#setting's in victorian era (my favorite fashion era!!!!!!)

[temeyes]

Tem I got assassin's creed Syndicate cus of you and

THEY ARE SO!!!! I LOVE THEM!!! also love the fact i can just go feral and climb buildings london is my jungle gym!!!

yes,,,,, yESSSS MY OCCASIONAL AC SYNDICATE PROPAGANDA HAS WORKED-

kidding aside, omg haley!!!!!! i'm happy to hear you got the game + aND THAT YOU LIKE THE TWINS!! they are my loves, my entire life!!!!!!!! + henry cuz henry is like, the cutest cutiepatootie even tho i will prolly slap him because his curio shop is a mESS

anyways HAVE FUNNN OMG, hope you'll play the JtR dlc too because that's legit one of the best game dlcs there is

[victorluvsalice]

VITD Sims Lookbook: Alice

And finally, with Victor and Smiler done, we finish off with some looks for our lovely Cutter, Alice!

Alice gets straight into the custom content with one of her everyday outfits, wearing the blue swatches of the 1890s Working Girl set by @vintagesimstress! And unlike the last time I showed her in this outfit, this time she has the apron overlay to go with it. XD Looks good on her AND gives her the proper working-class vibes!

For bedtime, Alice gets a pretty nightgown -- and much like Smiler, while they're not era-appropriate, I had to give Alice the cute bunny slippers too. XD What, we know she likes white rabbits! If I remember correctly, that nightgown is a dress that comes with the Cottage Garden Fan Stuff Pack made by @plumbobteasociety -- I thought it looked nice as nightwear for her.

For that semi-formal party everyone's going to, Alice gets a Realm of Magic top and skirt that make her look at least somewhat respectable. While I think the outfit as a whole is a little pale, I really wanted to use that top on her -- I think she looks good in it. And the skirt ended up working with it pretty well (which is good, because it took me ages to find one that actually went with the top. Some of this shit is HARD to match, let me tell you!).

And for a formal occasion -- well, unlike the boy and the non-binary person, Alice doesn't need to rely on CC here. Get Famous provides a beautiful Victorian dress for her to swan around in! (Though I should probably download a few for her anyway, for variety's sake -- or at least a couple of hats that might go well with this outfit. Head looks a little naked here!) She looks ready for a day in Brightstone, doesn't she?

Okay, admittedly I didn't intend this outfit as an athletic outfit, just another everyday one (though I suppose Alice COULD wear it for working out). And this Cats & Dogs dress is probably a little too modern to fit the proper BITD vibes. But I really like it for the simple reason the patchwork skirt looks like something Alice made herself -- finding and saving up scraps of fabric so she could have something else to wear besides her iconic striped blouse and black skirt. And you can't deny, it DOES look good on her!

And finally, for those chilly days, Alice gets in on the cozy vibes with a cherries-and-flowers theme -- the sweater (and I believe the skirt) is from Cottage Living, while the hat is a recolor created by Plumbella (from "illegally downloading clothes for my sims," in this SimFileShare folder (as you might imagine, it's the one called "beret")). She looks pretty comfy -- and those boots were definitely made for stomping around the streets in the snow and rain.

And that's that! Hope you enjoyed this look at what my VITD characters would probably wear in their universe. Next time (after Valicertine's Day), we're back to the Chill Valicer save for store shenanigans and magic shenanigans! See you then!

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

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1. ITMF a fic where the Lans or the neis or the cultivation world in general find out about the abuse wwx takes at jiang sect and the other sects trying to help him @zerokogane

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2. Have you all seen maze runner? Yeah. I want a wangxian maze runner version/fusion/setting/same plot or something!!

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3. A) ITMF fics where, in a wedding Wei Ying catches the flowers/bouquet brides throw?

