#but omg her backstory is so horrifying

[sydneyofalltrades]

it’s the way levana was ruined by her big sister channary and that abuse channeled her actions for the next 10~ years which made her practically lose her mind

[chriscrosswallflower-blog]

Alright, I have finally finished watching a Good Girl's Guide to Murder and I collected my thoughts as I went. Overall I really enjoyed it, though some of the plot changes weren't my favorite.

Spoilers below for the TV show!

Things I Loved

How awkward Pip is - I don't think we get a good look at this in the book since it is mostly through Pip's eyes, but I love how goofy and awkward she is!

Pip's friendship group! I love how much closer they seem in the show and how they accept Pip as the weirdo she is without a single thought, especially since she is different from them in so many ways. I also love seeing more of Connor and his funny personality

I love that we get to see more of Cara and Pip's relationship - they are precious and you can tell how ride or die they are for each other

Lauren - she adds so much to their friend group and I just love her so much. Ant, stay tf away from this baby!

The PipRavi sleepover - my heart couldn't take it!

I like the introduction of the da Silva siblings backstory. In the books they seemed pretty estranged so it's not as obvious why Nat is upset about Pip accusing her brother. Obviously that would bother anyone to an extent but with the introduction of how close they are/were it will make a lot more sense moving forward

Max (and Dan honestly) seem creepy from the start. I swear anytime either of them came on screen I got a terrible feeling - though Dan did begin to seem more good intentioned after talking to Pip in the police car (still creepy though)

Name drops of characters that will be important later - non-readers won't think anything of it but it's funny to hear Stella and Jamie name dropped so casually

It's interesting to see Mr. Ward acting so normal and casual - he does the same thing in the books but seeing it is so unnerving. I think the plot line of him forcing Pip to change her EPQ really adds another layer to his character too

BARNEY'S FUNERAL AND THE TENNIS BALLS!!! 😭 the "why didn't anyone help him" almost broke me.

Ravi being the one to suggest that they call off the investigation hits so damn hard. He feels so hopeless and trapped but the only thing he cares about is protecting and reassuring Pip

Since we have a more objective POV, I love seeing the little signs of how smitten Pip is with Ravi from the beginning - much more than she ever acknowledges in the book

Pip going in the junk yard scared the hell out of me - she got wayyy too close to DTK there.

Becca and Andie being close makes her death so much more tragic

Cara has a TRACKER on Pip?! "Maybe she's not as smart as she thinks she is," man I cackled!

OMG Sal and Andie talking about running away together hurt so bad - seeing how much they loved each other makes the whole story so much more heart breaking

Regardless of if it's in the book or in the show - Mr. Ward talking about how he talked to Sal about Cambridge so he would die thinking about something good will always turn my stomach. That man is such a disgusting mfer

Pip threatening Max at the very end is so amazing. That little pat on the shoulder? 🤌🤌

Things I disliked

Pip seems a lot less informed in the show - like seriously, book Pip would be horrified. You broke into the Bell's house without GLOVES?

I think this is partially because we don't see Pip's POV and much about her suspects - the only two people she really seems to suspect are Dan and Jason and that really only comes into play at the end. I wonder if people who just watch the show will even guess that she suspected Naomi, Nat, and even Howie throughout most of the book

I think we all mourn for "real men wear floral when trespassing" 😢

Honestly, the storyline with Pip's dad might be my least favorite thing. I loved their cute, playful relationship in the book and how she ardently defends her blended family, but in the show, even before the cheating thing, it seems like she didn't really like him? That made me so sad! (Also, does he call her chicken in the UK edition of the books? I really liked Pickle as a nickname!)

Nat's storyline is strange, like I understand to an extent why they did it but book Nat would have a fit if she figured out she was supposedly friends with Andie 😂 I think she loses quite a bit of her character building when we leave out how much her nudes getting leaked affected her (it seems like almost a minor thing in the show) and her act of violence while trying to go to college that put her on probation. Especially since it's a large reason why Pip suspected her in the first place (her reasoning seems pretty weak in the show)

Where the heck is Stanley?! He's pretty important for season 2; of all the characters to cut you wouldn't think it would be him!

I really miss the scene where Ravi and Pip recreated the timeline to prove Sal's innocence - it was such a potent moment!

I miss hearing Naomi's backstory - we get a bit of it implicitly by the way she acts and her confession, but I think it adds a lot to her character to know more about her anxiety and depression and how it caused her to drop out of college

We miss some of Pip's bad ass moments! Again, this is possibly because we are seeing things from an objective POV and we can't see inside of her head, but I loved reading about how knowledgeable she is about true crime, how much research she did, and how much that informed her actions. I also missed seeing how much she defended the Singh family and Ravi specifically. That scene in the grocery store where she told off the cashier for being so rude to Ravi is one that I dearly miss

Pip accusing Max of raping Becca doesn't hit as hard when she did it over the phone and I hate that he didn't truly confess like he did in the book. And they didn't bring up Nat's rape at all (or Nat in general very much). Her confronting Max and Naomi was such a badass moment for Pip and I'm sad that we missed it

Becca's wig in that flashback. Yikes.

Becca taking Pip to the well (or whatever it is - I feel like it was called something else but it's not coming to mind) made her seem less sympathetic to me than when she just drugged her without much of a plan. "Now I'm going to have to put you in there with her," was so freaking sinister

Things I'm not sure about

In some ways I like the addition of Pip seeing Andie and Sal after they obviously argued - the guilt she felt after that and how that would motivate her to look into the case makes a lot of sense. However, I think I prefer her only looking into the case because she trusted and believed in Sal because of how kind he was to her. I think that the fact that she rarely doubted Sal in the books was really compelling and we lose a lot of that when Pip is concerned that she might have played a part in Sal finding Andie after their fight, therefore possibly contributing to her death

I don't think the video to lure the killer out was necessary but I think they did it to move the story along quicker. I wish we could have seen more of Pip's notes since that is what they wanted in the books when they kidnapped (dognapped?) Barney

I think I prefer them finding Andie's planner over the note in her bunny - it seems to make more sense than just a random note and I like how it gives us a small look into her life (her struggling to read the Revengers was a cute little detail and showed us that she is still a teenager). That being said, the note does the job and it feels a bit nit picky, so I'm not super upset by it

Having Isla tell Pip about Sal's murder was interesting - I'm not super mad about it but it definitely changed a lot, especially since neither of them think she's Andie and he keeps her captive to further hide Sal's murder. Somehow it makes Mr. Ward even more sinister

Having the plot line of Ravi leaving, coming back, and then him and Cara track her down was definitely different. I can decide which way I prefer it. Ravi leaving seemed really random and rushed but I did like that Cara had a part in her rescue (see the hilarity of the tracker above)

Though I enjoyed seeing PipRavi get together by the end of the season, I will miss their awkward tip toeing around each other as Ravi tries to ask her out!

All in all I really enjoyed it - I think it's one of those that I'll also get a lot out of after rewatching it. If you got this far, first off, I'm impressed! And second, let me know your thoughts!!

[cruelestpigeon]

THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES IMPRESSIONS: EP 100 - 104

EP 100: I Guess You Had To Be There

Martin is so bad at the interviewing stage, I can’t really blame him though since he doesn’t have that weird ability that Jon has lmao. Omg Tim also sucks stop. The way the most anti social guy is the only one who can successfully interview people is so funny. They all suck at this noooo. This is definitely my favourite episode of s3 it’s so good lmaooo. Really going to send that guy back out there to die by the spiders??? WHO THE HELL????? Peter Lukas was that weird captain dude right??? ALSO WOOO HALFWAY DONE!!!!!!

EP 101: Another Twist

Omg I love this new character so much. Wait. They just referred to Elias as the eye? This was so interesting, I mean the way Jon just accepted his fate? Why was the box locked? Woooo Helen is back, I’m pretty sure her episode was one of the first episodes I started writing my reaction for?

EP 102: Nesting Instinct

I still don’t get why we’re trusting the guy who killed Gertrude. HELP Elias geeking out about Jon’s progressing with his abilities lmaoo. Melanie coming up to stab Elias and he’s using Jon as a defense stop. THANK YOU MELANIE FOR NOT TRUSTING ELIAS (even though he’s probably not lying)!!!!! Don’t got too much to say about the statement itself since I figured that that was probably the case. MARTIN AND JON!!!! I missed their friendship. I need Jon to go back to the archive I miss the gang.

EP 103: Cruelty Free

Pigs actually scare me so bad they’re so big. HELP JON ABUSING HIS POWER LIKE THAT???? Don’t got too much to say about this one sorry.

EP 104: Sneak Preview

TIM BACKSTORY?? This makes me so sad considering how happy Tim was in season one wtf. He was such a good brother :( Oh this is actually horrifying. This is horrible. I will sob it’s 3 am why do i do this to myself. Oh Tim is going to die isn’t he at this rate

[merakiui]

Hey Mera! This may be a bit random but I was wondering what your fave type of villain is? I was watching some old Disney movies and I have to say that my fave villains are probably Ursula and Hades. I think they are a perfect balance between animated and imposing villains. They have such distinct personalities and are such memorable characters, in my opinion. (My fave part of the little mermaid has always been Ursula, I always found her to be so cool).

