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veltana · 8 months

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Highest bidder - Steve Rogers x virgin!reader

✦ Pairing: Steve Rogers/Reader ✦ Word count: ~5k ✦ Raiting: Explicit ✦ Warnings: AU, kind of soft!dark Steve, reader is in her mid-twenties, one shot, pwp, insecurity, loss of virginity, piv sex, condoms, cunnilingus, smallest hint of a daddy kink, fluff and smut, dirty talk, friends to lovers, small hint of possessive/protective!Steve. Let me know if I missed anything! ✦ Summary: Tired of being a virgin and out of money you travel to Las Vegas to auction it off. Little do you know your friend Steve Rogers won't let anyone else have you. ✦ Note: I think this is among the first times that I cross-post a whole fic to tumblr. This fic is also on AO3. I'll see what the response is like here and maybe I'll continue to do it in the future.

Masterlist | AO3

"So what are you up to this weekend?" Steve asks as you take the first sip of your beer. For a second you debate not telling him and Bucky, sitting across from you in the booth. "Me and Wanda are going to Vegas." "What? Without me?" Bucky’s scandalized voice makes you laugh. "You don't like traveling, or Vegas for that matter," Steve points out. And that is true, you much prefer to stay in your apartment, reading your books and drinking tea. "Also, didn't you say you could hardly afford to go out with us tonight?" Bucky questions. "Well," you begin, scratching at the beer label, not wanting to look at them. "The trip is paid for." The stunned silence from across the table doesn't bode well, you know you're in for an interrogation now. "Do you need help? Are you in trouble?" Steve's concerned voice makes you look up. He's always so sweet and caring to you, looking out for you all the time.

"No, I'm fine. I'm doing it willingly," you answer. "What are you doing willingly?" There is no hiding the curiosity in Bucky’s voice. Once again you're not sure you're going to tell them, but it also doesn't make sense to keep it a secret. It's not a big deal, that's the whole point. "I'm auctioning off my virginity," you confess and are rewarded with both of them looking at you like you've grown a second head. Before they can say anything you continue. "I'm tired of it hanging over me, I just want it gone. And I'm also tired of scraping by. What you two make in an hour, I make in a month and I just want to be a step ahead instead of a step behind for once."

Bucky's smirk is the last thing you expect. "How much are you starting at, I'll double it." "Jerk." You throw some of your nuts his way. He laughs in response. "Honestly, tell me. What does a virginity go for these days?" "I'm starting out at three thousand. It would be more if I didn’t put in a clause about condoms and I’m a little bit older than most others.” “Well, my offer still stands,” Bucky concludes. “I bet it does, perv.” “And you don’t think the people buying you are pervs?” Steve’s been quiet up until now and his accusatory tone makes you defensive. “I’m not fucking stupid Steve, of course I know they are. They are also filthy rich. If I get bought by some disgusting old man I’ll smile and think about how fucking good it will feel not being stressed about money.” He still doesn’t look pleased and you didn’t come here to get judged. Finishing your beer you get up and grab your jacket. “I’ll see you around,” you say. Before walking out.

Vegas is overwhelming and loud. Instantly you shrink down, pulling your shoulders up. You would be lost if it wasn’t for Wanda. She’s in her element, flagging down cabs and weaving through the streets while you do your best to keep up. Finally, you arrive at your room. It’s small but not cramped and the two beds are clean. “First, shower, and then we’ll get started on your hair and makeup,” Wanda instructs. “You’re the best, you know that Wanda?” you smile at her. “What are best friends for if not fixing you up for some old guy to buy your V-card,” she winks.

Maybe Wanda is a witch, you think as you look at yourself in the tall mirror backstage. Somehow she took your average look and styled it into something you would never in a hundred years be able to recreate. Instead of the innocent style many seem to prefer, she made sure you looked sexy. If this had been a regular night of going out, you’d feel uncomfortable that someone you knew would see you, but the two glasses of champagne and the knowledge that no one except you and Wanda would ever see this made your confidence high. The night moves quickly, both women and men going up on the well-lit stage to present themselves and then watching as the bids start coming in. The people bidding are not in the room, but in different hotels scattered across the city, typing in numbers. Some people do elaborate shows when they step up in front of the cameras. One guy deep-throats a large banana and at first, you giggle but then you see the digits on the screen. His bids are the highest all evening so far. You decide quickly that you will just go up, smile, and wave and wait. You aren’t expecting much, but your pride hopes at least one or two people will find you attractive enough to at least pay the starting bid.

Soon it’s your turn. With a pounding heart, you step up on the stage, your body warms not only from the light but from the nervousness coursing through your body. You concentrate on your breathing so you won’t pass out and when you smile you hope it looks genuine. At first, the monitors are quiet and your heart drops. Are you not good enough for even some old lonely pervert? Then it dings with an incoming bid. It’s just above the starting sum, but you’re instantly relieved and can’t help the actually genuine smile that cracks your face. A second later another bid comes in. You don’t know how many people are placing the bids, you just see the number rise on the monitor, to your utter delight. Quickly it’s up to four thousand and the tempo slows, so maybe some people dropped out. But a few steady bids keep coming in, until it’s starting to near five thousand and it stops long enough for an automated voice ring out through the room. “Going once. Going twice.” Before it can finish the monitor chimes again, your mouth dropping open when you see the sum. Ten thousand dollars. It must be a mistake. The counting starts again, but you hardly hear it over the pure shock you’re experiencing.

Then you’re shooed away, given a room number and a key, before being put into a waiting car to take you to the hotel. When it stops outside of the Palms Casino you think you must be dreaming. It gets even worse when you realize you’re heading to the top floor. Whoever is waiting behind the door won’t matter, because you’ll gladly do anything they ask you.

The penthouse is stunning and it’s hard to take everything in. At the floor-to-ceiling windows, a figure is outlined. They’re backlit against the neon lights of Vegas and it’s hard to make out any details except the broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs. That feels promising. They don’t turn around as you close the door but you don’t hesitate to step into the room and begin to walk up to them. Stopping a a few steps behind you say “Hi. I am flattered by your very generous-” But you don’t get further because the person turns around and your words get stuck in your throat. “Steve?!” You quickly step back to get away. This must be some cruel joke he and Bucky have come up with. Before you can run out of the room he grabs your wrist. The usually soft eyes are hard and his smiling mouth is a line of displeasure. “Let go of me,” you demand. “No can do, I paid for you,” his hard voice makes you still. “This isn’t funny, Steve.” “No, it’s not. Now you’re going to go into the bedroom and take off those heels, then kneel on the bed and wait for me,” his instructions make it very clear that if you argue, you won’t like what comes next, so instead you bow your head and say “Yes, Steve.”

You’ve never seen a king-size bed before and it’s much larger than you could’ve imagined. The sheets are soft against your knees as you sit on your feet, waiting. There are too many emotions and questions running wild in your body, but the most prominent one is Why had he bid on you? There is no denying Steve is good looking and when Wanda had first introduced you, sure you’d had a crush on him. But you never thought about pursuing it. His life was far from yours, with luxury cars and expensive dinners, while you went out to eat once a year on your birthday. Both he and Bucky had offered you money on several occasions but you’d never taken it, because you’d never be able to pay it back and money being owed between friends always caused trouble.

You hear the steps nearing the room and you meet his eyes as he steps through the open door. He has left his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, making him more desirable and more dangerous at the same time. Taking a stand a the foot of the bed he stares you down but you don’t cower. Even though you want to ask what the fuck this is, the tension in the air tells you not to talk back right now, just show him that you’re not afraid. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that Steve is here because he is someone you trust would never hurt you, or do anything against your will.

“Here is how this is going to go, sweetheart. I’ll do right by you and take this nice and slow like you deserve. Then when it’s over we’re sitting down to a nice dinner, and afterward I’m bending you over the dining room table and taking out all my fucking frustration on that cunt of yours until you can’t walk straight.” His words send lightning bolts of desire through you and you nod in understanding. “Use your words,” he demands. “Yes, Steve,” you agree. Then he crooks his fingers, indicating he wants you to come to him. You crawl the short way to the edge and sit back again. His fingers grip your chin carefully. “I’m going to kiss you.” “Okay.”

The second he presses his lips to yours it's like being on cloud nine. It's soft but not hesitant and you instinctively grab a hold of his shirt. Steve begins slowly, as if not to scare you but the more you meet his advances the more he takes. Then he coaxes your lips to part, slipping in his tongue and finding yours to play with. Kissing other people has been nice before, but kissing Steve is exceptional. When his hands land at your waist and pull you into him, you can't keep the moan in. His touch hardens and it makes you throb to be this close to him.

You’re a little out of it when he pulls away and you must look it too because he chuckles. "You like that?" A dopey smile splits your lips and you nod. But then his hands travel to the front of your dress, hooking his fingertips into the fabric and you can’t help stiffen. "Have you ever had your tits played with?" he asks. With a groan, you shake your head. "If you think kissing was great just wait until I get my mouth on the rest of you." He sounds so confident, but you’re not and either it’s blatantly obvious that you’re insecure or he knows you too well.

"How are you feeling?" You think about lying for a second but then decide against it. "I don’t understand why.” "Why what?" "I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but, why me Steve?" You find the courage to look up at him. Now he has that soft smile that you absolutely adore on his stupidly handsome face. His voice is just as soft when he speaks.

"Not only are you absolutely stunning, and I’m not talking about the way you’re dolled up right now. I love seeing you in your big sweaters while you go around the bookstore and help people with recommendations. I also admire you, because you follow your heart. Doing what makes you happy is important to you and I wish I were more like that. Even if you look out for yourself, that never stops you from caring about others. You cry when you see clips of rescue animals. And you're so so obvious that I've been in love with you since Wanda introduced you." "What?" you choke, your whole reality shifting. "Sweet, dumb little pet.” Steve’s hands cup your face and light squeezes your cheeks together for a second. “I've wanted you since you stammered out your name. Something so pure and precious deserves the world." "I didn’t know,” you whisper. "Of course you didn’t. When I got home that night, I jerked myself off to the thought of you and I swear I never come so hard in my life."

"Steve!" Heat rushes into your cheeks at his words. "I’ve had time to think about this a lot. I'm going to get you so wet and needy you will beg for my cock. I'm gonna make sure you're at the brink of insanity, deliriously begging for me to fuck you, even though you don't know what it feels like." "Oh god!" you moan, desire moving through your body. "Let me taste you, kitten. Let me make you scream,” his seductive voice rumbles.

