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mountainsandmayhem · 4 days

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BDSMaid - Chapter 1

Masterlist || AO3

Pairing: Millionaire Joel Miller x Female Reader Rating: 18+ Chapter Summary: To save money for law school, you accept a job at Maid Discretely; a high end, anonymous cleaning service. You aren’t supposed to know whose home you’re cleaning, but your curiosity is peaked by your first client, and when the two of you have a shocking and surprising run in, more than just your curiosity peaks. CW: Author chooses not to use warnings in this chapter in order to avoid spoilers. While I never want to trigger anyone, you are solely responsible for the content you consume. AN: Oh boy, here we go! I'm in a straight PANIC getting ready to post this. I hope it meets all your expectations, I was not at all expecting that reaction to the teaser post. Love you all and thank you for all your support. Please share or comment, I have a praise kink LOL. Follow @mountainsandmayhem-updates and turn on notifications for future chapters. Dividers and support banners by @saradika-graphics. Thank you @mermaidgirl30, @littlevenicebitch69, @joelmillerisapunk and @burntheedges for being my little cheerleaders over this, ily!! Chapter Word Count: 4.4k

You stare down at the very intimidating legal document you have clasped in your clammy hands. There are so many big legal sounding words that seem to be mocking you with their importance. Somehow there are clauses that have sub clauses that are then further broken down into sub-subclauses. It feels heavy to be handed this on a Monday morning. Truthfully, this doesn’t seem like something a soon-to-be twenty-one year old woman who literally just graduated college, albeit a semester early, should be allowed to sign without parents and a lawyer present.

This is just supposed to be a simple job working part time as a maid for your best friend's family’s cleaning company. A job where she promised easy money and part time hours that you set for yourself. The perfect opportunity for you to be able to save money AND set aside lots of study time for your upcoming LSAT rewrite. You passed it a few months ago and applied to a bunch of law schools, but you aren’t going to waste these next few months waiting around. You know how competitive law schools can be, so you’re preparing to be better just in case you don’t get in.

Your eyes scan words that your brain can’t seem to comprehend. The internal panic starts to bubble in your chest, someone who has law aspirations should know what these words mean.

This is just supposed to be easy. Cleaning. Vacuuming. Washing floors. Simple things.

But now, as you sit in this shiny, fancy downtown office building looking at your full legal name typed beside a bunch of ‘initial here’ and ‘sign here’ lines on a nondisclosure agreement you’re starting to feel like this is anything but simple.

“Our clientele is VERY exclusive,” your childhood best friend Jamie says. She looks very professional and grown up sitting behind her glass desk. Her long, toned legs are crossed, the slit along the side of her crisp, white pencil skirt showing off her tanned upper thigh. She’s paired her white skirt with a baby pink silky blouse that's perfectly tucked into the high waist of the skirt. Her long, dark silky hair is twisted into a jeweled claw clip. Even though you’re the same age she has an air of sophistication and grace, even with winged eyeliner, a matte pink lip, and a slender rose gold septum ring that sits tight to her little button nose. She almost screams old Hollywood in the middle of Austin, Texas.

She continues, “You won’t know the names of the clients and they will never be home. If they do come home, leave immediately, and try your best not to be seen or heard. Then you can fill out in the company app what you did and didn’t manage to get done.”

You put the paper down on her perfect desk so she can’t see your hands shaking. How can you work at that desk all day and not get a single fingerprint or smudge on it? There’s a very good chance that I am not cut out for this. This is fancy. And expensive. I’m neither of those things.

“What am I gonna be walking in on at these houses, Jamie?” You ask, swallowing the fiberglass that’s suddenly prickling at your throat.

Jamie shakes her head and laughs, saying your name through her melodic giggles. “Most likely nothing. We’ve never had an encounter or run in with a client. They pick times for cleaners to come when they aren’t home.” She leans back in her high backed chair and continues, “But the clients are big deals. Politicians. Judges. Athletes. The odd celebrity. They don’t want anyone in their home that will snoop or snap pictures. Hence the NDA.”

“Well, why didn’t you start with that!” You laugh. “Jesus, I thought I’d be walking into like a virginal sacrifice or some shit!”

“Well, there was that one time…” Your face drops and she immediately starts laughing again. “I’m kidding. Relax. Look, you’ll probably get three homes a week, each house will take six to eight hours. The hourly pay is twenty dollars plus whatever tip they’ll leave you in these black envelopes.”

She puts a perfectly polished finger on a stack of black envelopes with a red ‘Maid Discretely’ logo on it and continues, “In my experience, the tips are around five hundred, completely tax free. This is a good gig! You’ll be in law school becoming smarter than all of us in no time. Fuck, you’ll be writing insane contracts like those before we know it.”

She stands, one hand resting on the desk while the other slides the paper towards you with a closed pen. She drops the writing apparatus on top of it, the metal casing of the pen clanging loudly on her glass desk. You let out an exasperated sigh, dramatically clicking the pen before signing the NDA. Jamie claps her hands excitedly then snatches the contract away before you can rip it up and says, “Let’s get your uniform and supplies!”

She hands you a few fitted white polo style t-shirts, black dress pants, white Keds (that she scolds are for inside the houses only), a caddy full of high end cleaning supplies, a top of the line Dyson vacuum and everything else you’ll need.

She ends your meeting with instructions on how the company's scheduling and tracking app works. "Essentially, you set the days and times you’re available and it will populate for you. You’ll have addresses, dates and times, as well as tasks to be done, all nicely laid out for you. If a client likes you, they can request you for additional shifts, but for continuity purposes you should get the same couple houses that you’ll rotate through throughout the month."

You nod along, mostly surprised to hear the girl who did a keg stand just a few days ago sound so professional, using words like 'continuity purposes'.

The next day you have your first official shift. Tuesday from nine to three and you’re scheduled at a mansion in a neighborhood you’ve never heard of and you most definitely wouldn’t fit in to. Jamie is already waiting there for you when you pull up. She explained yesterday that she’d help you with the first one and then you are on your own after that. Well, not completely alone. Your iPhone is loaded full of smutty audio books, murder podcasts, and law books to listen to as you clean.

Jamie was right, you think to yourself as you scroll to the latest romance novel you’ve downloaded and grab your AirPods, this is a good gig.

The house is absolutely massive, and you highly doubt you’ll be done in six hours. You gather all your stuff and head up to the house. Jamie shows you where the company supplied key box is and how to open it from the app. As you grab the key Jamie excitedly says, “This used to be my client. He always leaves a huge tip!”

You unlock the large front glass door and enter into a white marble foyer. The windows on the first floor are easily ten feet tall and allow in so much natural light. Gold and obsidian swirls in the marble reflect along the walls, dancing in the sunlight. To the left of the front door is a large open kitchen that might be bigger than your entire apartment. The marble of the expansive countertop is the same colour as the foyer. All the cabinetry is matte black with brushed gold handles. The kitchen opens into a lavish living room, a massive fireplace and TV sits on the far back left wall, encompassed by a very cozy looking white sectional.

To the right of the front door, starting furthest away from where you stand in awe, is a door to a huge half bathroom, followed by a long table with a bowl for keys and mail, and then the door that leads to the garage. About fifty feet in front of you is a grand staircase that branches out to the left and right. Beyond the staircase you can see into the backyard. This is by far the nicest house you’ve ever been in.

As both you and Jamie slip into your keds she says, “Upstairs to the left are a few bedrooms and the office. I usually started there and then went to the right side where he has a huge entertainment area. Then I would clean down here since he doesn’t cook very often and it’s usually just a quick wipe down.”

Just as you start to panic over how you’re supposed to remember all this she nudges you and adds, “But that’s all in the app for you, most of the clients are very particular so they’ll lay out exactly what order you should be cleaning in, as well as any other extra things they need done.”

She helps you carry all your stuff upstairs and then watches you work. Sure enough, the app says to start in the office so you do just that. Careful not to disturb the few piles of paperwork you dust the desk and shelves and then wipe down the windows and computer screen. You vacuum the hardwood and plush rug last and after Jamie gives you an approving nod, you move onto the next room.

You continue like that, going from room to room, your friend, and now boss, occasionally giving feedback or leaving to answer a phone call or respond to an email. The job is easy enough; repeating the same steps in each room over and over again. It’s the exact type of work you exceed at. You enjoy having clear sets of instructions and expectations, and a prioritized list where you can start at the top and work down. You’ve always excelled at following meticulous directions in school. Your life maybe not so much. When it comes to dating or your parents you aren’t one to do what you’re told.

When one o’clock rolls around you just have one bathroom upstairs and the already pristine downstairs to tend to, but Jamie coaxes you into taking your break, which is another thing you’re bad at. You were raised not to take breaks, taking a break or doing nothing means you're lazy. You should be working all the time, and pushing yourself to accomplish things. As a child you’d push and push yourself to be the best, honor roll ceremonies were the only time your dad would show up. He’d smile and brag about you to whoever was around.

“It’s important that you take all your supplies to your car with you when you eat your lunch. Never eat in their homes and never park on their driveways.” You nod and hoist all your stuff to the front step. “Make sure you lock up like you’re leaving too.”

“How am I doing so far?” You ask as you lock the door, your stomach growling loudly as if it needs to prove to her how hard you’re working. You hadn’t realized how much of an appetite you’d gain just from cleaning. The few stale crackers and small can of tuna you managed to find in your cupboard this morning doesn’t seem like it’s going to be enough.

“Really well! I actually think I might leave you to finish up. Don’t forget to take whatever he left for you out of the black envelope on the kitchen counter.” She doesn’t look up at you, her fingers tapping out an email on her shiny iphone screen. She doesn’t have her phone in a case and you can only imagine the level of self confidence you have to have to carry around an expensive item unprotected like that.

“Is it weird that there’s no pictures or anything of the family that lives here?” You say curiously as you both walk towards your parked vehicles.

“No,” she says flatly. “I think it’s just one person here and that’s pretty normal for the houses you’ll be cleaning. Lots of them are rarely home or only home to sleep.”

You gawk at the massive house from across the street as you throw all your supplies in the back of your used and rusted SUV. One person lives here. Alone. How is this possible? He’s clearly doing well for himself. Either he’s really lonely or a complete asshole.

