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in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather · 1 year ago

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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.

@thegrislady @lumberjack00fantasies @queeniebee @vedavan @mythrielofsolitude @house-of-cadwyn

#commander mills x you #commander mills x reader #assassin au

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appri-dot · 1 month ago

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Pls infodump I wanna know stuff Abt ur ocs🥺🥺🥺🐟🐟

I SAVED THIS ASK FOR WHEN I GET INTO AN OC RAMBLING MOOD BUT I SHOULD PROBABLY JUST USE IT THIS ISN'T UNO!!! OKAY SO UHM- LET ME TALK ABOUT SOME GUYS THAT I NEVER EVER DO! under read more though because they are embarrassing..sigh

Anyway, back to fun things! BSS and Reserved Complex are my dynamic duo Iterator ocs.

Reserved Complex was an early-age Iterator ontop of a preexisting city, she was extremely populated an adored. As they had already grown fond of her before she was created by where she was placed. effectively presenting her as the conscious embodiment of home. As the movement for ascension developed and became more feasible the overly attached iterator started a campaign against it, and even attempted to dissuade her citizens from partaking until forced correction had disabled her ability to propagandize.

She couldn't do anything. And it ruined her a bit.

She became obsessed with their absence, interested in the evolution of life that sprouted from it. Her local group saw her as a very maternal figure, posed as graceful and a parallel to ancients. She earned the trust and adoration of many aside from an individual named Brothers Sworn Secrecy.

Brothers Sworn Secrecy is sort of controversial, he was made to solve the great problem, but a division of ancients who were adverse to the common culture developed on his superstructure. Hedonism and taboo acts were a staple, hidden by a shared sense of secrecy amongst the population. Where they would live to experience pleasure until the era of ascension.

BSS was very VERY closed off because of this, it was obnoxious how impossible it was to communicate with him or his citizens. Until finally there was a seizure of his people to be quickly straightened out for their negative influences, and BSS was abandoned, left with a gift of independence, acutely aware of each and every functional system inside and out of his can, as they one day hoped he could join them.

He had kept all the secrets they buried with himself, removing himself from the local group communications and dedicating his life to secretly discovering the taboo of self elimination.

And everyone lived that way, existing through cycles and cycles with no real deviation from their previous experiences. Until RC did something so unacceptable and offensive that she was effectively blacklisted from any and all communications. (She tried to force the evolution of a new sapient species to replace the ancients, revealing that thousands of cycles of trust lead to some unholy abomination that triggered taboos never considered)

Afterwards she considered trying to communicate with BSS who didn't exactly have her blocked but was just literally off radar. Developing a means to earn the consideration and grace of the group again by using BSS as her target. She made a slugcat🥰 awww! One with a short lifespan and in such a way that it couldn't exactly function properly, and the only thing it could do was reach BSS...atleast that's what it hid itself as. It was an infection, it could breed and fast, as cycles past the creature would essentially just die and have its children die aswell. Many cycles, many generations. Destroying the local ecosystem of BSS's structure, like a virus.

Nothing stopped them, they had no message, and they had no mercy.

So he eventually reinstated his communication to everybody's shock to plea for help and beg anybody to save him. That's where RC steps in. Basically working to "fix" the issue. Using her gross abomination lizards to kill the slugcats in mass. But they couldn't really persist against a monument of icky critters. And RC knew they wouldn't.

BSS as of current is managed by the group as a sick loser. RC earning her spot back as the sweet and tender mother who only wants what's best. And she would've gotten away with it if it weren't for that meddling slugcat!!!! (Leech)

I NEED TO STOP BEFORE I REACH SOME KIND OF LIMIT!!! I LOVE THESE TWO SO SO SO SO MUCH THEY MAKE ME SICK AND ILL AND CLAP MY HANDS, the reason I'm embarrassed and don't talk about them much is because they are what I call, "unofficial fandom ocs" I don't know enough canon story elements to confidently talk about them aloud because there might be some lore inconsistencies in how they are portrayed

Also there's other dudes lol

#rw ocs lol #but illegal ones #bootleg ones

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basiatlu · 11 months ago

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What r your thoughts on a Ron and Draco friendship? I feel like when Harry and Hermione are both at work and one of them starts to feel lonely/bored that either Ron or Draco will show up at the other persons front door and pretend they are only there because they “promised Harry/Hermione I would check in on you” or some other lie. They would definitely argue the entire time and at first every single time they hang out both Harry and Hermione think “oh my god they hate each other and do nothing but fight we have to stop letting them cross paths before someone crosses a line” only to slowly realize that Ron and Draco are actually having the time of their lives together because they LOVE debating anything and everything. They love it. This is crack to them. Arguing is their weird love language with one another and the more tense and passionate the argument is then the more fun they are having, even when it looks like they’re both furious at one another.

