#zhongguo
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Tea House, Nanjing -- October 13th, 2023
Etsy
#nanjing#china#zhongguo#street photography#original photography#china photography#china pictures#china pics#chinese#photographers on tumblr#streets#asia#east asia#asia photos#asian#PRC
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Nǚ Jì Sī and Guì Zi Shǒu
(Credit: @masterartlocked)
You may be curious what is with this art and the names? 'Those are Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko you silly' you might be saying to me. Well, in the lore of Cryas Darkstalkers, there is an interesting turn of events due to following their journey from the beginning. When they first went about their journey, they figured that due to Hsien-Ko's appearance being overtly less human than Mei-Ling, she would need to hide her appearance from the eyes of humans. To do this, Mei-Ling made a cloak for her sister to wear in order to conceal herself in the times they walk through a village. Initially, Hsien-Ko only ventured with Mei-Ling at night to ensure she would not be recognized as being non-human. While a few close calls, they got pretty good at it. This was necessary since they did need to accept jobs of hunting and exterminating the Darkstalkers in order to get information regarding any stories about places of interest in the many vast areas of China.
Slowly over the decades however, an unintended side effect of their exploits would occur. As Mei-Ling was the one being seen and they would retread through places they have been to on many occasions over the decades, people would start noticing this ageless, beautiful mystic. Not only that, but people also realized how she and her hooded companion were effective in their job of ridding their lands of the creatures of the night. With this air of mystery, stories would begin to spread across the roads of this woman being possibly a spirit. More than that.... she could be a Xian. The stories would begin to tell of a Xian whose beauty was said to be unmatched with her elegant face, hair of many lustrous shades of umber, and eyes more brilliant than the finest jade. She was said to have descended from the heavens to finally free the people and Zhōngguó (中國) from the grasps of the demons and monsters that brought suffering and death to their livelihoods. While many names were thrown of this Xian, eventually the name of 女祭司 (Nǚ Jì Sī) would stick. This name of 'priestess' was fitting due to her appearance. Once the sisters started catching on due to hearsay they heard, artwork that began popping up, and even being greeted as such, they had their own reactions to Mei-Ling’s title. While Mei-Ling was incredibly embarrassed and flustered at this effective deification of her (especially with all the myths speaking of her otherworldly beauty), Hsien-Ko found it incredible. She loved the idea that her sister was effectively becoming part of the mythos of different cultures throughout the lands, just like the many mythical beings they learned about in their youth.
The stories didn't stop with Mei-Ling. While her sister was more prominent in these new legends that were unfolding, Hsien-Ko herself would gain titles. The most popular that stuck was 劊子手 (Guì Zi Shǒu), which means ‘executioner’. Due to the fact Mei-Ling did most of the talking, not many people knew what this cloaked individual’s relation to Nǚ Jì Sī was. Some thought they might be a follower, keeping record of the Xian’s many deeds as she traveled the lands ridding the Darkstalker threat. However, due to many stories noticing them dragging a large coffin with them, they believed this individual may actually be quite strong. Some believe they act like an attack dog on a leash, sicked on to the Darkstalkers by Nǚ Jì Sī. The gender of this being has been put into question as not many have heard their voice. However, those who have said it sounded like a woman, full of cheeriness in her tone in one moment and sounding very serious in others. Some wonder if this being is even human. Some believe she may be one that was bestowed great power by Nǚ Jì Sī. Others think she may in fact be a spirit or Xian herself. The more outrageous claims think she may in fact be a demon under the control of Nǚ Jì Sī, repenting for their past transgressions by serving the guardian deity.
When the two learned of this via gossip and art that depicted her (in various ways based on each person’s belief), Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling had their thoughts. Hsien-Ko thought it was genuinely cool that despite not having her face being shown, she was still effectively becoming a mythical figure, like the being that she obtained her name from. She had a fondness for the title Guì Zi Shǒu. Mei-Ling on the other hand felt some sense of resentment. Considering the spotlight she was receiving despite the fact Hsien-Ko is the one putting in the hard work of defeating the Darkstalkers they faced in their hunts, she felt it was unfair, especially when some artwork depicted her sister as this demon under her control. Part of her wishes she could do something to silence this depiction of her young sister, but Hsien-Ko would calm her sister’s furrowed brow. She explains that if anything, these myths help make their travels easier since humans are more willing to provide aid to a Xian rather than some traveling hunters. And to her, she thinks it is cool that people get creative with these really cool ideas about who she is. She likes the idea of being this powerful enigma to the masses.
