#actually this is a time-honored tradition for me

[burrowdarling]

My MVP (18+)

Summary: You and Joe take on the NFL Honors, leading to a whole lot more.

Pairings: boyfriend!Joe Burrow x girlfriend!reader

Requested: Yes | No

Warnings: descriptions of sex, masturbation, praise, definitely missing stuff MDNI

Note: I'm so proud of Joe and everything he accomplished this season. On another note, he looked so gorgeous I just had to write something.

Edit: minor changes to the end so that location makes sense

Word Count: 2.8k

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Taglist: @burrowbarbie @definitelynotdomanique @one-sweet-gubler @plushkhiii @enchantedinfinity @iosivb9 @hellsingalucard18 @hotburreaux Feel free to comment or message me if you'd like to be added to the list!

You were sitting on your bed in yours and Joe's hotel room, about to put on your heels when Joe walked out from the bathroom in his suit. You stopped your actions, letting your eyes scan over him without shame. It was unique, the tie on the side different from any old traditional suit, but you firmly believed Joe could look great in anything. You moved from the exposed skin of his chest, down his legs before moving back up to his face. Your eyes caught his, offering you a smile with a wink. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Joe said with a hint of lust to his tone. 

You shook your head at him with a smile of your own, though your eyes never left his. The suit was everything, the lack of shirt underneath was a choice and a good one at that. His hair cut was a nice touch, the loosely tousled curls with the tight sides made him look handsome, you were convinced there wasn’t a hairstyle he couldn’t pull off. You were pulled out of your less than appropriate thoughts by Joe's voice. 

“Let me,” Joe said as he dropped to his knees before you. 

Your air hitched in your throat as you felt Joe's strong hands grip your calf as he slipped your heel on your right foot. So much for taming your thoughts, your feelings heightening all over again twice as hard. He strapped the heel, giving your leg a squeeze before placing a kiss to your knee and moving to the next. Joe repeated his actions on your left side, feeling yourself getting hotter by the second. 

“If you don’t stand up, I’m gonna find a way to keep you on your knees,” you said breathlessly. 

Joe chuckled, standing and helping you to your feet. He towered over you, even with your heels. Your height difference was something that you loved about your dynamic.

“You know I would never say no to that, but we’re in a bit of a time crunch here. Can you help me put my necklace on?” Joe asked.

“You? Willing putting on jewelry? I’m really doing a number on you huh?”

“Oh hush, you know you love it. I would sometimes wear jewelry before you, ya know,” Joe joked as he placed his chain in your hand, turning his back to you. 

“I prefer this jewelry right here,” you spoke as you took his hand and brought it up to your mouth. 

You swear you watched his eyes darken as you placed his hand at the front of your neck, taunting him even more than before. You knew you were being a brat, but you couldn’t help it when he looked like this. He lightly gripped your neck and pulled your face to his, resting his forehead on yours. 

“Sweetheart if you don’t cool it, we won’t even make it to the event,” Joe growled slowly, his threat sounding more like a temptation than as a punishment. 

“Oh no, having to keep you here to myself when you look like walking sex, boohoo to me.”

“If you don’t stop being fresh, you’ll have to worry about your actual punishment for later. Now please just help me out so we’re not late,” Joe said with a hint of annoyance in his tone, more from the growing erection he was getting that he couldn’t take care of. You were stood toe to toe with him, your eyes practically calling out for him to fuck you right then and there.

He had a great view of your chest from this angle, having no shame in looking at you the same way you were looking at him. You could feel the tension in the room, begging the man in front of you to undress you with more than just his eyes. 

“I can take a picture for you if you’d like, add it to your spank bank,” you replied back to his earlier comment to you.

He rolled his eyes playfully at your terminology as he turned around. He leaned down just a tad, helping you to reach his neck. The position felt odd, the roles usually being reversed. You were happy with him stepping out of his comfort zone. The pops of color of the stones against his skin looked incredible. You noticed the matching chain that went across the top of his thigh, the small detail making him even harder to resist.

Joe turned back to face you, taking a step back and gesturing in a way to ask ‘how do I look?’ You nodded your head in approval, taking a step towards him to hold him in a tight embrace. 

“I want you to know that however tonight goes, I’m still proud of everything you accomplished this season,” you spoke into his chest meaning every word despite your playful attitude moments before. 

You felt him squeeze you tighter, your words taking a few moments to sink in and register. He swayed you gently back and forth, feeling his chest rise and fall. Joe placed a kiss to the top of your head, inhaling the familiar scent of your shampoo that grounded you.

“Thank you sweetheart, I'm ready to go wherever you are,” Joe said as he held back tears of his own. You nodded softly as you  grabbed your purse and headed out the door.

You both walked the red carpet, watching Joe command the cameras he had such a hatred for. He kept you as close as he could as you both made your way through the packed crowd of people. You did your best to keep him grounded and sane, knowing the worst of it would be over soon and you;d be in your seats with Ja’Marr. He did interviews, met with some fans, and took loads of pictures. You were so impressed with knowing that this kind of thing was his least favorite. He kept a smile on his face and a positive attitude. You finally made it through, watching him fully exhale one you were inside and in your seats. It wasn’t too long after the show had begun with Snoop Dogg taking the stage. He made his comments to the NFL stars, making a comment to Joe about the Bengals defense and his batmobile, causing you to hold in your laughter.