They just get into full screaming arguments across Mollys kitchen table but the entire time they are sharing a tin of biscuits and taking turns making tea all without pausing their debate. They maintain that they hate each other if anyone asks, but you know that Draco is pacing the flat any time they have the other couple over, pretending to complain about “if she brings the Weasel you’d better tell him he’s not allowed on the furniture” all the whole bouncing excitedly on his toes and queueing up topics for debate in his mind.

On the other side you have Ron following Hermione around the house and griping “He’s not seriously bringing the ferret with him, is he? He’s such a posh twat, Hermione, it’s going to be miserable!” Meanwhile he’s just stocked up on his and Draco’s favorite sweets specifically for such an occasion.

Just—I can imagine the both of them being so steadfast in the idea of “no, I hate him, he’s awful” while completely unaware that actually they are pretty much best friends and love each others company lol. They’d bitch and complain and slander one another all day long but you just know if anyone did anything to the other they would be grabbing their wand and rushing to the defense. What do you think a friendship between them would look like?

Honestly? I feel similar on a lot of this!

In some iterations of Draco I can see him and Ron at first being really defensive and prodding like two cats forced to cohabitate the same room. There will be a lot of hissing and spitting and raised haunches but one day

Malfoy will say something dry and self-deprecating, and Ron will laugh before he realizes what's happened. And I think Harry being a butt of their jokes (in good taste) will bring them together. And when Draco gets enough tact to speak with Hermione in a respectful way, Ron will see he's actually got a good head on his shoulders.

It's when he comes for Christmas dinner at the Burrow for the 1st time, immediately starts asking George and Arthur about their respective hobbies and careers with earnest interest, goes to set the dining table in a display of elaborate housekeeping charms without being asked ("Because none of you ungrateful pests have done it already! Must she still wipe your chins for you too?"), compliments Molly by asking for second helpings of her cooking, and then when gifted a knitted scarf (a precursor, a warmup before the real Weasley sweater initiation to follow next year) Draco laughs in triumph and wears it immediately. Strikes a pose in front of Harry.

"Never got one of these, ey Potter? I'm special!"

And Ron has to admit that he's alright.

#also #Ron and him could get on with puzzle solving and spell expirementation #Draco’s knack for figuring things out and potions it gives me nutty professor vibes #i now wish to create a career au where he's a hired hand with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and helps George and Ron with the charms/potions #drawing prompts for later #hp thoughts #ron weasley #ronald weasley #draco malfoy

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mariacallous · 2 months ago

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NATO concluded a major anti-drone exercise this week, with Ukraine taking part for the first time as the Western alliance seeks to learn urgently from the rapid development and widespread use of unmanned systems in the war there.

The drills at a Dutch military base, involving more than 20 countries and some 50 companies, tested cutting-edge systems to detect and counter drones and assessed how they work together. The 11-day exercise ended with a demonstration of jamming and hacking drones in a week when their critical role in the Ukraine war was demonstrated once again. On Wednesday, a large Ukrainian drone attack triggered an earthquake-sized blast at a major Russian arsenal. The following day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ramping up drone production tenfold to nearly 1.4 million this year. The proliferation of drones in the war – to destroy targets and survey the battlefield – has prompted NATO to increase its focus on the threat they could pose to the alliance. "NATO takes this threat very, very seriously," said Matt Roper, chief of the Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Centre at the alliance's technology agency. "This is not a domain we can afford to sit back and be passive on," he said at the exercise site, Lieutenant General Best Barracks in the east of The Netherlands. Experts have warned NATO that it needs to catch up quickly on drone warfare. "NATO has too few drones for a high-intensity fight against a peer adversary," a report from the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank declared last September. "It would be severely challenged to effectively integrate those it has in a contested environment."

The drills that wrapped up on Thursday – complete with ice cream for onlookers provided by a radar company – were the fourth annual iteration of the exercise. Claudio Palestini, the co-chair of a NATO working group on unmanned systems, said the exercise had adapted to trends such as the transformation of FPV (first-person view) drones - originally designed for civilian racers – into deadly weapons. "Every year, we see an evolution of the threat with the introduction of new technology," he said. "But also we see a lot of capabilities (to counter drones) that are becoming more mature." In a demonstration on Thursday, two small FPV drones whizzed and whined at high speed through the blue sky to dart around a military all-terrain vehicle before their signal was jammed. Such electronic warfare is widespread in Ukraine. But it is less effective against long-range reconnaissance drones, a technology developer at Ukraine's defense ministry said. The official, giving only his first name of Yaroslav for security reasons, said his team had developed kamikaze drones to destroy such craft – a much cheaper option than firing missiles, which Ukraine had previously done. "You need to run fast," he said of the race to counter the impact of drones. "Technology which you develop is there for three months, maybe six months. After, it's obsolete."

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shibascrem · 6 months ago

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Monster Hunter x Splatoon: What weapons would the characters use?

I keep forgetting I can just post whatever I want. I'm going to make no sense if no one plays monster hunter on here. Iceborne specific because that's the one I'm most familiar with (with exceptions). I do miss unga bunga MH4 charge blade.