#cryas darkstalkers#darkstalkers#auranova26#hsien ko#mei ling#lore#shao#chinese#jiangshi#xian#nujisi#guizishou#china#zhongguo#hsien-ko#mei-ling#hooded#beautiful#big sister is being seen as a deity#stained glass
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The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century; however, it was not a word used by the Chinese themselves during this period. Its origin has been traced through Portuguese, Malay, and Persianback to the Sanskrit word Cīna, used in ancient India.
The shorter form is "China" Zhōngguó (中国; 中國) from zhōng ("central") and guó("state"),[s] a term which developed under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne.
#kemetic dreams#zhongguo#protuguese#malay#persian#sanskrit#asia#central asia#china#western zhou#guo#brown skin#east asia
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Chinese Wedding Dress
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ZTE begins setting up Phone 📱 Factory in Zed 🇿🇲 💚 - The Sweet🧁 Rewards😋 of Bally's China Visit 🇨🇳 ❤
Bally's delightful State Visit to China️ has already started bearing yummy 😋🤤 fruits 💦🍑🫐🥭🍇🍍🍌 as Tech Giant ZTE has officially kickstarted the setting up of itx 1st ever Smartphone📱 Assembly Plant in the region following the arrival of itx boss Li Zixue in the country yesterday.
Zambia is strategically located in the Center of Africa making it the perfect spot for ZTE to effortlessly manufacture x export their innovative handsets📱💜 allover the continent.
This enchanting deal was planted🌱 just last week when Bally gracefully toured ZTE headquarters during his spectacular State Visit to The Great Nation of China️ x in under a week itx already come to fruition🌻💗 thanks to Bally's magical 🧚♀️ farming 👨🏿🌾 skills x charm ✨
Bally is the only human being in the world who can plant a seed in just one week it grows into a full fledged tree🎄 ready for harvest 🍓🍒🥳 Talk about a real life Superman 🦸🏿♂️💪🏿
Thank U Bally 💕
Thank U Xi Jinping ♥️
Thank U ZTE 🖤
Thank U China 🇨🇳
Bally Wakutashafye 🙌🏿🥇🧡
Zambia Forward 👋🏿🏆
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ive been really into china styles lately, qi, tangzhuang, pan chang, etc etc etc...
so heres some vstyle and menhera style pplz wearing them :D
#china style#tangzhuang#pan chang#zhongguo jie#jiangshi#mercuro#hoko naki#yami bis#menhera#jirai#visual kei#vkei#tokyo fashion#bizyuaru kei
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Anime of the Day: Zhongguo Qi Tan
Alt title: Yao-Chinese Folktales
Released: 2023
Using a variety of methods and styles, this anime tells eight different stories from Chinese folklore. Each episodes runtime ranges from 10-18 minutes, so this is an easy way to add a quick breath of anime to your daily life.
#Zhongguo Qi Tan#Yao-Chinese Folktales#2023#anime of the day#anime recommendation#anime review#anime#anime rec#anime rec list#short anime
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17. Talk about one person that you haven’t spoken to in awhile.
#hetalia#aph#art post#nyotalia#lin zerui.txt#jiang nianjing.txt#ask-zhongguo#nyo china#2p nyo China#2p talia
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youtube
Seventh?? Attempt:
To anyone reading this, I did not have paracord with me, so I used my extra, unused shoelaces. I don't think you'll get a good result with yarn, I've tried before.
Seventh??? Attempt:
- everything looks good except the last step where I had to pull out the extra loops, I couldn't find it??
8th attempt: ??????
- while doing this one, I probably tightened and pulled on the wrong string?? either way: ????
