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saintandsinnerwrites · 4 years ago

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A/N: Saint and I decided to try to write this prompt collaboratively. (Also somehow I managed to delete the ask so here’s a screenshot lmao) I primarily wrote Jan and she did Rosé. It was a fun way to fill this prompt. Let us know if you enjoyed our little collab 😘 -Sinner

CW: monsterfucking, inhuman anatomy, and blasphemy probably

Blacklist tag cwmonsterfucking if you’d rather sit this one out 💖

Jan couldn’t deny there was something strange about the sorority house, but she liked the girls so much that she’d accepted her bid and pledged. Education was now over and it was time for initiation.

Jan did think it was odd that the ritual was one at a time instead of all together as a pledge class, but each night at midnight one of the pledges would go down to the basement alone for their initiation ritual and tonight it was Jan’s turn. She had to admit she was a little nervous.

Denali had been in her pledge class and had been initiated the night before and she’d told Jan not to be scared and just ‘let it happen’, whatever that meant.

Jan was dressed all in white as an angel, complete with wings and a halo, her soon to be full sisters all in black as they prepared Jan for her initiation. She held her big Jackie’s hand, waiting for them to tell her it was time.

When it was, she descended quietly to the basement, not sure what to expect. The whole sorority was upstairs. Surely it was nothing too bad? All the girls were nice and sweet. She couldn’t imagine them doing anything bad to her.

Jan looked around the fairly plain basement. Oddly, the only thing down there was a plush bed. Jan looked under it. Nothing. She sat on the side and waited for something to happen...

Rosé looked on from the shadows when the girl was led downstairs for her initiation. An angel costume, huh? Well that was certainly interesting, and she smirked to herself knowing damn well the other girls did that on purpose. Jan was her name as she had overheard Jan's sorority sisters talking about this very day. She knew Jan had no idea what was about to happen, none of them did. They were just led to the bed to await their fate, but all the girls loved every moment of their little ritual. After a couple minutes Rosé decided to speak to her, but still stayed cloaked in the darkness. “Are you excited about your initiation? Anxious? Curious?"

Jan jumped at little at the unexpected voice and then gasped at the owner of the voice. The... creature? Beast? Devil? was completely red, furry in parts with hair horns, large inhuman ears, and long nails or claws, but a still rather humanoid appearance.

Jan was surprised, but the creature was smiling at her. She was pretty, with a curvy figure and a handsome face. “Very curious. Are you the one initiating me?” She had wondered who would do the actual ritual with the whole sorority upstairs. “Who are you?”

"I am." Rosé chuckled, mainly to herself. Bless this girl. She was so fucking cute. “I'm the Devil, baby. But you can call me Rosé"

Maybe it was the years of Catholic schooling but Jan just stared at her. She was so humanoid it occurred to Jan, a theater kid herself, that this was probably an actress in a costume. “The Devil huh? You don’t look like The Devil. The one and only?”

"Tell me, what exactly do you expect the Devil to look like?"

“The most beautiful of God’s angels, Lucifer Morningstar, who became Satan himself, The Devil. You are not he?” Jan looked at her skeptically. “I would have paid a lot more attention in religious studies if the devil had looked like you.”

"I am going to stop you right there at 'he'. God, nor I, the Devil, are men or male presenting at all. But we all know the human men writing everything down hated women, so here we are. With yet another inaccurate portrayal of the divine and the damned. Though, I don't consider myself damned in any way, just a hedonist, babe."

Jan frowned. “Is this part of the initiation ritual?” This actress was really into this role...

"I like to correct those who still believe the falsehoods those so-called churches taught them. But no, it's not. The initiation ritual is much more physical."

“Physical?” Jan stood up. She was a cheerleader and a soccer player. She could do physical. “What do I do?”

Rosé walked over to her and pulled her close, "I can tell you're curious about me. Touch me."

Jan couldn’t lie. She was very curious about this devil. “Your costume and prosthetics are incredible.” She very gently stroked an ear, not expecting it to be warm and responsive to her touch. “Oh!”

"That's because it's not a costume, baby," she said with a chuckle. "Also, it's quite appropriate that you're dressed as an angel. Or maybe it's inappropriate, considering the circumstances."

“Inappropriate?” She asked quizzically. She was starting to wonder if this wasn’t a costume. “What do you mean?”

"Do you realize what being dressed up as an angel means for this initiation?"

“...isn’t everyone?” She hadn’t seen Denali dressed as an angel yesterday. But like her she’d likely arrived in just her white dress.

"No, lovely, only virgins are dressed as angels," Rosé purred.

Jan assumed that was part of the initiation, not realizing fully what Rosé meant. “Oh is that why full sisters wear black? They get ‘devirginized’?” She made air quotes.

"Essentially, yeah, it mainly signifies that their ritual is already complete, but no longer being a virgin is just part of the territory," Rosé explained, tipping Jan's head up to face her. "Do you get what I'm saying, darling?"

Jan studied her eyes and then realized. She blushed deeply. “Oh!”

Rosé pulled Jan into her lap and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "I'll make it good for you, baby. I've always made every single girl I've been with cum fucking hard. I'd never hurt you, I'm only about pleasure."

Jan blushed deeper. “I’ve never even been kissed before,” she admitted.

Her brows rose, "Never? You're too cute to have never been kissed."

Jan blushed. “I went to Catholic school my whole life. This year is the first year I’ve ever been away from home. And I just don’t like any of the boys here?” She blushed. “I’ve never liked a boy actually. Any boy.” She blushed deeper. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” But Jan did feel safe and comfortable around Rosé...

"You're in luck, baby, because this entire sorority is a bunch of lesbians," she cackled. "But I am glad you're opening up to me, I don't like to fuck anyone who I don't get to know at least a little bit."

Rosé gently tilted her head up to look at her again and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She wanted to rectify the little issue of Jan never being kissed immediately. Her lips were soft and sweet and Rosé knew that kissing her would be blissful each and every time. She understood why Jan wasn't allowed to have any sort of sexual experience, but it was still a travesty in her eyes.

She loved that Jan was getting more comfortable around her, and more comfortable with intimacy in general, but she would still take it slower with her. At least until Jan asked for more, and not to be a little cocky, but Rosé knew that once they got into it, she would absolutely be begging for more.

"Tell me what you want, baby~"

Jan stared at her wide-eyed and innocent. “I don’t know what I want. Isn’t it a set ritual?”

"Right. Catholic," Rosé snickered. "And no, certainly not. The ritual is individualized. Here, let me show you."