After you eat, you head back inside to finish up cleaning. The entire house looks like a show home. Not a single thing out of place. The kitchen seems staged, void of life aside from a tiny droplet of coffee on the countertop beside the Italian coffee maker, and a tiny brown stegosaurus toy that sits on top of it. Two minutes before the end of your shift you do a final sweep to make sure you haven’t left anything behind and then slip open the black envelope. Inside you find seven one hundred dollars and a note that just says ‘TY - JM’.

As you log your day in the company app you can’t believe you just made seven hundred freaking dollars to clean up after a man who makes no messes. You excitedly check your upcoming schedule and it looks like you’ll be back here in two more weeks. You could potentially be getting fourteen hundred dollars a month from this elusive “JM”. A man with no pictures or personal touches in his shiny white, black and gold mansion.

It’s been almost two weeks since your first clean at JM’s house. Your other clients were good tippers, usually between four to five hundred, but you’ve been looking forward to going back. You know you’re not supposed to know who the clients are, but you couldn’t help but google JM to try to figure out who he is and how he has so much money. In hindsight, you guess all your clients have money, but something about him has alerted your curiosity. He seems like smoke, or a ghost, in his own home. Your other clients had some sort of semblance of life in their houses. A dent in the pillow. An open newspaper on the kitchen table. A coffee cup dropped in the sink before they headed off to whatever fancy job they have to afford such a massive house. A toilet seat left up or a smudge of toothpaste on the mirror.

But not JM.

No, the only thing JM left was a tiny droplet of coffee. Coffee that was probably imported straight from Italy. You’re almost ashamed of the amount of times you’ve wondered about that stegosaurus toy. It seems so out of place in his house of clean lines and sterility.

You’re just settling in to enjoy a Sunday night of sushi, rosé and Bridgerton with your roommate when your phone bings, a little red notification bubble popping up on the Maid Discretely app. You have an added shift request for JM tomorrow. Instead of one six hour shift on Tuesday you now have two six hour shifts. You accept the request and scroll through the tasks. He’s requested you to wipe the baseboards and lightswitches on the main floor, a deep scrub of every bathroom, as well as doing the inside of the fridge, stove and microwave. There are also instructions for washing the sheets in the main bedroom, and spraying down the patio furniture around the pool.

Only a millionaire in Texas would ask for his pool furniture to be cleaned in February.

Shortly after you accept the shift you get a text from Jamie:

Saw you accepted the shift. The client asked for the normal clean on the first day, please. Extras the next day. Thanks.

The following morning you head to the large, bright mansion. Parking across the street and hauling all your stuff in. It feels a bit weird to be here on a Monday and you have a feeling you’ll be reminding yourself all day that it is indeed Monday and not Tuesday.

You get all your stuff together, change into your indoor company issued keds and head up the stairs. The pink and orange hues of the sunrise glitters off the white marble tiles, glints of gold and sparkling black reflecting off of it. You take a second to look down from the landing as you pop in your airpods. It really is a beautiful home, and it’s too bad that whoever lives here is either lonely or an asshole, but for a split second you let yourself pretend that you and JM just finished making love and he’s now in the kitchen making you an espresso or a latte with that insanely fancy coffee machine in the kitchen. You shake your head at yourself. You didn’t find anything when googling, which isn’t surprising since two letters aren’t much to go on, but this house seems to draw you in, like it’s calling to you. It’s strange, it’s almost like you have a crush on this house and you couldn’t help but make a whole persona for whoever lives here. Even with its clean lines and lack of life, something about it settles in your gut, it feels like home.

You scroll your podcast app trying to pick what episode you want to listen to and head down the hall, you can’t seem to decide so you pocket your phone without starting anything and reach for the matte black handle of the office door. You’re expecting to see JM’s tidy office with a few stacks of paperwork in one corner, but the sight you find before you has all the blood rush from your head and your stomach dropping right out of your body. Your jaw drops and you freeze in utter shock and fear.

Instead of the usual stacks of paper, there’s an icy blond haired woman tied to the desk. She’s completely naked and on her back with her legs spread wide. Her ankles are tied to the legs of the desk with a scratchy looking rope, her wrists wrapped in matching rope and resting above her head. Her nipples are almost purple underneath the clothespin attached to them. You freeze, just the lewd wet noises of her pussy being worked furiously by the mysterious, fully clothed JM. His deep, commanding, gravel filled voice reverberates through the office. “Little fuckin' slut. Gonna split you in two.”

The woman lets out an unashamed cry of pleasure. Your entire body seems to go numb as your caddy falls from your hand, crashing loudly against the hardwood flooring. His head whips to the side, the icy blonde woman letting out a scream and trying to cover herself up. Your hands cover your mouth and even though you can’t feel your legs you spin and run for the stairs.

“Fuck. Fuck. Wait,” JM calls after you.

One of your AirPods falls from your ear as you run, you’re tempted to stop and grab it but you need to get out of here. Jamie’s voice echoes through your skull, ‘try your hardest not to be seen or heard’.

He catches up to you as you reach the front entryway, his strong hand pushing the door closed. You can feel the heat of his body against your back. You’re shaking - both from being terrified and embarrassed. You have so many thoughts running through your mind. This will get you fired, or worse, you could have just possibly lost the company a client. Fuck. You aren’t supposed to know who lives here and you certainly aren’t supposed to see them doing that.

“Please wait,” he says softly behind you and the heat of his broad body sends a chill down your spine.

The blood is rushing through your ears as your heart pounds in your throat. You don’t like confrontation and even with the softness in his voice, you’re sure he’s about to scream at you. You feel sick, and when you replay the words he said to the woman upstairs, and the sound of her moan that made you drop your caddy you start to feel dizzy and nervous.

Your hand falls from the handle of the front door and the brick wall of a man behind you steps back. You spin slowly to face him but keep your eyes on the floor.

“I’m sorry,” you murmur, linking your fingers in front of you and focusing all your attention on the cuticle of your right thumb.

“No, please. This is my fault.” You trail your eyes from the floor to him. He's in perfectly pressed black dress pants paired with a white dress shirt. The sleeves are rolled to his forearms and he’s holding his hands up in front of himself as if to show you he isn’t armed or as a way to say 'you’re safe here'.

You flick your eyes up to his face and he’s looking at you softly, the morning sunrise lighting up his tanned face and salt and pepper hair. JM is probably twice your age, but he is incredibly handsome.

“I am so sorry. I must’a got my days mixed up when I booked you.” He says, a soft southern accent sneaking out.

“I’m going to get fired,” you respond shakily.

“No,” he says stepping forward, you subsequently take a step back, pressing your body against the glass front door. Something about this man makes you nervous, but not in the same way women are trained to be nervous of strange men that are almost twice their size. “No. This is my fault. Please, let me explain. I jus’ gotta - well, can I go deal with…” his head cocks towards the stairs, “And then let me explain. Please?”

You look at him, his handsome face all soft and apologetic. His dark brown and amber eyes dance around your face and without realizing you're even doing it, you nod your head.

“Thank you,” he drops his hands at his side, visibly relaxing at your decision not to run. “Sit at the island for me. I’ll be back.”

He watches you as you pad over to the island. The tall bar chair squeaks on the tile floor as you pull it out. He peels his eyes from you and heads upstairs. When you sit you have to stop from moaning out, the pressure of your body weight there sends a wave of rolling pleasure through you.

What the fuck?

It’s a dull, throbbing ache followed by a small gush of thick wetness. Did you mistake a feeling of arousal for dizziness and nervousness upstairs? Were you turned on by what you just witnessed?

Certainly not. There’s no way! He was, well, he wasn’t being nice to that woman.

Soon you hear footsteps coming down the stairs and towards the foyer, his body blocks her from your view as they talk at the front door. They speak in hushed voices, all you’re able to make out is her saying thank you followed by the sound of a soft kiss and then she’s gone.

She thanked him? It seems like he should be thanking her.

He wanders into the kitchen and your throat goes impossibly dry. As if he can read your every need, he grabs a glass from the cabinet, puts it under the water dispenser on his fridge door and then slides the glass across the large island to you. You have to lift off the chair to reach it, whispering a thank you before taking a sip.

JM leans against the countertop beside the fridge and watches you take a long drink. You put the glass down with a quiet clink and then fold your hands in your lap. His eye contact is intense, not in a creepy way, it’s almost like he’s assessing you. You find it hard to look at him so you avert your gaze to the glass.

He clears his throat gently before he starts. “I jus’ want to say how sorry I am. You didn’t consent to seein’ any of that and I can’t imagine how awful that was for you.” His voice is so calm and soft.

You flick your eyes up to him, “No, this is my fault. I am not suppose-“

JM shakes his head and holds up one hand, signaling you to stop. “No. This was me. I got my days mixed up. Meant to book ya for next week. This ain’t on you. This was my mistake. If it’s ok for me to ask, what’s your name?”

You mumble your name into your glass and down the rest of your water. You figure you’re probably fired either way so who cares if he knows who you are. His face ticks up slightly, almost like he’s proud of you for drinking, and says your name back to you.

“I ain’t gonna say anythin’ to your boss and I understand if you want to leave for the day. I’ll pay ya either way. I also understand if you say somethin’ to them and I can’t be a client anymore. It was unacceptable for me to be doin’ that when you’re supposed to be here. There ain’t any other way to word it. I was inappropriate and wrong.” He steps forward and holds his hand out so you slide the glass across to him.

He refills it and puts it back for you to grab. “No,” you say, your voice cracking. After clearing your throat you continue, “No, I appreciate your apology but I’m not going to say anything.”

He watches you again as you drain the glass, the same look of pride flashes across his eyes, “I’ll - umm - I’ll be in my office. You can uh,” he runs a hand through his scruff, “You just do whatever you need. I’ll stay outta your way.”

He disappears before you can say anything else. You head up the stairs after a few minutes to find your cleaning caddy sitting in the hall with everything placed neatly where it belongs. His office door is closed and you can hear the deep rumble of his voice while he’s on a call. You grab your things, head into the master bedroom and begin cleaning.

A few hours later while you’re sitting in your car eating lunch, the garage door opens and JM goes whipping past you in the sexiest blacked out sports car you’ve ever seen. He doesn’t even look over you as he speeds by. Your heart sinks, it's unexplainable but being in that house with him there, even after what you witnessed, felt more comfortable than being alone. JM must have some sort of magic touch, how you went from nervous and embarrassed to calm and comforted with just the look on his face and few words is beyond you.