The night moved fast, award after award being announced when it finally got to the comeback player of the year. This was the second award Joe was up for tonight, the first going to Sawuon who you felt also was very deserving of it. You held your breath as the highlight video showed all of the nominees. It wasn’t until Randy Moss had announced Joe’s name that your nerves had dissipated. You turned to face Joe, feeling overwhelmed with joy as he brought you in for a hug and placed a kiss on your temple. He took the stage, your heart feeling full at him finally getting some type of recognition for all of his hard work. Joe and Justin did their handshake, making your heart swell even more at their connection.

“Hello, I wouldn't say this is necessarily an award you want to be nominated for two times, but I'm proud of the work I've put in to come back from the injuries I seem to face each year. Fortunately  I’m healthy this year and I have my team of people to thank for that,” Joe said, finishing his speech with everyone he recognized as important to his success before thanking everyone.

Joe walked off the stage, giving you a look before turning to head off with Justin and the others. You felt the familiar pit form in your stomach. You sat back in your seat with your mind reeling from his win, though it wasn’t the award you were hoping it was. Your thoughts were confirmed of Joe’s whereabouts when you felt your phone buzz in your purse. 

Come meet me

Simple and to the point, holding so much tension behind the screen. You could feel the heat rise on your cheeks, walking to find your way behind the stage while everyone was occupied during the commercial break. You were able to get backstage, finding Joe posing with his award looking like he owned the world. It wasn’t doing anything to tell the growing wetness between your legs and the ache in your core.

When his eyes found yours, his face lit up as he strode towards you. You took a few steps to meet him, taking you into his arms in a tight hug. 

“I’m so proud of you babe, you’re so fucking amazing,” you choked out as you felt tears well up in your eyes. 

Joe took your face in his hands, swiping the forming drops before they could run down your cheeks. 

“Hey, no tears okay? Don’t wanna ruin that pretty makeup yet. That’s gonna be my job when we get home,” Joe said, saying the last part quieter than the rest. 

His words earned a small laugh from you helping to stave off any more tears. You were so overwhelmed with emotions that the only way your body knew how to cope was through tears. 

“What do you say we get out of here hmm? I wanna get you out of this dress.”

“What about the rest of the show?”

“I already know I didn’t win MVP baby, I’d much rather spend the rest of my night with you. I’ve been exhausted from all of this press shit. You know I don’t do this often, I’m absolutely beat.”

“How beat?”you asked, hopeful.

“Not too tired for you, don’t you worry,” Joe assured you, noting the relief in your shoulders from your pent up desire.

You felt a shiver creep up your spine as you made your way out of the venue, Joe's hand in yours.

“You cold? I’d give you my jacket but I don’t exactly have a shirt underneath and I don’t think I wanna deal with the media field day of me walking around shirtless.”

“But you’d look so chivalrous, but we can't have me looking better in it than you. I also know it’ll look great on the hotel floor,” you spoke as you looked up at him with a mischievous smile. 

You couldn’t help but laugh, leaning into Joe in an attempt to get whatever warmth you could. He slipped his hand out of yours and slung his arm across your shoulders, pulling you into his side. 

“You know you can still be my MVP tonight, except mine would stand for most valuable pe-” Joe cut you off with a hand over your mouth, sending you into a fit of laughter.

“I’m cutting you off, you better keep it down until we're not in public anymore,” Joe said, trying to hold in laughter of his own.

“Whatever you say, da-” you mumbled out, Joe pressing his hand tighter against your mouth.

Getting under Joe’s skin was your favorite when it was all in good fun. You secretly loved watching the strong vein in his neck as he tried his hardest to hold himself back. His face was bright red, that same vein bulging out from the tenson you were causing.

“It really is never dull with you is it? I guess I'll just have to make you cum until the only thing out of your mouth is my name." Joe whispered in your ear as it was your turn to go bright red.

Joe’s hand fell from your mouth with a small nod in obedience. You were aware of the thin line you shouldn’t cross, wanting to be able to function tomorrow. Instead you let your mind wander to what the rest of the night would have in store for you. You couldn't wait to get home and celebrate your MVP.

You were grateful Joe decided to drive you both to the awards, with him looking absolutely delectable behind the wheel of his porsche. His knuckles were a hint of white from his grip on the wheel, one hand reaching out your thigh without taking his eyes off of the road. You felt Joe's hand inch slowly up your leg, hiking you dress up in the process. Anytime you tried to question his movements you were met with silence. You swore you stopped breathing when his fingers brushed your inner thigh to skim your already wet panties.

“Fuck baby, you’re already soaking wet for me. I bet you’ve been thinking about this all day hm?” Joe chided, damn well knowing the answer to his own question.

All you were able to muster was a nod, unsure of your voice just from his barely there touch. Joe wasn’t having it though, wanting to hear you say it. He pulled his hand away and settled it in his lap to adjust himself.

“As punishment for your smart mouth, you’re gonna cum right here all by yourself before we get back to the hotel,” Joe said with the most even tone he’s had all night.

You were baffled, dumbstruck by his request with the fear that someone driving by would see you exposed. The other part of you was exhilarated by him, being on display for his eyes only in the damn passenger seat brought a whole new meaning to being a passenger princess.