She carefully pushed her back onto the plush bed, running her hands down her body. When she trailed them back up, she pushed her dress up with her. Leaning down over her, she pressed more kisses to her jaw and down her neck. She still took it slow, looking for any cues of hesitation, but found that Jan was giving her none thus far.

Jan wore simple white cotton panties under her dress. She certainly hadn’t expected for anyone to see them. But she didn’t feel shame, only curiosity about what Rosé was going to do to initiate her. Her nipples felt sensitive and she felt a heat in her lower belly. This was all so new and unexpected.

Rosé gave her another kiss, one that was deeper, this time pushing her tongue into her mouth with a little more force. Her fingers found their way between her legs, rubbing at her through her panties. Little by little she would bring Jan's arousal forth, making her soaking wet and fucking needy for her.

Jan gasped, knowing this was naughty, taboo and forbidden. Was she going to Hell for this? Absolutely. But Jan didn’t care. It felt so good. It didn’t take long at all for her to feel things she’d never felt before and didn’t fully understand, but she knew that she needed Rosé to keep going and give her more. “Please...” she whimpered. “Please.”

"You're so cute," Rosé chuckled against Jan's skin before she sucked on her neck. She kept rubbing at her, but now her fingers were against flesh and she could feel just how wet Jan was getting. With claws retracted, she pushed one of them inside the blushing girl beneath her. Slowly she'd prepare her, make sure she was fully worked open so she would have an amazing first experience.

Jan gasped as her fingers slid inside. She’d expected them to be sharp, as she’d seen her claws, but they weren’t. There were so many new good sensations going on Jan couldn’t process them all. She bared her neck, surrendering to the experience. Denali had told her to just let it happen and finally she knew what she meant. She whimpered. “Rosé! Please! I need more.”

"Well, someone's getting into it~ But that's okay, I love that you are." She slid another finger into her, fingering her faster and a little harder, maybe she'd make her come on her fingers first. Having a multiple orgasms never hurt anyone.

Jan gripped her furry shoulders. “Please! It feels so good!” Her hips rocked against the fingers inside her, eagerly chasing after her own pleasure. “I never knew it was this amazing.”

"You never got the chance to experience it," Rosé purred in her ear. She worked her deeper, faster, loving that she was chasing her own pleasure at this point. The poor girl deserved it. She also assumed that she had never touched herself so this was the first time she experienced any sort of pleasure like this.

Jan was losing her mind. Why had she be warned away from this for so long? Thank goodness she had great core muscles so she could rock herself onto Rosé’s fingers, because she was desperate for more at this point. “Rosé!!”

"Do you think you can handle a third finger, baby~?" she asked, wanting to be sure before she gave her more.

Jan nodded. “Please! I’ll take anything you give me.”

"Let's just keep it to my fingers for right now, babe." She did add a third one though, knowing that Jan really could take it. She was so wet and so needy, she was well aware Jan's body craved this so fucking badly and Rosé was going to be the one to give it to her.

Jan had never felt like this before. She clung to Rosé like her life depended on it. She closed her eyes and surrendered to the feeling.

Rosé could see that she had reached that intense climax. She fingerfucked her through it until her body slumped back down onto the pillows beneath her signaling that she was fully spent from her first orgasm. Rosé wasn't going to go right into the next one, instead she wanted Jan to come down from this one and relax for a moment. She has never had these sorts of experiences before, and Rosé did not want to overload her.

"Are you doing all right?"

It took Jan a second to regain control enough to nod. Her breathing was ragged, but she’d never felt better.

Rosé pulled her fingers out of her and licked them clean before wiping them off on the sheets. "I take it you enjoyed that~"

She nodded. “I never realized it was like that.”

"Well, now you know, love~"

Jan bit her lip. She wondered if that was it, her initiation complete. She kinda hoped there was more.

She stroked a furry shoulder tenderly. “I do... but I feel like there’s so much more I don’t know...”

"I'm not done with you yet, I just don't want it to be too much at once."

“I’m ready for more, even if I don’t know what that is. Please, Rosé. Will you show me?”

"I love how eager you are now," she murmured against her lips before kissing her. "I'll definitely show you."

Rosé sat up and pulled Jan's panties off. She unlaced he dress and let it fall off her so that she was completely naked beneath her. Gently, she caressed her skin, running her fingers between her breasts right down to her pelvis. Goddamn, she was so gorgeous, she could get lost just touching her, kissing her, so much so that she had to pull herself back down to earth for a second. She didn't want Jan to feel exposed though, and it was only fair that she get rid of her own clothing too. Her garment had a long, full body zipper making it easy to take it off.

Jan hadn’t realized how much of that was clothing as the devil was suddenly naked before her. Jan gently reached out and touched her, like Rosé had done to her. “You’re stunning...”

"Yeah~? Tell me something I don't know, babe." She laughed, "Thank you though, I'm glad you think so. You are too, absolutely fucking gorgeous. I can't wait to ravish you, to have you moaning and mewling underneath me."

Jan blushed, her thighs rubbing together shyly. “May I ask, is it true that if you don’t put it in... the front it doesn’t count?”

Rosé was so taken aback by that question, but didn't show it on her face. God, these poor humans really were fucked when it came to, well, fucking. She hated how taboo sex was in the mortal realm, all because of how virginity was basically worshipped in her adversary's religion. It irked her to no end, because most humans wanted to engage in sex and they deserved to have actual education on the subject so they can keep their sex lives fun and safe.

"That is absolutely false. Anal sex is sex, and it counts. That is just a stupid ploy perpetuated by stupid boys who want girls to sleep with them. It can be pleasurable when done correctly, but for your first time it will feel so much better right here," she said as she slid her fingers down between her legs.

Jan blushed. “Sorry it’s all just so new to me. But I trust you. And I want you.”

"You don't have to apologize, lovely." She kissed her again. "Also, tell me if anything gets too intense, okay. I don't want you to think you don't have a say in your own pleasure."

Jan nodded. “Thank you. Shall we get started?” She didn’t know how to do it but she trusted Rosé.

"Of course, love~ But I will warn you, my anatomy is not the same as yours, or any human's honestly. I mean, I can mimic it to be that way, but normally it's like this," she said, letting her tentadick come forth and rub against her.

Jan gasped. “Oh!” She hadn’t expected it to be able to stroke her on its own. Did men have that in their pants too?? She bit her lip. “Will I... will I get pregnant?”