Itmf fics where B) wwx is like a mystery unsolved to anyone and everyone

C) wwx is a magician. Like those cool tricky people uk. Could be real / fake magic. @constellationdks

3B)

Old Foreshadows by protos_metazu_ison (M, 15k, WangXian, YLLZ WWX, BAMF WWX, War, Universe Alteration, Sunshot Campaign) not sure i'm understanding the request, but maybe one of these?

🔒 never been away so long by sundiscus (G, <1k, wangxian, Modern, Pre-Relationship, First Meetings, Ambiguous/Open Ending, (but a happy ending in the endnotes!), Ghosts)

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4. Hello, thank you, my favorite fic comes from your recs. Any fic recs for lan xichen x jiang yanli. No modern era please @dramaqueenrolf

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5. hii, for the next imtf can I ask for a fic where lwj and wwx break up and r mopey about it? a modern au maybe, like there's no promised goodbye here

thank you!! @mercurygirlwt28

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6. Hello! I have a read fics where the characters cultivate to immortality and the story picks up with their lives in modern era. I like the combo of traditional clothes, cultures, and canon personalities in the modern setting. Are there more fics like this? (I cannot remember the names of the two I have read in the past. In one I think WWX loses his memory and regains it upon backpacking to modern Cloud Recesses? In the other WWX time travels to modern and meets LWJ who has lived all those years.)

ridiculous future bullshit by sami (M, 61k, wangxian, WQ/JC/LXC, LSZ & WWX, LSZ/Other(s), LSZ & his family, JYL/OMC, Future Fic, movies, the rewriting of history if the past was different the future is different, But still ridiculous, Humor, the evolution of fashion, immortals through history, LWJ visits other cultures and judges them, Modern, best boy LSZ, Pride Parades, Cats, the legend of WQ, Academia, Border Crossings, biosecurity, oz quarantine is SERIOUS BUSINESS, Kinda cultivated to immortality, Paperwork, Family, Parents and Children, Uncles and nephews, the mortifying ordeal of your family seeing how you really live, Social Media, Chaos Gremlin WWX, Slight Hostage Situations, University, outsider pov, WWX vs Local Culture, actions have consequences, Pets, Movie Stars, Fluff) though it’s a sequel to And Time Is But A Paper Moon so some people are immortal in RFB who died in canon.

Thanks for giving me an excuse to dig up one of my favorite tropes from my bookmarks!! The Future is Ours to Keep series by makebelieveanything & nerdzeword (T, 25k, wangxian, JC & WWX, JC & YZY, JYL/LQY/WQ, post-canon, modern, immortality, reincarnation, healthy family relationships, epistolary, groupchats, fluff) Some beloved cast is immortal in modern times, some reincarnated

Ever Thine, Ever Mine, Ever Ours. by JaenysBloodcourt (T, 3k, WangXian, Immortal LWJ and WWX, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Well it could be a Bittersweet Ending, Love Confessions) Wangxian are immortal, but have pined for a thousand years, and (spoiler!!!) they do get together but mind the bittersweet ending!!!!!!

dark and glimmering by Sanguis (T, 5k, wangxian, post-canon, modern, technology malfunction, established relationship, married couple, immortality) Beautiful and wangxian-centric, not so much about the modern world. But the world is around

Wandering Souls, Wild Ghosts by belleweather (E, 49k, wangxian, post-canon, victorian au, case fic, rentboys, smut, married wangxian, immortality, canon-typical violence, period-typical sexism & racism & homophobia, voyeurism, families of choice) Victorian England with immortal!wangxian’s adventures!