After wiping down the kitchen you are all done for the day. You grab the black and red envelope off the kitchen counter and open it, peering in nervously. There’s a piece of matte black paper on top. You slide it out gently, the paper feels expensive between your fingers. As you unfold it you reveal a shiny black JMK logo at the top. In neat gold lettering is his writing.

‘Please know how sorry I am. Your consent is more important than anything. I broke that. Just hope I didn't break your trust. -Joel Miller.’

At the bottom of the envelope are ten crisp one hundred dollar bills.

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mariacallous · 10 months

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One of the many knock-on effects of Marvel making post-credit scenes a feature of the studio’s cinematic universe is that fans get a glimpse of just how many “below-the-line” workers it takes to make all that superhero movie magic. Production designers, hair and makeup folks, camera operators, the lists run on and on. Amongst them, usually toward the end, as theatergoers are eagerly anticipating that tease for the next MCU movie, are lists of the visual effects studios—places with names like Framestore, The Third Floor, Cinesite—that created all of those space scenes and Wakanda visuals. But unlike most of the other names in those credits, the ones attached to VFX artists have never been in a professional union.

On Monday, some folks at Marvel made a move to change that, with a supermajority of Marvel Studios’ VFX crew signing cards saying they want to be represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

To be clear, the Marvel team is a small faction of a huge industry and doesn’t represent all those outside VFX houses that also work on MCU films. But their move marks a huge shift in Hollywood at a time when people in other industry unions—the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)—are on strike to get better deals with the major studios. VFX workers have been talking about unionizing for more than a decade, says Bilali Mack, a VFX supervisor who has worked on everything from The Whale to The Flash. The fact that one group, albeit a small one, has taken steps to unionize is “huge,” he says.

This moment has roots in 2013, when Life of Pi won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects just as the company that worked on those effects, Rhythm & Hues, was facing bankruptcy. When the movie’s VFX supervisor, Bill Westenhofer, took the stage to accept his award he said the traditional thank yous and then added “Sadly, Rhythm & Hues is suffering severe financial difficulties right now. I urge you all to remember …”—at which point his mic was cut off and the theme from Jaws began to play.

Rhythm & Hues wasn’t the only VFX studio facing troubles. Some 21 similar companies shuttered between 2003 and 2013, due in part to production delays and the fact that many jobs were going to companies based outside the US, where tax subsidies and incentives give VFX houses a better shot at survival. Attempts to organize have been bubbling up ever since, and this week they bubbled over. “We are witnessing an unprecedented wave of solidarity that’s breaking down old barriers in the industry,” IATSE president Matthew Loeb said in a statement. “That doesn’t happen in a vacuum.”

Loeb was, of course, talking about the fact that the unionization effort at Marvel is happening amidst the SAG and WGA strikes, which may be emboldening folks in other Hollywood sectors. When the Marvel news came, I called Dave Rand. He’d worked on Life of Pi at Rhythm & Hues and had helped organize a protest outside the Oscars on the night the movie won. He agreed that the current strikes played a role but added that the VFX workers who are laid off or on hiatus amidst the strikes may be hesitant to organize because they’re worried about landing their next job. Still, he added, “it’s a step in the right direction, and it can set an example.”

Considering artificial intelligence has been a major point of contention in the Hollywood strikes so far, I asked Rand and Mack if it might be on VFX artists’ minds as well. Both agreed that it was, adding that AI can be a tool for VFX artists, but it will still always require a human to guide it. Is it possible, I asked Mack, that studios would try to create shots with AI and then have human VFX artists clean them up?

“A hundred percent,” Mack replied. “That’s a legitimate worry. Because there’s a saying in visual effects, and I think in a lot of other industries, which is that the first 90 percent takes 10 percent of your time, the last 10 percent takes 90 percent. They’re gonna spit it out, it’s gonna be a piece of crap. Then they’re just gonna be like, ‘We just want it to look perfect and feature film quality,’” and then a VFX company will get called in to spend 90 percent of their time to get paid for 10 percent of the work.

Whether that scenario plays out remains to be seen. The National Labor Relations Board still needs to do due diligence on the Marvel VFX team’s request. Only after that’s complete will all members of the eligible Marvel team be able to vote on whether they want to join the union. And only then, presumably, will it be known whether the other visual effects studios in the MCU credit sequences follow in their footsteps.

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communicationthroughlyrics · 11 months

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I Like Your Blood On My Teeth Just A Little Too Much - 1

You're a former military, career oriented security executive who has made quite the living for yourself- but it has always been lacking. Your non-committal attitude has led you down a playgirl lifestyle, never really settling. What happens when your new boss throws you a curveball, and as a result? You end up hopelessly involved with a Hollywood starlet.

Here it is, the first story. Chapter numero uno. No smutty stuff yet, but it'll be incoming. If y'all like it, I'll keep posting. It will be a series. A long one, the plot needs to thicken. Bonus points if you can tell where the lyrics are from XD

3K Word Count

Chapter One- Are You At One, Or Do You Lie?

You stood on a patio, gripping your fresh mug of coffee as you gazed out towards the vast landscape that lay to the front of you. Sleep had eluded you all night, and when the decision had finally been made that you weren’t going to receive a restful slumber- you groggily made your way to the kitchen of mountain home for a source of fuel. Bundled in your favorite zip up hoodie and some fleece lined sweatpants, you made a strong cup of coffee and slowly made your way to the best part of the home (at least, to you).

This place you called home was far from most’s idea of humble and conservative, but to you it was a dream, and it was the perfect place to escape your tiny city apartment. Those who you trusted enough to bring here, upon their first visit could not believe that the slummy 600 sqft. apartment you slept in within city limits belonged to the same person who owned this chateau. It was easily ten times the size, housed your selection of transport handily- and allowed you to tinker and build to your hearts desire- in your free time.

Free time was a concept that had eluded you the past 8 months. This was the first time you had been able to escape the demanding requests of what allowed you such luxuries- your job that you had once loved. It allowed you to live this lifestyle of multiple residences, cars of your dreams, and a comfortable living since your early graduation from college, and you couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude for that. Of late, the very job you swore you owed your happiness and gratitude for had completely drained you of all satisfaction you once held. The switch to a new management company and new bosses has made your life a living hell, and you were simply exhausted. You had spent the last year helping to roll everything over for this new ownership group, working tirelessly and many times staying at your corner office in a posh downtown Los Angeles high-rise, sleeping on the sofa that sat across desk.

Being a high ranking executive officer for a government-trusted security firm, you saw everything. The early exit from college sent you straight to the military- quickly earning the respect of all around you, and you worked the ranks within your 6 years in the US Army as fast as anyone ever had- particularly for a woman. Holding the title of a three star general was sheer insanity, with which no one thought it was a possibility to obtain a rank that high, that quickly- not without the drama and rumors, at least. That is what made you discharge with honors, quickly accepting your current position as the Chief Executive to Internal Affairs, which was a fancy way of saying you were in charge of the clean-up. You handled all internal affairs, information leaks, and other messes that someone’s lackadaisical attitude or poor judgment had created. You were also a secret weapon, of sorts. Many mistook your title as one where your hands never got dirty, you would have someone handle your “dirty work”. Oh, the fact that you handled it personally messed with many of the poor soul’s minds with whom you had to scour their mistakes and tie up any loose ends.

You were leaning up against one of the main support logs with your steaming cup, a timber that held the weight of a massive roofline, shielding your best mountain view from too much weather. The only lights on were the under cabinet lights in your kitchen, which was 30 or so feet behind you, behind a wall of glass that you demanded the house be built around. You had all but built the majority of the house yourself, the lack of control was too much- only contracting out the major structural aspects and work that was too involved for you to do alone. You had also purchased a fair amount of land surrounding your escape, to the tune of a few thousand acres. You wanted to ensure the utmost in privacy, and also security. Your career ensured that you made more than a lifetimes worth of enemies, as you more often than not cost them their jobs, at least.

Sometimes you cost people all but their lives, but made them wish you had just taken that instead. To this you had long since steeled your emotions to this, as it was a part of the business. The land included a large lake- so even on frigid night like tonight, you found solace in coming outside with something to warm your hands, while gazing at the reflection of the mountains and the nighttime sky reflecting in its calm waters, your boat barely moving against its dock. As you found yourself becoming more and more entranced by the view in front of you, the ever so slightly lightening of the sky before you and the vibration of the watch on your wrist told you that you needed to try and get at lest a few hours sleep, so you begrudgingly turned around, and placed the half empty mug of coffee in the sink, before slinking over to your sofa and flinging your exhausted form onto it, and turning into its back for a nap. Today was going to be a big day, so you needed some rest.

Your eyes opened right before your alarm went off on your cell phone, and you slowly sat up and groaned, muttering a “fuck” to yourself before standing up and stretching your sore body. You shuffled off to the master suite upstairs, quickly discarding the hoodie and sweatpants before walking into the shower to fire up its multitude of jets and shower heads with steaming water. You desperately needed to rinse off the lack of restful sleep and freshen up for your day. You grabbed a fresh towel from the linen cabinet that towered next to your side of the sprawling double vanity. The combination of wood and stone always calmed you- and it was evident in how this home was designed.

The shower you stepped inside of appeared as thought it had been cut out of a mountainside- with stone ledges holding all of your favorite soaps, shampoos and conditioners, and made you feel like you were showering in a waterfall. As the water cascaded and massaged at your aching form, you grabbed onto your soap of choice for the day, and lathered it all over your tattooed, chiseled body. Your parents had never been happy with your decision to tattoo the majority of your body, particularly the back of your neck. That had been the final straw of disappointment from you- they haven’t spoken to you since. Your childhood was highly conservative, as your dad was a southern, religious and military man himself, and your mom was the epitome of a housewife. She would bend to his opinion and will, as though she had no say of her own. While you deeply loved your mother, you could not stand to see how her opinions and values disappeared over time- being taken over by your strict fathers.