"No, babe, I'll make sure of that. Magick and all. And to answer your other question, because I know you're thinking it, no men don't have this," she told her with a smug smirk. As if a man could live up to what she was about to give her.

Jan blushed. “You can read my mind?”

"No, not really, but I just knew you were thinking about that." She chuckled a little as she continued to tease Jan. Still rubbing at her, wanting her to be a whining, desperate mess before pushing inside.

"How much do you want this, baby?"

Jan blushed. “Oh.” She rocked her hips, loving how it felt at her entrance. “I want it so badly,” she purred. “I’ve never felt this good before.”

"That's my girl."

Rosé started to enter her inch by inch, making sure she was okay as she gave her shallow thrusts at first. She wanted to make sure Jan could take it before going deeper. Rosé could tell that Jan was already completely hers, and she couldn't help but to let that go to her ego, just a little bit.

"Goddamn you feel so good."

Jan scooted down so that Rosé could get deeper into her, so eager for it all. She felt... full but in the best way possible, loving the sensations of Rosé pushing inside her slowly. “Ohhh you do too!”

Rosé's movements started to quicken, and she gave it to her somewhat rougher, still being careful of the fact that this was her first time. Of course, Jan was doing nothing but moaning her head off and Rosé took that as a sign to keep going, increasing her pace little by little. "I've heard you're quite the vocalist~ Let's see how loud I can make you sing."

Jan wasn’t ashamed of the sounds she made, didn’t even know that was a thing most people would be ashamed of. As an athlete and a singer, Jan had excellent lung capacity and vocal abilities. “You want me to sing for you?” She asked breathily, so caught up in the pleasure of it all.

"I mean, I'm going to make you sing regardless."

Rosé grabbed her hips and started to fuck her hard now that she was worked open and oh so willing to take it all. Watching Jan's eyelids flutter closed, her mouth open with such sweet sounds coming from it, along with her nice tits bouncing with each thrust made Rosé love this even more. She wasn't sure what to expect with Jan being so closed off from sex, and so innocent at first, but now? Now, she was sure she'd end up like Denali and Mik.

Jan raised her hips up to meet Rosé’s thrusts, gripping the blankets as she moaned loudly, trying to sing for Rosé just like she wanted, enjoying every second of it all. Jan vaguely wondered if her sisters above could hear her singing out for the demon.

Rosé reached between her legs and started to rub at her, "I want you to cum for me, baby. I want you to cum fucking hard.”

Jan whimpered. She was close but she wanted more. Jan chased Rosé’s touch, crying out loudly as she squirted.

Rosé grabbed her hips and fucked her through it, groaning as she chased her pleasure this time. She'd make her cum again, she'd make her cum three, four times before the night was through at this rate. She knew she was overly sensitive now and it would be so easy to destroy her completely.

Jan gripped her shoulders, clinging to her, desperate for more. She wouldn’t mind if the Devil turned her over and switched so she could take her from behind. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind whatever Rosé wanted to do to her. She was so utterly hers.

Rosé leaned down and murmured in her ear, "Do you want more, baby~?"

“So much more,” Jan panted. She was energized and greedy for more. “Please. I’ll do anything.”

Rosé knew that all the other girls loved it when she turned them over and fucked their brains out, and so she'd do the same for the cute little Catholic girl who just lost her virginity to the Devil herself. That in and of itself was hot as fuck. She pulled out and flipped her over before sliding back in all the way to the hilt.

"Fuck~" Rosé moaned.

Her lips found her neck, kissing the warm skin and giving Jan a little love bite there, just something to remember her by after the fact. She kissed down her shoulder blade and took in all her cute sounds she was making at all the touches and kisses. Rosé sat back up, grabbed her hips and continued to ruin her, able to fuck her even deeper now.

"Fucking take it, take everything I give you. I know you love it, you little slut~”

Jan moaned her pretty little head off, absolutely loving this new position. “Give me everything, please! I’m yours! I’m your little slut!”

"Damn right you are, you and all your sisters love my big cock inside your tight little cunts," she cackled, giving Jan a spank. "Did those uptight nuns ever spank your cute ass with their rulers?"

Jan blushed. “No, I was a good girl.”

"I'm not even surprised by that, you've been such a good girl for me too~"

“I wanna be the best,” she admitted.

"The competitive type then, I take it?" Rosé chuckled.

“I played soccer for years,” she confirmed. “I always like to win. I have to be the best.”

Rosé couldn't help but to snicker a little, oh playing on her competitive nature would be fun. But perhaps another time, for now she just wanted her to feel good and cum as many times before she was completely exhausted.

Jan had to wonder if Denali had been like this too, as her sister was just as competitive as she was. But she didn’t really want to think about her right now when she had this lovely devil absolutely destroying her in the best way.

“Harder, please!”

She grabbed the back of Jan's neck and shoved her face into the pillows as she fucked even harder, not holding back. She knew at this point Jan wanted every single thing she had to give and that she could take it. It was cute how Jan went from blushing virgin who had never even been kissed to a moaning little slut wanting the devil's cock to destroy her pussy. It was a wonderful turn of events.

Jan didn’t stop to think about anything but the pleasure of the moment. She’d never realized sex could be like this. Why had she been denied this for so long? She didn’t want to give this up.

“Are you only around for initiations?” she inquired.

Rosé snickered, "No, baby, I can fuck you whenever you want~ Well, as long as someone else doesn't have me already."

Jan pouted. She definitely needed to be the best now. She pushed herself back into Rosé thrusts, trying to get her as deep as possible. “But I need you,” she moaned.

Rosé knew damn well that little quip would bring out her competitive nature. She had to wonder if Jan and Denali would try to compete for her tentadick, that would be amusing to say the least. "Don't worry, baby, if you really think that I can't satisfy you and all your sorority sisters, then you don't know me at all."

“Oh I have no doubts you can satisfy me. Or anyone lucky enough to share your bed.” Jan just wanted it to be her all the time.

"Is someone feeling a little selfish? A little envious~? A little lustful?" she purred in her ear. "That's cute~ Give in to all those feelings, baby."

Jan knew this was a sin... many sins actually, but she didn’t care. She needed Rosé to want her as badly as she wanted her. “Yes. I want you so badly. I don’t want to have to give you up. I wanna keep going as long as I physically can.”

"I can go all night, darling, and you know I will give in to any temptation~" Rosé purred. And she would, she'd give it to her as long as she could stand it, but she knew that Jan was getting to the point of exhaustion just by the energy that vibrated around her.

