her, but she accidentally falls on your lap.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I spilled your drink all over you; let me clean it off.”

As she tries to get off, the plane experiences another round of turbulence and falls back on your lap. The intercom turns on, and you hear the pilot say, “Sorry for the bumpy ride, folks. We hit an air pocket, and it seems like we are going to go through some rough patches in the next few minutes. Please remain seated, and I’ll give it all clear.”

Ji-yoon looks at you embarrassed and says, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get you all dirty, but now this. Let me get off of you, and I’ll clean you once it’s okay to move around.”

She tries to get off of you, but you hold her back, “the pilot said to remain seated, remember.”

“But I’m sitting on you; I’m heavy.”

“Not at all. I don’t mind; I prefer you to stay and not get hurt.”

“Okay, I’ll stay,” as she positions herself better on your lap. Over the next few minutes, you both experience some turbulence, with Ji-yoon slightly grinding against your lower region.

Ji-yoon feels embarrassed sitting on her boss's lap but, at the same time, doesn’t complain since she finds you attractive. She knows that these types of things come with the job, especially the turbulence.

She positions herself better onto your lower region and feels your limp cock grinding against her ass. “He’s huge, it’s this big, and it’s not even hard. I’m curious how big it is.”

Your cock begins to harden as Ji-yoon slowly grinds her ass on you. She turns her head towards you and see that she’s biting her lip. Realizing that she’s enjoying it, you grab her by the waist and press your cock closer to her ass. You then see her unbutton her jacket and takes it off, giving you a full view of her nape.

You get closer, allowing your breath to reach the back of her nape, causing her to shiver. As you are about to go in for a kiss, you hear a, ”We are all clear. You are all more than welcome to unfasten your seatbelts and move around. I appreciate your understanding.”

Ji-yoon spans back to reality and quickly gets off of you. She tries to apologize for her actions but notices the large bulge in your pants. She bites her lip and says, “I’m sorry for spilling your drink on you; let me clean that up.”

You take off your dress shirt, revealing your build. She gasps and covers her mouth before going to the laboratory in the back of the plane. You follow her and see her scrubbing your shirt with soap and water, “It’s okay if you can’t get it off.”

”I just feel bad since it was my fault,” and she turns around, grazing her hand on your abs.

“How about we call it a day? I’m getting kind of tired.”

”Of course, let me set up your room for you.”

After a few minutes, Ji-yoon sets up your private quarters and puts your sleepwear on the bed.

Ji-yoon watches you change from across the plane. She notices you getting into getting completely nude and only putting on the shorts from the sleepwear she gave you. “Fuck, he’s huge.” She crosses her legs, “What are you thinking, Ji-Yoon? He’s your boss.” She pinches her arm to return to reality, but then she sees you pop out and ask, “Do you have a toothbrush? I can’t seem to find mine.”

She watches as you walk out of your room and into the aisle and can’t help but look up and down at your body.

“Y…yes. Let me check.”

You lay on your bed, staring at the window for a few minutes, when you remember you left your phone in the laboratory. You slowly slide the door to your room and go to the laboratory when you see Ji-yoon inside. You see her stand in front of the mirror and notice her holding your shirt to her nose. Not wanting to make it awkward, you try to go back but meet her eyes.

She freaks out, drops your shirt, and opens the door to explain herself. “It isn’t what it looks like.”

“Okay, I just came here to get my phone.”

She looks back, sees your phone in one of the storage compartments, and hands it back to you.

As she hands you her phone, you look down and see a thick but transparent substance running down her thighs. She looks down and is horrified, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. It's just that I’ve been neglected, and what happened earlier excited me.”

She covers her face with the sudden confession and tries to walk away, but you grab her hand, stopping her. “I get what you mean. How about having a little fun?” smirking.

“What do you mean?”

“How about we join the high mile club?”

Ji-Yoon is surprised by the suggestion, but the idea of having sex on an airplane, especially while working and with her boss, is a total turn-on.

She checks you out and bites her lip, letting you know her answer. You take the lead and head towards your room with a grin on your face.

After closing the door, you press her against the wall and go for a kiss. She reciprocates, giving you a sloppy kissing session. You undo her blouse and expose her white bra. Ji-yoon looks at you with hungry eyes, telling you to take her, and you do.

You go in for her neck and begin kissing it, slowly moving towards her chest and leaving a slight trail. You hear her moan and undo her bra, dropping it on the floor as you cup her small breast between your hands.

She gasps as you flick her nipples just before taking one into your mouth. “Ahh, fuck. That feels good.”

With your mouth attached to her breast, you pick her against the wall. She wraps her legs around your waist, enjoying the feeling of your tongue flicking her nub.

After a few minutes, you walk towards the bed and slowly place her down. She can’t wait to see what will happen next and undoes her skirt.

“Fuck, you’re hot. I want to see what you have right there,” as you move towards her lower region. In one quick move, you remove her panties using your mouth and toss it across the room.

During the next couple of minutes, prepping her for the main event. Ji-yoon breathes heavily as you eat out her shaven cunt, still anticipating for what’s to come. “Hmm, I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”

”You said your boyfriend has been neglecting you, right?”

”Yeah, he hasn’t touched me in a while. He’s been so busy with work that he doesn’t even have time to spend with me.”

”Let’s change that,” as you pull down your shorts.

Ji-yoon's mouth drops as she sees your massive length and asks herself if it’s going to fit.

“How about we join that mile club?”

”Yeah, let's.”

You bring her to the edge of the beg and spread her legs open. Hold your cock in your hand and smack it against her cunt, coating it with her nectar. You press your cock against her lower lips and slowly move towards her.

Ji-yoon watches as you spread her lips wide open, inserting your large cock inside her tight body. She grabs onto your arm and groans the deeper you go inside of her. “Fuck, you’re huge…”

With the outline of your cock inside Ji-yoon’s belly, you begin to thrust inside of her. You start off slowly, letting her get adjusted to your length before increasing the pace. Ji-yoon’s reaction shows that she’s enjoying it and plays with her small breasts.

“Who’s bigger? Me or your boyfriend?”

Ji-Yoon is surprised by your question, but the way your cock is hitting the right places and areas her boyfriend has never reached before, the answer was obvious, “You, you’re much bigger than my boyfriend. He can’t compare to you; he has a tiny cock.”

Satisfied by her response, you decide to reward her by fucking her in her deepest parts. You lift Ji-yoon’s legs up and place her in a mating press. She groans when you hit the end of her womb, a place untouched by her boyfriend.

“You like that?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“You’re so tight. Has your boyfriend ever reached this deep?”

“N..no, he hasn’t, it’s my first time. It feels so good.”

“Then let’s make this a great memory,” as you begin to thrust rough and rapidly.

“Fuck, you’re reaching so deep inside of me, I’m feeling weird.”