It’s not that you really mind that they cut you out- as you had always longed for your own sense of being, and hated living in your fathers shadow. The tattoos were at first seen as “acting out”, but they quickly realized that it went further than that, and you weren’t going to hear any of their disapproval regarding what you did with your body. The short hair dyed in any and every color, piercings that came and went, and ink were your way of displaying your current state. As you turned around to shut off the water, you reached out of the veil of steam that was flowing around the shower, and grabbed the towel hung on a convenient rack just on the outside of the showers walls, made to look like dead wood. You peered over at the large mirror, slicking back the dark brown and blonde streaked hair, leaning on the counter to truly see how exhausted you look. “You look like hell, Y/L/N.” You say to yourself in the mirror, before carrying on with your morning routine.

Opting for a navy blue pinstripe suit, with a black button up, you mussed your hair in the mirror, giving it your signature tousled look, before turning to weave the brown belt through the loops around your trim waist. You grabbed the matching pair of brown shoes out of your walk in closet, and slipped them onto your feet before turning and looking at your appearance in the mirror. You had always been an athletic kid, and the myriad of sports you were involved in growing up allowed you the luxury of a muscular build on your tall frame. You weren’t insanely tall, average for your family, but taller than most. You looked down as your watch vibrated on your wrist, reminding you that you needed to leave soon- otherwise your commute to work would take you past your typical start time, which was not the impression you wanted to set for the new bosses. You quickly spun around on the hardwood floor, grabbing your cologne from the wooden shelf, and spraying it onto your pulse point and wrists before grabbing the keys hanging below and making your way out of the bedroom and towards the other wing of your house- where all your toys were kept.

Typically you wouldn’t escape unless you had at least a few days to spend here, as this was seriously out of your way for a commute to work. But you needed the respite. Work had been abnormally stressful for you, as you were planning for a massive undertaking at work- a new security project that required the best of the best- so you were “volunteered” to be the only person for this mystery operation. You arrived in the warehouse of vehicles that were varying degrees of extravagance- from classic cars to modern exotics, you had your bases covered. You walked past them all, climbing a spiral staircase the the opposite end of the garage, and opening a hefty steel door and walking out to your helicopter. Your days in the military afforded you many things- a pilots license being one of them. You quickly climbed inside, placing the headset hanging from the ceiling next to you onto your head, and grabbing the aviator sunglasses on the seat next to you before switching all the necessary toggles and firing up the machine. You announced your presence to the nearby air traffic control tower- located in the neighboring city, before gently pulling the joystick between your legs and slowly raising the vehicle off of the ground, and up towards the city. The two hour flight to work would be plenty of time for you to get your mind into work mode.

You swiftly landed the helicopter on the rooftop of your workplace, only to be greeted by your new boss, as well as your assistant, Kris, waiting for you a safe distance off of the helipad. You hopped out of the copter, re-buttoning the top buttons of your pinstripe blazer, and walking towards the pair. Kris gently smiled your way, handing you a large cup of coffee, for which you were thankful. You nodded her way, raising your eyebrows so they could just be seen above your glasses as you too a sip of the liquid, then letting out a long sigh after swallowing the drink.

“Thank you.” You spoke quietly, and turned to your direct supervisor to shake his hand.

“Y/L/N. Good Morning, we have a lot to do today. I hope you are prepped and ready.” He lifted his head slightly, as he tried to make it like he was taller, so he could look down towards you.

“Yessir. I’ve been prepared for the last two months, sir.” You replied curtly as he turned and stalked back to the doorway that would descend back down to the executive level of the office.

“You look like shit, Y/N…” Kris whispered to you as you both walked behind your boss, a slight look of worry on her face. She had been one of the first people you met after you discharged from the military, and moved to Los Angeles. You had actually gotten her this job as your new assistant as she was one of the few you knew you could trust, and your former assistant had kept trying your patience and trust. She was dressed up more than usual, wearing a tight black pencil skirt, that fell just below her knees. It was slightly split up the back, and allowed you the slightest view of her toned thighs. She wore a dark green blouse, and her blonde hair was wrapped up in a bun, with her black glasses framing her piercingly grey eyes. That was the first thing you had noticed about the woman when you first met- how her eyes seemed to be so colorless, yet full of emotion. You both had tried the whole relationship thing- but with your lack of comfort within yourself to fully admit you were gay, and years of pretending you weren’t, being in the military and with your conservative parents- you had both decided that you couldn’t be together, but were mature enough to recognize that you both were good friends, and wouldn’t let the failed attempt ruin your friendship. But, the brief glimpse beyond your hardened, tattooed exterior allowed her to read you like a fucking book. And you hated it.

“Thanks, Sherlock.” You smirked over your coffee cup, as you approached the elevator to take you down towards your office.

“You’re working too much.” She stated flatly.

“No, I’m only doing what is necessary.” You state, and she rolls her eyes as you peel the glasses off your face, setting them on top of your hair. You briefly glance her direction to notice she rolls her eyes at you before the doors ding open, leading you towards a long marble lined hallway flanked by frosted glass doors and windows. You both walked towards the door that led you to your office.

“You never fly to McCall unless you can stay for a period of time. You flew there to stay the night? That’s not like you.” She was walking in front of you to be able to open the door before you approached it.

“Yeah, so? It’s my house. I can go if I want. What made you so sure I went there in the first place?” You asked pointedly, not meaning to come out that rude as you crossed the threshold to your office.

“Your car was still in the parking garage when I left last night. I came back up to check on you, but you were gone. I went upstairs and the heli was gone.” She narrowed her eyes in your direction. She always warned you not to burn the candle at both ends, but you did it anyways.

“You don’t need to check on me. I’m a grown ass woman, I will do what I need to for my job.”

“Y/N, this isn’t about work. You need to take care of you.” She spits back pointedly, before spinning on her heels and walking back out the door towards her office next door. You sighed, rubbing your hands on your face, before removing the blazer adorning your shoulders, and unbuttoning the cuffs to your black dress shirt, allowing you to slightly roll up the sleeves to show some of your inked skin. The holster you wore on your hip that housed your work pistol came off, to be sat next to your on your desk. You sat rather heavily into your large leather chair, taking a deep breath and opening your laptop to begin checking your emails.

You scrolled through every email, skimming them over, deleting the unnecessary ones, forwarding ones to Kris that she could handle, and finally your eyes fell upon the email you knew was coming. There was an attachment that was rather large, and you had to print it off before slipping it into a file and making your way towards the board room two floors down. You heard Kris’s door open as you opted to go down the stairs instead, and opened the door to lead you down towards your next assignment. You took the opportunity to glance at the file as you swiftly descended the stairs, and right as you approached the door to the correct floor, it opened up- causing your eyes to dart up and be met with a discontent gaze of your best friend. You blankly stared back as you walked by her, and made your way to the board room.

“Did you read any of that file yet?” She asked, shuffling a little bit quicker to catch up with you.

“Some of it, yes. Why are the names redacted? I have the highest security clearance of anyone here.” You turned to your assistant, who shrugged her shoulders, narrowing her eyes as she reached for the folder, to open the pages and confirm what you had already stated. You approached the door to the boardroom, the occupants of the room were obscured by heavily frosted glass, but you could hear a faint conversation. Kris shrugged, not knowing why, and stepped around you, to grab the door and hold it open for you. As you step inside the room, your eyes glance from person to person, astutely taking in their demeanors as your gaze bounces from person to person. First, your bosses, who were starting at you expectantly, and then to the people in the room you had no clue of- except one.

“Are you ready to start, Y/L/N?” The owner of your company asked. Your eyes remained locked onto the blonde bombshell sitting at the far end of the table, surrounded by people you assume are her assistants. You sit down at the opposite end of the table, without breaking eye contact.

“I thought we were a government military contractor, not some for-hire security outfit.” You state coldly as you sat next to your boss. He glared back at you, giving you the impression that this was not the time.

“We’re not for hire. But when someone asks for the best, they ask for us- more specifically, you, Y/L/N.” He quipped back. “And I shouldn’t have to remind you, that in this business- money talks. Back to business,” He says pointedly in your direction, earning a smirk from both blondes in your presence.

(CHAPTER 2)

A/N: Nothing like making your boss call you out in a meeting, amiright? Let me know what you think!

#communicatethrulyrics #scarlett johansson x fem!reader #scarlett johansson x reader #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff #scarlett johansson #scarlett johansson x you #scarlett johannsen #wlw fanfic #ILYBOMTJALTM

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n3kk1tty · 24 days

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SLASHER COMPANY AU

Introduction

Slashers tend to die in their movies and society enjoys the comforts and entertainment of horror movies and the villains getting what comes to them at the end. They're just fictional after all.

What if the movies were covering up the real incidents and atrocities these beings of evil were committing and what if there was a whole world wide funded company dedicated to keeping these monsters doing what they do best. Killing.

Slasher company AU takes place in a world where all your favorite horror villains are real and come back alive after the cameras turn off. Actors playing in movies made to make the public think Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface are all fictional bad men. When the truth is there alive and real all in one universe and all working for the same evil company designed to keep the ever growing human population blissfully unaware and trimmed down to a certain amount.

Witch and Warlock retainers taking care of Slashers needs and health. While cleaning crews hide bodies and make whole groups of people's existence disappear. Hollywood producers pumping out merch, movies, and videogames centered making the real seem fictional. An organization so secretive only top executive business men knows it exists.

All your favorite horror movies villains coming off the page and interacting with each other in new ways. Through art, head cannons, roleplay, shipping , and fanfiction.

See more coming soon in Slasher Co AU.

Slasher Co AU CO-created by @tac-the-unseen

( Me and them have been getting into mad brain storming sessions and it's time to start producing some of the content we be gushing over.)

This AU is free for people to join in the discussion and make content for this world. Make Oc's, art, or ideas till your hearts content using #SlasherCo tag to keep all the content easy to follow on Tumblr. I'm excited to see what comes from this adventure.

#SlasherCo #slasherco #slasher community #micheal myers #dbd #tlb 1987 #jason voorhees #brahms heelshire #leatherface #pyramid head #horror movie characters #horror community

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tonyschiavonesearring · 4 months

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I hate the "Finish the story" gimmick/angle. The idea that the worst thing Vince McMahon ever did in wrestling (who is currently being exposed as this evil man guilty of sex crimes and blackmail and covering a legit murder) was not push Dusty Rhodes longer as WWF champion (when he still made him champion) and that it will all be forgiven and WWE will be this clean magical place if Dusty's son gets to be champ too. Fuck off. Dusty wasn't robbed. When he came back in the late 80s, he was nowhere near the level of Hulk, Savage or Warrior. He was perfect as a midcarder like Cody was and will be again eventually.