Hello!! :D aaaa favorite type of villain! Ursula and Hades are very good choices. Recently I watched Hercules and so I completely understand Hades's appeal as a villain. He was very funny and I liked his banter with Meg, especially when she was trying to tell him that Hercules was different and he says, "he's a guy!"

Ursula was also another favorite from my childhood, so your taste is very immaculate. I have always loved "Poor, Unfortunate Souls" and I liked how clever she was when making deals (surely this love for Little Mermaid won't lead to my love for a certain trio in a Disney mobile game known as Twisted Wonderland). Her lair always unnerved me as a child because of the garden of polyps she had. Knowing that those polyps were once merfolk who made deals with her and couldn't repay debts was so eerie to me!

Another villain I absolutely love is Dr. Facilier omg!!!! Princess and the Frog is one of my favorite Disney films and I love how cunning he is. So charismatic and casual!! It was really too good. orz his death scene frightened me as a child. It was wonderfully creepy, and I loved how ruthless he could be when it came to tricking others.

I also really liked Claude Frollo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame because he's done so well. He is so unsettling and horrifying and monstrous! When I watched it many months ago, I wasn't expecting to be so genuinely disturbed. He really is a villain in every manner of the word. I was rooting for his demise as the film reached its climax and aaaa it was so satisfying to watch him fall to his death!

This isn't Disney, but I liked Jack Horner in Puss in Boots 2. He was really refreshing because he was a genuinely evil character and he embraced that nature. Of course I also greatly enjoyed Death. He was so eerie with the whistling and the way in which he stalked Puss. Every one of his scenes had me at the edge of my seat. >0<

As for my favorite type of villain, it would have to be the kinds who appear friendly at first and seem like they might be on your side before it's revealed that they are, in fact, terribly evil. I like the concept of luring a person in with disarming behaviors, only to bring your jaws down when they're right where you want them. It's always so haunting when a character you think is sweet and good turns out to be vile and cruel.

I also enjoy villains who play the most complex mind games. And I also like villains who are very cute and appear innocent but turn out to be downright horrible. The contrast of cute and creepy will always be one of my favorite things! And then there are also villains with tragic backstories. I like those kinds of villains because I get to peer into their past and wonder what may have shaped them into a villain.

[cloudyscreams]

accidentally spoiled the rest of aikatsu stars for myself and im mad??? so spoiler warnings

why the fuck would elza get the sun dress.........why are they pulling "omg BOTH are cool" stunt again if its against the rules established what the fuckkkkkkkkkk

at least 2wings were a unit and didnt get their dresses or win through some magical gibberish explanation...the friendship/deep bond was kinda far fetched cobsidering aoi and kii were right there but at least it still made sense in terms of hard work (and overcoming their differences)

elsa literally barely does anything, the homegirlie is eating steak and being ominous 90% of her screen time

even lily who is actually canonically disabled trains to the best of her ability and even if she is not, she at least dedicates a lot of time to reading and sewing

i have the same bone to pick with aria despite liking her so much, she showed up, somehow introduced literal magic that goes beyond the metaphors into the plot, got her wings and then poofed out of existence because plot convinience...i would love for her to be the next gen even if it was like risa and nono who might i add, LOST during the final akari gen competition despite achieving a new height for them

also to expand on elza lore: her backstory was shit. not even going to go the "omg just ask your mom about the hug" issue because realsitically, how could a child know that but! most of aikatsu stars cast parents are super famous and are barely home. mahiru got a great arc of feeling abandoned by her sister and elza gets a super flat and one dimensional (and nonsensical might i add) plot point. i get the subtelty of grey area where her mom is super chill but also absent but is that really true? i would argue elza is an unreliable narrator since her mom clearly watched her stages, PRAISED HER as a child and literally the hug is what threw the girl off???? and while we are being shown that mahiru and laura are finding comfort in their friends, elza despite so many people literally licking her boots stays the same........skill issue at this point honestly!! zero character development, Z E R O

rei was interesting to me until her brand debut too. i was like wow an obviously androgynous character who leans into defeating the gender binary of aikatsu! but all that was lost for her to be obsessed with elsa...not sure if it was meant to be shown in a bad light but i highly doubt it since she got both the wings and crowds approval. which also goes against aikatsu universe rules....not only its generally toxic to be this obsessed with another person, i cant take it seriously when aikatsu drove the point of "never chase another person" home so many times literally since ichigo first became an idol. again, elza and rei are so mutually bad for each other i would love to see them crash and burn for being so blinded with that flawed logic and then having to find community and heal from their icky dynamic.

they showed albeit subtly kirara getting less venus-archy and more in line with four star girl's feelings: she stopped being as mean, she cares about elza's approval MUCH less after some time, she literally apologized for being mean to alice...cant believe the sheep gimmick character is the only one who got real character progression (i love her but she is a gimmick and considering how ako is treated as another gimmick character......)

i hate everything the second half of stars is: ive heard people say its rhe only good season outside of ogkatsu and now im horrified to see other ones

[joy-girl]

bonney has the nickname of jewelry... bcs... kuma didn't want her to feel sad... for the physical marks that her illness left her...so he told her that the marks are like jewels... (i read the latest chapter im horrified and i want to cry so bad)

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST SENT ME THIS AND I PUBLISHED A POST ABOUT IT JUST A SECOND AGO WITHOUT EVEN SEEING YOUR ASK 😭😭😭 our minds are connected fr 😭💕

And yeah omg I'm feeling the same 💔 truly this chapter made me cry so much... poor Ginny, poor Kuma and poor Bonney. None of them deserved it... I wouldn't have imagined that backstory for them, truly horrified 💔

[redlikerozez]

REEEEDDDDDDDDD!!! i'm here to learn abt your kny oc. i wanna know anything you wanna tell me, but especially name, pronouns, breathing style, dynamics with the known cast of slayers, pls & ty!!! 💜💜💜

YAY! I love talking about my OCs!!!

So this is an old sketch of my KnY OC! Her name is Yue Nakatsuki (she/her).

Her backstory is that she and her twin sister, Yuno, liked to sneak out at night to look at the stars in a nearby meadow. One day, both of them fell asleep in the meadow and Yue wakes up to the sound of her sister screaming. They get attacked by a demon and it starts going crazy cuz both of them have marechi blood and he’s like omg I hit the jackpot today! Two humans with marechi all for me??? Yum! More demons start to congregate at the smell and soon theyre all fighting to claim the spoils. Then whoosh! Out of nowhere, Shinobu descends like a graceful butterfly and kills the demons. Shinobu administers some basic first aid cuz Yue was clawed in the face (her scar) and tells her that it’s too late for her sister. She runs back home like absolutely sobbing and wakes up the whole house. Her parents are absolutely horrified and angry that they snuck out and got attacked and that only one came back. She was not the favorite child so her mom is especially cruel saying like it shoulda been you. She runs away from home after and steals a practice sword and starts training to become a demon slayer.

So this was going to be a fic but that’s sorta all I had planned before abandoning the idea.

So she somehow learns star breathing by looking up at the stars hand imitating the movements of falling stars and comets and meteor showers.

Yue’s around 15 years old when she joined the ranks of the slayers at the same time Tanjiro, and the gang did. I think she’d immediately gravitate towards Kanao and everyone at the butterfly manor. She’s a little wary of the loud and rowdy boys, especially Innosuke, but has a deep respect for Tanjiro for protecting his sister.

I think Shinobu would definitely take her under her wing- not as a tsugoku or anything- but just as like a pseudo-older sister figure.

She’s a fairly calm and level-headed person but isn’t afraid to bicker with the boys when they get on her nerves, especially if she’s trying to concentrate on training.

[hihopelessromantics]

Meliodas Never “Betrays” the Demons Au

Since I saw @sullina answer this anon post on a Monday some months ago, I’ve been working on this. I thought this was so interesting that ideas just started springing into my head. Here’s the post for context.  https://www.tumblr.com/sullina/712945738391437313/au-where-meliodas-never-betrayed-the-demon-race?source=share

What if everything else changed to reflect this premise? It could be like a spin-off of the Seven Deadly Sins with a bit of psychological horror. That could be genuinely gritty and thrilling. And... I'd watch it.

My dialogue-loving imagination is perfect for making this, I have decided.

Forgive me for what I’ve done to this show omg. Or demand more details. Or both. 

A classic adventure saga begins!

The story would still have some cheery flashbacks/mention of Liz from time to time - more of them than in canon I'd say - but as usual, we wouldn't see Meliodas's own thoughts. After a while, the series's premise seems to be: two people with an unforeseen connection and growing love for each other go on a journey to reunite old friends to save the kingdom from a horrifying fate. Fun! 

There's a bit more . . . blood than the viewer originally thought there would be when characters get injured. (realistic blood loss anyone?) And the monsters they encounter are steadily getting creepier the further they get into the wilderness, slowly proving to the viewer that humans are not the dominant species in their own kingdoms, only the most numerous. Over time it becomes clear that humans have been stuck in a “medieval” age of sorts for this long because this beautiful fantasy world is such a dangerous place. Occasionally, the Sins will swerve their course to avoid this specific city that exists simultaneously in six places at once, and where humans are . . . not welcome. The question of who exactly lives there is brought up several times and everyone looks at Meliodas as if to say buddy give us the tea. He only chuckles and says it’s not fairies or giants or beastmen when pressed. The druids live somewhere weird too. and give us some fun and wacky architecture for villages while we’re at it. There are rumors circulating that some kind of life has returned to the ruins of Danafor, with adventurers swearing that there was nothing there while others swear that there is, and the villagers the sins encounter are more creeped out by that than rumors of the actual evil going on.

