#offshore personal assistant

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[kemecon]

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[dinasparta]

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[letternotekisses]

Being the personal assistant to Akande Ogundimu had its perks.

Perks such as the unlimited spending limit on the card he got just for you. You use it mainly for work expenses but he’s all too happy to encourage you to spend a little bit more for yourself, as a treat for being so well behaved and keeping on top of your tasks. Whatever you spend barely puts a dent in his pocket, and he’s happy to flaunt the notion whenever you try to refuse him in a flustered manner.

That’s on top of your pay too, which is plenty enough to keep you living comfortably on its own. Akande ensures to pay the pretty little thing who brings him his documents and schedules his meetings well - he takes good care of his toys.

In regards of professionalism, it’s non existent. As he finds ways to gift you expensive items or take you on celebratory dinners for reasons that aren’t really that exciting. The line between boss and subordinate is a little blurred, but you can’t find it in yourself to mind all too much.

You’re also in a tight-knit team - unorthodox - but charming nonetheless. Akande finds a rich satisfaction in watching each of his subordinates vie for your attention whilst you try to complete your work, whether it be Mauga’s straightforward approach or Sombra depositing thousands into your bank from an offshore account.

At the end of the day, he is the one that has your legs slung over his shoulders, your stockings - which he bought - torn to shreds under the promise that he’d buy you a new pair. He’s the one pinning you to the glossy wood of his desk, the ornate carving digging into your lower back as he busies himself between your plush thighs, gorging himself on you until you’re whiny and overstimulated, trying to push his head away.

Akande may consider sharing you with his agents someday, but for now he’s happy to keep his assistant all to himself<3

[hwaightme]

Avaritia

THIS IS 18+ ONLY MINORS DNI FOR CAPTAIN'S SAKE (nsfw tags under the cut) (masterlist)

⚫ pairing: ceo/sugar daddy!hongjoong x assistant/afab!reader ⚫ genre: smut... just smut really ⚫ summary: everything has a price, but sugar makes this truth so much sweeter. no matter what he says, hongjoong will buy that new purse for you, will flaunt you in front of his business partners, and will make sure you know you are his. ⚫ wordcount: 8.3k ⚫ warnings/tags: MINORS DNI, tried to edit - lost it - bon appetit, language, teasing, on a flight, a lot of money, wealth, first world, brand name dropping harder than San in the logs, hj is a sweetheart, mc is needy but in denial, full avarice mode lmk if anything else, nsfw tags and playlist rec under the cut ⚫ taglist: @doom-fics @layzfeelit @acciocriativity @justhere4kpop @honey-lemon-goose @byuntrash101 @shakalakaboomboo ⚫ network tags: @k-labels @ateezlovenet @kflixnet ⚫ a/n: Sometimes, I am calm. Other times (read 'all the time) I am getting wrecked by everyone in ATEEZ. Here is what Balmain Joong did to me. Any comments, reblogs much loved; we spiraled into madness (hail sucrose pop, glucose father joong lol)

⚫ nsfw tags: daddy/baby girl dynamic, sugar daddy, reader is a 'doll', soft dom!hj (literally cannot stay mad at mc), overstimulation (seriously what is hj doing to mc...), fingering, mile high club, blowjob, deepthroating, dacryphilia, possessiveness, dirty talk, sex on a desk, unprotected sex (wrap that before you tap that) ⚫ playlist recs: Five Star Hotels by RAYE | Sugar Daddy by Qveen Herby | SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY Remix by Amaarae | Greed by Shreea Kaul | Mile High by Salina Killa | Do I Move You? by Nina Simone | Money Power Glory by Lana Del Rey

Why was it that when real business was being discussed, the location of choice was always the most extravagant, exotic, luxurious oasis? Everything about the resort screamed unaffordable. 'Exclusive' written in blood on the pristine white sands, only to be washed away by azure blue waves to colour sea foam you could swear was whipped up in a divine patisserie. A perverse flavour inaccessible to the majority but driving the decisions that ruled the world. It was challenging to not become partial to the taboo indulgence when it was handed to you on a silver platter together with a tailor-made career. Anyone would need to acclimatise to what most considered a distant fantasy, but a few flights on a private jet later did wonders in curing the delirium of the average and introducing an insatiable materialism.

Thus, you were not particularly bothered when your boss requested you book another retreat to a private resort in the middle of the ocean - considering the business's cash flow and offshore 'pocket money', this was not too different from your routine trip to the cafe down the street to get his 'coffee' - more sugar than caffeine but this was a secret that you were to keep to the grave; it was written in small print on your contract. It was easy to book when you just needed to send out a few messages to staff and drop a name to any external service people at the right time. Their reaction, stuttering and need for clarification never failed to be amusing; even the most outrageous demands gained appeal once the won, euro, dollars, whatever they wanted from the global wallet, began to stack up. Green bills, green trees - in a twisted way, these boys who liked to play the role of the all-seeing and all mighty were farmers too. And fruits of their labour were always the sweetest.

Sure, you worked hard and had your own path that you could have followed. Even had a degree to prove that you had at least an ounce of dedication. But what would it give you, in fact, what did it give you before your renaissance? Crumbs. Sheer crumbs, student debt and a chronic migraine. But as it turned out, a couple hundred k did wonders when it came to personal health and wellbeing. And on top of that, the myriad of other benefits that your current lifestyle had, had the ability to crush any argument and accusation hurled in your direction, of which you had many. You had figured out soon enough that diamonds were your real best friend, while those who you had considered your ride or die evaporated as soon as they saw you wearing designer. And that had been when the best you could ask for was old collections, and widely available products. You were not lonely. You had too many hats to wear, and a very demanding man, by the name of Kim Hongjoong, to entertain. And one who currently had his eyebrows furrowed, a couple of unruly strands of hair perking up out of his otherwise slick business ‘do, glasses barely holding onto the tip of his beautifully sculpted nose, and was leafing through the papers he had asked you to prepare for the duration of the flight.

For the CEO of a global company, and the heir to an even larger network, he sure as hell was incredibly young. You did not envy his turmoil and exposure to stress one bit, almost feeling sorry and in part guilty, since percentages of his spendings were technically lost on you. There had even been instances when you found yourself sat in a dark room, laptop screen aglow and on a blank page, with you wondering how one crafted a resignation paper. But once you and Hongjoong could have even a couple of moments alone, when he would ravish you, make and call you his and reveal to you all the things he had planned that could not be reflected on his calendar, that document would be promptly deleted and recycle bin emptied. Your ‘relationship’ had been this way since the one meeting, in his main office, on a bright and early morning.

He had called you up into his office and simply told you that he had another ‘job opportunity’ for you. At that point you had been desperate, with financial problems endlessly piling up, from debt to your family’s hospital fees to bailing your estranged brother out of prison. And to make things unethical – Hongjoong had known this. He had done his research – more specifically, he had asked some colleagues in his company, ones who you would never suspect, to snoop around and find out more about you. And as it turned out, you were the perfect candidate for ‘being treated right’ by him, while bearing the title and carrying out the formal façade of secretary and personal assistant duties. In his practice, as well as his father’s and partners’, this was probably the most stable relationship they would ever get in life, so might as well be picky.

Initially, you had simply become a receiver of gifts. Pretending like this was Hongjoong’s love language, you were touched and did not think much of it. Maybe through these purchases he was moving money in ways it should not be moved, but you could not care less – not your problem, not your area of expertise, you had the outcome, and the outcome was something like a crocodile leather bag or a dress fresh off the runway. Hongjoong had insisted on picking every single item out for you, letting his controlling executive side win over. He had explained that you had to look like ‘the prettiest doll in the world’ for him, and for that he needed to check for quality. After a couple of months, however, such sugary sweet presents had been reserved for special occasions, and for the rest, money was wired directly to a new, account, a platinum card he had opened for you and given you. To just step into the consultation room with his portfolio manager and private banking consultant had felt like you were cheating existence. You had been a lowly assistant to an assistant before. And now, decked out in Dior, were sat beside one of the most influential men in the modern era of this industry, letting him hand you eye-watering sums as if it was a couple of coins for a pack of gum.

Now, well, now you were conflicted. As months had turned into a year and were now approaching the two-year mark if you could remember correctly, your ‘relationship’ had started to feel more and more like a real one. Hongjoong had caught himself divulging details of experiences that he had never spoken about with anyone before. And nowadays, when you had sex, it felt less like a mindless fuck and more like making love, with the man expressing more than he ever could with every hot touch, press of his lips to yours, even his lustful intensity had gained a new colour. You could feel that he was confused, but would not dare let go of you – you knew that he put your name down on some very important documents, after all. As such, it was a rare but unbelievable pleasure to push Hongjoong’s buttons and get him all riled up for you, just so he could expel that pressure and that tension from a busy work day out on you. You were that caring of a personal assistant. And wanted him to keep on talking. Keep on telling you his deepest darkest secrets. You wanted to be a part of him, the hedonistic side, the one that seized the day and knew how to enjoy the earthly realm without counting and fighting.

For the flight to the resort and extended series of meetings with key business partners, you had chosen to wear an outfit that you knew Hongjoong was unravelled by. It was a black and white Prada poplin mini dress that did wonders to accentuate your curves and edges, and was paired with some classic, black leather, So Kate Louboutin heels and gold accessories to match the dainty little buttons on the dress. Really, this was dress number two since the last one had been quite literally torn off you by none other than your boss, but he did not want to ruin the night and as such, had promised to contact the house of fashion itself to get an exact replica of the limited edition garment. And this man kept his promises. But right now, even though you were sat in the private office in his jet, with the bodyguards safely outside, lounging and doing whatever bodyguards did to occupy themselves, he was not paying attention to you at all. Only winding himself up more with those compiled quarterly reports that you were now regretting having finalised them and bringing them at all. What was the worst that you would have gotten had you not done the task? A spanking? Oh, how scary… you have had it rougher on a casual and uneventful day. Now you needed to get creative to get his attention, and being needy would not do. So very slowly, gazing out of the window at the clouds your were drifting past, you crossed your legs, revealing the legendary red bottoms of the heels you were wearing, and reached for the notebook and pen that were just peeking out of your handbag. Unbeknownst to you, you already had his attention with your abrupt change of pattern. Normally you would be on your phone, or typing away on your laptop, even remaining idle would be more characteristic, so Hongjoong’s interest was piqued by the little planner that contained all your thoughts and actions. He slouched back in his seat, and raised he papers a little higher, so that he could steal glances at you more discreetly.

You were paying no mind to what your boss was up to, preoccupied by the cream pages and the visualisation of the figure in front of you, but in your mind. Sometimes, when work was slow, you had taken to doodling random people around the office, as well as sketching out a variety of landscapes that took your fancy. Though the main subject was always Hongjoong. You had gotten quite good at picturing his facial features and depicting them even in a few lines, catching his micro expressions and shift in body language. There were also a couple of drawings you had done with him as a live model, though he was asleep and in the nude, so no one was ever going to know about that – you had stashed them away in a safe hidden behind the drawers of your desk. It only made sense that he was in most of your drawings: after all, he was the man who had bestowed upon you such unimaginable riches and a quality of life so drastically improved, that you had no choice but to worship him. He had made you who you were now. A shining diamond.