Traditions Series by Witch_Nova221 (G, 7k, WangXian, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Christmas Presents, Modern with Magic, modern day cultivators, Cloud Recesses, Established Relationship, Married Couple, Married Life, family traditions, wangxian family feels, Romance, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, immortal cultivators)

A Tale of Two Immortals by esk95 (M, 31k, WIP, WangXian, XiCheng, XuanLi, Post-Canon, Like waaaaay Post-Canon Modern AU, but cultivation still exists, Immortality, Reincarnation, Pretty much everyone is a reincarnation except Wangxian, Secret Identities, Modern with Magic, Immortal!Wangxian) A beloved wip: Immortal wangxian try to solve a mystery, poor Sizhui just wants to be a cultivator and have support of his parents who don’t know anything about cultivation (lol), a lot of reincarnated folk around

MDZS: The Golden Engine by iffervescent (E, 82k, WangXian, XiCheng, Explicit Sexual Content, Immortals) The summary says it all: “In the modern era, immortals Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian return to Gusu. New evil and old friends + new friends and old evils.”

All Old Things are New Again Series by The Feels Whale (miscellea) (M, 59k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, ChengQing, Reincarnation, Modern AU, canon still happened, extreme post canon, Sugar Daddy, Kink Negotiation, gentle dom!LWJ, canonical levels of consent play, Modern Cultivators, Epilogues, yunmeng bros reconciliation, rabbit acquisition) has some immortal lwj and lxc with reincarnation wwx,and it's amazing.

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7. ITMF fics which have wwx's ghosts. Remember ghost brides? And that ghoul child? They don't have to have a major part or something, just the fuc having wwx talking and being friends with ghosts.

It can also have the ghosts taking care of wwx. Loving him and all uk

when the sun goes out by travelingneuritis (E, 176k, WangXian, Modern Cultivation, tech cultivation, Necromancy, Angst with a Happy Ending, insecurity around adoption, Dad!WWX, dad!lwj, Grief/Mourning, Mistaken Identity, Mood Whiplash, Body Swap, sex tears!, Falling In Love, Consensual Somnophilia, apocalypse (localized), Smut, unrealistic sexual stamina, Flashbacks, Time Skips, Illustrations) if you're okay with OC ghosts I highly recommend When the Sun Goes Out by travelingneuritis, it's one of my favorite fics and wwx's relationship with his ghost army (Kaichuang in particular) is one of the reasons why

Ad Oblivione by Baph, HikariNoHimeWriter (M, 70k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Multiple, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Identity Reveal, Golden Core Reveal, Cultivation World Critical, Not JC Friendly, Abusive YZY, Angst with a Happy Ending) WWX has a ghost companion who helps him & acts as a mother figure towards him

let the sun go down on your anger; let it burn you to sleep by enbysaurus_rex (Not rated, 86k, wangxian, WQ & WWX, graphic depictions of violence, chronic illness, narcolepsy, chronic pain, YLLZ WWX, oblivious WWX, sleeping beauty elements, body horror, WIP) has pretty much every one of Wei Wuxian's ghosts playing a part and teaming up with his family to help take care of him in their own way

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8. hii, for the itmf

are there any fics w the trope "someone who believes they're hard to love and someone who loves then like it's breathing?

I hope ure having a nice day!!

~*~

9. Any fics where yu ziyuan treats wwx like a son or nephew??

And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 139k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together)

Sail Away Sweet Sister by sami (M, 73k, WangXian, YZY/CSSR/MDM Lan, MingLi, Time Travel, EXTREME Canon Divergence, Wide Focus Narrative, Some People Live/Not Everyone Dies, Most Named/Canon Characters Live, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Families of Choice, Parenthood, this work contains a major tonal shift, Fluff, Angst, Underage Sex, not particularly explicit, but not at all ambiguous, PTSD, Only a tiny bit, Unforeseeable consequences, The butterfly effect, Slightly Dark JYL, Asexual Characters, but that’s not really the focus, Canon-Typical Violence) Also most of sami's time travel fics. this one for sure, probably a few others in the Same Moon series

Across the street to another life by danegen (M, 99k, WangXian, Modern AU, unleashed au, Family Fluff, Set in America, Hurt/Comfort, Past Child Abuse, Addiction, Crime, Amnesia, Ableist Language, another fridged mother, POV Alternating, past wwx/ofc, past wwx/omc, Medium parent YZY, A-Yuan is wwx’s biological son, Musicians, Happy Ending) it's mostly late in the fic but "across the street to another life" REALLY earns that "medium parent yu ziyuan" tag. Far from perfect but really steps up when it matters.