Cody does his best to be like the NWA version of his dad with nice suits and talkative promos and very sweaty, self-punishing matches. Cool. But he's not the character or worker or interesting person that Dusty or even Goldust were. Cody milks his family to get ahead. WWE's cracker ass fanbase think The Rock is somehow worse when Rock exceeded his father in every way. And Rock proved himself EARLY in his 20s, being the youngest champ at that point. And he didn't leave to start a company that was better without him. Rock went to Hollywood and conquered it, making pro wrestling mainstream and respected.

What is Cody's appeal? Besides being the white trash version of The Rock like 90% of WWE stars since The Rock: LA Knight, The Miz, John Cena, Batista, early Randy Orton before he became a Stone Cold ripoff. Cody is definitely the weakest of these guys.

You know why The Bloodline and Sami Zayn angle was great? It wasn't a shit rehash of the Attitude Era. Cody Rhodes, Kofimania, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and every stupid "People's Champ" angle has been a lazy rehash of Mick Foley's road to beat The Rock and become "the most unlikely champion ever". Shit, that's what the Sami angle ALMOST was and should've been until Cody ruined it.

WWE fans want the same shit over and over forever. They make the show boring and unwatchable to people who watched 25 years ago at wrestling's peak.

That is why I don't give a shit about Cody Rhodes. Why I would rather watch The Rock vs Roman Reigns. Because Rock vs Roman is a story thats never been told. With 30 years in the making. Cody? No one cared about him 3 years ago.

#the rock #dwayne johnson #wwe #roman reigns #sami zayn #cody rhodes

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ikincisira · 1 year

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toreii · 1 year

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Behind the Scenes: The Magical World Where Villains Shine

Source: App Store

DO NOT REPOST OR UPLOAD ELSEWHERE

“Twisted Wonderland” is a twisted and distorted world where humans who use magic and mysterious things coexist. Led by the magic mirror, and lost in this distinct world, you search for a way to return to your original world, but it seems it is not easy.

What awaits is a prestigious magician training school called “Night Raven College”, and students who are always causing trouble. In a school with seven dormitories related to the legends of their predecessors called “Great Seven”, you will be involved in one turmoil after another.

Based On Disney’s Villains

The great attraction of this work is that the seven dormitories and magicians in the school are drawn based on the villains that appear in Disney animation works and their world views.

The seven dormitories at Night Rave College are Alice in Wonderland, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Snow White, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty. Some people may immediately recognize the faces of the formidable villains who stood in the way of the hero.

For example, Riddle Rosehearts, the housewarden of Heartslabuyl dormitory, which was created in the image of Alice in Wonderland, sticks strictly to following the rules, and punishes those who break them. His personality is similar to the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, and the personalities of the dorm students around Riddle also mirror the card soldiers surrounding their queen.

Yana Toboso’s passion that gave birth to the original idea and characters

Where did the ideas for the world and characters of “Disney Twisted Wonderland” come from? Yana Toboso, who is also a manga artist, holds they key to creating the creative elements.

“I love constraints and enjoy aiming for the best despite the hurdles”

Original draft, main scenario, character design: Yana Toboso

“Before receiving this offer, I had turned down long term project proposals because I still have a serialized manga called “Black Butler”. I liked the characters, so without hesitation, I replied, “I’ll do it!” Even the editor in charge of the manga said “You’ll definitely get it” before seeing the project, like something from a foreign drama, and it really turned out to be true.

What’s more, at that stage, we hadn’t decided what to make other than a game with villains as the theme, so we began planning with Aniplex (the planning and production company). At first, I thought when you think of Disney, you think of Hollywood. Since Disney has a number of rules to establish a work that is familiar to young and old around the world, many ideas other than this actor training game were rejected. After that, we came up with the idea of making a school game, which has been recognized overseas as a game genre unique to Japan.”

Ms. Toboso continued to submit plans for about six months until the concept of the game matched the current one. In order to explain the idea, the image of “Twisted Wonderland” was formed while assembling the story, imagining the elements of the game, and drawing pictures.

“Even with manga, I would come up with ideas over and over again until I got the OK from the editor-in-chief, and then work together with the editor in charge to brush it up. I enjoy constraints and enjoy aiming for the best despite the hurdles and decisions in game production. Because it was a pre-developmental game, I could express all the imaginary rhythm games, UI (user interface), battle scenes, etc., with pictures. I think the reason why I was able to clean up “Twst” until the release is that I was able to break through the parts that were difficult to imagine and verbalize with the power of drawing.”

The Message Entrusted to Villains

In the main story of this work, you will get to interact with each of the seven dormitories, and get to know the unique students. In the process, various aspects of their lives are depicted, and sometimes the weaknesses and troubles of the spiteful students secretly harbor come to light. The depth of the story and character modeling is also something Ms. Toboso worked hard on.

“The story and character creation progressed almost simultaneously. The story itself is an homage to the fate of the villains that appear in Disney films, but when placing the characters, it’s no good if the characters or the story come first. While sharing the plot up until the end of the story with Disney first, if only the main plot proceeded it, it tends to become linear and uninteresting, so I built and submitted character makeup and sub-episodes at the same time. It took me a year to start writing the scenario in earnest, repeating the process of having it checked in detail, and fixing what was returned.”

Also, all Disney films have a universal story, so the underlings of the villains are a bit comical and can’t stand up to the boss. I had a hard time giving individuality to the multiple characters I created. For example, when creating four student characters based on the card soldiers from Alice in Wonderland, or the poison apple itself from Snow White. I specifically put myself in the position of a card soldier, tried to feel like an apple, wrote it down, and complied it. The apple didn’t want to become a poison apple, but it was forcibly chosen by the Queen because it looked the most delicious among the fruits in the basket. It’s reluctant. I thought so? And so on.

Then, while we were working out the individuality of each character, we had a thick set-up material for each character before the start of distribution. I asked the voice cast to read it from the stage when there were only two lines during the recording, so I was surprised at the amount of information.”

What happens when the villains confront their weaknesses and stubbornness in Ms. Toboso’s story? It contains a positive message we want users to feel.

“The origin of Disney films is a happy ending with good deeds and love, but I think villains are people who aren’t saved in the story. That’s why I intend for the message in the game to be that even if we are defeated and have a bad end, let’s live without being discouraged by it.

Being uncool, undisciplined, not reflecting, being defiant, are not so bad as they say. I want to depict positively about not caring about others, and live honestly with myself. People living in modern society are afraid of failure or feel living with great care, but there is no one without flaws. Trying to live without being hated by anyone is exhausting, isn’t it?”

Original Culture Woven With Costumes

One of the elements of “Disney Twisted Wonderland” is the character costume. Ms. Toboso expresses the difficulty of creating completely original costumes for each of the seven dormitories, while interpreting the world of the films that serve as the source of the image as clothing.

“The design started with dormitory clothes that were inspired by the world of the original work. Different countries, cultures, and eras exist side by side in a single school, so while it is modern, I aimed to create a feeling that each carries their respective world view. In addition, we checked repeatedly to make sure we avoided plagiarism of cultures, or imitate existing fashion brands. In fact, I drew a number of costume proposals close to three times that of those adopted in the game.

For example, with the Pomefiore dormitory uniform for Snow White, the more elements were added, the more the impression and image of the classical animation were separated. It was difficult, and as a result, instead of just thinking about the elements, I decided to rebuild from the silhouette. By intentionally incorporating the elements of kimono, which Japanese think of as classical, I ended up with a design that gives off a simple yet luxurious impression of “Snow White”.

Also, with the dormitory uniform of Diasomnia dorm in Sleeping Beauty, I wanted to incorporate into the design the relationship of Maleficent and Goon, a minion wearing black armor. So, the material is made of leather, and both classical and hard. Furthermore, at the time of design, I incorporated harnesses (belts for the body) that were trending in the high fashion world.

While being conscious of today’s high fashion, it is important to express the unique culture of “Twst” in event costumes and so on. For example, in event costumes for “Harveston’s Kelkkarotu” and “Sunset Savanna’s Tamashina-mina”, we did not reinterpret existing ethnic costumes, but rather started setting the history of clothing that can be considered from local sunshine hours and climate.

Because it is a land with heavy snow, and short hours of sunshine, people spend more time indoors, and the culture of embroidery is developed. Or, in hot lands, fabrics like cotton or hemp that are breathable are probably dyed, so the color will be like this. This way, I design the culture and history of textiles in the world of “Twisted Wonderland”.

There are also other costumes that have been repeatedly checked and modified over the course of nearly two years. Costumes are often summoned with money, so I think that it has to be of a quality that makes you think you actually bought it at a fashionable department store. In addition, the D-6th staff (in my office) has a professional qualification in dressmaking and patterning, so even the back style, and how to put it on and take it off are designed so you can actually wear it. However, since this is a world with magic, I value not only reality, but fantasy and dreamy designs. If the parts are sewn on, it would be awkward, so let’s stick them together with magic.”

The Magnificent Story of Twst

Since its release in 2020, the world of “Twisted Wonderland” in which you, the main character, is lost, has shown a magnificent development along with the main story written by Ms. Toboso. Ms. Toboso talks about the passion from the creation and developmental scenes.

“I had never drawn anything but manga, and my main target audience was women. Aniplex, which does not have a lot of game production experience, and f4samurai, which handles development and management on site, took on the challenge of creating a genre work for the first time. I think one if the reasons for this is that the distance between the three companies is close. Each meeting is fun. It’s not like I’m working backwards from game production, but I’m not surprised by my ideas. It feels like we’ve been doing trial and error together for a long time.

The story, which has 35,000 characters in book 1, has become a volume of over 250,000 characters by book 6. Up to book 3, the users probably didn’t have a lot of feelings yet about the characters, so first, I made it compact so that they could understand the world of “Twst”. However, when it was actually released, I felt that the players read the story more than I expected. So now, I am writing with a denser amount of information than I anticipated during the preparation period. From now on, not only on the vertical and horizontal axes of the story, but also the spread of elements such as the present, past, and future will be incorporated, and the scale will be quite large. Please look forward to book 7 (currently available up to part 2)!