Jan kept giving it her all, trying to impress the demon with how much she could get it, but she was definitely tired. She’d cum... five times? six? She’d lost count. But she wanted to be the one the demon came to. This was the demon she’d cling to. She’d made her choice. “Rosé!” she cried out.

Rosé had held off long enough and she was full on animalistic, and she grabbed Jan's hips and fucked her hard until she came just as hard inside her. She fucked her through her orgasm until she was completely spent. "Fuck... goddamn that sweet cunt of yours was amazing."

Jan panted, utterly spent. She’d cum so hard when the demon did that she barely registered the words and could only moan in affirmation. She reached for Rosé, for her hand, for some kind of affirmation that she’d done well.

Rosé pressed a kiss to the back of her head and murmured in her ear, "You were wonderful, babe~"

Jan attempted to turn around but she couldn’t quite manage. She just wanted to face the demon and be held by her for a bit.

She pulled out of her and laid down beside her, pulling her close and giving her a kiss on the forehead. Despite who she was, she sure as fuck wasn't going to leave a girl alone with no aftercare. After all, she was a hedonist, she wasn't evil.

Jan snuggled closer, kissing the crook of Rosé’s neck where she’d curled into. She needed the closeness.

"You doing okay babe?"

Jan nodded. “I just need you to hold me for a bit...”

"Of course, lovely. I'm not just going to leave you."

Jan smiled. “That was...” she didn’t quite have the words for it but she offered a soft smile. It was incredible, pleasurable, and so much more than Jan had ever expected it to be. She hadn’t anticipated losing her virginity to a demon... but that was something she’d have to come to terms with later. Right now she just wanted to cuddle.

"Mmm, just rest, baby." Rosé kissed her forehead and trailed her fingers through her hair. She knew this was a lot for the girl, the sexually repressed Catholic virgin at that. Rosé didn't see it as a ruining, she saw it as an awakening. She always thought it was unfortunate that so many women don't have amazing sex, that they settle for mediocre, or even bad sex, that they don't know how to ask for it, or to pleasure themselves. She also hated the fact that so many women didn't get the aftercare they needed after intense sex, but that is exactly why she wanted to open the eyes of these women.

Jan drifted off, feeling safe and cherished in the arms of the demon.

Rosé pressed another kiss to her forehead, letting her rest against her, knowing that she was exhausted after that rigorous session. She was glad that Jan got to experience this, and that she enjoyed it as much as she did. She also couldn't help but to be a little smug about being Jan's first...

Upstairs they got the signal that Jan’s initiation was complete. Denali went with Jackie to go fetch Jan and tuck her in. They took her upstairs and got her into her bed.

Denali climbed in with her and held her close. “I’ll stay with her, Jackie.” Denali couldn’t wait to hear all about Jan’s first time, especially since they’d heard her singing. The story was bound to be good.

#cwmonsterfucking #saint writes #sinner writes #sinner writes prompts #chrosé #chjan #shrosejan #long post

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mememanufactorum · 4 years ago

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Halo 2 quote starters

* FEEL FREE TO SHARE AS YOU PLEASE, NO CREDIT NEEDED. CHANGE PRONOUNS OR ANYTHING ELSE AS DESIRED.

-The Heretic-

“This has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler.”

“The weight of your heresy will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind.”

“You know how expensive this gear is?”

-The Armory-

“Hey, take it easy!”

“Careful, you’ll pull a tendon doing that!”

“Fine, but don’t come cryin’ to me when you rip your leg out of its socket.”

“This is important. You should at least look at me when I’m explaining it.”

“Look, just ‘cause the brass kisses your ass don’t mean I will.”

“Look at me when I talk to you.”

“Are you listenin’ to me?”

“Would it help if I said please?”

“When are you gonna tell me how you made it back home in one piece?”

“Well, he’s in a particularly fine mood.”

“Nobody’s sayin’ much, but I think something big’s about to happen.”

-Cairo Station-

“You told me there wouldn’t be any cameras.”

“You told me you were gonna wear something nice.”

“Folks need heroes, to give ‘em hope. So, smile, would ya? While we still got something to smile about.”

“You’ve drawn quite a crowd.”

“If they came to hear me beg, they will be disappointed.”

“We’re lucky to have you back.”

“I’m sorry, but we’re gonna have to make this quick.”

“You look nice.”

“I need a weapon.”

“Check your targets and watch the crossfire.”

“They’re in standard formation: Little bastards up front, big ones in back.”

“As soon as that door opens, let ‘em have it!”

“I don’t believe it! They’re retreating! We won!”

“This is bad! Real bad!”

“Just a friendly reminder: Bomb.”

“If this thing goes off, I am NEVER talking to you again.”

“Tell your friends I got enough ammo for all of ya!”

“Come on, is that a weapon or a flashlight?”

“How much time was left?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s crazy.”

“So, stay here.”

“Unfortunately for us both, I like crazy.”

“Just one question… What if you miss?”

“For a brick, he flew pretty good!”

-Outskirts-

“Any idea what it means?”

“Hey. Wake up.”

“Talk to me. Should I start CPR? What’s going on?”

“Blink if you can hear me.”

“If they didn’t know we’re here before, they do now!”

“Oh man, I love the beach.”

“I hope you packed a suit.”

“I don’t think they expected us to be here.”

-Metropolis-

“It blew right through us!”

“You had your chance to be afraid before you joined my beloved Corps. But to guide you back to the true path, I have brought this motivational device.”

“When I joined the Corps, we didn’t have any fancy-schmancy tanks! We had sticks! Two sticks and a rock! And we had to share the rock!”

“Usually the good Lord works in mysterious ways. But not today!”

“If God is Love, then you can call me Cupid!”

“They’re tough, but they ain’t invincible.”

“He never gets me anything.”

“Oh, I know what the ladies like.”

“That’s quite a welcome party.”

“Who’s in charge now?”

“See this look?! It’s terror!”

“Did I give you permission to bitch?!”

“I don’t think it’s stopping, get your heads down!”

“That thing is really starting to PISS ME OFF!”

“It can’t go any further this way. We have it trapped.”

“That’s right, you mothers! Run!”

-The Arbiter-

“How much further must we heft this baggage? Any cell will do.”

“Why not toss him in with this lot? They could use the meat.”

“Ultimately, the terms of your execution are up to me.”

“I am already dead.”

“Do you know where we are?”

“Even on my knees, I do not belong in their presence.”

“They would use the faith of our forefathers to bring ruin to us all!”