Meliodas, despite his poker face and guarded personality, would make it very clear to Elizabeth how much he respects and cares for her, even more so than in the original manga. She reciprocates his feelings and they quickly become as inseparable as if they’d been together for years. 

The rest of the Sins' romances/backstories might have twists as well. (Except for Merlin, who would be genuinely appreciative of the sins being together and being found family, because she's already too weird in the original). The truths of that would gradually unravel, but they'd work through it in as much of a healthy and mature manner as they're capable of, with the support of their friends. Everything is going pretty well for the Sins as people, despite the world going to trash fast with the efforts of whatever villains there are. The story pivots from Elizabeth's POV routinely to show other characters' struggles and the growing darkness of the evil they set out to vanquish.

The Sins bond, address a bit of their pasts, (even Meliodas feels safe to open up a bit!), and Elizabeth is learns to kick ass with Meliodas's help. A really wholesome show despite whatever new horror elements are added. 

Enough with the premise though, let’s get to some actual scenes!

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Show] Outline

Season 1: “The Seven Deadly Sins”

Pt. 1

Two mothers in a place that’s no place for kids

Introducing Elizabeth

Fateful Encounter

A girl who can be saved

Pt. 2

{in which finding Meliodas’s Team is a wild ride}

Pt. 3

{In which saving the kingdom with a ragtag group of criminals is more complicated than it looks because we still don’t know what we’re dealing with, you didn’t conveniently forget about that before agreeing to this right guys? right?

Pt. 4 + OVA

{in which there’s just a lot to deal with here}

Season 2: That which doesn’t exist

Pt. 1

The Goddess LIz

{In which Meliodas meets Liz and they have adventures and potentially nsfw time}

Pt. 2

The Demon’s Diary 

{in which Gelda has to deal with. Just a lot. Too many things honestly.}

Pt. 3?

The Sentencing?

the sins are sentenced for their crimes? 

Season 3: Revival of the Commandments

Pt. 1

{in which a princess dreams of blood and a Knight, of his people}

Pt. 2

{in which Zeldris has a lot to deal with. Just a lot. And everyone else is just as nervous but for very different reasons. Oh god is that more things?}

Season 4: Wrath of the Gods 

Pt. 1

{in which the druids make a mistake and a Holy War has to end once and for all}

Pt. 2

{in which Arthur decides he doesn’t need a special power and a certain ancient menace is ill-Equipped to handle him or the rest of the nonsense going on right now}

Pt. 3

{in which a “damsel in distress” doesn’t exist}

Pt. 4 

{in which the effects of systemic racism were the real blight on Britannia all along (and everyone facepalms because “we thought we all already knew that?? Anyway kill it with violence and mass destruction of property and maybe some eloquence like we do everything else”) }

Season 5: Dragon’s Judgement

Pt. 1

{in which sometimes you have to fight God in your backyard}

Finale!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A big thank you to @zeldriszezinho for coming up with fantastic ideas for the plot details. Which you all will see play out later when I gather up all the scenes I’ve been cooking up and force them onto paper. It was a lot of fun, hope to collab with you again (and anyone else who wants to join us) in the future. <3

[council-of-phantoms]

Day 16: Coulrophobia

"Don't be afraid, I'm a friendly clown! Well...at least only to my bestest friends!"

Nina has taken quite the liking to the twins, specifically Max. Too bad Max is horrified of clowns.

Omg, out of all my ocs Nina has definitely gotten the most amazing glow up. Her design definitely has improved over the last year along with my art style. Man I'm so proud of myself. I still haven't thought of an outfit for her but I'll design one when I draw a full body of her.

I couldn't decide which version I liked better so I did both. I think I should incorporate both into her design. Nina still needs a backstory so I'll work on one sometime after goretober.

Nina's past design

[heavensong]

Hello! I've seen your oc Felicity and I am IN LOVE with her! She's very gorgeous and your art fascinates me!

Also I heard that you have another princess Oc that's also fucked up like Felicity, Is it alright if we could get a peek of her?

Omg thank you so much! I’m so glad you like her 🥰🥰🥰 I also think she is sooo pretty hahaha And I DO have another princess OC! Here’s some pictures of princess Cecily! I wrote up a long backstory underneath the read more if you wanna hear more about her. (Idk your interest level so feel free to skip!)

:readmore:

I made her up for Disenchantment and she is less fucked up than Felicity (bc she’s a kinder person lol) but she is “cursed” in a way! Well, not necessarily but she finds out that before she was born, her parents so desperately wanted a child that they turned to a sorceress for help. She gave them a baby gosling to care for as if it were their own, and if they could give it the love they proclaimed they would have for their unborn child, she would grant them a baby of their own. Far be it from them to question a witch, they care for the gosling & the day finally comes when they find out if they’ve done well enough to be granted said wish.

The sorceress tells them they’ve done well, says she will perform the spell bring them their baby & takes back the baby bird, preparing to cut its throat as it is a spell ingredient. The king & Queen are horrified as they’re truly grown attached to the creature & demand she let it be, even if it means they won’t be granted their promised child. The witch, with a knowing look, happily returns the gosling to its parents, but not before transforming it into a baby girl with her father’s eyes and her mother’s hair.

Cecily finds this out as a young adult and is absolutely mortified… Mostly bc she finds out by being turned back into a goose and while trying to sort out the mishap, she finds out this is her true form. She’s always thought she was a genuine and “normal” person stuck in a kingdom full of weirdos and her love interest is just as ridiculous & absurd, so finding this out about herself really throws her for a loop & makes her question everything she through she knew about herself up until this point.

She’s eventually able to return to her human form, though her love interest also reverts back to the form of a pig that he’s been stuck in lol but she’s grown as a person, learned to be less judgmental and hard on others and herself. Her parent’s overprotective nature is also recontextualized and she’s able to recognize that she is still loved, despite not being naturally born or really “human”, whatever that means 🥰

There’s a bunch more to her story but that’s the shortest I could get it 😂 sorry! Thank you so much for reading and for asking to see more of her 💖

[corvids-calling]

(slamming my hands down on the table)

tell me about elairo! who is this character!

OMG OF COURSE!! So, Elairo Ayvenwix is my sun elf war domain cleric for my friend's campaign. They were chosen by Tempus (or, as I like to think of it, "one of Tempus's champions), and fight primarily with a warhammer. They use their magic for passive things such as healing or investigation (ie, Detect Magic. oh how I love that spell...). They're a little on the reserved side, but friendly. They write in their journal and have a prayer book, but Elairo's not too interested in academia. Before the campaign, they were traveling to explore more of the world and help where they could, while occasionally returning to a place they could consider home. They also have a penchant for badgers (Puff, how I miss you... this was a bit that just randomly happened and became reoccurring). We've had about 8 sessions so far.

now, @/that-one-engineering-bard, if you're seeing this, there are spoilers for some parts of Elairo's backstory I haven't discussed /roleplayed yet in sessions :3

tw for religion, death, implied abuse. Incredibly stereotypical tragic D&D backstory, but the joy of it means that I get to watch Elairo heal over the course of the campaign.

So, Elairo didn't have the best home life. As I mentioned, they're a cleric, but not by choice. Elairo was chosen by Tempus, a war domain god, as a child. This create tension in their home because their parents, who are traditionalist elves, expected that if their child were to be blessed by a god, it would be a god from the Seldarine (elven pantheon of "good" gods). Tempus is not from the Seldarine, and the stress of this led Elairo running away at the human equivalent of 18.

Elairo felt embarrassed and ashamed to have this divine magic from Tempus, which leads to them isolating themself for a very long time. They would hear whispers every now and then, and the divine magic would flair up, causing them to panic. They would go into town for necessary supplies or to pick up odd jobs, and then go back into the wilderness.

Eventually, Elairo decides to join the military of a random kingdom, thinking it would be a good outlet for divine war magic. Instead, years of repression building up result in them slaughtering everyone on the battlefield, even their own side, and they were horrified. After years and years of isolation and trying to avoid any religion, they stumble blood-soaked into a temple dedicated to Tempus, begging for help. The priest there redirects them a cleric.

This cleric is Nadani Yacria, a Tempest domain tiefling in her late 50s. Elairo around this time is mid-late 200s-ish, I don't have the numbers pinned down, but point is, they've been (not) dealing with their trauma by themself for a long time. Nadani agrees to train them, although, clerics aren't typically "trained." She suspects something bad happened in Elairo's past, but isn't sure what until a few weeks into training when Elairo breaks down and tells them about the battlefield. Over the course of a few years, Elairo slowly begins to learn how to have better grip on their divine magic and kinda views Nadani as a mother figure.

Elairo starts going on small journeys, this time to explore the world and learn more about themself. It's on one of these trips that they meet the rest of the party (Elanor, Echo, and Crikit) at a tavern in Bramblefield :)

initial picrew of Elairo

my cosplay!! I love this character so much.