Callie - A hammer main no question, unga bunga, ledge crits, sliding sonic spins, just here for a good time.

Marie - Heavy Bow Gun, specifically with a Wyvern Snipe and pierce setup, although she is not averse to using stickies and clusters, whatever gets the job done fastest. One of those players who never lets the monster get up.

Pearl - Dual Blades, obviously. She loves doing the Attack on Titan spin and the evade shot. Somehow really good at tail cuts.

Marina - Lance when playing just with Pearl, Hunting Horn in a bigger group. Best weapons for best girl. JK, I just think she'd get a kick out of counters and memorizing HH song combos. She has stuck with HH through all its changes and will continue to in the future. Really aggressive as Lance, health augment is her friend.

Big Man - Great Sword. He's the type to have a monster's moveset memorized and capitalize damage to the nth degree. Almost no whiffs and has amazing positioning except when playing in groups, but there's no helping that.

Frye - I feel like Insect Glaive is a good weapon for her, she vibes with the flowy moveset and LOVES the insect customization. Names her bugs after her eels. Regularly competes with Pearl about who can cut the tail first.

Shiver - Bow, what else. Wannabe speedrunner, so many armor sets, and extremely customized radial menu. Cannot stand playing in groups because it messes with their flow, but will do it for Deep Cut while looking like this:

NSS kids:

Captain 3 - Longsword. Weeaboo emo roots run deep okay. Prefers Sunbreak's iteration of Longsword because SO. MANY. COUNTERS. but will make do with Iceborne. Does the weapon pose after every hunt.

Four - Sword and Shield or Light Bowgun. Versatility is the name of the game and Four is winning it. Will wreck house with status builds, traps, and well-placed barrel bombs.

Eight - Charge blade. Obsesses over Guard Points and has the know how to perform them regularly, even the savage axe guard point. Loves the technicality of the weapon.

Neo 3 - Switch Axe. Took one look at this goofy ass weapon and fell in love. Also prefers Sunbreak's iteration because more mobility options, but Iceborne just has that explosion oomph.

Lil Buddy - Gunlance. Blast dash and Wyvern's Fire. No further explanation needed.

*Sidenote: I am a Lance main and, while I love the Clutch Claw Counter in Iceborne, Sunbreak's Lance is just *chef's kiss*.

#splatoon #monster hunter #the shibe screams

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vertebrae-entertainment · 7 months ago

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4/5/2024 - Fangst animation rework!

Hi again y'all, Hauk here! If you've been peeking at our discord channel lately, you might have noticed I've been posting a lot of animation WIP's. Thats because I'm in the process of reworking some of the oldest sprites in the project- walking and jumping!

It can take me up to a year to nail how I draw and animate a character. For our protagonist the thing that has taken the most time is definitely line stylization, proportions and leg silhouette. He's gotten bigger and bigger during development, not to mention spikier! Honestly its not that smart to design a tall character for a platformer, and there's a reason most platforming type characters have a very square hitbox. Its just easier to design challenges that way!

But i'm not changing gears now!! I wanted Fangst to have a tall handsome man as a player character, and i'm gonna stick to it!!

Here's a peek at the new walk animation. The arm holding his fishing rod is a static, separate sprite that is basically glued to the player with code for gameplay reasons.

We needed a smart way to change and add bounce to the rod without having a million variants of every sprite. Here are two iterations on how a static arm could be anchored to the player. I want him to carry himself with a confident sway, as though the whole world is his catwalk- so perhaps the full bounce of the second one is too much!

Speaking of bounce, the double jump animation! Right now he has the very placeholder double jump solution of turning into a small rotating orb sonic style, and its been a frustrating disconnect seeing as the hitbox ordinarily is quite big.

My goal for this animation is that i want him to do a sexy, elegant backflip. I started with a version with an upside down split, but after some iterations we agreed that the simpler one would be more readable and use-friendly. But an upside down split is kinda iconic... maybe we can use it elsewhere?

A platformer player will spend most of their time jumping around, so nailing a satisfying, easily readable jump is important in both animation and feel. Characterization is also important here- i want it to be obvious that our player character is athletic and elegant, and that these acrobatics cost him little effort.

However, i'm expecting a bit of a pickle implementation-wise. See, him turning into a sonic-style orb made the walljumps feel practically seamless. Will a fully animated backflip be equally friendly? The sprite will be a lot bigger. Truth is, a character turning into a ball is just really easy to design around.

Here's the current in-game sprites, featuring his old jumps, idle pose and miiildly disconnected placeholder arm with a smaller fishing rod. As you might have noticed, he's also a bit softer looking, and his boots are way smaller!

I think the newer sprites will make him have a more stylish, cool and recognizeable silhouette. It will be worth it to update these old things- after all, inbetween all this technical game design stuff, its just also really important to me that the player feels like a cool and professional monster hunting fisherman!