As I write the story, I think that if you can deepen mutual understanding without bending yourself, or if you can think flexibly, the villain will surely be insanely strong. The foundation of this game is to become stronger by understanding the way of thinking of others who are different from you, and by understanding their strengths and weaknesses. It may be similar to our stance in making this game. I think I’ve become stronger since I’ve been involved with the development of “Twst”. As a manga artist, it was my first challenge to create a game. I was surprised at first where my special skills were no good, the team members were meeting for the first time, we weren’t used to the culture of the game industry, and were judged strictly from the perspective of a global game rather than the entertainment unique to Japan. As a result, even if one method doesn’t work, instead of conflicting, we can change the method and challenge it.

In the story, they are villains, so they don’t admit defeat, but they admit to each other “You’ll do it.” Even if we dislike each other, we can still recognize each other’s abilities. We will continue to create games with an unwavering spirit of villains, and we hope that our users will continue to enjoy it.”

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #yana toboso #twst interview #translations not 100% accurate

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spookyswiftie111 · 6 months

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Enchanted - Joe Keery

Warnings: Angst. implied sumt, language.

Author's note: Here is the first part of the Enchanted series with Joe!! Hope you all enjoy. Dress is part two, so watch out for it soon! :)

“There I was again tonight. Forcing laughter, faking smiles. Same old tired, lonely place. Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy, vanished when I saw your face. All I can say is, it was enchanting to meet you. Your eyes whispered, have we met. 'Cross the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me.”

I got my dream job a year ago and met my dream guy, but it’s not the basic happily ever after you hear in the fairytales or see in the Disney Movies. My job created many sleepless nights, and my dream guy may have possibly had a girlfriend. We hit it off as soon as we met and became best friends instantly. He was who I called when I needed comfort and when I needed company. I met Joe when I became a production assistant on his show, Stanger Things. I worked closely with him and the cast, but Joe became my other half. We were always taking lunches together and hanging out in his trailer between takes. I was in love with him, but he had no clue and after seeing him with some brunette for over six months, I felt it was best to keep it that way. Tonight, was the premiere for the new season and I was beyond excited to see him all cleaned up and classically handsome. I wore my favorite red sparkly dress, curled my hair, and finished the look with a classic red lip. I felt like I was Marilyn Monroe attending a Hollywood premiere, but I was going alone. I walked the red carpet with some of my coworkers and chatted with all their dates. I tried to seem happy and like I was truly enjoying myself, but I only wanted to be here with one person, Joe.

“Hey kiddo, have you seen Joe yet?” I ask walking up to Gaten before he grabs me into a hug.

“Y/N! You look beautiful tonight. I believe he just arrived; he should be at the front of the carpet.” Gaten says smiling and pointing to the front of the carpet.

I turned around and seen Joe looking more handsome than I could ever imagined. He was in a basic black suit, with a red tie that matched my dress, almost like he read my mind. But the most surprising (and exciting part) was that he arrived alone. His usual brunette arm candy was nowhere to be seen. Me and Joe finally locked eyes and as if he knew I needed him, he came running to me, by passing all the reporters yelling his name for pictures or interviews.

“My girl! Holy smokes, you look amazing.” Joe says finally reaching me and wrapping me in a hug that makes my stomach erupt with butterflies. He holds my shoulders and admires my dress, before locking eyes with me again and smiling.

“Joey! You look dang handsome yourself.” I say placing a kiss on his cheek and accidentally leaving a bright red lip mark on his cheek.

“Shit! I’m sorry, I forgot about my lipstick.” I say laughing as I wipe it away and notice my cheeks becoming red.

“I don’t mind at all having proof a pretty girl gave me a kiss.” Joe says, his cheeks turning equally as red. My stomach turned at the flirting he was putting off tonight. Was I just playing tricks on myself, or did I finally have a chance with the boy I have been in love with since I first met him over a year ago. I felt every inch of insecurity and hopelessness leave my body now that I was with Joe.

“I think I pissed some reporters off by finding you. Want to come with me and walk the carpet properly?” He asked grabbing my hand and squeezing it. Joe could always read my mind. Its like he knew when I was feeling down or alone, and tonight was no exception.

“I would love to, Joey.” I said squeezing his hand back in reassurance. We walked the red carpet and Joe made sure I was on his arm for every picture. I felt like I was getting a glimpse of what it would be like to be Joe’s girl for real. I was brought back to reality when a reporter yelled, “Look! It’s our favorite set of best friends!” as Joe and I were walking past. Of course, Joe was my best friend and I never wanted to lose him, but I wish he knew how much I had fallen in love with him and how much I wanted to be everyone’s favorite couple.

“The playful conversation starts. Counter all your quick remarks, like passing notes in secrecy. And it was enchanting to meet you. All I can say is, I was enchanted to meet you. This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you.”

After we finally got to our seats for the showing, we were both exhausted from all the questions. Joe and I had a secret language that only the both of us understood. We spent many days on set joking and making fun of each other so much that it became second nature. Joe grabbed my hand midway through the screening when he could tell I was getting tired.

“Remember this scene? We could not film it for laughing so much at me having to take my shirt off.” Joe leans over and whispers in my ear. I start laughing remembering my cat calling and whistles that caused everyone in the scene to laugh and join along, which caused the whole scene to take way longer than we wanted.

“What can I say, Mr. Keery, I was just saying what we were all thinking.” I say as I nudged my head into his neck. He settles his head on top of mine while we finish watching the showing.

“You look beautiful tonight” Joe says placing a kiss on my head. My heart dropped into my stomach as my thoughts raced. Was I dreaming all his flirty remarks, or have we become so comfortable together that we say things without thinking. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it as my way of saying thank you.

The after party followed the showing and I mingled around the room without Joe for a bit. I was becoming anxious with the crowd and began to worry where Joe was or who he was with.

“Hey, pretty girl, you thirsty?” I heard someone say behind me and all my worries were gone once I noticed the familiar voice.

“I. Am. Dying” I say laughing and grabbing the wine glass from Joe, then taking a large swig.

“Slow down there hot stuff” he says grabbing me by my waist and pulling me in. My heart caught in my throat at his pet name and the way his hand fit perfectly on my curves.

“Can I be serious for a moment, Joey?” I say lying my head on his shoulder.

“Always” He says laying his head on top of mine.

“You always make me feel so comfortable at these types of things and I would not want to go anywhere without you” I say taking another swig of my wine.

“Ditto. You’re my absolute best friend”. He says placing a small kiss on my head. My heart dropped when he said best friend. Of course, we were but I yearned so badly to be more. Did he not want to? Maya sees us cuddled up by the bar and comes over with the biggest smile.

“Is it finally official?” She says giving me a hug once I released from Joe’s grasp.

“Is what official?” Joe says with a slight chuckle.

“You two! We have had bets on how long it would take, since apparently you two are the only ones who don’t know you are in love” she says. Joe clears his throat and I notice his mood shift.

“What? Us? Nope. Just best friends” I say forcing a smile.

“Yep, nothing to see here. Excuse me for a minute” Joe says running his hands through his hair. I watch as he walks away to the back.

“What was that all about?” Maya says, a concerned look forming on her face.

“I honestly have no idea. Maybe it’s just him who isn’t in love” I say, feeling tears forming in my eyes.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Maya says taking me to sit at one of the tables.

“Can I be honest with you?” I say, wiping my tears

“Of course!” Maya says, leaning to grab my hands

“I am so in love with that man and all he wants to be is best friends. I’m surprised his arm candy didn’t come tonight” I say looking to the ground.

“She has nothing on you. You have that man’s heart, he just has to admit it to himself” Maya says. I notice Joe emerge from the back and head over to us.

“The lingering question kept me up, 2 AM, who do you love? I wonder 'til I'm wide awake and now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door. I'd open up and you would say, "Hey" It was enchanting to meet you”. All I know is, I was enchanted to meet you. This night is sparkling, don't you let it go, I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew that this night is flawless, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you. This is me praying that this was the very first page. Not where the story line ends. My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again. These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon. I was enchanted to meet you. Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you.”

“I think I’m going to head home, I am exhausted” I say as Joe returns to the table. He can tell something is on my mind, but this time he doesn’t ask what.

“Do you need any company on the ride home? I can call us a cab” Joe asks, grabbing my hand and squeezing it in his knowing way.

“I’m okay, I can just call a cab and call it a night. Thank you, handsome” I say, kissing Joe’s cheek.

“Anything for my girl” he says wrapping me in one final hug. I look over to Maya who is smiling at the exchange with an I told you so look to me. Joe walks me to the cab.

“Listen, about what Maya said…” He begins.

“No, it’s all okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow for our movie night?” I say smiling and squeezing his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world” Joe says opening the car door for me. I climb in as Joe shuts the door and I smile at tonight’s events. All of the flirting Joe did and how clingy he was to my body. All of the looks exchanged across the room between the two of us. I began to blush and smile at how lucky I am to have Joe in my life, even if it is just as a best friend. I begin to wonder if I take up as much space in his mind when we aren’t together as he does mine. I get home to my empty apartment that overlooks New York City. I texted Joe to let him know I made it home. I grab a glass of wine and sit down to read a book by the window illuminating my apartment with the lights of NYC, still in tonight’s dress, too exhausted to take it off. I checked my phone and Joe never replied, which is not like him, but my guess was his lady showed up after I left the party. My heart sank at this thought, and I hoped I wasn’t right. The thought of him taking her home and touching her body the way I dreamed of at night made my stomach turn. I hear a knock at my door that breaks my train of thought. I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I get up and open the door.

“Listen to me and don’t say a word” It was Joe pushing past me into my apartment.

“About what Maya said…” He began

“Joe, I said it’s fine….” But he shuts me up with his lips crashing onto mine. I feel like I am in a dream as my head spins.

“I said don’t say a word, damn it.” Joe says breaking the kiss. I blush and suddenly cower in his now dominate presence.

“I am so in love with you, Y/N. I have been since the moment we met. I never admitted this to you for the fear I would lose you as a friend and I could not bear the thought of my life without you” Joe says pulling me in close, touching his forehead to mine.

“But I don’t care anymore. I am so damn in love with you, Y/N and no other girl compares to you.” He says staring deep into my eyes with those big hazel puppy dog eyes.

