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kyu-piddy · 6 months ago

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Ranking (some more) twst love triangles on how messy they are

(This was for an ask that sadly got eaten by tumblr! )

Anon asked: I just wanna say I love your love triangle headcanons, but it got me thinking. Instead of two boys in the same dorm, what about if it was different dorms. For example, like Trey x reader x Azul, the two glasses boys.

So I was wondering if I could get part two of love triangles but with Trey x reader x Azul and or Leona x reader x Malleus

Please take your time, don't rush and Thank you 🙏

An: Thank you for your request anon. I might have gotten a ton of brainworms and just had to write this asap! Leona and Malleus are so interesting imo. They tickle a funny part of my brain that likes making characters suffer. I’d say they can be pretty challenging to write since they're so layered but it’s also soooo rewarding. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

Gn reader x Leona, Malleus, Trey, Azul

Trigger warnings: Swearing

1.3k words

Leona vs Malleus

Ahaha, you’re in danger.

No, seriously, this love triangle is dangerous. You could quite literally start a war if this goes unchecked for long enough.

Here you have two princes that already have enough beef with each other to feed a small nation, now fighting over you.

Leona is, of course, emotionally constipated as usual. He’s not gonna try to seduce you with flowers or chocolates or anything of the sort. Instead, he’ll be strangely nice to you, like letting you nap on his usual spot in the greenhouse or offering you help in a specific subject he’s good at.

This is all done with a side dish of “Tsk. Don’t bother me, herbivore.”

But the man does want to be bothered by you. It will be a cold day in hell before he admits it though .

Malleus on the other hand, will be forthcoming about his intentions towards you.

“Isn’t it a lovely night, Tsunotarou? “

“I wish to court you, child of man.”

If Lilia hadn’t told him to slow down he’d just straight up confess to you at that moment.

From that point on you’re getting the whole Malleus attention package. He’s making flowers sprout from the ground when you pass by, making Sebek and Silver escort you everywhere, writing heartfelt letters that read as more terrifying than romantic (he’s trying, ok?).

Leona is not happy about this. He’s stomping those flowers, picking fights with Sebek and Silver and turning those letters into sand. It’s a declaration of war.

If you thought they were bitchy before, now they’re straight up assholes to each other.

All types of insults are on the table, from the bad to the ugly to the straight up vile.

They also have a tendency to physically get you away from the other. Your arms are gonna be so sore and bruised from all the yanking.

And they’re gonna blame the other for your bruises, and start a whole other fight about it.

Leona is getting Ruggie to take pictures of his moments with you to send to Malleus, but Malleus can't use a phone to save his life, so he isn’t really gonna be able to see it.

In the same vein, he does not know how to take pictures with his phone, so he’s going to write descriptive letters, full of flowery details of his encounters with you to send to Leona.

He might even hire someone to create an artistic rendition of the moment to accompany the letter.

Leona is just gonna tell Ruggie to throw it all in the garbage, but just the thought of what could possibly be in there is gonna irk him to high hell.

Everyone, and I mean everyone will know about this love triangle. Leona will frame it as more of a fight with Malleus, to prove he is better than the lizard, but anyone with eyes can see that it’s more than that.

Malleus on the other hand will tell everybody you’re the love of his life, his future spouse and that the date of the wedding is xx/xx/xxxx and everyone is invited.

Even their families will get involved. Neither of them is above inviting you to their homeland just to sightsee, and then you reach there and bam, everyone is calling you their partner, and saying how you make a great couple, while you’re trying to figure when did you even accept a relationship between you both.

You’re not getting a confession from Leona.

You’ll have to figure it out yourself and confront him about it. And the asshole, after all his mixed signals and talk of just doing it to piss off Malleus, will retort “Isn’t it obvious? I thought you’d be smarter than that, herbivore.”

Malleus isn’t too keen on a confession either, but it’s because he already considers you both a couple, and if you confront him about it he'll answer matter of factly “Are we not a couple soon to be wed, child of man?”.

Delulu is not the sululu, but for Malleus, it is.

Your decision is going to impact both of them really hard.

Choosing Malleus is more trauma for Leona’s always second best issues. He’s going to become extremely guarded around you, closing himself off to the world for a long while.

Choosing Leona is more trauma for Malleus’ always forgotten issues. Unlike Leona, who will immediately give up on you and fall into a depression pit, Malleus will get angry at the world and try so hard to bargain with you.

Choosing neither will still feed into these issues, creating more fuel to the cycles of self destruction that these two are stuck in.

If there was a rating higher than S tier, I’d put this love triangle there, but since there isn’t, I’ll give it an S.

Neither of these men should be getting into a relationship. They should be getting into therapy.

Trey vs Azul

Megane vs Megane

Now these two have a peculiar dynamic.

One is the dependable older brother of Heartslabyul while the other one is the scary loan man of Octavinelle with the two shady underlings.

You guess which one you’re more likely to feel safe around.

Azul thinks he is so slick, by finding out Trey's crush on you, but will be immensely taken aback once Trey makes it known that Azul’s crush isn’t exactly a secret either.

Zuzu will try so hard to find dirt on Trey, but Mr. Normal has the most boring secrets that not even an old lady would be scandalized by (at least that Azul can find).

Initially, he’d send Floyd and Jade to spy on Trey, but the eels are not to be trusted, especially with you around.

They’re the type to stop the spying just for funsies and start chatting with you, so Azul has to take matters into his own hands.

He’s peeking out from a window with binoculars if he has to, goddammit!

While Azul is making a fool of himself to woo you, Trey is quietly guiding you along the path to his heart.

He knows Azul will try to use his contracts to get a leg up on him, but neither you nor him are interested in owing something to Azul.

Even if one of the contracts captures your attention, Trey is throwing it out of the window so fast (metaphorically, ofc).

Seeing as contracts and spying on you doesn’t work, Azul is going to try to hit Trey where it hurts.

Feeding you, ofc.

Trey has his desserts, but Azul has the Mostro lounge and he did grow up in a restaurant, so he can cook decently.

He can’t offer you the food directly, so he leaves it to you as a secret admirer (he read about it in a book and though that it would add to his mystique and appeal as a suitor).

When Trey finds out about it, he’s going to start taking it away before you find it, feeding you with one of his pastries instead.

This basically leads to a cook-off, where Azul keeps leaving you more and more food while Trey also increasingly gives you more pastries to get you too full to eat anything else.

I see Azul confessing in a very romantic and by the book sort of way, that leaves you wondering if he followed some sort of guide to the T (he did).

Trey is not taking it lying down.

He is interrupting anything that Azul has planned and throwing hella shade his way, reminding you of how shady Azul can be.

Meanwhile Azul is about to call the twins to make Trey sleep with the fishes in the Lounge aquarium.

I put this love triangle in B tier.

Either way you choose, I don’t see either of them getting too mad.

Trey is pretty chill about it if you choose Azul or neither of them, while Azul might throw a small to medium tantrum if you choose Trey.

He has control issues he really needs to figure out, but seeing as the experience has made him respect Trey as more of an equal, it wouldn’t be as bad as if it was someone like your first year Heartslabyul friends.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst x reader #x reader #kyusbow #trey clover #azul ashengrotto #malleus draconia #leona kingscholar

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alotofpockets · 9 months ago

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Out of pocket | Renee Rapp x Actress!Reader

Where an interviewer makes out of pocket comments and Reneé stands up for you

Reneé Rapp Masterlist | Words: 1.7k

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Booking Mean Girls was your breakthrough, you had some small roles in TV shows here and there, but getting to play the main character in this rendition of a movie you loved dearly, is what put your acting career on the map.

Your girlfriend and co-star, Reneé, had helped prepare you for your first big interview. In the preparations she had also mentioned that interviewers could be a hit or a miss, and that there were reporters out there that definitely should not be in the industry. You didn’t take the warning lightly, but assumed your first ever interview would not be with an interviewer that was a part of the minority that didn’t treat people right.

Nothing in the kind and welcoming introduction when you got to the studio could have prepared you for the change that was coming your way. With the camera rolling and the spotlights on you, you were ready to start the interview. Reneé was to your side, and the interviewer sat off to the side behind the camera’s.

“Hello and welcome back to another interview! Today we have Reneé Rapp and Y/n Y/l/n, two stars of the newest Mean Girls movie. Welcome girls, it’s a pleasure to have you here.” You and Reneé both smile, “Thank you for having us.” You say for the both of you.

“Let’s dive right in. Reneé, how excited are you for the release of your new film?” Renee immediately lit up, “Yeah, I am super excited. It has been so much fun being able to portray Regina again, I honestly cannot wait for everyone to see the movie.”

The interviewer nods and moves to you, “And Y/n, how has it been to work on your first big movie set?” You were still a little nervous, so you looked over to Reneé for comfort. Her reassuring smile was all it took for you to feel more comfortable. “It was an incredible experience. Everyone on the team was amazing, and I learned so much while working on creating a movie that I cannot wait to share with the world.”

“Reneé, obviously you’ve been in the spotlight for quite a bit.” She nods in agreement, “How was it working with a relatively new face like Y/n.” Your girlfriend looked over to you with nothing but love in her eyes. “It was great to see in action, she brought an energy to the team that was exactly what we needed. She is very talented, and working with her was amazing. I hope to be privileged enough to be able to work with her again.”

“The fans can’t seem to stop shipping your characters, as well as the two of you. Would you like to share the story of how you met?” Since Reneé answered the last question, you took this one. “We had met a couple times shortly though a mutual friend, but really connected during the audition process for Mean Girls.” Reneé nodded along with you, “You could say that the chemistry read was off the chart with us.” She adds with a wink, that leaves you giggling.

The ease you were feeling during the interview was quickly gone with the next question that was asked. “Y/n, how are you dealing with being in the spotlight? Are you keeping up with all the attention, or is it overwhelming for someone with your background?” You had been very open about your past, and not growing up with a lot of money, but the way this question was formulated made a shiver run down your spine.

“Oh eh it’s definitely a big change, but I am grateful for my team, coworkers like Reneé, and the fans for accepting me into this world and supporting me in my career.” The interviewer nods, and you get a feeling he wasn’t done just yet.

“Speaking of change, it must be quite an adjustment from your humble beginnings to now being the lead in what is expected to be a hit movie. Do you think you would’ve made it this far if you weren’t dating someone in the industry, who has the proper experience?”

The question takes the both of you by surprise. Reneé reaches out her hand and places it on your upper leg, to offer you some kind of comfort. “I believe I’ve earned my place here.” You were not going to let him paint this picture where you got everything handed to you on a silver plate. “Every audition, every role, and every late night spent studying lines, it brought me here. I have worked very hard to be a part of this industry, as has every actor I’ve ever met.”

The interviewer smirks, clearly not satisfied with your answer, “Alright, but don’t you think that being in a relationship with someone as established as Reneé might give you an unfair advantage? I mean, how do you think people perceive your success? As earned, or just as a result of dating your girlfriend?”

Reneé is ready to burst, but you stand up before she can say anything. “I refuse to be disrespected like this, I’ve worked too hard to let someone like you undermine my accomplishments. This interview is over.” With that you rip off the microphone pack and walk out of the room.

“You should be ashamed of yourself. Y/n is an incredibly talented actress, who has earned every bit of success through her own hard work. The fact that you’d suggest otherwise says more about you than it does about her. Like she said, this interview is over and we do not sign off on you using any of this.” After defending you, Reneé rushes off to find you.

She found you pacing the hallway. The moment your eyes find hers, you rush into her arms. “I am so sorry he said all of that. You worked very hard to get where you are today, and I am so proud of you. I am also very proud of you for standing up for yourself, I know that isn’t always easy in situations like this.”

You shake your head, “Who does he think he is, asking these kinds of questions?” Reneé shakes her head. “A low life who wants to make money off of other people’s misery, but don’t worry, I told him that we do not give him the right to use the footage of today.”

Reneé took you home, where you spent a relaxing afternoon together, full of cuddles and comfort. This was definitely not the first big interview you had in mind, but there was nothing you could change about it. Together with Reneé, you had gotten both your managers together and explained everything that happened, and to let them know that neither one of you would ever agree to interview with the company again.

A few days later, against all your expectations he had released the interview against your wishes, and painted you as the bad guy. You were angry, and were in constant meetings with your management to figure out what your options were.

Between calls Reneé got the perfect opportunity, so you got both your managers on the phone again. “Drew Barrymore just called and said that if we want to, she wants to give us the opportunity to talk about the interview on her show. She wants to give us a platform to create change in the industry.” You take over from your girlfriend. “Yeah, we already talked about it amongst ourselves, and would love to grasp this opportunity. I know how horrible it was for me, and I want to be a part of making a change.”