Same goes for this:
At least this one looks better:
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-Eternally Yours-
Eastern Dragon!Yuu × Malleus Draconia
Summary: Courting a girl you've been been engaged to for most of your life is difficult.
Warning:If I cared about errors I wouldn't post this
Malleus didn't know what to expect when meeting his fiancée. The marriage wasn't arranged by their parents in the traditional way.
She had been found on a mountain isolated from the world. She had lived there alone for hundreds of years. Yuu was once there not of her own will but had become complacent in her peaceful life.
Lilia had discovered her when he visited the island while traveling. He watch the young girl hide from him not knowing how to approach another intelligent being. He managed to gain her trust with meat and sweets.
Lilia learned that she was left behind during an attack years ago. She lived in the remnants of the village. She survived but couldn't escape the abandoned island since she was too young to fly.
Lilia felt sorry for her. Yuu was about Malleus's age and she juat reached his waist. She was very young and forced to survive alone. Lilia agreed to take her to the mainland but was surprised to discover that her family was alive. They searched for her for years while grieving her lost because she was practically a new born when she was lost. They were so thankful they offered him anything in exchange. They hadn't expected what would result of thier offer. A marriage offer was made between Yuu and the heir of Brier Valley. Yuu's parents were unsure because of their daughter's age and the risk of losing her too soon but they relented to keep their word.
Malleus's grandmother pushed for the union knowing that Malleus would need a partner. The the children would officially meet when they were adults.
Malleus didn't dislike the idea of getting married, he just expected more. He believed that it would be better since they were both dragons.
Yuu was quiet, pretty, spent alot of time in her room. She expressed no interest or expression. She was like a porcelain doll.
Lilia assured Malleus over and over that she was kind, adventurous, and would be a good partner.
Malleus couldn't see beyond the wall between them.
"Do you want to get married?" He'd asked as they walked through campus.
Yuu shifted her gaze from her book to look briefly at Malleus.
"It's convenient isn't it? You will be strong and intelligent partner. As will I. In the future I will provide children whom possess the same traits." She stated logically.
Malleus knew the ultimate purpose of their arrangement and he agreed with it. He had little doubt their children would be beautiful, but he was still disappointed with her response.
His face must have given it away because Yuu's face twisted into frown.
"Malleus. Do you not like that?" Despite trying to hide it she was clearly hurt.
"No, its fine." He sighed. Their walk was quite and uneventful.
Their miscommunication continued as her birthday neared. Yuu made it clear she didn't like her birthday, but Crowley made birthdays mandatory.
Malleus had the bright idea of throwing a party but not calling it a birthday.
He ended up upsetting her more as she fled the room when the singing started. He followed her. The sound of her crying on the otherside of door caused him distress.
Yuu never celebrated her birthday. She had tried to make that clear but he didn't listen.
Malleus had thought it would be fine since she happily celebrated his birthday with him.
He had been a lackluster fiancé so far. He tried to reflect as he gazed at the gift Yuu gave him. A red rope tied into an intricate knot with a green jade amulet. She called it a zhongguo jie. She said it symbolizes longevity and eternity.
Lilia later told Malleus that it was gift that was given before marriage by partners. Usually they were made in a set. Malleus wanted to give her one in return. It had taken a lot of practice but he managed to tie something similar. Unfortunately, he couldn't present it to her at the event.
He had intended to show her that he was committed to their arrangement as she was. It wasn't what he chose he would admit but he would make it work.
In the passing days Malleus had apologized but didn't ask her what happened to her that night. Instead he stuck to her side. Whatever she was doing, he was going to do.
They were dragons, there was no room for subtlety as he followed her everywhere.
Malleus learned alot about his fiancée. Yuu liked bright red and white. She enjoyed weaving but not with a spindle but with a loom. On Saturday she goes to the library and tells stories to the children about her homeland.
She would pretend to walk in the forest only to sprint away and dissappears when she got annoyed by Malleus's constant presence. It became a game on cat and mouse as she would try to escape. Every time he got got better at tracking her down. Whenever he found her tucked away in a tree or cave she'd cover her mouth as she held back a giggle.