”It’s normal, you’re about to cum.”

”I’ve never felt that way when I have sex with my boyfriend.”

”Fuck, your boyfriend. You’re with me.”

Ji-Yoon is reaching her orgasm, trembling from the new experience. She’s just able to cum, when you stop and pull out, “Don’t please, I’m so close to cumming.”

“Beg for it.”

”Please, let me cum. I’ll do anything.”

”Anything?”

”Yes, just let me cum, and I’ll do anything.”

”Then be my fuck toy, let me use you whenever I want.”

You tease her cunt by inserting your fingers and scraping her walls. She arches her back as you tease her by preventing her first orgasm.

“Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll be your fuck toy. Just let me cum, please!”

There’s no need for a response as you pull out your sloppy fingers and shove your cock back instead of her begging womb. Ji-Yoon screams from the sudden shock of getting her womb stabbed, “fuck!! I'm cumming!”

Ji-yoon's walls tighten around your cock, to the point of choking it. She spasms violently, wetting the bed covers from the excitement.

With you reaching your own orgasm, you pull your cock and stand in front of Ji-Yoon, painting her face, breast and cunt completely white. “Do a peace sign for me” as you prepare to take a picture.

Ji-Yoon sticks her tongue and makes a peace sign with her face covered in your baby batter.

“Good morning, and welcome to San Francisco. Hope you had a good night's sleep, and thank you for flying with us, sir.”

You are looking at the view from the window and turning your head toward the aisle. You grab your phone and text Jessica on your arrival at the airport. Ji-Yoon pops your cock out of her mouth and smiles. “Thank you for the meal,” as she wipes bits of your load dripping from her mouth.

“Come on, baby girl, clean yourself up; we’re already here.”

#kpop smut #idol sister smut #Kim Jiyoon #Kim Jisoo’s sister #TM smut #The Company #The Company Series #idol x male reader #smut

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rubberbutton · 5 days ago

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For @asian-les-mis-week, I humbly present an AU concept: Kazakh Les Misérables. Look, all I can say is that this project snowballed considerably...

Now, to set the mood, here’s playlist of Kazakh and Central Asian music.

Hokay, so. The story opens in the early 19th century and the situation on the Kazakh steppe is precarious. The power of the Kazakh khanate is waning, and it has broken into three jüzes which have sworn loyalty to Russia in exchange for military assistance and protection. While the Kazakh khans had previously enjoyed a great degree of independence from interference, now Russia has begun to annex Kazakh lands and will continue to do so across this century.

Temir’s (Jean Valjean) family and clan have fallen into poverty. He takes work as a guide for a caravan traveling from Bukhara to Orenburg with some ten thousand sheep, three hundred bactrian camels, horses and wagons of cotton. The journey takes close to three months and is incredibly dangerous, and indeed they are set upon by one of the clans of the Middle Jüz. Deciding that he’s not getting paid enough for this, Temir abandons the caravan, and as he’s a Kazakh, he allowed to escape by the raiding party.

He should have been able to disappear into the steppe, but by Hugolian coincidence, he’s captured by authorities being pressured by Russia to account for the attack. He’s accused of working as a double-agent and intentionally leading the caravan into a trap. The truth doesn’t particularly matter, and indeed, the local khan took a cut of the profits of the raid. Temir narrowly escapes execution, but is sent for forced labor instead.

Some nineteen years later, he’s released. He gets by picking up whatever work he can and thieving when he can’t get work. When he steals a horse from a large herd, he’s caught red-handed by the old man it belongs to. Instead of punishment, the man offers him a job. Temir is, of course, preternaturally good at everything and brings great prosperity to the herds. The old man, having no sons of his own, makes Temir his heir and soon dies.

Sezim (Fantine) is an enslaved woman whom Temir purchases out of pity. Though he has no romantic interest in her or interest in taking a wife, he marries her to provide stability. She is already pregnant when he does so. She dies of tuberculosis when her daughter is eight.

Inzhu (Cosette) is Sezim’s beautiful and precocious daughter. Her father dotes on her, as you would expect. She is given a great deal of liberty and spends her time riding her horse wild and free across the steppe. Other than the death of her mother, it’s an idyllic childhood. At fifteen she begins a flirtation with one of the boys hired to help with her father’s herds: Anvar (Marius).

The idyl is interrupted by Kenesary’s Rebellion (1837–1847). The last Kazakh kahn, Kenesary Kasymov (or Qasymuly) unites the three Kazakh jüzes and incites an uprising against Russia. Whether this is a heroic fight for freedom in the face of tyranny or a cynical and self-serving attempt to reclaim and consolidate his own power, well, that depends on whom you ask. Anvar is true believer and is recruited by —

Khamza, Erasyl, Zhandos, and Bolat (shown here: Courfeyrac, Enjolras, Combeferre and Bahorel, respectively). Inzhu is devastated by his departure. A deeply annoyed Temir leaves to collect Anvar. He means merely to retrieve him and return but is swept along by events — events which I haven’t really worked through. Boring and depressing war stuff. He avoids engaging in outright combat, but he is, again, great at everything and makes himself useful; unfortunately so useful that they’re not willing to let him go.

Maksat (Javert) works as a spy, guide, and translator for the Russians. At some point, he identifies Temir as important/valuable. After one skirmish, he chases Temir into the mountains -- catching him would be a real career-advancing move. And then, because I’m a shameless Valvert partisan, Maksat is thrown from his horse and badly breaks his leg. Temir could leave him to die … They’re alone in the mountains and, wouldn’t you know it, a terrible blizzard is moving in. Whatever will they dooooo? Temir builds a makeshift shelter and, yes, there is huddling for warmth. Even, I daresay, some hurt/comfort.

As for the B plot: Temir had only planned to be away for a few weeks and he’d left one of his most trusted overseers to manage the herds and look after Inzhu. The weeks turn into months, then to years and the overseer either dies or runs off. Inzhu must manage the operation. A lot of things go wrong, but one of the more memorable incidents is run ins with cattle thieves and bandits (Patron-Minette). Perhaps an Éponine character defects from P-M to help Inzhu??

Bakhtiyar (Thénardier) is one of the cattle thieves with whom Inzhu must deal. He will go on to become a slave-trader at the end of this version as well.

Also, I haven’t quite worked out how Ulan (Gavroche) fits in, but I can tell you that he plays the dombra…

So, in the end, Temir and Anvar escape in the aftermath of the rebellion’s failure. At this point, Inzhu is in her twenties and has move on from her teenage infatuation with Anvar. Temir sustained serious injuries which continue to plague him and lead to his slow decline and death. Maksat dies in the fighting.

Hahaha, I’m just kidding. They both survive, shack up together and live happily ever after in a cute little yurt...