“What use am I?”

“That armor suits you, but it cannot hide that mark.”

“Their lives matter to me. Yours does not.”

“Warriors, prepare for combat!”

“Be silent and swift, and we shall quell this heresy without incident.”

“We have the element of surprise… For now.”

“That was the last of them – but there are more ahead.”

-The Oracle-

“That stench… I’ve smelled it before.”

“Close your jaw or I shall bind it shut!”

“Come out so we may kill you.”

“We should have brought weapons to burn these bodies.”

“We’ll never break through this!”

“May our Lords guide you.”

“We shall not forget your sacrifice.”

“Keep your blade handy.”

“Take my blade.”

“Turn, heretic.”

“Who has taught you these lies?”

“More questions? Splendid! I would be happy to assist you.”

“Unfortunate. His edification was most enjoyable.”

“Why do you meddlers insist on using such inaccurate verbiage?”

-Delta Halo-

“I don’t care if I have the clearance or not.”

“Where’s our target?”

“Until I can move and fight, I’m going to keep a low profile.”

“Hang onto your helmet!”

“Mind the bump.”

“Could we possibly make any more noise?! ...I guess so.”

“If I were a megalomaniac – and I’m not – that’s where I’d be.”

“I heard that, jackass!”

“Transcendence, huh? More like mass suicide.”

“You always bring me to such nice places.”

“They don’t seem to consider us a very serious threat. Boy, are they in for a big surprise.”

-Regret-

“Wait, go back!”

“I’d need to make a thorough survey to be sure.”

“I wish I had more time to decipher these inscriptions.”

“Well, they were nice enough to bring us a ride.”

“Sorry, were you trying to kill something?”

“And people say I’ve got a big head.”

“Oh man, he’s SO dead.”

“Oh, great! We’re gonna ride another one of these death traps!”

“Man, look at the size of that thing!”

“Guards! Remove this vermin from my sight!”

“You dare to interrupt my sermon?!”

“Surely you can do better than that?”

“Perhaps you underestimated me, no?”

“This is not your grave… But you are welcome in it.”

-Sacred Icon-

“This is unprecedented… Unacceptable!”

“Are you questioning my decision?”

“Politics… How tiresome.”

“We have always been your protectors.”

“These are trying times for all of us.”

“Why? Looking for a little payback?”

“Let’s see if you fare better.”

“Stay in the shadows, wait until it loses interest, then strike the beast when its back is turned.”

“We must hold this camp until reinforcements arrive.”

-Quarantine Zone-

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Forward, warriors, and fear not pain nor death!”

“No matter, they will die all the same.”

“Steel your nerves, we’re not turning back.”

“I grow restless without a target.”

“Ignore the braggart. Ready yourselves.”

“That fool! He’ll alert them to our presence!”

“Look on the bright side, if we’re lucky, they’ll shoot him down.”

“You know, your father never asked me for help either.”

“We got trouble.”

“How you doin’?”

“A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent race.”

-Gravemind-

“What… Is that?”

“I am a monument to all your sins.”

“Relax. I’d rather not piss this thing off.”

“Kill me or release me. But do not waste my time with talk!”

“There is much talk, and I have listened through rock and metal and time. Now I shall talk, and you shall listen.”

“We have much to do!”

“You know nothing about containment! You have demonstrated a complete disregard for even the most basic of protocols!”

“If you will not hear the truth, then I shall show it to you.”

“They’re beefing up their patrols. Stay sharp.”

“The path is broad, and we shall walk it side by side.”

“Be glad! A reward for all your toil and all your sacrifices in the year at hand.”

“There are those who said this day would never come. What have they to say now?”

“Look on the bright side: For now, they seem much more interested in killing each other.”

-Uprising-

“Let’s just throw them over the edge.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“So, you’ve come to save your friends!”

“They have shed our brothers’ blood… And for that, they must die.”

“So much for a stealthy advance.”

“Bah! Over so soon?”

“Long have I waited for this!”

“...And yet I live.”

“What vulgar taste. Even as trophies, these weapons are useless.”

-High Charity-

“Your pal. Where’s he going?”

“Not a very original plan, but we know it’ll work.”

“No enemy has ever withstood our might.”

“Arrogant creature. Your death will be instantaneous, while we shall suffer the progress of infinitude!”

“We exist together now… Two corpses in one grave.”

“This crisis will not be the end of us.”

“If you will falter, know this… One final effort is all that remains.”

“I can’t go with you.”

“Don’t make a girl a promise… If you know you can’t keep it.”

-The Great Journey-

“I know a way to break those doors.”

“A day’s rations says I can do this in one cut.”

“You don’t like me, and I sure as hell don’t like you.”

“I just happen to have a key.”

“Hey, bastards! Knock knock!”

“Ha, ha, that’s real funny. I’m still shootin’.”

“What, do I have to spell it out for you? MOVE!”

“Are you trying to get killed? Gimmie some room!”

“Not another word!”

“If you want to keep your brain inside your head, I’ll tell your boys to chill.”

“Go ahead, do your thing.”

“You want revenge? Well, here I am. Come and take it.”

“Just like the rest of your race, cowardly and weak.”

“A lucky hit. You shall not land another.”

“Silence fills the empty grave now that I have gone.”

“My mind is not at rest, for questions linger on. I will ask, and you will answer.”

#Halo 2 #Halo #roleplay meme #roleplay prompt #rp meme #rp prompt

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rekindled-hearth · 5 years ago

Note

3 4 5 7 10 14 15 17 20 21 25 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 56 70 75 81 88 96 110 113 120 126 146 149 152 153 154 (there were a lot of questions and i feel generous so have some random numbers. sorry for any awkwards ones standard terms and conditions apply)

3. 3 fears? The dark, death, anything with more than 4 legs.