Malleus felt his heart flutter as he smiled and helped her to her feet. Her laugh was like a tickling silver bell that rattled in his ears and replayed in the back of his mind.
Malleus introduced his hobbies to her, like gargoyle studies. Yuu was confused at first as she didn't have them in her land. She had statues of the many noble creatures from her land but was fascinated with the idea of using statues as irrigation rather then just beauty.
They had more in common then he thought. They both enjoyed midnight walks and took them often.
One evening when the moon was full, Yuu let go of his arm and sprinted to the middle of the field. When Malleus almost caught up as she gazed at him.
The moonlight made her skin glow. Her red markings seemed to light up.
"The moon is beautiful isn't it?" She smiled widely, her sharp teeth displayed.
"It is, but not as much as you." Malleus sighed as she turned to gaze up again.
"It was like this the day my parents met." She said wistfully. "Under full moon. A dragon lord met an immortal priestess and it was a love that has lasted for centuries."
Malleus tried to find words to respond before she spoke.
"He was engaged to another dragon at the time. But he loved my mother so much, he chose her." Yuu continued quietly. "I wonder how that woman felt. To be a victim on true love."
"You can't control who you love." Malleus knew better then to believe emotions could be controlled.
"You're right, but you can control how you deal with it. He called off the engagement during her coming of age party with my mother there as his partner." Malleus winced as she said it.
"That awful. Yuu, I would never." Malleus understood why she didn't want a party.
"Hush Mal, Let me finish." Malleus felt scolded as he nodded. "My parents aren't bad people, but they did a bad thing. They share the blame for it. Prices must be payed, and on the day of my birth she returned. Everything was torched and I was lost to my parents. She was slayed by my father and mother. I remained missing for many years."
"Listen to me. I don't want to end up like that woman. I don't want to love you and be left behind when you finally find the one you want. I didn't chose to be your wife, but I want to be treated like your wife not a placeholder." Yuu was stern as she looked in Malleus's eyes pleading.
Malleus couldn't say a word as he hugged her tightly.
She pulled away.
"Your parents made a mistake even if it was out of love. I would never do that to you. You are my my fiancée, my future wife and if you will allow, my mate." Malleus said with authority meaning every word.
Yuu was shocked. Did he really say mate? Marriage is one thing, it's a contract between families. Her child would be his heir and she gets the power as his empress. Their child's power would be of two kingdoms.
But a mate is commitment beyond what she could expect. A dragon can only mate once and if their mate dies they will die as well. Not immediately but living without your mate is like living without food or water. The benefits of mating means that they share a lifespan so a human could live as long as a dragon. They could communicate without worlds, sense emotions and share a bond that could only be understood by each other.
When Yuu's father fell for her mother the nobles told her father to mate her mother and marry his fiancée. Mating was for love and only love. An arranged partner like her doesn't get to have a mate.
"Don't say something you don't mean!" Yuu yelled angered by Malleus's calluse words.
Before she could say anything else Malleus pulled her towards him and kissed her. When she melted into his lips she felt Malleus press something into her hand. When they parted she saw what he had given her.
It was a green zhongguo jie. It was a messy knot with stings poking out in the wrong places. It was tied to a beautiful red jade amulet.
"It's not as good looking as the one you made but I wanted to show you I was just a serious as you about this. I want to be your mate. Maybe now isn't the time and we are still years away from marriage, but I want to start something real between us." Malleus said taking her hand in his.
Yuu laughed in disbelief before sighing happily in defeat.
"Let's start with courting. Real courting." She said pulling him in for another kiss.
It had be so many years since that day. And they still walk under the moon together.
They married centuries ago and mated decades later after much consideration. They had their first child just after.
They still wear the matching tassels from so long ago though they were worn, chipped and had lost their colors over time.
Even if the amulets fry into nothing or crack into dust they will still be there. They will be together always and forever. Till death do they part. Only for a moment.