Both managers agree, and the next day you are on Drew’s show. The experience of being interviewed by her was a stark contrast to your first interview, and you were glad to know that there were good people out there.

Drew let you speak on what happened at the interview, and how they used the footage while you had retracted your consent for them to use it. “And Y/n, have you seen the reactions of your fans?” You shake your head, “No, I’ve honestly tried to ignore everything surrounding the release of that video.” Drew nods, “That is very fair. I have a compilation of a few things we have found online, and would love to show it to you. Only if you are up for it of course, it’s up to you.”

You end up agreeing, and Drew instructs her crew to play it on the big screen. It starts off with a few screenshots of YouTube comments and tweets of fans defending you, which already got to you. You watched the screen with teary eyes, and leaned into Reneé for comfort. She wraps her arm around you and pulls you even closer.

Then the video shows some of your co-stars defending your honour, as well a bunch of people from the industry. At that point you could no longer keep your tears in. Reneé kissed your shoulder, and rubbed her free hand over your arm.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry!” Drew says when she notices the tears on your cheeks. You wipe them away, “Happy tears, don’t worry. Thank you for showing me this, and thank you to everyone that defended my honour. Your support means the absolute world to me.”

The rest of the interview was focussed on your upcoming coming, in the form of a redo from the failed interview. This time you and Reneé both felt comfortable and safe, all thanks to Drew and her team.

With this interview you were sad that it had to come to an end, but walked off feeling content. Drew listened to everything the both of you had to say, and shared the same enthusiasm as the two of you did about the new movie.

“Thank you.” You say to Reneé, once you’re in your dressing room. “What for?” She asks with her brows slightly furrowed. “Just for always being there for me. I love you.” She smiles and pulls you in for a hug. “I love you too, and I will always have your back.”

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💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! You can also supporting me by leaving a tip 💗

#renee rapp #renee rapp x reader #renee rapp imagine #reneé rapp x reader #mean girls #mean girls x reader #mean girls 2024 #regina george #regina george x reader

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thebunnyslibrary · 22 days ago

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Masterpiece

Pairing: Vampire!Loki x Reader

Summary: A self care day at the art museums leads to a chance encounter with an extremely handsome and seemingly perfect man. But is he your prince charming, or are you a damsel in distress?

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings: Dub/Non-Con, Kidnapping, Manipulation/Hypnosis (Vampiric powers), Bondage/Shibari, Degredation

A cold rainy Saturday might’ve inspired most people to go back to bed. But for you it was a perfect day for a self-date to the art museum. Dressing in a dark green sweater dress and heeled boots; you decided to bring along your rainbow umbrella to add a splash of color to set against the gloomy weather.

A quick breakfast from your favorite café helped get the day off to an even better start. And a planned takeout on the way home where a good book and your vinyls were waiting for you at the end. Right now, though, sat on the plush museum bench, you let out a breath in frustration as you erased your lines for the 3rd time. You understood why art museums had dim lighting to preserve the works, that didn’t exactly make it easier for you to draw.

Art had always called to you. You loved the way artists mixed color and shapes to create such beautiful images. The best you could do were nice recreations; nothing that made anyone excited or interested. All your life you’d heard halfhearted “That’s nice’s” from people you knew. Your

That didn’t stop you from enjoying yourself and having fun, though. Having to be your own cheerleader was hard, but you were loud enough for a whole squad. Just cause you chose not to make your living in art, doesn’t mean you couldn’t indulge. Thankfully, clerical work paid for your small shoebox apartment and some art supplies to keep you fulfilled. Still the one thing you wish you had was someone to share it with. The old ladies at the library you volunteered at and a few coworker friends were great, but nothing ...extraordinary.

“What a lovely drawing” a rich, velvet, British voice shook you from your thoughts and you looked up into an absolutely mesmerizing pair of green eyes. It took you a moment before you could look away and see how handsome the rest of him was.

Inky black hair framed an angular jaw. He was tall, easily looming over you, but you didn’t feel threatened. He wore a crisp grey suit blazer, a perfect match to the clouds overhead, with a white shirt underneath and black Armani matching shoes and pants. But what you admired was the green pocket handkerchief a perfect match his eyes. His eyes sparkled even in the low light of the museum like two emeralds..

“Oh…uhm…thank you,” you said as he sat down next to you.

“Have you done any other drawings?” he asked. He must just be waiting for his partner, you thought. Someone as sexy as him had to be here with someone.

“Yes, I have.” You replied, your voice flat but polite.

“May I see them?” That caught your attention. No one had ever asked to see more of your drawings. But here was this prince charming of a man doing just that.

“Oh, I …yes… I just don’t want to keep you from anyone,” you started. This had to be good to be true.

“Not at all, doll.” He smiled at his rhyme. “My name is Loki.”

“Loki, rhymes with lucky. Well, kind of.” You joked back, telling him your name. You offered your hand to shake his, but Loki surprised you by taking your hand and pressing it to his lips. You bit the inside of your cheek as you felt your face heating up. You were starting to feel like a giddy school girl.

“Lovely to meet you. Now, please show me what other artists you’ve paid homage to with your talents.” He purred. You offered him your sketchbook and he flipped through, slowly. Until he came upon your rendition of Starry Night by Van Gogh. “Extraordinary.” Loki’s eyes met yours and you suddenly found yourself feeling very shy. “Your pallet of blues and greens are a match for Vincent himself.”

“Oh, it’s just a recreation.” You said, trying to brush away the compliment. Loki’s voice held it’s charismatic charm.

“And? You still recreated it yourself. Not to mention your personal addition of a mix of purple. Besides, I think Vincent would have felt just as bashful about someone drawing his work.” Loki’s words sent butterflies rushing you through your belly and you were beaming with pride

“You speak as if you know him.” Loki smiled but didn’t answer you. He flipped through the rest of your drawings before handing your book back. “You have a keen eye. I’d love to walk around for a while with a such an artistic spirit.” All thoughts of your drawing abandoned, you packed up your things and joined him as he left the exhibit and strolled to the next one.

The two of you spent the rest of the morning wandering the exhibits and it almost started to feel like a date; your first in a long time. Loki lavished you with attention and compliments, and seemed to hang on every word you said. You kept looking at his lips and it seemed every time you did, he was looking at you and biting them. You hoped it was because he was thinking about kissing you, but he never did.

Around mid-day, the two of you decided to have a quick lunch. The museum had a small restaurant attached where students from the local culinary school got experience.

“I only ask you avoid anything with garlic.” Loki requested. “I have a severe allergy. Might I suggest a steak?. I hear it’s absolutely delicious.”

“Oh, that sounds great. I love a good rare steak.”

After lunch, you and Loki toured the rest of the museum, and of course that meant a trip to the gift shop.

“Choose anything you like, little artist. My gift to you.” Loki said and your heart swelled. You weren’t really materialistic, but that had to mean this was a date, right? You had to make sure to get Loki’s number before you both left. Looking around for a little while, you chose a nice oil paint set.

You also grabbed a book of queer poetry the museum was selling to celebrate their new queer art exhibit, and a set of Vincent van Gogh sticky notes (his ear slowly disappeared the more you used). Since Loki had offered you just the one gift, you went to pay for the book and the notes yourself, but he gladly took all three items up to the register.

“Oh Loki, that’s okay. You don’t have to...” But another pearly white grin made you pause.

“I know I don’t. But you deserve it.” You easily hand over the items and you were sure little cartoon heart bubbles were appearing over your head. Strolling out of the museum you felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Loki was kind, funny, caring., everything you could want.

A car pulled up to the sidewalk where you two were standing and Loki opened the door, looking at you expectantly. But you were confused. Shouldn’t you be leaving, alone? But you weren’t moving to do that either. Suddenly you were frozen to the sidewalk. Loki tilted his head and let out a small sigh. Blinking slowly and when his eyes opened, they were a crimson red.

“Well now, it seems my influence didn’t work as strong as I planned. No matter, I can easily remedy this. Give me your hand.” You did as he asked, only for the first time noticing how he’d been subtly ordering you around today. Before you could ask another question, Loki smiled and you saw two white fangs in his mouth.

“I won’t be able to have my full taste of you now, but it’s the quickest way to get you to obey. This may hurt, but just don’t scream.” He ordered before biting down and it did hurt, but all that seemed to come to was a whimper. He drank from you for a moment before pulling your wrist away. “Just as sweet as I imagined.” Loki said with a small groan, as if it pained him to stop. “Come now, little artist.” With no hesitation, you climbed into the SUV with Loki and off it drove.

“Loki, what’s…what’s going on?” you felt like all day had been a pleasant dream and now you were waking into a real nightmare.

Ignoring your question, another thing you noticed he’d been doing all day, Loki leaned over and pulled you closer to him; arranging you to be kneeling in his lap. His hands gripped your thighs firmly but the way he rubbed his thumbs back and forth felt intimate and caring. And you couldn’t mistake the feeling of his very hard cock against your bottom.

The car took a hard turn and you grabbed onto Loki’s shoulders to steady yourself. You found yourself looking at his face, wanting to avoid eye contact but the only other option was to stare at his fangs. Currently on display in a smirk that was dangerous, no matter how alluring.

“Did you know, little artist, that human heartbeats are unique? Each one has a different pitch. You humans can’t detect it with all your scientific equipment though. It’s something only a vampire can sense. And darling, your little heart was singing so sweetly for me. A song of loneliness.” Loki said. You couldn’t tell if was mocking you or genuine, turning your head in embarrassment.

But Loki held your chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Foolish humans can’t recognize true beauty when they see it. A lovely specimen like yourself, but not a one amongst them wanting to treasure you. I suppose if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” And for the first time that afternoon, Loki finally kissed you. The taste of your blood still lingered on his tongue, but rather than be disgusted and push him away, you found your hands clasping on to his blazer tighter.

When you finally had to pull away to breathe, Loki smiled. “What a treasure I have.”

“I don’t...I don’t understand.” You panted out. Your mind was feeling floaty. The part of you thinking you should fight back was giving way to how wonderful you felt. Surely something bad couldn’t make you so happy.

“Luckily, you don’t have to understand, little artist.” Loki said, teasing with the edge of your sweater. “You just have to keep doing what you’re doing now; dress in my colors and be my tasty little morsel. In return ’ll shower you with whatever you want for as long you live”. A dark glint flashed in his eye “Or however long I let you live.”

Fear edged it’s way back into your senses with a whimper but he chuckled mischievously. “Oh, don’t worry, darling. With how sweet you taste, I don’t think I’ll disposing of you for quite some time. Perhaps ever.” He leaned in close so his lips were nearly touching yours. “Especially with how wet I can feel you’re getting.” You hadn’t thought of it too much during the day, but you knew it was true. It’d been so long since you’d had sex, all the attention today had been stoking your desire. He leaned back, smiling.

“You were so lonely, feeling invisible. But really you were just waiting for someone to see you. Absolutely adorable.”

You should be stopping yourself. You shouldn’t be loving this like you do. But you didn’t know whether it truly was his influence, your own desire. All you knew was you couldn’t stop yourself from biting your lip and grinding against Loki’s lap.

“Oh dear. What a little slut I’ve acquired. Good girls don’t grind against a complete stranger’s lap.” Suddenly, he pushed your sweater and bra up completely, exposing your chest. “It’s a good thing I like dirty little sluts.” His touch on your chest was ice cold, fondling your breasts before pinching your nipple, making you moan and squirm more in his lap

“You don’t need to make art, little one. You ARE art. And with me, you shall become a masterpiece.” He leaned in to kiss and nibble at your neck, a spot that had always been excessively sensitive for you. “Oh, to ravish you right here, right now. But my masterpiece must have a proper framing.” He leaned back in his seat, but left you in his lap fully exposed.

“Loki…please…I need you…” you begged, clutching at his suit jacket; hoping to entice him more.

“I know love, but I’m right here.” He brought his arms around you and drew you close to him. Though not exactly warm, Loki's body was not ice cold like his hands. You didn’t realize how it had truly been someone had held you like this until you were here. It felt, safe. Despite the fact you shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t want to be here, you found yourself nestling closer, and grinding just a little against Loki’s lap., teasing him ever so. But this time, Loki applied a soft smack to your ass.

“Now now, little one. If I can be patient, so must you be.” Loki chuckled as he stroked your hair. “Besides, I meant what I said today. Most mortals don’t know how to appreciate art. You certainly do. I’m sure you must appreciate the bard.” He said. You heard him tapping away at his phone. “Normally I prefer to read an actual book. You’ll have to see my library.” Another moment passed before Loki began reading to you. Shakespearean sonnets. You recognized your favorite.