Nodding you watch as his fingers pull the dress down, baring your breasts to his eyes. Instantly he cups them, thumbs brushing your nipples, making you keen. "Prettiest fucking tits I've ever seen," he whispers before leaning down and licking a nipple. The sensation makes you grab hold of his head to steady yourself. His tongue flicks it several times before sucking it into his mouth and you arch into him, clutching him, moaning out his name. Sure, you've been aroused in your life before, but the ache Steve creates is starting to feel painful. "Steve!" you plead when he switches to the other side, giving your other nipple the same treatment. He hums against your skin before pulling off you with a plop and immediately kisses you again. Nothing is really different from before but just knowing that Steve's tongue was just somewhere else on your body and now it's in your mouth makes you heat up even more.

It feels good when he takes charge, it keeps your thoughts from running in all the wrong directions. He gets you to lie down, crawling onto the bed after you, kissing every inch of exposed skin he can get to while you shudder under him. "How are you feeling?" he asks with a shit-eating grin, clearly knowing he's responsible for your state. "Goodgoodgood!" Is all you can get out while pawing at his clothed chest. "Want me to take it off?" Nodding vigorously you try to undo the buttons, but fail. He laughs and sits back between your spread legs, untucking the shirt and pulling it over his head. The bulge in his pants is very visible and you swallow hard at the sight of it, both scared and excited. He notices you looking. "We'll get to that later," he promises with another kiss. "First I'm going to get you wet and ready for me."

A hand hikes up your skirt and a finger follow the edge of your panties, down toward the juncture of your leg. It's like hot coal against your skin, burning you most sweetly. Even if you’re already soaked, his touch is sending pulse after pulse into your cunt and you're scared you're about to stain the sheets if he continues. A fingertip caresses over your core, touch so light it's almost not there but your sensitive skin feels it. Trembling you arch up, gripping the sheets. "Is that good?" Not knowing if you can speak you just nod and he continues. Down your thighs and back up, over and over again against your covered cunt, fingers getting firmer and firmer the more sounds you make.

A thrill you've never felt before has taken up place in your body, threatening to send your mind spiraling. To distract yourself you explore the plains of Steve's body that you can reach, stroking his arms and shoulders, but to feel him makes it even worse. You can’t wait to have him pressed against you.

Sitting back again he says, "I'm going to take these off now." He hooks his fingers at the top of your panties and starts to pull. "Lift your ass up." He instructs. Now your tits and your cunt are exposed for him. Steve is staring, but when you try to close your legs from embarrassment he quickly puts his hands on your thighs to spread them apart even more. "Don't you dare take that pretty pussy away from me," he all but growls and it sends another wave of pleasure into you. The air feels cold against your wet, warm skin. Then his gaze flicks up to you and with another smile, he leans down bending you almost in half, placing a kiss on your lips. "Last kiss before I devore you," he whispers and slides down your body. When his words sink in, you go rigid.

"No, you don't have to, we can just‐" you begin but the look he gives silences you. "Do you know how long I have waited for this?" He nips the inside of your thigh. "No," you whimper. "Been dreaming about how you would feel, and taste." He mouths at your skin. "The nights I can’t sleep I lie there and think of you soaking my beard when you come for me," he groans and moves down a little more until his face is right in front of your pussy. "Now I'm having my fill and when I'm done you'll be primed for my cock, I promise."

Not giving you any time to answer he dives in. His tongue feels nothing like your own fingers, or the vibrator you have in your drawer. It's sending you to heaven with every stroke. Steve takes notes of what makes you moan the loudest and in no time the unmistakable warmth of an orgasm begins to build. You do your best to keep still, but it's hard when it feels so good and Steve follows your every movement until your thighs are trembling heavily, breath coming out in irregular gasps, your fingers threatening to tear the sheets apart.

It climbs quicker than you expect and when the orgasm rips through you it’s with a cry, that leaves you almost boneless afterward. Looking down, panting, you notice you've basically crushed Steve's head between your thighs. With a "Sorry!" You spread them apart and he comes up for air, his beard glistening with you. "How was that?" "Incredible," you sigh. The ache that threatened to consume you has died down to a more manageable throb. "Great." He positions himself again and you stare with wide eyes. An amused smirk plays on his lips. "Did you think that was it?" You try to stutter out a response but he raises his hand and wiggles his fingers playfully. "Now you get these too."

After a second you relax into the pillows, trusting Steve with your body. He's gentle when he begins, now that your cunt is a million times more sensitive, but soon you're trembling again, and then the tip of his finger is at your opening. It slides in without resistance and the feeling changes. More nerves send sparks through you from new places. It's too much for your poor brain to decipher and you don’t fight it, just let it take you, like you’re floating down a stream. "Good girl, relaxing for me so well." Through bleary eyes you see him looking up at you. "Ready for another one?" You're not sure what that means but you nod anyway and are rewarded with a smile. He never looks away from you as you feel another finger press in together with the first. A high-pitched sound leaves you as your chest heaves. It's too much but not enough. You’re so full but in the best way possible. Then he moves them and you can hear just how wet he's made you.

His tongue comes back to play with your clit and soon you're at the edge of another orgasm. "Yes yes yes!" You chant over and over again. Everything he does feels so good. The sensation of clamping down on his fingers as you come is new and makes the orgasm much stronger this time, leaving you mildly disoriented for a second. "God, you look so beautiful when you come." Steve lays his head against your leg, still moving his hand and sending small aftershocks into your body. "You know what?" "What Stevie?" you ask, your voice a little hoarse as you reach down and place your hand in his soft hair, carding your fingers through it, just to feel him. "I don't think you noticed, but there are three fingers inside you now." You make a questioning sound. "Added another right after you came. No problem at all. Just need you to come one more time, then I'll know you're ready." He does something with his fingers inside you, making you whimper from the pleasure it sends through you. "Found your G-spot too," he looks smug as he says it. "Let's see what happens when I play with just that."

It’s another new experience that puts your body on edge in the best way. The pleasure never dissipates but it never builds either and finally you can't stand it anymore, deciding to beg for the relief he can give you. "Stevie, please! Use your mouth again!" "Of course, when you ask so nicely." When he sucks your clit into his mouth, it makes you see stars, and seconds later the built-up ecstasy reaches its peak. Gripping his head you grind against his tongue with a cry of his name because it’s so fucking good.

Afterward, you sink down with a relieved sigh and you're pretty sure your muscles have never been this relaxed in your life. "Such a good girl for me." Steve praises before pulling out his fingers, licking them clean, and moving off the bed. You instantly feel achingly empty. Not taking his eyes from you he undo his pants and slide them and his underwear off.

The sight of his hard, leaking cock standing out from his body is kind of mesmerizing. You've seen dicks in pictures, sent unsolicited to you on a few occasions, and a couple of times when you've tried to watch porn. Never before have you thought a dick could look pretty. As if something possesses your body you crawl over to the edge of the bed, settling on your legs and reaching out towards it. Steve watches, chest heaving slightly as you trace his cock with a fingertip, all the way from root to tip, dipping it into the leaking mess. Looking up at him you bring it to your mouth and lick it. The groan he lets out in response is delicious.

It doesn't taste bad, just different and you're about to ask if you can try to take him in your mouth but as if sensing your thoughts he leans down to capture your lips in a kiss. At first, you try to move away, knowing where he has just been, but he keeps a steady hand at the back of your neck, forcing you to taste yourself on his tongue, and just like him, it’s not bad, just different. "If I let you touch me more than that, I'll burst,” he explains before he grabs your dress and pulls it off you in one go. “Now be good and lay down again." "Yes, Stevie," you answer and fall onto the bed, spreading your legs. Instead of joining you right away, he walks up to the bedside table and opens a drawer, pulling out a square package.

Embarrassment fills you. In your post-orgasmic state, you forgot about your own rule. If he hadn’t gotten a condom you would gladly have let him take you raw. Lucky for you, Steve is not the type of person to take advantage of you like that. He rolls it on and you swallow hard. Just the look of it is big, you’re not sure how it will fit. "Don't be scared. With how wet you are, it’ll glide right in," he says with a smile, kneeling between your spread legs.

This is the moment, you think. After this, you won't be a virgin anymore. Even if it is just a social construct, you've never actually had a dick inside of you and that will be a new experience. Steve kisses you, helping the doubts slip away. The rubber feels weird against your lower lips, and then it's at your opening. The tip presses inside and Steve watches your face. "Does it hurt?" he asks. "No,” you assure him. “It's just different." "Tell me if you want to stop." "Just keep going."

Slowly he eases his way inside and once he bottoms out both of you are breathing heavily. With a groan, Steve's head lands on your shoulder. "Fuck you're like a vice around my dick. I'm going to try to move." You wrap your arms around his shoulders, caressing his back and he starts moving. You feel like you're filled to the brim and it's pressing against your G-spot, making you warm and high again. Experimentally you lift your hips, meeting his, eliciting a moan from him. "I'm sorry," Steve mumbles. "I won't last long." Before you can respond he continues. "You feel too good. So tight and warm. Fuck!" Then he lifts himself on one of his strong arms before grabbing the back of your neck and bending it until you're looking down toward where your bodies are connected. Steve slams his hips into you and you answer with a cry of pleasure. "Look at that unused cunt taking my big cock so well." "Steve!" you whine. His thrusts are too good, the pressure too much, and looking at it only makes you hotter. "It was made for me, right?" "Yes! Ah! Steve!" The throb in your clit is driving you insane and you reach down to relieve it. "Oh fuck. Are you gonna come on my dick your first time? That's dirty." You never expected words to be such a big part of sex, but the way Steve is talking is heightening your sensation.

"That's right. Rub your clit for me. Fuck you're clenching around me so hard. Tell me if you're gonna come." Nodding frantically you feel the climax building. Your whole body is a coil wind up tight and you're not sure what will happen when it snaps.

"I'm - I'm… I think I'm going to come, Steve," you moan. The pressure in your lower stomach is excruciating and delirious. You just need a little more. Letting go of your head he meets your eyes. "Good girl, I'm right behind you. Squeeze me dry. Come for Daddy." The last words enter your brain and sweep you off. The orgasm takes over your whole body and drowns you in pleasure. The edge of your vision blurs, your body shuddering violently. You hear the blood pumping in your veins. Feel your heart drumming in your ribcage. On some level you're aware of Steve above you, chanting your name as his hips pump into you and he fills the condom.