“C’mon you don't have all night, I’ll make it longer until you cum if you don’t get to work. Either slide them over or slip them off, the heels stay on though,” Joe commanded, knowing what your heels did to him.

You didn’t hesitate, sliding your wet panties down your legs and bending your right knee to prop it against the door. The cool air against your hot center sent a wave of chills down your spine, your stomach in knots at what you were about to do and where.

You brought your right hand down to your pussy, dipping your index finger to your entrance before bringing the wet digit to your clit. You sighed out in relief at some type of friction happening, laying your head back against the seat with your eyes fluttering closed at the contact. 

“Jesus Christ, you’re so fucking sexy. Can I have a taste,” Joe groaned, trying his best to keep his eyes forward though it was hard with the sight of your bare pussy beside him.

You nodded with a hum, taking your index and middle fingers of your left hand down to your center before plunging them inside. The sensation felt lovely, but nothing compared to how full Joe’s fingers made you feel. You pulled them out, bringing them to Joe’s mouth. He pulled them in, swirling his tongue to get every last drop he could. You moaned deeply, fingers moving rapidly over your clit at the feeling of Joe’s mouth around your digits. He licked them clean, releasing your fingers with a pop. You immediately brought your spit covered fingers dwon to your pussy and began to work them in out of you, the thought that they came from Joe making things even hotter in your mind.

“You getting close, baby? I can give you a little help,” Joe spoke tenderly, sliding the strap of your dress off your shoulder to expose your chest a little more. 

Joe reached over, palming your breast the best he could. The feeling of his touch on you was enough to send you to the edge of release, seeking that one last push. As if Joe could tell, he reached over top of the fabric, tweaking your bare nipple between his thumb and forefinger. That was your undoing combined with your own movements. The string in your stomach snapped from his touch, releasing all over your fingers with a loud moan and Joe’s name falling in succession from your lips. 

You took a moment to catch your breath, looking over at Joe with a feeling of relief though you still wanted more. Joe nodded towards your fingers, knowing he wanted another taste. You brought them back to his lips, repeating his actions from before as he reveled in the taste of you. Once he deemed them clean, you took your hand back and slipped your wet panties back up your legs. You managed to finish before you pulled up to the hotel, getting there a few minutes later. You did your best to appear presentable, knowing you'd see a few people before making it to the privacy of your hotel room. Joe pulled the car up to the valet out front, walking around to your side of the car to help you out. He extended his hand out to you which you kindly took, not trusting your legs fully on your own.

“I hope you still have some energy after that, you’re gonna need it,” Joe said before his lips were on yours. You knew you’d need to brace yourself for the long night ahead of you.

[aphel1on]

the most autistic thing i've done in the past year is when i typed out a transcript of the text from the entire main storyline in Pokemon Legends: Arceus into a wordpad document, complete with basic image descriptions, and then i didn't even write the fanfic which was supposedly the reason i started that whole project in the first place

[skitskatdacat63]

Big moment for me, actually!

[vv-ispy]

Im 👀 at your Mondstadt having an underground area and I just want to bring up this idea in a fanfic I read (Windwheel Aster: Adored by the wind) where Mondstadt has secret underground passageway between them and Liyue for emergency use. Now im combining those ideas in my head of underground passageways beneath Old Mondstadt. Like some sort of dark souls crypt for those who perished (since its Really Hard to do a burial in the snow). You know how the wind brings Mondstadter's souldls home? Yeah what if thats not just a Venti thing but also existed during the time of Decarabian. (I can tie this into Istaroth but thats a whole nother paragraph)

DON't MIND ME HAVING SpeNT most of hte day reading that fic ahem

Crypts under Mondstadt...oh I love that idea it fits in mood-wise with the Actual Dead Guy under the statue, giving Mondstadt and ameno all the more ties to death and souls and imprisonment + yeah how do you deal with bodies when the ground is frozen hard and the city is micromanaged by the god. Why, if the bodies are getting in the way, why not remove them, help the souls pass on, and place the bodies neat and orderly filed away. Away from the people so they can focus on life instead of death, but each passed person can still be easily found in case they're needed. Besides, crypts are often under a church and Mondstadt is the nation most known for having a church....maybe not under Mondstadt's currentday church, but the people did use to 'bow' around the tall tower which houses a god....

But also........those Istaroth ties? 👀👀👀

[sincerely-sofie-shoebox]

Yee yee!! Honestly mood, I also grew up in a not very great place to make friends so having more is always such a nice feeling tbh

But yes, you're my bestie now, so says me

Getting promoted to One of Aria’s Besties and feeling like I need to write an award acceptance speech as a result rn

[notadventuring]

i kind of want to draw more arlefuri but also i want to draw a lil clorivia

[theguardianace]

mmm. mmm. emails.

[inbabylontheywept]

by tradition, the first day of the camp was spent pranking the group next to us. our prank was ziptying the zippers on their sleeping bags together. we figured one of them would sleep with a knife, because we all slept with knives, because we were dangerous maniacs and half the danger of a dangerous maniac is that they tend to think that they are Actually Normal. so. obviously that didn't pan out, and instead they got stuck in their sleeping bags for like half an hour and because their scoutmaster slept in their car and couldn't hear them yelling, they actually only got out when one of them went full caged animal and chewed through the plastic. which meant they had time to make it to the axe throwing station, but they did miss breakfast.

the scale of our victory was impossible to understate. it was an epic prank. unrivaled. the best in years. we knew they were going to retaliate, and we both feared and craved it. maybe i'm still a maniac, but that feels like a common thing, right? do well adjusted people that are not maniacs crave Judgement?