Hope series by RoseThorne (T, 57k, wangxian, WWX & YZY, WWX & JFM, WWX & JYL, YZY/JFM, JC & WWX, LQR & WWX, LXC & JYL, Madam Jin & YZY, LQR & JFM, LXC & LWJ, Transmigration, Time Travel Fix-It, Illnesses, Family, Scars, Memory Loss, Angst, Crying, Music, Nosebleed, Fear, Recovery, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Flirting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent YZY, Referenced Sexual Slavery, Blood and Gore, Monsters, Sexual Tension, betrothal, Arranged Marriage, Grief, Adoption, POV Third Person, POV Alternating, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Good Parent LQR, Clairvoyance, Butterfly Effect, Kid Fic, Epistolary, Food, Secrets, Resentful Energy, Cultivation Sect Politics, Character Death)

The Best Gift by Lan_Wangjoe (E, 45k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mistaken Identity, Miscommunication Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Family Fluff, Family Dynamics, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Dorks in Love, Nice LQR, Meet the Family, Nerdiness, Science Boyfriends, Science Experiments, Fake Science, Science Husbands, Geeks, Work Contains Fan(s) or Fandom(s), Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Fans & Fandom AU, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adopted Children, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Marriage, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Stupidity, Himbo LXC, Lan Himbos, Lán Family Feels, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Thinks They're Together, Good Parents JFM and YZY, Genius WWX, Geniuses)

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10. Does anybody have anything where it’s just Immortal(one of them could be reincarnated and recultivated immortality) Wangxian being happy through the ages or in modern society? (Preferably modern Cultivation society) @omgnectarina

The Future is Ours to Keep series by makebelieveanything & nerdzeword (T, 25k, wangxian, JC & WWX, JC & YZY, JYL/LQY/WQ, post-canon, modern, immortality, reincarnation, healthy family relationships, epistolary, groupchats, fluff) (link in #6) Some beloved cast is immortal in modern times, some reincarnated

Ever Thine, Ever Mine, Ever Ours. by JaenysBloodcourt (T, 3k, WangXian, Immortal LWJ and WWX, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Well it could be a Bittersweet Ending, Love Confessions) (link in #6) Wangxian are immortal, but have pined for a thousand years, and (spoiler!!!) they do get together but mind the bittersweet ending!!!!!!

dark and glimmering by Sanguis (T, 5k, wangxian, post-canon, modern, technology malfunction, established relationship, married couple, immortality) (link in #6) Beautiful and wangxian-centric, not so much about the modern world. But the world is around

Wandering Souls, Wild Ghosts by belleweather (E, 49k, wangxian, post-canon, victorian au, case fic, rentboys, smut, married wangxian, immortality, canon-typical violence, period-typical sexism & racism & homophobia, voyeurism, families of choice) (link in #6) Victorian England with immortal!wangxian’s adventures!

Traditions Series by Witch_Nova221 (G, 7k, WangXian, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Christmas Presents, Modern with Magic, modern day cultivators, Cloud Recesses, Established Relationship, Married Couple, Married Life, family traditions, wangxian family feels, Romance, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, immortal cultivators) (link in #6)

A Tale of Two Immortals by esk95 (M, 31k, WIP, WangXian, XiCheng, XuanLi, Post-Canon, Like waaaaay Post-Canon Modern AU, but cultivation still exists, Immortality, Reincarnation, Pretty much everyone is a reincarnation except Wangxian, Secret Identities, Modern with Magic, Immortal!Wangxian) (link in #6) A beloved wip: Immortal wangxian try to solve a mystery, poor Sizhui just wants to be a cultivator and have support of his parents who don’t know anything about cultivation (lol), a lot of reincarnated folk around

MDZS: The Golden Engine by iffervescent (E, 82k, WangXian, XiCheng, Explicit Sexual Content, Immortals) (link in #6) The summary says it all: “In the modern era, immortals Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian return to Gusu. New evil and old friends + new friends and old evils.”