And this shining diamond was a little too bright for him to keep on focusing on the profit and loss analysis. After about ten minutes of frustrating silence, he dropped the papers onto the table in front of him and leaned to put his elbows on its edge. You had still not raised your eyes at him – something that you normally did nearly on instinct since you were so in tune with his gestures, which made Hongjoong inhale aggressively. His previously neutral expression had turned into a scowl as he raised an eyebrow and gave you a onceover. His precious doll was up to something.

“What are you doing?” though the question was simple, his voice was dangerously low. But you could not be threatened by a good time. You kept your eyes trained on the page as your hand moved methodically to hatching the shadows of his, as of not too long ago, brilliant blond locks, ones you adored to run your hands through whenever you had the chance. Which was a rare occurrence outside of the ‘bedroom’, but still.

“Just noting some things down, Mister Kim.” Though he had insisted that you call him Hongjoong when you two were alone, it had been a challenging transition to get used to. But at least it gave you ample opportunity for… discouraging him further. He liked for everything to run like a well-oiled machine, with his eyes reading a business strategy in anything and anyone. You had no doubt that that was how he was scrutinising you now. Equal parts assessing the attitude and doting on you.

He was a sweetheart treating his favourite toy. Talking competitive analysis and takeovers in the morning, and clinking glasses with you at an exclusive Michelin star restaurant in the evening. And to think that you were the only one, aside from his family, who got to see more than one side of him was an intriguing notion. Actually, scratch that. Certain things you were sure to be the only one taking care of. Take his nasty habit of overworking, which you had called out even if it was just you feeling bored: all work and no play made Hongjoong a dull boy, and thus, less likely to compensate for your presently aimless sitting around.

“By colouring the entire page? Not good to lie to me, you know that.” Of course. When it came to matters of business, for example, this man had ears everywhere, had infiltrated every other competitor and had become a spider in the corporate world. He would probably find out someone was cheating on their spouse sooner than the spouse themselves. When it came to you, however, he did not have your intricate neural network mapped out just yet. He could only fluff up his feathers and put on airs.

“It is only ink, Mister Kim. And surely the ink to paper ratio is not more than the balance sheet on page twenty seven.” You purposefully moved away from his interrogation, subliminally reprimanding him from stopping his concentration. The ghost of a smirk was gracing your lips, hidden by hair that had fallen to perfectly frame your delicate facial features. Hongjoong still had not corrected you on using his ‘work title’.

“I should ask you to start drawing the spreadsheets out by hand then.”

“Maybe next time, as a special treat. In the meantime, we have what we have and must settle for it.” A lot more standoffish than usual, you were brushing your boss off as you continued the sketch. He could not exactly reprimand you, however. You were right in the fact that his suggestion was nothing more than white noise.

“Settle for less, Y/N?” the question rang loudly in your ears and translated itself to a reminder to know your place fairly quickly. You could imagine Hongjoong’s raised eyebrow and playful grin. In addition to him hinting at your arrangements, he switched to calling out your first name. Promising.

There was a customary mention of money and class even when it was not the main topic of conversation. Really, it was what had brought you two together, or rather the stark difference between what you and him had, respectively. Hongjoong enjoyed having financial control over you and ended up dangling it above your head in the form of his not so subtle first-world conduct. You preferred to imagine that it was him wrapping you up in the softest, silkiest Chanel ribbon, like the one you had seen in adverts and on the packaging that, alone, could have probably provided you with enough food to last a week in your life before.

It was not that Hongjoong did not try to ‘stay humble’. Based on your observations, out of all his financial peers, company clients and members of the executive board, he was probably the least likely to boast about the figures that his numerous bank accounts contained. It was possible that when the strings of digits began to look more like a phone number, one grew more tranquil. Money spoke louder than words. But you knew how to make Hongjoong get vocal. Or so you thought.

“More is never enough.”

“Having more takes a lot of work and being on your best behaviour, Y/N.” he may not know all of your thoughts and reasoning but knew that you got extra charming when you became needy. Trying so hard to get his attention that you would invest all your efforts into it. It was only fair after how much he had invested in you.

The Tiffany & Co necklace on your neck that he traced with his gaze was nothing more than a collar, a leash tethering you to him. An Elsa Peretti piece, a golden snake which had cost Hongjoong just under thirty million Korean won, was perhaps the best way to symbolise the chokehold you were beginning to have on him. You were there in business, there in pleasure, and he was contemplating preventing you from taking holidays unless they somehow involved him. It would be easy – just block all of your cards and you would come crawling. He was greedy for your reactions. The way your lip would curl when he would put somebody back in their place during a conference or a meeting. How you enjoyed it when he praised you for completing the challenging, soul-draining tasks that never ceased to pile up – he had never failed to continue scrutinising you through the glass walls of his office as you excitedly returned to your desk, a soft smile always on your face. How you were completely at his mercy when he wanted to give you an extra special present. He loved how the jewellery he had gifted you or sponsored for you to buy rocked back and forth as he took his time to take you apart. Piece by piece. His priceless game.

Hongjoong smoothed his lapels and adjusted his cotton jacket that he had bought in the colour warm khaki, tightening the knot of the wrap belt. Smugly, he took note of how your pretty, made up lips parted. What were you imagining he was doing now? He was not going to care, at least not right away. He demonstratively picked up the reports again, flipping through the bounded pages on autopilot as, what he could only decipher to be a disappointed gasp, reached his ears. It was a relief that the paper hid his growing smirk. Mister Kim was work-mode Hongjoong, after all. What did you expect?

Ignored and rejected, so be it. You knew this interaction well enough to be able to count, down to the minute, when Hongjoong would crack, or you would crack and still come sauntering over. He liked to be needed – the main reason why he had agreed to become the heir to the corporation in the first place, more than you liked to be needy. But sometimes, you were a little too impatient for your own liking – probably a side effect of having been transferred to a silver spoon lifestyle after experiencing hardship after hardship. As such, the dynamic between you and Hongjoong was a constant battle. You could almost taste his pride as he inspected the figures you had compiled for him, a lazy hand moving to adjust the collar of his white turtleneck. Through fluttering eyelashes, you feasted on the dangerously handsome man, determining that he really did look astonishingly captivating in Balmain.

It was frustrating, this ongoing game that you two played and would not quit despite the effect that it very obviously had on all parties involved, but much like with the drugs that made the occasional special appearance in the closed VIP-only events, it was too addictive. Even now, you knew that you should not pay attention to Hongjoong, but your eyes were not obeying you in the slightest. Over the time you had come to intimately know this man, if there was one thing you knew for certain, it was that he had an aura. An enigmatic charm, a magnetism that was so subtle to anyone who you now had the ability and first world clarity of deeming 'average' was unlikely to detect. However, before you knew it, upon locking eyes with Hongjoong, listening to his dulcet tone that would turn to orchestrate the music in your mind, you began to fall hard and fast into the abyss that was his power and control, trapped and even if you wanted out, forgetting the words. Once you fell in, the only words that mattered were the ones that he deemed to be so, and they were so heavily contextual and dependent on his mood that, usually, you did not dare oppose it.

It was fascinating to you how time seemed to pass differently when there was a price associated with it. Be it Hongjoong's net worth or what he was wiring into your accounts, it did not matter. What mattered was the bills that bound you together like the lace of your lingerie, one which was growing tighter around your body by the second as you kept on openly devouring Hongjoong with each shameless gaze, the thoughts cropping up because of the ghost of a smirk that he was wearing only fanning the flame. He was illegal. In all senses. No man should have the right to have such an influence over you as he did, and yet here you were. Working the role of his personal toy, so dedicated that you were on the verge of begging for him to play with you. You needed him. As much as you hated to admit it, since you still did want to retain at least a tiny portion of independence, this man had given you more than what you could ever wish for. Riches, connections, diamonds, sex. And you could not get enough, happily driven to madness by the immense pleasure of being a capricious diva with infantile demands for all the world's sweetness. Or, as your brother had put it, perhaps out of a sick gratitude to you for helping him getting at least a part of his life back on track, before you blocked him for good, you were getting off on being a pampered, prissy sugar baby. Though you saw no issue with simply doing what you were good at, and you still completed your regular duties as a personal assistant. It was just that your 'personal' was a little different from the commonly accepted corporate average. And the business that you carried out in the after hours was not just classified – when you had been faced with the decision of whether to agree to enter such a relationship with Hongjoong or not, you had naively placed your life at stake. That was the level at which you had to operate. But the thrill that it gave you, more than justified it.

Your internal clock was ticking away like a time bomb as you grew more and more frustrated, while Hongjoong, in a manner not too far from that of a cat’s, gave a soft yawn and made himself more comfortable in his chair, spreading his legs further apart under his desk and leaning back to continue his reading. Deciding that he had enough of having to repeatedly push his glasses up, he decisively took them off, and slowly folded them together, holding one of the temple tips very lightly with his lips. In a graceful motion, Hongjoong set them down to his right, beside a couple of pens. You recalled speaking with the designer over the phone, ordering for them to be customised and getting shipped over from the US in record time, and while you were not exactly sure as to why they were so important, the key stakeholders in the company had raved about them on multiple occasions, much to your boss’s delight.

You could feel that he was well aware of your present sensations, and purposefully was not acting on them, just to see you squirm. This was only making you more fixated on getting his attention, which you tried to do by letting out another soft sigh, quickly realising that if you were to get anything out of him, you had to be more rash, and act on instinct. In other words, act out of line. Taking the moment he dived back into the report as an opportunity, you rose from the couch, and slipped out of your high heels while keeping your eyes trained on your boss. A barely noticeable twitch of the eyebrow and you were struggling to fight off a smirk, feeling every bit seductive even though it was most probably a vision of your own design. But a little confidence did not hurt.

This time, you did not make a sound as you slowly moved towards Hongjoong’s desk in a straight line, using your strength to keep your adrenaline-ruined breathing as level as physically possible, and your steps measured out as the plane rumbled beneath you. Head and body in the clouds. All because of the heavenly ruin who was paying no mind to how you rested the tips of your fingers on the edge of the desk, before lowering yourself onto your knees and dropping into a languid crawl. As you inched past his lacquered black boots, and soon found yourself right between his legs, you could see Hongjoong stiffen, but resist the urge of responding to your bold movements. This only played to your advantage, as you let your hands rest on his denim-clad thighs before snaking up to tug on his coat’s belt, loosening it until the material gave way and exposed the waistline of his jeans.

Even as you, with practiced, methodical motions, undid his jeans, he did not spare you as much as a pat on the top of your head, like he usually did when you were being his ‘good girl’. The only sign he gave of his awareness of you was the obviously hardening member that your hands purposefully grazed as you attempted to pull the denim a little further down to give you better access. When the jeans, or rather, their wearer, did not budge to allow you to take them off, you growled in annoyance and gave up trying to be gentle, instead wanting nothing more but attention, not from Mister Kim, not from your boss, but from Hongjoong. From Joongie. From your one and only daddy.