(serious answers only please, from people who would never spoon a knife.)

anyway, the next day we got back to our camp, and the neighors had skipped dinner to just come back and fill all our tents with pinecones. which was like, a decent prank, i guess, but it probably took them an hour to fill all the tents up, and it took us like 15 minutes to tip the tents out, and as a return volley to the ziptie prank it was incredibly underwhelming. we felt a little cheated.

so our scouting group held a council, and we agreed, unanimously, that our prank was 100% better and theirs sucked and that there would be no escalating tensions because we were the clear victors. they'd had their chance to retaliate, and they failed, and so the war was over. that was it.

we agreed on this. we swore. but madness is a relative thing, and in our group of maniacs, we still had J. i have many, many J stories. too many. i biked up to school with him from 4th grade to 8th, and i saw him get hit by cars thrice. he'd just swerve into the road sometimes. one time on a rainy day in 4th grade, a car splashed me, and before i could even consider my response J yelled I GOT THIS and then he blitzed off after the car. i didn't see him the rest of the day. i was so anxious i barely slept that night. i saw him the next morning and he told me that he'd chased the car until it got to a gated community and then he'd climbed over the fence and looked in peoples garages until he found the one with the car, and then he'd ripped the hood ornament off and broke their window. then he gave me a hood ornament to a different brand of car from the one that splashed me and i didnt tell him because i didnt want him missing more school. i want you to mentally adjust your mental model of the things a 9 year old is capable of doing to include chasing a car for five miles, hopping a fence, breaking into a garage, and vandalizing a randos car.

and that's just the tip of my J stories iceberg.

the point of all this is just to say that J was so crazy that he made us knife spooners look like accountanting enthusiasts.

so we agreed the war was done, and we shook on it, and then J, in the name of friendship, in the name of honor, in the name of avenging our pinecone filled tents, snuck over to their camp that evening and fornicated with a watermelon that they'd been saving in their cooler.

i want to emphasize, again, that this was not the consensus of the group. that is not a prank. like i know it seems like we dont know what pranks are because of the whole ziptie thing, but even we knew that fucking someones food is not a prank, it is a crime, and a sin, the kind of weapon that had only been ethically used once in history by Horus in his battle against Set and none of us dumb assholes had owl heads.

so.

the next day went pretty well. we threw some more axes again, which is a valuable and important skill for children to learn i guess, and we learned how to tie knots, which is a skill that turned out to be far sexier than i ever expected, and i learned how to light fires with a magnifying glass, which was great. i'm looking back at this, and i am actually just now beginning to realize that the clear and obvious point of scouting is turning child sociopaths into apex predators.

and then the day ended, and we went back to our camps, except for our leaders, who had a sort of Scout Leader Meeting they were going to have for a few hours at least. it was built into the camp, that day was supposed to be our day to chill as a group, and make peach cobbler, and just be buddies.

except, as it turned out, our neighboring group's alternative to making peach cobbler was eating their watermelon. so at some point they opened their watermelon, and woo boy. oh man. you think catholics hated seedless watermelons? you should see how much mormons hate seeded ones.

so we were chilling by the fire, and then we heard screaming from the camp over, but we didn't pay much mind to that because there are many reasonable explanations for a group of 10ish children to scream simulanteoulsy, such as wasps, which are abundant in arizona, and then the screaming got closer, which did not bother us because there were many reasons for a group 10ish children to scream and run towards us, for example, wasps, which are abundant in arizona, and then we noticed they had large sticks on them, which we figured were perhaps being used to drive away the wasps, which are abundant in arizona, and then they arrived and they started beating the shit out of us, abundantly, in arizona.

so we ran into the woods.

now, at this point, we had no idea what was up. we knew that the camp next to us was out for blood, which was crazy, because we'd actually locked them in fartproof bags for 30 minutes and they'd barely done anything back, and were trying to figure out what could possibly have happened that could drive them to Terrible Violence when we realized that J was cackling like a witch that had learned how to order children off of ebay.

so we politely asked J what the hell he had done, and he politely explained that had "done" their watermelon, and we politely beat him with large sticks because life is nothing but endless cycles of violence.

we were still being chased by the other camp btw. so it was them, chasing us, chasing J, and then they got tired and went back to their camp, and we chased J a little longer because we were mad we'd all been walloped with sticks, and J did not care because he was a supernatural entity whose only weaknesses were Needles and Fire, and then we got tired and went back and J kept running, and we just kind of figured he would come back eventually.

he did not.

we went back to our tents, and we waited, and J did not come back. we stayed up all night, peering into the forest, worrying. our leader came back, and we did our best to hide our battlewounds, and he either genuinely did not notice or simply accepted this as part of Boyhood. then he went to bed, and we waited, and waited, and waited. And Waited. and did not sleep.

eventually, we convened again, and we agreed that if J was not back by after breakfast, we would have to tell the scoutleader about what exactly had transpired. and we really did not want to do that, because it would have meant that everyone would have gotten in a very large amount of trouble.