The weight of him is nearly crushing but also makes you feel safe. For the first time, you have the presence of mind to take in his body as you caress down his sides and his back, down over his ass as far as you can reach. It makes him sigh happily and you feel so content. After a while, he raises himself on his elbows and pecks your lips, nose, and cheeks until you giggle, before getting off completely and disposing of the condom. As soon as the warmth of him leaves, small, cruel thoughts about this once again being some kind of joke start forming in your head. Despite what he’s said, you find it hard to believe that it would be true.

Before you have time to think more about it he is beside you in the bed again, leaning on his arm and looking down at you. "So, how was that?" He’s curious, there’s no hiding it. "Better than I could ever dream of," you answer honestly. "Well, that's an ego boost," Steve laughs. "How… How was I?" He kisses you before he whispers, "Best I ever had." You can't help but snort at that. "Don't fucking lie to me."

With a growl Steve rolls onto his back, taking you with him and making you lay on his chest. "It's the fucking truth, and unless you want a spanking to go with the next round, you're going to believe me." That tone of voice. The threat of pain and pleasure combined sparks something inside you, and Steve notices. "Oh, does that make you horny?" Hiding your face in the crook of his neck you say "Yes, Daddy." Steve groans and crushes you into his chest. "If I could fuck you again right now, believe me, I would."

Several hours later you're in bed again, pressed against Steve’s warm chest. He did what he promised and you’re sure you won’t be able to walk tomorrow. But something is weighing on your mind. “I’ll pay you back,” you say. “If you do, you’ll wish I spanked you.” “But-,” “No. I told you that you deserve the world, that money is a drop in the ocean to me.” “I can’t believe you bought me.” “I can’t believe you sold your body.” Even if you can’t see him, his voice makes it clear he’s not happy. “The thought of someone else touching you, fucking you. I’m not a violent man, but that makes me want to kill.” “I’m glad it was you,” you confess with a smile and kiss his skin. A moment later he’s on top of you, kissing you sweetly and you feel him stirring against you, growing hard. An answering wetness pool at your core. “I need you again,” he murmurs against your mouth. With a nod, you reach between your bodies to guide him inside. Pulling back, he says “Condom.” When he reaches over to the bedside table, you shake your head and lift your hips. “Oh fuck, are you sure?” “I want to feel you,” you reassure him. It’s a bit sore when he presses inside but the movements are slow, and the kisses quickly take your mind off it. Afterward, he doesn’t pull out, and you fall asleep with his cum and cock between your legs, happy he was your highest bidder.

#steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x virgin!reader #virgin!reader #rich!steve rogers #protective!steve rogers #possessive!steve rogers #steve rogers x female reader #steve rogers x you #veltana writes

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sharkboywrites · 2 months

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Baldur’s Gate Astarion x FTM Reader who has poor vision?

Maybe a bit of hurt/comfort???

Astarion With a FTM S/O With Poor Vision

A/N: Okay so I don't really have bad vision so I'm just going off of what I know from other people. This also wasn't very specific so i wasn't sure how serious to make the lack of vision so I tried to go for some type of mid ground.

Being in this situation wasn't easy for the average person, but with your vision issues, things suddenly became a lot harder

All of a sudden you were out of your element and didn't have the accommodations you used to

You tried to hide it, did your best to appear as if your vision was completely normal, although it was clear to anyone who paid attention that you were struggling

You always left the reading to everyone else, always giving it to someone you think would do better with the subject matter like Gale, covering up for the fact you couldn't see well enough to read it

When travelling you always kept your eyes to the ground, making sure you wouldn't trip over anything

but it slowly became more obvious as you always made sure you were at the back of the group and tripping over clear obstacles despite always looking straight at the ground

Nobody said anything though, deciding it either was a touchy subject or that it wasn't worth their time

But as time started to go on, you started to struggle more, needing to be helped even if you didn't want it

It all came crashing down on you one night as you struggled to take your bindings off

You couldn't see clear enough to take it off, find the right places to undo it

But you couldn't just leave it on

You could feel the hours of having it on while travelling and battling starting to take it's toll on you, and that, combined with the stress and panic, started to make the tears fall

You sat there for a while, struggling to take it off, the tears blurring your vision even more, and hiccupping, trying to stay quiet

You couldn't stay quiet enough, and of course Astarion had found you

With his usual demeanor, you expected him to laugh, make a snide comment about your state

But to your surprise, that's not what he did

Instead he slowly kneeled in front of you, his hands held out in a question, asking if it was alright to touch you

At your teary nod, he slowly and gently undid your binding, it was the gentlest touch you think you'd ever felt

After making sure it was all off and you were well, with an off handed comment about needing to be more safe with your methods of binding, he gently slide your shirt back over you, not something he needed to do, but something he did anyways, an action that spoke more than words

He let you lean up against him, your tears and sniffling slowing to a stop

He wasn't very warm, being a vampire and all, but it was all the comfort you could ask for

His arm rested on your shoulder, the weight also helping you calm down

No words were spoken as you calmed down, but once you did, you explained your situation to him, and he was perfectly understanding

From then on, he's subtly offers to help you, but not in a way that would make you feel weak

He would let you try your hardest, encouraging you the whole way, and if you couldn't, he wouldn't make you feel bad for it

He also helps with your binding, making sure you're doing it safely along with making sure you know you have his support

While you weren't expecting Astarion's empathy and caring nature, you weren't complaining, he really was helpful

I'm surprisingly proud of this one for some reason. I wanted to get more writings done over my break, but I've been feeling very overworked still. I'll try to get more done, sorry if you've sent in a request and been waiting a while. ty for reading and have a nice day

#sharkboywrites #mlm #mlm blog #male reader #trans reader #x trans reader #bg3 x trans reader #astarion x male reader #astarion x reader #astarion x trans reader #ftm reader #transmasc reader #disabled reader

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utilitycaster · 4 months

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I’ve always been very interested in what you think about Caleb and Veth’s relationship. They’re not romantic, but not platonic, but not familial, but at the same time they are, but it’s different? I’m rambling. I find their relationship very interesting and I wanted to see what your take was on them :)

Also have a good day if you’re not having one already and if you are, have an even greater day

Hi anon, thanks! I assume you are asking specifically for my take but I follow a lot of people who have like, 20 times more thoughts on them than I do so I feel a little ill-equipped.

With that said: I personally did not seriously ship it romantically, but that was purely a matter of what I'm specifically into. I do think that a romantic reading of their relationship is an extremely valid one and there was, undeniably, a romantic element, which is why it's not clearly platonic. It reads as familial but in my opinion it is genuinely a relationship that only makes sense within a found family framework, ie, while early on Veth attempts to frame it as a mother and child, it really isn't that, either; that's just how she can best put what they are to each other into words because more apt ones don't exist. They care about each other and they care for each other and they did so at a time when each of them thought they had no future, even before they could admit that's what they were doing. I think that's the best way to describe it.

Something that has struck me - and that is one of the things I want to keep an eye out for when I finally one day have time to rewatch Campaign 2 - is how despite their relationship being one of convenience and coincidence (ended up in jail together, broke out, found it easier to travel together) and some degree of self-interest (Caleb benefited from having someone who could steal and who would remind him to take care of himself; Veth benefited from someone who wouldn't be chased out of shops and was interested in what a wizard could do for her; both did better with a partner for scams) it still lasted for months with no plans of separating. It didn't matter that Caleb wasn't telling Veth most of his past nor Veth telling him hers - or even her real name. They were lonely and it was better to travel with someone else, and they felt better for doing so, even if they told themselves (not even incorrectly) that it was purely a pragmatic matter.

My favorite early scenes between them are first, Caleb asking Veth if she'll leave with him should his reveal of his past to Beau go badly; and secondly and more importantly Veth saying she loves the rest of the party and that this isn't just pragmatism that's leading them to rescue the others. She's talking about the kidnapped party members; but again, because Veth and Caleb have never really defined what they have as anything but a partnership of convenience it feels like she is obliquely telling him how she feels as well.

I also of course love their scene in Felderwin - when Sam goes fully serious it's nearly always going to be a great time, and Veth's anger and drunken accusation and Caleb's intense guilt is a highlight, as is the way they are both able to move past it soon after due to the strength of their relationship.

I also think Liam and Sam did a fantastic job of laying the groundwork. Everyone did so beautifully for their Mighty Nein characters but I think Veth and Caleb's uneasy six months together feels incredibly vivid and real and are a standout among the pre-existing relationships. That might just be because Fjord and Jester had only been traveling together for a very brief amount of time, and because between Molly's death and Yasha not being around much we couldn't see as much of their friendship, but I still think about the list of grifts Caleb and Nott had together and how they were still running them mid-campaign. It was a level of work I think all players should aspire to when playing characters who knew each other in advance. There need to be inside jokes and a history and plans they've made together to breathe life into a pre-existing relationship that's more than a month long (give or take), otherwise it will fall flat and feel forced.

I think this focuses pretty heavily on their earlier relationship and that's because as time goes on they build stronger relationships with the rest of the party and develop a bit more distance. I think this is healthy! Again, a lot of their relationship - particularly on Caleb's side - came from a belief that this was the best they could hope for, and so it necessarily evolves, particularly once Veth and Yeza are reunited. I think Xhorhas/Angel of Irons arc Caleb isn't sure how to approach the relationship for a while until he finds a means of giving Veth her body back; Caleb is always someone who shows affection more through action than words. But I think that even as they build separate lives, Veth returning to a renewed version of the one she thought she lost and Caleb making something entirely different, they still mean a lot to each other and later in the campaign they are able to adjust and adapt their relationship with each other as well.

#answered #Anonymous #no one has ever blurred the platonic/romantic line like them thus far #like while that tends not to be my personal bag for romance (I tend to fall on the platonic side for those types of relationships)#i respect when one is done well bc it's hard to do and it can often feel really forced and caleb and veth NEVER do #caleb widogast #veth brenatto

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halevren · 2 months

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FHJY Spoilers || my live thoughts as I watch episode 10

Happy mid season episode! I am saddened by the fact that I work on Wednesdays because I will be late to watch fhjy until the forseeable future. If anyone cares though I plan on buying the adya statuette next week if my finances allow for it :3 also I am so tired rn but I NEED to watch fhjy

Do you guys think ayda will appear in this episode after her statuette was released last week? (Praying)

tttaking over teenage rebellion!