To me, fair friend, you never can be old,

For as you were when first your eye I eyed,

Such seems your beauty still. Three winters cold

Have from the forests shook three summers’ pride,

Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turned

In process of the seasons have I seen,

Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burned,

Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green.

Ah, yet doth beauty, like a dial-hand,

Steal from his figure, and no pace perceived;

So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand,

Hath motion, and mine eye may be deceived:

For fear of which, hear this, thou age unbred:

Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead.

You looked up at him and admired the mischief in his eyes; playful but with no malice. “Have you ever wondered who that sonnet was about, little artist?” he said with a wink and you couldn’t help giggling. You looked out the window and saw the car had driven out of the city and out into a more rural wooded area.

“Though not immediately deadly, my skin is far more susceptible to sunshine than yours. The woods also give us plenty of privacy.” One second Loki spoke like prince charming from a fairy tale; the next, the villain of the story. And both sides seemed bent on only getting a reaction from you. This time it was to shake, whether from excitement or fear you didn’t know. Loki chuckled

“Don’t worry, pet. Your master will keep you safe from the things that go bump in the night.” You pulled in the driveway of a beautiful stone Tudor cabin, though manor might’ve been a better word for it. Two stories of grey stone and grayish-green walls that almost seemed to camouflage the house. An illusion only helped by standing above an underground driveway built into a hillside. From the driveway a winding cobblestone pathway lined with lavender led to a wooden front door.

“Yes, I suppose it is a lot for just one. Luckily, I have someone to share it with now.” Loki said and you turned to him in shock. He let out a chuckle before kissing your forehead. “I can hear all those pretty little thoughts. Even the sad, lonely ones you don’t want to admit to yourself.”

Loki cradled your cheek gently and even though you weren’t sure you should, you let yourself meet his eyes. “You may not believe me, but I promise I speak with no influence. I know you have longed for someone to love you, support you, care for you as much as you care for those around you. And that kind heart, thoughtful mind, and beautiful soul call to me just as much as the delicious blood running through your veins. And I intend to indulge in both for a rather long time. I want you to say ‘Yes Loki’ to show you understand and accept me. Please.”

Somewhere, deep in your heart and mind, you chose to believe him. If a vampire wanted you dead, you already would be. He’d made no move to harm you. Quite the opposite in fact.

“Yes, Loki.” You answered, smiling warmly.

“Good girl.” He said, pressing another quick kiss to your lips. As the car pulled up to the front door of the home, you asked him

“Loki, can I please…pull my shirt down?” He pondered for a moment.

“Yes, but only until we are inside. Then I want you to strip entirely.” You felt slight relief at the being able to cover up as Loki’s driver came around to open the door.

“Thank you, Jeeves.” Loki nodded cordially to him

“My pleasure sir. Madam.” He gave you a friendly nod. You briefly thought of saying something to him, but would the driver believe you if you did? Instead gave him a small smile.

“Thank you.” You said.

“Anytime, my lady.”

“Shall we?” Loki asked, offering you his hand to lead you up to the front door.

“Loki, does he…?” you couldn’t resist asking.

“You’d be surprised what people will believe or accept for a paycheck. Thankfully, I don’t need to keep much staff; only a driver and a house keeper who comes twice a week. I tend to keep a neat household.” He eyed you playfully with a small tickle to your side. “Though it will be interesting actually having to ‘grocery shop.’” You let out another chuckle, a little shocked at how normal this could feel.

“I have a full kitchen.” Loki said. “It was easier to build a house with one than explaining why I don’t need one to human contractors. Plus, it gives me a place to store blood.”

“Where do you get that?” You asked as Loki opened the door for you, a bit more confidence in your voice. If Loki was going to read your thoughts anyways, you could at least choose to be verbal and open in your side of the communication.

“You’re not the first mortal I’ve lured…through my door,” he explained, shutting the actual door behind you. “I’ve collected a supply over the years.” He hung his suit jacket up, unbuttoning his cuffs and pushing his sleeves up his well toned fore arms.

“And did those mortals…go back out the door?” you asked. Loki paused, smiling at you as he took your umbrella and bag from you. For a moment you weren’t sure if this would be another question Loki would actually answer or not.

“Some. Though not always in the same way they did. Now, I do believe we are inside.” You bit your lip as you undressed slowly. You weren’t used to walking around fully naked but the way Loki stared at you certainly helped any self-consciousness wash away. You found yourself wanting to pose for him, show off a little.

“Beautiful. Come along, little artist. Let me show you your new home.” With one arm around your waist, Loki led you down a hallway.

Leaning into the rustic yet refined nature of a Tudor cabin; Loki’s…your…home felt warm and natural. Dark hardwood floors complimented emerald green walls. Golden metal fixtures added a royal feeling to the whole place. Not to mention the wonderful art and posters decorating the walls in golden frames. Including…

“Is that…Starry Night?”

“It’s only a recreation, but one done but by Vincent himself.” Loki mused.

“Just how well did you know this man?” You couldn’t help but ask. Loki thought for a moment, smiling as he reminisced.

“To borrow a crude mortal saying, the carpets matched the drapes.” He finally answered, making you snort in laughter as you moved along to the kitchen.

Loki was right. The kitchen was immaculate. But more modern looking than the rest of the house. Slate grey tiles complemented the black marble counter tops and grey wooden cabinets. with grey tiled floor. Chrome appliances included an 8-range burner and a dual oven would’ve made any baker salivate.

“My mother would faint to see a kitchen so clean.” You said, admiring the view out the window, seeing a lovely garden that backed up to the forest.

“Don’t be fooled. I told the designers to go with darker colors because blood on white tiles would have me living in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.”

“Did you know him too?” You asked, incredulously. Loki chuckled and you felt him press against you from behind. You’d gotten used to being naked but the sudden chill at the feeling of his hands on your exposed skin had you feeling very exposed.

“Do you cook little one?” Loki asked, kissing along your neck and shoulders.

“Some things.” You breathed. “I suppose I’ll have to cross garlic off the menu.” Loki chuckled.

“Perhaps. But being around for quite some time, I’ve found a good spice mix that takes its place. Now, lean against the counter and spread your legs for me, pet,” You leaned and did so, giving him full access to your pussy. His left hand dipped between your legs while his right held your body close to his. His voice purred in your ear.

“Did you know little artists, humans tend to smell like what they last ate?” His middle finger began drawing small circles around your clit. “And you just smelled so delicious. English tea…and blueberries.” You could feel Loki’s smile against your neck. “Even though I don’t eat, I’ll make sure my little pet gets fed the most delicious foods.” You tried to focus on what he was saying but all you could feel was his hand between your legs, not doing enough to bring you to climax but just enough to drive you crazy.

“Come now, little artist. I have another room I promised to show you.” Loki’s sudden withdrawal of his hands had your knees almost buckling, but you steadied yourself on the counter. With a frustrated sigh, something Loki smirked at, you followed after him.

But you were glad that you did as Loki lead you to the library he’d mentioned. Walls upon walls all lined with books. A central sitting area had an incredibly comfortable looking plush chair set in front of a fireplace. It was like you’d always imagined.

“Plenty of room to paint or draw in as well.” Loki pointed out. You were pleasantly surprised at the sound system. A turntable set in a wooden cabinet with dual speakers and a modern faceplate.

“The directions said it can connect to phones as well, but the record player was most important to me. The best way mortals have thought to preserve music.” His words did make you think of one thing you’d nearly forgotten.

“Loki, I have some…personal, irreplaceable other things at my…old… home…” you weren’t sure what you’d call it now. “could we go pick them up please?”

“Absolutely, pet. Now. I’ve saved the best room last.” You knew what that meant. And this time you were quicker to follow him, full of anticipation. Loki led you to a double set of doors. But before he turned the handles to open them, he turned to you, meeting your eyes.

“Outside of the bedroom, I am rather lenient and want you to be comfortable. Behind these doors, however, I am your king, your god. But that doesn’t mean I wish you true harm. You will address me as master, but if something I do causes you serious, dangerous harm, your safe word is frost. Understood?” The seriousness of his voice could’ve given you fear, but you felt safe and secure as you replied.

“Yes, Loki.” Loki arched an eye brow at your address. “You said, in the bedroom.” You said, trowing a smirk back at hum, unafraid to let a little sass slide.

“Clever, pet.” Loki opened the doors, revealing a beautiful bedroom. Hard wood floors covered by a plush looking area rug Several more bookshelves lined the walls, along with a vintage looking writing desk. A wooden bedframe that matched the floors dominated the space with beautiful dark green sheets.

“Kneel on the bed for me, pet.”

“Yes Master.” You answered, climbing up and relishing in the softness of his blankets. You felt like you were kneeling on a cloud. But unsure of how to position your hands and settling to rest them on your thighs you saw Loki admiring you as he did the paintings today.

“Exquisite.” The feeling made a shiver of anticipation run down your spine, feeling your pussy clench around nothing. He slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, revealing a lithe but toned body. “Do you like what you see, pet? Tell me.”

“Yes, Master.” You expected him to remove his pants, next. But instead, he went to a dresser, reaching into the top drawer to pull out a beautiful gold colored rope. “I told you that you would be my masterpiece. Another thing you learn from living so long is all of the body’s most sensitive spots. And how to stimulate them simultaneously.”

Loki went over to one of the shelves, thumbing through the records and pulling one out to set on the player. He turned back to you with a smile as smooth jazz of Miles Davis filled your ears and not just the physical ones too.” He then lit some candles scent of red berries, jasmine, and plum washed over the space, making your head swim. Stimulated was certainly the right word for how you were feeling.

Loki studied you for a few moments, and you lifted your head confidently, his gaze and everything he’d done were all working together, making you feel sensual and desired.

“So perfect for me. And all mine.” Loki mused, starting to tie the ropes. First, he wrapped ropes around your legs, binding them in a bent position before attaching them to your hands behind your back. Then he encircled your breasts, squeezing them just enough to make them sensitive but not painful.

Every knot he tied was punctuated with a kiss or a little nibble to your skin. Usually followed by a whimper or a moan from you; occasionally a giggle when Loki found a ticklish spot, which he seemed to take special note of. The most sensitive knot though was the one Loki tied just at your clit. Just like you’d grinded against Loki’s lap earlier, you couldn’t help trying to get some friction, but the knot was tied perfectly to apply the same level of pressure no matter how you moved.

“Lokiii…” you whined, which earned a smack to your pussy.

“I’m sorry, you were ordered to call me something, weren’t you, slut?” Loki hissed. “Unless you’d like your master to take full control?” He warned.

“No…Master.” You whimpered in response. You’d gotten too comfortable, unwittingly test a boundary that you thought was a security net, but was revealed to really electric fence; appearing harmless but if you tested it, you would be hurt. Loki’s expression softened.

“Good girl.” Loki gave you a boop to the nose, but with the way your body was tied, you found yourself falling backwards into the plushness of his bed. You looked and saw he was turned away from you, undoing his pants. But that gave you a great view of his ass. Your hands clenched as you had the thought of giving it a hard squeeze. After all, fair is fair, right?

“Oh just wait, pet. The best is yet to…come,” he turned. His zipper was undone and he’d pulled his cock out of his boxers. He was, stroking it languidly and you were a little stunned at the size. You’d felt him earlier but even still. Loki joined you on the bed, settling between your spread legs so his cock was just brushing against your entrance.

“You are positively dripping for me, little artist. So desperate for me to claim you. To be a vampire’s whore. Is that what you are, slut? My little blood bag to fuck and feed from?”

“Ye-yes Master” you panted trying to buck your hips up “Please fuck me.” At that Loki leaned in and you thought he might kiss you but as he thrusr his hips forward, driving his cock deep inside you, he bit down hard on your neck. The pleasure and pain making you scream as your toes curled. Loki drank from you as his hips set a steady pace. When he pulled away, his lips lowered to your ear.

“So warm, so tight, so perfect. No wonder your heart called to me, pet. Your cunt was made for me.” Loki growled, leaning up to grin down at you wolfishly, only helped by the fangs. Your blood was dripping from his lips but that image only drove you crazier with desire. Loki’s cock was stretching you better than your toys ever had; only heightened by the knot against your clit and the edge he’d kept you on all afternoon. It wasn’t long before you could feel your climax building.

“Master, please… it’s so good,” you moaned.

“Such a wanton slut. My little morsel. You want your master’s cum, filing you and claiming you as mine?” His thrusts increased in pace and pressure, fucking you harder and faster. His hands holding your hips with a firm grasp you were sure would leave bruises.

“Bruises, reminding you who belong to. I have such delicious plans for you. Binding you to display you wherever I want, using my control to make you cum over and over again until you’re broken before me.” His words and promises only fueled you more and your pussy was clenching his cock, ready to cum.