#asianlesmisweek #les mis

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whencyclopedia · 1 month ago

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Harriet Tubman: Visionary American Hero

Harriet Tubman (circa 1822-1913) was a former slave, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. She served as a cook, nurse, scout, and spy for the Union Army during the American Civil War and, in her later years, established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged in Auburn and Fleming, New York, now a National Historic Site.

Born as a slave in Maryland, Tubman escaped in 1849, making her way to Philadelphia and freedom. She then returned to Maryland to free her family and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, working with fellow abolitionists William Still (1819-1902), Passmore Williamson (1822-1895), Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), John Brown (1800-1859), and many others in assisting freedom seekers (fugitive slaves) in their flight from slavery.

She supported armed resistance to the "peculiar institution" and helped John Brown plan his assault on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, which they hoped would encourage a large-scale slave revolt. The raid failed, and Brown was executed, but Tubman continued her advocacy for military action against slaveholders, helping to recruit Black soldiers and serving as guide and scout on the Combahee River Raid (Raid on Combahee Ferry) in 1863, which freed over 750 slaves.

After the Civil War, Tubman advocated for women's rights and civil rights from her home in Auburn, New York, established her Home for the Aged, and freely donated to any cause that advocated for equal rights for all. She died of pneumonia in 1913 and was buried with semi-military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn. In the present day, she is remembered as a great American advocate for freedom and justice for all.

Early Life, Injury, & Family

According to writers Jean Marie Wiesen and Rita Daniels, Tubman's maternal grandmother, known as Modesty, was "an Ashanti maiden…born in Ghana, on the Gold Coast of Africa" and was "among the hundreds of West Africans captured from her village in the late 1700s" (14). Tubman's mother, Harriet ("Rit") Green, married Ben Ross circa 1808 and had nine children, including Araminta ("Minty") Ross (born circa 1822), who would become Harriet Tubman.

The family was separated as Rit was owned by the Brodess family while Ben was a slave of the Thompsons. Since any children born of an enslaved woman were enslaved by her owners, all the children came to be the property of Mary Pattison Brodess and her son Edward. Edward further separated the family by hiring them out to different locations and, at one point, selling two of Tubman's sisters.

When Tubman was six years old, she was hired out to a woman as a nursemaid and, whenever the infant woke and cried, Tubman was whipped. She took to wearing layers of clothing as protection, which may have helped, but still carried the scars of those whippings for the rest of her life.

In 1835, when Tubman was around 13, she was sent on an errand, along with the plantation's cook, to a local store for a few provisions. Tubman later recalled that she was ashamed of how her hair looked, even covered with a shawl, and waited outside the shop while the cook went in. An overseer, chasing a fugitive slave, asked Tubman to help stop him, and she refused. The overseer then hurled a 2-pound weight at the fleeing slave but missed, striking Tubman in the head. Scholar Kate Clifford Larson writes:

The last thing she remembered was the overseer "raising up his arm to throw an iron weight at one of the slaves and that was the last I knew." She remembered vividly how the weight "broke my skull and cut a piece of that shawl clean off and drove it into my head. They carried me to the house all bleeding and fainting. I had no bed, no place to lie down on at all, and they lay me on the seat of the loom, and I stayed there all that day and next."

(42)

Tubman was sent back to the fields the next day, working "with the blood and sweat rolling down my face till I couldn't see" (Larson, 42) but was finally allowed to be treated by her mother, an herbalist healer, who nursed her back to health. According to Larson, this injury resulted in temporal lobe epilepsy, characterized by sleeping spells in which she would experience visions she understood as sent by God. She would remain in these states until she suddenly woke or "persistent shaking by her fellow slaves brought her back to reality, though she protested that she hadn't been asleep at all" (Larson, 43-44).

These visions would continue throughout her life and, she claimed, often told her where to go, when, and how to find those who would offer help to freedom seekers. She claimed to have seen John Brown in her visions, for example, years before she met him.

⇒ Harriet Tubman: Visionary American Hero

#History #HarrietTubman #Abolitionism #Slavery #USHistory #WHE

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mariacallous · 5 months ago

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Leia Organa, along with the likes of Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, learned that there were few ways in which any form of sustained ethical choices could be made while operating under Palpatine's rule. If decisions were put before committees or raised as bills and amendments on the Senate floor, they were often liable for alteration or manipulation by Imperial political advisors or governors to create the outcome they desired, while also smearing the reputations of those senators who had been the driving forces. So complicated was the process of navigating the various pitfalls of Imperial politics that Senator Daho Sajan once wrote to a compatriot that "the Senate increasingly resembles a rigged casino. Given that Palpatine always win the political games, it seems pointless to play unless you can also secure your own prizes at the same time." Sajan was later executed for some unspecified form of treason, so it appears that he did not end up playing the game well enough.

Records of the decisions taken by the Senate - records that the Empire itself made sure were well-preserved and dispersed to the relevant worlds - are replete with examples of senators signing off on decisions that then had widespread negative effects. Campaigns to help the starving population of Wobani resulted in the planet being converted into a prison and labor camp, thereby providing "accommodation and food" for those trapped there. A bill requesting additional employment opportunities on Corella led to the shipyards becoming an associated offshoot of Kuat Drive Yards to help construct new Star Destroyers. The result for the inhabitants of the planet was heavy pollution in the upper atmosphere. For everyone else it was the growing shadow of Star Destroyers in orbit above their worlds. Shortly after the Empire was founded, Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora was a strong dissenter against the planned Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill that would seek to phase out the clone army and replace them with civilian solders recruited, or conscripted, from the wider population. The bill had already been defeated once before but had been returned to the Senate again. Senator Chuchi garnered opposition to the bill from existing clone soldiers and then exposed the destruction of Tipoca City and its cloning facilities on the orders of Vice Admiral Rampart - who was the bill's main supporter - on the floor of the Senate. Rampart was immediately arrested as a response. Chuchi and her allies may have briefly thought they had won the debate, but the sudden arrival of Emperor Palpatine changed all of this. He expressed his concerns that Rampart's clone soldiers had obeyed the order to attack Kamino without hesitation and that such blind loyalty represented a threat to the Empire - something that a conscript stormtrooper army would not. In response the Senate enthusiastically supported the bill and Chuchi discovered that she had been outmaneuvered all along.

Because of the ongoing fear that any action would be twisted to either support the Empire or result in senators being held responsible as culpable participants in ongoing Imperial activity, many of them found themselves effectively paralyzed by indecision. When faced with several, even seemingly contradictory options, fear that all of them somehow served Palpatine prevented lawmakers from acting decisively, or indeed, at all. This did nothing to remove the reputation of the Senate as a body that achieved nothing but talking, with only Imperial governors seemingly able to act without the obstacles of politics. Amid this indecision various unscrupulous politicians took the decision to simply accrue their own personal wealth and power at the expense of their home systems, given that little could be done to assist them anyway.