4. 3 things I love? Trees, knives and Storms

5. 4 turn ons? Thatttttss not a question I'll answer

7. My best friend? You obviously

10. How tall am I? 6' 1"

14. Do I have a crush? No I don't drink soda badum-tish deflection through humor yay

15. Favorite quote? I don't know where I'm going but I'm going. Are you coming with me?

17. Favorite food? Ice cream

20. First thing I notice in a new person? How loud they are

21. Shoe size? 9.5 mens usa

25. Ever done a prank call? Yes

30. Favourite band? Probably AJR

31. How I feel right now? Very happy and sleepy

32. Someone I love? Cute person

33. Current relarionship status? Single

34. My relationship with my parents? They're my parents. They're not my friends but we take csre of each other.

35. Favourite holiday? Honestly? Holidays are kind of annoying because I always have to hang out with entire extended family and thats not relaxing so

36. Tattoos and piercings i have? None

37. Tattoos and piercings I want? A crown and sword on my left inner forearm, hunter symbol on my left shoulder, maybe more

38. The reason I joined tumblr? I wanted to request a comission

39. Do I and my last ex hate each other? Nope

40. Do I ever get good night or good morning texts? Yep

56. If I could meet anyone on earth, who? You know that

70. Worst injury? Broke my right leg

75. What was I doing last night at 12 AM? Listening to music

81. Top five blogs on tumblr - @harrypotterhousequotes @bionicle-from-last-night @themothyards @bioniclechicken @inaccurate-halo-quotes

88. Bought condoms? Nope

96. Bullied someone on the internet? I hope not

110. Gotten my heart broken? no

113. Cut myself?

120. Wore make up? Nope

126. Had a surgery? Liver biopsy. First grade. Maybe kindergarten.

146. Have I ever gotten caught sneaking out or doing something bad? Yes

149. What are my greatest achievements? I dont know

152. What do I like about myself? My eyes

153. My closest tumblr friend. Same as 7.

154. Something I fantasize about? A lot of stuff

#asks #wint #this was a lot #it was fun

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aislingeach88 · 6 years ago

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On "Four-tana" as a Damsel in Distress

I got really upset about an old Youtube video and wrote a 2,000 word diatribe about Halo 4 Cortana, enjoy.

It's not a stretch to say that I have very strong feelings about the campaign of Halo 4.

Aside from the overall quality of the story, which is phenomenal and for the most part (barring a mind-numbingly heavy info dump halfway through an already rushed campaign) holds up incredibly well even by today’s standards, the game was released at a very crucial time for me. I had recently lost my mother to a combination of several illnesses, some of which were diagnosed decades earlier, and a series of devastating strokes that left her unable to clearly communicate in her final days. I was dealing with survivor's guilt, obsessed with the idea that I could have done more to save her. Driven home faster, called an ambulance sooner, stayed home from work that day, a thousand little “what ifs” peppered my daily thought process. So understandably, a story about a man trying and (spoiler alert) failing to save his loved one, canonically a “clone” of his maternal figure, and then dealing with the inevitability of her passing and what that means for him as a person struck a particular chord with me.

As a result, I've done my best to avoid critical discussions regarding the characterization of Cortana (or as I refer to this iteration of her, Four-tana, because I think I'm funny) as I am well aware that my personal bias and experience would keep me from approaching said discussions objectively. To this day, I haven't watched the relevant section of Anita Sarkeesian’s controversial “Tropes Versus Women” YouTube series because I have great respect for Anita and don't want to taint that respect with my subjectivity.

Occasionally though, some chatter makes it through the smokescreen, and I'm forced to confront some very superficial analyses from commenters who see this naked blue woman “emotioning to death” as low-hanging fruit to boost their pseudo-Feminist cred. The most jarring example of this is from the otherwise decent video titled “The Philosophy of Halo - Wisecrack Edition” from a few years back. I'd been making my way through the Wisecrack series of philosophy videos and had enjoyed them so far, but there was a small section at the beginning of their Halo video that left my jaw on the floor in equal parts rage and disappointment.

To quote the brief segment directly:

“Master Chief's AI Cortana is your guide through the Halo Universe. She progresses John through the game, explains most of the storyline, and is also a sort of quasi-lover for the Chief. It might be possible to read Halo as a feminist text by discussing the hybrid space created by John and Cortana’s cyborg existence ala Donna Haraway and her Cyborg Manifesto… but Halo 4 pretty much shits all over this possibility when the message essentially becomes 'Cortana is a Damsel in Distress who as a woman shouldn't think too much because, well, that's dangerous.’ Literally, Cortana's rampancy causes her to literally think herself to death, but I guess the important thing is that everything is resolved because she serves her man well. Cortana's entire storyline is redeemed by getting to touch the Chief just once. Something about men in uniform, am I right?”

Yikes.

Just typing that out give me an ulcer. Suffice to say I was blown away by just how radically inaccurate this entire analysis is from start to finish. When I watched this video two months ago, I was sorely tempted to write this essay that same night, but I wanted to sit on it, spend some time with my thoughts and let the anger subside before tackling this grievous insult to what is arguably the pinnacle of Halo storytelling.

The perception of Cortana as a damsel in distress is nothing new, going back as far as 2004’s Halo 2. At the end of that campaign, Chief is forced to leave his AI companion behind on the Covenant holy city of High Charity to deal with another, more pressing threat. As he departs, he promises to return for her, prompting one of the most famous and oft-repeated lines in the entire franchise: “don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it.” The remainder of Bungie's trilogy sees Cortana relegated to the role of damsel, sending distress calls and suffering under the torture of the Gravemind, which is telepathically (and annoyingly) presented to the Chief throughout Halo 3. She isn’t rescued until the end of the second-to-last level, and even then, she doesn't do much of anything except reveal she just happened to hang on to an old macguffin. Halo 3 ends with Chief and Cortana adrift in space and awaiting a rescue that might not come for a while, with Chief frozen in cryosleep and Cortana just kinda… standing there.

Bummer.

The Cortana we meet at the start of Halo 4 is a far cry from the plucky companion we've known up until now. She's anxious, terrified, and unstable. She's bluntly defensive and downright disrespectful to both the Chief and military personnel in general. It's a drastic change of pace, but the story is all the better for it.

Cortana's rampancy - the end result of an AI’s predetermined 7 year life span - doesn't necessarily drive the plot of Halo 4, but it gives the player a sense of urgency heretofore unknown to the series. Cortana's Hail Mary suggestion that a “reset” of her system could solve her dilemma - a pointedly on-the-nose example of the “Bargaining” stage of grief - compels the player to rush through their journey back to Earth, making every new setback and distraction that much more stressful as you watch her condition rapidly deteriorate.

The effect this deterioration has on the Chief is profound, especially considering the relative subtlety of his characterization in previous games. This is not a problem that can be solved by charging at it guns-blazing or following protocol to the letter. To the contrary, the official military solution to Cortana's condition is termination, forcing the Chief to do something previously unthinkable: insubordination. The Master Chief of Halo 4 is forced to think outside the box and explore the uncharted territory of individuality, of trusting his gut and his heart when he'd normally lean on his trust of the military instilled in him from an early age.