Said man was resisting every urge to yank you from under the desk and to punish you for being such a vixen, but it was clear to him that his disregard of your efforts might just be more painful – a realisation that did little to subdue his arousal. It made him acutely aware of your nimble hand finding the cut in his Armani briefs, and pulling out his erection, giving it a few pumps at the base with your fingers. The sudden caress had made him buck his hips forward, encouraging you to continue admiring his length and running your fingers up and down, not a single bit escaping your touch. He gripped the papers in his hands until they began to get crumpled at the edges, and eventually dropped them to lean back and get a view of the scene unfolding at his feet. All just to catch you as you licked your lips, revealing a thick coating of spit, moved towards his dick, and while keeping it steady with one hand, ran your wet tongue from the base to the very tip, parting with a lewd twirl over the head. Hongjoong bit back a hiss as he locked eyes with yours, half-lidded – you knew all his sensitivities, his pressure points and guilty pleasures, and that was infinitely dangerous for a man like him to share, it only made you more attractive. You had memorised him as if he was your assignment. Your most important test and duty. Never leaving your mind and driving you to insanity as you drifted from wave to wave of uncontrollable desire for him, and him alone. You were his. And you looked so pretty, a queen all made up and dressed in gorgeous rare pieces, kneeling before him and taking in his member between your soft lips. Deeper. Deeper, until he could feel your hot inner cheeks, the back of your tongue and how a rumble emanated from you as you hummed in satisfaction, the vibration forcing Hongjoong to tilt his head back and sigh.

You were greedy for Hongjoong, moving yourself at a slow pace to take in as much of him as you could, hands finding themselves clinging onto the legs of his jeans for support, and to allow you to try your best and continue devour him without his guidance. As you moved away for a couple of seconds to catch your breath, a salacious pop announcing the temporary loss of contact, you noticed a string of what you could only guess to be your saliva, mixed with his pre-cum hanging between his member and your progressively more swollen lips. Once again, you took the throbbing member in your hand and were about to resume its worship, when a strong grip of your hair, nails momentarily sinking into your scalp, alerted you and made your gaze shoot upwards. The sight made you cower, though the thrilling trepidation fuelled your yearning for the glowering man.

There was a demonic quality in how he stared down at you, every bit of the expression demeaning you and demanding your ruin. You knew you had overstepped by disobeying him and taking intimate matters into your own hands, but who could blame you when he was so breath-taking when wearing his favourite brand? When you lowered your eyes he tugged on your locks, sneering.

“Baby girl could not even wait until we landed, huh?” his dulcet tone dropped into a rough drawl as he could feel your breaths washing over the tip of his sensitive dick that was begging for you to finish what you had started.

“I couldn’t.” you purred, batting your eyelashes.

“And so, you resort to being naughty? Do you think that is the right thing to do, especially when I say that I am working, hm?” he was hooking the answers out of you, one of his eyebrows twitching in surprise as you did not respond immediately. He tightened his hold and made your head fall further back so that you were completely face to face, his member pressing against your cheek.

“It isn’t, daddy, but I couldn’t help myself. You just looked so pretty that I could not resist.”

“And I think you are being incredibly selfish, Y/N. Spinning these tales just so you can satisfy yourself.”

“No daddy, I want to make you feel good!” you insisted, a whine escaping you as you could feel your core beginning to grow warmer with the progressing conversation. Pressing your thighs tightly together, you relished at the friction, and bit your lower lip.

“Is that so?” he mused out loud, waiting for your to attempt to utter even a single word more.

“Yes Da-mmfph!” taking the chance, he pushed you right in, his member hitting the back of your throat, the impact making tears spring up. As you struggled against him, he held you in place and watched as you tried to adjust to him. Just as unexpectedly, he yanked you back, leaving your lips to kiss his tip, only to drag you down once more and thrust his hips once, twice against you until he could see the wetness in your eyes building until it was about to spill over.

“You said you wanted to make daddy feel good, yes?” he asked, lust clouding his brain as you mumbled utter nonsense, mouth pacified by the hard erection, “then do exactly as I say, baby girl.”

This was exactly what you missed. Hongjoong coaxing every unholy state out of you, sin setting you ablaze as you began to fail in registering the nuances of this demeanour, tears that were on the verge of rolling down your cheeks blurring your vision. This was how you pinched yourself for grounding, to assure that the lifestyle you had, the gifts which you had been bestowed with were all real and all yours. You did not search for forgiveness when the forbidden fruit was so damn sweet. So, you let yourself be used like an expensive escort by him, comforted by the thought that even though he could definitely afford having anyone else, he had selected you. And let you stick by him for almost two years. A true sweetheart who knew how to treat his girl right. You moaned into the pressure as the low grunts you elicited from Hongjoong let to the climbing of heat in your core. With the abuse of your throat becoming a rhythmic orchestration, you grew brave enough to improvise, and hollowed out your cheeks.

"Ah... fuck, baby girl..." the airy proclamation escaped him as your teeth just barely grazed his member, and he could feel his high building at an accelerated pace. He resisted your bobbing to catch a few seconds' break by pressing you to his hips, barely giving you a chance to breathe. But he knew you would take it. You always did.

Hongjoong's ragged breathing was sending you into overdrive, and you shut your eyes to allow yourself to focus on the lewd music. Barely audible over the jet engines, the loss of control was his primary expression of gratitude. The illusion that he was not, in certain senses, under your heel rapidly evaporated when the adrenaline shot him through the heart, and his frontal lobe shut down to give up the reins to carnal pleasure. Once the barriers disappeared, his one desire and need were clear. You. The one thing in his life that he would never be able to truly own, and as you unwounded him, he comprehended with an unprecedented lucidity. That was why, as you sensed his hold on you loosen and his orgasm inching closer than ever, and were about to give him the sweet release, Hongjoong snapped back to consciousness and nearly ripped you away from himself, your head barely missing the drawers under the desk.

With flushed cheeks and an adorable, innocent pout, you looked up at him, dribble accumulated at the corners of your mouth. He fell for this face every time. Your glistening eyes studying him as you appeared disappointed that you could not get daddy to cum, afraid that you made him mad. That you did something wrong. Oh, how far from the truth this was. Even though you had acted selfishly, and approached him on your own accord, nothing about you could be anything less than right. Right just for him. It was as if the heavens themselves had moulded you to fit him like a glove. Body and soul. And he will be a fool if he did not indulge in that every opportunity he had.

Taking both your hands in his, Hongjoong helped you up from under his desk, careful to not damage your dress - not that he cared for the price, but it was not particularly enjoyable contemplating the conversation you might have to have with dry cleaning. Or with the designers. Again. It was troublesome striking deals with strangers to keep their mouths shut. He rolled back on his chair, taking in your trembling form. Holding your legs together you were fighting your ache for stimulation, knowing full well that your panties were already ruined with your slick and were only serving as a fabric made for rubbing your sensitive clit. Every breath, every sigh from Hongjoong as he took off his jacket and carefully hanged it on the back of his chair, then fully undid his jeans and pushed down his underwear, was a reason for you to start begging. Couldn't he see how anxious for touch his little toy was? Evidently not, for Hongjoong took his sweet time with removing your dress, every button like a special prize that he wanted to cherish, while you were growing hazy as he peppered kiss after kiss with every new inch of exposed skin, crouching down to let the sensation build lower, feeding the knot in your stomach. His pecks stopped just about when he reached your navel and with a lazy smile on his face, he stood up to gaze into your soul with an unbelievable intensity. Hands running up your body, Hongjoong slid the magnificent article off you, hastily draping it over one of the chair's arm rests and not once glancing away from his favourite sight, a sultry oasis, within reach, and so beautifully hungry for him. He stopped your arms from resting on his sweater, muttering that you would mar it with your lusty filth, and rushed to take it off and throw it behind him. Then, there was no barrier for him anymore, and in one motion, his pelvis was against yours, member resting against your black lace-clad heat, and hands kneading your ass, moving closer and closer until they began to toy with the g-string the action turning to torture as he purposefully made the material dig into your pussy, enjoying how you threw your head back and bit back a groan.

"Please daddy, I need you..." you whispered as he increased the friction and proceeded to move his dick in and out between your full, closed thighs, teasing your erect nub until you writhed to seek even more proximity. This, however, earned you a sharp smack on your ass, the lack of anticipation making it sting. Hongjoong did not give you time to recover as he let the pins and needles work their magic and elevate your reception of his steady thrusts. You tried to grab onto him, the table, anything, but as soon as your fingers touched Hongjoong's chest, another hit echoed in your ears, eliciting a frustrated moan.

"You want to... make... daddy really happy and cum... right?" He panted, his nails digging into your flesh so violently that you could not help but wonder if Hongjoong was going to draw blood, but that brief musing only elevated your pleasure. “Then, you are going to be my pretty little fuck doll… understood?” there was only one right answer to the question, and you were not about to get on Hongjoong’s bad side by being a brat. You were too fazed to put up a fight, and merely mumbled a soundless:

“Yes… daddy…”

Hongjoong leaned closer to you, until his forehead was almost touching yours, and moved to wipe some of the lipstick and remnants of his precum from your lips with his thumb, while his other hand hooked the waistband of your panties, slowly pulling them down to reveal your wet core. You wriggled to let them fall and kicked them away with an impatient foot, earning a chuckle.

“So eager, baby girl… I almost want to forgive you for not listening to me. I just said you are to be a doll,” he peered into your eyes, his breath hot on your mouth as he ran his fingers between your folds, covering them in your slick. It was adorable how you tried your best to keep up appearances even now, even when you had signed yourself away to be what effectively was his servant. You trembled as the cool metal of the ring on his index finger hit your clit, and exhaled shallowly as he played with you, “and dolls don’t move, do they? Can you do that?”

As he asked, his fingers curled into your pussy, while a thumb traced rhythmic circles over the nub, the sensation electric, building your high. The lasciviousness flashing in your pupils as your eyes rolled back was a cry to Hongjoong’s darkness. Hands suspended in mid-air, you did not dare act out nor attempt to navigate the intimate act, submitting to your boss, your daddy. Letting him take care of you. As he sped up, watching your face contort as you battled the approaching climax, Hongjoong found you endearing, the corners of his mouth twitching as a soft, radiant smile surfaced. He could never stay cruel with you for too long. He was giving you more than you could ask for, and yet, he still wanted to give you more. Everything would not be enough.

“Oh, my baby girl, are you close?” he inquired, cooing as your breathing quickened in response to his accelerated pumps into your wetness, wild from the addictive sound it produced. “Fine, you can hold onto me, Y/N, daddy will take care of you,” you did not need to be told twice, falling into him as your orgasm was imminent, “doing so well for me, baby girl…” he whispered into your ear, kissing the lobe and pulling you into an embrace as he felt your high wash over you, your sex pulsing around him and muscles contracting uncontrollably. Brushing your hair back, petting it a couple of times before settling on having a hand rest between your shoulder blades, he praised you. But did not stop. Greed went both ways.

Your prior filters completely broken, you moaned and whined as you kept on unravelling, Hongjoong’s fingers abusing your overstimulated cunt. With his toned body, and your ass pressed against the edge of the desk serving as your only support, you draped your arms over his shoulders and wrapped yourself around his neck, rationality leaving with every tremor. As you could feel another scalding fire building in your abdomen, just before the release Hongjoong removed his hand and instead took to gliding his dick against your pussy lips. With the sensation being too much, you yelped and sank into an orgasm, sweet nectar dripping onto, and coating his cock.