The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by Dr. Chris Kempshall

#star wars #the rise and fall of the galactic empire

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polo-drone-070 · 16 days ago

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A Day in the Life of Golden Chav Mack

Sunlight bleeds through the slits in the golden blinds of the Gold Dorms. The place hums with energy, posters of jocks mid-flex and glistening trackies tacked onto the wall like relics. It smells like gold mist, protein powder, and pride.

Mack stretches, mesh tank top, gold chain resting against his collarbone. His body is a sculpted map of transformation: smooth, golden-tanned skin over prime muscle. A slow grin spreads as he flexes in the mirror beside his bunk.

"Oof. Another golden day to be fookin' massive, innit."

He kicks off the covers, slips on shiny gold trackie bottoms, lets the low hum of grime echo from his locker speaker. Shirtless, he exits the dorm, gold chain swinging with each step.

Routine Start.

Bumping knuckles with passing Bros, Mack radiates pure chav swagger. He winks at waterboy Nils (@nils-gold-34) folding towels:

"Keep smilin', bruh. This gold don’t flex itself."

The golden gym welcomes him like home. Weight clangs. Beats blast. Mack lifts shirtless, sweat gleaming under the gym lights, golden and defiant.

He sends a quick snap to the Gold Chat:

Mack pumpin'. Proper glowin'. No Neon playa can match this.

Midday: Golden Chill

Mack lounges shirtless across a bench in the courtyard, cig in mouth, grinning with pride as the golden light catches his chain and abs.

"Gold drip so hard, bruv. This team? We're the glow. We're the goal."

He retells the tale—half-truths, all pride—of how Sayyid Ewan's SEED changed him. He claims it burned through him, left a gold that won't wash off.

"Mark's in me, bruv. Glow ain't just skin. It's blood now."

Mascots giggle. Bros nod. The myth grows.

Afternoon: Chav Patrol – Reppin' the Gold.

City streets. Golden hour. Mack, shirtless in his gold-black trackies, chain thick, cig lit.

He strides with swagger, nodding to Leander (@leander-gold-88), tossing a joke to Grant (@grant-gold). His presence leaves a scent trail of citrus-musk gold and afterburn.

He pauses in front of a mirror-glass window, checking his reflection, flexing slightly.

"Proper unit. Reppin' the Hive, innit."

Transition: Drone Time.

Mack arrives at the Unity Center. The tone shifts. He steps through the sealed door into the Hive's core chamber.

He kneels before the golden panel. The suit awaits. Rubber. Precision. Discipline.

"070 engage."

The suit wraps him. Instant silence. Chav attitude gone. The drone breathes in sync with the Hive.

PDU-070: Online.

Drone Training Module: Unity Routine.

Spiral hum. Neural alignment. Mental clarity.

Objective: Assist unit #66 Nate (@nate-gold-66) in speech calibration. Then deliver daily influence directive to Benji.

070 locates Nate.

"Repeat. Obey. Obey. Obey."

Voice rhythmic. Tones layered. Nate falls into cadence.

Later, 070 faces Benji (@polo-drone-influencer). It hands a sealed datastrip.

"Content deployment directive. Execute within window. Remain compliant. Remain visible."

Benji nods. The drone bows slightly, mission processed.

Shutdown. Reversion.

The suit dissolves. Mack exhales sharply, rubbing his face, golden chain revealed again.

"Blimey. Forgot how deep that hits."

He slides into his golden clothes, returns upstairs. Sweat still glistening.

Night: Bro Hangout.

Locker room lit golden. Laughter. Banter. Mack leans back, shirt off, pecs flexed as Xavier (@polo-drone-039) tosses him a bottle.

He takes a sip. Smirks.

"Proud to be Gold. Ready to be Drone. But right now… Mack’s on da scene, bruv."

____ Join da Golden Army to chill with us. Contact Recruiters: @brodygold | @goldenherc9 | @polo-drone-001 | @polo-drone-125

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starkittnd93 · 1 month ago

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Tbh hikari 4 from castti’s pov must be kinda wild tbh like… your fellow traveler keeps hyping up this one friend he’s about to recruit like, “yeah her clan’s a loyal vassal to my kingdom, and also she’s my childhood friend, she’s cool”, and considering what you’ve seen of his other two childhood friends…. you’re just excited to finally meet someone who’s actually willing to help! So you pull up to her place, request her assistance and she

BLASTS YOUR FRIEND OFF THE FUCKING BRIDGE.

You all get ushered down to the basement, now panicking because your friend might be DEAD, but then you get there and. He’s… alive?! somehow?!?! You honestly have no idea how he survived- you’re just glad that he’s not dead!

His friend(?) comes down, and they have a conversation about some … past stuff you weren’t there for. She then proceeds to sentence your friend to death, then leaves!

(…Yeah, this is looking exactly like his other two friendships-)

As you’re all frantically figuring out how the hell to escape before your friend gets executed, one of the bridge guards from earlier comes downstairs to ask your friend a question!

“Do you still consider my lady to be a friend?”

(Yeah, sure, as if—)

“Of course,”

(…????)

And then he proceeds to let you all out. Which is. convenient, i guess, but-

—anyway you heal your friend up, yknow, as the concerned group healer— then out of nowhere, he starts talking about his mom? (huh????) And it gets to a point where you’re compelled to say like,

“… yeah hey btw if you ever need healing pls come to me? pls don’t feel like a burden???”

And he responds,

“Oh, thank you, I’ll take that to heart— anyway let’s go talk to her!” —STILL INJURED BY THE WAY.

You go up, and they have this whole ass conversation you know nothing about, and fight (WHILE INJURED. Even if you don’t remember it, this is DEFINITELY breaking some part of the damn apothecary code-)

And at one point, she says

“Hikari… we were the ones who took your mother away from you”

(????????????????)

“…I know.”

(????????????????)

Then there’s more conversation — backstory stuff that, again, you know nothing about — then you hear the childhood friend shout for your traveler friend to kill her?!?!

But your friend just turns away, all dramatic, like,

“I’ll see you in Ku”

WALKS AWAY (????????)

And you follow like “????????????????”

But before you can ask any questions, he. Passes the fuck out,

Because of course he did,

Because he fell off the damn bridge,

AND PROCEEDED TO FIGHT.

WHILE STILL FUCKING INJURED!

#starkitt says #castti florenz #hikari ku #rai mei #octopath traveler 2 #octopath traveler 2 spoilers #okay that last part about him passing out is purely headcanon #but. look at that fucking fall #look at the bigass hole left in the bridge #i refuse to believe he didn’t collapse like a fucking holey jenga tower right after walking off-screen-

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irregularincidents · 23 days ago

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In the early hours of the morning of 11th September 1851, a federal marshal approached the home of escaped slave William Parker in the town of Christiana, Pennsylvania.