“Master, please may I cum?” you begged, so desperate from the incredible pleasure Loki’d given you. You’d had a few sexual encounters in the past, but nothing like this.

“Yes, yes, you will cum for me. With the knowledge I’ve ruined you for any subpar pleasure some mortal man would try to give you. You. Are Mine.” His words were punctuated by extra hard thrusts and the last one finally made the coil snap. Your body tensed in blinding pleasure as Loki again bit down into the other side of your neck. The light headedness only heightening the experience as you felt him still above you, cumming deep within you.

Loki reached down and fiddled with a knot by your knees and you stretched slowly as you were able to unbind your legs, even if you were still wearing the rope like some bizarre set of tights

“Oh don’t worry, little artist. I have plenty of ways to bend your body to my will, I won’t have to force your mind at all.” His hands stroked your hair so gently, while his lips left kisses lighter than air along your neck. Your hands, still bound in the rope, did not feel like handcuffs. In fact, you decided to tease Loki by scratching his back with the ropes.

“Mmm…just a little lower, love. That feels delightful.” You both giggled and he placed quick kisses to your lips. “It’s been quite some time since I shared my bed with someone; at least someone I planned to spend more than one night with.” Loki confessed.

“It’s been a while for me too. I’ve done okay by myself but sometimes…” you trailed off.

“One thing I will certainly do, little artist; is teach you to live deliciously.” The last word rolled off his tongue and he pulled you into one more kiss. His touch felt like a cool pillow on a warm night. You felt the soft, silken blankets being wrapped around both of you and let yourself wash away into a blissful haze of sleep.

#Vampire!Loki #Loki x Reader #Vampire!Loki x Reader #Loki Laufeyson x Reader #Vampire #Vampire AU #Vampire Fanfiction #Loki Fanfiction #Loki Laufeyson Fanfiction #Dom!Loki

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shylyobscene · 2 months ago

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I wonder what would happen if an someone had six rocket raccoon boyfriends?

GREAT question.

First of all, I think this would create the most toxic polycule in the world. I have no idea how you managed to acquire six Rockets and found yourself in a situation where you’re dating all of them at the same time, but expect a lot of infighting.

Rocket really isn’t the type to share. He had to fight tooth and nail for most of the things in this world that he calls his own, and that includes you; it makes him a little possessive of his relationship with you, although he knows he can’t really blame anyone for being drawn to the sweet little thing hanging onto his arm when he’s with you…but now he’s gonna have to compete with flarkin’ five of himself?

Anticipate a lot of jealousy as they all strive for your attention. If Rocket was already prone to monopolizing your time before this, expect that attention to increase twofold now that he senses competition—even if the competition is technically himself. The result is a lot of PDA. There will never not be a possessive hand over the small of your back, or an arm wrapped around your thigh—his way of softly letting the others know you’re his. Even though they’re technically all him.

The Rockets will also likely not get along. It was hard enough to convince himself that he even deserves you in the first place, and now there are five more of him that think they have some sort of right to you? Please.

This is one of the moments where I wish I had more knowledge of the different comics-Rockets and eidos-Rocket, but from what I’ve gleaned they all have varying senses of self-worth and are all insecure about slightly different things—and this will absolutely be a point of tension. I think it would really grate on MCU Rocket to come across a version of himself who is just…happy with how he looks. With what he is. Who is more confident in his affection with you, and isn’t afraid to show you off.

He’s essentially getting a mirror reflected at him that shows him everything he could be, but isn’t. He’s seeing versions of him that, in some ways, are better. Happier. Hell, some of them are nearly a frickin’ foot taller—but he’s not going to let that jeopardize what he’s got going on with you. You’re too good to lose.

(Slight NSFW under the read more)

All of the Rockets would likely get increasingly handsy, and they were already really frickin’ handsy in the first place. But they have to prove a point, you know.

They’d probably play dirty and try to mark you to visually lay claim—if you were okay with it, of course. But if you do say you’re okay with it, well…good luck. Expect to be covered in hickeys and bites and bruises in very visible places. Mostly your neck, and your arms. He’ll still make sure to leave a few in his favorite spots though, like high up on your thigh, or your hip, or your tits—what can he say, he’s a guy who likes to keep things balanced. No one in the Bowie is able to look you in the eye for at least a cycle once they start doing this.

There would also be an unspoken competition over who can get you to scream the loudest, and come the most amount of times in quick succession. Rocket prides himself in being a very consummate lover—this is a trait that is consistent throughout all renditions of him. So…expect to have your hands full. And your mouth full. And your cunt full.

And I know that this is what you really wanted to know: yes, you could absolutely convince them to have sex with you all at the same time. This is one of the few moments where all six Rockets are able to put their differences aside and work together for the greater good. Just don’t expect to be going anywhere for a while.

#asks #can you tell i spent a lot of time in the undertale fandom during my formative years #most indulgent thing ive ever written #send me more asks and comments i literally gobble them up and eat them for dinner #rocket raccoon x reader #rocket x reader #gotg fanfiction #reader insert #rocket raccoon x oc #rocket raccoon fanfiction #fic requests

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marimayscarlett · 6 months ago

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'The Persistence of Memory' turns 3 years old today 💿🎶

On the 12th of November, 2021, Richard released his fourth Emigrate album with the title 'The Persistence of Memory'. (The release date was initially set for November 5 but was pushed back a week.)

This album is especially significant in Richard's career and for Emigrate as a whole. It emerged as a form of dynamic, active therapy for Richard, who fell into a deep depression after the 2019 stadium tour, which left him riddled with self-doubt. He questioned whether music was still for him or if he should walk away from it altogether.

"Inside me, various wars were raging, and I felt like I had to stop making music. I couldn’t see any purpose in it anymore. It was a really hard crash landing, unlike anything I’d experienced before. There was a real emptiness inside me. Even for us, this stadium tour was something new. And when everyone tells you how great and good you are, whether it’s true or not, you feel like you’re in withdrawal once it’s over. I had to find my way back to earth."

Even before the COVID pandemic began, Richard had already retreated into a form of isolation, unaware that the pandemic would intensify this feeling. To actively combat and process these emotions, Richard delved into his musical archive, taking a journey into the past. Through various demos, song parts, and ideas he’d accumulated since Emigrate's early days, he found his spirits lifting and regained inspiration.

"My present was unpleasant, and my future was empty. So I immersed myself in my past. It was the only thing I had. I stumbled upon all these old songs and ideas and took another close look at them. They helped me move back into the present and finally look forward to the future again—a time travel back to inspiration."

The album was recorded at Sky van Hoff studios and Richard’s own Studio Engine 55 Berlin. His creative process involved reworking old lyrics, re-arranging songs, re-recording parts, and generally polishing up existing tracks.

The oldest of these songs is 'Freeze My Mind' which is 20 years old at the time of the album's release and is also Richard’s oldest song for Emigrate. He had reportedly written it with his then-wife Caron Bernstein around 2001.

“I wrote ‘Freeze My Mind’ in New York City; it must have been around 9/11. I was living in New York at the time and saw the second plane hit the tower. Watching people fall from the tower deeply affected me.”

'Bloodstained Wedding' originated in 2007 and 2011 and was inspired by his time in New York, while 'Hypothetical' previously featured on the album 'Silent So Long', was now sung by Richard himself instead of Marilyn Manson. Richard transformed 'Always on My Mind' into an epic rendition of the classic Elvis song with Till Lindemann, and he reworked 'Come Over' at the encouragement of his son, Merlin, who was enthusiastic about the song.

'I’m Still Alive' had already existed since the first Emigrate album (originally titled 'Yeah Yeah Yeah'), and the music video fittingly combines old footage from 2007 with new clips from 2021.

Richard did not shy away from serious themes on this album. 'Rage' addresses the difficulty of reentering social life after the isolation of COVID, a struggle Richard personally experienced. 'You Can’t Run Away' was written in response to numerous messages from fans expressing suicidal thoughts and sharing how much his music had helped them.

Richard mentioned that he views this album as a kind of closure for this Emigrate era: “This album might be the end of an era, the close of a chapter before something new begins.” While working on this album, he collaborated with Andrea Marino on electronic remixes, although he did not release them, hinting instead at a future electro album to explore this genre more fully.

The album artwork, depicting Richard’s head in a galaxy-like nebula, was created by Arnaud Giroux. It symbolizes the album and the creative process itself - “It’s about creating worlds and looking at things from a different perspective” as Richard describes it. The title itself was inspired by the painting by Salvador Dali with the same name.

One of Richard's announcement of his new album on his IG Profil:

The Persistence of Memory was a process that started 14 years ago. After a rough period in my life, it became clear to me that now is the right time to put it out.

The process to get to a point always interested me more than the point itself, struggling to get somewhere and constantly pushing boundaries makes me feel alive.

I AM STILL ALIVE.

"THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY" out this Friday.

Credit: @tobias_ortmann

Some additional quotes by Richard from interviews he gave around the time of the release:

Would you let your Rammstein colleagues listen to an Emigrate album before its release?

"No, definitely not. (laughs) Though someone like Flake would probably be very open to it. We have a lot of respect for each other and regularly stay in touch. For instance, I often listen to his radio show—and then call him afterward to ask what kind of weird stuff he’s been talking about again. (laughs)"

"I just realized in an interview with another magazine that every time I make an album, there’s a very dark backstory to it. It’s never that I’m just cheerfully going through life, feeling fantastic, and then think, 'Now I’ll write a new EMIGRATE album.' It always coincides with a significant change in my life."

"The funny thing was that I got the inspiration for the cover because of the song 'Always On My Mind.' When I listened to the song, I had the idea that it wasn’t actually about a relationship with a person, but rather about our planet. That’s where the cover idea came from, with the face gazing at the Earth."

sources: rammwiki web.de Berliner Zeitung Chaoszine metal.de

#richard kruspe #rzk #emigrate #the persistence of memory #i love this album so much 🤍#research & rammsplaining #interviews & quotes

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o-uncle-newt · 3 months ago

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Dorothy L Sayers books at the Grolier Club

On my lunch break, I wandered over to the Grolier Club, an institution of and for books and bibliophiles conveniently located about 300 yards from my office lobby. I was intrigued by their current exhibition (closing in a week or so): Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished, and Fictive Works Found Only in Other Books. While I found the concept interesting in itself (a guy working with a team of craftspeople created physical editions of books that currently do not exist), the thing that really drew me was the fact that there was a fuckton of Sayers in there.

In fact, as noted on the case's label, while Sayers is not the only writer with more than one book in the exhibit, she is the only one with more than 2-3 and certainly the only one with a full display case of her own.

All books exhibited assume, in the context of the label, that the book exists. So let's take a look at these totally real books and the backstories they're given and see what we think!* (The alt text contains the label text.)

*Well, what I think, fueled partly by the vague few memories I have from the History of the Book class I took in college... but please let me know what you think as well in comments/reblogs!

First up- two books by our own Lord Peter, both mentioned in Clouds of Witness according to the labels- which as far as I can tell is only kind of true. They're not mentioned in the story text, but in the front matter- the fake Debrett's entry (though The Murderer's Vade-Mecum IS mentioned in-text in Unnatural Death!). As such, we don't actually know anything about their contents or contexts. The incunabula book makes a lot of sense, but I must admit- unless it is based on a Sayers text that has escaped me, I find the description of The Murderer's Vade-Mecum to be a bit much as a descriptive leap.

Another minor quibble- it's unclear, was The Murderer's Vade-Mecum printed for public purchase? It says that it's privately printed like the incunabula book, but implies enough of a circulation that murderers might own it. If it was printed for purchase then you can ignore this next bit, BUT- I'm surprised that Wimsey, as a collector of incunabula, doesn't have his own bookbinder who binds his books in a house style. I'd have expected his privately printed books to look coordinated, if not identical exactly, to allow for harmonious shelf displays.

It's History of Prosody, and it looks exactly as big, scary, and toe-breaking as I expected it to, especially with what I assume are a whole second book's worth of footnotes! Nice job.

The Death in the Pot slipcover looks great... but I'm confused by a few things here. Why is the publication date 1922, when (as mentioned on the label) Death in the Pot was published after the events of Strong Poison, which were in 1930? And where does "MG" come from as the name of her publisher- is it referred to somewhere?

I can't decide what I think about the poison cover. Would Lord Saint-George find this funny if he encountered it? Yeah, sure. Would he have the imagination to dream it up? I don't think so.

Another great looking cover and baffling description. Once again, date is weird (publication date would be 1936, most likely, given that they got married in October and during their engagement Harriet was still writing/doing research). Also, the description of Wilfred is a bit odd but I guess can be congruent with the book rendition... but he's not the detective! Where's good ol' Robert Templeton the untidy dresser?