morning came around, and J still was not back. we went to breakfast, and we ate very, very slowly. we were afraid the other camp was going to continue their war with us, but they actually looked fairly frightened. one of them actually came to us and asked for a truce, and we agreed because we truly felt bad for them. like, yes, they did beat us with sticks, but J fucked their watermelon. we werent complicit in the watermelonfuckening but they didnt know that, and it was definitely the kind of crime that left one outside the bounds of the social contract.

and then when we could eat no more bits, when breakfast was almost done, right when i was getting pushed to go and tell the scoutleader that we needed to find J, he arrived. he was sleep deprived, and noticeably scraped and bloody, and tied to his belt was a blood squirrel tail.

and i asked him, J, where did you get that? and he said, don't worry man, it was already dead, which did not answer by question and gave me several more.

the camp ended that day, and the other groups avoided us like the plague, and it was not until some weeks later that we were able to piece together what happened.

J, in his sojourn through the forest, managed to find (or, possibly, make) a dead squirrel. he then cut off the tail to keep on his belt, because he was a weird little freak like that. he also took the dead squirrel, and he skinned it, then he tied it to a little crucifix made of wood, and he left it in the other scouting group's camp. which is why they were so scared of us.

it was such an unhinged thing to do it actually sobered us up for a while. scouting became a scary thing for us. we'd found something dark and primal there, in the place where no adult could see, and our appreciation of J as a wild ride kind of changed into seeing him as something truly dangerous. we had a sense wherever he went, something terrible would follow, and the only way to escape it was to not be there when it arrived. and so piece by piece, the scout group dissolved. it wasnt until he moved out of that ward that the rest of us started daring to go back to scouts.

and for the final epilogue of the tale:

i have a little brother who was friends with a younger cousin of J's, and the two would go to parties together in highschool. and sometimes J, who was in his early 20's at that point, would show up at the parties, and it was unsettling in such a way that it just became a known risk at parties with the cousin. and at one party, they were playing truth or dare, and J wasn't even in the room, but someone asked him the Truth of how he always knew how to find the cousin, and J said the cousin's mom had mentioned she was worried about him and the parties so he'd put a tracker in his car. and when he saw that the cousin was out of the house on weekends, he'd made a visit by, just to make sure he was safe.

then he left. and every single person at that party went over that poor kid's car. they searched the wheel-wells, checked underneath it, the works, until they found the tracker. then because they were clever, they didnt break it, or throw it away, or anything that would've given away what they'd done. they just gave the tracker to the cousin, who put it in his glovebox. and on schooldays, he'd take it with him, so J could see him in the parking lot. and on weekends, he could leave it in the garage, so he could go to parties with out Hell coming with him. because everyone that met J - every single person - knew that the only way to be safe from him was to be far, far away.

[our-inspire-verse]

Zim's still out.... oh lordy here qe go again

[phoenixyfriend]

The ColourPop Twilight: New Moon collection is very pretty. There are four different items I'm drawn to.

However. It is Twilight merch, and specifically New Moon merch, and I doubt there are any plans from Colourpop to donate any of the proceeds to the Quileute people, who have never seen a red cent of SMeyer's profits from her appropriation of their culture.

So. If you feel similarly, maybe pop over to this page and politely tell them about your concerns, and suggest that some profits go to the Quileute Higher Ground project.

Please share, maybe see if you can get people on other platforms talking about it.

Don't copy this directly, write your own, but here is what I wrote.

----------------------

Hello,

I have purchased many of your products over the last few years, sometimes through the site and sometimes not. I find the New Moon collection beautiful, but I feel some trepidation over it. Given your dedication to other moral issues, such as staying cruelty free, I hope that you are open to hearing me out.

Over the past two decades, Stephanie Meyer has made hundreds of millions of dollars from the Twilight series, and much of the draw of the three later books came from her use and misuse of the traditional stories of the Quileute peoples. None of the copious amounts of money that she made from her appropriation of their culture has ever gone to them.

At this time, the Quileute people are experiencing great risk due to rising sea levels, something they likely could have worked around easily had they any of the funds that the Twilight series should have led to for them. The current standard among Twilight fans is that, should any money come from a Twilight fan product (e.g. pins), then a portion of that money should go to "Quileute Move to Higher Ground," as a way of honoring the way their people's traditions led to a series we enjoy, and their lack of any true gain from that situation.

The collaboration you are doing will lead to yet more money going to Mrs. Meyer, and there is little doubt that she will continue to ignore the Quileute people's situation. I would like to suggest that your company donate a portion of the profits from this collaboration to the Higher Ground project, maybe even talking about it on social media if possible.

As it stands, this collaboration appears to continue the tradition of basing products on the Quileute people and their traditions, without compensating them in any way for it.

The donations can be found here: https://mthg.org/

I am not affiliated with the Quileute Move to Higher Ground in any way, but I am a consumer who is interested in your products, and would love to buy these specific products. Many who express concern regarding the Twilight franchise and its impact on the Quileute people may be driven to actually buy this collection if told that this particular set, which draws from the book most heavily based on them, will benefit them.

Thank you for your time.

[rpgchoices]

Davrin's past and his Dalish clan and his vallaslin (all mentions I could find)

So much in the game is hidden behind banters between companions (which is ahhhh a bit annoying) so I compiled all the banter and information I found about Davrin's past.