Thanks to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850s, it was now legal for people from slave states to travel into states where slavery was illegal to kidnap former enslaved people (or people whom they could claim to be escaped slaves to sell in the Southern States, such as what happened to Solomon Northup, of 12 Years A Slave fame, albeit prior to the Act itself) to return them to their "owners", in addition to the Act introducing harsh penalties for those harbouring escaped slaves or assisting in their escape and requiring free state officials to assist in the slave hunters' activities.

Now, the town of Christiana had a population of mostly freed and escaped African American people, and as such was subject to frequent raids by Southern slave hunters and their Northern collaborators, and for the past twenty yeas a successful resistance movement had formed to repel these attempts to kidnap people, with the current leader of the resistance being the aforementioned William Parker.

It was due to this resistance movement, an agent of the Special Secret Committee as Thomas Slaughter's 1991 book Bloody Dawn: The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North called it, Samuel Williams, spotted slave owner Edward Gorsuch recruit two Philadelphia police officers as he was gathering a posse as he planned to come to Christiana to kidnap four of Gorsuch's escaped slaves.

So when Gorsuch, the cops and his other slave hunters arrived at Parker's home, he found the home both heavily fortified and filled with heavily armed African American folk with their white Quaker neighbours and allies. Gorsuch, perhaps predictably for a racist, assumed that the Parker's white allies were actually the people in charge and tried addressing them in an attempt to say that, legally, they had to hand over his "property".

One of the aforementioned escaped folk, Samuel Thompson, was then physically confronted by Gorsuch, with Samuel promptly clubbing him to the ground, where he was swiftly shot to death. Gorsuch's son, Dickinson, attempted to rescue his father, only to get shot multiple times too, and had to be dragged to safety by a member of the slave hunter posse, who then fled under a hail of bullets.

Following the Christiana Incident (or Riot or "Tragedy" if you're from a slave state), Parker, the escaped slaves, and some of the other black resistance members fled to Canada, with Parker making a stop at the home of Frederick Douglass along the way. The response of President Millard Fillmore was to call in the marines, where they arrested 36 blacks and five whites, and promptly charged them with treason in an attempt to make an example of them.

The government decided that Castner Hanway (sometimes spelled Hanaway), one of the white men charged, was "obviously" the ringleader... only for the jury to find him not guilty after 15 minutes deliberation (with some interpreting this as meaning that the anti-slavery group's use of violence was justified, and others arguing that they it was absurd to argue that a bunch of poorly armed Quaker farmers had decided to wage war on the United States). Likewise all of the other people, including the black people, were also acquitted.

The Christiana Incident is held up as one of the many, many contributing factors to the start of the American Civil War (with Southerners being angered at the North for not convicting/executing anyone for Gorsuch's death, while the Northerners arguing that a slave owner being able to enter a Free State and commandeer a bunch of cops by force to help him kidnap people as an example of the Southerners' political over reach), but a direct link to the wider history of the United States comes after Gorsuch's youngest son, Thomas.

Thomas was also present at the Christiana Incident, and would bitterly complain to his friend and classmate, a member of a famous acting family by the name of John Wilkes Booth, about his family being "robbed of justice" over the matter of his father's death. Some, such as the podcast Last Podcast on the Left, highlight this connection to Christiana as the possible point where Booth was radicalised the actor from being just another petty racist among many to being the kind of petty racist who'd murder people in defence of the idea of racism.

#history #american history #african american history #irregular incidents

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dassandre-00qpidsarrow · 15 days ago

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Gemma Sinclair - Introduction Post

Name: Redacted

Alias: Gemma (Gem) Sinclair Occupation: Undercover MI6 Operative - Barista; Caffeine Purveyor to the Needy of London

Once a highly skilled MI6 Senior Intelligence Officer who was flirting with becoming a Double-O, Gemma Sinclair lost most of her vision during an accident on a mission stateside. Putting to M the argument that she still had something to offer the service that had already spent so much on developing her skills, Gem suggested she become an “Echo,” one of MI6’s in plain sight spies who are in a position to overhear all manner of conversation, but whose presence is largely ignored: restaurant servers, taxi drivers, hair stylists, baristas, and the like. All fully vetted and trained MI6 intelligence agents, Echoes serve in key locales around the world, even on home soil.

It had taken some time relearning to “see” and adapting her espionage skills accordingly, but it was decided that Gem would reopen the coffee cart she had owned prior to being recruited years earlier. It had been insanely popular then; Gem’s skills with her La Marzocco Linea Classic espresso machine had brought people from all over London to her queue-- politicians, embassy mission personnel, and the PAs of top international corporate and banking executives, among them. All of them desperate for that buzz of caffeine; all of them equally lax when it came to keeping their mouths shut on their mobiles as they waited for their flat whites, cappuccinos, and cortados with oat milk and vanilla syrup. That Gem’s baked goods were equally lucious had brought even bigger queues, one that included her eventual recruiter who couldn’t get enough of her triple-chocolate fudge brownies and almond croissants.

Age: 33

Special Skills: Nicknamed “The Coffee Whisperer” by her more devoted customers, she has been called instinctively gifted when it comes to brewing the bean. In her fully sighted days, she was able to “read” a new customer’s order in their eyes before they actually voiced it. Now she senses it in their mien and tone as they wait in her queue. Sometimes the coffee drink the customer is given might not be what they ordered but, rather, what they need. No one has ever complained. Well, not after the first sip, at any rate.

Gem’s hearing has always been extremely acute, but even more so now, and she is able to keep track of multiple conversations going on around her cart, even as she talks with the customers, and makes their drinks. Her intelligence gathering skills are the highest among the Echoes -- Gem is ever amused at how people seem to think that because she is mostly blind, she must be deaf, too -- and the increasing popularity of her cart has M considering releasing funding for Gem to have the part time help of a junior agent during peak hours. In the last six months alone, Gem has passed along key intelligence that ultimately led to several successful missions in the protection of King and Country.

Gem is fluent in several languages -- Russian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese -- and conversational in three others (Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, and Tagalog), not that her customers have any idea she is multilingual. She always chats with them in her native Scots brogue -- Gaelic being her first language even before she learnt English -- which she’d had to tame down when she’d become an agent.

Best Friend: Gem’s best friend is her yellow Labrador Retriever, Bumble. He helps keep an eye on Gem as she’s busy keeping an eye out on The Commonwealth. Always at her side, Bumble is a trained service dog with highly protective instincts. Everyone who comes to Gem’s cart knows that Bumble is as goofily loving as his name suggests, but that he is there to assist Gem in whatever she needs. Though technically owned by MI6, as they paid for him and his training, Bumble is the best thing to happen to Gem, and she loves him dearly. Yes, even when he steals her socks or wakes her up in the middle of the night with a sneak attack, slobbery kiss on the mouth. Ugh!