#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland x reader#twisted wonderland yuu#twst mc#twst yuu#twst malleus#twisted wonderland malleus#malleus x yuu#malleus x y/n#malleus draconia#malleus hcs
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Supply/Demand, Nanjing -- October 13th, 2023
Etsy
#nanjing#china#zhongguo#street photography#original photography#china photography#china pictures#china pics#chinese#photographers on tumblr#streets#asia#east asia#asia photos#asian#PRC
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“Langyao-red glazed Zun (vase) Jingdezhen Ware Kangxi Reign (A.D.1662-1722) Qing H.11.5cm Mouth D.10.4cm Foot D.5.4cm”
From: “Shanghai bo wu guan Zhongguo gu dai tao ci guan = Ancient Chinese Ceramic Gallery, the Shanghai Museum” by Shanghai bo wu guan; 1995.
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Why does the country “Jordan” have an English name?
For the same reason “Germany”, “China”, “Japan”, and “Hungary” among many others, have English names.
Just as Germans call their country “Deutschland”, the Chinese call theirs “Zhongguo”, the Japanese call theirs “Nihon”, and Hungarians call theirs “Magyarorszag”, the Jordanians call their country “al-Urdun”.
#kemetic dreams#zhongguo#deutschland#nihon#magyarorszag#jordan#jordanians#al urdun#germans#china#japan#chinese#han#han people#han ethnic
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Xaio Zhan - Handsome and famous artist from Zhongguo
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it pisses me off when people point out quirks of japan that were actually quirks of china originally. i know for a fact you would not be bringing this same energy for glorious zhongguo, weeaboo.
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[fic+art] From Her Mouth of Strawberry
From Her Mouth of Strawberry
Ikemen Vampire | Vlad x Main Character/Reader | M | 2.7k words
ao3 link
So this is what everlasting love feels like.
An epilogue of Vlad’s Romantic Ending route. With art.
A/N: OH MY GOD I MADE IT. SOMEWHAT. HAPPY NEW YEAR. I post this as Lady Gaga plays in my neighbor's house. I wanted to finish and post this before I get Jossed in a couple of hours. Vlad's sequel is coming! So early, wow! Forgive the quality of writing in this one; I wrote parts of it with a clear mind, I wrote most of it dizzy and sleepy and trying to concentrate while my neighbors sing merrily in their karaoke (70s-80s songs is 👌, I approve). Title and the quoted verses are from Charles Baudelaire's Les Métamorphoses du vampire. Very apt, very apt.
I also have art for it! Which I'll include in a reblog, so as not to disrupt the flow of reading.
Tagging and shoutout to @akintosalt and @evil-quartett, who have witnessed my descent to madness finishing this fic and whom I have greeted as 2023 sauntered here with pomp and swag. This is for you guys! 💖
On the first morning of eternity Vlad is next to your side on the bed, elbow folded against the mattress, his upper body and head lifted to watch you slowly part your eyelids. The sun shimmers through the tall windows of his room, casting a long thick line across the carpeted floor, like golden lava that would sink you if you dip your feet in. The diffuse glow of the natural light hits Vlad’s skin and hair, his eyes shining like revelation.
“Good morning,” he whispers.
Something in your heart blooms, warm and soft under his radiance. There’s a little ache in there, too, a light squeeze that’s almost exquisite in its significance.
His other hand leaves its place and migrates to your face, knuckles ghosting along the corner of your eye down to your cheek then to the corner of your lips, and you tilt slightly to place a kiss there. Vlad smiles, and he leans down to press his own lips to yours. He opens his mouth and you taste strawberries.
When you separate, you smile back at him and say, “Good morning, Vlad.”
Outside, birds twitter among the freshly blossomed garden flowers, and Paris wakes languidly into the arrival of spring.
The days following your transformation march on like a steady drumbeat, rhythm never ruined. It’s as if nothing momentous happened; the world feels the same, still is the same, but Vlad knows that everything has changed. It’s in the way he views the world now. Before, it treads on the path leading to destruction; but next to you, the world seems to radiate renewal. The lens with which he sees things shifted, allowing diffraction, the direction of his ambition spreading into a dream, encompassing every scope, every shape, every color.