But I do want to emphasize again, excellent cover. No notes.

Book looks good (though I'd have hoped more for a fancy presentation copy bound by Peter as a gift for Harriet or something), though one thing it gets wrong that the label gets right is that no way would it be titled "Harriet Vane Wimsey." It would be Harriet Vane, Lady Peter Wimsey, or both. The date discrepancy is odd- we know Harriet didn't complete her Le Fanu study during the events of Gaudy Night, and she of course left in a bit of a hurry, so the 40s makes sense, but between the two dates I'd assume the right one is 1947- much more likely that she'd have managed to finish it when the war was over and the kids were older.

This looks awesome, though the font/printing is maybe a bit more modern-looking than I expected (but I'm not super knowledgeable). Tiny quibble- it would be Cantab., not Camb. (just as with Harriet's Le Fanu book it said Oxon.). Such an early date as 1901 is slightly surprising, but I suppose there's no real reason why not...? Separately, interesting that they placed the book be at Duke's Denver- Wimsey doesn't live there! Maybe because that's where he used to take part in change-ringing as a kid?

All in all, a great exhibit (and it had a bunch of other fun books as well, like On the Care of the Pig from PG Wodehouse's Blandings Castle stories and a deep-black copy of Memories by DEATH of the Discworld). I think that the worldbuilding around the Sayers books in the labels could possibly have been a bit tighter but quite frankly, merely doing this, and to the high standard that they did when creating the books, and specifically highlighting the vividness of Sayers's world and the worlds within it that she creates (in choosing to specifically spotlight multiple books from Sayers's oeuvre), is already more than we (or at least I) deserve.

Final day of the exhibit is next Saturday- if you're in the NY area, highly recommend!

#lord peter wimsey #dorothy l sayers #the nine tailors #clouds of witness #gaudy night #strong poison #i would read pretty much any of these #though i'd probably nod off during the change ringing book #my eyes glaze over even in the brief sections in the nine tailors #grolier club #imaginary books #bibliophilia #book history #literature

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kathanglangit · 2 years ago

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The First Blade: Balaraw - Winged Dagger

I realize I haven't been explicit about it on here yet (mostly because I'm not the best at keeping all my social media profiles up to date), but I am involved in the development of a Tabletop Roleplaying Game It's called Gubat Banwa- a TTRPG based around tactical grid combat, contemplative war drama, and high-flying martial arts, all of which taking place in an unapologetically Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy setting, developed by @makapatag with art direction by @villain-returns. Initially I developed the script that is used in the gamebook and diegetically in the setting- called Kasuratan- but I'll talk about that elsewhere.

With the Kickstarter launch imminent, I thought I'd do a bunch of Twitter X threads on a bunch of weapons I've drawn for the game counting down the final week before the launch. Then I thought: "Why aren't I posting these on tumblr also, at least I wouldn't lose my mind over character counts over here"- so here we are. These were supposed to be posted as Swordtember drawings, but then the KS launch got moved to October. Most of these blades are of Philippine make, since that is where my knowledge-base is and what I'm comfortable enough to share knowledge about. I thought it'd be nice to share a bit of blade knowledge from some of the cultures that inspired the setting. Without further ado, let us begin with the BALARAW.

Also known as a "winged dagger", it is characterized by its unique shape, consisting of a short leaf-shaped blade driven with the tang out into a hilt with two distinct protrusions, creating three prongs on the back with the tang included.

(Photos from an exhibit at The Met)

They may be held at the hilt like a regular knife, or they may be held in a manner not too dissimilar from how our neighbors in Southeast Asia hold keris. One may imagine it like a "push dagger" for lack of other reference points. It might be likened to the katar as well, in some sense.

(Sketches by the Gubat Banwa Art Director himself) Nowadays, the blade is frequently attributed to the People of the Upstream- the Mandaya group of peoples- though they would have seen much wider use in their day, likely also spanning across what is now the Visayas region of the Philippines.

(Modern rendition by Panday Keiven Tolentino of Itak Mindoro, Photo by Ramon H. Bathan) Something I've noticed from looking at Philippine blades all the time is that symmetrical, double-edged blades like these are rare, here. Blades that lend themselves more to stabbing than anything else aren't very prevalent either, and blades that do not- at first glance- appear to be made with tool use/foliage clearing/farmwork in mind don't make up the majority of specimens. The balaraw is unique in several different respects, and any self-respecting warrior Kadungganan of Gubat Banwa's Sword Isles would do well to mind its bite. The weapon makes an appearance in Gubat Banwa in the hands of the Beast Hunter- one of the many Disciplines ("character classes") whose techniques your character can learn in-game.

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 7 days! Check it out here:

We'd appreciate any and all help in getting the word out. Support an independent TTRPG made by a team from the global south, looking to make waves through a fantasy setting where the Southeast Asian inspirations takes center stage!

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notyourmamasdeerbat · 22 days ago

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Shameless Self-Promotion Saturday

Thank you @draco-illius-noctis for the tag! 👋 Hello, dear!

We make a post and show off what cool stuff we created over the past week. Art, Screenshots, writing (anything from a questionnaire about your OC to the 100K epos...) anything we do is worth to be seen and to be promoted. And by tagging people, commenting, and reblogging, we share the love and boost ourselves and other's confidence.

This is such an amazing, sweet and productive idea, I love this. Anyhow, woe. Carry the Dagger chapter 4 snippet be upon ye!

Harding chuckled into her wine glass. “Rook here is a firm believer in the great game of ‘finder’s keepers.’” “Unless it explodes,” Rook added, frowning. “No, especially if it explodes,” Harding laughed. “Do you remember the phylac–” “Eht-deht-deht–! We don’t talk about the phylactery incident.” Rook sipped from their cup. Neve’s gaze glinted with sharp interest. Bellara’s eyes were huge as she stared at them. “You stole a–” “I didn’t steal– I… I borrowed it. For a friend.” “In Orlais?” Neve guessed, casual. Rook nearly inhaled their tea, coughing. Harding ‘oohed’. “She’s good.” The Veil Jumper wheezed into their cup, tapping their chest. “Maybe.” “Is that where you are from? I’d wondered.” Lucanis cocked his head. “It’s a long, long story. I have to be really, really drunk to tell it right.” They cast the assassin a broad, watery-eyed grin, clearing their throat. “Not enough wine for that now,” Harding dismissed, waving a freckled hand with a smile. Bellara clutched her cup in both her hands so tightly Rook was afraid it might crack as she leaned forward. “You stole a phylactery in Orlais?” “Circles were pretty much abolished by then,” Rook mumbled. “Wasn’t technically illegal. If anything, that templar was holding it illegally–” They shut their mouth and sank a little in their chair as Bellara lit up like the sun, fidgeting like she ought to be taking notes. Neve arched a brow. Harding sipped from her glass, conspicuously silent. Neither she nor Rook divulged more details. Bellara was practically vibrating with glee. “Did you have a lot of adventures like that? With Varric?” A nameless emotion crossed Harding’s face, before she smiled slightly where she sat, her gaze far away. “...Yeah. Too many to count.” Rook beamed. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it. Harding, tell them about the time Shiral threw him headfirst through that noblewoman’s bedroom window.” Harding started to laugh, bright and loud, and Rook’s heart swelled with joy. They wished Varric were down here. Maybe they’d bring him some of the scraps, if there were any left. He told that story better than anyone else, of course. With some embellishment. The noblewoman’s voice got shriller with every rendition, and she seemed to be wearing less and less clothes with every retelling. Harding told the real story, petticoat and all. And it was good. Neve had started to pick experimentally at the first real meal they’d had in days as she listened, her eyes suddenly melting shut around a mouthful of soup. Curious, stomach grumbling, Rook decided it was finally appropriate to follow suit. They ladeled a bit of the soup into a bowl, it smelled divine, and placed a few croquetas on their plate. Bellara was nudging scallops onto her plate, watching Harding with rapt attention as she hung on every detail with little gasps and exclamations. “What spooked Shiral?” she asked. “We were ambushed!” Harding revealed, throwing her arms wide. “They had a giant.” Bellara fluttered her hands excitedly. “You’re kidding,” she accused. “Nope! Biggest, meanest one I’ve seen to date. Tusks as big as Rook. One big, watery eye. And it was pissed. They had the poor thing on a chain, enchanted to get in its mind and throw it into a frenzy. An old Venatori trick from the Inquisition days.” Harding gestured with her half-croqueta. “So the thing comes bursting out of the treeline, full charge. The dracolisk loses her mind, bucks Varric straight into the summer villa.” Rook chuckled and crunched into a croqueta they’d dipped in the aioli– and the fond memory melted away. “Maker,” they breathed, covering their mouth to muffle the sentiment as they set down their fork with a clink.

also this (same chapter):

“You reached for a sword you aren’t wearing.” “...Yeah.” Rook turned back to the suds in the basin. “Guess you would have got me.” “You still have that knife in your boot.” Rook started to smile. “How did you– of course you can tell.” “Do you always carry it?” “The knife? Yes. Always.” “A knife?” he queried, not knowing why he was so curious. “Or that knife?” “That knife,” Rook hummed. There was a beat. They said nothing else. Lucanis chuckled. “Sorry,” Rook amended, not sounding very sorry at all. “For what? I am not entitled to your armory,” he laughed. “You're welcome to it, if need be.” He thought suddenly back to the dagger they'd lent him, those first few moments of heart pounding hope and rushed acquaintance in the Ossuary. He'd returned it, of course, handing it back as they first stepped foot into the Fade, his skull pounding and vision reeling from the news in the Diamond and the bleeding colors of the Eluvian. “You should be more careful with your daggers.” He wasn't sure why those were the words that pushed out of his mouth. Rook sniffed, amused. “Why? You use them well enough.” He didn't have an answer for that.

HAHA GET IT?? CARRY THE KNIFE- CAREFUL WITH YOUR DAGGERS, LIKE- YEAH LIKE THE- yeah.

Anyway. IDK I'M TAGGING YOU TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU'RE EXCITED ABOUT!!! WAM BAM!! 🫵🫶✨️

@otterpocketz @andthekitchensinkao3 @the-bear-and-his-sunbird @hedwigoprah @fenrelmercar

#shameless self promotion saturday #dragon age the veilguard #rookanis #ao3fic #carry the dagger #da veilguard fanfic

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lukehughesbabymama · 2 years ago

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Dating Matthew Knies would include

-him only responding to you when you call him ‘Matty’ or ‘Matt’ because he “doesn’t know who Matthew is”

-putting his hair into pig tails under the condition that you promise not to take any photos

-taking photos anyway

-getting chased around and then pinned down by him until you delete them

-him being able to hold your whole face with his big ass hand just by putting it underneath your chin

-him creating an entire private story on snapchat for when he went to Beijing to update you with videos considering the time difference

-and continuing to use it to this day when ever you're apart

-him holding your waist with one hand whenever you're standing next to each other

-him loving it when you boss him around

-accidentally causing a fight when you tell him you're excited for him to go to Toronto so you can meet Auston Matthews... oops

-babysitting Cooley together

-being so intimated by his Slovak parents

-kissing his cheeks 24/7

-communicating exclusively through voice memos on text in order to “deliver the message with the correct tone”

-jumping up on him without doubt he will scoop you up and hold you like a baby when you’ve had a long day

-Eskimo kisses

-him mostly calling you ‘brat’ because mans knows he spoilssssss you

-and a new rendition of ‘bratiana’ which he thinks has more of a ring to it

-still not being able to look into his eyes for that long because they are so damn piercing

-being prepared to not be able to speak to him until the next day after he loses a game since he goes into a depression

-then rough sex the next day to get the frustration out of his system 🤭

-him stealing one of your SPF moisturizers after you told him he will have skin like leather if he doesn't have some kind of sun protection on everyday

-him being fascinated and always occupied by your claw clips

-him towering over you and getting in your face whenever you fight

-him becoming a dog when he sees you in a bikini

-no like he's actually gawking at you and you have to pinch his ear to get him to stop

-absolutely drowning in any clothes that you borrow from him

-him using your boobs as a pillow

no bc I need him

#matthew knies #mk23 #toronto maple leafs #minnesota gophers

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twistedtummies2 · 6 months ago

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Top 15 Vampires (Who AREN'T Dracula)