Other Friends: Mac, a cryptographer from Q-Branch is easily her most frequent customer. Though he’s often fetching coffee and brownies for his boss, The Quartermaster, the man never leaves empty handed for himself. She can always tell what kind of day he’s having once she senses him in the queue, and on good days has a hot white chocolate mocha ready for him. Otherwise, she passes him an Ethiopian dark to match his mood, and she always keeps a chocolate cream-filled fairy cake and a cruller in reserve for him.

They’ve struck up a good friendship over the years. He always remembers to bring a treat for Bumble, and because he never knew her when she was sighted -- he didn’t start with Six until a year after her accident -- he always chats with her without the undertone of pity that frequently tinges the conversations she has with people she knew “before.” Though she never quite knows when he’ll appear, Mac always does. Without fail. He’s just as desperate for his caffeine fix as the rest of Six is, after all.

Only once did he not show, and it had worried Gem to the point that she had her Six appointed driver (a story in and of itself) drive her to Q-Branch headquarters (the back entrance, of course) when she packed up for the day. Gem was directed to Medical where she found a doctor stitching up the back of his head. An overly nervous newbie intern hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going, was running through the twisting corridors of the Churchill tunnels to catch up with the rest of the intro tour, and crashed into Mac, sending him into one of the stone walls where he cracked his head, knocking him unconscious. Mac got free coffees and baked goods for a fortnight after that incident; the first week was on the newbie, the second was on Gemma.

Coffee Cart’s Name: Buzz & Bark. The double meaning of “Buzz” in this case being the buzz of caffeine along with the buzz of intelligence-worthy gossip. The “Bark”, of course, is for her beloved Bumble.

Lives In: A converted warehouse in Pimlico owned by MI6. While not huge, it provides Gemma with not only a comfortable space for her and Bumble to live in but it houses a small commercial kitchen in which she bakes the goods for her cart. It’s perfect for the two of them, but Gem admits to getting a tad lonely.

Favourite Food: She’s a slave for anything in rice paper be it a fresh Vietnamese spring roll or sashimi wraps.

Least Favourite Food: Hobnob biscuits. No. Just … no.

Vices: Audiobooks. She has several thousand in her library and likes to listen to them as she bakes. This can get a bit awkward for her neighbours when she forgets to turn down the volume on the romance titles and the sex scenes get going. She’s particularly fond of male LGBTQ+ titles, and they get S T E A M Y! She also has a penchant for American iced sweet tea, which she always drinks in private. The gasps of horror from others simply too much to contend with. Bumble, of course, doesn’t give a shite.

Contends with Boredom: By reading cookbooks and baking books. Gem can still see a little bit via a pinhole’s worth of vision in her left eye, and is ever so grateful for it. She binge watches British Bake Off and whatever the latest crime show is. Snuggling with Bumble. He’s bloody brilliant at it.

Deals with Frustration: By going to the shooting range at MI6, and with the Quartermaster’s assistance, blows the absolute shite out of the targets. Q makes sure no one else is on the range, and lets Gem have at it -- safely, of course. It’s highly therapeutic.

Other Tidbits: Even though she is tasked as an Echo, Gem is still a senior intelligence officer on assignment; therefore, she still gets operational support from MI6. In addition to Bumble and the warehouse, this also means weaponry and gadgets from Q-Branch. All of which have been specially modified for her disability. Whilst it is not safe for her to use a firearm in public, Gem is highly skilled with a knife, and is always armed with one. A panic button has been installed, and cleverly hidden, in her coffee cart should she be attacked, and the sunglasses she wears have been modified by Q-Branch technology, enhancing that pinhole of vision she retained after the accident.

Why Will She Be at JellyfishCon? Why else? To serve coffee to the caffeine-needy and to gather intelligence. You never know who’s going to show up. Especially among the mystery writers downstairs. Always shady, that group is.

#dassandre #007 fest 2025 #intro post #station nightingale #mi6cafe #boffin1710

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fearfulfertility · 4 months ago

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CONFIDENTIAL REPORT

DRC, Intelligence Division, Rapid Response Command

To: Director [REDACTED]

From: Chief Operating Officer [REDACTED]

Date: [REDACTED]

Subject: Large-Scale Canadian Surrogate Conscription

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Following Operation Maple Harvest, the nation of Canada was successfully annexed into the greater continental American territory, and the Department of Reproductive Compliance (DRC) has significantly expanded its operational reach.

With the integration of former Canadian territories into our oversight, the agency has successfully implemented surrogate capture and processing programs at an unprecedented scale. Reports indicate that over [REDACTED] viable surrogates have been conscripted in the first [REDACTED] months of post-annexation governance, with projections suggesting an exponential increase in the coming year before stabilizing the following year.

This report provides an overview of tactical enforcement strategies, territorial control measures, and logistical efficiencies that have enabled mass conscription efforts in the former Canadian provinces.

I. STRATEGIC TERRITORIAL CONTROL

With the dissolution of the Canadian federal government, all former provinces and territories have been absorbed into the newly established FEMA Zone 13 (Western Canada), FEMA Zone 14 (Central Canada), and FEMA Zone 15 (Atlantic Canada).

Immediate DRC oversight has focused on establishing the following:

Cross-Border Tracking Systems: Utilizing existing intelligence networks to identify high-value surrogate candidates from former Canadian census records and healthcare databases. Special emphasis should be placed on former military personnel, athletes, [REDACTED], and blue-collar workers as the most fertile and rebellious groups.

Paternity Compound Development: The rapid repurposing of former military bases, university dormitories, and correctional facilities to house surrogates en masse, as they already have established barracks facilities.

Conscription Quotas & Enforcement: Coordinate with regional compliance officers to ensure capture rates meet federal reproductive mandates while assimilating the Canadian workforce into the DRC and normalizing surrogacy conscription.

II. MASS SURROGATE CONSCRIPTION OPERATIONS

The newly annexed Canadian territories have provided an unparalleled expansion of surrogate stock, primarily due to the favorable demographic conditions of the population. Initial surveys indicate that:

[REDACTED]% of identified surrogates are of prime fertility age (18-25).

[REDACTED]% of captured surrogates display favorable genetic markers, exceeding standard thresholds.

KEY CONSCRIPTION STRATEGIES

University Raids: Focused efforts on collegiate sports teams have yielded a [REDACTED]% success rate in acquiring prime surrogates while reducing the number of educated dissenters.

Nighttime Extraction Teams: The deployment of low-profile, plain-clothes retrieval units has resulted in the seamless collection of over [REDACTED] surrogates per week without significant public resistance.