Thanks for keeping up with our project, we're doing our best to make Fangst a proper quality "You: A Hot Man, Kill Monster!" experience!!

-Hauk

#fangst #fishing game #indiedev #gamedev #gamemaker #indie games #indie game #queer #animation #wip #dev log #platformer #2d animation

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moonpoolcat · 2 months ago

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How do you think iterators would react to making contact with aliens?

Honestly they would do nothing. They're already aware that there is life out in space, the ancients just weren't around long enough to develop space travel to accomplish this. But there are local groups that mainly keep a close eye on the stars in case other lifeforms do land so everyone can be prepared. The best I can think of is they'll treat aliens like scavengers an just leave them alone observing them if they don't pose a threat. Long as it doesn't get in the way of their every day life it won't be issue. If all goes well the iterators will attempt to make contact themselves to establish an alliance of some sort to hopefully advance themselves. Even potentially creating an entirely new generation of iterators leading to them leaving the planet. Worse case scenario? each superstructure is equipped with a- hm- I'm not entirely sure what to call it but lets say it's the death ray from star wars. Reduce intruders to atoms.

#askmoonpool

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mxnxdrama · 8 months ago

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Behind the Mask: Character, Past, Memories, Idea

Oh boy, this is a big one. We already know that 'Sparkle' is not her real name, but with how much its used predominantly that it might as well be her real name at this point. But this also poses the question. Which 'Sparkle' is real? As her Myriad Celestia trailer states in the end, "Who's the real Sparkle?"

The answer might either be 'Every Sparkle is real', or 'Every Sparkle is not real'.

Confusing, yes. But it actually has weight to it.

To Sparkle, the name and character of 'Sparkle' is an idea. And ideas are unkillable. Ideas are eternal. The one acting the character may die one day, but the idea of the character will transcend and far outlive them, thus becoming a legacy.

Though of course, Sparkle isn't doing this to please the crowd, or to gain clout. She simply does so for the sake of enjoying oneself. Fame? Money? Power? Success? It doesn't matter if she'd have them, or she'd end up having only less. What matters most is the entertainment and joy she derives from doing so. Sure, she wouldn't admit that she does yearn to noticed by others, but that's just something inherent on every actor after all.

Her Character Story Part IV has a good insight on this idea, on what the character Sparkle means to her, and the purpose of her acting and weaving stories, in general. On how important narrative is to her.

But how does this connect to Past and Memories?

Simple.

The mind can be trained. It can be trained in surprisingly bizarre ways that one can find haunting, and self-destructive to some.

You can train the mind into a pavlovian response. You can train the mind with hypnotic triggers. You can train the mind in simple memorization. The mind is constantly exposed to external stimuli that it learns and can be trained in the most random of ways.

Again, how does this correlate?

As stated on a previous Headcanon post, "In a narrative sense and her penchant of impersonation and the countless, different iterations of her origin, Sparkle effectively embodied this narrative. The concept of story telling of a “Hero’s journey”, narrating multiple starting points, middle points and endpoints of various outcomes she had thought for herself, to the point that every story she claims to be her origin story becomes a red herring meant not only to misdirect, but to also be open to multiple interpretations and suspension of one’s disbelief in order to acclimate themselves to what story they should believe in."

Funnily enough, this is supported by what she says on her Character Story IV:

"Liking and believing are two different things, but people are more likely to believe in their favorite stories."

"Lies? Come on, I'm not trying to tell a grand story or fabricate an eye-catching experience… I'm wholeheartedly exercising my imagination for my own sake. I imagine various lives, seek excitement, and then recreate them as best I can, and pump the brakes on my imaginative balloon just a second before it bursts."

"Seriously, having a script is far from enough. First and foremost, I must wholeheartedly believe that the character I'm portraying truly exists. Then, I need to imagine the other stories where the character would appear. I always need extra information to make their motivation logical and emotional."

Sure, one can have derive a reading from this that Sparkle is simply sharing how her creative process works, and that's completely valid. Creative process and narratives always come hand in hand, after all. However, I would like to add an additional reading to this.

By wholeheartedly believing the the character she's portraying truly exists, this also means that she would have to believe that said character's experiences and memories would be inherently real.

Thus, this alone also connects to the 'Past' and 'Memories' bit I have suggested onto the title of this headcanon post.

I think Sparkle's expertise in narrative is more than enough to fool even a Memokeeper.

By wholeheartedly believing the characters she portray in her 'origin stories' truly exist, as well as recreating those various lives as best she can, she is able to create memories that are so pristine and real, that it can completely fool anyone, or almost anyone, save for the people who truly know her in a personal level.

How is this possible, you say?

Simple.

As stated above, and to requote it, "The mind can be trained. It can be trained in surprisingly bizarre ways that one can find haunting, and self-destructive to some. You can train the mind into a pavlovian response. You can train the mind with hypnotic triggers. You can train the mind in simple memorization. The mind is constantly exposed to external stimuli, be it from others, or from oneself that it learns and can be trained in the most random of ways, be it a net positive or a negative."