Something a lot of people seem to misconstrue about me is that I am a massive fan of vampires and vampire fiction. This really isn’t the case: what I AM is a massive fan of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” specifically. I am fascinated by seeing different interpretations of that particular novel, and especially its title character. When it comes to vampire fiction as a whole, I am much less well-versed and interested. SPOILER ALERT: you won’t be seeing TV franchises like “True Blood,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dark Shadows,” or “What We Do in the Shadows” here, for the simple fact that I have never seen any of them and really don’t have any intention of seeing them. This applies to a lot of other television programs, works of literature, films, and video games: vampires, by default, do not automatically equal my vested interest. HOWEVER…this does not mean I have NO interest in vampires, as a concept. Long before Bram Stoker’s seminal work was published and reached its heights of popularity, the idea of the vampire - an undead creature who rises from the grave to drain the blood of the living - was a fantasy and myth spanning not only many centuries, but many different cultures. Just about every nation, region, and spiritual belief under the setting Sun has had some variation of the vampire legend, and written stories of vampiric characters and events date back much, much further back than Stoker’s time. What “Dracula” really did was bring the concept into the popular consciousness, especially through its renditions onstage and in motion pictures, in a way no written or orally transferred piece of work had done before. That popularity has really only continued to grow over the decades. Being such a widespread idea, and one with increasing fascination for many people over time, it’s only natural that while I may favor Dracula and his exploits beyond all the rest, I have still seen SOME pieces of vampire fiction not necessarily related to the Count of Transylvania. So, I decided it was time to give all of them some attention. Now, I should point out that I won’t be counting characters I already talked about on my Top 31 Favorite Dracula list: even if they aren’t technically Dracula himself, such as with The Count from “Sesame Street,” or Count Chocula, it just seems like cheating to include them here since…well…I already brought them up, and it was in relation to Dracula! With that said, some Dracula-inspired characters WILL be present on this list that did NOT get discussed in the past, because Dracula-inspired does not equal Dracula himself. Also, I will be including characters who are dhampirs - half-vampire, half-human - or might be considered “unconventional vampires,” so to speak. If they have all the hallmarks I’m looking for, they can be eligible. Oh, and if you’re a fan of “Twilight”...firstly, you probably shouldn’t be reading this, and secondly, you’re going to be massively disappointed. :P Now that we’ve established those points…let’s waste no more time. Prepare some garlic and, if you don’t have any crucifixes handy, consider buying a couple: these are My Top 15 Favorite Vampires…Who AREN’T Count Dracula.

15. NOS-4-A2, from Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.

Starting off with an unconventional sort of vampire. NOS-4-A2 is Dracula parody character, created by the evil Emperor Zurg. He is a robotic “energy vampire” who detests the taste of blood, instead feeding off electrical energy. This, of course, still makes him a very dangerous threat, especially in a sci-fi styled universe with so many electronic gadgets and gizmos laying around, and with more robots roaming the galaxy than you can shake a stick at. Ultimately breaking away from his creator’s influence, NOS-4-A2 continued to bedevil the heroes of Star Command throughout the show’s run, and was arguably the scariest major villain of the whole show. This is especially fascinating since he was played by Craig Ferguson, of all people; not the most obvious casting to play a vampire of any kind, I’d say.

14. Demetri Maximoff, from Darkstalkers.

These games were inspired by the Universal Monsters of yore, with characters based on figures of fright like the Wolfman, the Frankenstein Monster, and the Mummy, just to name a few. Demetri is effectively the Dracula surrogate of the franchise…but, since he ISN’T actually Dracula, and I have not mentioned him before, I think he can count here. (Plus, in the…very, VERY bad cartoon series loosely based on the games, Dracula is actually present as a character and is Demetri’s uncle, so…there’s that, too, I guess.) Demetri is an extremely vain and power-hungry vampire warlord, who believes himself to be superior to not only all humans, but perhaps all other forms of life. This led to him arrogantly challenging the demon Belial to a duel in a time long past. Demetri lost, and thus was banished to the mortal realm, where he now seeks to find a way to regain his former glory. His greatest rival is the succubus, Morrigan, daughter of Belial. Demetri isn’t particularly complex, but he IS a very entertainingly dark and powerful character. At the same time, there are some humorous aspects to Maximoff’s personality: one of his special moves, “Midnight Bliss,” literally causes him to turn the male characters he fights into comical female forms, because Demetri really, REALLY prefers the blood of women to that of men. Also, how many other vampires will stop in the middle of a fight to spray themselves with cologne?

13. Lady Dimitrescu, from Resident Evil Village.

I could be entirely wrong about this, but I got the feeling that “Village”- much like the Darkstalkers franchise - was Resident Evil’s throwback to the classic Universal Monsters. When the villains include an elegant vampire, a werewolf, a mad scientist, and a mutant fish person, and the setting is a creepy little town with a dark castle? You’ll forgive me if I see certain parallels. Regardless of any influences, I think it’s fair to say that Lady Dimitrescu, a.k.a. “The Tall Lady,” stands on her own two (very long) legs quite well. While all of the villains in the game are different shades of awesome, Lady D. is by far the most popular. She is the first major antagonist the players encounter in this action/horror combination, as we are forced to try and escape from her Gothic castle while facing not only her, but also her equally wicked daughters. Dimitrescu isn’t a typical vampire, but rather the result of scientific mutation, which has transformed her into a vampire-like creature with a humanoid veneer. Still, she’s no more unconventional than NOS-4-A2, I’d say (or a bunch of other characters still to come), so I don’t see any reason she can’t count.

12. Father Abel Nightroad, from Trinity Blood.

Finally, a character who is decidedly NOT influenced by Dracula! There are a ton of vampire-themed anime out there, but I haven’t seen very many of them; again, I’m more into Dracula, specifically, than vampires as a whole. However, there are a few characters and shows on this list, and this guy is the first of them. “Trinity Blood” focuses on the adventures of Abel Nightroad, who is one of only two surviving members of a race known as a Crusnik (also spelled “Krusnik;” not sure which is the more generally accepted spelling): while vampires feed on human beings, a Crusnik is essentially a vampire that feeds on other vampires. Abel works for the Vatican (which, in the alternate reality of the series, has basically taken over the human world…read into that what you will), acting as a sort of ambassador, trying to keep peace between the nation of humans and the nation of vampires. Abel is a classic example of a character type I really love: I don’t know what the name for it is, but it’s a scenario where the character often appears to be silly and goofy and perhaps even a sweetheart, but underneath it all they are made of steel and can be VERY dangerous. Characters like Sans, The Doctor, Disney’s Clopin, Adrian Monk…the list goes on. Abel is one of those types: on the surface, at first glance, he’s a clumsy, sugar-addicted, perpetually-broke goofball who tries desperately to avoid all conflict. When the chips are down, however, he’s quick to remind those who cause trouble why he’s basically the alpha predator of this world’s food chain. It’s the classic “beware the fury of a patient man” concept: when the peaceful priest is also a vampire of vampires, the last thing you want to do is make him mad.

11. Taiga Nobori, a.k.a. Kamen Rider Saga, from Kamen Rider Kiva.

“Kamen Rider Kiva�� is a Japanese superhero program - part of the long-running “Kamen Rider” franchise - themed around…you guessed it…Universal Monsters. The series focuses on the titular Kamen Rider Kiva (real name Wataru Kurenai), who uses his powers to hunt down shapeshifting, vampiric monsters referred to as “Fangires.” The Fangires are ruled by a chess-themed group of superiors known as the Checkmate Four. At the time of the series’ start, the current leader of the Checkmate Four is this character: Taiga Nobori, who becomes a rival of Wataru under the identity of Kamen Rider Saga. Taiga is a childhood friend of Wataru, who is ultimately revealed to secretly be his long lost sibling. Despite this, he at first plays an antagonistic role in the story; as the series goes on, he has to struggle with his relationship with Wataru, his love for Mio - a lady both of them love dearly - and his responsibility as the new King of the Fangires. Again, not by any means a conventional vampire (or dhampir), but a very fun character and more than worthy of placement on my personal list.

10. Bunnicula.

This little guy is almost undoubtedly the cutest life-sucking undead creature in history. Why? Well…he’s a bunny. A cute, adorable, fluffy, sweet little bunny with big red eyes and a little widow’s peak marking on his noggin. How can you NOT love this fuzzy little sweetheart? If I weren’t allergic to rabbits, I’d snuggle him to bits! Bunnicula is the mascot of the popular “Bunnicula” book series…however, in the original books, he’s not actually the main character. In fact, there are several short novels where Bunnicula never appears. He is, however, nevertheless, a prominent figure throughout the series. The books typically follow a certain formula: Chester the Cat and Harold the Dog encounter some spooky, creepy thing. Chester - an over-dramatic ham who never likes to admit his true feelings and isn’t as smart as he thinks he is - tries to solve the mystery in the most inept and hilarious way possible. Harold, who is much more practical and reasonable, basically acts as the straight man to hold back Chester’s crazy. Bunnicula is, at first, Chester’s arch-nemesis, as the cat believes the vampire bunny has plans for world domination…but in fact, Bunnicula is completely harmless. He doesn’t drink blood, but instead just drains vegetables of their juices, leaving shriveled, dried-up husks behind. It’s a bit creepy, sure, but he has no desire to hurt people or other animals. And, even though he may be centuries old, he’s still basically just a baby bunny; he’s way too young and sweethearted to even imagine world conquest. The books are highly popular - renowned for their messages of tolerance and looking-before-one-leaps - and have been the inspiration for multiple reimaginings and adaptations. Most of these versions give Bunnicula even more vampiric powers and heighten his role in things. Regardless, however, his basic personality remains the same: occasionally mischievous, but generally just a cuddly little bun-bun…who also happens to be an immortal vegetable-draining demon, but that’s just part of his charm.

9. Lestat de Lioncourt, from The Vampire Chronicles.

I don’t think I’m physically ALLOWED to talk about vampires (that are not Dracula) without acknowledging the work of Anne Rice. She is the author of “The Vampire Chronicles,” an EXTREMELY popular series that many consider to be second only to Dracula, in terms of influential literature. The books focus on the life and adventures of Lestat de Lioncourt: a centuries old vampire, living in 1980s America. Once the son of a nobleman, Lestat was transformed into a vampire by an ancient evil; in the modern day, he is now the head of a vampiric rock band. Rice is often credited with revitalizing interest in vampires as a concept, especially focusing on the sexual overtones of the idea, and the sympathetic qualities of a lonely, eternal life. This reputation is…somewhat dubious; as far as I can tell, these things were popular and noteworthy well before her first book was published. In my opinion, the REAL power of Rice’s work is due to two specific factors. First, the explicitness of the writing: her books are some of the raunchiest and most violently bloodthirsty vampire novels written up to that time. Through literature, she gets away with stuff that, up to that point, not even most films - in a genre that was growing increasingly brutal and randy - could get away with. Second, and I think this is where her reputation really shows its power…Lestat himself, and the way he’s treated. It’s not simply that Lestat is a sympathetic character, it’s that - unlike, as far as I can tell, ALL major, noteworthy vampires in fiction before him - he isn’t treated necessarily as a monster. He is not the antagonist, but instead the main character we follow and learn about, as well as learn from. While he is not necessarily a hero, he also isn’t the villain, and is not meant to be seen as such; he is simply a man who has lived a very long life. And like any man, ESPECIALLY one who has lived a long life, he has done many terrible things…but he has also done many good things. Ultimately, I personally find other vampires and vampire stories much more interesting than Rice’s work, but the influence she’s had cannot be ignored. Lestat is more than deserving of recognition in my Top 10.

8. Vamp, from Metal Gear Solid.

Of all the unconventional vampires on this countdown, Vamp is arguably the weirdest. Rather than a supernatural being, Vamp is what might be termed a “science vampire”: the result of biological experimentation, rather than anything magical or paranormal. Not only that, but despite looking like a vampire, having vampire-like abilities, being of stereotypically vampirish Romanian descent, and even having a literal taste for blood…Vamp’s name has NOTHING to do with him being a “vampire.” (Where does his name come from? Look it up, I find it to be absolutely stupid, so I’m not naming it here.) It’s as if the creators wanted to make a vampire character, yet for some baffling reason didn’t want to make him a “real” vampire. While this whole setup is utterly backwards, it does nothing to harm the actual character, thankfully. Vamp is one of the more well-known antagonists in the MGS series, despite only appearing properly in two games, and a personal favorite of mine (for obvious reasons). He is vicious, mysterious, has a slight flair for the dramatic, and generally is just really, REALLY cool. The most noteworthy thing about Vamp - aside from his superhuman strength and speed, and the fact that he’s REALLY hard to kill - is his skill with knives and daggers. Whether it’s wielding them at close quarters or flinging them about left and right, his abilities with blades make him a particularly frightening foe to take on, and his boss battles are among the more tricky in the titles he appears in. Kudos must also go to voice acting great Phil LaMarr, whose unsettling performance is a big part of the character’s appeal. Whether he’s a “true” vampire or not, Vamp is certainly vampire-themed, and therefore I say still more than counts for the top ten on my list.