Not really plot spoilers, just Davrin spoilers.

At the end I will summarize everything in a bullepoints list.

Bellara and Davrin banter:

Text here (link)

There are also a few other banters I did not record where it is implied Davrin does not care about the gods or some other late game revelations. The only thing he cares about (and mentions again later in game, in a main scene) is how people see Dalish and elves, and how to minimize the risk of humans hating elves even more.

Taash and Davrin's banter (text in description for each image)

Davrin's quests information:

Here are other mentions from Davrin first quest: Rook: How did it go? Davrin: Poorly. They felt like I rejected them. Rook: Did you? Davrin: Yeah, I suppose. Clan life wasn't for me. I had to get away. Rook: So then what happened? You're out in the world, looking for adventure… Davrin: Got my ass kicked. Went broke. Davrin: I couldn't go crawling back to my clan a failure. Doubt they'd take me back. It forced me to figure out what I was good at. Always had a knack for hunting.

Other info we get from the Halla quest is that: Davrin spent summers tending Halla as a kid alongside Eldrin, who is not his uncle, but like an uncle. So this is a case of Davrin wanting to spend time with Hallas, or being made to by his clan. Eldrin's vallaslin is Ghilan'nain:

So it could be that Davrin's new vallaslin might be Ghilan'nain too. But I think it is Andruil's or a mix of the two.

Davrin could have gotten the vallaslin to honor Eldrin (we know he is the only member of his clan - if he is part of his clan - Davrin has no trouble contacting, even if they seem to have not met each other's in a while). But we also know Davrin was a hunter.

Eldrin was also the one who taught Davrin what to hunt basically. In his first quest Davrin says "When I was a kid, I'd hunt just about anything. Rabbits, deer, fox. Eldrin gave that purpose. Taught me the Way of Three Trees. The Way of the Arrow, Way of the Bow, Way of the Wood."

This is from Andruil and if we look at all three vallaslin:

Emmrich and Davrin:

(they have some discussions about Davrin not believing in the Fade or liking it, this is the one which mentions the Dalish clan)

There are also a few other banters at the Lighthouse that mention the Fade and the sky. Mainly they are about Davrin being uncomfortable with the open space and stuff about him disbelieving the Fade: "Good. Because it's not the sky. Emmrich says it's the Fade. Me, I don't know what to think."

Final banter with Davrin:

So basically, the summary of what we know for certain is:

Davrin left his clan voluntarily because he felt restless, he did not care about tradition and lessons, and he wanted to see the world

He felt like he did not fit in his clan since he was a kid

He was also hunting everything he could find until Eldrin taught him the way of the Three Trees and to protect life by hunting darkness (monsters)

Eldrin is like an uncle for him and lives isolated (unsure if he is part of Davrin's clan) and Davrin used to spend summers helping him with the hallas

Davrin feels like he pissed off his clan, he rejected them and both Davrin and Bellara agree it would be hard for him to go back

In another dialogue, he says he actually did not think the clan would take him back at all even if he crawled back asking for help ("Like a failure" he says)

He does not regret joining the Grey Wardens and looking for adventures, but he seems to regret that came at the cost of leaving the clan and not being able to return or keep in contact with them

Also, he says the outside world was different from what he imagined

PART 2 HERE

[blasphemousclaw]

why Divine Beast Dancing Lion has the best soundtrack in the entire game

When I watched the first DLC trailer 6 months ago, I was so focused on Messmer that I never gave the lion dancers a second thought. But in a shocking turn of events, Divine Beast Dancing Lion is now my favorite boss in the whole game. To me, what makes this fight truly exceptional is its soundtrack, so I want to go through the music and outline all the things that make it so great!

What makes the music stand out is that it feels SO different from the rest of the OST… the majority of the boss tracks have a pretty similar style and instrumentation, but Divine Beast stands out in my opinion because of how it emphasizes its rhythm and texture.

Conceptually, this boss fight is first and foremost a dance — you are fighting two Hornsent warriors operating a lion costume based on the traditional Chinese lion dance in an arena that’s actually a giant stage.

The Chinese lion dance is typically accompanied only by percussion (drums, gongs, and cymbals). So naturally, Divine Beast’s soundtrack has much more pronounced percussion in comparison to the rest of the soundtrack, featuring heavy drum beats and cymbals, plus shouts and chants from the choir. The music is in a steady 6/8, with 2 beats per measure divided into three pulses (think 1 2 3, 1 2 3) giving it a lilting, dancelike quality (this type of meter is often used in folk and traditional dances!). And, in the boss’s second phase, the dancing lion’s lightning, wind, and frost phases each have their own music and are timed to transition as the music transitions. The whole boss fight is programmed like a dance, so when you fight the boss it feels like you’re dancing with it too!