Along with that is Sparkle's penchant for method acting.

In fact, this always seem to be Sparkle's go to in regards to acting.

Again, to quote her Character Story IV, "I must wholeheartedly believe that the character I'm portraying truly exists. Then, I need to imagine the other stories where the character would appear. I always need extra information to make their motivation logical and emotional."

But Eris, how can you be so sure that she's indeed a practitioner of method acting?

Its right there.

The need to wholeheartedly believe that the character she's portraying truly exists without a shadow of a doubt, as well as recreating the lives of said character to the best of her ability.

Not to mention, she also says this:

"-what I'm trying to convey is that in such an environment, who but myself can guarantee that I won't stray from my intended path and become a character in someone else's story? Nobody! That's why I have to tirelessly imagine and immerse myself in the act."

"No, I'm not denying it… It's truly addictive to me. The more I imagine, the more I get absorbed in those characters, the wonderful and tragic situations I create for them, and the emotions they experience in those circumstances…"

Not to mention the full, wholehearted willful immersion of oneself in portraying these different Sparkles from her different origin stories.

This is also why she impersonates. In fact, she can impersonate anyone so well, down to the personal level, that only thing limiting her into perfectly passing off as someone else would be foreknowledge and memories. If she is given enough time to fully understand and study another person, then her impersonations would be indiscernible to a haunting degree.

But of course, simple immersion just won't cut it, right?

Here is where self-hypnosis lies as a factor.

I believe that through her Elation powers, Sparkle is able to frequently use some form of hypnotherapy onto herself to either alter, omit, create, or outright suppress memories as if they never even existed. This way, she can train her own mind to truly believe that not only her 'origin stories' are real, but also the experiences and memories from them as well.

But Eris, wouldn't that veer off to a Memokeeper ability already? Sure, Memokeepers already inherently do that on the daily on other people, but the stark difference here is that Sparkle can only do it on herself.

But Eris, shouldn't Memokeepers be able to easily sniff that out?

Sure, they can possibly do that. But Emanators aren't ordinary Pathstriders, are they? Much like how diving too deep in a certain implied Self-Annihilator's memories would take the turn for the absolute worst, trying to pry too deep into Sparkle's mind and memories would only result to psychedelic madness. A massive jigsaw puzzle where every piece don't seem to fit right. A grand house of mirrors, wherein everything is both real and not real at once. A maze that constantly shifts. A liminal space that just goes on and on in sheer maddening randomness.

Again, the mind can be trained. And once it is trained well enough, even fantasy becomes reality. Even fiction becomes fact. Even stories become true events.

The mind can be trained not only to fool others, but also to fool oneself.

This also runs back to another previous Headcanon regarding to the Self. This is the product of the unionizing between Sparkle's conscious and unconscious. This is the Masked Fool's personalized 'perfection'.

An individual who embodies the idea of the Thousand Faces. An individual who doesn't really care about status, wealth or power, but of one's own personal joys and elation.

Hence with such mentality, Sparkle is unbound. Unbound from any limitations, unbound from any constraint. She will go where she pleases, and will do what she sees fit, for the gratification of the self.

"If you want to perform, is there a stage more captivating than your own life?"

Thus, this is the idea of the character Sparkle. The refraction of light on a prism that shines in so many different colors, with each color just as real as the the main light source that had refracted from the prism itself.

Or maybe said refractions are just the trick of the light, and none of them are real?

It all lies on the eye of the beholder.

#;an open ended interpretation | headcanon

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nancywheeeler · 11 months ago

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d'you happen to have a personal ranking of the Ephron Trifecta (Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail)? (just assuming you love a good romcom).

i love a good romcom, but oh man have you posed a tough question. i am going to try not to overthink this and go with what is in my heart so okay here we go:

1. You've Got Mail

is it nostalgia? is it because i love every iteration of parfumerie? is it how desperately i want the life of heather burns's character christina? all of the above? yes.

basically i feel the same way about you've got mail as my mom feels about apollo 13: if i find it on a random cable channel, i will have to watch, at minimum, thirty minutes before i can move on with my day. i love how nora moves us through the seasons in new york, and how she gives tom hanks the worst character to work with and he still makes him charming, and meg ryan! need i say more. how outdated it is just makes it more endearing to me. i rewatched it recently in my countdown to christmas (along with the shop around the corner, which i highly, highly recommend!), and i was once again swept off my feet. she was hoping it was him!

2. When Harry Met Sally

my favorite memory of when harry met sally: in february of 2020, one of my best friends threw a valentine's day party and decided to have romcoms on in the background for ambience. this was the first movie she put on and a solid seven of us watched the entire movie. the whole thing. during a party. billy crystal and meg ryan are that irresistible.

i think it's nora's best screenplay. it's hilarious, very grounded and adult (affectionate), and she should have won that oscar. i just don't personally have the same nostalgic attachment to it that i have to you've got mail. i first saw it when i was much older, which was for the best! i know i would not have appreciated it at thirteen.