Lucy Frostblade... You were just a girl. You didn't deserve everything that happened to you

"We're feeling bad. But we're feeling... Hopefully positive."

stress isn't always the bed guy

Aelwyn!

big old burned down house

Cottoncandy Bitchfuck

"I'm.... Bored. That's not true. I'm not bored at all. I'm just tired."

Hindesight is 50/50

"Oh I love this. Tell me all about it."

Siobhan is loving Aelwyn rn

"I do sometimes believe in you"

"So Sentimental"

Aelwyn and Adaine are so important to me their sibling relationship is everything

AELWYN AND ADAINE NOT BEING USED TO NICENESS

"Oh, my sweet little boy is sick!"

"just don't tell fab— don't tell anyone my apartment looks like this"

The Gukgak

I'm the Gukgak guy!

"Oh, Riz, you have to sleep, Kiddo." "I can't, mom, I don't have time." Oh Riz....

Framed?

Riz is so exhausted

It's been an hour and a half and his mom has chips and a drink 😭😭

"Mom, you have to be so careful."

"Keep my name out of your mouth." FIG 😭😭

"it's all good, mom"

yulenear

"Fig has like 3 majors now" "maybe 4, i might take a level of wizard."

"Kristen Applebees, believe it or not." "... huh." HWHHWKWNEB

"You both keep my name out of your mouth."

"It's been our month!"

Lola Embers recommended Gorgug's place??

"Mom I'm going to go to Loam farm."

*shrug* "mom." *shrug*

"We're having a rough one." "GOT 'EM."

"I'll do it." Fig cleric teacher?!?!

TAMAGOTCHI. MaryAnn my beloves

The puppet master!

"Ha Ha! Darling Girl!"

Gilear is king for the day

"My mom called you?"

"I don't need a ride to school anymore"

"I believe she's wanted here."

BUSINESS CLASS FOR CLOACA

"Can I say hi??"

NOOOOOOO NOOO SHE HUNG UP BEFORE FABIAN COULD ANSWER

That's so devastating

Coffee all over the DM screen

Yeah they haven't addressed the fact that fig is cursed

Pussy out, tits away

Theres so much going on

ohhh they might be sacrificing the rats

"I'm wearing a sports bra and a G-string, and I want to be closer with all of you."

Fabian with Mazey is so painful. He's so flustered and awkward I love him

MAZEY TRUSTS FABIAN

"I'm here, for you."

"Kristen was in a mood."

NOO DON'T KILL MAZEY SAVE HER FABIAN

Fried rice

SHE LEANS IN TO MAKE OUT

THIS IS SO EMBARRASSIJG

"Wait, they don't like us??"

"When you think about me, why do you always bring up the ball?"

SHE WANTS TO MAKE SURE HE'S OKAY BECAUSE HE'S ALOne

oh Fabian...,...........

"The legend continues."

"I was going to get a tattoo, actually."

"Even if you weren't maximum legend, I would still wanna hang out with you." MAZEEYYYYY 😭😭😭😭

BOGGY

Absence of divinity???

THE GOD'S DOMAIN CHANGED OVER TIME????

RUVINA'S SIBLING??

The gift is only mentioned in old texts??

"Well I guess I'll go to work."

Basrar is dead

"Literally your circus, literally your monkeys."

Tips are bad

RODEO MODE

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR A SPEECH???

NOOO NAT ONE

Check the soil kids

Lydia mention 🔥🔥🔥

Kristen holds so much hostility for Kalina 😭😭

Oh Lydia...

AV club mention

THIRTY ROLL 🔥🔥🔥🔥

The powerhouse of the cell

Aggression and protectiveness

7 becomes a 21?!?!!

?!?!?!?!?! SOMETHING COMING OUT OF HER CHEST???

22 Arcana, 25 religion

Elemental alignment???

Fiendish things going on

Yellow gold

Kinda like the pride of armor and lemon yogurt

PISS CURSE????

Ratgrinders sticker

"I don't get angry, I think I get sad sometimes" me too buddy, me too

Sometimes a spell comes out and obliterates people

Comedy of errors

Autopilot

Bobby Dawn and Pam Dawn

Bobby Dawn coming to Aguefort sounds like a bad thing

"I'll never let you do that."

"Yours only came back once." *middle finger* Kristen Applebees you will always be famous

A+ in paladin classes!

"Sorry! Get away from me"

Reasons he won't divulge???

A+ in all classes!!!

THREE PARAGRAPH ESSAY? NOOO ABOUT SADNESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT NOOOOO

FIG NAT 20 FOR THE INSIGHT 😭

Zara is gorgeous

The days of Goldenhoard is over 😭😭

"MY GOD IS KRISTEN????"

Oh my god I almost prophesied this when I said Kristen would become a cleric/warlock of Fig.... instead Fig is the warlock/paladin of Kristen 😭😭😭

I'm the closest thing to a prophet holy shit

New god, agreement, todo list

Complicated Women: Lucy Frostblade 😭😭

NAT 20 DECEPTION FOR WANDA CHILDA

Oh my god

"Frick. I'm so sorry." "I'm not." Wanda Childa

GET MY ROCKS OFF TO 😭😭

"I'm off the grid that's why I only have an iPod"

God... Wanda Childa

[email protected]

"Do you want me to get you a phone?"

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE"

"I want to do relationships with Riz."

Medal of Wit

LITTLE METAL BRIEFCASE

You absolutely sweetie

29 performance 🔥🔥

GARTY O'BRIEN MENTION 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Naked Kristen. Again.

Oh god Fabian is at 4 at his second roll

"Breaker Breaker, this is Fabian Seacaster, looking for his papa, Bill Seacaster, somewhere out there in the nine hells............"

This is so heartbreaking... Fabian...

Oh Fabian...

His papa.....

He probably feels so lonely

Rage token.....

This rage token is making me take a stress token

Everyone single one has been bad

FABIAN TAKING THE BARDIC FROM FIG

Constitution saving throw???

oh no

"I shit myself"

I CAN'T BRWATHE

"I've only been eating leftovers"

UNNAMED BARD STUDENT NO

QUINCY NO

DID QUINCY TAKE A RAGE TOKEN?

THAT'S IT????

oh my god

#fhjy spoilers #fantasy high junior year spoilers #fantasy high spoilers #dimension 20 #d20 #fantasy high #d20 fantasy high #dimension 20 fantasy high #fantasy high junior year

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spooky-something · 11 days

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WARNING;

we're about to seriously yap and put out some hot fucking takes about Phantom of the Opera, so if you're sensitive to that/don't wanna hear that, scroll.

We finally finished POTO, and what I can say; hot take; This is a fucking nightmare that just DOESN'T deserve the fame it has. It's awful . /Hj The writing itself is okay, it can be really good at times, but I hate the way it's framed; having Leroux litteraly self insert himself as the narrator, which could've worked, but for me, it just doesn't. It would've been great, had that narrator not litteraly been himself, but because it's him, it not only takes away from the realism he tried to built via this, but also comes ass as SUPER, SUPER annoying at times. The story itself is just cluttered, way too cluttered; the unnecessary details, events, attempts at shifting narratives that could've been better done/explained quickly and more efficiently, it's a lot. Some examples are the "Rat Catcher"; entirely unnecessary additional, why the fuck was he even there (It was so bad, we started cackling mid class because it was so fucking random)???? Or the random "apparition" added, again, for no reason. None of these were mentioned before, nor explained whatsoever; the "apparition" litteraly being wrote off by LEROUX HIMSELF as "something I cannot explain". Which, in my opinion, is extremely stupid. I don't care if it's for the "mystery factor", because, considering there was already far too much going on, and plenty of OTHER mystery elements, adding something just because with no purpose was and IS obnoxious. All it does it make the story you're trying to tell more convoluted, which was exactly what we felt while reading. Yet, the MAIN issue, the characters, and by extension, the message Leroux is so DESPERATELY trying to convey with them. I am going to say the hottest fucking take known to man; I fucking DESPISE Erik, and litteraly, ONLY kept reading because of the fact I knew he'd die at the end, and I wanted that satisfaction (was so disappointed his death was so vague and lame...). I understand why people can feel bad, at least, PARTIALLY, but the amount of fucking love and DEFENDING I see for him is ACTUALLY INSANE. Erik is

A. A fucking murderer

B. A stalker

C. An abuser

D. A manipulator (And, gaslighter, by extension)

E. A thief

F. An (ALMOST) terrorist (litteraly tried to blow up the entire opera)

G. A liar

H. A kidnapper

And

I (This stands for:). An incel (This one's more of a "joke", as the rest are all litteraly book canon, but he is literally an incel; he checks all the boxes), and yet, people out pour him with support; the amount of apologists is crazy. I've even seen people compare him to THE CREATURE (Frankenstein) which is just NOT CORRECT AT ALL???? They have similarities, yeah, but the amount of differences is insane.

1. Erik is a litteral millionaire (Yeah, I did the math for the amount of francs he got then for American dollars, now, and it was at LEAST, like 2 million...)

2. Erik IS human, biologically; yeah, he was treated differently, but he still had the COMFORT of knowing he was a human, that he was, in at least some form compared to the Creature "natural"

3. Erik was raised by his family (yes, they were abusive, and I'm not saying they weren't, but he HAD PARENTS, AND AN EDUCATION; I think, idar if he was educated or not, but my point still stands: he had a family)

4. Erik, despite the novel trying so hard to say otherwise, was HIGHLY respected; HE LITERALLY WORKED WITH ROYALTY????

5. Erik HAD FRIENDS???? Once more, not only did he work with royalty, he had the Persian/Daroga, which, again, despite how much the novel tries to say otherwise, was very clearly a friend; very clearly someone who DID care about him (if he didn't, why would he save his life even AFTER LITTERALY TORTURING PEOPLE???)

6. Erik, AGAIN, is denied humanity nearly as much as it's painted; he litteraly mentions how he wanted to be normal, and so, applied for a normal ass construction job at the Opera, AND GOT IT NO QUESTIONS ASKED???