“Such a good girl for me, well done… Come on my dick baby girl.”

You were not sure when, due to the fog that enveloped your fucked out mind, but Hongjoong had made you lie on your back on his wooden desk, surrounded by the financial reports he could not be bothered to clear. He wanted you now, and that meant no pauses. Without as much as a warning, the blonde gave you one final teasing flick with his tip before bottoming out, the fullness making you gasp. Your walls were still clenching around him from your climax, which made Hongjoong growl as he grabbed your hips and pulled you closer to him, spreading your legs further apart.

“So perfect for me, Y/N… only mine…”

He mercilessly pounded into you, chasing his own high while you were seeing stars. When you were like this, under him, hair cascading onto and off the mahogany, knuckles turning white as your grasped onto the desk as he thrusted, you were the closest thing to heaven that he could believe in. In a world that was drenched in materialistic attraction, sabotage in the name of another stack, and human lives turning into corporate statistics to improve key performance indicators, this was an ethereal madness that unlocked a primal bliss, untainted by present crises. The sweetest distraction, you took him so well that he liked to pretend that you had been made just for this. Just to become his possession. His gorgeous doll.

With you, Hongjoong had begun to see purpose in his riches, being able to play dress up with you, making the office a private cat walk as you strutted in the latest collections and custom made pieces. Gucci, Versace, Prada… it did not matter to him so long as you were wearing it with the intentions of impressing him, seducing him, and only him. He was fully aware that, technically, you could be dating someone else alongside your so-called partnership with Hongjoong. As a sugar baby you could even have another ‘sponsor’ out there somewhere. Another person to make you cum, to provide you with a sensual paradise. But the notion sent him into an inexplicable rage as soon as he entertained it, and as such, he preferred to isolate visions of you from the rest of the world. In turn, this manifested itself into his real life attempts to do the same. Longer hours spent after work, an unspoken rule that the assistant should not leave until the boss does. Michelin star restaurants and exclusive rooftop bars to lure you into being in his company. And of course, sex. Or making love. However, one wished to call it when the lines began to get blurry. But Hongjoong could not care less. You made him comfortable. You were his, you had to be, otherwise what did the two years mean?

Skin against skin, breath joining breath, sight clouding, going dark. Hongjoong rolled his hips, and lowered himself to a stance where he was hovering directly above you, his piercing gaze not once leaving you. Getting drunk off every moan and gasp that he was the cause of, he relished in the feeling of your pussy taking him so well, the orgasm that he had not allowed you to ride out still making your walls clench repeatedly around his dick, pleading for his intimate, salacious demise. His thrusts got deeper as he slowed the pace, progressively losing his senses to the speeding high.

“Mm… baby girl you are… fucking priceless…” he uttered, words broken apart by each time he bottomed out in you, his balls pressing against your wetness as you could only let out a series of mewls in response, thoughts unintelligible as the repeated hits to your g-spot brought you closer and closer to total destruction.

“Daddy… please, I’m-”

“Going to cum?” he finished your sentence as your try at speaking was interrupted by a wave of pleasure, mixing with the tension from before and making the tears spring up once again. You were a wreck, impaled by Hongjoong’s member as he returned to standing up in front of the desk, thrusts rapid, sharp and finally making a droplet roll down from the corner of your eye. You yelped:

“Hongjoong… ah this is…”

“Is it too much baby girl?” he asked, without any intention to stop as he could sense himself faltering at keeping up the act for any longer. His own climax was within reach, and he was not one to deny himself any pleasures.

“No, daddy, feels…. So ah… yes…” you mumbled, at least you thought you did, but could not confirm for certain.

“Pretty girl crying for me…  so cute.” Praises spilled out of him as he groaned into the tightness, and, unsteady, removed himself from your cunt, letting out a low moan as rivulets of cum shoot out from his cock and onto your stomach.

The viscous white fluid decorating you was more than what he could ever hope for. The final marking that you were his to use, you were there to serve him, and he would never get enough. A light shake in his thighs forced him to seek balance in having a hand on either side of you, while his pulsing dick rubbed against your inner thigh.

“So pretty, Y/N. Just for me.” He stated, more to himself, and lowered himself further to give you a soft peck on the lips, which quickly deepened as you responded with an elated sigh. In these moments, you wondered if it was money that you were doing this for.

As he moved away, and with practiced motions began to clean you up with some tissues which you had in your bag, you regained full ability of inhale… count… exhale, and in the clarity, drifted to a post-coital contemplation. Hongjoong knew how to make you do what he wanted you to do. But did he know you? Could he confidently paint the portrait of your desires beyond financial and sexual gain? A man made of sugar, with an alluring physique and a kindness which he showed only to you, but should he be your only one? This thought had been plaguing you ever since last month. An unexpected, shattering appearance of a business card, that was now hidden behind a card you rarely used in your wallet, with gold embossed lettering and an otherwise minimalist design. Tasteful, exclusive, expensive. When you checked the names of those attending the meet on the island, the object had grown considerably heavier, weighing onto your consciousness. Discreetly given to you amidst a kiss of the hand and the reception of a smouldering gaze, it served a similar purpose to a number at an auction. The person whose name the card bore had announced himself as a bidder for your attention and services, a bidder astronomically higher than Kim Hongjoong, at that. It was tempting. Very tempting. And you knew that the conversation would occur at some point during your stay, seeing as even in the business setting, the man would undoubtedly be sat across from you, and would stare you down, right to the avarice festering in your heart wrapped up in designer. But you were caught in a dilemma.

Your eyes travelled back to the graceful form tending to you, forgetting about himself, at least until his baby girl was well cared for. A sweet angel, his face finally rid of tenseness and agitation as his entire focus was on your body, on you. The one who, unknowingly to himself, had shown you unprecedented vulnerability and, endearingly, trusted you much more than he ever should have. A man who walked on people and money, yet wanted a woman who could play with his heart.

It was not that simple anymore, was it? After so many doses, could you give this up? Give up and betray Hongjoong in search for a stronger hit?

What was it that you were truly greedy for?

[womanfredvonkarma]

what's happening in argentina?

I don't fault you for the broad question because I'd ask too, but I need you to know that as a non-smoker I've never felt so strongly the need for a cigarette as I did just now thinking about answering this question. But I'll do my best.

In November of last year, the country elected Javier Milei as president. He would swear into office the next month. Javier Milei is a self-identified anarcho-capitalist and libertarian, although he states he is a minarchist in the short term (meaning he thinks the only functions the State should serve are those of law enforcement: no public education, social development, market regulations, etc etc). Some of his most controversial campaign statements included projects to legalise the free and unregulated sale of organs, and, along with his vice-president Victoria Villarruel (who in her youth organised visits to Jorge Rafael Videla in prison), apologia for the 1976 military dictatorship by revindicating the theory of the two demons (fair warning that from what I skimmed that article is biased in favour of the theory) and casting into doubt the estimated 30.000 victims of state terrorism (torture, disappearance followed by death) (also warning that that article uses the name the military junta gave this process) during its duration.

Since he took over six months ago, the population's purchasing power has dropped by 38%, plunging millions of people below the line of poverty. In stark contrast to this, Milei has been travelling around the world using public funds to visit his ultraright idols; most notably, Trump, who is not the political leader of any country at the moment (making his trip to see him a personal visit and not a diplomatic one, thus invalidating his arguments for using our money to go there).

On the subject of diplomacy, his government has been swinging quite a lot of bats at hornets' nests, accusing China and Brazil of communism and insulting the wife of the president of Spain. All of this is an international relations nightmare that will take endless apologies to undo.

Another interesting resolution deregulates the operations of foreign companies, SPVs, and offshore companies (article in Spanish), with the stated goal of attracting investments. Those types of companies have historically been used to conceal illicit activity, so resolutions in that vein pave the way to effectively turn Argentina into a fiscal paradise. This isn't the only problem they pose (offshore companies don't pay taxes, so there'd be a loss in the public sector, for example), but it is the most worrying to me because they also eliminated restrictions for Sociedades de Acciones Simplificadas (simplified stock companies), most of which have historically been used to commit crimes among which is the drug trade. Once you have narcos in your country, there's no taking it back--Argentina would be at real risk of ceasing to exist as we know it.

This administration is also slashing public spending, resulting in some universities suspending their activities temporarily. They also failed to deliver oncological medicine, depriving cancer patients of assistance the state is obligated to provide. As a result of this, several people have died already. In this climate of extreme poverty, soup kitchens have been shutting down en masse due to the withdrawal of state funding, and laws that protected tenants' rights and regulated rent prices have been severely modified to the detriment of the tenants.

The violent decrease in public spending also resulted in thousands of state workers being fired overnight. The attack is especially centred on state organisations that promote the arts or whose purpose is to fight discrimination. On this subject, 10% of the transgender and travesti workers who had their positions guaranteed by the law were fired illegally, and government members are outspoken about their opposition to this law--which isn't surprising. Diana Mondino, the current chancellor, has compared same-sex marriage to "the right to having lice" while she held a position in Congress. Ricardo Bussi, a current legislator, compared homosexuality to disability in October 2023. Coming to this year, Francisco Sánchez, the Secretary of Religion, said that the laws protecting the right to abortions, divorce, and same-sex marriage "seek to pervert our children and damage society". Milei is also on record describing abortion as "homicide aggravated by the bond".

Also recently, Milei's biographer, Nicolás Márquez, gave a one-hour interview in which he characterised homosexuality as a disease, claiming that when the State "promotes homosexuality" (as it allegedly did before Milei came to power), it is aiding a "self-destructive" conduct, supporting these claims with unfounded statistics about the correlation between STIs and homosexuality; he also denied the existence of homophobia and described lesbians and gays as being "against nature". For the sake of full disclosure, I will say he explicitly freed Milei and his government of responsibility for his declarations--but I think it's really important to point out the kind of people and rhetorics this government is giving a platform to; after all, nobody knew Nicolás Márquez before he started writing for Milei. In approximately the same time frame, and in response to a horrific hate crime that resulted in the death of three lesbians, Manuel Adorni, the presidential spokesman, said that he "doesn't like" to talk about a hate crime because men suffer violence too--and he said this in a press conference.

I'm probably forgetting something important--so much has happened in the past months--but I hope this is enough to give you an impression of the changes our society is undergoing. Please let me know if you have follow-up questions. <3

[feminist-space]

"Just weeks before the implosion of AllHere, an education technology company that had been showered with cash from venture capitalists and featured in glowing profiles by the business press, America’s second-largest school district was warned about problems with AllHere’s product.

As the eight-year-old startup rolled out Los Angeles Unified School District’s flashy new AI-driven chatbot — an animated sun named “Ed” that AllHere was hired to build for $6 million — a former company executive was sending emails to the district and others that Ed’s workings violated bedrock student data privacy principles.

Those emails were sent shortly before The 74 first reported last week that AllHere, with $12 million in investor capital, was in serious straits. A June 14 statement on the company’s website revealed a majority of its employees had been furloughed due to its “current financial position.” Company founder and CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles district said, was no longer on the job.