I've written 3 short stories expanding on details in their backstory, 2 short stories where I play Elairo as a bard in a different campaign, and 1 random AU bc I saw a tumblr prompt.

Random detail I'm proud of- the bandages on their hand:

They fight with a warhammer, so to many others it seems like they were bandages to prevent calluses. Semi-correct idea. They also do it to hide the scars on their hands they received from their parents.

I also am a secretive little shit, and this isn't everything. I just wanna hold some things close to my chest :)

[ermdotorg]

im totally gonna rant a lil because this is a HOT topic for me.

now i like teresa's character and i love to hate her, love her backstory and all that. but thomesa makes me ill. like vilely ill.

thomas was absolutely in love with teresa but it was not... okay. they were practically raised to be wed and as much as i want to say "omg soulmates!" i cant help but feel like a lot of things about them were super artificial (ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING ARIS AND RACHEL WERE IN LOVE TOO)

personally i think WICKED needed thomas to love her for the trials and he did, no matter what. but not in a cute way, in like a stockholm syndrome way... and like the fact that he was still so obsessed with her after all the shit she put him and the people he loved through is actually baffling to me. and really more concerning than romantic.

stick two orphans together, let them only have each other, make them torture the only friends they ever had together, give them a telepathic connection, send one away but let him keep the memory of love he had for her, and SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

at least with brenda there was a factor of choice there, like he could choose to be with her and there was a sort of freedom— but with teresa it was so unhealthy and so forced. i think thomas was in love with her, but she wasn't in love with him. she loved him, but she wasn't in love with him. she really only cared about vengeance and the cure yk, which, fair i guess, but still.

i'm anti toxic relationships so naturally i cant tolerate thomesa... its not cute its really sad and slightly horrifying oh my goodness.

the thing about thomesa is like yes, they would’ve worked better as siblings, but we have to remember that that’s not what ended up being canon - they were actually lovers, and thomas was SO in love with teresa

[genshinarchives]

omg in your [the beginning] series, are (y/n) skills based or inspired by herrscher of sentience? the way you described it is very similar to her and i love it (since fu hua is my best girl) it also makes me want to go to hoyoverse's company and demand them to create a character like (y/n) .. yk .. the horrifying backstory LMAO. somehow it reminds me of sirin too

another thing! is it also the same for [god of heroes] but this time, overlord inspired?? i absolutely love your series and im hooked in every single one of them

The way I recognise Fu Hua and Sirin because of my guy friends who play Honkai 😂 I've never played Honkai unfortunately, and (y/n)'s skills are actually inspired by these characters!

Jade Curtiss and Aegis Alver for the skill and burst respectively

F/GO Diarmuid for the dual spear skill

F/GO Cu Chulainn for the aggressive fighting style

Inferno Style from Naruto for the fancy purple flames

And yep, God of Heroes is heavily inspired by Overlord 🤣 I haven't seen any Genshin x reader with a morally grey reader, so that was something I wanted to try out. Reader is somewhat a combination of Ainz and Jircniv-

[wine4thewin]

Okay, finally finished Dune and would now like to have the 5 hour version, please.

Very much so pleased with the movie, but oooohhh I feel like so much more was probably fleshed out and got cut (extended edition?! and you know there’s going to be one. Right? Right?!)

Random thoughts:

*people who haven’t read the book are gonna be possibly lost 🤣 Dune is complex as heck and this movie doesn’t hold hands at all, nor does it even scrape the surface of the book, which is 700 pages…

*A lot of character story details seemed left to be understood by those of us who are reading/have already read the book. Would have loved more Gurney & Rabban backstory. Or even Leto & Jessica. Maybe just some more on the relationships in general? The book somehow dives so deep into each one even before people go bye bye, especially Dr. Yueh…who is important and they don’t really…flesh him out much…and only talk about his motivations in one horrifying line.

*Leto Atreides literally lands on Arrakis and thinks, “this place is an absolute Sh$t Show and I’ve been sent to my death with my whole House because the Emperor wants my name buried.” I think it’s sad no one knows this unless they read the book 😭

*We didn’t spend much time with the Harkonnen’s. Why? Every scene they had was stunning, grotesque, and captivating. I was so upset when a scene with them would flash away, because I wanted more. Plus, creepy BDSM spider creature that understood the human language, omg, was that intended to be Dr. Yueh’s wife?! When he offhandedly says, ‘They pulled her apart like a doll?!’ -not in the book but oh, this haunts me

*Beast Rabban and his Big Mad walk in scene “uuunccle the Emperor is takin’ our moooonnneey planet, it’s not FAIR” and the Baron Harkonnen “be quiet, you are not informed” 😂

*Sardaukar elite. Okay. Could we have spent like, 10 minutes on that scene on their planet? The sounds, the creepy chanting, the voices, the creepy blood temple…could we have spent more time looking at this horrifying scene? I felt like it was a glimpse and gone, but I want to know more and yes, that’s totally morbid of me. Idc!

*also, no Feyd?

*We all hear Lady Jessica referred to as wife and concubine, but to me, the only thing that matters is when Leto sorrowfully tells her “I should have married you” and what a tribute to their book!relationship😭💕

Anyway. Stunning visuals. Wild, crazy sounds. Fascinating characters that I would have liked to spend more time with before they died…

Spoiler, so many people 💀

[archived-and-moving]

Well so... did you like Arcane? Favorite character, moment, etc? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Anon. Oh sweet anon I'm so very sorry you asked this (no im not >:))

Anyway, I loved Arcane. I'd just kind of...decided not to watch it for a few months now, so I missed a lot of the hype when it first came out. (Which, I'm pretty sure will be around 11-ish months while writing this. So uhm. It's been a little bit.) I'm not quite sure why, it's just kind of hard for my brain sometimes, even when my friends really like a piece of media and recommend it to me.

I was actually going on a quick trip, and needed entertainment, so I frantically texted one of my closest friends and boom!!! She recommended I watched Arcane! So finally a downloaded the fourth episode (blaming my phone's funky storage on this one) and watched Happy Progress Day in a good bit of confusion before going back and watching the first three when I got home.

So! Some thoughts: (Spoilers for anyone who's thinking about watching Arcane. It's really good and I truly recommend it, but you will be seriously spoiled if you read any further. You've been warned.)

Favorite Character: Oh!! That's so very hard because I don't think there's a character's writing that I specifically dislike! I enjoy how each and every character is so incredibly interwoven into the plot. However, I think I'm going to have to narrow it down to 3.

First is: Jinx!

Everyone and their mother I feel like has made art about Jinx, and also talked about her, from what little I've seen of the fandom. But goddamn does she deserve it.

She's so incredibly fucked up, but the narrative really makes you understand her actions and why they happen. It almost makes you root for her in a way. The way that her backstory is set up, from start to end is simply incredible.

Each and every path that she faces is another nail in the coffin for what she used to be. Her narrative arc is one of corruption, and her struggle with mental illness is one that is so compelling that whenever the show switches to her POV, I can't help but fist pump and also whisper a horrified "No" at the same time.

Because she's descending into a path of madness driven on by some serious abandonment, a rough life from the get-go, and the urge to convince someone that she's worth the trouble. She's worth it so please please please don't let her go. Don't leave her.

It's such a heartbreaking cycle that truly gets into my emotions and makes me feel. I'm obsessed with the way that the narrative does not throw her away like many of the characters coinciding with her arc are portrayed as doing, but also the way that it balances out her tragic past elements with some absolute badass scenes with such dope action and visuals that the screen she's on is only slightly tinged with sadness.

I wish I could put it into better words, but Jinx is simply off-the-walls in a way that is so unnervingly fun, but also devastating to watch as she scrambles to keep the people she loves close when she feels them drift away.

2. Heimerdinger

You don't understand my love for this eccentric ex-councillor. If I could go out and get lunch with any of these characters it'd be him. I want him to sloppily write all of his ideas on a napkin that I try to decipher for hours, only to fall back onto my bed in defeat.

I want to hear him talk about issues he think are important, and what he finds to be integral to his life. I would literally listen to this dude talk for hours and hours upon end, and watch with childlike wonder at his glorious inventions.

He's literally soooooooo amazing and I love him. I love the way that he was first introduced too!! He's just a goofball who really doesn't try to be funny. And omg when he's wandering the streets and shows the girl the top?? When he finds Ekko???

You literally cannot fathom how wiggily this man makes me feel.

Also I think it's something about his history.

He's seen dangerous devices before. He's seen the rise and the fall of entire planets and populations. He's built a city from the ground up, only upon the idea of progress and the scientific method. He wishes for those around him to let their curiosity take hold and lead them to projects and places all around them.

He truly wishes that everyone has the chance to be a scientist, and he's such an oxymoron. He's a scientist who gets stuck in the ways of his past, and it's a battle that he fights throughout all of his screen-time during the show.

I love Heimerdinger so much <33

Also have you seen his mustache?

[ID: Heimerdinger looking just off to the right, his face contorted in anger with his two fists on a table that reaches up to his waist. END ID]

And finally, last but not least:

Caitlyn Kiramman

This one isn't as rooted in narrative drive as it is for how amazingly Caitlyn fits into the show as a main character simply through her dynamics with other characters alone.

