#just plain sexy

[singledigitsalary]

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

Vincent Price as Roderick Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) dir. Roger Corman

[kingkatsuki]

Yeah short skirts and crop tops are sexy— but there’s just something about a man that finds you so attractive wearing clothes that shouldn’t be considered typically sexual. Like baggy sweats or his old, worn shirt.

Those plain, boring outfits that aren’t planned and are just thrown together for comfort and practicality that have his dick throbbing for you as he imagines bending you over the nearest surface.

[voidedjuice]

physically can not stop myself from making ocs who always wear gloves bc their hands are messed up in some way

[softquietsteadylove]

Hii love, may i ask for more of the Proposal Au, maybe Thena telling Gil about her family when they are in bed cuddling and having a soft moment.

Gil inhaled as he woke, dragging the morning air into his lungs. Sometimes he cursed his early rising nature, wondering if it really could be handed down through genetics like his mother liked to joke that it was. He got a whiff of Thena's shampoo.

She was cuddled right up with him, which was nothing new by now. He nuzzled the top of her head. If he couldn't sleep in on his vacation then he could at least be comfortable.

If anything, maybe they were a little too comfortable this way. But he didn't think that was a bad thing. They were getting married...kind of. It was a good thing to comfortable enough with each other to cuddle, be close, maybe share a kiss or two.

Thena pushed her head further into his chest, which meant she was also waking up.

Gil chuckled; how did he never know before how cute she was? He tapped her bare shoulder, fixing the strap of her night dress, "hey."

She made a sound of protest, especially as he rolled onto his side with his arms still around her, shifting her position of practically lying right on top of him.

Gil settled on his side, gazing at the beautiful woman next to him. He was reminded of a time when he had first met her, and it had seemed impossible to fathom how a woman as beautiful as she was had as normal a job like he did.

Thena blinked her bleary eyes open, glaring at him as soon as she could focus, "this better be good."

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," he more or less whispered. It was just them and the rising sun and the breeze in his mother's perfectly landscaped yard.

"Liar," she grumbled, but still clung to the warmth he offered. "Will your mother come barging in here looking for help with another wedding activity?"

"Not today," he promised, although it wasn't really up to him if that happened. But he rubbed her back through the light material. "Even she sleeps in a little bit on sundays."

"Sunday already," Thena mused, yawning as she did.

"Yeah," Gil agreed, although the closer they got to concluding their trip here, he had to admit it made him a little sad. He would miss not seeing his close-knit family again. His sisters--even Kingo!

Thena began lazily running her fingers over his back in the t-shirt he was wearing. It felt nice to get his back scratched a little, and her hands were so small and light. Maybe he would miss things like this too.

"What?"

"Hm?" he blinked, having been happy to lose himself in her touch. But he opened his eyes again and found her staring at him, even in their close proximity.

"There's something on your mind," she clarified, moving one of her hands from his back, trailing it around his shoulder and arm to his chest. "Just ask."

He chuckled; she was quite good at reading him. Not that he professed to be a closed book in any way. "Well, I was thinking about Kari and Sersi and Mom, how I'll miss them--and I guess Kingo too."

Thena laughed quietly (cutely). She continued her little morning massage, getting all the right spots and relieving even imaginary soreness. "He would be so offended if he heard that."

"Well, I'll put it in one of my speeches, so he will," Gil resolved, and Thena laughed even more, although she tried to hide it. Kingo was still like his brother, and thus, not his favourite sibling with whom he had grown up.

And he was still a little too friendly with his fiance, but whatever.

"But," he hesitated, and that was all Thena needed to see to encourage him. "I was wondering...about your family, I guess."

"What would you like to know?"

His eyebrows shot up. He hadn't expected her to be so...willing. He adjusted himself in the bed so he could tilt his head differently. "Uh, you sure?"

He had definitely heard her tell someone at work asking about her family to go to hell (in corporate speak, which entailed asking them to keep their correspondence with her professional).

Thena settled her face in the bend of his shoulder again, letting him play with the ends of her hair. "I wouldn't say we were particularly close, even when they were alive."

"Uh-" he opened his mouth immediately, to either offer his apologies or tell her she didn't have to tell him this, or both. But she reached up just to tap his lips and keep him from interrupting further.