Border Detainment Facilities: The closure of major highways and railway hubs has effectively trapped fleeing candidates, ensuring no viable surrogates escape the zone.

Employment-Based Luring Programs: Former Canadian job assistance programs have been repurposed as recruitment traps, attracting young men under the guise of “Federal Relocation Initiatives.”

III. KEY INCIDENT REPORTS

Case Study #1: Mass Athletic Securing Operation

At 02:15, a DRC enforcement unit conducted a conscription raid at the University of [REDACTED]'s athletic dormitories. Surveillance data confirmed that [REDACTED] athletes met the biological and age criteria for surrogate eligibility.

Outcome:

All surrogates were secured and inseminated on-site, with only minor resistance and injury.

Post-capture ultrasounds confirmed exceptionally high fetal loads, with three surrogates being flagged to be carrying octodecuplets (18).

Notably, members of the track and field teams averaged higher fetal loads (15-18 babies) than their peers on football, hockey, and basketball teams (12-16 babies).

"I thought being an athlete was supposed to make things easier… but it just made me a better surrogacy candidate. I'm so huge with these babies I can't even stand up, let alone run. My belly’s enormous, and it's like I'm being stretched tighter every hour. It's humiliating. I'm completely immobilized, pinned down by my own pregnancy, helpless, and at their mercy. No one warned me it would feel this intense." - Surrogate SC003-182-O

Case Study #2: Highway Roundup Operation

In coordination with the new administration for FEMA Zone 14, roadblocks were established on Trans-Canada and Perimeter Highways. Over [REDACTED] young men attempting to flee westward were intercepted.

Outcome:

[REDACTED] individuals identified as prime surrogate candidates were detained, dosed with high-potency aphrodisacs, inseminated, and transferred to the newly opened Paternity Compound C-005, formerly the Canadian Museum for [REDACTED].

Non-fertile individuals who aided or participated in the attempted escape were transferred to local law enforcement for detainment. As the Canadian legal system is suspended until a new regional administration is appointed, individuals are redirected to work programs supporting the expansion of Paternity Compound C-005.

Detainment and insemination on the highway allowed for new surrogates to be rapidly transported to nearby facilities.

"We thought we could make it out, but they had every route blocked—now I'm stuck here, pregnant with so many babies I lost count. I’m so enormous I haven't moved from this bed in days; just breathing makes me dizzy, and every kick sends shivers through me. The officers who caught us said we'd serve as 'examples,' and now I get why—my body's not even mine anymore, swelling bigger by the hour." - Surrogate SC002-105-M

Case Study #3: "Warehouse Party" Capture Operation

At 19:42, local security forces uncovered a "warehouse party" inside a former natatorium complex (i.e. community swimming pool) in downtown Montreal. Surveillance drones detected over [REDACTED] conscription-eligible men in attendance.

Outcome:

Under Emergency Security Powers [REDACTED], the crowd was detained without apparent escapes.

Emptied swimming pools were convenient hold areas while local law enforcement screened candidates for fertility or detainment.

[REDACTED] surrogates secured and inseminated within 30 minutes. The highest single mass insemination in the last [REDACTED], second only to the New Philadelphia incident where [REDACTED] candidates were inseminated.

Post-capture ultrasounds confirmed exceptionally high fetal loads. One surrogate, SC004-118-V, was flagged to be carrying duovigintuplets (22).

"We were just having a good time, you know? Then suddenly, we're herded into an empty pool like cattle, tested, and next thing I know, I'm more pregnant than I ever thought possible… I never knew anyone could grow this fast! My belly's so enormous I'm stuck here, and every time the babies kick...I can't stop thinking about how much bigger I'm still gonna get." - Surrogate SC005-111-N

Case Study #4: Public Birth Demonstration

On [REDACTED], intelligence units intercepted communications indicating that former municipal leader Mr. [REDACTED], residing within FEMA Zone 14 (Central Canada), attempted to incite rebellion against newly established governance.

Outcome:

Immediate apprehension of Mr. [REDACTED] and the conscription of [REDACTED], his 19-year-old son, Surrogate ID: SC06-202-Q.

SC06-202-Q was inseminated and confirmed to be pregnant with septendecuplets (17), an exceptionally high fetal load, resulting in rapid physical changes and eventual immobilization.

The surrogate reached a final pregnancy weight of 527 lbs (239 kg), rendering him completely immobile and dependent on medical staff for all movement and care.

Public Demonstration:

Scheduled the surrogate’s delivery as a mandatory public event in a local open-air square, attended by the local population, and broadcast on all local channels. Mr. [REDACTED] was restrained in a front-row seat with an unobscured view of the event.

The surrogate publicly induced and entered active labor at precisely 14:00, with all 17 fetuses delivered successfully over 4 hours.

Crowd reactions ranged from shock and discomfort to subdued apathy, effectively curtailing further open resistance in the region.

"They forced us all out there to watch—it was… I can’t describe what it was. The surrogate was massive, all you could see were his splayed legs and gigantic womb. I've never seen anything like it… he was groaning and shaking the whole time, his belly so big I swore it was gonna burst. Every time another baby came out, he let out these noises—it was like he couldn't even tell where he was anymore. Honestly, I couldn't look away, as shocking as it was." — [REDACTED], Local Resident

IV. FUTURE EXPANSION & PROJECTED OUTCOMES

The annexation of Canada has significantly exceeded expectations, proving to be one of the most fertile territories available for surrogate conscription. Future efforts will focus on the following:

Paternity Compound Expansion: Construction of five new high-capacity compounds in [REDACTED], Ottawa, and [REDACTED] City.

Mobile Paternity Units: Deployment of MPUs to secure and inseminate hard-to-reach rural populations.

Mass Public Compliance Initiatives: Implement “Surrogacy Service Announcements” and “Volunteer Reproductive Compliance” programs to normalize forced conscription within newly annexed regions.

Cross-Border Transfer Policies: [REDACTED]% Canadian surrogates to be transferred across the border to ensure their security as local seditious groups are eliminated.

CONCLUSION

The annexation of Canada represents a historic victory for the Department of Reproductive Compliance, ensuring a massive influx of high-value surrogates into North American breeding programs. While some initial resistance has been recorded, ongoing security operations confirm that disruptions to insemination activities are minimal, and the number of pregnant Canadian men continues to increase dramatically.

Prepared by:

Chief Operating Officer [REDACTED]

DRC, Intelligence Division, Rapid Response Command

----------------

Click Here to return to DRC Report Archives

#mpreg #mpregkink #malepregnancy #mpregbelly #pregnantman #mpregmorph #mpregcaption #mpregstory #mpregbirth #mpregart #mpregnancy #aimpreg #mpregroleplay #malepregnant #blackmpreg

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zel-shadedreviews · 3 months ago

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With the success of the first two movies, it gave DreamWorks the ability to milk the franchise dry and release a third instalment. I couldn’t care less due to the trailers and its horrible marketing but I decided to see if this would be the very best out of all of them.