I'm head over heels for her friendship with Jayce. I love the scene that they share in Happy Progress Day, I'm over the moon with the fact that for her investigation she lets Vi go, only to grow to love her as their narrative throws shit at them that they have to face together.

I love that through Caitlyn, we get to see the soft side of Vi come back, the protectivness, the love, and the bickering that comes with it is absolutely a delight. I swear the two of them could have a spin-off Nancy Drew-esc story and I would read it.

And the way that Jinx sees her as a threat? The way that when she sees Vi finding love and being able to cope with her trauma by moving forward, she thinks that there is only one place at Vi's side. That she thinks that Vi is betraying her?

You don't understand. I'm going feral.

I also think that Caitlyn's ambition to do what she loves no matter who tells her otherwise is simply proven wrong. For the girl will be an enforcer, she knows that she will. No one can stop her.

Also she and Vi may or may not be in love and I simply think that that is absolutely a relationship that I need in my life as sapphic (?) myself.

(Honorable mentions go to Viktor and Mel. You both deserve the world and I adore them to bits.)

My favorite things about the show:

Dude. Dude this show is so incredible writing-wise. It tells a compelling story, grappling with so many issues at once and somehow managing to do it all in a clear way. The representation is at it's peak, because these characters are not gay for extra points, they are not black to check off a box. They are deeply thought out characters with narrative arcs that bounce off their traits. They are not simply marketing ploys and it's refreshing. (godDAMN my standards are low)

Anyway the storytelling capabilities that this show pulls off with the dynamic characters bouncing off one another, a seamless timeskip, lore that pulls me in and fascinates me as a consumer, and themes that pique my interest makes it one of my favorite shows of all time.

The art style too. Gah!! I'm in love with the way that the characters' designs work, the way that the lighting is handled in different scenes, the painting look that the models take. It's such an amazing and most likely time-consuming animation style, but it turned into one of the most gorgeous-looking shows that I've ever seen.

And dude. dude. The. The the the. The soundtrack. The incredibly differing soundtrack that varies from song to song, depending on the mood that the show is trying to capture is OUGh. Snakes, Enemy? Such bops, would sprint to them anytime, 11/10.

Favorite scene?

*shaking uncontrollably* The fucking ending one. The last scene takes into account all of the factors that make Arcane such a special show as a whole, and it wraps 'em up in this nice little present for the show to end off on.

The way that Silco is killed like any other man, the way that betrayal bleeds into his eyes as he dies, acceptance in his words as Jinx cradles his head in her hands, apologizing profusely for what she's done.

The narrative parallel to the line "She's a loose canon" so much earlier in the show is a stab to the heart as you watch the light fade from his eyes.

The way that What Could Have Been plays hauntingly through the entire scene, the viewer's eyes dreading the way that it's about to end. And the way that the characters' expressions twist in different ways as the final missile blows into the council window, the way that Mel's figure is highlighted before it's hit.

There are many scenes that are incredible, but this one might be my up at one of my favorites of all time.

To get even more specific, the way that Caitlyn's slow motion sob turns into her mother's resigned face as she makes her vote--that part literally broke me.

I think that literally might be my favorite shot in the entire show.

Anyway, to summarize my incredibly long post of thoughts, Arcane is a cinematic masterpiece, and I wish I could go into more detail, but it's like 12am and my brain isn't really up to the task. Thank you so much for the ask, needless to say, I loved the show to bits <33

[safarigirlsp]

Omg what a great idea to make it a witch/witch Hunter thing too! Also, I love Vermillion 1&2!

The beginning scene is wonderful and reads like Alice H but much better! I love the idea of her keeping the injured goat! And this was hilarious and exactly how those people would think.

To proclaim Lilah a witch right then seemed unfair.

It was cowardly too, to admit this wisp of a girl with her clever eyes and steady voice unnerved gnarled men with deep lines in their faces and hands that could swing a pickaxe for hours.

I love the witch torture scene and Clydes reaction! It’s so vivid and dark and easy to picture! The backstory behind Clyde’s pout is wonderful! Definitely canon now!

It showed even worse on his face now, all these years later, because he did see. The downturn to his mouth, a scowl permanently etched on his face, deep amber eyes that seemed to be always looking through the veil of reality, off somewhere darker and worse.

The Logan family dynamic you have is so dark and fucked up and amazing! I love it!

Pa always had the mad gleam of excitement in his eyes, in his skin, shining all the brighter when they ran, when they cried. Jimmy wouldn’t admit it, but he could all too easily catch the fever from their father and later, when the work was done, emerge from it, like a somnambulist, waking up in an unknown place, with bones in his hands and blood in his mouth.

I’ve always wondered why more witch hunters didn’t have this epiphany.

If they were witches, why did none of them lift a hand to defend themselves, or been successful when they did, Clyde pondered since he was shorter than his father’s axe.

Don’t let ‘em get you started wonderin’ and doubtin’. That’s how they getcha.

I love the scene with Lilah helping Jimmy and how her relationship with the other people in town is described. It has the Alice feel, but much better written and more engaging. I love it all and this in particular!

As Jimmy’s condition improved, Lilah came less, as if she only had permission to visit a place if darkness hung in and around it.

Another great description of him! And I love Jimmy being a little jealous and turning that table.

Jimmy was weaker now and preferred to rest much longer than before, and the sight of Clyde buzzing around him – tall, strapping, and bursting with virility – embittered Jimmy.

This image and writing are so good. I love the doe vs host analogy!

On one of his long hikes through the woods, he came upon Lilah, with a satchel and paring knife in hand. She stopped when she saw him. Not like a frightened doe, sniffing the air and listening hard for any rustle of leaf made by her devourer. More like a host, finding a guest wandering through their land.

This is a wonderful line!

He looked down at his feet so she couldn’t see him smile, and wondered why he should be hiding his smiles from her.

Omg you do the dark elements so well! The writing is great and luscious, better than Alice, and then mixed the dark horror it's extra savory! I'm really loving the well written and beautiful fucked up elements! There's some quote from one of my favorite weirdos, Tom Waits, that says something to the effect of 'just because something is horrifying doesn't mean it can't be beautiful.' I'm thinking that the entire time reading this!

This is so dark and gorgeous!

He would study her, Clyde told himself. Taunt her, bit by bit, coax her into revealing herself. That was the story, to justify his attention, his inability to stay away, to seek her out. He even announced it to Jimmy and Mellie. Jimmy, who had always told him to look, urged him to swing the axe, to chase down any runaways through the dense woods, could not say anything in Lilah’s defense, no matter how much he owed her. Not after he made Clyde look, so many times, and soak his hands in blood. Mellie cried and sat by the fire with their mother, and they look similarly wretched.

I love Clyde just showing up, silently taking charge, and kissing her. I think that's so spot on for Clyde as being a silent but deadly type who would definitely be a guy who takes initiative and is generally an alpha sort of guy. It also reminds me of a favorite Vermillion line, "I get nervous, perverse, when I see her it's worse."

One morning, he skipped the long walk in the woods and appeared at her door in the afternoon. He didn’t want to lie, and he had nowhere near the heart to tell the truth, so he leaned in and kissed her without saying a word.

This is so dark and depraved, I love it! The Southern Gothic witch hunter vibe is a blast to read.

Clyde felt the familiar queasy mix of disgust and excitement that accompanied the capture of those women. Running like a mountain lion across rock faces and weaving like a vengeful ghost between trees. The dull thud of flesh when a mallet hit the soft part of the skull. The stale smell of blood and death when their carcasses drained upside down in his shed, growing rank by the time a hot morning dawned. Carrying the bodies, still whole or in pieces, and noting that some were still beautiful, even more so now that they were purified and no longer tainted.

And the transition from ^^^ to being romantic is great. I'm loving the dark romantic horror and it's so well written. You capture that vixen crazy aphid attraction beautifully!

With every twitch of a finger, every glance hidden behind dark lashes, every smile trapped between teeth before it could be spied, the tension could spill over, like a candle overturning and setting the cottage ablaze. But they reined themselves in, only just barely.  

Omg I love this!!! 💗💗💗

“Against the devil. And all his consorts.” Every word came deeper and scratchier, his throat constricted from sadness and rage in equal measure. Lilah straightened slightly and finally looked into his face. A different Clyde was looking at her now. His eyes were blown large with madness, and he seemed to be waiting for her to betray herself with one wrong move. What he might do then, she would have preferred never to find out.

This too! It's so delicious! Aggressive, dangerous Clyde is the best version I've ever read of him. You write this side of him so well! Drill Sergeant and Stolen Car Clyde were wonderful too, but this bad dude has some extra spice.

The sound of manacles slamming roughly on the counter behind her made her jump and drop the cup of wine. She turned as fast as a mouse springing away from a trap, but Clyde was faster, his arm darting like a snake at her, catching her throat in his massive hand.

The hair porn we got with Clyde and Jacques was so nice! Jacques when he's raping and whimpering, and Clyde when he's jerking on the thing to try to get his sucked off arm back. I love picturing it here, and with him all hot and bothered again.

Dewed with sweat and wild-faced, he shook off the hair sticking to his face and panted, pressing his arm across her chest so she was held in place.