It's this kind of growth that Halo 4 relishes in, the thin line separating man from machine, hero from tin soldier, and John 117's efforts to become his own man in a post-war environment. As Halo 4 progresses, Chief finds himself questioning his humanity simultaneous to Cortana’s struggles with her mortality, and he finishes the story resolved to shred his persona as a “machine”, removing his armor and helmet to stunned onlookers for the very first time in over a decade of gameplay. This isn't to suggest that Cortana's suffering and passing makes Chief a deeper character as it would with a fridged lover, but instead that it brings out the latent potential that both characters were already imbued with. As Cortana says in her heart-wrenching goodbye to her devastated protector, she and Chief “were supposed to take care of each other, and [they] did.” Halo 4 ends with both Cortana and Chief reaching the “acceptance” stage of grief in their own ways. It's not just that Cortana “served her man well”, she actively set the terms of her own death and saved the world in the process. Chief was just along for the ride.

Defining Cortana as a “quasi-lover” is problematic on a number of levels as well. For starters, Cortana is a “clone” of sorts of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the woman responsible for the Spartan-II program that created John-117 and in many ways the closest thing he and the other Spartans have to a mother. There are flirty comments between the two to be sure (“you always bring me to such nice places”, “thanks for the tank, HE never gets me anything”, “I do know how to pick 'em”), but they are always played off as tongue-in-cheek barbs between companions. As an AI, there can never be a physical or romantic connection between the two, and outside of the seedier fanart, you won't find many arguments to the contrary.

Even I can't and won't deny that Cortana's appearance, in this game more than any other, is designed to benefit the male gaze, but that's where the sexualization of her character ends. Lacking a physical body and spending the majority of the series as a disembodied voice, Cortana is distinctly anti-Damsel, presenting Chief and the player with no opportunity whatsoever for a reward of sexual gratification. She is not Princess Peach waiting in a tower for her hero, ready and willing to bake him a cake once he vanquishes the enemy. These are partners, teammates, and they have a job to do. To view their unique connection through a romantic lens does little more than cheapen it.

My main issues with Wisecrack’s summary are the dual assertions that Cortana's rampancy is intended to say women 'shouldn’t think too much’ and the suggestion that her entire narrative arc is concluded by 'getting to touch the Chief just once’. These conclusions indicate a superficial and fundamental misunderstanding of both the story and Cortana's role in it.

Firstly, the idea that rampancy is meant to imply that women 'shouldn’t think’ is laughable. Cortana's condition does impact her usefulness to be sure, but at several points in the game, particularly towards the end, her rampancy proves advantageous (more on that in a minute). While rampancy is defined by Cortana as “thinking [myself] to death”, there is nothing to canonically support the assertion that if she refused to think, she would be spared her fate. The only elements that seem to advance her condition are the portals that Chief has to traverse in order to maneuver hastily around Requiem. No “thinking” involved. Regardless of action, Rampancy is inevitable, even for masculine-coded AI such as 343 Guilty Spark, a previously male human-being-turned-Forerunner-AI who succumbs to insanity in Halo 3 (and in the Halo: CE Anniversary terminals) all the same.

As far as Cortana's arc is concerned, that's wrapped up well before her hardlight projection ever touches Chief's chest plate. It's actually resolved during the final playable mission, “Midnight”, where she utilizes her rampancy to muck up the Didact’s protective shields, and then again when her fragmented personality spikes physically restrain the Didact so John can deal a finishing blow and save (most of) the Earth. Even calling it a ‘finishing blow’ is generous, as not only does the attack not kill the villain, but it's the only time John even manages to successfully land a hit at all.

This distinction is key. Throughout the campaign, John's power armor and high-tech weaponry are repeatedly shown to be no threat to the Didact whatsoever, easily frozen with a faux-Force grip and tossed aside at every turn. It isn't until Cortana displays the reclamation of her agency by employing her own fatal illness as a weapon that our heroes even have a shred of a chance. That's a powerfully subversive twist in a franchise defined by run-and-shoot offenses and badass 80’s action flick one-liners. It's even Cortana herself who gets the one-liner this time; When the Didact tells Cortana that her “compassion for mankind is misplaced,” she confidently responds that she's “not doing this for mankind”, a final declaration of her devotion to her partner above her pre-programmed loyalty to her creators. Cortana, bless her digital soul, does not go gentle into that good night, defiantly turning her own weaknesses against her oppressor.

Had Cortana simply stopped “thinking so much”, the world would have lost far more than just the vaporized citizens of New Phoenix. That she gets to physically touch Chief before fading away isn't the climax of her arc, it's the reward for passing her own personal trials. If a “damsel in distress” is defined as a character who needs to be saved and provides gratification upon the success of the quest, wouldn't that be a much better fit for Chief? After all, it's Cortana who is rewarded with physical gratification after so thoroughly saving HIS life.

Good luck running the idea of “Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 as a Damsel” by the hypermasculine corner of the Halo community, but still, it warrants consideration, whereas Wisecrack's vague mansplaining of feminist theory… really doesn't. Calling Cortana a “Damsel in Distress” might have been fitting in Halo 2 and 3, but the Cortana of Halo 4 deserves better.

#halo #halo 4 #cortana #master chief #reclaimer saga #ramblings

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inaccurate-halo-quotes · 1 year ago

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Timing

*John-117 and Kelly-087 are behind cover* John-117: Hey...you uh...you know I'm in love with you, right? Kelly-087: Uh... (blushes) *John smiles as they start to lean in* Kelly-087: Wait, What?! (holds head) NOW!? I mean, this is, like, (walks away) the WORST TIME! KYA! (fires oathsworn at an enemy)

#inaccurate halo quotes #original: the legend of vox machina #original: critical role #halo #john-117 #kelly-087

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acsversace-news · 7 years ago

Link

If you thought the saintlike halo surrounding the title character in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story‘s premiere was striking, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Not to get all Manchurian Candidate about it, because there’s no reason to believe writer Tom Rob Smith’s take on the designer is anything but sincere. But based on “Manhunt,” the riveting, rhapsodic, terrifying second episode, it’s safe to say Gianni Versace is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life, which makes the hour’s ever-deeper plunge into the abyssal psyche of his murderer — the “white guy who killed four white guys,” as a witness who nearly helps nab him (inaccurately) describes him — all the more frightening to endure.

