“ HVBRIS ”

hazel   eyes   once   more   traveled   up   and   down   the   woman   standing   before   her   ,   carefully   inspecting   every   detail   of   her   lavish   attire   down   to   the   smallest   imperfections   .   (   it   was   a   habit   amelia   had   cultivated   from   an   early   age   )   .   after   all   ,   her   father   had   always   taught   her   to   look   for   inconsistencies   .   in   her   experience   ,   only   the   right   people   -   those   with   sufficient   wealth   ,   influence   ,   and   power   ,   (   were   worth   her   attention   )   .   and   it   appeared   that   salome   ,   at   the   very   least   ,   managed   to   satisfy   a   few   of   amelia's   prestigious   standards   .

❝   .   .   .   mhm   ,   who   am   i   to   turn   down   such   a   wonderful   idea   ?   ❞   at   last   ,   a   small   smirk   spread   across   amelia's   features   before   she   boldly   took   hold   of   salome's   hand   ,   (   offering   a   gentle   kiss   to   the   back   of   it   )   .   the   faint   trace   of   red   lipstick   remained   behind   ,   marking   the   exact   place   where   her   lips   had   lingered   .   ❝   .   .   .   amelia   rosalie   bach   ,   the   pleasure   ,   naturally   ,   is   yours   .   ❞

𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 & 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐌𝐄 @cbitus

Salome could feel the woman's eyes on her, though she seemed pleased by the scrutiny. She knew that there was nothing about her that was any less than perfect. Couture clothes, the finest jewlery, elegant perfume... Salome cultivated her appearance with almost pathological care. It was both her armor and her weapon, and she wielded it with the utmost confidence.

She watched as the woman (Amelia Rosalie Bach) took her hand and pressed a kiss on the back of it, leaving behind just enough of a trace of lipstick to mark her territory. Salome smiled.

@hvbris // & THE BAUDELAIRES

It was hardly an introduction. But Leah was quite used to Count Olaf's minimal care when it came to her, and clearly these three were unfortunate enough to experience the same already.

Even so, she'd stood politely while they were ushered in. They were dressed pretty well, better than she ever had. Certainly better than she was now, in a worn old dress that she'd had to sew repeatedly. She was working on a new one, using some old curtains she'd found dumped in the corner of the room, but her chores kept her very busy.

Then the older girl introduced them. They were polite too!

"Nice to meet you! I'm Leah." She replied, offering a bright smile in return. Even brighter when she saw Sunny, stepping forward to shake her little hand. "Oh my gosh, your sister is cuter than a bugs ear!"

It was dawning on her now that they were all alone together just how small the room really was.

𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐇 & 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒 @omniishambles

"Nice to meet you, Leah," replied Violet, offering her a sad smile. Their circumstances were rather grim. Sunny, on the other hand, was delighted by the hand shake, and by the unusual compliment. "Scrab!" she said, which meant 'I didn't know bugs had ears.' With a chuckle, Violet promptly translated for her baby sister.

Klaus looked at the room. "It's not your fault," he said a little moodily. It was Count Olaf's fault, of course. In just the few minutes they had spent in his company, he had made a very terrible first impressions. And while first impressions could often be wrong, Klaus had a feeling this one was right.

He listened and watched Sunny as she made her comment, mouthing 'skam' to himself before Violet translated, white it was incredibly difficult to tell in the moment, he thought there was something of a pattern he was starting to see from listening to Sunny and then Violet translating for her. He set some cog off spinning in the back of his mind on making sense of her language enough to at least greet her in it. How 'a' played an important role or how the inflection conveyed meaning too.

"I know you have been through a great deal because of him, where needs be, we can prepare for his coming together." He at least promised, he and Violet had already discussed sharing invention ideas to sort that and he didn't doubt Klaus would be able to offer something in the way of being able to spot Olaf from some cold reading book or spy techniques he had likely read... he hoped his own disguise as the bumbling academic man was robust!

𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"We can tell you if it's him," assured Violet. "We always recognize him." None of the Baudelaires found Count Olaf's disguise to be particularly convincing. Really, he didn't put that much effort in them! And besides, his mean, glimmering eyes and cruel voice always seemed to betray him. Still, all the adults in the Baudelaires' lives always seemed to be tricked by the clumsy costumes and ridiculous accents.

But Professor Moriarty promised he would take their word for it, and all the three siblings could do was believe him (and hope he was telling the truth). "Thank you," she said, though she sounded a little guarded -she was waiting to see if their new guardian would really do as he had said.

He sounded genuine so far, and even offered to plan for Count Olaf's possible arrival. But so had Uncle Monty, and that hadn't worked out so well in the end. It wasn't that the Baudelaires wanted to be pessimistic, but it was hard to feel like an optimist after everything they had gone through.

Their mood had at least significantly improved upon seeing Cambridge. It was a beautiful city, and the Baudelaires could picture themselves being happy there. As long as Count Olaf didn't ruin everything, of course.

While his mind reeled with the horrible new press at his shoulder and what it meant, he felt suddenly as if he was in the area still and about to turn a corner into a trap. Caesar spoke to him and turned his gaze to something behind them, James had not registered the words as he tried to hold it together and looked too, only to come face to face with the worst possible scene they could have shown him.

His head snapped back to the audience, away from the screen as he felt everything else turn rigid still. He could hear Cassandra's dying breath coming through the speakers all around them and James found himself quietly weeping while the audience gawked on. This was monstrous, all of it. Every face he dared to land on seemed distorted, inhuman and wrong. Despite being in a room full of people and with a hand on his shoulder still, James never felt more alone than in that moment.

𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 & 𝐂𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐀𝐑 @multipleoccupancy

Caesar's face was grave and solemn. There was something voyeuristic and ghastly about this, about Cassandra's death on display, for the crowd to see. And cry, and sob, and empathise with poor Victor James. Except no one really empathised, not even Caesar, with his hand gently squeezing James' shoulder. He played the part perfectly, and sure, he wasn't heartless. But he didn't care enough to spare the young man's feelings.

He shook his head, excusing James' reaction in this almost fatherly motion. "You're upset, I understand," he soothed, kind and gentle, "this was a very hard moment. Very emotional." But this was the Game, and James had to know the rules, didn't he? He had no privacy in the arena, everything he did, everything he said, it was all recorded for Panem to see.

He laughed happily at her suggestion to cut up his tongues into tiny pieces. There was a pride to his little glance towards her too for the way her mind worked. She asked for his ideas on what to do with him and Lucifer's proud smile turned malevolent.

"I did think I should stuff his arms into his mouth and force them down his own throat so that he would choke," but that all seemed very physical in truth and while he would happily do that to humans, demons were different and Lucifer wielded particular power over them.

"But now I think I will play with his atoms instead," he grinned gleefully to himself and looked to his drink, "I might rearrange them wrong so that he's in constant pain, I am going to twist his tongues together and make it so the only words he can speak for the next century are just submissive agreement to everything any demon asks of him." Subserviently of course and with at least some limitations when bordering on treasonous asks, of which he would be sure to make Azazel come to him and reveal all he'd heard and learned.

𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐑 & 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐌𝐄 @multipleoccupancy

"He's too impatient," she tsked, twirling a black curl around her finger. "An embarrassment, really." It would have been different if Azazel had been succesful. But not only had he failed pathetically, he had spoken unacceptable things. The Chief Exorcist had made a fool out of the demon, and Salome cared very little for fools -especially fools who disrespected her father.

She chuckled, delighted, when he described what he had considered doing to Azazel as punishment. Salome was no stranger to torture herself, and she enjoyed inflincting pain. "Playing with his atoms sounds more fun," she agreed, though she seemed to particularly enjoy his next suggestion. "Oh, that is an excellent idea, father. He should be made to grovel and obey."

both   arms   crossed   over   amelia's   chest   ,   an   amused   smile   now   playing   upon   her   lips   .   (   the   woman   was   quick witted   ,   a   quality   most   people   sorely   lacked   )   .   then   again   ,   most   individuals   failed   to   survive   their   first   encounter   with   amelia's   patience   intact   .   she   supposed   the   woman   should   consider   herself   fortunate   .   (   amelia   happened   to   be   in   a   rather   solemn   mood   today   )   .   ❝   .   .   .   i   happen   to   look   in   a   mirror   quite   frequently   .   ❞

after   all   ,   who   did   not   enjoy   a   touch   of   vanity   in   the   morning   ?   amelia   certainly   did   .   (   in   fact   ,   she   considered   it   one   of   her   better   qualities   )   .   ❝   .   .   .   the   same   cannot   be   said   for   you   ,   of   course   .   that   hairstyle   is   entirely   out   of   your   league   ,   darling   ,   and   those   magnificent   heels   deserve   a   far   more   capable   owner   .   ❞   hazel   eyes   drifted   downward   then   ,   an   almost   (   devilish   gleam   )   revealing   the   infatuation   hidden   behind   them   .   ❝   .   .   .   like   me   .   ❞

𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 & 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐌𝐄 @cbitus

Salome let out a sharp but delighted burst of laughter. The woman had spunk, she could give her that. And in a world where most people lacked substance, she could appreciate a little bit of bite. "You could not afford my shoes, honey. Not even in your wildest dreams." The comment was rude, yet spoken with levity. The Blake heiress was, it seemed, having a good time.

She certainly was passionate in her belief of freedom though and Romulus shook his head, "Have you spoken to many horses to know they would be happier running through the unknown from predators, storms and sickness besides having readily provided food, medicine and protection among a family that treasures them?" Horses were essential in Rome and countless other places he was quite sure. "It's a symbiosis of nature," A Greek term he had picked up and as he did, learned from properly. "I know we speak of people in this discussion too but you are just so taking advantage of that provision of food, shelter and protection right at this moment and do you feel trapped?"

𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐔𝐒 & 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐘 @senatus-romanus

"At least, you are honest," she conceded, before, of course, arguing again. "The opportunities you speak of don't truly extend to the people you conquer." Her eyes narrowed a little bit. "You feel very entitled to the resources of other. They don't owe them to you, and the choice you offer them ain't fair. Trade or war? What if they want neither? You take all the same." Still, Lucy Gray had to admit that the people of Rome were well taken care of. "You speak of the Romans as if they were your family. But my family is small, and I do not need to go hurtin' anybody to feed 'em. It's not a fair comparison."

"But I will admit that you do seem to care for your people more than most military men I've seen before." Another praise. Lucy Gray had strong opinions, and she was passionate. She saw the ugliness and the good, and lied about neither.

She laughed. "Have you? Can you speak horse? All we can do is assume. But I assume that they want freedom, and you assume they want servitude. Whose asumption serves their own interests? Only yours." He pointed out that she was taking advantage of the food and shelter of Rome without feeling trapped, and Lucy Gray laughed againg. "Because I am not trapped. I may come and go as I please, as I have always done."