#1/??#phantom of the opera #POTO #phantom of the opera erik #poto erik #erik poto #erik the phantom #opera ghost #rant #i fucking despite Erik #Frankenstein

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orangeoctopi7 · 19 days

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New season of Ninjago! I'm currently six episodes in.

(also I'm writing this the morning after I watched these episodes so my thoughts might be out of order)

Awkward teenage Riyu design is cute, but in that awkward, mid-stage pokemon evolution way.

"Intelligent George" is just every adult Ninjago fan on YouTube throwing around theories over the last year.

Sorry Lloyd, prophetic dreams of doom run in the family.

Hey, wait a sec. You know who else has prophetic dreams? Why are you not going to Zane with this?

Please give Arin a "you don't need powers to be powerful" arc.

All this talk of shattering all the good inside someone is reminding me of a certain other spell used to remove all the goodness from Garmadon back in season 8, but I doubt they're actually meant to be connected.

Slightly disappointed that the pink Serpentine isn't Skales' wife.

Euphrasia couldn't take on the master of Smoke, the elemental master she probably has the best type match up against? I don't wanna sound like one of those fans, but jeez, Morro would have destroyed this guy.

The Kai-Nya siblings dynamic continues to be on point.

Wyldfyre continues to be the best character.

I was honestly expecting Sora's fear dream to be more of the same insecurities we saw from her last season, but she actually has moved past that and now she's afraid of having to go back to Imperium. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Oof, Nya's dream is giving me so many feels. This is foreshadowing, isn't it?

"Jay would never forget me. And even if he somehow did, he'd never be this calm and collected about a stranger coming up and hugging him."

Oh. Oh, we're not seeing Wyldfyre 's fear dream? Oh, she doesn't want to talk about it? *Rubbing hands together* I think we're gonna get some backstory and lore here!

*Bonzle to Cole and Geo* "You are my da-ads. You're my dad's. Boogie Woogie Woogie."

Suddenly Basketball

Ah, the dragon masters. The fact that dragons can learn spinjitzu honestly makes sense to me, all the way back in the pilot, I thought the way the dragons spun around in order to travel to the other realms was obviously related to Spinjitzu.

I like that Rontu is basically just a typical gym coach in dragon form.

Egalt, on the other hand... Well, I do really like his design. But man, he's just every bad "teaching" method from Wu rolled into an even grumpier old man. Talking down to his students, constantly being negative instead of giving positive reinforcement, no clear instructions, giving no answers or even hints to Arin's question, nothing! Maybe I care about this more than other people because I've worked as a teacher on and off for years, but even when I first started watching the show, back when I was still in college, I was already noticing these things about Wu and they already bothered me.

Anyway, calling it now, the students from "last time" Egalt keeps vague-ing were Wu and Garmadon, and Wu learned all his bad "teaching" methods from this guy.

Bonzle being a living spell is weird, but honestly not that out of the question for a crazy fantasy world like Ninjago.

Ok, so I'm going to break the first rule of enjoying Ninjago and think about the timeline. Judging by what Wu said, I'm guessing Bonzle ran into him some time early in season 2? And when did all this with the Forbidden Five happen?

Anyway, very excited to see where this is going, if only I didn't have to work today.

#Ninjago #my thoughts

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socialprawn · 6 months

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OUGH. That design for the tremere is kind of mid but tbh it just. Looks like a design from a modern game. I think part of what makes the original vtmb the way it is is because it is so much a product of its time. It was based on lore and books from revised edition vtm (1998) so it was already a bit lagging in terms of aesthetic and ideologies, and it has that intense 90s/2000s feeling to it. I also read an interview with the composer Rik Schaffer and he said that he couldn’t have made that soundtrack at any other point in his life. I’m sure whatever he’s doing for the sequel will be different but amazing, but again, it’s been 20 years, you know? It’s all different.

I just wanted to weigh in and say that it’s unrealistic for people to think a game from the 2020s is ever going to feel the same, I guess. These people who are like ugh they should just SCRAP IT are wild to me. That’s so much work and care and time put into a project that would go to waste! We don’t know what it will be like in the end. It’s set in a different place and time, and I don’t know if they’re keeping it in revised’s lore and setting overall or if this is fifth edition vtm, but either way- some people who liked vtmb are going to hate it. And that’s okay tbh! as someone who loves both vtm as a ttrpg and vtmb, I’m just hopeful that it’ll be fun.

In my head I'm mostly thinking... VTMB1 exists so I can just enjoy it over and over again. If something exists that will make other ppls happy then who am I to say anything :V

However, as a very loyal VTMB fan, I feel like I can criticize the long awaited sequel by the fact that is not living up to its counterpart. I feel like the aesthetics & roleplay elements of VTMB can be relevant to this day and the game itself is a cult classic, so VTMB2 feels like it's trying to convert into mainstream, which feels disappointing to ME. But again, I don't know the vibes of VTM outside of VTMB to really know how WoD culture is like, and I don't know much about v5, which is why I decided to step down. I got my own vamp story anyways, I'm playing barbie just fine 😂

Also I read that Rik is not doing the soundtrack anymore, I hope that's not true dawg :V I have full faith in him. Admittedly the soundtrack of the announcement was too 'imagine dragons', which surprises me. From my perspective, VTMB felt like an exploration of the underground, which still exists today, which is why everything has taken me off-guard. I suppose if I were director I would have taken VTMB elder PC on a different approach 🤓

Dese my 2 cents. I don't want VTMB2 to be cancelled there's so much hard work put in the game that it's just a shame to think like that. Some people feel they didn't get what they wanted, that's finee. Others enjoy it, super cool. If the game is good I'll be more than happy about it for real 🌞

#if you follow my art you know where my aesthetics lie 😂 i could go on but why bother in the enddd #besides we cant pretend that it would be correct if the new game followed vtmb1 to a tea #we only forgive its shittiness on some societal aspects because its an old ass game but yeah :V #we on da same page anon 👼

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zetsubobu · 8 months

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Alrighty I created a ninjago oc!!

But sike, it's actually in @weekend-whip 's legacyverse because it's better written than the canon show and I like that universe

Alright so I saw this

And I thought: "hmmm, distant relative, that gives room for headcanons"

So here's my ninjago (legacyverse) oc!

Name: nicole villin (nici)

Age: undefined but in the same age range as harumi and lloyd

Moral: lawful neutral

Ability: partial inheritor of the element of light

Nici is a direct descendant of the 5th gen master of light. However like aurora she only partially inherited the ability. In nici's case, she inherited the control over the element but not the full power. She could make herself disappear at will, however the strongest she could go is being translucent and not fully see through like paleman. That results in her not exactly "disappearing" whenever she wants to but rather it's more coincidental and happens whenever she feels particularly intuned with her element or feels like her life is in danger. Usually she can still be seen in a normal light setting so it's not much of use, however in dimly lit rooms it can happen that you won't notice her unless you look twice or mistake it for a trick of the eyes.

She did not have training to control her powers yet since the previous master is more focused on the other inheritor, paleman.

The fact that nici inherited the control over disappearing (which she could use if she had training) is also the reason why paleman is never seen with his true face but rather his clothes or completely gone. He has the full power that she hasn't (since she just got a weaker portion of that) but since he can not control when to tap out or in, he's constantly see through and the only thing he can do is enhance his power to make him even more see through or weaken it a bit

(imagine it as if kai's hair was constantly on fire because of his element but he can't put it out. He could make his whole body on fire or he could go back to only his hair which is just a bit weaker but it would never stop)

Personality:

She is usually a happy person but that gets really reserved around people she doesn't know well. She doesn't mind talking as long as it's with close ones since she suffers from pretty bad social anxiety and often doubts her friendships, especially when around strangers. Her withdrawal around others makes it easy for her to blend in and be forgotten. She does care deeply about her limited friendships though and her way to show appreciation and care is by making sure her friends stay out of trouble. She's not a shy person so speaking is not something she troubles much with and she's quite happy to talk if she does

She doesn't support the ninjas nor lord garmadon as she thinks they both have their flaws and supporting one or the other without acknowledging the flaws is pretty ignorant. She doesn't mind those who do either though as she thinks opinion is opinion.

She has the bad habit of always distrusting her friendships even if they never said anything bad which is a result of her bond with her mother. So it might come off as a bit hurtful to others when she says something like "I have no friends", which is not something she says because she doesn't consider them friends but rather that she fears they don't consider her one. Just know that she doesn't mean it the way it sounds.

She's an active listener and has the habit of sometimes hearing things she shouldn't because they forget she's also there which could cause her to overhear some certain ninja secrets

Usually light is an element associated with things like hope or positivity which is something that doesn't exactly fit her sometimes due to her anxiety. It's why she has a rather low natural attunement with a mid fluctuation

Jesse belongs to @weekend-whip !!

Story:

Ever since she was born, she noticed her mother frequently disappointed that she didn't inherited the full element as she now had the trouble of needing to search for a person that she could pass it on to. Her mother never expressed that disappointment verbally, however she could see it in her eyes as well as how desperate she was at meeting new people, even really distant family members who they have never met before. It's also how they met paleman as he is a more distant family member. Nici's mother noticed how he had a really high natural attunement and chose that distant relative to be the next master of light. All those parties and meeting all those people with the knowledge of why they are actually here is what caused her social anxiety in the first place.

She and paleman get along quite well though because he understands her situation and had to see her way more often after getting passed on the element. She often calls him uncle viz since he does appear like an uncle to her.

She goes to highschool in ninjago city (bc where else?), spends her time in the cooking club and is in the same year as harumi (though they have never interacted much). She isn't one that believes rumors but she is intimidated by most of the ninjas and isn't sure how to talk to either of them. Though she does get along the best with zane and nya.

She lives close to the border of ninjago city which is why the garmadon or the great devourer attack never affected her as much as the others near the center of the city. She did volunteer work though by helping to cook food to support people who lost their homes.

#ninjago #ninjago original character #ninjago oc #aaaaa I'm so proud of this oc #i hope this somehow doesn't mess up ren's lore for paleman #book 5 is still long into the future #my anxious little bean #she would definitely have a crush on both lloyd and harumi (not that it matters though #it's one sided #okay I should probably stop now #keep spamming ren these past few days and not only with drawings #guest oc: nicole villin #oc:_nicole_villin #ceces_art

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travelerstakes · 2 months

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anyone wanna hear a wrong theory?

Hello! It's the girl reading TLT wrong again!