3. Sleepless in Seattle

i first watched sleepless in seattle in the bath while drinking a glass of white wine, as ms. ephron intended. loved every minute of it.

this movie has no right working. none. i'm pretty sure meg ryan commits several crimes over the course of it, and i would have been her defense attorney if she had been charged with any of them. she (and tom, but mostly meg) sell this bonkers premise so hard. even though i rank the other two above it, sleepless in seattle definitely came the closest to making me cry. (did the wine play a role? who is to say.) it's definitely the one i've seen the least, but i'm now inspired to watch it again. the "meg ryan leaves a perfectly nice man for the mere idea of tom hanks" cinematic universe really does fuck so severely.

#ask #thank you so much for asking anon and apologies for the novel-length answer!#one day i'll learn to answer asks with brevity

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vullcanica · 6 months ago

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Nikodemus' avid interest in music and dance stretches far back to deep antiquity where his earliest iterations partook in peasant folk music and the oral traditions surrounding it. To him, melody has always begotten movement - whether of the body or mind or, likewise, spirit - and is at its best when written for such purposes. Krilnei was rich in folk music divorced from the ceremonial and religious movements of the outside world and held more personal connotations for its commonfolk and the various festivities celebrated in the village. The culture also freely borrowed from settling travellers and nomad musicians, who would contribute their own practices and foreign influences to the krilneian musical craft. There was unchecked freedom of expression and, tangentially, a staggering speed of innovation in rhythm, melody, lyricism and harmony, borne of experimentation. To this day, the Necromancer is partial to rich, full, layered music and multiple voice compositions.

Nikodemus' later venture out into the world and his several stints into organized religion - a leading authority on music at the time - left him bored of the stiff tenets of plainchant, where he nevertheless flourished into his natural baritone. He followed more closely the works of free composers who were spared the limitations of faith-sponsored musical education and largely benefitted from that - men and women whose contribution to the creative word were never recognized and preserved as holy, and thusly have not survived anywhere but the bowels of Nikodemus' libraries of personally transcribed songs. His curiosity about the originality of the sung word lead to him supporting - and even quietly pushing, through the orchestration of several religious rebellions and sects (already a frequent meddler in those affairs himself) - the full divorce of music from the limitations of the holy language, and then, from the whims and patronship of the rather droll ecclesiastic class. Then sat back and watched musical diversity grow as it moved away from the sacred.

He opted to finally pursue a musical education in later eras and in many forms from lands far more vivacious, just in time to catch several Golden Ages where he greedily picked up languages, songs and dances like a man parched - then returned to his homeland, taken by the rapid development of classical composition, the rudiment of opera and the transition from courtly dancing to partnered romantics. He sought brief operatic training - only so far as the whim held him - then resigned himself once more to participating in the creative world in other ways. Easy wealth - sometimes earned, mostly not - always allowed for patronship of the musical arts when he felt like it; money he would blow elsewhere anyhow. When the practical need to pose as noble or even royal arose, an excuse to fill courts and travelling parties with household musicians did too. He would always have a flutist, oudist, drummer and harpist in tow. In later centuries, a pianist as well. All always specifically famous for their dance music.

Every few centuries he would hire select musicians to try and bring to life his library of old krilneian music - at times to resounding success, other times to failure, but never to the survival of the chosen few. It's a nostalgic indulgence of his none are privy to - for long, at least.

#𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 ‒ nikodemus ║ HEADCANONS #i'm reading the history of classical music and sth possessed me ig #i just love nik putting his grubby little hands into religious rites and the world of nobility #which were the two main patrons of music for a long while. so one thing usually leads to another #nik intermittently delving into the higher echelon world and finding it sounding terribly similar a few hundred years in a row... hilarious #nik vc: fuckin BOORIIIIING bust out the lutes #tbh some of these little details apply across verses. always finds it a terrible shame when religions employ music as a tool.#is always a hipster about his taste in artists. ALWAYS loves to dance.

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attemptsonherlifepdf · 7 months ago

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in relation to the sci-fi essay, do you think that any other movies or books show the parallels between the sci-fi and gothic genres in a similar sort of way? and with the matrix being the most widely popular movie to argue the points it does showing support for trans people and opposing capitalism and do you think it lead to the ability for more media to bridge the gap between sci-fi and the gothic, but also to openly criticise social systems without fear of it being less popular due to opposing lots of peoples beliefs at the time, or do you think the matrix was done in a way where it allowed for people to ignore the crucial points for their own comfort and not challenge their beliefs?

hi, thanks for the question!! historically, the biggest (and first / most popular) example of a text that bridges the gap between sci fi and the gothic is mary shelley’s frankenstein. the gothic, and by natural extension sci fi, inherently criticises social systems as a part of the narrative structure of the genre. it takes a societal fear such as the fear of people playing god and pairs it with a supernatural being such as frankenstein’s monster in order to create commentary on society’s fears. frankenstein is the most salient example of the gothic and sci fi morphing together, and is definitely the most well known text that bridges the gap between genres. there are many film and stage iterations of the text that are structured in various styles that take different aspects of the text’s social commentary to focus on. sci fi itself is inherently political.