Smith-Griffin and L.A. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho went on the road together this spring to unveil Ed at a series of high-profile ed tech conferences, with the schools chief dubbing it the nation’s first “personal assistant” for students and leaning hard into LAUSD’s place in the K-12 AI vanguard. He called Ed’s ability to know students “unprecedented in American public education” at the ASU+GSV conference in April.

Through an algorithm that analyzes troves of student information from multiple sources, the chatbot was designed to offer tailored responses to questions like “what grade does my child have in math?” The tool relies on vast amounts of students’ data, including their academic performance and special education accommodations, to function.

Meanwhile, Chris Whiteley, a former senior director of software engineering at AllHere who was laid off in April, had become a whistleblower. He told district officials, its independent inspector general’s office and state education officials that the tool processed student records in ways that likely ran afoul of L.A. Unified’s own data privacy rules and put sensitive information at risk of getting hacked. None of the agencies ever responded, Whiteley told The 74.

...

In order to provide individualized prompts on details like student attendance and demographics, the tool connects to several data sources, according to the contract, including Welligent, an online tool used to track students’ special education services. The document notes that Ed also interfaces with the Whole Child Integrated Data stored on Snowflake, a cloud storage company. Launched in 2019, the Whole Child platform serves as a central repository for LAUSD student data designed to streamline data analysis to help educators monitor students’ progress and personalize instruction.

Whiteley told officials the app included students’ personally identifiable information in all chatbot prompts, even in those where the data weren’t relevant. Prompts containing students’ personal information were also shared with other third-party companies unnecessarily, Whiteley alleges, and were processed on offshore servers. Seven out of eight Ed chatbot requests, he said, are sent to places like Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Australia and Canada.

Taken together, he argued the company’s practices ran afoul of data minimization principles, a standard cybersecurity practice that maintains that apps should collect and process the least amount of personal information necessary to accomplish a specific task. Playing fast and loose with the data, he said, unnecessarily exposed students’ information to potential cyberattacks and data breaches and, in cases where the data were processed overseas, could subject it to foreign governments’ data access and surveillance rules.

Chatbot source code that Whiteley shared with The 74 outlines how prompts are processed on foreign servers by a Microsoft AI service that integrates with ChatGPT. The LAUSD chatbot is directed to serve as a “friendly, concise customer support agent” that replies “using simple language a third grader could understand.” When querying the simple prompt “Hello,” the chatbot provided the student’s grades, progress toward graduation and other personal information.

AllHere’s critical flaw, Whiteley said, is that senior executives “didn’t understand how to protect data.”

...

Earlier in the month, a second threat actor known as Satanic Cloud claimed it had access to tens of thousands of L.A. students’ sensitive information and had posted it for sale on Breach Forums for $1,000. In 2022, the district was victim to a massive ransomware attack that exposed reams of sensitive data, including thousands of students’ psychological evaluations, to the dark web.

With AllHere’s fate uncertain, Whiteley blasted the company’s leadership and protocols.

“Personally identifiable information should be considered acid in a company and you should only touch it if you have to because acid is dangerous,” he told The 74. “The errors that were made were so egregious around PII, you should not be in education if you don’t think PII is acid.”

Read the full article here:

https://www.the74million.org/article/whistleblower-l-a-schools-chatbot-misused-student-data-as-tech-co-crumbled/

[mikeneedsadrink]

Gunblr Game: CASCADIA

[Disclaimer for anyone new here: These are strictly fictional entertainment exercises within hypothetical scenarios. None of this is meant to be taken too seriously, or as a threat, or any sort of political stance. Just interactive fiction. I am not responsible for anyone else's actions or statements.]

Background: An unprecedented event has occurred in which both the San Andreas Fault Line and Cascadian Subduction Zone shift, triggering massive earthquakes, just minutes apart, leaving the West Coast devastated. The Cascadian quake occurs offshore at a magnitude of 9.5, causing massive tsunamis to pummel the coastline of the entire PNW and reduce the cities of Portland and Seattle to rubble. Vancouver, B.C. fairs a big better but is still heavily damaged. The bulk of the San Andreas quake is along the southern half of the fault line at a magnitude of 8.2 and significantly impacts every major city in the southern half of the state. In the aftermath, fires have ravaged what's left of the cities and further raised the death tolls and number of homeless.

Failed Response: Predictably, the US government prioritized California in relief efforts declaring the central and southern areas as the California Disaster Zone and declaring the northern most section of the state up to the Canadian border the Cascadia Disaster Zone. The region is enraged at their abandonment, while similar outrage occurs in Canada at the minimal relief efforts there. This leads to a power crisis and a huge autonomous zone that more or less runs from the NorCal Redwoods to Vancouver B.C..

This is not a secession, as the federal powers are completely indifferent and leaving the region their its fate, focusing on the wealth and voter power bases to the south.

Current Situation: It has now been several months, and within the PNW, various factions operate is loose collaboration due to necessity. At least one faction has sided with Chinese interests, whose personnel are on the West Coast under the guise of relief efforts. Refugee camps are all over the place as many flee the Portland and Seattle regions on foot. The majority of the factions are just people protecting what's left of their communities, bolstered by volunteers, many of whom originally arrived to assist in S.A.R. and rebuilding efforts. With interstates destroyed or operating at very limited capacity, many supplies are trucked in via smaller roads.

The Game:

You are a volunteer inside the Cascadia Disaster Zone, specifically a small town with an influx from neighboring towns : What would you arm yourself with from the mix of what's left in stores, personal collections, police stations, guard armories, and the massive cross section of weapons and gear brought in through sympathic American and Canadian supply lines? Aside from your personal security patrol gear, is there a role or setup you would insist be included among teams?

Threats - Chinese backed collaborator militia with PLA "advisors", supported by FPV drones and robotic dog scouts. Groups of armed looters attempting to take what they can as they escape the region. Random opportunistic criminals operating in the lawless environment.

Roles - Static security in towns and camps, patrols/sweeps of local area, S.A.R. should community members go missing, maintaining supply routes, and manning lookouts watching for threats, be they human, animal, or environmental related.

These security roles are supplemental to survival/relief efforts. You are there to help, not invade.

That's the premise for this one, folks. Almost the whole of the American and Canadian outdoor and shooting industries is on the table for gear. Assume a large, if poorly managed, stream of private aid is coming in, and lots of volunteers have technical knowledge. Feel free to get creative. Be as detailed as you like with your equipment choices.

[creepyscritches]

I wanna thank you for your post about being nice to customer service people as someone who works in a customer service call/text center 🫡 people who say please and thank you to us are so rare! I was so shocked, I thought Americans just didn’t use please and thank you as a cultural thing or something, it really breaks our morale when people are rude for no reason 😣 not only that but also being xenophobic and generally mean. We’re already being exploited by the companies lol we don’t need more mistreatment. Thank you and everyone who is kind ❤️

It is not a cultural thing in the SLIGHTEST to not say please/thank you. You are experiencing inexcusable rudeness and you shouldn't be expected to "get used to it"!

Almost ALL of my IT assistance comes from India and I've worked in tandem with Indian medical coders several times over the years. It's insane to think even my colleagues were griping and moaning about working with ""offshore employees" " 🙄 in my personal and professional life, these employees have been incredibly helpful and kind to me and it's just basic decency to thank them!

Just today I had to call our offshore IT for some convoluted/botched IT update, and it took 5 minutes of polite conversation + trouble shooting to correct everything. IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN ME WEEKS ON MY OWN!! I don't understand how people are so shitty to people that actively fix their most frustrating problems. Like it's already insane to be so rude to strangers, but strangers that are bending over backwards to fix YOUR annoying problem? Go to jail 10,000 years.

I hope you have polite and courteous customers this week, anon! You deserve conversations that make you smile.

[fancyshooting]

Interview with Hideo Kojima [From MGS3: The Countdown]

A Tale of Fighting the Illusion of "The Times"

I wanted to create a world full of contradictions, where lives are exchanged in the great outdoors.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (MGS3) has the theme of survival in the wilderness. Why did you choose this theme?

Kojima: When we started working on this film, we trained in the mountains near Sagami Lake with a team led by Mr. Mōri (Motosada, military advisor for this work) 【*1】 We trained in the mountains near Sagami Lake, carrying the same equipment as the army, for two days and one night. We incorporated the tension of that time into the game. You are in the middle of nature and people are on top of each other, but if you look to the side, there are all kinds of creatures right there. If you hold a gun and keep your breath down, you can see frogs hopping around in the grass. In the midst of battle, if you listen carefully, you can hear birds singing and the buzzing of insect wings... The contradictory feeling of trying to take the life of an enemy in the midst of a forest, in the midst of nature, where life springs forth. The feeling of giving and taking life and death. I wanted to somehow incorporate that feeling into the game. Survival in the mountains is a strange story to begin with. In the midst of nature, where life is being created, it is impossible for living things to cease. Only modern people with guns die. In essence, we have to eat other lives to survive.

【*1】 Mr. Mōri (former military advisor to Sadamoto)

He was born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1964. He has been traveling around the world since he was 19 years old, and after having experienced combat in conflict zones, he has trained and guided the SWAT, a special police anti-terrorist unit, and assisted the 14th Dalai Lama, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, in his personal security measures. He was a military advisor for the "Metal Gear Solid" series. He supervised the CQC in this work.

By setting the battlefield in the jungle, which is full of life, you have expanded the possibilities for the game.

Kojima: It has been a dream of mine to set the game in a jungle since "Metal Gear" 【*2】 on the MSX2. A real undercover mission doesn't start right next to the target building, but hundreds of kilometers away from it. You have to cross the jungle on foot to reach your destination. The first thing I wanted to do was to depict the survival part of the game. This time, instead of Alaska in "MGS" or New York in "MGS2" 【*3】, we started by illegally entering a country with which we had no diplomatic relations. We must go in under false identities and return without leaving a trace. No helicopter or plane is provided for the return trip. Even if we complete the mission, we must return safely from the Soviet Union's territory.

【*2】"Metal Gear" for MSX2

Game for MSX2 released in 1987. Director Kojima's debut work. The main character is Solid Snake. The game has now been completely reissued for mobile phones.

【*3】 Alaska in "MGS" and New York in "MGS2"

"MGS" takes place at a training base on the isolated Shadow Mosses island in Alaska. The setting of "MGS2" is an offshore decontamination facility in Hudson Bay, New York.

In many games, the last enemy to be defeated blows up the stage, or the enemies disappear. This time, you have to survive your way back home!

Kojima: Yes. The return journey is the greatest survival. That's the real thrill of adventure novels. The mission is to return to everyday reality. If the mission is all about infiltration, it is like a suicide bombing, but the real mission is to come back alive. Just as game players return to reality after being immersed in a virtual space, Snake will also come back to everyday life.

So, the hard-boiled world of adventure fiction is the motif.

Kojima: I like hard-boiled adventure novels. The hard-boiled characters move forward with only their willpower, even if their bodies are injured or they have a fever. After a good night's sleep, a hot shower, and a cup of coffee, he would be back on his feet in no time. I wanted to express that kind of hard-boiled, bottomless spirit through the game. In "MGS3," the main character, Snake, gets injured when he is attacked. Bullet holes are left in his body, and bones are broken. He can heal after eating and passing time, but he can also sew up gunshot wounds, remove bullets from his body, and heal himself. The whole body is left with wounds and if they are not treated, it will be covered with scars. If you treat them properly, they heal quickly and regain their strength. This is the "CURE" system.