I was thinking I might as well go over why I'm convinced that Gideon is possessing the sword. I do this acknowledging fully and readily that I'm probably more than half wrong, but I think my reasoning is fairly solid so for my own posterity and other's enjoyment, let's go.

(evidence at hand: Gideon The Ninth up till they first make planetfall and sunglasses get pulled out. Assorted osmosis tidbits. Harrow The Ninth up till mid chapter 21)

First, why I think the sword's haunted:

Look, nothing that wants to be bathed in arterial blood, casts the evil eye over entire rooms, and has an incredibly traumatized girl protecting it from thieves isn't haunted. I'm sorry, that's the rules. Additionally, this book made a point early on to make sure we knew how revenants work. You don't put these things next to each other if you don't want an audience to link them.

Second, why I think it's Gideon in there:

We're told three things that naturally get haunted by revenants: people they cared about, grave goods (stuff they cared about in life), and their murder weapons. If it's Gideon, at least two of these things are very readily available. Harrow, and her own two-hander. If there was actually a two-hander in the Sleeper's coffin (which I really doubt), that potentially becomes three things. If there was actually a Sleeper, anyways.

Now, I *do* suspect that Harrow's possessed. The second person perspective in the main timeline is incredibly suspicious, since it implies that while she's answering to "Harrowhark Nonagesimus" and is seemingly attached enough to the name to make its use a major element in probably-banging Ianthe, she isn't *actually calling herself that in her head.* Of course, given all the "reborn as myself" stuff and how incredibly messed up her life in general and during the events of this book specifically are, she might also just be dissociated as hell.

Besides, as a lyctor, she's clearly *supposed* to be possessed by her cavalier. And however the process of taking a loved one for parts and an auto defense system actually goes, it's obviously went funky as all get out with her.

It seems like a cavalier is supposed to be their lyctor's sword, at least on a metaphorical level. Knightly service, the godking calling his lyctors his fingers, and them apparently being supposed to turn into a lyctor's limbic system during the fusion. This being a very literal "hey, you're Her Sword now, have fun!" Situation is a logical extreme of that, and would probably piss Gideon off to no end at the beginning of the book. Of course, I know that GtN is a romance, so there's a non-zero chance that this has changed, which only makes it funnier.

Whoever it is playing Transistor at Harrow, Harrow has some *strong* feelings about it. They mostly aren't positive, but she's still incredibly, INCREDIBLY attached to her sword in often very literal ways. That implies it's someone she at least used to know.

Lastly, other people it might be:

Any weapon from the Ninth is gonna be a hand me down, and Ortus the Lyctor clearly super, SUPER wants it. Perhaps it's somebody he used to know?

I'd suspect Evil Femme Jesus, but it seems like she can get around just fine without being a hunk of metal, and Harrow has a pretty different feeling relationship with her that predates the sword owning.

A Memory of a Much Lesser Self? Harrow's clearly got a couple of those floating around...

#harrow the ninth #tale thoughts #Tale reads TLT wrong #the locked tomb

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brightgnosis · 11 months

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“Wow, ‘tomato clam juice cocktail’. What a weird 50′s recipe! They ate some really gross things in their day”

Meanwhile my uncle (a white trash redneck transplant to Oklahoma, originally from Washington): Literally still drinks clamato beer daily in 2023 and has for as long as I can remember, ever since I was a literal child.

Also: Bloody Mary’s are still popular, and are barely just one step removed from them ... There are, in fact, even clamato versions that do exist and are still incredibly popular in some regions!

This is why I absolutely hate people like B. Dylan Hollis who make it an entire point of their whole personality and schtick to shit on Vintage Recipes — and that whole trend in general. Especially since it's most frequently being done by privileged people specifically to recipes belonging to minorities and the severely impoverished.

It's also why I'm always telling people that Vintage cooking is not actually all that weird at all- or, at least, isn't actually any weirder than things we still eat today ... As with all things in both life and history: You just need the actual historical context in order to understand food trends properly.

ETA: Don't @ me with Hollis apologetics because "well he eats everything he makes". Ultimately that's not really the point, it's missing the point entirely, because eating it and making fun of it are two very different things (I can't believe I even have to explain that). So is getting upset whenever it actually tastes good because you expected (and actively wanted) it to be bad- because your schtick actively hinges on old food being "bad" or "weird" or "backwards" compared to modern food.

Also do not @ me with a "well have you told him about this context yourself to see if it changes his behavior?", either. Because yes. I have actually told people like this many times. However? It's ultimately not my job to educate others on this stuff in the first place. Largely I am not a food or history educator. This is a hobby and an interest for me- not my day job. It is not my responsibility to educate people.

But furthermore- and most importantly: I shouldn't have to educate people like Hollis (and the hundreds of others who do this; he's far from the only one, only the most popular currently) on something which they should be reasonably be educating themselves on. Especially not when the historical context is something they will naturally come across anyways whenever uncovering these materials to begin with. Because you literally cannot divorce things like food and fashion from their sociopolitical, economic, and other historical contexts. It's impossible to do.

Like ... Listen ... I have been doing early 20th century fashion and food and domestic history for nearly my entire life at this point. This is not new to me at all, and I am not a stranger to this. I literally run an entire blog that's dedicated to correcting misinformation about the early to mid 20th century in some facet, hilariously enough. And something I know for certain, beyond a shadow of any doubt, from doing this for as long as I have? Is that you cannot pick up or look for materials on these subjects without inherently running into some element of their appropriate historical contexts (how do you think I got into it, y'all) ... Historical contexts that should make any reasonable person who cares stop and think "hmm" for two seconds. But they don't because they don't care.

It's very rare that educating any one of them suddenly makes them start caring because caring literally ruins the entire schtick. And that schtick hinges on the fact that we are socially conditioned to think of making fun of the past (but especially the 1900's to 1950's) as "weird" and "backward", as acceptable and even outright encouraged, regardless of the historical context. And the kind of people who get into that kind of an act are not the kinds of people who care about historical context, historical integrity, ancestral compassion, or any of the other concepts. What they do care about are the laughs they can get at the expense of our ancestors (many of whom are still living) and what they frequently had to make do with, or proprietarily innovated.

I will delete your comments and block you.

ETA 2: Yelling at me to "let people have fun", calling me a "pretentious gatekeeper" and saying "who cares about the historical context, it doesn't matter", before finishing your ignorant tirade off with "I don't care if you delete my comment and block me" doesn't make you a white knight or mean you win any kind of a fight. It just confirms you as one of the exact idiots I was talking about.

No one is stopping anyone from "having fun", here. I literally do have fun making vintage recipes all the time, and have an entire collection of vintage cookbooks, and I enjoy hosting vintage themed holiday parties all year (which I put a lot of research and dedication into every time); I even shop and wear mostly vintage clothing and jewelry, lol ... There are plenty of ways to respectfully "have fun" in the vintage world, with vintage things (or, further than that, in the antique world, with Antique things). It's not actually difficult. The difference is called actually having a little respect for people and their lived histories and experiences.

If your idea of "having fun" includes actively making fun of the food and clothing, histories and life experiences (etc) of the poor and impoverished, sometimes disabled, often people of color- and that bare basic historical context absolutely doesn't matter to you on any level, to the point that even remotely pointing it out is "pretentious gatekeeping" in your eyes? You need to actively check your abelism, classism, and racism, seek some fucking counseling, and learn to be an actual goddamned Human Being.

#Personal #2023 #Vintage Recipes #B Dylan Hollis #Dylan Hollis #B Hollis #Food Is The Ultimate Love Language #NonTrad Housewife #NonTrad Homemaker #NonTrad Homemaking #Homemaker #Homemaking #Housewife #Ye True Olden Days #Original Vintage / Antique Content #Queer Housewife

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blackinquisitors · 2 years

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Dutch is such an interesting and compelling character. and I think a lot of people don't realize that he's the true villain of this entire game and Micah is just a red herring. Micah didn't make Dutch go crazy or anything, he just told him what he wanted to hear and allowed him to do all the insane shit he's always wanted to do. bc previously, Dutch had Hosea and Arthur as his moral compass telling him "no Dutch you can't kill people" and I think Dutch started preaching that as well bc it goes along w his desire to the smartest, most moral man in the room. but that wasn't really him. then Micah joins and tells him "yeah Dutch maybe we should kill people maybe they deserve it maybe we're stronger than them" and it opens the door for Dutch to lose that facade he's been mastering all these years, and that comes out in blackwater

then Arthur and Hosea start doubting Dutch, start criticising him, but Micah is still there telling him everything is fine and he's doing a wonderful job. and Dutch loves that because he needs to be the big man in charge and he does NOT tolerate feeling stupid or weak or wrong. so he stops listening to Arthur (if he ever did in the first place, judging by how jaded Arthur is and how easily he kowtows to dutchs guilt trips, I'll say no) and half listens to Hosea. then Hosea dies and Arthur criticises him more, and Dutch truly reveals his colors

what tipped me off on his character the most was how he treats women. miss grimshaw was his girl, and now she's older and the matriarch of the gang, but I think all her stuff abt how vanity fades and how she's hideous etc is partially bc of how Dutch cast her aside. Molly says "am I getting too old for you? thats usually how it works with you isn't it?" which is what made me think that. Molly is also in her mid twenties whole Dutch is 44, and she left her life in Ireland bc she loved him while he only wanted her as a thing to fuck. then he started chatting up Marybeth who, if I had to guess, is about 20-22. quite literally old enough to be her father. so he's a dirty old man on top of all of this.

and also hes a closet racist since his grand plan was to paint a target on the wapiti tribes back despite the chief asking him to leave them alone. meaning he didn't give a shit if that whole tribe was massacred (which would have been the punishment for all the shit he made them do) as long as he and his loyal followers escaped. despite all his pro native talk, about how the Europeans are the true savages, how they destroyed this land, he still participates in that genocide gleefully.

he's nothing but a greedy, selfish megalomaniac but he's a damn good showman and that's how he's gotten everyone wrapped around his fingers. saved them, cared for them when no one else has. typical gang emotional manipulation, but also with cult elements like the requirement for faith in their way of life, the set of beliefs Dutch has constructed from the miller books. there's really nothing redeemable abt his character bc all the good bits were just acting, or they were something to hide how truly rotten he is

ofc it's nice to imagine Dutch as being the dashing rogue, father to everyone in the gang with Hosea his best friend at his side. but that's exactly what he wants you to see him as. and a lot of people don't look past that, so they do believe he went crazy bc of Micah or grief from losing hosea, or got a brain injury, or some other thing. but even Arthur says that he just became more of himself, the self he hid all these years

#long post #meta #dutch van der linde #SUCH a well written villain its crazy

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hifumihime · 5 months

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Not sure anyone will read/care about this but I need a spot to vent about this whole "Idols "recommending" Made in Abyss" thing that's currently trending on twitter because I feel like I'm losing my mind (also I have no one else to talk about this).