~*~

11. Itmf pregnant wwx doesn’t realize he is pregnant at first. Broody, hormonal, instinctive, etc., can be foxxian but doesn’t have to be. Bonus points if LWJ has it figured out. Any era is fine.

I didn't know I was pregnant! by Haunted_Cheese (G, 1k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Modern AU, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy, Childbirth, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Pregnant WWX)

🔒Little fall of rain by luckymoonly (M, 10k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, WWX didn't know he was pregnant, Mpreg, Mention of Birth, Family Feels, Nielan himbo rights, soft LQR, Misunderstandings, jealous lwj, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Smut, Breastfeeding, Thirsty Granny Wen, JGS being his usual self)

🔒Surprise Baby! by trulywicked (M, 10k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Modern Cultivation, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Didn't know he was pregnant, birthing scene, Little bit of blood, A/B/O Dynamics, Inspired by Twitter, Established Relationship, Fluff)

Blood, Google, and Love by Prairie_Grass (E, 4k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, they were roommates, A/B/O Dynamics, Getting Together, Mpreg, semi graphic giving birth, Alpha LWJ, Omega wwx, Intersex Omegas, (or you could head-canon WWX as trans if you wanted), Fluff and Angst, the run-on sentences are on-purpose because WWX and LWJ are both:, neurodiverse characters, slightly traumatic birth)

Impermanence, Transience, Permanence by Best Bepsy (BepsyGray) (E, 39k, wangxian, canon divergence, unplanned pregnancy, mpreg, gore, sunshot campaign, assumed miscarriage, medical procedures, childbirth, golden core reveal) And the case of 'didn't know I was STILL pregnant'

Does Wei Ying have Covid? by Webawee (G, 2k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Mpreg, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Established Relationship, Pregnancy, Morning Sickness) there's a hillarious fic called does wei ying have covid? its exactly as it sounds our oblivious baby wwx thinks he has covid when lwj thinks wwx is scared to be pregnant/ anxious and wq is wq its great

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12. (Previous part added to FF)

if you could also recommend fics where lwj rejects wwx at first then feels so guilty about it after seeing/hearing about wwx suffering due to his rejection (just any au with this trope)?? i am a sucker for angst with a happy ending.

we are blessed in this community for all the work that you do, thank you so much! 🙇🏻‍♀️ @emkaii

When the Words Stop Coming by mrcformoso (T, 7k, WangXian, Canon Compliant, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Pre-Sunshot Campaign, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Canonical Character Death, Love Confessions, Rejection, LWJ is a Panicked Gay, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Trauma, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sad with a Happy Ending) Basically where WWX confesses, lwj keeps rejecting him, and canon still happens.

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13. Itmf NMJ is everyone’s big brother (also the best brother nmj).

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14. Hey, hope you're well. ITMF Wèi WuXian appreciation fics. (ex- stunted, starving, juvenility, hua xianle) @tinyfoxpeach

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15. Hello! I wonder if there are works, where Wei Ying died from strangulation in the field by the hands of Jiang Cheng? Thank you!

Lay my body down by tawaen (M, 48k, WWX & WQ, WWX & WN, wangxian, WWX & JYL, canon divergence, time travel, rogue cultivator WWX, no golden core transfer, not cultivation world friendly, not JC friendly, OCs) Might not be what the requester wants? WWX dies in the siege of the Burial Mounds & part of his spirit gets flung through time & latches onto the moment where he is strangled & his heart stopped & goes 'it's free real estate', resulting in a time travel AU where WWX choses to nope the fuck out of the cultivation world. He does die in that moment, but if the requester wants an angsty MCD fic, this ain't it / has Wei Ying die of strangulation but a fragment of his soul returns to that moment and he lives again.