In the jungle, you cut your own body and endure the pain of healing. In a world where there is no anesthesia or anything else, you have to cut yourself to save your life. It is a game of enduring pain.

Kojima: There is a sense of unity with the player. You can see the Survival Viewer screen, where you perform CURE, and it's a mirror of yourself. Seeing Snake covered in blood, you can be masochistically intoxicated by the harshness of your situation and say, "Cool!"

Previous MGS games have never used a so-called menu screen, such as the survival viewer, have they?

Kojima: Yes, in the past, we didn't dare to use this feature because it would cause a time lag in the gameplay. But this time, the theme was "the player and Snake become one," so we took on the challenge. This time Snake is hit, tortured, and beaten up quite a bit. Seeing Snake in the Survival Viewer is pretty painful 【*4】, but he never changes his convictions. He never ignores what he really believes. That's hard boiled.

【*4】 Seeing Snake in the survival viewer is quite painful

When he is poisoned, Snake bends his body in pain. You can also check the history of the food he has eaten and the history of what you have done to the body.

So the Survival Viewer is a system that allows you to see Snake, who you are controlling, and get emotionally involved.

Kojima: Also, when you save and exit the game, your energy is restored the next time you play. The time between when you quit and when you resume play is measured. So, if you saved the game the day before, when you come home from work the next day and restart the game, Snake will be fine. This system allows you to think "I wonder if Snake is doing well" when you are working at the office. It is truly as if you and Snake are one.

When not playing the game, Snake also takes a break.

Kojima: So, if you give him medicine and food before saving, he will recover a lot.

Wow! Truly one with Snake.

Kojima: When Snake gets hungry, his stomach growls. Then, strangely enough, I, the player, get hungry too (laughs). Just as a person's "yawn" is transmitted to the player, the game character's hunger seems to be transmitted to me. That's the kind of game it is.

Speaking of survival, what is the meaning behind the subtitle this time, "Snake Eater"?

Kojima: The name "Snake Eater" has many meanings. After the release of Metal Gear Solid, there were a lot of stealth games that came out. To defeat them, in "MGS2" we symbolically released the Metal Gear RAY (a mass-produced Metal Gear weapon), and now in "MGS3" we want to eat Snake himself! It means that. Also, in the slang of the Special Forces Green Berets, the army and people who look barbaric are called "snake eaters".

As a game, it is unusual for it to be set in the jungle.

Kojima: Both "MGS" and "MGS2" were set inside man-made structures, but by changing the game console from PlayStation to the high-performance PlayStation 2, we were able to depict a different world. However, "MGS3" is set on the same PlayStation 2 as "MGS2". I wanted to change the graphics fundamentally. So, I dared to use natural environment

Isn't depicting nature the most difficult aspect of computer graphics?

Kojima: It's hard to draw, and it's difficult 【*5】 because you need hit detection for all the undulating terrain and vegetation. In addition, you have to move not only the background, but also the plants and animals.

【*5】 It's hard because you need hit detection for all the undulating terrain and vegetation

The key to creating images for games is hit detection. How do CG objects react when they collide with each other? Will they bounce, turn or stop? By determining all of these reactions, a sense of reality is created.

You are daring to take on a difficult challenge. It's a challenge that is typical of the Kojima group. The place called Tselinoyarsk, where the Virtuous Mission 【*8】 takes place, is that name fictitious?

Infiltrate the fictional world where reality and lies are mixed.

Kojima: The name of the place Tselinoyarsk is fictitious. I made it up after researching the meaning of Russian words 【*6】. In a game, the first stage is ice, the second stage is magma and so on, but in a real forest there is not much difference. Once you enter a forest, it is a forest until the end. There is no such thing as a land rich in flora and fauna, with limestone caves and lakes along the way. That's why we dared to create a fictional land for the game.

【*6】 I looked up the meaning of the Russian word and made it up

Tselina = virgin land, uncultivated land. Yar = precipice. Sk = suffix.

【*8】 Virtuous Mission

Operation Virtuous. The name given to the debut mission of the covert unit, FOX. Also known as the VR mission.

In "MGS3," the mixing of reality and fiction is very well done. For example, there is the line "the first HALO drop in history", but didn't that happen much later in real history? Wasn't the incident in "MGS3" recorded in history? Or is it all fictitious...?

Kojima: There are both lies and true stories too. The CQC, for example, is still cutting edge today. I don't think the average person would understand it, but there are a lot of things in it that even military enthusiasts wouldn't understand, and that only real professionals would understand. I would love to have an audio commentary of the demo scenes 【*7】. Otherwise, there are things that would never be understood.

【*7】 I'd love to have an audio commentary on it

The booklet that will come with the limited edition of "MGS3" will include a full polygon demo commentary by director Hideo Kojima and other key staff members.

Are the fighter aircraft and armaments built like in real life?

Kojima: In our team (Kojima-gumi), there are some particular members. The members are very knowledgeable about military affairs and weapons. And since Mr. Mōri is supervising the project, so the work should be very faithful to reality.

You have a fact-checking group for military knowledge.

Kojima: The "Metal Gear Solid" series seems to have a lot of fans among real military personnel. I have personal correspondence with people who were in Afghanistan and former parachutists. I have heard from them that they played "MGS" on the front line. Well, when they come to me, they salute me and say, "I'm looking forward to Metal Gear", which is a bit of a problem (laughs).

However, even in a fictional setting, it is better to know about historical topics such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in order to enjoy "MGS3".

Kojima: Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy Assassination... The most important keyword is the Cuban Missile Crisis 【*9】. The Virtuous Mission is the prologue and will play a major role in the main story that follows. At the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, President JFK (Kennedy) and First Secretary Khrushchev made a secret agreement 【*10】. The content of this agreement is relevant. There are many movies depicting the secret Cuban agreement, such as "13 Days" 【*11】, and it has been speculated that the agreement was based on the closing of a missile base in Turkey, but this is not true. Of course, it's fiction. That is the core of the story of "MGS3". What is the weapon that Dr. Sokolov is said to have been working on? And why did he defect from the Soviet Union to the United States? This is the story of the events that led to the assassination of Kennedy and the hardliners' pursuit of Khrushchev.

【*9】 Cuban Missile Crisis

On October 16, 1962, a US Air Force spy reconnaissance plane discovered a Soviet medium-range missile base in Cuba. The world was plunged into a state of tension, fearing the outbreak of war.

【*10】 President JFK (Kennedy) and First Secretary Khrushchev

First Secretary Khrushchev, who advocated a policy of peaceful coexistence with the West, held a dialogue with American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK). JFK was famous for being America's most beloved president, but he was shot dead in 1963.

【*11】 The movie "13 Days"

Released in 2000. Directed by Roger Donaldson. Starring Kevin Costner. The film depicts the 13 days from October 16 to October 28, 1962, when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred.

Indeed, the point of contact between reality and fiction. This is where Snake's sneaking mission comes in. A history that no one has ever heard is pieced together.

Kojima: Actually, there used to be an adventure game called "Snatcher", set in a world where the Soviet Union is gone 【*12】. The story is about a weapon left behind by the Soviet Union, which plunges the world into crisis. But at the time I didn't think the Soviet Union would disappear, and I thought the Cold War would go on forever. Without a hypothetical enemy, adventure stories don't really get off the ground. That's why adventure fiction changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. With "MGS3", we created a thrilling world by bringing real conflict back to life.

【*12】It's set in a world where the Soviet Union is gone

"Snatcher" is a science fiction adventure game directed by Kojima that was released in 1988 on the PC8801. Unfortunately, the PC8801 version of the game was incomplete, with only "ACT 2" completed. The PC Engine version of "Snatcher" was the first to complete "ACT 3". In the near future, 80% of the Eurasian continent has been wiped out by a biohazard in Moscow. The negative legacy of the Soviet Union threatens the world. At the time, of course, the collapse of the Soviet Union was unthinkable in real life.

What is the identity of the most powerful enemy in history, the Cobra Unit, full of monsters?

Kojima's games are always based on the "father-killer" motif. In "MGS," he fought a man who inherited his father's genes, and in "MGS2," he defeated his foster father 【*13】. What will Snake overcome this time?

【*13】 Solid Snake fights a man who inherited his father's genes in "MGS" and defeats his foster father in "MGS2

Solid Snake, the hero of "MGS", and his nemesis, Liquid Snake, are clones descended from the legendary hero Big Boss. Raiden, the protagonist of "MGS2", is an artificially created warrior who fights against the entity that raised him.

Kojima: Yes, that's right. My games have always depicted paternity and never motherhood. This time, however, I am going to depict "motherhood". This time, there will be many strong women. The Boss is one of them. The Boss is a legendary soldier that all men fear. When you get close to her, she will disassemble your weapons and blow you away with her CQC. She is an invincible soldier.

This time around, a number of special forces units appear. The Boss, who supports Snake, belongs to the Cobra Unit.

Kojima: The Cobra Unit is the original Special Forces unit, a covert unit that was very active during the Second World War. The members of the Cobra Unit are inspired by the emotions that arise on the battlefield. The Fear, The Sorrow, The Pain... When Colonel Kurtz dies in "Apocalypse Now" he says: "The horror... The horror..." 【*14】. That emotion! So, in my mind, the Cobra Unit is the image of a Kamen Rider monster 【*15】.

【*14】 When Colonel Kurtz dies in "Apocalypse Now", he says, "The horror... the horror..."

This film, directed by Francis F. Coppola, was released in 1979 and depicts the madness of the Vietnam War. Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando, establishes his own kingdom deep in the heart of Vietnam. The story is about Captain Willard, played by Martin Sheen, who is trying to eliminate Colonel Kurtz.

【*15】 Image of the Kamen Rider monster

A transformable hero aired on TV in 1971. The enemy was an evil modified human created by the evil secret society, Shocker. Many of them, such as the Spider Man, were converted humans who had been given the power of plants and animals.

The "Metal Gear" series has seen the appearance of monster armies such as the FOXHOUND and Dead Cell in the past.

Kojima: This time it's even more impressive. The End especially is the most intense one!

"The End" is a song by "The Doors" 【*16】!

【*16】 The End is a song by The Doors

The Doors, a band led by Jim Morrison, released the song "The End" in 1967. The song features a snake as a metaphor for the apocalypse.

Kojima: Haha! I can sing that song all the way through. Do you have karaoke? No, no, no, The End is amazing. He is a sniper who is over 100 years old.

What's that!?

Kojima: Normally, he sleeps all the time and does photosynthesis.

Awesome! I don't get it! (Laughs)

Kojima: Only when he fights does he gain the power of the forest and come back to life. It will be a sniper battle that will go down in gaming history.

A sniper in a state of hibernation! It's a formidable opponent...

Kojima: The camouflage is perfect, and even with thermal goggles on, he is undetectable. Even if you think it is an enemy and aim at it, it could still be mushrooms (laughs). That's why he's The End. If you meet him on the battlefield, you'll be killed. "It's the end!"