to answer the second part of the question, many gothic and sci fi texts gain popularity years after initial release, when the meaning of these texts is finally understood and the become cult classics. straying slightly from the gothic and sci fi for a second, chuck palahnuik’s fight club is a prime example of a text / movie that wasn’t well received upon release but later became popular - it is a political text that comments on the radicalisation of young disenfranchised men and the commentary is made explicit but it still remains widely misunderstood due to the male dominated fanbase wanting the piece to validate their violence. like your question poses, audiences often ignore the real meaning for the sake of their own comfort. fight club and the matrix show that a text’s criticism of societal norms can be as explicit as possible, but audiences will misinterpret it if they intend to use the text to validate their own ideals. media already has the ability to openly criticise social systems but the question is whether audiences will be receptive to it. authors and directors and playwrights will always be making some commentary on the topic of their piece of media, because media itself is a vehicle for meaning and no media is made without an inherent meaning or without making a statement on its chosen topic. with every piece of media there will always be a portion of the audience that ignores the crucial points for the sake of their own comfort and reinforcing their own beliefs but that doesn’t take away from the meaning itself.

psychologically we can assess the effectiveness of media in conveying its message. there are two systems of persuasion in social psychology: system 1 and system 2. system 1 is fast acting and functions by reinforcing the beliefs individuals already hold, for instance an advert for a product that is already well liked. system 2 is slower and functions by trying to change the beliefs individuals already hold, for instance greta thunberg’s speech to the un. system 2 is more complex and difficult to execute and media like the matrix attempts to execute system 2, aiming to alter the audience’s generally held belief that governments have our best interests in mind and can be trusted, and also implicitly advocating for trans identities to be respected. the reason the movie has become understood decades after its release is because system 2 persuasion is slow and less effective than system one.

this was a very long answer sorry but i hope this has answered your question!! <3

#film analysis #essay #literary analysis #the matrix 1999 #the matrix analysis #the matrix trilogy #asks #essay asks #long post #long asks #anon ask

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kninedlog · 1 year ago

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Here's every current Sonic character IDW or Videogame and my; I've been with sonic the hedgehog since birth, opinion. PART 2

Yes this a part 2 I made another one that I posted before this one. If you haven't seen it you don't need to, but it does cover the main guys. This one goes a little obscure cuz this is mostly comic characters now.

If you want to read the first part check it out HERE and at the bottom of the post. THX 😊 Let's roll!

V+Name= Videogame vr

C+Name= IDW comic vr

Name = just assume I'm talking about both iterations or they only have the one of either.

(mostly jokes under the cut. I'm not taking this seriously. Obviously Spoilers for the IDW Sonic the hedgehog series.)

Tangle: She's cool and funny. Seriously though she's just a more accurate female sonic that Sonic Team was originally trying to go for with blaze but she turned out too serious and by the book so they placed that on Tangle. She handles that title well though. Truly a fun and charismatic girl.

Whisper: She's my favorite out of the new comic cast. I thought it would be Bell but then she came in. Whisper is so cool that she too has an urban legend about her in silver's time. That's enough for me to get hooked. If the future character knows about you and you turn it to be what the rumors say than you instantly take my heart.

Bell: She is interesting. Another reformed Eggman robot, we've seen that before but the fact SHE got Metal to halt and hesitate and also didn't attack her on the spot got me doing some thinking. Some theory crafting when that happened. I want her to have an hour with metal's system and watch she'll probably reform him for just a single issue alone. I want that so bad. She's skilled and dare I say a little scary, considering what she can do if sonic doesn't blow up every egg pawn or badnik he sees and just gives it to her so they can work for the resistance. Also happy that's she's technically tails' assist and lives with him, that's cute.

Jewel: She's so cute! I love her! She's so shiny and tiny and jumpy and whiney, and it's a fresh air to have a character thinking about common sense.

CTHE DEADLY SIX: They were cool for the short time they were there. I mean yeah they were there, what they could do with the emeralds was fascinating along with the arc they appered in. They were serious threats! Yet it was sort sweeped aside for Zavok and I kinda didn't like that. I wanted to see more of the problems the Six could've caused. Master Zik got the Babylon rouges stuck, that was shocking. The fight between zor, Silver and whisper was cool. Silver demolishing Zor's mechanical owl and then doing the cruelest thing he's ever done and leaving him for dead. That was cold. Cream vs Zeena was heart wrenching cuz I could already see the outcome despite the victory. Those were fun. The fights between Amy and tails vs Zomom and Espio vs Zazz they were lack luster to me.