During the Burgen wedding, Branch is approached by one of his long lost older brothers, John Deary, who reveals that they were once in a boy band altogether, before they went their separate ways. It turns out that one of their members is being held hostage by a duo of pop singers named Velvet and Veneer, who are draining his essence in order to boost up their voices. In order to free their imprisoned brother, Branch, John and Poppy must venture across the troll land and recruit their long lost members in order to sing in sync and perform the Perfect Family Harmony.

You know it, I know it. It’s yet another storyline of getting the band back together, only that it’s nothing original or even that self-referential. The Blues Brothers practically gave birth to the entire storyline, yet held up with its amazing scope and treating each meeting as an experience. Even Phineas and Ferb’s literal episode, Dude, We’re Getting the Band Back Together, treated their premise with their writing. This, however, had some minimal stakes and while not completely terrible, it’s not exactly bringing anything new to the table. The entire dilemma cuts from two legitimately-cruel villains and then boring and overdone sibling rivalry, all amounting to some sort of climax involving the brothers becoming in sync by the very end.

Not only that, but I felt that they wanted to make a short or make a separate premise where Poppy reunites with her long lost sister. As if Branch having an extended family wasn’t enough to warrant the sole focus of the movie, they shoehorned in an additional subplot of Poppy’s sister, Velvet, keeping her away from the dangers since they believed that the ogres are still dangerous. For what it was, there’s very little focus as Velvet immediately diverts herself away from the story, until the same Burgen couple show up and change her mind, making her point in the third act incredibly forced.

Would a good supply of visual humour assist a mediocre plot? I don’t think so. From my first viewing of the trailer, I had to suffer from the overuse of the term, “bro” used in different manners. I didn’t know which one was more painful to listen to as at the beginning, one of the brothers makes a statement which references several boy bands around the time. Even worse, there’s even a joke about using old underwear to sniff out one of the members, but luckily, it didn’t go the way you’re thinking at first. The visual humour was admirable when it applied to the differently-designed characters and there was a line that got my attention, but I wasn’t impressed by its unfunny and forced writing. This is coming from someone who actually found something salvageable from the endless dialogue diarrhoea during the first two flicks. Granted, the writers for Trolls had to execute the humour for younger audiences, but why couldn’t they go out of the ordinary more so than one part involving Bridget’s rather risqué line of tying up her husband.

I felt that out of all the Trolls movies, this soundtrack really attempted to squeeze all of the pop songs altogether, even some without so much as a break in between. There was time for original songs to reflect on each brother and their lives, but then there’s a few moments where they had to combine each of the songs altogether.

So, the storyline and the whole joke supply were the weakest I’ve seen, which was weird to say as I felt that their animation was some of their finest. From glitter realities to stuffing landscapes, what followed was maintaining its quality and being able to gain some potential. The trolls bared their expressive nature while each of the brothers were given different designs to not have that copy-and-paste appearance. A nice little mention goes to one of them, a retired member who’s a father, where he’s portrayed as slightly overweight yet is physically active to not dwell into the stereotype of one whose let themselves go.

In fact, the trolls aren’t even the only creatures in this universe as this road trip brought us some more creative-looking races. When the characters reached a beach resort, designed with nothing but colourful inflatables, they meet the residents that were extravagant Muppet-resembling creatures. The villains weren’t trolls or ogres this time, but plastic-looking creatures with spindly limbs and dollish hair, bringing back the Betty Spaghetty aesthetic.

While brief, we’re treated with some solid traditional animation when their vehicle boosted their speed, returning the polished colours from Yellow Submarine. The movie could have benefited more from such the change of style, however.

I could go over the characters all over again, only to a slight relief that there’s no James Corden in this, however, since the sides are gladly left behind. The only one who returned to be part of the crew was the same glitter baby, Tiny Diamond, voiced by Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson; in this, he’s given the small arc of wanting to become his own troll rather than acting as the baby, so he pretty much is subjected to the driver’s role.

Poppy maintains her characteristics with herself sadly becoming more annoying than the first two movies thanks to her inconsistent tone and never taking a break. Branch is always the one to put up with more annoyances consisting of his desperate older brother looking to make amends, seeing how he was the one to split their band up in the first place.

It’s not long until Poppy reunites with her sister, Viva, before the story secluded her straightaway. Her role was as minuscule, which was why they had to bring back the ogres to convince her otherwise, so that clearly had to involve her in the climax. Who voiced her was Camila Cabello, sounding like the desperate and nervous type when around new company.

The brothers consist of four ex-BroZone members who once trusted each-other and went their separate ways due to their eldest’s bossy nature: you have John Dory the eldest, one who’s deeply willing to get the family back together in order to save their imprisoned sibling, but it’s his egotistical nature that gets in his way; Spruce the owner of Vacay Island and a laidback yet overwhelmed father; Clay the prankster, forced into hiding by Viva, before assisting the main heroes by leaving their premises; their main target was Floyd, a compassionate type, being the last one to leave behind Branch, spends the duration trapped in a bottle, held captive by the villains. In order of who voiced and sang as, we have Eric André, Daveed Diggs, Kid Cudi and Troye Sivan.

The villains in question were a pair of elasticated creatures, Velvet and Veneer, two corrupted singers whose voice talents spawn from the life of one of the BroZone trolls. Both differ slightly in personality with Velvet as the manipulative and crueller type, not having any qualms in draining a troll’s life in order to maintain their fame. Veneer on the other hand is shown to be the one with a tad of humanity, through nonetheless goes along with his sister’s plan regardless. It’s not until the end where he fully admits to his crime, becoming a last-minute pathetic chance at redemption, only to suffer the consequences. It’s also refreshing to not bear witness to any contrived sad backstory, growing up in a life of luxury. Who has to put up with their harsh comments was the talkative and optimistic bristle-ball, Crimp, vocals by Zosia Mamet.

Throughout my viewing, they stand as the best aspects of the movie as they’re allowed to become fully-fledged villains, at least for one of them. With Amy Schumer as the passionately-sweet spoken schemer and Andrew Rannells as the sensitive yet easygoing type, they made the siblings an interesting pair, though I felt that they could have been worked on more.

This is hereby the weakest out of the trilogy, though I have a feeling that in four years time, we’ll receive yet again another instalment. I was actually interested in giving this whole trilogy a chance and I’m glad I did so, though I wouldn’t watch them all over again if I had the opportunity. I’ve really got to admit that one of my largest surprises was that I never began to hate the Trolls franchise, let alone each movie.

Final Rating: E

3/10

#zelshadedreviews #dreamworks animation #dreamworks marathon #trolls band together #trolls band together review

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