A true Snake vs. Cobra fight to the death!

Kojima: In "Tiger Mask" 【*17】, the last opponent the hero fights is a tiger. So, Snake's enemy is a cobra (snake). It is the strongest enemy in the series so far.

【*17】"Tiger Mask"

Animated wrestling series based on the original story by Kajiwara Ikki and Tsuji Naoki, broadcast for two years from 1969. A masterpiece that exploded with Kajiwara-ism, with a dark development and appearances by real wrestlers such as Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki. The final enemy is Tiger the Great (anime version).

I see. Then what about Snake's organization, FOX?

Kojima: "Force Operation X". Special forces. The parent organisation of the later Foxhound. After the Second World War, an Englishman, Major Zero, wanted to form an organisation that would bring together the best people regardless of race. But it was difficult to form because there was still racial discrimination at the time. So he asked The Boss, who was his colleague in the SAS 【*18】, to help him form an organisation that would combine military and intelligence activities. A small number of elites would infiltrate deep into enemy bases to conduct subversive and intelligence activities. That's why it belongs to the CIA 【*19】. The Virtuous Mission (VR mission) on which Snake was assigned was its debut.

【*18】SAS

Special Air Service of the British Army.

【*19】 CIA

Central Intelligence Agency of the United States

Wow. Snake was the first elite of FOX.

Kojima: Speaking of special forces, Ocelot 【*20】, of the Soviet Union's special forces, makes an appearance. He is a really funny guy. He chases Snake around.

【*20】 Ocelot

Ocelot is a master marksman and torturer who appears in "MGS" and "MGS2". His true identity is hidden, as he is active in various organizations as a multiple spy. In this work, his youth is depicted.

Ah, young Ocelot.

【*21】 Snake's advice was to switch pistols, and he did so

Kojima: Ocelot is a very elite man, a major at the age of 19. There is a reason for that, he has a very good pedigree. He has his own unit. But when he meets Snake, Ocelot has his first setback. So he goes after Snake and is charmed by him. He follows the advice of his enemy, Snake, and switches pistols, 【*21】 and he has a cute personality.

In his first appearance in this film, he uses an automatic pistol, but it jammed and he was defeated by Snake. However, in his second appearance, he follows the advice of his enemy Snake and appears with a revolver.

What kind of character is The Boss? Snake seems to have a fondness for her.

Kojima: She's about 50 years old.

An older woman. And she is more than a year older.

Kojima: Snake's mentor, mother figure and lover. But you see, Snake can never win against The Boss. She's so strong that she's known as the mother of special forces. She can throw you off in an instant.

The most powerful enemy ever! The Boss!

Kojima: I liked Charlotte Rampling 【*22】. That image.

【*22】Charlotte Rampling

Actress born in 1946. Her father was a soldier and an Olympic medalist. As a child, she used to play at the NATO military base where her father worked. She became popular for her decadent performance in the films "The Brave and the Damned" [Released in English as "The Damned"] (1969) and "The Storm of Love" ["The Night Porter"] (1973). She was married to musician Jean-Michelle Jarre, but they are now divorced.

"No kung fu" "no wire" "no high-speed" of adventure novels.

What books and movies did you look at when you were thinking about "MGS3"?

Kojima: I read mystery novels in elementary school, and in junior high school I read a lot of science fiction novels as an escape from reality. Then, when I was in high school, I started reading a little more realistic adventure novels. "MGS3" is filled with that trend. Alistair MacLean and Desmond Bagley... 【*23】 All of them were translations. At the time, people who had no experience with the special forces were imagining and writing, so now there are more and more novels featuring soldiers and military personnel as the main characters, but also intelligence agents (spies) and complete amateurs were being given a mission and fighting. It was a world where you didn't know if it was real or not. It was a mess at the time. There were agents escaping from enemy bases with pistols in their hands, and with their girlfriends (laughs). But that kind of "007" 【*24】 world is the base of Metal Gear.

【*23】 Alistair MacLean and Desmond Bagley

Alistair MacLean and Desmond Bagley are British adventure novelists, respectively. McLean's best-known work is "The Guns of Navarone," and Bagley's best-known work is "The Golden Keel".

【*24】"007"

The most popular spy action movie series in the world is the 007 series, More than 20 have been made since 1962's "007 Is The Number of a Killer" ("Dr. No"). This is the root of the "Metal Gear" series.

What kind of novels do you like best?

Kojima: If you are looking for an adventure novel, I would say Bagley's "The High Citadel" 【*25】. I bought a reprint of it from Hayakawa recently, but I haven't reread it yet. I wonder how it would be if I read it now. I don't remember much of the story... I think it was about a plane crash and fighting on a high winter mountain.

【*25】 Bagley's "The High Citadel"

A masterpiece of adventure fiction published by Desmond Bagley in 1965. A plane crash-lands in the Andes Mountains and is attacked by a mysterious armed group. The surviving passengers create weapons out of scrap wood and fight back.

What about recent adventure or military fiction?

Kojima: I love J.C. Pollock's "The Frontier of Trees" 【*26】. However, most of the recent novels are realistic military stories, often written by ex-special forces personnel, you know. Tom Clancy 【*27】 and the image of a spy plus a soldier. No, "MGS3" is a much older image. The "Man of the Sea" series by Ken Follett and MacLean 【*28】, Hayakawa novels with Noriyoshi Orai 【*29】 as the cover character. A.J. Quinnell's "Man On Fire" and the "Creasy" series. "The Guns of Navarone" and "Operation Blitz Flint GO! GO" 【*30】.

【*26】 J.C. Pollock's "The Frontier of Trees" [Japanese title. Released in English as "Centrifuge".]

A military novel by Pollock, a former Green Beret, published in 2000. Two Green Berets, pursued by 12 KGB members, flee into the woods to fight back.

【*27】Tom Clancy

Military novelist born in 1947. His best-known work is "The Hunt for Red October".

【*28】Ken Follett and

MacLean's "Man of the Sea" [Japanese title. Released in English as "The Lonely Sea"] series

Both are British adventure novelists. Follett's best-known work is "The Eye of the Needle". MacLean's "Man of the Sea" is a series of maritime stories set in the Arctic Ocean and other places.

【*29】 Noriyoshi Orai

Born in 1935, Noriyoshi Orai is one of Japan's leading illustrators. His international poster for "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" brought him international recognition. He has also contributed wonderful illustrations to the limited edition books of the "Metal Gear Solid" series.

【*30】 A.J Quinnell's "Man on Fire" and the Creasy series. "The Guns of Navarone" and "Operation Blitz FlintGO!GO" ["Our Man Flint"]

A.J Quinnell is a anonymous author. His debut novel, "Man on Fire", brought him international recognition. The movie "The Guns of Navarone" was released in 1961. Operation Dengeki Blitz GO!GO is a spy movie released in 1966.

A time when special forces were the heroes.

Kojima: There was a time when the words "special forces" and "espionage" had a pleasant sound. It was not called "Mission Impossible" but "Operation Spy" 【*31】. In those days, a spy had a lot of secret weapons and would sneak into the enemy's headquarters by himself. I had read such novels for knowledge, so I was able to write the scenario in no time at all.

【*31】 When it was called "Operation Spy" instead of "Mission: Impossible"

A spy drama broadcast in the US in 1966. In Japan, it was broadcast as "Operation Spy". The 1996 film version was released under the title "Mission: Impossible". The movie version was not well received by fans of the TV version, as Jim Phelps, who was supposed to be a major character in the movie, was turned into the enemy.

Director Kojima, do you listen to music when you write your scripts?

Kojima: I listen to a lot of music. Especially when I write dialogue, I often listen to movie soundtracks. I write while crying. I cry easily in my fantasies. I don't need entertainment. Just thinking about it makes me cry. Whenever I come up with a sad theme, the drama spreads in my mind and I end up crying. It would be nice to have a soundtrack playing at such times.

What did you listen to during the production of "MGS3"?

Kojima: I listened to a variety of music this time. Especially Hans Zimmer and the usual Tangerine Dream 【*32】. During the original "MGS", I was listening to John Wetton 【*33】 only. I also listen to songs with vocals, but I can't write scenarios with songs in Japanese. The soundtrack is perfect. I can't get enough of it when the music happens to match the scene I'm writing about. Also... Harry (Gregson-Williams)'s 【*34】 music is good, too. For "MGS3", I listened to the songs that Harry had written.

【*32】 Especially Hans Zimmer and his usual Tangerine Dream type of music

Hans Zimmer is one of Hollywood's greatest musicians. He has composed music for blockbusters such as "The Crimson Tide," "Gladiator," and "The Last Samurai. Tangerine Dream is a German synthesizer rock band active in the 1970s. They have also composed music for films such as "Fear's Reward" ["Sorcerer"].

【*33】John Wetton

Famous bassist who has worked with bands from King Crimson to Roxy Music to Uriah Heep to Wishbone Ash to Asia. A living witness to British rock.

【*34】 Harry (Gregson-Williams)

Born in 1961, he made his film music debut as an arranger for composer Stanley Myers and has been in charge of scores for various films, including "The Rock" and "Armageddon". He is also a well-known staff member of the "Metal Gear Solid" series.

What kind of work is done after Director Kojima writes the scenario?

Kojima: We write the script into a scriptment, which is a script for the game. Then we make a dialogue script for the polygonal demo recording, and ask the staff to make storyboards for the capture design. Well, the storyboards are only for the demos. For "Snatcher" and "Policenauts", I also wrote the storyboards.

From there, you move on to video recording and audio recording.

Kojima: They would draw the storyboards and I would check them. Once we had a rough idea of what scenes to shoot and what was needed, we would record the motion capture. But you see, when I actually capture the motion capture, I almost completely disregard the storyboards. The storyboards are just for cost calculation (workload and budget calculation) and can be changed considerably when the final CG is created. With CG, depending on the model, you can turn it around and change the angle.

The video is also a pleasure.

Kojima: Director Ryuhei Kitamura created amazing visuals in the previous title, "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes" 【*35】. This time, I'm trying to create something that exceeds those visuals. I've been told that I can no longer win in the same direction, so I'm going for a low-key approach with "no wires", "no kung fu"' and "no high speed".

【*35】 Director Ryuhei Kitamura created amazing visuals for the previous title, "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes"

The polygon demos for the GameCube version of "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes," released in 2003, were directed by film director Ryuhei Kitamura. The ultimate in passionate production, it featured wire action and slow motion to show off the superheroic nature of the characters to an excessive degree.

It's like the movie "Mach!!!!!!!!" 【*36】 It's just like that (laughs).

【*36】 The movie, "Mach!!!!!!!!!" [Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior]

A Thai movie released in 2004. This is a crazy movie that pursues pure physical super-action with the advertising claims of "no CG," "no wires," "no stunts," and "no rapid-fire.

Kojima: Well, I did kung fu kicks once. I used it where necessary, but it was not kung fu; it was boxing and wrestling in the 1960s 【*37】. That became CQC. The rest of the action is pretty simple. We don't do any fancy actions like somersaults with wires.