7. Seras Victoria, from Hellsing Ultimate.

I specifically credit “Hellsing Ultimate” because I haven’t watched the original Hellsing anime, nor have I read the manga. With that said, “Hellsing Ultimate” is one of my favorite anime programs, as well as quite possibly the single most violent I’ve ever seen. While the main protagonist of the series is Count Dracula-I mean, Alucard (GREAT way to disguise your identity there, sir), I would argue it’s the apparent secondary protagonist of the series who has the most dynamic story arc. That character is everyone’s favorite “Police Girl,” Seras Victoria. At the start of the show, Seras is a young rookie cop whose squad is attacked by a horde of ghouls, controlled by a villainous vampire. Alucard is only able to save her life by transforming her into a vampire as well. The rest of the series has Seras trying to balance who she is with what she’s become: she not only has to discover how to handle her newfound vampiric powers, but also has to learn and accept what it really means to be a vampire. Some people seem to dismiss Seras as pithy comic relief - she is the most lighthearted character of the main cast - but I feel that’s an extremely unfair assessment: while I admit it took a little time for me to warm up to her, I now feel she’s one of the most interesting characters in the show, second only to Alucard. Seras is earnest and altruistic, at times almost childlike…but she is also more than capable of kicking butt, and is as mighty on the battlefield as virtually any of her comrades. It’s that wonderful dichotomy of her being a good, gentle person and a powerful, stalwart warrior that makes her so enjoyable. It’s rare you’ll find well-written, strong female characters who are able to be impressive physical threats while also still being generally good-hearted human beings, as well as very funny to watch. Seras is such a rarity, and earns all the praise she gets and more for it.

6. Carmilla.

If there is a single vampire that has been portrayed as often as Dracula…well, factually, there hasn’t been. But if there is one who comes close, it’s the Countess Karnstein: the titular character of the story “Carmilla” by J.S. LeFanu. Her story was, in fact, an influence on Bram Stoker when he created “Dracula.” The story is most well-known because it is heavily, HEAVILY implied that Carmilla is a lesbian: considering the tale was published in the 1870s, it’s kind of amazing that LeFanu got away with that. Of course, the REASON he got away with it is because he depicted the lesbian character as being a literal bloodthirsty monster, but Carmilla, in the book, is also something of a tragic figure. Her feelings for Laura - a young lady who befriends her, not realizing Carmilla wants to make her into her next victim (and probably has the hots for her) - are ultimately unreciprocated, but from Carmilla’s side at least, they seem to be genuine, or at least very passionate. Once she is slain, Laura doesn’t rejoice: she admits that she misses the person she considered a friend, and still has nightmares about the horrible truth itself. The character of Carmilla has appeared multiple times beyond the story, but sadly I haven’t seen many interpretations: Hammer Horror’s “Karnstein Trilogy” of films follow the book to a point, before veering off into wilder territory. In the “Castlevania” franchise, Carmilla is a recurring antagonist, usually serving as Dracula’s rival, follower, or both. She is referenced in “The Batman vs. Dracula” as Dracula’s former bride. In “Fate/Grand Order,” it’s revealed that Carmilla’s true identity is the infamous serial killer Elisabeth Bathory. None of these have ANYTHING to do with LeFanu’s story, but they are certainly intriguing. There are much more faithful versions out there, if you look, but I have not experienced them…yet. I was very tempted to name Carmilla in my Top 5, but ultimately I think there are just more characters, in general, I like more, so she just barely misses out. Sorry, ma’am.

5. Noe Archiviste, from The Case Study of Vanitas.

If there is a single vampire ALMOST as adorable as the aforementioned Bunnicula, I would argue it’s Noe: one of the main protagonists of the anime “The Case Study of Vanitas.” The show is based on the manga (which I still need to read) by Jun Mochizuki: the creator of my favorite manga (and what SHOULD have been my favorite anime), “Pandora Hearts.” While PH is a reimagining of the “Alice” stories by Lewis Carroll, “Case Study of Vanitas” is an homage to various works of dark period fiction. It contains various references - some more obvious than others - to literary works like “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” classic horror films like “Nosferatu,” and more. The plot is set in a steampunk universe where vampires and humans co-habitate more or less harmoniously. Many vampires in this world are infected with a mysterious curse, which turns them into violent monsters. Noe is a young vampire nobleman, who - while traveling to Paris - ends up becoming a bodyguard for the mysterious Vanitas: a self-proclaimed doctor who uses a magical book to “heal” cursed vampires. At first, the two start off on a very rocky relationship, but as time goes on, they eventually become friends. Noe is wonderful because of the dichotomy of his character: on the one hand, he’s absolutely precious. Seriously. He’s usually friendly, naive, at times a bit dim, tries hard to be polite, loves his pet cat, and is filled with a sense of spellbound wonder at the world around him, showing an excitable playfulness. He’s typically just the most loveable cinnamon bun of a vampire you could ever meet. On the flip side, however…he IS a vampire, and not only that, he’s a POWERFUL vampire. While he’s usually an absolute sweetheart, his patience is not limitless: if Noe is angered, or feels a need to defend himself, he can be TERRIFYING. I really love characters who have that kind of dual nature, and Noe is a great example of it: easily a fine pick for my top five.

4. David, from The Lost Boys (1987).

It’s hard to believe, given the bad rap he often gets nowadays for movies like “Batman & Robin,” that filmmaker Joel Schumacher was actually considered a highly respected and talented movie master. He, in fact, made a bunch of REALLY good movies in his time, and many would argue that this horror-comedy blend is his best. “The Lost Boys” is considered one of the most influential modern vampire stories, alongside the aforementioned works of Anne Rice, but in a different kind of way: the vampires in the Lost Boys are not elegant, glamorous figures, nor sympathetic immortals tortured by their own eternity. These are what I call “punk vampires”: the main villains are basically your standard biker gang of Goth hoodlums, who love wearing leather, smoking, drinking, causing general street mayhem, and swagger around with cocksure pride in their antics. They just also happen to be vampires, and have all the powers vampire have as a result: extended lifespans, eternal youth, flight, superhuman strength, and various other supernatural abilities. The allure of these vampires comes from their vivacity and fun; there’s a certain “wish fulfillment” aspect to the way the vampires are portrayed in “The Lost Boys,” as they represent all the things people sort of WISH they could do…but the cost of having so much power and access to so many thrills is very high. Nowhere is this better embodied than in the main antagonist, David, played by Kiefer Sutherland. David is a charismatic fellow with a commanding presence and charm. He is the quintessential “bad boy”: a sensual, attractive portrait of raw danger. He is also, however, a murderous psychopath, without a shred of compassion left in his soul. Whenever I think of vampires, David is one of the first characters I imagine, and more than worthy of a spot in my top five.

3. Genevieve Dieudonne, from the works of Kim Newman.

I say “the works of Kim Newman” because Genevieve was originally created as the heroine of a series of books by Newman called “Drachenfels.” These books are connected to the highly popular “Warhammer” franchise. I know basically nothing about either of these things. So, how is Diuedonne so high up in the ranks? Well, as it turns out, Newman also used the same character as one of the main protagonists of another series I really, REALLY love: “Anno Dracula.” For those who came in late, “Anno Dracula” is set in an alternate universe where Dracula succeeds in taking over England, ultimately turning a large number of the population of Europe into vampires. In many ways, I think the books succeed in doing something that I personally feel other vampire stories that are perhaps more acclaimed - such as the works of Anne Rice - didn’t quite manage for me: they completely humanize the vampires. Vampires in Anno Dracula aren’t treated as monsters inherently; they may drink blood, dislike sunlight, and have certain weaknesses, but at heart, they’re still basically just people. Some are good, some are bad; it really depends on what is in their heart of hearts. Other universes that have come since have taken this idea as well, but “Anno Dracula” is the first I’m aware of, and in my opinion still the best attempt at the idea. Genevieve herself stands as a testament to this philosophy: she is essentially the “Anti-Dracula.” She is even more ancient than the Count, and presumably just as powerful, if not moreso. However, while Dracula is a self-serving villain who seeks power and glory, Genevieve is a good person at heart, who simply tries to do what she feels is best for not only her fellow vampires, but for people as a whole. She has many of Dracula’s abilities and traits we would recognize - being very dramatic in her own way, very cunning, extremely well-educated, and also an experienced warrior - but she has gone in an extremely different direction as a person. I don’t know how the version in the Warhammer universe compares to Genevieve in “Anno Dracula,” but if she’s anything like the one there, it only cements how much she deserves place in my Top 3.

2. Blade & Morbius, from Marvel.

There are many vampires and vampire-like creatures and characters in the Marvel universe. Dracula himself, as I’ve said in the past, is among those ranks. However, aside from Dracula, two particular vampiric figures stand out amongst the crowd: Blade the Vampire Hunter, and Morbius the Living Vampire. Frank Blade - originally born “Eric Cross” - is a dhampir who has devoted his life to hunting down all the evil vampires of the world, along with many other monsters. His arch-enemies include his “father,” Deacon Frost, and - you guessed it - Count Dracula. He is a brilliant swordsman, marksman, knife-wielder, martial artist, and all-around badass. Michael Morbius, meanwhile, is a sort of “science vampire”: created not by being bitten by a supernatural fiend, but instead mutating as the result of a biochemistry experiment gone wrong. Driven by an insatiable need to consume blood, lest his physical condition - brought on by the experiment - worsen exponentially, Morbius flip-flops between being a sympathetic villain and an anti-hero in the Marvel universe. In the comics, the two have clashed several times; in fact, one particular battle between the pair led to Blade actually gaining some new abilities, as a result of the Living Vampire’s DNA mingling with his own. Outside of the comics, the two have been adapted and reimagined multiple times for other media (with mixed results), though the only time I know of where they MET in other media was the 1990s show “Spider-Man: The Animated Series,” where Blade and Spidey had to work together to stop a rampaging Morbius. Whether you love them together or separately, and whether you prefer the comics or other interpretations, they’re two of the first characters I think of when I think of vampires in general. They are probably the most iconic vampire characters in superhero fiction. That, if nothing else, definitely earns them a high place on my list.

1. Alucard, from Castlevania.

It is perhaps fitting that a list of my favorite vampire characters NOT including Dracula should finish with the Count’s son. Because that is what Adrian Farenheit Tepes - a.k.a. Alucard - is: the Son of Dracula. Alucard is one of the main protagonists of the Castlevania franchise, having appeared in virtually every reiteration of the franchise: from the classic games, to the “Lords of Shadow” reboot trilogy, to the recent animated streaming programs on Netflix. As the series has evolved and changed over the years, so too has Alucard, but the basics of the character have always remained the same. Alucard is the son of Dracula, and a human woman. When the Count is driven mad by the death of his wife, Alucard is forced to take up arms against his father, to stop the King of the Vampires from spreading death and destruction worldwide. Being a vampire himself (or, at least, half-vampire), Alucard is just as immortal as his father, and nearly as powerful, meaning that - better than any Belmont, or member of the Morris family, or other mortal monster slayer - he can keep a watchful eye on the dark lord and his minions. Alucard is my favorite character of the entire Castlevania franchise, and while every version is slightly different, the simple and yet classic conflict between father and son is a big part of the reason why: in each rendition, you realize each side cares about the other, but their philosophies make it difficult for them to co-exist. As a result, he is one of the most fascinating and yet tragic characters of the series, and is one of the first characters I think of when I think of Castlevania. I don’t know how many other people would place him so highly, but for me, it’s almost no contest placing Alucard as My Number One. If anybody can rival the Prince of Darkness best, it is him.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Strahd von Zarovich, from Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft.

Not hugely into D&D, hence why I can’t count him on the main list. ‘Nuff said.

Lothos & Amilyn, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992).

I said I couldn’t count the series, never said anything about the movie that inspired it. Played by Rutger Hauer and Paul Reubens, respectively, these vampire villains are probably the funniest characters in the film. Reubens as Amilyn, in particular, gets one of the most hilarious death scenes in any motion picture, period.

The Sackville-Bagg Family, from The Little Vampire.

I’ve never read the book series, but I have a big soft spot for the 2000 film; loved it as a kid, still like it now.

Dio Brando, from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

I know basically nothing about Jojo, but I felt I had to include him here simply because people would kill me if I didn’t.

Kurt Barlow, from Salem’s Lot (1979).

I’ve never read the original Stephen King novel, but the 1979 miniseries adaptation is pretty much “Dracula in Modern New England.” Reggie Nalder’s Barlow has barely any screentime, but the impact of his actions and evil presence is enormous. Plus, REALLY cool Nosferatu-inspired costume and makeup for the win!