When the episode opens, Gianni has been stricken with what appears to be but is never referred to explicitly as HIV/AIDS — the real-life Versace family’s principal objection to the series and to reporter Maureen Orth’s Vulgar Favors, the book on which it’s based. He does not push away his partner Antonio for initiating him into the rollicking open relationship that likely exposed him to the virus, even as his sister Donatella blames the younger man for Gianni’s illness. (Their exchange includes some dynamite dialogue sure to be quoted far and wide: “I am not a villain, and he is not a saint.” “My brother has a weakness for beauty. He forgives it anything. But I am not my brother.”) In fact, Gianni quite literally leans on his boyfriend of many years for support when he’s too weak to walk by himself. The sickness’s main effect on him is to dull his creative impulse, because, simply put, he cannot create when he’s sad.

And when he rebounds thanks to the era’s miracle drugs, he’s like a man reborn. He bucks the era’s trends towards scary-skinny models (“They look ill,” he says, perhaps recalling the emaciation of HIV sufferers who weren’t so lucky) and just plain scary designs, arguing that strength, health, and joy are precisely what his clothes are meant to highlight and celebrate in the women who wear it. He challenges his skeptical sister Donatella to a design-off, pitting his bright and buoyant designs against her severe and on-trend approach, and wins over a fashion-show crowd dulled into quiescence by Donatella…but because they love and respect each other so much, Donatella seems legitimately happy his philosophy came out on top, and he certainly does nothing to rub his victory in her face. You can dig on the terrific music cue for the runway scene, the Lightning Seeds’ trip-hoppy Austin Powers soundtrack cover of the Turtles’ “You Showed Me”, or get a kick out of the cattiness involved in making real models’ names recognizable in the scene where Gianni calls out the vogue for emaciation (Shalom! Irina! Karen!), but mostly the effect is just to win us over the same way the designs won over the folks in the front row at the show.

The better angels of Versace’s nature don’t stop flying at the runway’s edge, either. When Antonio brings a guy back to their place for a threeway, Gianni’s too busy working to join in the fun, but he gives his partner his blessing to continue without him, and smiles with quiet delight at the sounds of pleasure coming from the man he loves in the background as he draws. When Antonio proposes, Versace gently rebuffs him, knowing that the younger man would chafe under the commitment but loving him no less for that. For God’s sake, Gianni is even nice to the Donatella impersonator who tries, not for the first time apparently, to crash his compound while Andrew stakes it out! I don’t know if there’s a word in Italian that covers all the connotations of mensch, but Versace is that to a tee.

Compare the love on Gianni’s side of this episode’s ledger to the fear, hate, and horror on Andrew’s. Just two episodes into the series, Darren Criss is cementing the status of his portrayal of Cunanan as one of the all-time great on-screen serial killers, not just calling to mind Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, Tom Noonan as Francis Dolarhyde, Ted Levine as Jame Gumb, or Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, but actually earning the comparisons.

He’s certainly helped in this respect by Smith’s script and the direction of People v. O.J. cinematographer Nelson Cragg. The reference set they assemble for Andrew to inhabit includes a genderbent shower scene by the beach with Andrew’s ersatz friend and escort manager Ronnie (a warm, wounded, marvelously understated Max Greenfield), combining Psycho‘s defining visual with the pre-shower/murder rapport between Norman and Marion Crane, not to mention its star Perkins’s closeted sexuality. (A motel also figures prominently, again with roles reversed: Andrew’s the guest on the run from the law, not the person at the front desk, and he must ingratiate himself to her instead of the other way around.)

Elsewhere, a scene of excruciating sadism, in which an underwear-clad Andrew dances to the Big ‘80s strains of Phil Collins and Philip Bailey’s pounding “Easy Lover” while an escort client slowly suffocates beneath the duct-tape mask Cuanan wrapped around his head (“You’re helpless…accept it…accept it…ACCEPT IT…”) drags the male-on-male-gaze subtext of Bret Easton Ellis and Mary Harron’s respective American Psychos squirming into the harsh Florida light. Simultaneously hitting Pulp Fiction‘s gimp sequence, Boogie Nights‘s “Sister Christian”/”Jesse’s Girl”/”99 Luftballoons” coke deal gone bad, and Silence of the Lambs‘ Buffalo Bill/”Goodbye Horses” buttons as well, this is a scene people will remember. (A closing scene in which Cunanan prefaces his usual torrent of bullshit about his life by straight-up saying “I’m a serial killer” to a prospective suitor also tears a page from the AP playbook.)

And in the most chilling allusion of all, Ronnie — a sweet guy who moved to Miami because he’d heard “people like living by the ocean who don’t have much living left,” then got unexpectedly healthy, and now dreams of opening up a small florist shop with the money he and Andrew have amassed from his escort gigs — knocks on the bathroom door and finds Andrew in full Manhunter Great Red Dragon mode on the other side, the top half of his face rendered obscure and inhuman by the duct tape he’d applied to himself. Because the context of each of these scenes is so specific to who Andrew and Ronnie are, none of it feels derivative or plagiaristic, the way the generic King/Carpenter/Spielberg rehash of Stranger Things does, for example. Indeed, it’s no different from the way it alludes to Christ telling Peter he’d deny him three times when Andrew tells Ronnie, who’s desperate for connection even as Cunanan flees, “When someone asks you if we were friends, you’ll say no.” As I’ve argued before, the horror genre exists in conversation with itself, and Versace is simply using the language established by its forebears to tell a story all its own.

Yet I think the episode’s two most moving and crushing moments don’t fit neatly in either category. The first involves Versace’s final repose: cremated, his ashes are placed in a bag monogrammed with a V, like everything else in the Versace empire. The gold box in which the bag of ashes is placed for transport back to Italy gets its own seat on the plane. Even in death, beauty and luxury are everything.

The second involves Andrew, making his getaway following the murder. After replacing his stolen car’s plates in a Wal-Mart parking lot — grinning like the cat who got the cream at the girl who spots him doing it, pleased beyond reckoning that he’s getting away with it — he drives down the highway with the windows down, blasting Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” and singing along at the top of his lungs while flubbing every other lyric. Contrasted with his petty glee at committing a crime in front of a little kid, this an utterly brutal portrait of forced happiness and feigned freedom. He’s going through the motions of every Brat Pack flick and Bonnie & Clyde knockoff he’s ever seen, but this brat has no pack, this Clyde has no Bonnie. He’s alone with his horror, and he can’t drown that out forever. How do the lyrics go? “I think you’re headed for a breakdown, so be careful not to show it.”

#acs versace #decider #recap #review #2.02 #article #january 2018

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