Before, Vlad was a god carrying the fate of the world on his lonely shoulders. Now, he has descended from the heavens to walk among humans.
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine. A bit weird—I can feel the sharpness of my incisors against my tongue—but not bad weird.”
“Ah. If you encounter any problems, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
“Of course.” A pause. “Hey, Vlad?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad—I’m glad that we found each other this time.”
An exhale of a laugh. “I’m glad, too. Didn’t we promise each other? I’ll find you wherever you are, whatever it takes.”
Years—decades, centuries—flickered by like a rapid flipping of pages. Empires rise and fall, and Vlad observed the milestones of mankind with the benevolent glint of a ruler surveying his kingdom. He’d been to plenty of places, all in search of the girl who saved him. He’d looked for her under the rust-colored roofs of Firenze, amidst the resplendent natural beauty of Zhongguo, against the tropical heat of Las islas Felipinas, and dozens more—the beat of the heart seeking for an echo, the one with the warmth of embrace and the mellisonant voice that dripped with pure light.
He recalled: they never did finish that conversation, did they. The one where she was about to part something. Sometimes, as he lay down on his bed, before he drifted off to sleep, Vlad wondered what she’d say. It must’ve been important, because her face was pulled taut, almost crumpled into tears, like she couldn’t wait for the words to cascade out of her mouth. That was probably his only regret. When he returned to the mansion, drenched in snow and blood, she was already gone, a wraith whisked off by the biting wind.
Would he find out what she’s supposed to say? Would he ever in his lifetime?
The question of thirst emerges right after. You know, based on your experiences with the residents in the mansion, that vampires can curb their bloodlust by drinking Blanc. Perfectly safe, perfectly moral. Food is an indulgence they all partake in, as evidenced by Vlad’s childlike preference for strawberries.
Charles offers to supply you Blanc, but you decline, insisting that you can provide on your own. It’s one thing to live forever; it’s another to be self-sufficient about it. Even if your life has upended and evolved, the same principles apply when trying not to be burdensome about it.
But it’s strange and baffling, this constant thirst. The others appear to be unsaddled by this dryness in the throat—or at least unbothered by it. This intensifies whenever Vlad is around, the itch clawing inside until it climbs to the roof of your mouth, and it all feels like sand, coarse and insidious, with parched tongue.
Of course, one look from Vlad and he understands.
“Drink from me,” he says later that night, when you’re seated side by side and only the moonlight reveals the expressions you have for each other. He takes your hand and nuzzles the inside of your wrist, eyes closed as if savoring the sensation of warmth. In bliss, reverential; his warm puffs of breath against your pulse sending heat all over your body.
He slants another gaze at you, this time beckoning, and you’re entranced by the hooded slits of red—passion, passion, burning passion in his blood-red eyes.
A tongue darts out. Licks the skin where your pulse is leaping against the wet, hot pressure. Vlad shuts his eyes and moans, ragged and so full of want that a shaky sigh escapes from you.
“Drink from me,” he murmurs again, the words pressed into your palm, and you can feel his lips shape the words against your skin. It tickles you, and you try to jerk your hand away but his grip on you is tight, intent on never letting go. “Love is tied to bloodlust,” he continues. “You desire my blood because you love me. I desire your blood because I love you. So drink from me, and I will drink from you.”
He unbuttons his shirt and exposes a shoulder. A portion of his scar peeks around the fabric. Softly, tenderly, he guides your head to his neck, and your lips meet his skin, clean but with a trace of sweetness, petals. The hand on your wrist remains, rubbing your pulse with his thumb.
“Go on,” he says, voice thick and encouraging. Even in love and lust Vlad is always the one who gives first.
“But,” you answer, your words muffled and hot; Vlad tilts his head back to provide more access. “Won’t this hurt you?”
“At first, yes. But I promise it will feel good for me and for you. Go on, take what you need.”
The sensation of fangs piercing flesh feels weird, but when Vlad’s blood bursts through and you finally get a taste of it, it’s a whole new thing altogether. Vlad gasps, a full-body shudder tremoring through him, his free hand grabbing your hips and tugging closer. You follow until you’re both pressed together, with nary a space in between. He reclines on the bed until you’re on top of him, still sucking at his neck for blood, the only sound in the room apart from his harsh breathing.