"I was brought up in quite a strict household," she sighed, although it didn't seem like that sad a story to her. Or maybe it sounded like she was detached from it, telling it about someone else. "My mother was a retired ballerina, very beautiful. She tried to teach me to dance but I had no natural talent--which she told me at every opportunity."

This story was getting worse and worse.

"My father was a businessman of some sort. It was never my place to ask, even as I got older. All I knew was that he supported our lifestyle. The expectations for me were high, they needed me to be a good representation of their own rigid upbringing."

"I was still quite young when they died," she continued, starting to sound more connected to the words she was saying. "They went on a trip together and simply never returned. All I was told that the ship they were taking back to mainland had experienced a problem and supposedly no one made it back."

Gil stayed silent, as she wished, but he held her tighter.

"All I had known was boarding school and tepid approval from them. If anything, I wasn't sad enough when they died--my distant relatives told me to be ashamed when I was at the funeral," she laughed again, although he could hear the dry, sardonic edge in it. "I even went to the bathroom to try and wet my eyes and appear more tearful."

He kissed her forehead, at a loss for what else to do.

"My elderly caretaker at the time was the only one really with me," she did smile again, at least. "She sat with me through it all, helped me talk to all the lawyers."

So, that was why she knew so much about contracts and settlements, even when they were both just starting in the office.

"She used to let me help her make pastries and set the table for just the two of us," Thena recounted more fondly this time, and her body also relaxed again, slowly. "She was the one who really raised me."

Gil sighed through his nose, pressing his cheek to her hair, "I'm sorry I didn't know."

"I never told you," she said much more lightly, but happily accepted the closer snuggling. "It doesn't bother me--not anymore, that is to say. But I suppose that's why being here is quite refreshing."

He blinked at her, not really making the connection between the two.

But Thena took the liberty of rolling him onto his back again, solely so she could lie half on top of him, like a lizard on a rock. She tapped his nose, then dragged it down over his lips and chin (he needed a shave). "Your family is so warm and kind. I admit it overwhelmed me at first, the sheer density of their presence."

Kingo alone would do that to anyone, Gil defended in his mind. He wrapped his arms around her, letting her rest her chin on his chest, cramping his neck to he could watch her draw little circles in his shirt.

"They're wonderful, Gil," she concluded, drawing her eyes up to him more tenderly. It was almost shy, in how gentle the admission was. "It's the kind of warmth I remember longing for as a child. So, next time you worry that your mother is being overbearing, I assure you, I have invited it."

He chuckled; of course Thena would meet the double barrelled energy canon that was his mother and say that she invited her exuberance. Ajak was bright and bouncy and extroverted, while Thena was quiet and subdued and borderline unsociable. It made it all the more charming how much they seemed to like each other. "Could be worse in-laws, I guess."

The marriage itself was becoming less taboo as a subject.

"Much worse," Thena smiled with her teeth. It really was a stunning smile. She gripped a piece of shirt between her fingers. "What is this?"

He chuckled again, unwrapping his arms from her slim little waist and running his hands over her bare arms. "My shirt?"

"I mean," she frowned at it, "why are you wearing it?"

"Well," he got out pathetically, turning pink as soon as she pursed her lips at him in suspicion. He looked up and away from her, "'cause...y'know."

"I don't, it's why I asked," she sat up now, legs curled up beside her while she was almost perpendicular with his upper body. She grabbed a larger fistful of the shirt--the offending white cotton. "I know you get too hot easily, I don't believe you wear this to sleep in the summer."

Gil huffed; she was a good detective. "I usually sleep shirtless, but I didn't want you to feel weird about it."

"Oh," she purred, finding amusement in it. She tugged at it, "to protect my maidenly virtues?"

"Okay, come on," he sighed, embarrassed enough and trying to get her to release the fabric of it. "Is being a gentleman to my fiance so bad?"

She released the material, flattening her palm against his chest again. "It's not anything I haven't seen, by now."

Between the beach and all the times he had generally taken off his shirt to do heavy lifting or gardening for his mother while here, she had gotten enough of a look at him.

"But this is," he did his best to look her right in the eye (despite her holding back her laughter at him). "It's different."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

He sighed, finally relinquishing the last of his drowsiness and sitting up against the pillows. He still had a hold of her arms, fixing that errant night dress strap again. "Does it always do that?"

"Don't avoid the question."

"You didn't ask a question."

Thena tugged at the bottom of the t-shirt, only to pull it up just slightly, as if she were threatening to pull it off of him herself. "Why is it different?"