So, one tweet from an unverified account posted that several idols were out here promoting and recommending the manga/anime Made in Abyss to their fans... and like... that's not at all what happened? One of them mentioned in a live off hand that he was going to watch it (along with a list of other shows), but stated he probably wouldn't finish them because he was currently touring. He apparently has never brought it up again. Another had a volume on the floor in the corner of a photo he took on his instagram story. He has also never talked about it before or since.

I have not read or watched Made in Abyss, but I follow several anime accounts online and basically every single person was recommending this show when it came out in 2017. It's still highly regarded in the anime community. I have never seen a single person ever speak about the "sexual" moments in it. I was curious and decided to read the first 3 chapters and... yeah, there's one part right in chapter 1 that has a pretty gross illustration of the child protagonist, which I'm not going to go into more detail here because it did make me extremely uncomfortable. I will note that apparently the South Korean version of the manga/anime is heavily censored and also rated mature, but I've not seen what the censoring in question looks like, so I don't know how much they could have read/watched that in, say, the North American/Japanese versions.

My overall opinion, after sleeping on this, is that calling these idols predators or worse is an extreme over-exaggeration. I'm not surprised people are saying this because the tendency for fandoms to overreact and be the morality police are worse than ever before, but if we're really cancelling these people for reading "problematic" fiction/dead dove content, then I'd be right alongside them.

From my physical manga collection alone, I can name three series I own that would get me cancelled:

After the Rain: protagonist, a high school girl, falls in love with an older man (mid-40s?) who serves her at a family diner. She starts working there, and they develop a friendship. Spoiler: nothing happens between them

Cardcaptor Sakura: pretty well known magical girl series so I won't go into the plot, but like.... looking back on it, there were a TON of age-gap romances in here, one of which being a teacher and an elementary school student. I remember being in elementary school and reading it for the first time and being weirded out by it. Spoiler: nothing happens here either (though I have not read the clear card sequel series)

Daytime Shooting Star: Romance with a love triangle between her teacher (wow I'm realizing I read a lot of age gap/teacher/student stuff) and a classmate. Spoiler: she doesn't end up with her teacher!!

I can think of a ton of other non-anime related examples of "problematic"/dark fiction that I love too: Game of Thrones, Last of Us, House of Leaves, My Dark Vanessa.... One of the best books I've read last year was about a cannibal. I guess to twitter, I am also a cannibal?

I think the unfortunate reality of being an anime fan is that basically 80% of the shit out there has "problematic" elements to it, or as I like to call it, "anime bullshit". And I think a lot of kpop fans have not actually watched anime or read manga and aren't aware of this.

You're allowed to feel uncomfortable with fiction. You're allowed to be weirded out that an idol likes a dark manga that has children as the main protagonists, where awful things happen to them. But at the same time, people are allowed to read dark content as well and that does NOT make them pedos, abusers, etc. That is a horrible accusation to make against someone, especially with no proof other than the fact that they may or may not own a volume of an extremely popular manga series. I really feel like the internet as a whole does not realize that words have meaning, and accusing someone of such vile behavior because of the fiction they may or may not read is just... insane. It's insane behavior. Please go outside.

Anyway if you read all of this, congrats. I'm basically word vomiting this all out at 6 am because I'm bad at sleeping. Would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the matter honestly!

#anyway I'm going to go get ready for my adult job instead of worrying about kpop idols #and I might have to take an extended internet break because some of y'all are wild (derogatory)#like I legit gave myself a stomachache reading the vile shit being said which means it's time to log off

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the-paper-monkey · 4 months

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You are so right Tom Ripley is what you would get if you put Draco Malfoy and Tom Riddle in a blender lmao a well seasoned taco if you will 🌮

Sorry to bring the 1999 film to you awareness…I’ve almost finished the series and am debating checking out the film but the vibes seem a little off. Is it at all worth watching? It seems weirdly sappy and generally off brand for the source material

Tl;dr a bad adaptation but a... good film? According to people that aren't massive haters (ie. NOT me).

TALENTED MR RIPLEY SPOILERS FORTHCOMING

It's... the kind of film that is good if you're watching it without having read (and liked) the source material. Sort of like Kubric's The Shining. A lot of people enjoyed it, including people who have read the book, so bear that in mind. I tend to have extremely strong opinions on most things so you may still enjoy it but I loathed it lol. Brevity is not my strength so this is going to be long, sry.

You can read the following quote from the director and see if you want to see an adaptation of Ripley by someone with this opinion:

A legitimate gripe that fans of the novel might voice is that I entirely missed the point of the book, because the book celebrates an amoral central character who gets away with murder and doesn't seem to suffer for it. And part of the fun of the novel is that he doesn't seem to care. [...] You know that he'll have no remorse about killing other people to get what he wants. And there's a kind of glee in seeing him do it. But it's not a glee that I wanted to transform into the film, partly because of the nature of the way you experience film. But, if that's my technical position, it's also my moral position. I don't want to tell a story about a man who gets away with murder and doesn't care. It doesn't interest me.

Minghella

Sorry, but WHY did you adapt RIPLEY if that was how you felt about the source material. Tom is a deeply sensitive, emotional person, but also a stone-cold psychopath who not only doesn't feel remorse—bar brief moments of clarity—but also believes he's entirely morally justified in his crimes.

Minghella's adaptation manages to be both less progressive and less nuanced than the 1955 book, despite being made almost half a century later. It is also less true to the essence of the book than the French 1960 adaptation, Plein Soleil, despite that film being beholden to the standards and censorship of the mid-20th century. Minghella's film is, I think, a great demonstration of why the American audience on the whole never 'got' Highsmith. She was always far more popular in Europe and I do believe that is because your standard American audience couldn't handle the moral ambiguity of her books.

There's a lot you can read into with TTMR but, to me, the book has always primarily been about class, not sexuality. It has more in common with a film like Parasite than Brokeback Mountain or Maurice. Tom is the American Dream taken to its perverse extreme—a ruthless, ambitious, dishonest character who will do anything to get ahead in a world stacked against him. The class element is near completely erased from the Minghella film, with the focus instead on Dickie as some sort of manic pixie dream girl who Tom stumbles into the thrall of and becomes infatuated and obsessed with to the point of snapping and killing him when he rejects Tom's feelings. Yes, Minghella managed to play into every homophobic stereotype out there by depicting Tom as an explicitly homosexual character and... a violent incel who can't take a hint.

In contrast, book Dickie is stunningly mediocre to the point of being an embarrassment to Tom, far from Jude Law's character. If anything, Tom is the one who brings excitement into Dickie's life . Minghella's Ripley is a shy, ungainly nerd; Highsmith's Ripley has his clumsy moments—certainly never managed to win Marge over lol—but is a capable, charismatic and driven person in his own right.

E Shannon's paper 'Where was the sex?' does a better job of discussing the altered interpretation of Ripley than I can. I've linked SciHub as it's locked behind institution login on JSTOR.

Highsmith certainly explores sexuality with great sophistication, but ultimately sexuality remains subtext in the novel, while it dominates the film. To pursue its concerns, Minghella's film revises the novel's characters and invents others, all with the aim of redefining Tom Ripley for a Hollywood audience. Minghella's Tom is first and foremost a gay man besieged by a hostile, straight world and only secondarily an American social climber on the hunt in Europe. Ironically, Minghella's focus on Tom's "taboo" homosexuality leads to a story that is less-not more-subversive than Highsmith's, whose critique of American ideas of class is lost to the film's paradoxically conventional sexual conflicts. In fact, in one sense, the film altogether inverts the sexual context of the novel. Where the novel uses Tom's sexuality to critique contemporary ideas of class, the film uses Tom's class to critique contemporary ideas of sexuality. Highsmith's Tom Ripley is a diabolical "culmination of the American success ethic" (Cochran 162), while Minghella's Tom Ripley is a misunderstood casualty of sexual bigotry and provincialism and a victim of his own frustrated sexual desire.

And also:

Minghella's audience is encouraged to criticize the monolithic presence of the "straight culture" and sympathize with Tom's dilemma, while Highsmith's readers are asked to consider aspects of culture beyond gay or straight sexual identity. For Minghella, Tom is either gay or straight. Either Dickie loves Tom or he loves Marge. The complex, sometimes asexual relationships of the 1950s novel are replaced with the simpler, blunter sexual truths of 1990s Hollywood, where "homosexual" is becoming almost as normalized as "heterosexual."

They also make a good point about Dickie being arguably closer implied to being a closeted gay man than Tom, which is actually quite a depressing thought. You can understand why he chooses estrangement from his family with that interpretation. Also, his assertion that Tom is in love with Dickie's material possessions, rather than him as a person is something I agree with. Tom doesn't miss Dickie after he dies, because he views Dickie as the sum of his parts—those being his signet ring, his fancy watches, his shiny cufflinks and his nice shoes. Again, deranged <3

Ultimately, I don't believe that even the shadow of a character like Ripley can be adapted to the screen. Dostoevsky being a major influence of Highsmith's is no surprise. Tom reads a lot like one of his rambling, neurotic characters, his inner dialogue being his most critical, defining feature, and not one that can be brought to the screen. Still, Minghella doesn't even try lol. I hate it.

#minghella - ie. 1999's puriteen #“how can i make a film about a guy who doesn't feel bad abt committing murder?? :(((”#- man who signed on to make film about a guy who doesn't feel bad abt committing murder #asks #anon #the talented mr ripley #long post #sorry but if we're talking sexuality... tom ripley is asexual #i could elaborate on that but feel like im getting off-topic lol

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ofstormsandsaints · 2 years

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Past Fashion in the Demon World - First Bloods

Reminiscence of the past

Let us be clear: the founder race is dying.

Their previous king's sanity had declined past the point of denial.

Didn't even try to save his people.