Vladimir, from League of Legends.

Vladimir technically isn’t a vampire, but a blood mage; however, considering he literally has a Nosferatu-inspired alternate look, I think I’m justified at least giving him an Honorable Mention.

#list #countdown #top 15 #best #favorites #halloween #horror #dark fantasy #sci-fi #vampires #tv #film #movies #animation #video games #literature #comics #anime

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bright-tatters · 3 months ago

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Tatters #67

“I’m going to school,” Audrey said loudly. Fortune looked up from the little table on the sweeping front stair’s landing where he had taken to eating his breakfast. Marguerite sat opposite him, nose in the morning paper.

Audrey waved to catch Fortune’s eye. She was wearing some kind of knee-length skirt with stockings and a fragment of a clinging sleeveless top. It was a little too risqué for the beach. This was probably normal, or else why would she be doing it?

“Fine,” he said, “have a nice day.” She gave him a funny look and sashayed toward the door.

Marguerite looked up. “You can’t be serious. She can’t go out in that!”

“Why not?”

“Look at her!”

Fortune dutifully looked. “Versam had that skirt two seasons ago, I can probably find her an up-to-date rendition, something of quality.”

Marguerite rolled her eyes. “She needs to cover skin before she can go to school! Audrey, you come back here.”

“Fortune?”

Fortune gave Marguerite a tolerant look. “Fine, put on something more conventional. I’ll get you that skirt for next week.”

“She can’t wear it then, either!” fulminated Marguerite.

“I’ll have them add two inches. But you can’t stop fashion.”

“Yisss,” said Audrey.

“The schoolteacher is going to send her back!”

Fortune leaned across and pulled Marguerite’s paper down far enough for them to see each other’s faces. “The schoolteacher,” he said, “will do no such thing.”

That night he did decide to help Audrey accessorize. Dinner was served on the café-style table on the great staircase’s landing, and Fortune ate with relish and privately noted that Audrey did the same. When she slowed down, he took a small gold ring out of his shirt pocket and handed it to her. “This is for you.”

Her forehead knotted up. “Why?”

“What do you know about empaths?”

“Just the stuff from plays. They can make you feel things, just like it was your idea to feel that way.”

“You’ve never met one?”

“Not one bad enough for me to notice.”

“An empath cannot create facts or trains of thought. But a strong one can create surges of very persuasive emotion. If you're not careful in how you act, an empath can steer you into damning yourself.”

“Can't...I don't know... the government do something?”

“Would you license gifted comedians because they can make people laugh? Empaths are rare, and in Photia specifically, the King has always rejected tracking proposals. I'm going to give you this trinket. It's worth the cost of a Quarts apartment, the materials are not cheap. But you wear it on your finger and it stings you if it detects a psionic field. It puts the power back in your hands.”

She took the ring from his offering. She hefted it, held it up, peered through it, shook it, peered again. “Thank you,” she said absently. “How is this special at all?”

“Some psionic-active material in the core. I don’t know the details.”

“Cool. You really hate this, huh?”

“Humans with this power aren't exactly human,” drawled Fortune. “And I hate comedians.”

#this tatterdemalion #oc: audrey la rose #oc: fortune

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carica-ficus · 5 months ago

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Review: Seasons of the River

Author: Igor Rendić

Date: 13/09/2024

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

_________________________________________________

The second book of the "A Town Called River" trilogy came out about a year ago, and I've finally decided it was time to pick it up this fall. It turns out I picked the right time to do so since the last book got announced a little while ago and is now officially out!

"Seasons of the River" continue following Paul and his journey to take on his responsibility as Rijeka's krsnik - the city's magical protector. He's slowly getting used to his powers and is learning about his late grandmother's work, but his daily life gets intercepted by strange disappearances of locals, powerful new adversaries, and a unexpected skirmish in front of an unknown portal. Paul needs to investigate these incidents and make sure his town stays safe, but these tasks aren't really that easy as they seem.

The book continues in the similar episodic fashion like the first one. Although the emphasis is still on Paul and his everyday krsnik duties, there's a certain slice-of-life feel to the chapters. The book follows through the main plot, but allows a lot of room for casual scenes of Paul with his friends and colleagues. The author takes the opportunity to share some of Rijeka's ordinary life and allows his characters to deepen their relationships through relaxed hangouts. There's a lot of small elements that make "Seasons of the River" exceptionally warm and intimate when it comes to the interpersonal relationships of its characters.

Moreover, the book's lighthearted scenes combined with magical adversaries provide a sweet rendition which mirrors popular old fantasy series. Although there is a main plot, the book focuses on it later on. Its first goal is to create a whimsical and loving portrayal of the main character's lives, along with introducing some new creatures and dangerous situations to keep the reader's blood flowing.

Over time, as stakes grow, so does the tension, and Rendić makes it really easy to relate to Paul's struggles and his worries. His grandmother left him with a legacy that's almost impossible to carry on, especially without proper guidance. Paul is desperate to follow in her footsteps, so he tries to take the same approach as she did which forces him to distance himself from his friends. Rendić uses this opportunity to explore the inner feelings of a person trying to follow tradition and questions whether staying too dependent on it is the right choice.

The story expands as Paul learns more about the world he is apart of. There are new creatures, adversaries, mysteries and missions. The characters that have already been introduced are further explored and their relationships developed. There are bigger fights and bigger stakes, and the whole universe is broadened with new revelations. Paul's work as a krsnik might still be physically situated in Rijeka, but his responsibilities now include more than he has ever anticipated, which provides for an interesting addition that leaves the reader wanting more.

On the other hand, the aforementioned extensions are sometimes difficult to navigate through. Suddenly, Paul is forced to follow through many different mysteries at once, so it becomes hard to decipher what is truly happening. Furthermore, there are a few instances where scenes with many characters become hard to follow, especially when they include people Paul doesn't know by name, so he uses descriptive words instead. It's a bit tedious and affects the fluidity of the text, which takes away from the experience.

On the other hand, these are just smaller critiques which I wouldn't exactly consider shortcomings. Overall, "Seasons of the River" turned out to be a worthy sequel and an interesting addition to the first book.

#seasons of the river #igor rendić #book photo #fantasy #urban fantasy #croatia #speculative fiction #book #book review #moja recenzija

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traffic-light-eyes · 2 years ago

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Imagine, after everything is said and done. No more darkness, no more evil-doers, no more overlord. Just peace.

What would the Ninja do next?

Nya would go into techs. Maybe she'd intern or shadow Borg tech, and she'd work there. That's a possibility, but after she learned all she could, she would definitely make her own tech company. She'd be less phone and game tech and more automobile innovations. Maybe she created a new, super-speedy express train. I wouldn't put it past her to invent something akin to teleportation, somehow. That might be far, far into her future. Seeing as her job mostly consists of things that can not touch water, she'd most likely spend some of her time near creeks or waterfalls, just meditating and connecting with her element. Eventually, she might get bored of that and make her tech completely water resistant. Everything. I'll talk about Jay in his section.

Kai might try to become a martial arts teacher again, but he would eventually become less enthusiastic about it due to the many, many kids he had to deal with. Then, he tried to pick up blacksmithing again. He created a nice little shop back in Ignacia, looking almost exactly like his parents'. Years down the line, the ninja + Pixal, Skylor, etc. have a get-together/reunion. Kai and Skylor reignite their spark, and they try long-distance. It got stressful, so Kai decided to drop everything and move near Skylor. He worked odd-jobs and lived in a glorified shack just to be able to go out with her. Skylor offered him a job at the noodle house, and he accepted. Sadly, the noodle house closed down due to a lack of workers - even though Skylor, Kai, and maybe 2 other people put their all into it. It was sad at first, but they decided to make the most of it. Together, they wanted to create a new restaurant - a mixture of Chen's noodles and Kai's family heritage & recipes. They just couldn't figure out the name. What could incorporate both Skylor Chen and Kai Smith? Kai quickly came up with the perfect solution. On a beautiful night out, while Kai walked Skylor back home after a dinner date, they stopped on a bridge to look at the night sky. Kai got down on one knee and proposed to the love of his life. They married and could finally start their restaurant - The Smiths'. It was a hit, and they lived happily every day happily.

Zane left together with Pixal to explore the world. They went place to place, experiencing everything together. They did not marry - not for lack of love, but because they felt their love was so much more to them than some silly social construct. I mean, they are going to live forever, as long as they have the proper maintenance. So, they don't think that they need to marry. Even while traveling, they always make sure to come back for everyone's birthday and for holidays. They bring gifts and recipes and knowledge with them. Once they felt they experienced it all, they returned to Ninjago City and worked with Nya. Well, they didn't really work for her. They just popped up one day, and Nya saw them building in her lab. She let them, and they ended up making an awesome hologram for entertainment. They didn't sell it, but every one in a while, the ninja cuddled up again and watched an almost life-like rendition of a Fritz donnegan movie. Pixal and Zane also decided that they wanted children, eventually. So, they made them. They put parts of themselves into the child and even mixed up their own technical make-up to make their kids: Chip and Mackayla, or Mac.

Lloyd kept training the new Elemental Masters, as he felt it was his duty. He really wanted to be like his uncle and train the next generation to make sure they were good people. He didn't expect his deciples to fight off anything major because his team defeated it, but he still wanted them to know how to fight/good vs bad just in case something terrible happens after he and the rest of the ninja weren't around to help. His students became wonderful and helpful individuals, which is far more than he could ever ask for. Aside from training, he started studying and researching. He grew up in dangerous situations, so it's very difficult for him to sit still and not try to be ready for the supposed next attack. His students and his friends keep him in check, and thankfully, nothing comes to pass. He didn't end up dating anyone, not for lack of desire. He just felt in his bones that he would live a long, long life and didn't want to hurt himself by falling in love. He envies Zane and Pixal a bit because of this, but he'd never say that (they know. They feel terrible but can't do anything about it). They visit a lot, especially after the other ninja pass on. Eventually, a while after they make their kids, they make Lloyd a companion - a friend who can stay forever. He cried when he received the gift. He trains many generations of ninjas and sometimes even uncovers a new way to use the elemental powers or spinjitzu. With each new generation, his students get stronger. He lives a happy, fulfilled life.

Jay and Nya get married immediately. Their celebration of being done with evil was their happy, happy marriage. Everyone was overjoyed with them, and you could even see a misty-eyed Kai if you looked hard enough (it's just allergies, guys, I'm not crying. It's allergies. It's the pollen, I swear). After that, he started working on tech again with Nya. He loves it, but he started to get burnt out. He remembers his time on stage, being the center of attention in both real life and in Prime Empire. He makes a gameshow. It was something silly, at first. Like a "how well do you know the ninja" trivia game. It was super fun and he kept getting asked by producers and directors to host more and more gameshows. He became the Steve Harvey of Ninjago; everyone knew him, everyone watched him. When he openly stated that he was starting to get bored of the trivia-types of stuff, he was asked to act in movies and to host in wipe-out shows because of his expertise in agility. Eventually, when he and Nya decided it was time to have kids, he became the best stay-at-home dad anyone could ask for. He loved it. Sure, he got antsy because of the inactivity, but be quickly cured that by just playing with the kids. They ended up being incredibly sporty because of this.

Cole went to art school, even if he was older than most. He went to art school and became one of the best goddamned artists there are out there. He traveled with Pixal and Zane for a hot sec and made it a point to paint from atop every single mountaintop they reached. His artwork is displayed in many museums. One time, a little kid walked up to him and asked him to teach her how to be a good artist. So, he did. After asking her parents, of course (they were very, very starstruck when their daughter came home one day with Cole FUCKING Brookstone, the famous artist, the black ninja, one of the saviors of ninjago). She became like a daughter to him, and was even allowed to travel places with him. She became a wonderful artist under his tutelage, and gained a lot of recognition for just training under him. He realized he had a passion for teaching, and his young student (with a lot of persistence) got him to start his own little art school. He made sure not to broadcast his name or face on the building, because he didn't want people to come just because he was who he was. It became very, very successful and a lot of people have a superstition that being in Cole's presence gives you the ability to draw/paint. This is only mildly true (due to his insane ability to teach), but the Ninja make sure tease him about it. (Kai joined a class one day just to mess with him and was very surprised when he ended up leaving the building with a beautiful, realistic portrait of Skylor. They hung it on their wall and they're still baffled on how it happened.)

Welp. There you go. Here's what I came up with

#ninjago #queue #lloyd garmadon #kai smith #kai jiang #nya jiang #nya smith #jay walker #cole brookstone #zane julien #august's opinion #ninjago headcanons #skylor chen #pixal borg #ninjago pixal

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