He sighed; the Goddess of War didn't get her name for being flexible and knowing when to quit. He moved his hands from her bare shoulders to her waist again, somewhat pulling her with him as he leaned back against the headboard. "Because, sleeping with you was already new. I figured what's the harm in a little modesty?"

She shrugged one of those shoulders, delicate and dainty and pale. And that stupid strap fell again. He secured his thumb right in the bend of her clavicle to fix it yet again.

"Does this even fit?" he grumbled, toying with the flimsy little strap of satin. He eyed her, "do you always wear this to sleep?"

Something about the question ruffled her, and he watched as a blush brightened her morning complexion. She looked around the bed, as if her answer had been lost in the sheets somewhere. "That's-"

"Guys?"

"Mom!" Gil barked at the door, his hands on Thena, her threatening to tip his shirt off him.

"What?--you said to knock, and I did!"

She had a point.

"I just wanted to say we're going to go out for brunch, honey--give you a break from all the cooking."

If it was going to be brunch - breakfast/lunch - why was she still coming to tell them at the crack of dawn?

"You kids continue...take your...just come downstairs when you're ready--okay, I'm going!"

Gil thunked his head against the headboard, looking up at the ceiling. Only his mother. He looked at Thena, whose blush had somehow doubled. That was interesting. He tilted his head, trying to see more of her face, but she twisted herself to avoid looking at him. "You okay?"

"Hm," she answered in a total cop out. She released his t-shirt, attempting to pull herself away from him without further incriminating herself.

"Ah-" he held her steady, leaning forward again. She looked really cute all flustered. He kissed her cheek, and he wasn't sure if he felt her shiver or if she twitched. "If you hate it so much, then fine, I won't wear it anymore."

He was only somewhat serious about it, although if it really bothered her, he didn't want to offend his bride-to-be. And he was more joking than anything. Although, when he finally moved to get up and get ready for the day, Thena tugged at the collar of it one more time.

She was still avoiding looking right at him, but god she was beautiful. "I didn't say I hated it. But...I wouldn't say you need it, either."

He could have said the same about the silky little dress-thing she was wearing, the straps of which obviously weren't working for her. But she did release him, and he did have to get up and maybe have a shower (maybe on the cooler side).

She looked at him as, on his way, he hooked his finger in that stupid strap again. He twisted it in his finger before letting it fall back to where it seemed to think it belonged. "Same to you."

[haven-of-dusk]

We as a society don't appreciate this man enough for his Celestial-level beauty.

[swordmaid]

lolth-sworn society beauty standards must be so crazy and strict tho…. like if the red eyes are a gift from lolth and if not every drow are born with the red eyes I just imagine you’d get ostracised if you’re born with white eyes or purple, like ur not wanted by lolth from birth so ur inherently worthless. in the same vein if you also don’t have white hair then you’re treated as an Other bc you don’t look like everyone else. and I imagine that lolth is THE very definition of their beauty standard so they aspire to look like her, and all the beauty trends and ideals are influenced from her or from her spiders and if there’s anything any feature about yourself that deviates from lolth’s standards then you’re considered as ugly and grotesque.

likewise, I’d imagine the upkeep of beauty is a sort of status symbol because if you manage to keep up with the elaborate outfits and hairstyles without worrying someone is gonna kill you with it it means that you have the luxury to be comfortable. and also the means to afford such things in the first place bc resources in the underdark are pretty limited and gems from the surface needs to be imported and id imagine they’d be more expensive bc it’s already so risky going down the underdark let alone doing trade in menzoberranzan.

like unsure if this an actual thing too but I like the hc so it’s real to Me! But I like the idea that hair is essentially a status symbol towards the drows, and they favour elaborate braids and updos that resembles a spider’s web and cocoon, and a way to punish and shame someone is to cut off their long hair. like imagine if the matriarchs wore gigantic elaborate braided hair with all these head pieces and designs to show off the status of their house and the power they themselves have, and the lesser houses’ braids are much more smaller in comparison. she would have the means to do her hair like that daily because she has designated servants and slaves attending to her needs, and she has the money to afford all sorts of accessories. and the same goes for their clothes too, since silk is a favourite amongst the drows and it��s a pretty difficult fabric to work with. I’d also imagine lace being a highly sought out fabric among them since it’s so delicate and flimsy, and it could easily snag. but the fact that you’re able to wear something fragile as lace is a power play in itself since it’s a show off your own strength and power … kind of like a taunt ?