I love these descriptions! Especially the part about the Logans and the Clyde that belonged to them!

Good, he thought, feeling a hot, persistent knot throb at the base of his spine, striking a match to light that uneasy mix of torture and lust. He retreated back into the Clyde that belonged to the Logans; raised in squalor, depravity, bathed in blood and fed on fear and hate. Whatever else he had tried to become in the warmth of her fire, in the sweat-soaked caress of her body, it had failed.

The entire Hannibal scene is so dark and decadent, and disturbingly sexy. As it should be! Definitely right up our alleys! I loved the Hannibal scene, but reading it like this with Clyde makes it 1000% better.

He pulled back, drunk on her, with eyes at half mast and full of midnight, and watched her as she worked to hold onto her strength and dignity. “Would you ever tell me - stop?” he asked seriously, challengingly. “If you loved me, you would stop?

The terrible things he wants to do to her are so fitting for him in this AU, and I love the way your mind works lol.

I LOVE the context of the title! I can picture it from Clyde and what a hot scene.

“This’ll hurt like hell, darlin’,”

The way you do Southern Gothic is lush and dark, and really embodies the vibe and atmosphere that intends. The writing is like the perfect mix between a much much better version of Alice H and southern gothic. The Hannibal ending is the absolute best and Clyde’s perfect in it! That’s 1000% canon as to how he loses his arm.

This was such a delight and a guilty pleasure to read! What a wonderful AU and idea for Clyde, combined with probably *the* most romantic scene involving a serial killer! Thank you so much for writing this! I absolutely love it! I never expected to get witch hunter Hannibal Clyde, and I love him!

Birthday Week Vignettes

*

As a little gift for my bestie and worstie, for her birthday week, I’ve written a selection of fun little vignettes (stretching the terms fun, little and vignette to mean several thousand words of something gory or fucked up).

It has been the greatest and most treasured experience I’ve had on here getting to know you. From the hilarious shit talking, to expanding my horizons in terms of what I read and write, and giving each other constant new ideas and support, I am so grateful for all the downsides of existing in an online space as it’s meant making a wonderful, cherished friend. Happy birthday and may we enjoy your presence in our lives and this garbage fire for a long, long time to come! 😍😍❤️❤️😈😈 @safarigirlsp

*

Day 1; assassin!Mills x RC

*

Summary: The Museum needs two operatives to pose as a married couple and go into a chateau full of depraved people letting loose and acting out their fantasies in an Eyes wide shut-type party. That old chestnut.

A/N: I’m a sucker for going undercover as a couple, in every iteration of that trope, and undercover at a sex party is an especially fun variation. This little episode didn’t fit into my main assassin!Mills story, but it was too interesting to throw out completely, so this seems like the best way to share it. If you like the premise, I’m happy to write a conclusion for it.

CW: mentions of wlw, mlm, group sex, fetishes, voyeurism, dubcon, murder, drugs, alcohol, sex work

WC: ~5.5k

*

Cipher and Gage picked up their small leather bags soon after they landed, exiting the airport hand in hand. Cipher’s steel toe boots thumped loudly on the tiles, his long leather coat rustling with every casual move of his tall, broad frame. Gage sized him up out of the corner of her black-rimmed eye, appreciating the sexy, disheveled swoop of his sandy hair, the frosty glint of his blue eyes, his sharp jawline dusted with a few days’ growth of beard. Her eyes wandered lower, to the tight black tank top that peeked out from his unbuttoned white shirt, the studded belt drawn tight around his narrow hips, and the tightly coiled muscles of his legs working under his equally tight pants. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him in the car. Their quick encounter in the airplane toilet was too short for her appetite.

She walked briskly in her six inch shiny leather boots, barely reaching his shoulder despite the added height, feeling the chill in the airport as a gust blew under her scandalously short skirt. A man walking past them balked at what the blown up material revealed and she giggled to herself. Cipher squeezed her hand tighter and walked even faster in retaliation, leaving her to practically run to catch up with him. They barely jumped into the stretch limousine parked and waiting to take them to the rendezvous point that Rostov decided on when Cipher pulled her roughly onto his lap and glared, squeezing his large hand painfully around her thigh until she squirmed and pouted, removing her round Windsor sunglasses and giving him a plaintive look, all innocence and invitation. She had often remarked that it didn’t serve him any good to get all worked up over other men ogling her like that; if he wanted an attractive and flirty wife like her, then there were consequences to deal with.

They had enough time to redress and clean up as well as could be managed on a backseat when the limousine pulled up on Museum property. The partition rolled down and an Acquisitions operative pointed the barrel of a gun at the pair.

*

The heavy metal door creaked and moaned as it was pushed open for Adriane. She entered the small circular cell, windowless and bleached by harsh white halogen lights, where Cipher and Gage sat bound and gagged.

Without gracing either with eye contact, Adriane walked briskly, sweeping an elegant circle around the small cell, her heels clacking an ominous rhythm on the concrete floor. “In a moment, you will be separated. You will never see each other again,” she spoke the chilling words quietly and emotionlessly, as though to herself, as she circled the young pair like a crow awaiting carrion to feast on. “Whoever talks first will go free. The other will not leave this place alive.” She tossed the last words over her shoulder as she slipped like a shadow out the door and it closed heavily behind her.

She was not negotiating. She was not trying to entice them with anything only to pull the rug out from under them, as other people they had dealt with in the past had. The pair understood the danger they were in as they locked eyes, determined to leave this place together, and alive.

*

30 minutes, my office. A, the letters scrolled across the beeper in your hand.

When you arrived, with a minute to spare, you were feeling pretty smug about yourself that you managed not to be late, to say nothing of the fact you were chosen as the operative to be entrusted with this last minute, highly sensitive task.

Adriane’s office looked like the wardrobe department of some grungy photo shoot, with distressed denim, faux leather, fishnets and studs galore. Racks and racks of clothing were hurriedly rolled in, no doubt for the purpose of outfitting for this impromptu exhibition you were going on.

“Our guests have a meeting with their prospective employer this evening. We intercepted the coordinates Rostov provided and took Cipher and Gage on a detour here,” Adriane informed as Mills strode out from behind a rack with an armful of clothes. You looked from him to Adriane, wondering if this was some test and her omitting he would be there was supposed to catch you by surprise. Satisfied you did not betray your heart jumping into your throat, you diverted your attention to the racks of female clothing surrounding you.

“Won’t he know we’re not them? You know, when he looks at us?” you asked too snarkily for someone who knew Adriane wouldn’t waste anyone’s time if this was a real concern.

“Rostov doesn’t know what they look like. Both he and our guests are too discreet in their dealings to allow something like that. And the private party you are attending is designed to ensure privacy. At least where your faces are concerned.”

You felt a nervous knot tie in your gut, thinking ahead at what the night would more than likely demand of you. “And their stupid nicknames?” you asked, forcibly casual, as you pressed a red plaid skirt to your hips, wondering if it would even cover half your ass.

“For the same reason. They are decently intelligent, cautious people in their business dealings, even if their behavior otherwise is questionable. Under different circumstances, they might have been potential operatives for the Museum. As it stands, their use is limited to a single outing.”

You followed Adriane to her laptop computer, as thick as a briefcase, sitting in front of her leather chair, with a video paused. Scattered on the desk were photos of Cipher and Gage, taken over the last few weeks, as evidenced by the changes in the color and style of their hair. They were photographed several times in rather compromising positions, not that they seemed to mind. Gage was always smiling brightly when her hand was shoved possessively in Cipher’s back pocket, and he was not shy about embracing her in a town square and kissing her with what you personally deemed to be an excess of tongue, with both his hands on her ass, peeking out of another too-short skirt. Frenzied moaning and the squeak of leather grabbed your attention and you looked up at the video Adriane played.

“This was just over an hour ago, in the back of the car we sent for them,” she informed, looking unimpressedly at the screen.

The parallels between you and Julian were not lost on you. Two people, outrageously in love, killing for a living. Except the pair rutting wildly in a limo were free to be out in the open, not concealing anything from anyone, while you could only look at Julian askance and steal brief moments when you were sure no one was looking, which was hardly ever.

“The girl has great stamina,” you quipped, averting your eyes discreetly. From their copious, almost defiant public displays of affection, you didn’t imagine either would be bothered to know a few people had watched some blurry, low resolution footage of their intercourse, but the aversion was for your sake, not letting the Museum make a voyeur out of you. It was enough they made you a ghost and a killer.

“You need to become Cipher and Gage for the duration of this Exhibition,” Adriane underscored. “They are ruthless, reckless, and passionate. Their reputation precedes them in Rostov’s inner circle.”

“We understand,” Mills assured, seeming to imply that even if you didn’t quite get it, he did.

Adriane came up to stand next to you and snatched the blue tinged, white rimmed sunglasses off your face, replacing them with a dark, edgy pair more in line with Gage’s confirmed style. “Rostov is a hedonist with wild delusions of grandeur. He will try to flirt with you, and his demands are known to go far,” she informed in a tone that signaled you were to go along with it, as far as necessary.

“I’m cool,” you shrugged, stomach twisting with disgust you were still not entirely able to suppress.

“He will likely flirt with you too, Julian,” Adriane said in the same demanding tone to him.