“Can I talk now?” I say giggling as Joe wraps his hands around my waist, causing me to shiver at his touch.

“The floor is all yours, beautiful” He says smiling down at me.

“I am so damn in love with you too, Joesph David Keery. I always have been. You are not only my best friend, but the absolute love of my life. It has been a tortuous 6 months watching you with another girl” I say, grabbing his hands to lead him to the couch.

“You have no idea how magical you have made my night. You looked like a princess tonight you know that? My princess” He says crashing his lips onto mine again. This time it’s more aggressive and needy. I know exactly what Joe wants and so do I.

“Joey, Baby?” I say breaking our kiss.

“Mhmmmhm?” He says pushing me further down on the couch, his hands becoming more and more needy and roaming every inch of my body.

“Take me to my bedroom and make up for every moment you never confessed your love to me” I say taking his hand to lead him to my corner bedroom.

“I’d love you for the rest of our lives if you asked me to, baby girl” Joe says following in behind me.

To be continued…..

#joe keery #joe keery x reader

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hauntedtrait · 9 months

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Íris is Juggling Juliana by @wrixie

Having grown up on a ranch in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, Íris never expected to be where she is now. A girl who grew up cleaning horse hooves becoming a model? Seemed impossible at the time. At 18, Íris moved to the city to attend university, with the goal of studying veterinary medicine to return to her hometown to practice in. However, during an event where she agreed to model a friend's designs, a scout was present and immediately impressed by her beauty, presence, and of course, her walk. They gave her a card for the company and told her to call to set something up. After weeks of biting nails and looking at the card, grabbing the phone only to put it back down again, Íris eventually said fuck it, and called them. Íris has spent the last 8 years modelling for various brands in and outside of Brazil, traveling to many places, a dream she always thought to be impossibly distant as a child. Now, she's moved to the US, with the intention of making a name for herself as an actress, dreaming of starring in the biggest hollywood films. But that has meant she hasn't had much time to meet new people, not having had many close and intimate relationships since she started modeling. Is this her second chance, or is she doomed to fail in love?

Private DL if chosen <3 more info under the cut

Likes:

self-care, being pampered, giving and receiving gifts, compliments. being outside in the sun, traveling, the beach, brazilian food

Dislikes:

pranks, people who make assumptions about her based on how she looks, not looking her best, authority

Fun facts:

never learned how to drive ( never needed to! she's used to being driven around lol ), can actually cook pretty well, especially her grandma's recipes, grew up with horses and cows, knows her way around a ranch, has visited every continent at least once, visits gift shops in every new country and city she visits to buy a trinket to add to her collection

#julianasbc #íris da costa #listen there isnt a world equivalent to brazil or the sao paulo area #so brazil just exists in sims man idk dfnjdf

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fakesurprise · 7 months

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The door was opened by a middle-aged man wearing jeans and a sweater and looking wary. The interior smelled cheap, and he looked to be nursing a hangover from the previous night.

“Can I help you?” he asked, looking confused. “If you want Dud, he’s across the way. The Henderson’s are in town.”

“I was just asking of anyone odd had come by today?”

“Besides you?” He let out a deep belly laugh.

“Yes.”

“Well, name’s Sandy Eply, ain’t seen you around before.”

“Sebelius Kushim, and no. I didn’t even know the town has trailers until today; the police were concerned about Dud.”

“Oh, Dud’s fine! He ain’t even human, bro. Hard not to be fine when you can turn into a proper wold, you know: give the ladies a right howling. Had a stern-looking lady over today asking about his business. She’s probably some kinda snake lady. Looks like she could bit a head clean off! And not the one you’d want bitten, eh? Eh?”

“I hadn’t considered that. Do you know what happened?”

“Oh, she went and banged on his door but not like a jilted lover. I know that noise from way back: it’s why trailers are the best. You hit the road and leave nothing behind and no regrets at all. He yelled for her to go away and sounded ticked. She told him to growl: figure she probably wanted him in some shifter home movie. Wolfie Does Dallas is a good one from my collection, but I wasn’t about to go offer up advice. Word from the wise is: don’t get between animals having a spat, even if they look like people. Shifter’s have tempers like you wouldn’t believe. Say one joke and they just lose their minds and it’s all fangs and claws and teeth and vet bills if you have a handy shotgun with the silver bullets. Can’t much afford those these days.”

“You’ve shot shifters?”

“Only when I had to, in my youth. Just the once if I’m being honest: he was angry his daughter had a credit in Howling Mud, which was about a bar with a mud pit and some were-cats and some kinda plot but mostly not that. Worked in some really good movies as a producer in Northern Hollywood. That’s what we called it up in Weed. Shot a lot of Sasquatch movies with some bear shifters there, few wolf ones. Most of them were pretty raunchy, especially the ‘Bigfoot Ate My Baby!’ where a Yeti hunts down a bigfoot. We shot some of that up in the rocky mountains: probably made the most from the sequel where their love child stalked the everglades.”

“You’re not doing movies here though?”

“Oh, no! The company went into bankruptcy ten years ago over for the usual reasons, but I made my millions and these days I get to consult on other movies, help the up and comers. It’ll run out eventually but the best part about the gravy train is the special sauce.” He winked.

I thanked him reflexively and walked away toward the other trailer

#writing #prose #nanowrimo #nano 2023 #the responsibilities of monsters

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upholsterycleanings · 1 day

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Upholstery Cleaning Hollywood offers professional curtain cleaning services. Call now to schedule an appointment and get your curtains looking their best again!

Website: https://upholsterycleaninghollywood.com/

#all carpet cleaning bal harbor #best commercial cleaning hollywood #best area rug cleaner bal harbor #best carpet cleaner #carpet clean service hollywood #best couch steam cleaner pembroke pines #couch cleaning company hollywood

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 1 year

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Kaiju Week in Review (December 11-17, 2022)

After the success of last year's Pacific Rim Ultimate Omnibus, Legendary Comics has launched a Kickstarter for a MonsterVerse Omnibus collecting Godzilla: Awakening, Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, Godzilla: Aftershock, Godzilla Dominion, and Kingdom Kong. It blasted past its funding goal on the first day. The Omnibus will eventually make it to retail, but naturally the Kickstarter rewards include some exclusives, like a slipcase and a different cover, as well as higher-tier bonuses like enamel pins and the ability to get drawn into the comics.

The biggest draw if you've already bought the five comics above is the debut of "Call to Action", written by Brian Buccellato and illustrated by Zid. Logline: "[S]et during the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, a Naval fighter pilot with a personal attachment to Godzilla is put to the test when his squadron is called upon to intercept the King of the Monsters." Well, I'm a sucker for mining drama out of incredibly minor characters, and Zid's the best artist these MonsterVerse comics have seen. If access to that story's all you care about, consider the $15 tier, which nets you a PDF of the Omnibus. K-D-M, who's proven to be a reliable source, is also saying that a number of the minor Titans (Na Kika, Amhuluk, Tiamat, and perhaps others) will receive Monarch bios as well. Those have been delightful sources of lore in the past.

Speaking of comics, @mekagojira3k published the first issue of his self-adaptation of All Your Ruins on WebToon. Read it immediately, it's gnarly as shit! There's a kaiju with crosses on its back taunting a mysterious masked figure and what I'm choosing to interpret as a nod to the Age of Giant Condor!

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I couldn't wait for the Week in Review to post about this, but it merits repeating: The Asylum is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a Destroy All Monsters-style epic called 2025 Armageddon. (Insert scare quotes around "epic" if you wish.) Most exciting to me is the return of Mega Shark, whose series inexplicably ended in 2015 just as it and the Kaiju Renaissance were finding their stride. It's also playing in five fairly random theaters across the country until the 22nd (sorry, should've gotten this post out faster). The rest of us will have to hold off until the VOD release on the 23rd.

After it placed second in the last two Movie Monster Series fan polls, Bandai has thrown up its hands and given Super Mechagodzilla a vinyl, just in time for the 30th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II next year. January 31st is the release date for that one. They also announced a third poll, this time allowing fan submissions to determine the 10 nominees instead of making the shortlist in a smoke-filled room themselves. Yes, that means Zilla, Bagan, and the Giant Condor are theoretically on the table (but no Godzilla incarnations allowed). All's you need is a Godzilla Store account to nominate a kaiju and eventually vote.

Finally, for you Dagahra fans out there, his first figure in ages is coming soon from the Kaiju Out of the Laws line. Shame those are so expensive.

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Here's the teaser for the Kaiju No. 8 anime—and yes, it's going to be part of the Toho kaiju canon. I got caught up with the manga earlier this year and found it pretty enjoyable. An older protagonist is unusual for this type of story, and I like how he's constantly drawing on his experience cleaning up kajiu corpses after taking on the more glamorous work of fighting them. You also gotta admire the boldness of calling a metamorphosing character Kafka.

SciFi Japan has a first look at a film due next year called Kaiju: Island of Fire. The production company is based in Japan, but there's a lot of Hollywood talent in this one, including writer/director Andrew L. Phillips, who has a background in stunt acting. Inspired by 3Y Films, they've also brought back some veteran kaiju actors: Kent Gilbert (the swishy ship commander in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah), Chuck Wilson (the Futurian Wilson in same), Inge Murata (every Japanese kaiju movie that's needed a German since Monster X Strikes Back), and Tomoko Ai (Katsura Mafune in Terror of Mechagodzilla). No story details yet, although you can probably guess the setting. I like the suit design of what is presumably the anti-kaiju team too, at least from the back.

#godzilla #king kong #monsterverse omnibus #call to action #all your ruins #2025 armageddon #mechagodzilla #bandai #kaiju no. 8 #kaiju island of fire #kaiju #comics #toys #the asylum

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9w1ft · 1 year

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What is up with people calling Karlie "alliterate"?