【*37】 Boxing and wrestling in the 1960s

The 1960s was a physical era. Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) became a hero as the heavyweight boxing world champion, and wrestling attracted much attention at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

What is the true enemy, as depicted by the illusion of the times?

"MGS" is full of tricks that betray the player's imagination, such as reading the package and performing unbelievable operations with the controller 【*38】, and this time... are there things like that?

【*38】 "MGS" was a game where the player had to read the package and use the controller perform unbelievable operations

In "MGS", there was a radio number on the package and a scene in which the controller massaged the player's shoulders. It was shocking to see that the tricks were not limited to the game screen

Kojima: I can't say that. Hmmm... Well, at least from the very first opening demo, I have a trick up my sleeve. At least from the very first opening demo, we have at least three out of ten people who will knock the controller to the ground.

What is it!? That!

Kojima: The first trap. Well, this trap is amazing. It's the best trap ever, even better than the psychic Psycho Mantis 【*39】 in "MGS". Only open-minded players will be able to enjoy it (laughs).

【*39】Psycho Mantis, the psychic of "MGS"

The most shocking enemy in "MGS". He reads the data on the PlayStation's memory card, guesses the player's preferences, blacks out the screen to display "Hideo," and torments the player with his unlimited attack patterns. A simple strategy was to play the game with the controller on the 2P side, which was also a shocking method.

The mystery of "it's written on the back of the package" was also amazing...

Kojima: It's even more amazing. The phone lines at the customer service center were jammed. Is that an exaggeration? If I had not made "MGS," there would be no mysteries at all. There are quite a lot of them. I don't know if everything I have in mind at the moment will fit into the game, but we're working at the last minute, so it's a grand joke. The player can't help but laugh. "Ha ha ha, you did it." It's like that. But the initial shock must have been quite great. I think European players will be delighted. People overseas are more tolerant of jokes, and they think that Kojima's games must have some kind of joke in them. For Japanese players, at least, I think it's safe to say that it doesn't have the last big 【*40】 plot point of "MGS2". For those who love "MGS", there are many points to enjoy.

【*40】 The big plot point at the end of "MGS2"

At the end of "MGS2", it is revealed that all the stories (adventures) that the protagonist, Raiden, has been through have all been artificially created. This horrifying twist, which plunges the player into an emotional abyss, was met with mixed reviews

I saw in the trailer movie that Colonel Volgin grabs a young man's crotch while saying, "Kuwabara, kuwabara." The man's face... Raiden? 【*41】

【*41】Raiden?

In the trailer shown at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in the US, a character that looked exactly like Raiden appeared. Apparently, he plays an important role in the game...

Kojima: That hasn't been talked about much, has it? Ha ha ha.

Also, this time Snake vomits 【*42】.

【*42】 Snake vomits

If you rotate Snake on the Survival Viewer screen, when you return to the game, he will get nauseous and vomit.

Kojima: Kyle Cooper 【*43】 is a big fan of vomit. "I thought Hideo was going to make a vomit game!" He said. "Of course!" He said.

【*43】 Kyle Cooper

Born in 1963. Formed the group Imaginary Forces. He is in charge of producing movie titles. He has produced many internationally acclaimed masterpieces, including "Seven" and "Mission: Impossible". He is also an important staple in the "Metal Gear Solid" series.

What a conversation!

Kojima: Kyle Cooper is an old man like that. Ryuhei Kitamura went home very angry. He was like, "Damn! I've been beaten!"

It's a joke war.

Kojima: Defecation was not an option.

...The infiltration of the Virtuous Mission in "MGS3" began on August 24, 1964. This date is... by any chance?

Kojima: Haha. It's my birthday. I was born in 1963, so it is my first birthday. I was busy, so I wrote it down as I went along and it was accepted. I really wanted to set it in 1963, but after President Kennedy was shot, it was more important for the story.

The assassination of President Kennedy. It was one of the most memorable events in the history of the world. "MGS3" begins with that incident.

Kojima: The US will go astray after that incident. "Metal Gear" is a story about nuclear weapons. When the Enola Gay atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Americans thought the war was over. But that was the start of the Cold War, which divided East and West. What happened then was a state of tension, and what took place was espionage. Spies were born, and they worked in the dark between East and West. This is the main theme of "MGS3".

A story that was covered up during the Cold War.

Kojima: It is set in 1964, but I hope young people can play it without worrying about that. However, when I was living in the 1960s, there was a great deal of espionage activity. Just the mention of the term "KGB" made me stand up straight.

The KGB was also said to be monitoring Japan at the time.

Kojima: At that time, the Soviet Union and the United States were accumulating nuclear weapons and were in conflict as two superpowers. But now there is no Soviet Union and war is going on in Iraq. Five years ago, I had no idea that the world would be like this. And it is hard to predict what will happen five years from now. There was a time when Japan boycotted the Moscow Olympics and hated the Soviet Union, but was that really hatred? It was just the times that made it so. In truth, I don't really hate anyone. It was "the times". That is the theme of "MGS3".

Values that transcend good and evil.

Kojima: With the first "MGS", I wanted to talk about the theme of "what is the information that is engraved in our genes?" The theme of "MGS2" was "What is the information that is not engraved in our genes, such as ideas and culture? And what do we pass on and leave behind for future generations?" That should have been the end of the story, but when I thought about it, I realised something strange. Even genetic characteristics, ideology, and culture are valued differently in different periods of time. For example, women in the Heian period were considered beautiful if they had a round face. In modern times, however, a woman with a face like a flatfish is considered beautiful. The evaluation changes with the times. What is this all about? If even genetic values are influenced by the times, and their evaluation changes, then what are the times? In "MGS3", there are people fighting for the state and politics, but they are only fighting according to the values of the times, not because they really hate the other side. In different times, they can be allies or enemies. They are neither good nor evil.

So it takes place after World War II.

Kojima: During World War II, Japan hated the US. But when I watch WWII movies now, I wonder why they are fighting. The "Americans are the enemy" mentality of those days was an illusion created by the times. Even the US was influenced by the times, and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, just mentioning the term "anti-war" was met with bashing. When Richard Gere spoke out against the war, he was stoned 【*44】. But now, there is a strong mood of pessimism, and movies like "Fahrenheit 911," made by Michael Moore, have become a hit 【*45】. Values are changing with the times. What is it that is creating this illusion? Isn't it "The Patriots" 【*46】 that "MGS2" talked about?

【*44】 When Richard Gere spoke out against the war

In February 2003, as the US was about to deploy troops to Iraq, Richard Gere said: "The animosity between Bush and Hussein is like that between Captain Ahab and the whale in "White Whale" [Moby Dick]. Bush's words on behalf of the Iraqi people are out of line."

【*45】 Films like "Fahrenheit 911" by Michael Moore have been made and are a hit

Filmmaker Michael Moore has released a film, "Fahrenheit 911", which criticises and thoroughly criticises President George W. Bush's Iraq campaign. He aims to unseat Bush in the presidential election.

【*46】 "The Patriots"

The greatest mystery of the Metal Gear Solid series. It is said that wars and conflicts are being waged in various parts of the world at their will.

"The Patriots". The huge, dark entity that appears at the end of "MGS2", controls all information, and shapes the state. Will it appear in "MGS3"?

Kojima: "The Patriots" is a metaphor for "the times". It is a skeleton, without any substance. And in "MGS3", the organisation that was the predecessor of "The Patriots" appears.

So "MGS3" is also the story of the creation of "The Patriots".

Kojima: Yes, that's right. We have built a bridge from "MGS3" to "MGS". Please enjoy it as much as you can.

[radioactiveshitstorm]

fuckin missed Vasya's birthday yesterday so yknow what, he's getting a new AU

everything is the same up until he's 18, where he finally flees his parents and (deciding that he needs to be as out-of-the-way as possible) somehow picks up a job on an offshore oil-rig as an assistant chef (doubling as a bit of a ukrainian/russian/english translator)

idk how long he'd stay there before moving off to moscow, but i like the idea of him learning to cook and Be A Person surrounded by some lowkey rough bastards (who will, of course, decide that he's great and proper take him under their collective wing)

[sparkiekong]

The Van Richtens - A Lesson in Vampires 8/9

Dr. Van Richten cursed, “Hells, she’s going to be near impossible. I can prepare them and hopefully just a show of force will be enough to shoo her away. I don’t like the idea of sending them up against an unknown. This will be their first real challenge. Do you have an address for Ms. Brand?”

Tynas hands off the address and Dr. Van Richten nods, “Forward the money to the usual offshore accounts. It should be in your predecessors’ information.”

Tynas turns to leave, but stops for a moment, “The kids will be fine. They just need to be there. I assure you that I wouldn’t risk putting them in danger, especially not Evelyn.”

Dr. Van Richten almost chuckles, “I have no doubt my kids will do their utmost. Evie will not be easily bested by anyone unless they can get through her brothers first.”

Tynas nodded, “Yes, I am sure. Kali’s main weakness and the reason she failed the eval is that she believes everyone else is an idiot. She has a high regard for her own intelligence, she is a total narcissist personality type. I am sure the children will be able to put that to use if it is needed at all.”

Dr. Van Richten nods, “Then she will make many mistakes underestimating them. Is there more I should know?”

Tynas thought for a moment, “Yes, one last thing. Consider this a side project. Guy… Sorry, I mean Assistant Professor guy Robinson and his little buddy, Dr. Isaac Denvers, are about to publish a thesis which is going to spill the beans on the Omiscans in a big way. Genesis Pools, the Genesis Wars, the rice of the dark forces… all of it… including the rudimentary ingredients the Omiscans used in a primitive form of neogenics.”

Dr. Van Richten frowned, “They can’t do that. The world isn’t ready for that… if what I’ve seen from the Catzenberg professors is correct. They’re not close to the Pools yet. The Pools must not be located.”

Tynas nods, “You don’t know how clever Guy Robinson is. He will work out the location and then want to go there. If I may offer a suggestion?”

Dr. Van Richten is lost in thought, “Oh yes, please. I’ve done what I can to try and push them away from the source.”

Tynas has an odd look about him, but it goes unnoticed by Dr. Van Richten, “Send Evelyn, alone. She’s far neater and tidier than Randall and Tristan. Kill both nerds. I don’t care how she does it. Tell her to go for Guy first and then Isaac. She attends their campus, and no one will suspect a thing. Make it quick and clean. I’ll make sure both geeks are there for her.”

Dr. Van Richten nods, “I will see to both. Have a good night, Operative Tynas.”

Tynas nods, “You too, Doctor.”

[thot-toddy]

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Over a week ago (December 4th, 2023) a Swiss Private Bank, BANQUE PICTET ET CIE SA, admitted that they had stored "$5.6 billion in 1,637 secret bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere to conceal the income generated in those accounts from the IRS" (the amount of effort rich Americans go to hoard their wealth, even if they'd still be wealthy after paying taxes, never ceases to amaze me🙃).

The bank has agreed to pay about $122.9 Million ( which is about 2% of the $5.6 billion they stored) back to the U.S. treasury.

I have not seen any national media report on this extremely important information but I personally agree with Mr. Sameul L. Jackson when I say that the economic gap is crazy and billionaires need to pay their f*king taxes.

Samuel L. Jackson