“Mh,” he grunted vaguely, shucking on a leather biker jacket and ruffling his hair, as he studied his reflection, deciding if it all came together just right for Cipher.

You barely contained a grin, thinking of this scrawny little man, twisted with perversion, trying to entice the architectural marvel that was Julian Mills.

A clink of metal on hard wood rang through the air. “Put these on.”

Julian made his way to Adriane’s desk first, picking up the two rings with discreet tracking devices installed inside. He deftly slipped the smaller one up to the knuckle of his ring finger and let the other one drop. You followed moments behind and picked up the ring off the desk. It gaped around your ring finger, looking too big even for your thumb.

“Doesn’t fit,” you dismissed, setting it down and pushing it towards Adriane.

“Let me,” Julian said lowly, his long, thick fingers wrapping around your wrist. He brought your hand up and twisted the ring off his finger, sliding it carefully over yours and inspecting his work when he was done. He seemed to approve of the way your hand looked adorned with his wedding ring.

He then picked the other ring up and set it in your hand, expecting you to put it on him.

“Do I have to love, honor and obey?” you looked up at him as he offered a waiting hand. His silence filled the air with crackling intensity and you fought with yourself not to look away.

“Just obey,” Adriane answered for him and brought the moment to an end. Without ceremony, you slipped the ring on Julian’s finger and turned away from both of them.

Obey, you scoffed inwardly. Love was easy. Honor, you conceivably could. The only demand they both had of you was the one you struggled with most.

“You leave in 15 minutes,” Adriane informed as dispassionately as ever.

Before you left, curiosity got the better of you. “You got all this information out of them… Which one cracked?”

“They both did, of course,” Adriane gave a serene, composed smile, assured in the Museum’s methods.

“So who got to go free?”

Adriane blinked and for a moment, you had the distinct sense a huge grin would slice across her face. A jeering, hideous one, mocking your naiveté. “You should go get ready,” was all the reply she would give, and all the reply you needed.

*

As you descended in the gold-adorned elevator, on your way to the armory, Julian was quiet, looking at his panel and committing every detail of the plan, of Cipher and Gage’s history and activities, of intelligence on Rostov - all he could - to memory.

“Why was I chosen for this task?” you asked, choosing the opposite approach to Julian’s and clearing your mind before jumping into the task at hand.

He was silent as you descended for several levels and you started to assume he had not even registered your question. “It was an opportunity to improve your field mechanics,” he answered like a politician on the campaign trail.

Silence then followed from you. “Field mechanics,” you repeated, deeply unconvinced.

He turned and looked hard at you, pleading with you to hear what he was not allowed to say. “Adriane is under the impression that we are convincing as two people in love.”

It was not a compliment. The words had the cadence of a slur, and his tone of regret. It was not a good thing at all. He narrowed his eyes, satisfying himself that you took his meaning correctly.

*

The warm sunset, full of purples and oranges, gave way to a fine evening as you drove outside the city. As soon as you exited, you donned your masks as a precaution, wary of how far Rostov’s eyes reached. Yours was a white mask that extended into a crescent moon shape above your forehead and under your chin. Along its edges and around the eyes, the mask was outlined in silver and small stars twinkled along its face. Julian’s mask was white and gold, representing the sun, with five curvy rays creating an inverted pentagram around the smooth white face of the mask, adorned with golden arabesque designs. You looked at each other once the masks were on and the eerie blank canvass they presented, not knowing what face and expression they hid, was chilling.

You joined the scattered trail of other cars, uniformly black and armored, as they traveled noiselessly  down a private road that would have been impossible to find without very specific instructions. The road was maintained to perfection, allowing you to glide smoothly down and weave its serpentines as they appeared without the slightest trouble. If not for the heady mix of trepidation and excitement that kept you wired and buzzing awake, you could have been lulled into a dreamlike sleep and sunk into the impenetrable darkness that surrounded you.

After stretching for what felt like an eternity, the road finally ended at a well-fortified gate, where you were ushered in and led up a lavishly landscaped path. A veritable army of masked guards stood sentinel all along the path, the entrance to a grand building and all the way to a sequestered area separated by gold stanchions and a red rope. Neither the host nor the guests wanted the security’s scrutiny while indulging in their hidden pleasures, a mistake that Julian and you were instructed to exploit. Behind unadorned gunmetal gray masks, the guards’ eyes followed every guest as they approached the rope forbidding entrance to the room beyond to all but a select few. There, you were instructed to shed your clothing and don party attire.

Rostov had purchased the magnificent château a few years back and it currently served as the crown jewel of his ostentatious tendencies and debauched proclivities. He restored it to its former glory, and had it outfitted with every modern comfort to boot, ensuring maximum pleasure and safety. It soon became the perfect place to host his monthly bacchanals, a pleasurable distraction from his usual activities of acquiring and testing biological weapons.

Invitations were handed out either to former collaborators who had displayed a keen sadistic and perverted streak, or to prospective talent, like Cipher and Gage, to ascertain if they possessed the requisite depravity of character to join in on Rostov’s activities unflinchingly. Masks and the privacy of the location guaranteed zero risk of discovery and damage to anyone’s reputation that would result from engaging in this sort of activity in a public venue.

With that in mind, you did not hesitate to disrobe. There was little to remove anyway and the mask served another useful purpose in making you bolder by hiding your face and whatever chagrined expression it might reveal. Julian watched, his eyes moving appreciatively behind his white and gold mask, as your skirt hit the floor and you removed your cropped top in one smooth movement. He waited, and at first you wondered why, but quickly surmised he meant to wait and have you undress him. You were proven right when he stepped into you as your last stitch of clothing came off and stood facing you, to shield you from any prying eyes. He did not put it beyond this rabble to be spying on guests as they changed. You slipped his trench coat off and, suddenly aware of your nakedness and his imposing proximity, made quick work of his shirt and pants, unzipping them roughly and making him flinch, before tugging them down just as harshly. Remembering your role, you chuckled, as though you had done it to tease him and crossed your arms over your bare chest, eager for the dress, as revealing as it was. Julian seemed unfazed by being completely naked in a large anteroom and offered the white halter neck satin dress for you to step into. The dress had a large slit in the side and flowed with every step, and the back was left entirely bare. It glided as smoothly as water up your body as he pulled it up and tied it at the base of your neck. He pressed his mask into your neck, in an approximation of a steadying kiss, and you felt the length of his body pressed into you, with the material of the dress dividing you leaving little to the imagination.

Julian’s attire was similarly revealing. A similar white material folded and tucked in around his hips, like the bottom half of a toga, and draped over his torso, cinched over one shoulder with a gold hoop and cascading down like a cape. He looked like an ancient marble statue, its perfection exaggerated by an impassioned artist in ardent love with his model, was brought to life.

The low thump of the music pulsed through the closed door as you neared it, and Julian brushed the bare skin of your lower back with his clever fingers as he claimed your waist, holding you close to his side as you ascended the steps and entered the party.

The renovated château was a blend of showy rococo and sleek modern styles. The dichotomy made for a luxurious experience, striking a balance between the lavish furnishings of the past and the present-day creature comforts, such as telephones, cameras, air conditioning, and modern mechanics. You followed a servant, distinguished by her plain gunmetal gray mask, into a spacious ballroom where the main activities were taking place. Heavy velvet curtains were drawn over the tall windows that lined the walls, keeping the lighting in the room low and atmospheric with only the dimmed chandeliers and scattered candelabras to set the mood. Dry ice created a mist swirling around the floor and ghosting around your steps. Erotic house music filtered in from the speakers embedded high above, and its thumping bass rattled in your bones as it provided a steady rhythm to rut to.

You passed sections of the ballroom, some divided by pillars and more heavy drapery, others raised on a dais, and each offered different activities. In some, more accessible areas, guests mingled and leaned masked faces close to exchange conversation and toasts, lifting only the bottoms of their masks to take quick sips. On a chaise longue, red and trimmed in gold, lay a man with his toga hiked up around his waist, straddled and vigorously ridden by a woman with nipple piercings connected by a series of chains and pendants, and her dark skin extensively tattooed. A small group of people, in various stages of undress gathered around them and commented on the participants and their activity.

You passed onto a higher level, leaving the couple behind you, and noticed that this area had raised platforms around one central viewing point. Each platform had two red leather sofas, one lower and one higher, permitting more positions and participants, surrounded by several waist-high columns. Each column held an object for members to use, either for pleasure or pain. You took in a few, including phallus-shaped implements, ball gags, riding crops, and pliers. In the viewing area, more of those comfortable chaise longues were laid out for those wishing to observe. Several platforms were currently occupied, but one drew your attention. A masked woman had her long legs wrapped around two men, one inside of her, the other inside of the man between them, and the three were being observed by a masked man in a black robe. He was one of Rostov’s inner circle, designated by his robe as untouchable – unless he asked to be – and irrefusable. His build was wrong; he was too young and too fit to be Rostov, so you moved on.