The choir has a range of vocalizations that goes beyond singing melodies and harmonies; as I touched on before, they’re also shouting and chanting. The shouts are used percussively and help accent the rhythm of the dance, and the low chanting also brings to mind a sort of religious ritual? Which is exactly what this boss fight is… in Hornsent culture, the lion dance is a ritual for invoking divinity:

“A charm depicting the crazed, cavorting dance of the divine beast conducted at the tower festival. Raises potency of storms. Divine beasts are messengers of the heavens, and their rage mirrors the tumult of the skies, of which storms are the pinnacle.” (Enraged Divine Beast talisman)

The lion dancers, or “sculpted keepers,” are those amongst the divine beast warriors (themselves the chosen amongst the tower’s horned warriors) who truly excelled at divine invocation, and were “granted the honor of the lion dance” (Divine Beast Warrior Armor). In the boss cutscene, the Hornsent Grandam calls upon the divine beast to possess the bodies of the sculpted keepers, and rise again to defend the tower… so the lion dance, performed by warriors skilled in divine invocation, is essentially a ritual for invoking the presence of the divine beast within the dancers in order to commune with the heavens.

The sculpted keepers, having invoked the rage of the divine beast, are able to channel the forces of the stormy skies — lightning, wind, and frost. The force of the storm is represented in the music by quick runs in the high woodwinds and strings that come and go like gusts of wind. The music almost never lets up or loses momentum; it goes at a powerful, furious pace until the end, embodying the divine beast’s fury.

But the Divine Beast that we fight has an extra layer of emotion that goes beyond divine ritual:

“When the Impaler's army assailed the tower, the ritual of the lion dance was turned toward martial ends—its divinity, its fury, its light-footed beauty.” (Remembrance of the Dancing Lion)

What was once a beautiful ritual dance conducted at the tower festival was forced to become a weapon of war in order to fight against their people’s annihilation at the hands of Messmer’s crusade. And even this was not enough…

The Dancing Lion that we fight was slain, lying in a pool of dried blood, when it is miraculously awoken again with a fervent prayer. This is the last lion dance that may ever take place, giving us a mere glimpse of this ruined city’s long-vanished splendor.

Listening to the soundtrack, there is not only pride in the music, but also an urgent, visceral, warlike rage, a multitude of voices joining in a desperate fight for their civilization’s very survival.

[tossawary]

Moshang fanfic idea that I've been holding onto for a while but have no strong plot for: the Airplane Extras meet-ugly happens as per canon UNTIL Mobei-Jun asks why Shang Qinghua saved him / what Shang Qinghua wants from him.

At which point, a panicking Airplane desperately searches for a compelling and believable character motivation as to why he would stupidly save the life of a murderous demon who might still kill him, and hastily blurts out: "You're so beautiful that I fell in love at first sight!"

Important to note: this is not true. It is bullshit. Airplane thinks MBJ is incredibly hot, obviously, but he does not know or like this guy as a person, because MBJ is both a relative stranger and a scary asshole.

Also important to note: some demon cultures have a marriage kidnapping tradition, but that happens under very specific and usually pre-arranged circumstances that obviously do not apply here. Mobei-Jun being whisked off to the equivalent of a shitty motel room by some random human outer disciple, who absolutely cannot forcibly keep him there, has no real romantic connotations. It's just weird. There's not even any life debt tradition aspect to it; Mobei-Jun could just kill this guy now and it wouldn't say anything about his personal honor even if anyone found out. It would just be humiliating. This guy would have to be fucking nuts to think this interaction is anything that anyone, especially any authority, would recognize, and that's not what this guy is claiming anyway. All he's doing is claiming that he's suddenly in love with a hostile stranger, which is still nuts.

So, Mobei-Jun (who is also still a teenager) is just... surprised and extremely confused. Does this kind of thing... honestly happen... in real life? Really??? And Airplane is like, "Aw, fuck, I made it weird. Well! I have no choice but to go with this!" and starts up the "Please don't kill me!" thigh-hugging routine.

Somehow, Moshang make it out of that meet-ugly similarly to how they usually do. Airplane is like, "Well, fortunately, nothing will ever come of this! No way would someone like Mobei-Jun ever return the feelings of his gross, pathetic human servant. I can freely express how sexy I think he is and it'll just be meaningless lovesick flattery to this asshole." Real emotions? That soft, squishy bullshit? Airplane does not have the TIME to contemplate having sincere feelings. He's in survival mode.

And teenage Mobei-Jun, spoiled demonic nobility extraordinaire, who otherwise would have spent the next 20 years or so thinking of his human servant as gross and pathetic and repulsive but strangely useful, is like, "I think... I'm being wooed...??? Is this working on me...? He's kind of... not unattractive, actually, for a madman. Maybe I should try to be... nice... to him??? How do humans do this???"

And THEN, months to years later, young and in-love Mobei-Jun somehow finds out that Shang Qinghua outright lied to him. (And by this point is pretty fond of Mobei-Jun but still hasn't looked directly at his own real emotions for years. He's busy.)

Arguably, the above idea is one way to interpret normal canon already, with Mobei-Jun reading more than is mutually understood into Shang Qinghua's bullshit, failing to communicate what he thinks their relationship is (if he even fucking knows himself), and then feeling betrayed when Shang Qinghua ditches him for being an asshole. But I'm charmed by the idea of distracted Shang Qinghua explicitly lying, actively making it WORSE by knowingly behaving "romantically" under the assumption that it's harmless fawning because Mobei-Jun basically doesn't even HAVE emotions, and then getting totally blindsided by having his "impossible unrequited love" returned and accidentally, apparently breaking Mobei-Jun's heart. Fuck!!!