anyway, this isn’t really going anywhere I’m just typing aloud but I’d imagine in a society where almost everyone’s colouring is similar to each other, where beauty is one of the most infamous traits they’re known to have, and where they claim that red eyes is a gift from the goddess they’re all expect to covet and worship id imagine the beauty standards there are so crazy and toxic lol

[blondemadona]

Everyone can have their obsession with whatever and move on but Carmilla will forever hold a place in my heart

[singledigitsalary]

[phoebonica]

if I had a nickel for every piece of upcoming Dracula-related media starring a trans protagonist with a strong connection to [name redacted for spoiler] that I'm looking forward to, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but

[selchwife]

i dont have the rich boyfriend emet fantasies very often but the new underwear i bought this march for my birthday are already falling apart, like the waistbands are just decoupling from everything else. they were the really cheap kind you buy in a pack, like i think it was $8 for all 5 pairs, but still. i do not want to have to mend these they are brand fucking new bro

[see-arcane]

I might have pitied this deformed woman

With all due respect ACD why is everyone calling someone with a limp deformed... Also to be honest I would have felt more horror from the story if Gilroy found her attractive and/or charming and enjoyed her company and work relationship but also did not love her for whatever (non-physical) reason, because then there could have been a potential inner conflict and guilt, instead of ''this is out of my hands she is icky-looking and a crone (Gilroy you are 35) so I have no self-doubts about being in love involved on top of it all yay''. Having him vehemently dislike her all the time minus during hypnosis removes those layers.

It isn't 'everyone' in the story who calls her deformed, though. It's just Gilroy. No one else is mentioned deriding her for her disability or her looks or anything else beyond Penelosa's talent.

Considering ACD's comparatively progressive track record with the Sherlock Holmes stories--a series notable for how often it takes the side of oppressed parties, including abused or preyed-upon women--I can't see Gilroy's ageist and ableist views as anything but an intentional setup for the narrative payoff of his disgust as well as his anger and fear.

The story does feel slightly karmic at the start and, to give ACD the benefit of the doubt, I agree with you that having Penelosa not be an attractive hypno-dominatrix likely played a part in Gilroy's initial revulsion at her controlling him into playing paramour. I think this was intentional for the character's buildup, but also for the audience's. Even in the present day, there's no ignoring that there are demographics out there who are Highly Interested in the erotic implications of hypnosis. BDSM for the brain, puppet master kinks, et cetera.

If Miss Penelosa had been hot, or even just pretty, I wouldn't have been surprised if the horror story ACD was trying to put together would lose much of its punch in his era's audience. Sure, it's still icky that Gilroy's a man being Controlled By a Woman (!!!), but having her be attractive would 'soften' it for them. Still, all this is only in play if ACD was really truly adamant about selling the horror of 'A Stranger Now Owns My Free Will and Is Planning to Violate My Life in Intimate Ways.'

It could also have just been intended as an eerie scientific*** what-if adventure applied to a then-popular (and wildly overestimated) practice of the time. Or maybe he meant it as a straight-up supernatural escapade in the vein of vampiric mesmerism from a psychic monster. I don't know, I can't ask him.

All of that said, the horror is soured a bit by Gilroy being a haughty skeptic snob who had some comeuppance heading his way in the first place. Similar setups are common in horror flicks today, where we get to cheer at least once in a movie when the Big Villain takes down a more commonplace bad guy. There's no scare there, just vindication.

And me being me, that's not enough. Because I am all about two things.

One, adding more horror to everything, always, forever.

Two, making life harder for Jonathan Harker.

Jonathan 'Holiest Love means I Will Walk Backwards into Hell to Protect/Stay with My Wife Whether She's Mortal or a Literal Monster' Harker is not about to shit on anyone for a bad leg or some crow's feet.

More importantly, we've already seen his reaction to sexy sexy undead ladies trying to hypnotize him into compliance so they can take certain bloody/eternally conscripting liberties with him.

To judge by the 1000+ Dracula adaptations that show the directors' fetishes in full view, Jonathan being preyed on by the hot vampire Brides is seen by many people as...you know. Hot. Enough to rewrite and bastardize his character every time to make him seem like he was genuinely tempted by them.

But He Was Not.