CTHE DEADLY SIX: I could make a YouTube video about I feel about these six. It's been years since the game came out when they debuted so I have a lot of words that I can fit in this post alone. Take what I said from the comic iterations of them and you'll guess how I feel.

Jet: I feel the same about him in both vr's of himself. He's cool, he's loyal. And he's a jackass towards sonic. All the best character traits a sonic character could ever have.

Wave: She barely said anything in the comic so I'll have to go by games more. However, badsed on body poses and facial expressions alone you can tell that she's roughly the same character albeit a bit more laid back than her video game self. Although, the situation we saw the Babylon Rouges in was a bit unfair for their characters to suddenly be shown, so I'd just have to hope to see them again to form a better opinion. Other than all that, she's cool.

Storm: Haha big dumb funny guy haha.

Lanolin: OOHH I have a lot to say about Lanolin! She's dope. Really dope. I like her wispon and her choice of wisp. That's so flipping clever! I've been seeing (mostly hearing through the sonic content people I watch on YouTube) that she reminds everyone of Sally Acron too much and to that I say politely to Shut Up!

[[Small Tanget — OMG, not everyone is Sally. Amy gets development, she's Sally. Whisper gets some comic time and importance, she's Sally. I miss her too, honestly. Truly I do. But you gotta understand that she's not coming back. Sure people can have a look at any of them and say she's Sally Inspired or has made changes in honor of Sally but don't say they ARE her. Cuz their not. Their clearly not. There's enough different in many things to separate the two. Is someone where to redraw Sally over any of them (which I bet some people have tried to do, idk, I haven't been to that dark side of the fandom in forever and I refuse to go back) I bet it's gonna look really out of place. Not because you KNOW she's not supposed to be there but becuase how big of those differences are.]]]

Lanolin is great. She's a kick ass leader for the new Diamond cutters and I can't wait to see more of her. She's dope. It's also really cool how she's been developing in the background. I've noticed that and have been telling myself since the metal virus, "she's gonna be important someday. A design doesn't stay this consistent in the sonic verse without reason"

Dr Starline: AHH I love him! He's so cool and swauve and interesting. Yet his downfall was sad and we all saw it coming but without him we wouldn't have gotten the most bone chilling and coolest Eggman art. His character development from a collected and impressionable admirer, to a broken and disheveled fanatic deadset on impressing and topping the Eggman at his own game was on some anime levels type of writing. I hope they keep this up in the comic with any new villains cause Starline set an expectation for all new villains to try and climb over.

Surge: okay 2 things. 1 - my phone was giving me a hard time writing her name as it kept auto correcting or my fingers kept typing scourge at first. I don't know what that says about me but that's a thing. And 2 - The Tenrec is awesome. She had the fandom that was reading the comic in a chokehold once she was introduced. Setting the bar for antiheros in the sonic universe; that aren't robotic, for what they should be like in the future. Her and Kit in the same room reigns over the fight and causes utter destruction. Give them time and they'll create it to levels of Chaos flooding all of station square and more. Surge herself though is intriguing, for the last speed "villain" sonic has ever faced seriously was scourge in the comics and shadow in the games. Her means for acting and being the way she is with the tourtre Starline put her and Kitsunami through all for the sake of one flipping person. I'd be just as mad. Honestly, and I don't think my anger would ever go away. One of the best Sonic clones in a long time.

Kitsunami: Everytime I re-read imposter syndrome and the issues he was in I wanna cry. The personality of Kit is the exact opposite of his partner Surge and everytime they interacted healthily it was deep cuts of emotions for me. They both display the huge dramatized different reactions to trauma. Kitsunami's hit harder for me than Surge as I tend to people please more then get angry and lash out. With Kits whole deal being surge and nothing but her, I got scared for him when he was saved and Surge had her little fake out death. It scared the hell out of me, because what else was he supposed to do but bow down and fawn to the next thing closest to her. I'm sure if her death was real and Sonic and Tails took him in, he would soon grow and become his own person but his built in obsession for the tenrec or anything closest to her when she's not there as a character trait hurts but is amazing writing wise nonetheless.

Clutch: Clutch the Opossum is really cool. So cool to the point where I hope and pray so much that he comes back. Becuase I can see him being a legitimate threat. He too is an issue to both sonic and co and Eggman as he hotwires badniks to do is bidding with ease, apparently. So add that, with the extension of he's a composed business type of guy, with a face so sinister that mobsters would probably step down to him if he were to crack a deal, a master of deception feigning unconsciousness when possible and having a taste for the high quality of things. What's stopping him from collecting the emeralds himself. Or already/always having one in his possession. He's more a villain made to combat rouge or the Chaotix more than sonic and his gaggle of close friends, but I'm curious to see more of him.

Mimic: He's still out there. That's all I have to say. If you've read the Tangle and Whisper spin off and you read the bad guys spin off then you know who Mimic is, and know that he's still out there with the capabilities of being a SERIOUS problem all because of his simple ability of shape shifting.

- PART 1 - Here

- PART 2 - You're here!

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