The mad king's overthrow - was planned by collective force.

The war. the End. the plague of the land.

And those still alive, erased from memory and then eaten away by the disease. Locked and sealed in the dark.

Vomiting blood and bitter regret.

Like the Great Roman Empire - Idleness and Decadence led to their downfall.

The war had ransacked everything. Every element of the past, of the golden age of the Ancestors. Endzeit took the living and left only meaningless trinkets of memory.

Burai kept some of those and even more: Menae's dresses, some of her jewellry...

and a daughter as the hidden remaining evidence of an ancient time. An ancient world he had conquered.

The two last remaining Founders. First children of the Moon

Today protect body and soul, the last bits of their glorious heritage.

The founder race thrived in the centre of the demon world

cold, dry winters

quite pleasant summers and mid-seasons full of soft colours.

mountainous land (not to the level of the Adler's but still high enough so they could get fresh gusts of wind), they towered over the other territories.

Their hegemony was supreme, at first even quite brilliant. They were self-sufficient, feared but respected.

Not the slightest interest in human civilisations. For them, humans were slaves, food, and entertainment.

At the top of the hierarchy, Founders were the reference of good taste and what was fashionable at the royal court would be in vogue everywhere else.

due to similar weather conditions, some elements of the First Blood fashion could be compared to a strange mix of old European apparel.

which is crazy because the timeline is so fucked up we don't even know where to situate the founders existence in human history because they were ahead of their time: from the clothes silhouette to the fabric used and the skills of their tailors.

Let's dive into blood into a 'brief' description of founders' fashion.

Aristocrats' clothing. Because like everywhere else, the world doesn't seem to care about how the commoners would dress. We prefer rare silks and gold over anything.

But the shiniest stars are always the dying ones.

Anyways-

male fashion

can be sum up in four points :

18th-century "habit à la française" (I'm french but I only read it with a fake British accent it's terrible)

Imperial Russian court and military uniforms

Alucard from Castlevania (especially the one from 1997)

and Bloodborne

what? I should develop?

the 18th-century/Alucard style. soft ruffled shirt, large embroidered silk cravat, heavy linen pants with high leather boots sat on top, again a goddamn cloak...on top of a pirate coat-

founders men were responsible for the "romantic vampire aesthetic" but Karlheinz will never admit it.

they liked form-fitting clothes, slightly tight on the chest because they wanted to accentuate the strong lines of their necks and outline their shoulders to make them look broader.

yeah they're insecure like that😔

overcoats heavy with wealth.

it could be brown, it could be blue, it could be violet-You see what I'm doing here.

some buttoned, some buckled but all embellished with stitches of silver and gold

long hair was a genderless preference.

Well. Women were expected to keep them long because blablabla women and feminity blablabla but for the men who chose to have long hair (like Carla) it was perceived as a sign of power??

like they considered that you have to be particularly deft or confident in your magical abilities to be able to fight with long hair (they're not particularly wrong though)

but I prefer to think that they liked long hair because it contributed a LOT to their dark romantic aesthetic.

anything for the drama.

female fashion

a glorious mix of 18th-19th century russian court fashion and... 50s old hollywood dresses. (don't ask me, they're stylish and visionary)

beautifully designed, from the delicate shape of a butterfly sleeve to the way it embraced the line of the shoulders

distinguishing and elegant, the off-shoulder elongated the neck and the low neckline was lined with small almost-transluscent pearls and silver threads to capture the light and make their skin radiates under the fine diamond necklaces.

corsets obviously but we are far from the killing corsets Cordelia could wear to have one hell of a waist. In comparison, they were comfortable (again, their tailors were that good)

silk opera gloves, sometimes lacy ones to match the men's stupid shirts 🙄

layered skirts but not the bulky type (not the Empress Sissi style). Founder women didn't like the ballooning silhouette and found it unattractive as it didn't do them any favour.

preferred drawing attention to their waist and cleavage but also to their height.

skirts had to compliment and accentuate the length of the body as the First Blood women were taller than most female demons. (well see Cordelia. She's the tallest among the three wives and I suspect her to be actually quite 'short' for a founder woman.)

their silhouette is almost fae-like: lithe, lean and strong despite being overprotected and confined to that castle 😔

so the skirts were long, organza or taffeta draped the main skirt to give some dimension to the dress - no crinoline. maybe a bustle to add a little to their hips and bums

because the Founders can only be killed by decapitation, they provocatively exposed their necks a lot in their clothing style.

open ruffs (like a smaller Medici collar), off-shoulder, v-neck or sweetheart necklines...

Fate being a cruel mistress, this small game of silent provocation was definitely not what caused their ruin.

But you know what happened.

Now most of these lavish gowns and sumptuous coats are just crumbs of inspiration from an old system, left to be pecked.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #diabolik lovers headcanons #diabolik lovers fashion #diabolik lovers lore #carla tsukinami #shin tsukinami #krone #giesbach #karlheinz #Spotify

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bowelfly · 1 year

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while i usually keep this blog focused on art and bugs, movies are my third big passion, and since i don't believe in streaming services i don't have a spotify wrapped for 2022 to show off but i do have a letterboxd account so i felt like going through my 2022 movie watching stats. this post is basically for me alone and will be obnoxiously long so i'll put in a read more thing here out of courtesy:

ooh so close to almost 1000 hours of movies! still 718 films is pretty good, though that does also include around 80 or so shorts, mostly animations, that i also logged.

i was averaging around 2 movies per day for the year. being 500 miles away from all your friends, family, and partner does give you a lot of free time it turns out. the most movies i watched in a single week, december 10-16, was 28. the weeks i only watched a couple things were either when i was visiting my partner or too depressed to even watch movies

one of the things i've done this year to keep myself sane in isolation was to stream movies for friends. however since i have multiple non-overlapping friend groups, there were a number of movies i watched multiple times because i have a deep psychological and emotional need to share weird shit with the people i care about. NOVA SEED, FANTASY MISSION FORCE, and BUDDHA'S PALM were the triple crown winners this year.

i only watched 7 movies that came out in 2022. my sweet spot is genre movies made from the late 70s through the mid-90s which you can see clearly if you look at my lifetime stats. predictably, i have very strong opinions about practical effects and stunts and film stock

my ratings spread for 2022 is about what it normally is for other years with a lot of things ending up in the 3.5-4 star range. maybe i'm just generous with my stars or maybe i just like what i like and try to not watch things i won't like unless they're bad in a fun way but i really feel like i've been moving away from the whole so-bad-its-good thing over the years and focusing on things that i unironically like--though these are often films that other people do categorize as bad or so-bad-its-good.

my most watched actors is a bunch of golden age hong kong dudes because i went super hard on the kung fu and wuxia films this year. like about half of these are big name stars and the other half are less well-known character actors that still are in like 200 movies playing assorted emperors and evil administrators. really glad to see my main man lo lieh running away with first place. he's most well known for playing evil white-haired kung fu masters usually named pai mei or variations of that, but he's also played the protagonist or antihero of a number of great films like FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH or THE FUGITIVE (1972, not the harrison ford one). my favorite role of his is without question Bi Gu of East Island the rascally kung fu wizard who hollers his name from offscreen before every time he enters a scene in BUDDHA'S PALM (1982).

also very pleased to see one of my favorite american character actors, brion james squeaking his way onto the list, though sad that he got separated from his best friend and frequent collaborator tim thomerson, who i think is just below the cut here.

most watched directors. i've been a huge fan of the very recently deceased albert pyun for years now, largely on the strength of his absolute god-tier masterpiece NEMESIS (1992) though he has a number of other very entertaining movies (RADIOACTIVE DREAMS, CYBORG) and also a cavalcade of very bad movies that are nonetheless all fascinating in their own ways. i could go on about him at length but this post is long enough. maybe another time.

other than that, chor yuen (THE MAGIC BLADE, DESCENDANT OF THE SUN) and chang cheh (CRIPPLED AVENGERS, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS) are gods of early wuxia cinema and fucking rule, and keita amemiya's 90s work (ZEIRAM, MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER, CYBER NINJA) are pinnacles of kickass japanese practical effects work.

i also watched a lot of russ meyer and john waters films because i'm a pevert.

this is mostly just a reminder to check out my WUXIA WIZARD WARS tumblr post and letterboxd list if you like movies about wizards shooting lasers at each other and summoning fucked up monsters and shit like that

finally, because i have a brain disease, i made a list of the 100 best films i watched this year, mostly first-time watches but probably like 15-20 rewatches that i especially enjoyed or think more people should know about or give another shot. if i didn't already have way too many projects i'd consider setting up another sideblog just going through all these one by one with reviews and screenshots but that's a lot of work and i am a tired old man. i might give an occasional highlight post like i did for THE BARON AGAINST THE DEMONS

and i guess that's about it? this has been an especially heavy year for golden age hong kong kung fu and wuxia films but i explored a lot of other interesting places and times and genres and microgenres and have a lot more i plan on checking out next year. i've got stacks and stacks of unwatched japanese V-cinema and pinku violence and kaiju and tokusatsu films; tons of giallo and hammer horror and eurotrash lesbian vampire flicks; classic westerns, revisionist westerns, spaghetti westerns; SOV horror, eastern european stop motion, hong kong CAT III sleaze, russian postapocalyptic dirges, poliziotteschi, krimi, and noir films; AIP and PM Entertainment action schlock; italian mad max ripoffs, italian alien ripoffs, italian conan ripoffs; approximately 300 movies with NINJA, BLOOD, or SHAOLIN in their titles; and probably some other shit too.

finally, if you've made it this far and you're a nasty little film freak like me i'll let you in on a secret: i have copies of every single one of these movies on my hard drive. literally thousands of movies dug out of dozens of digital dumpsters with my own two greasy grabby raccoon paws. if any of them particularly catch your interest but you can't find a copy, well you can maybe slip old professor bfly a little private request and get yourself a copy of whatever you need. it may take some time since i only have so many google drive accounts unless someone wants to subsidize a deluxe mega.nz subscription for me to mass-upload things to. i also have a soulseek account sharing the entire hoard but it's very slow and not always online but you can DM me for that as well. again though you may have to be patient because i am old and tired and slow and have a full time job and a hundred dumb hobbies and social anxiety and generalized brain damage

happy new year everyone now go watch a movie about some dudes kicking the shit out of each other for me

#bfly talks movies #letterboxd #long post

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