He was being hypnotized into artificial attraction and paralysis so the ladies could take their turns with him without his fighting back or trying to run. Which he does later! More than once! Every time this voluptuous trio tries to hypnotize or corner him again, Jonathan catches on and sprints in the other direction. He is not into that shit no matter how pretty you are, ladies.

Specifically because, as I and Bramothy Stoker cannot stress enough, Jonathan Harker is strictly Minasexual. All Mina all the time. 24/7 Mina lockdown 365 days of the year. Mina, Mina, Mina. Mina? Mina. (I personally headcanon him as demisexual with shades of biromanticism and ace, but that's beside the point.)

The point is, even if Penelosa was a knockout, Jonathan wouldn't notice. He wouldn't care. Just as his love would not have been stopped by Mina turning into an actual monster; he would rather be damned and in love than slay her and be holy. You can bet your ass if Mina suddenly had a handicap he'd still be enraptured with her to the point of blasphemy. You know he's going to still be heart-eyed as they grow older. Jonathan Harker is made of unconditional and extremely focused love. It is all-encompassing and yet it belongs to a single person. It's the kind of love we all wish we had for ourselves.

It's the kind of love that someone like Penelosa--who latched onto a random handsome prick of a professor after she had known him LESS THAN AN HOUR and started plotting to groom him into her personal Ken doll--would do anything to have for herself; Jonathan Harker, the true Prince Charming, the gallant beloved, the guileless charmer who holds the One He Loves above himself, above God and Devil and the world itself...being wasted on some pretty young thing who hardly needs such a treasure.

It isn't fair. Mrs. Harker will never appreciate dear Jonathan like other, more deserving women would. Not like her. She would show him. Help him through the motions until he learned better; learned to love in the right direction.

Her direction.

Only if given the opportunity, of course.

(👁)

In short, yeah, Gilroy was not the best option for a sympathetic horror story protagonist who we could feel real fear and empathy for. We only really get a glimpse of that toward the end, when Penelosa escalates enough to start injuring innocents and tries to make Gilroy throw acid in his fiancée's face. A big scary leap, but also too late in the game for a proper punch. Especially with the abrupt copout of the ending. Bleh.

I think we can do better than that. Say, with a protagonist who can balance on the pro-and-con line of keeping the supernatural puppet master of their life happy enough to not act rashly, who knows the value of dancing on eggshells in a tight spot, who could tug the heartstrings of villain and audience just enough to let fuller and far more frightening machinations come to light as time goes by.

Especially with certain other powers lurking in the shadows, which might make a trifle like death a far less permanent end to their ~romance~ than it ought to be.

Don't you agree, Mr. Harker? ❤

P.S. Gilroy's still absolutely getting his ass handed to him in this take, don't you worry. He's been demoted from crush to chew toy to minion. RIP sir, but you're not off the hook just because Jonathan's distracting her with his dreaminess. Get to work.

[raisinchallah]

honestly we dont need the everything bagel people are just afraid to make the garlic and onion bagel because it would unleash an animal madness in everyone consuming it like the poppy seeds and sesame seeds are really not pulling their weight and are keeping us from the peak bagel experience do better

[wetcatspellcaster]

I saw “massive dip in Honest Lie” and I was like you know when that Loviatar priest hits you and you’re like oh no ;) it hurts ;)

OHHHH YEAAAAAAHH HONEST LIE ANGST LETS FUCKING GO IM SO PSYCHED IM SO PSYCHED

When Rosalie said “it might not be love, not for you” I was already on the floor I was crumbled into little pieces I’m just sopping about now waiting for the angst such that I can reform into a corporeal ghoul wailing oooOoooooOOOOIHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As always!!!! I love you thank you!!! Thank you!!

hahaha, thank you for the message! I assume/want to hope the people who read my fic like angst to be honest :) otherwise why are y'all here :)

Anyway, the good news is that the question of 'love' is not going to be under fire in any of the angst, it's more just an issue of... definitions. Someone (Astarion) needs to learn that love ≠ "I'll let you kill 7000 people". Which is unfortunate... idk some people would think that's maybe what romance means. But we've all seen that timeline so... sorry Astarion. Time to suffer :)))))

[galaxymagick]

230606 play tebas land cast | @brianyim68

[blujayonthewing]

something I think is kind of funny but also genuinely really good is how many times I've gone 'okay this OC isn't necessarily attractive' and then over time that has eventually ceased to be true, mostly just because I've changed my mind about it