Idk what that word means google wasn't quite clear. Like why are they tearing her down? This post I just saw said "who pretends to code" If a person has a whole company/organization dedicated to coding I'm more than sure she isn't pretending to know about coding. Like dude are you jealous because she has a skill you don't? Yk to be honest I kind of hate how karlie gets caught in the middle of all this drama while Taylor is out there living her best life. Like Taylor managed to keep her public persona squeaky clean while Karlie is being hated on left and right by swifties. And swifties can be really toxic

alliteration is when you have a lot of words starting with the same letter in a sentence. it happens in english language marketing a lot but also in poetry. you can read about it here! so enty refers to her as the aliterate model because her name is Karlie Kloss.

separate from this, the ‘who can’t code’ part, i think with the way celebrity gossip is traditionally formulated, i think enty and others poke fun at celebrities in the way they refer to them, almost playfully. like i think it’s just a hollywood way of being catty, and he pokes fun at plenty of celebrities.

unfortunately for karlie, i think that people who are predisposed to hating karlie then take this language from enty or others literally, feed into it, and get all nasty when talking about her as if it makes them sound more in the know to be an ass 🙃 i always get secondhand embarrassment with this stuff.

#in this day and age sites like his have such a wider audience and i always struggle with whether or not he has taken the best measures #to accommodate for what happens with mass misunderstandings #because i think at its core hollywood gossip was mostly just a bunch of publicists and industry members having fun with each other..#but it was mostly based on a shared understanding of how hollywood works. and that’s why the way of writing these things would be amusing #but with the way misinformation gets weaponized these days and can lead to harm.. i am sometimes made to wonder if its worth the catty jokes

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cptnhook · 29 days

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INTRODUCTION: AYDEN HOOK 🪝

name: ayden hook

occupation: owner of "pandemonium" a burlesque club

birthday: july 14th, 1996 (28 years old)

pronouns: he/him

residency: carriage falls

hometown: california

faceclaim: paul mescal

BIOGRAPHY

triggers: abortion mention, mention of drugs and alcohol, drug-related death, mention of adult films.

Ayden was born an only child to James and Hannah. His father was an esteemed film producer who introduced Ayden to the film industry and made his love of cinema grow. His mother was an actress whose relationship with James wasn't meant to go beyond a short, spontaneous sexual relationship. Hannah's original decision was to have an abortion the night she found out she was pregnant, but James offered her a lifechanging sum of money to go through with the pregnancy and childbirth. Their relationship became nothing more than a transaction from that point on.

After Hannah gave birth, she took off. There was always a part of James that hoped she would change her mind and stay. James did his best not to take the rejection out on Ayden, he was always seen as a blessing. However, human emotions are difficult to predict and navigate at times, and James wound up burying himself in work. He tried to make Ayden a part of it. He brought him around the world, to every movie set and introduced him to all the stars. But more times than not, he would be left alone in hotel rooms, seated in front of a television, watching make-believe families, wondering why he didn't have siblings, a mother, or a real home himself.

As a teenager, his father thought he could help utilize their time together and Ayden began his acting career, starring in a few commercials and then appearing in TV shows and movies. After three years of working, he realized he would never become a star. He was always in the background and never had enough lines. The only upside was the friends he was making and the parties they would drag him to. By eighteen, acting was the farthest thing from his mind. The only thing he cared about were the Hollywood parties. He was on every drug, in every low-level gossip column, consequently dragging his father's name through the mud. Unsure of what to do, James cut his son off and forced him to attend a live-in rehab program. It was either that or he loses his trust fund.

His father's plan was executed perfectly because two years later, Ayden was out and clean. He wanted to get back into the movie business but decided he didn't want to be an actor himself. So at twenty one, he used his trust fund to kickstart his own movie production company. Only he wasn't producing normal movies, they were adult films. The business took off and Ayden became one of the largest producers of adult-rated movies in less than a year. However, with its success and the kind of business it was, the partying and the debauchery restarted. Ayden relapsed and convinced one of his actresses to join him. He didn't know, but the drug he offered her was laced and she died after snorting it. His father was so irate, he considered cutting ties with his son completely. But instead, he helped cover up the incident with his money and then exiled his son to Wilmington. It's where Ayden was conceived during one of James and Hannah's many vacations together. This was his final attempt to help his son clean up his life.

Ayden has been in Wilmington for a couple of years now and just recently started up another business, but this time moving away from film. However, he still has an eye for sex appeal and glamor. He's in love with the entertainment business and channeled that love into opening a burlesque club. His father would be proud. Everything is on the up-and-up — or is it?

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

friends: ayden could use friends of any kind! best friends, acquaintances, coworkers, exes turned friends, etc.

employees: if anyone wants to work at his burlesque club! that would be dope.

father: if anyone wants to play his father who's a bigtime movie producer, i wouldn't be opposed lol

enemies: i love banter, so if anyone wants to go back and forth with ayden, exchanging tit-for-tat, that would be fun

good influence: someone who's trying to help him steer clear of his former lifestyle and make sure he succeeds

bad influence: someone who's maybe a party goer who doesn't mind pushing ayden's boundaries when it comes to his sobriety

#wnc.intro #pinned

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jcs-study · 1 year

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Thanks to people gifting me a ton of photos, click the link above to access a pictorial spread of the original Los Angeles cast of Jesus Christ Superstar in the summer of 1972, at the (sadly late) Universal Amphitheater on the Universal Studios backlot in California. To be clear: this is a little album of every picture we've ever been able to scrounge up from the two weeks that Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson were in the L.A. cast before they ran off to Israel to make a certain film.

If nothing else, it just goes to show that when you let Tom O'Horgan cook, to use current terminology, he comes up with something less gonzo and more down-to-earth than an avant-garde treatise on futuristic insects play-acting a version of an earlier primitive civilization's myth. (Yeah, that's what the OBC's wild designs were about. I'll explain more someday.)

For more background and context to the pics, hit the jump!

Background on the Location

Let's start with the venue: we find ourselves at a 3,800-ish-seat open-air Amphitheater on the Universal Studios backlot, built as a daytime arena where Studio Tour patrons could watch a western-themed stunt show and shootout. As the story goes, someone, likely a young person who'd been to concerts in unusual places, wondered aloud whether they could use it as an event space at night. As a test, they ran some old movies (Marx Brothers and so forth), passed out free popcorn and peanuts, and discovered that even without the tour, people would come, park their carcasses, and watch a show. Prime opportunity to make money -- now they just needed an event that would pull crowds.

Picking JCS was sort of an in-house deal. The parent company of Universal was MCA, which then owned a stake in the show along with the Robert Stigwood Organisation. A fully staged version had yet to play the Coast, though successful concert tours had cleaned up at the Hollywood Bowl and across the country. So they booked a month-long run and hoped for the best. Thanks to casting hi-jinks in the Broadway production (again, fodder for another post), Ted Neeley was set to play the leading role of Jesus, and Carl Anderson would co-star as Judas.

Background on the Staging and Design

My guess: O'Horgan knew by now that ALW and TR had toed the party line, but were generally not interested in what he did back in the Big Apple, so a square-one rethink was the order of the day. Moreover, the glitterati of Hollywood was likely to fill these seats at some point. He couldn't do some avant-garde-a-clue (as George Harrison would put it) theater crap in Studio City. So he went with something simpler, more... basic -- the Bible writ large for a comic book generation and an arena audience. (Perhaps this was why Tom felt the focus had to be more on Jesus, moving intermission to follow "Gethsemane" instead of "Blood Money," a choice that, to his credit, was frequently echoed thereafter in UK productions.)

The scenery was arena-level simple: the set consisted of three stone outcroppings backed by an 80-foot-tall (!) cross draped in cloth. On closer examination, the two small stone groups near the sides of the stage were gigantic hands, palm up, with fingers reaching for the sky, and the large stone structure in the middle was Jesus' face. (Per audience reports, when Judas died, he stood in stone-Jesus' mouth, which flamed bright red, and descended into hell screaming, "You have murdered me!")

Herod was wheeled onto the stage in a contraption made out of nude alabaster mannequins, whose arms raised on cue to allow the white-suited Herod his entrance (perhaps the most '70s thing ever). Pilate, almost a Goth King straight out of Conan the Barbarian or Flash Gordon, reigned from a throne of human skulls that was frantically whipped around the stage while he laughed maniacally. For the crucifixion, Jesus and his disciples climbed the uncloaked cross, and as Jesus got into position, the disciples made a halo out of their open hands surrounding his head that glowed in the spotlights. As they played "John 19:41," the cross slowly moved back from the stage until it disappeared into the darkness by the end of the song.

There was still a lot of "go big or go home" about it, in true Tom fashion. As the artist's rendering of the crucifixion on the Playbill's title page or in the mail-order ticket ad (seriously, see link) attests, when Norman Jewison quoted classic art, it was a simple Da Vinci. Tom O'Horgan, on the other hand, went for a straight-up, balls-to-the-wall, extravagant take on Gustave Doré. (Compare that rendering to "Souls of Warriors of the Faith Form a Cross.")

All things considered, it was sort of a forerunner of "pandering JCS" like the A.D. and Farewell Tours, but it had balls compared to what ALW considers an arena tour-worthy production.

Reception

Maybe because it was set up to be a crowd-pleaser instead of playing with weirdness for a supposedly sophisticated audience on someone else's dime, the L.A. production was a massive hit with both critics and audiences compared to Broadway. During the day, it was the Wild West show; at night, it was JCS, frequently filling the venue to 98% capacity. It kept extending and ultimately ran twelve weeks rather than four (of which Ted and Carl, as previously mentioned, played two before shipping off to the Holy Land) until cold weather forced its closure that September.

(Recalled Ted in an interview circa 1993, when the A.D. Tour returned to the now-enclosed Amphitheater, "We used to freeze our buns off with those Santa Anas whipping around. Especially me when I was in that loincloth, hanging up on that huge cross." Not that the image didn't have a huge effect. To quote Amphitheater treasurer Maggie Magennis, who "saw it at least four or five times a week" when it opened, "The most exciting part was at the end. Teddy was up on the cross. We were open air then, and you could see the lights of the Valley. There was something really awesome about the fact that he represented something so spiritual, and yet the temporal aspect of the lights twinkling down below was there.")

My Two Cents

If I had an unlimited budget, I'd give it some twists of the '92 Oz tour and bring this exact thing back. That's what tours arenas and sells tickets, not "Occupy Jerusalem." Who knows? Maybe someday someone will be crazy enough to give me that kind of free rein...

#jesus christ super star #jesus christ superstar #jcs #jcss #jesus christ super-star #history #andrew lloyd webber #tim rice #ted neeley #carl anderson #tom o'horgan #universal studios

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