Sooner rather than later, you remembered as the stench of too many bodies fucking in an enclosed space hit your nostrils, you would have to engage in some activity yourself, lest your restraint draw unwanted attention. Even now, you felt appraising eyes land on you and Julian as you passed. You could not blame them. For all the young and attractive participants present, paid or drugged, who walked around and offered themselves like hors d’oeuvres to be sampled, they smacked of sex workers who were only doing a job. Some had the shaky, twitchy physique of junkies, while others had the used up bodies of veteran sex workers. You and Julian, by contrast, were trained by the Museum to be lethal, and having looks to kill was not a mere phrase where you came from. All those lessons in walking runways, learning classical dances, gymnastics, yoga, and the subtle art of erotica over the two years of your training made you both stand out in the most noteworthy way. Every step showed off your bodies, effortless grace and proud bearing; every brush of your fingers against Julian’s sculpted arm promised something more between you, and you felt eager eyes follow you, hoping to witness the moment you decided to take it farther.

The sounds of leather cracking and moans, quickly drowned out by delighted praise or mockery, led you into a large chamber, lined with ornate columns. A red carpet painted the floor red and several servants walked unobtrusively around with smoking censers, diffusing aphrodisiac scents around the cavernous chamber and perfuming the aroma of sex before it grew stale. In its center sat a long table, with a smorgasbord of men and women on top. From your vantage point, you could see two women with their heads between the other’s legs, one on her back, the other over her on her knees, both writhing and exaggerating their pleasure as their surgically enhanced breasts jiggled in one unmoving spot. Next to them were two handsome men on their sides, performing the same act and moaning deeply around the other’s shaft. In the middle was a piano bench with three women of widely varying ages in an embrace, busily alternating positions and acts. Around the table sat the more important attendees, watching, some stroking themselves or others under the table. The first woman you’d seen dressed in a black robe sat on the lap of a bony old man, his skin hanging like wet paper over his frame. She wriggled on his lap from his touch under her robes and pulled up a sleeve to offer her arm. He produced a syringe and injected her with a cloudy substance before resuming his ministrations. Julian walked by and caught the woman’s attention. She reached out for him and he extended her a hand, letting her pull him in close as she arched her back and spread herself across the table for him to sample. Julian loomed over her until she couldn’t wait anymore and tugged on his arm, splaying his large hand over her comparatively small breast, instructing him to knead at her chest. He did so, leaning closer over her so he could swipe the empty syringe from the floor and tuck it into the folds of his clothing. When he accomplished his task, he disengaged from the woman and you could see her roaming hand had found his way in between the folds of his toga and was trying to get in another one or two strokes as he retreated. As his partner, his wife, for the evening, you felt no need to disguise either your proprietary sense or your jealousy. Grabbing for his elbow, you jerked him towards you and spun him out of the way, positioning yourself between the woman in black and the object of both your desires. Too late it occurred to you that it could be huge mistake to challenge a high-ranking member. Your body spoke for itself, like a cat bristling and hissing, ready to claw out any eye that rested too long on Julian. You looked at her hand, suspended in midair as she considered demanding Julian back. With what relish you would break each and every finger, enjoying the snap of each knuckle. The flash in your eyes seemed to communicate this rather eloquently to the women and she turned back to the decrepit old man she was sitting on and threw her head back, her deranged laughter muffled behind her mask. The scene drew many masked faces to turn towards you and examine you with uncanny glittering eyes from behind impassive disguises. They had the eerie curiosity of carrion birds, waiting for their prey to become carcasses.

Julian drew you close, acting possessively, as if the fighting and territorial behavior was part of your foreplay. Grinding his hips into your backside, you felt him stiffen reflexively. His hands squeezed your hips and you threw your head back against his broad shoulder, letting him play out the scene and get you safely away. His hands roved up your body, following the contours of your waist and ribs. One hand slipped inside your dress and drew a lazy circle around the nipple, drawing it into a stiff peak and rolling it between his rough fingers. You let a shudder roll visibly through you and pressed your thighs theatrically together for the benefit of those savoring your reaction, creating some friction and relief. Julian’s other hand snaked up and coiled around your throat as he bent to whisper in your ear. “Fuck,” you heard a guttural grunt as he panted behind his mask, and his strained voice sent a jolt of pleasure through your body. You arched your back into him before you could think not to and his hips responded with a deep thrust as his stiffening cock sought some relief against the curve of your ass. “We should get out of here, he’s--” words failed him and he had to swallow hard before resuming, “he’s not here.”

As you straightened up, trying to find the closest exit point and make for it, one of the marauding sex workers, emboldened by whatever chemical cocktail she was on, made her way to you and placed one hand over the breast Julian wasn’t cupping, and the other around his neck, inviting herself into your company. Not worried about causing trouble due to her rank, you unceremoniously slapped her hand away from Julian, to delighted comments and encouragements from the throng watching on. She tottered like a toddler and you knew a single push could knock her down, and in her state, she likely wouldn’t even feel it. Still, she did not take the hint and tried to touch Julian again. His hand fell away from you and you caught her wrist, twisting only a little before she crumpled into the ground.

As you turned to leave, you nearly bumped into a woman, stripped to her waist, holding a young man’s wrists over an antique letter writing desk. Another woman, with sagging breasts that suggested breast feeding several children, bound in a leather harness, was whipping the youth across the back while an old man in black robes held his hips and frantically pumped. His legs were wiry and crooked and his gut was visibly round as he worked around the protruding flesh to stick his small member into the young man. You squeezed Julian’s thigh in question, as the gesture could be viewed as announcing your eagerness to join in. He wrapped his hand around yours and stilled you, signaling no. Rostov was scrawnier than this round-bellied man. But you were likely getting close. 

Julian raised his masked head towards the upper levels of the chamber. All along the top floor were small viewing chambers, like opera boxes, and most of them held a member dressed in black, with a select guest, or guests, keeping them company. It was there he spied him.

Rostov, ever the attention seeker, was the only attendee with a mask made entirely of gold. Noticeably shorter than the naked woman accompanying him, he seemed to be watching Julian too. Without flinching or looking away, Julian stood and waited for a few beats. Finally, Rostov seemed to make up his mind and with a quick summoning gesture, a servant materialized next to you and asked you to join the host on the uppermost level.

As you were led along the balustrade to Rostov, you saw peep show-like personal rooms with acts going on in glass cages. These seemed to be one per box and, anticipating that you were brought here to perform rather than talk, you were grateful you wouldn’t be ogled by a multitude of criminals. Just one.

In one box, there was a woman in thigh-high boots and a collar around her neck, with a leash leading to some unseen master, bound to a velvet-cushioned chair. The viewer was issuing commands on what was to be done to her and you tried not to listen as you passed that box and approached another. In the glass box, a throuple was enjoying hot wax and blindfolds. At Rostov’s box, you saw a naked man wipe himself down as he exited and a pair of servants untied the woman and helped her out of a harness. The truncated scene confirmed what Julian had shared about Rostov and his penchant for more dominant men and submissive women. Gage’s impish and dominant behavior was a departure from that, so you made sure to remember not to play a meek, passive role.

The small man, hardly larger than a child, wore a golden mask that was reminiscent of hannya masks from Japanese theater, with large eyes, and a twisted grimace with a gaping mouth, revealing sharp teeth. Rostov examined Julian first, holding his large hand in his two small ones, looking at the golden band on his ring finger. He gave yours a glance to confirm he had it right, and let Julian’s hand go. As if examining a thoroughbred, he ran his hands over Julian’s thickly muscled chest, the marvelously  sculpted ridges and valleys of his arms.

“You hold Gage so close, so very close,” Rostov said in a thick accent and sighed. “I can see why.” He ran a finger over your mask, down its smooth, cool cheek, and lower still, dragging his small hand flat down your chest, down the valley between your breasts. Julian shifted his weight and his chest involuntarily puffed up, making Rostov huff a small laugh.

He walked a few small steps away, into his box, and Julian surmised he should follow. When Rostov lounged on the divan, Julian did the same, and they were at last on the same plane.

“From the moment you two walked in, I had one single thought.” He waited until Julian leaned in closer, tacitly asking for an answer. “I want to fuck your wife,” he stage-whispered, loud enough for both of you to hear. “This is a family, Cipher,” Rostov placed a proprietary hand on the back of his neck, pulling him intimately in. Without the masks, they would have been a hair away from kissing.  Julian heard Rostov’s labored breath behind his mask and was sure the man was hard to bursting, though his proportions were such that robes successfully hid on his body what they could never hope to hide on Julian. The man’s eyes devoured him, taking in his body greedily, lust shining in his beady eyes. “We do everything as a unit,” he coaxed.

Julian did not blink. He was playing the role of a man who did not share the woman he loved, and it came naturally to him. Both he and Cipher were the sort to risk powerful people’s displeasure for what they truly wanted. He observed his host, aware of his own intensely masculine appeal and let the man’s desire win out, breaking his determination and making him willing to negotiate.

“Bah,” the little man waved a frustrated hand, “I can see that your wife is not the sharing sort – for a moment there, I was worried she would break my wife’s arm when she was playing with you. And you can imagine the sort of pain in the ass she would be then,” Rostov laughed and phlegm rattled in his lungs. “I’m saddened to see you have the same sick notions of fidelity.” He sighed again and shook his head. “I’ll satisfy myself with watching you this first time, then.” With the matter decided in his mind, Rostov rolled away from him, and servants came in to escort you and Julian inside the glass box, while the pair that was in it before you came back and fell into an embrace with their host.

*

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