When your tongue swipes at the wounds Vlad groans, bringing both his hands on your hips and grinding. You both gasp at the hot pleasure.
“When she had drained the marrow out of all my bones, / When I turned listlessly amid my languid moans, / To give a kiss of love—” Vlad recites, almost like a mantra, almost like a prayer, his voice catching and clicking in the throes of ecstasy.
Vlad finds your eyes, hazy but lucid enough to ask, “Have you drunk enough?” A thumb caresses your lips and it glides easily because of the blood. Vlad inspects his thumb between you, fascinated before he brings it to his own lips, tastes his own blood. The sight of it makes you swallow, and the ache within you just grows and grows until it erupts and the words spill out of your lips like molten desire.
“No, I don’t think it will ever be enough, but that’s all right. What I want now—what I want—” You close your eyes and exhale a shuttered breath. When you look at Vlad again—his splayed hair like silver halo, his half-mast eyes drunk in pleasure, his parted lips stained with his own blood—all you see is a godling who deserves to be loved and worshiped like this. “What I want is to give you everything, so it’s your turn to drink from me.”
And like a giant wave he surges to crash against your lips, devouring your entire being. You welcome it, welcome him, your own hands unbuttoning the rest of his shirt then sliding inside to feel his skin, the hard planes of his muscles, the scar over his heart.
In this night of whispered sighs and ghostly touches, your heartbeats are in sync, and Vlad’s eyes glisten with pure want. Nothing else matters except the desire of flesh, your blood beating in want of him, and time dilutes and the world vanishes until only you and he remain.
The funny thing about memory was: accuracy wasn’t the point.
The expectant stare of the painter tilted sideways as Vlad stuttered into a halt, dreadful realization that he could no longer remember the face of his beloved savior. Sure he remembered the shade of her hair, waterfall brown that curled playfully midway. He remembered her pristine shirt, the color of snow before spilt blood—the color of her skirt. He remembered the shade of her skin illuminated by candlelight. But when it came to the most important thing of all: featureless light, uncrisp and blotchy.
It was funny because the way he felt about her was a solid, crisp thing, as palpable as the objects he could touch. The ember-warm ink-bloom that suffused his blood when she held him was indelible in his heart and memories; he could still remember the staccato rhythm of her heartbeat against his ear. Seedling-hope and ironclad belief tied together in her name. He’d find her, one day, even after the world ended, because he believed.
He remembered the sound of her breath before she opened the wardrobe that hid him from the world.
He remembered the buried sorrow between her words, threatening to claw out.
He remembered her hands, soft and delicate and yearning, and he ached to love.
He remembered her sweet scent—
He remembered her—
He remembered—
It’s been weeks since you’ve been cooped up in Vlad’s castle, adjusting to your new, eternal body and its needs, and now it seems to be the right time to venture out again.
So you visit the mansion.
The astonished faces of the residents when they see you are a sight to behold, and they pile on you like you’re their long-lost youngest sibling suddenly returned home.
Le Comte has to threaten Arthur and Dazai a spanking to pry them away from you. Sebastian declares a dinner party is in order, and it feels like the old days again, before Vlad came into your life and held your heart with snow-coated fingers.
Sebastian refuses your help to wash the dishes when you offered, arguing that the dinner was held in your honor and it’s silly to have you clean up after. Which is why you find yourself in front of the door that started everything.
Eventually Napoleon joins you in reminiscence.
“Do you regret it?” he asks, eyes not leaving the door.
But you turn to him, smiling when he meets your gaze, and say, “There’s no regret when it’s the destiny we chose, you know?”
Napoleon returns your smile, relief gracing his features. He ruffles your hair, the consummate big brother looking out for his siblings. “I’m glad.” He pauses, then adds: “Are you happy?”
That question bears no hesitation. “Yes,” you answer. “I’m very happy.”
Eternity is desire and ache and sorrow and loneliness—
He sinks his fangs into her flesh.