[luxthestrange]

TWST Incorrect quotes#716 Tradition

At The Ramshackle dorm...Everyone is Gathered in the Living room, Fellow & Gidel being the new members are confused as...a cardboard wheel is in the center...Grim and Rollo look rather excited

Yuu: Live from the Ramshackle family living room, in Sage IslesNRC, it's Wheel... of... Chore-Fun!~

Fellow: The heck is this? Other than a waste of perfectly good macaroni?-*Chews on a piece of macaroni from the wheel*

Rollo:It's a time-honored tradition that all Ramshackles must face: The Ramshackle Family Chore Wheel

Grim*snaps rubber glove*Hope I get trash duty! It's where I get my best blackmail materia~Nyehehe*holds a picture of Crowley from late 1987,evil grin*

Fellow: But why do I have to clean the house? You "dormleader", you clean it!-

Fellow turns to look at You,And...you're giving him a menacing stare

Fellow*Tail puffs up in fear as his ears drop down and...bows at your feet crawling away* -And there's that stare, so I'm in for chores!~ Count me in!~

Gidel*Is actually excited and writting in his notebook rollo gave him to talk thru*"OK! Here I go! 

Gidel spins the wheel and stops on "closets"

Gidel"Ah hah! Closets! Nailed it!"

Rollo*The wheel lands on "carpets", holding his handkerchief to his nose as you give him a supportive pat on his shoulders* Carpets... Uh, not great for my dust allergies, but it could be worse...

Grim*the wheel lands on "kitchen"*MYah! Kitchen...I'll take it!

Yuu*the wheel lands on "compost duty"*Compost duty!~ Phew~

Gidel and Grim pushes Fellow to the wheel as it was his turn. He spins the wheel as he watches in suspense on what chore he'll be getting until it lands on... laundry duty; Fellow was relieved. Unfortunately, the wheel moved to "downstairs bathroom", giving him that chore instead...

Fellow: N-- No, no! Not the downstairs bathroom! That's the-- *Gags and covers his mouth*-That's the grossest chore of all! I command a re-spin!?!

Part 2 of:

We all know that the ramshackle is STILL a work in progress...some rooms truly are a place of horror-

[tswiftupdatess]

taylorswift: In summation We have officially wrapped the European leg of The Eras Tour. With it came the most passionate crowds I’ve ever played for, new traditions in the show, and an entirely new era added in. It was a more hectic pace than we’d done before, and I’m so proud of my crew/fellow performers for being able to physically perform that show and build our massive stage, take it apart, and make magic with so few days in between for recovery and travel. They’re the most impressive people I know and I’m so lucky they gave The Eras Tour their time, their energy, and their expertise. Walking onstage in London was a rollercoaster of emotions. Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together. I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London. My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us. Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows. In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that. And then London felt like a beautiful dream sequence. All five crowds at Wembley Stadium were bursting with passion, joy, and exuberance. The energy in that stadium was like the most giant bear hug from 92,000 people each night, and it brought me back to a place of carefree calm up there.

We had some EPIC surprise performances from my long time friends teddysphotos, florenceandthemachine, and jackantonoff. Performing ‘Florida!!!’ with Flo for the first time was unforgettable and Ed took me right back to our old Red Tour memories. It was the most dizzying honor to become the first solo artist to play Wembley 8 times in one tour. To the fans who have seen us this summer, you’ll always have the most sparkling place in my memories. You were a dream to perform for, dance with, and share those magical moments with. We’ll see you all again when we resume The Eras Tour in October, but for now we get to take a much needed rest. Thank you for the adventure of a lifetime. May it continue… 💚💛💜❤️🩵🖤🩷🩶🤎💙🤍

(August 21, 2024)

[servantofthefates]

The Power in Witches' Hair

Throughout eras and across cultures, hair is seen as a symbol of strength. In an occult sense, our hair is an extension of our spirit. That is why long beautiful hair is associated with strong inner power. In a material sense, long beautiful hair requires maintenance, which often costs time and money, making it a status symbol. Whichever way you look at it, healthy hair shows power.

Hair as Sacrifice

“Cut three inches of your hair, and make him suffer for three years.” A simple but ancient vengeance spell that even non-witches know about in my community. Of course it only works if you fuel it with fury, and if your hair is actually beautiful. Because to sacrifice means to give up something precious. If your hair is damaged, its power is non-existent, rendering your curse useless.

Hair as a Conduit

“Dry your hair, and dry up someone’s harvest along with it.” As with the first one, this is a simple, well-known curse among traditional families. Different witches use different ancient words to power it, but its main engine is made up of faith and righteous anger. As you dry your hair with a fan, a dryer, or under the sun, imagine your enemy losing their joy and abundance.

Hair as Offering

“Renounce possession of your hair and give it to the Lord." Something Catholic witches do. Take care of their hair as if it is a plant offered to their god. When their hair is healthy, their Father is happy. When it is not, it means they have sinned. There are also others who hide their hair because they see it as a weapon of seduction that they must carry in secret when unneeded. 

Hair as a Declaration

“Witches have long hair. Like our divinities. Like the roots of trees.” Growing up, even before I knew of my family’s true faith, whenever I thought of a witch, I thought of someone with long hair. It was to me a witch’s mark. And now, it is to me a badge of honor. As an adult, in my society, wearing our hair long is an expression of pride in our identity.