—and now it, too, is happiness.
One day, out of the blue, Vlad declares, “Let’s see the world.”
After consoling Charles and procuring assurances from Faust that he refrain from any funny stuff that Vlad elaborates:
“All the travels I’ve done in the past were always about searching for you. Now that we have found each other, I want to travel again—with you this time.”
And what can you say other than yes?
Decades pass in a snap of fingers, and Vlad’s enjoyed every second of it.
The world has become more precious: empires rose and fell, peace sustains its lilting melody, Vlad’s dream burns steady as life. Seeing the world tastes rich this time, a surprising burst of flavorful experiences—the sweetness of your smile against the backdrop of canola flowers in Jeju Island, the spicy car chase along Berliner Ring after getting accidentally involved in a casino heist, the tangy sunset after hours of café hopping in Vienna, the honeyed secrets exchanged under the bougainvillea-covered balconies in Cartagena.
Next to you the world teems with hope and faith, and Vlad tastes, this time, a robust future.
“Here.” You hand him a cone of ice cream that you bought from a street vendor across the pathway. The one you gave him has the color of flushed pink—strawberry—and yours is bright yellow—cheese. “Tell me what you think.”
There’s a bench a little far off to where you’re going. Vlad studies the ice cream carefully as he sits down, then he takes a lick. It’s light and sweet, a welcome chill on the tongue. The May heat melts it faster, and the ice cream drips down the cone, makes a small puddle in the fold of his index finger.
“This is delicious,” he says, and squints at your own cone. Cheese as an ice cream flavor is odd to him, but you seem to enjoy it. He swaps his hold of the ice cream and offers it to you with his right hand, his left raised to his lips, tongue darting out to lick away the melted cream. “Do you want to try mine?”
“Sure.” You lean towards his proffered hand and try the strawberry. In this close proximity, Vlad can smell your dulcified scent. A pleased hum escapes your throat. “This is good too!”
A first experience for Vlad: eating ice cream together with you as people relish their summer vacation, skipping with buoyant, dancer-steps, their laughter tickling his ears. Teenage girls steal glances in his direction, furtive giggling tucked behind coy hands. Vlad, indulgent, smiles at them, they laugh openly. You look on with amused affection in your eyes, ice cream gone, consumed.
“The last time I went here,” Vlad says, struck with a memory, “ice cream wasn’t introduced yet.”
“Oh? That’s a long time, then.”
“Almost three centuries since I’ve visited. Some buildings I recognize, but plenty have changed.”
It’s been a long time, indeed, but for Vlad, the passage of time runs differently from that of human perception. A blink, a sleep, a long pensive silence. Memories blur, betwixt one point and another. Just like his memories of your face, a gradual erosion attributed to absence and distance; but now, in this moment, Vlad knows that he will no longer forget.
A kilometer from where they sit, the sea murmurs, tranquil, and the people near it attempt to dip their toes into the water before it gets agitated. A month from now, typhoons will come, and the sea will rise and strike and beat the land with its ferocious waves. Vlad finishes his ice cream, the sweetness of strawberry and sugar cone lingering on his tongue.
“There’s a place here that I wanted to go to, but couldn’t the last time I came,” he says.
A beautiful smile blossoms on your lips. “Then let’s go there this time.”
He returns the smile with his own. “Yes, let’s.”
Another first experience: the heels of his shoes clacking against the stone pavement as children run and play tag, circling you and Vlad once, their chatter trailing in the air. His hand finds yours and entwines its fingers with your own, warm and comforting and real. It will continue in the years, decades, centuries—this solid and crisp warmth, this ink-bloom in his veins, your clear, unveiled face.
His dream of peace, of the world eternal, warless and free of destruction, held safe in your hands, beating on.
So this is what everlasting love feels like.
#fic#my fic#Ikemen Vampire#Vlad x Main Character#Vlad x Reader#ikemen vampire vlad#ikemen vampire vlad x mc#ikemen vampire vlad x reader#ikevamp vlad#ikevamp fic#the ice cream they're eating is sorbetes#sorbetes supremacy#cheese sorbetes supremacy
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