False Catharsis by mondengel (Not Rated, 792, Horror, Angst) WWX dies. It's only 700 words but it hits hard.

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16. Hello~! ITMF hanahaki disease fics, preferably canon setting? In hanahaki trope someone who has unrequited love will grow flowers in their chest until the roots and branches kill them. Basically a curse to wither away in sadness and die unless your love is requited.

Regret Blossoms by piecrust (G, 7k, wangxian, Hanahaki Disease)

This Lantern Shines For You by apollonie (M, 10k, wangxian, Hanahaki Disease, Angst with a Happy Ending, Post-Canon, Pining WWX, WWX Needs a Hug, LWJ is a Disaster Gay)

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17. Idk if you'll answer this but do u know any fics where lwj travels back in time to his younger selfs body and gets to change how he was like with wwx? (Bonus points if it was just a dream) thanks!!! 💗

A Narrow Bridge by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (E, 700k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Getting Together, First Time, Pining while fucking, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Angst with a Happy Ending, CQL Verse, almost everybody lives/almost nobody dies, epistolary-ish, canon-ish side pairings, radishes) LWJ goes back & changes his decision at Qiongqi Path

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 25k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, Time Travel Fix-It, not JC friendly, not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect friendly, not Jiāng Family friendly, not YZY friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect, Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WIP) LWJ goes back to CRSA

A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 70 k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, POV LWJ, POV JC, Dark LWJ, Manipulation, Grooming, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Consensual Underage Sex, Except problematic please read warning in first chapter, Blood and Violence, Insane LWJ, Manic LWJ, Conditioning, WWX is a Lán, Minor Character Death, Confused JC, Golden Core Reveal, Good Friend NHS, WWX Isn’t Adopted by the Jiāngs, Abusive Jiāng Family, Jiāng Family Bashing, Jiāng Family Critical, POV NHS, Dark NHS, Anal Sex, Marathon Sex, Dual Cultivation, Qīnghéng-jūn Lives, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Self-Lubricates, Plot Twists, Porn With Plot, Scheming NHS, Manipulative NHS, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WWX) Features dark!LWJ. Mind the tags

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[razbrry]

may i request grell w/ an s/o who has the opposite personality as her at first but when the two got closer they sometimes show their more dramatic and sassy side pls?

also s/o is into artsy things like drawing, writing, theatre, fashion, etc.

note💋— i read 'drawing, writing, theatre, fashion' and immediately screamed. you're so cool, anon!!!

with you, being the seemingly opposite artsy lover showing of their sass— ft. grell sutcliff

grell loves you, you’re like a chia pet

in the best way possible of course X3

you’re basically the glue to the relationship, such serene energy!

your passion for all things of the arts intrigues grell, it’s one of the reasons she fell for you.

does grell appreciate art and writing like you do? you know what, not as much.

but theatre and fashion? … we’ll get into that later

she finds such pride being seen with someone reading a book.

with no pictures? reaaaaally??

“wahhj! you’re so deep, s/o!”

she thinks the way you carry yourself compliments her so well.

that’s like an amazing achievement, good job!

and oh dear me, you’re always so well dressed and accessorized

like, could she even fall further in love with you?

glaring at viscount druitt together from affar.

“now, is he really in the place to be that full of himself?… even for my likings, he sure knows how to girl out.” grell shudders.

batting your eyelashes, you shake your head slowly. “praying for the day he realizes nobody likes him. that poor, poor thing.”

ok so grell is screaming like a banshee

where you trying to imitate her? that’s cute!

no you weren’t, but okay.

she believed you where just trying to fit in with her sense of style for a good while until it kept repeating itself, looking more real by the second.

your eye rolls, she loves them so much hello???

you’d get feisty at the most uncalled for times.

ouuu…

you are SO her type.

and the way you two yap about theatre like there’s no tomorrow is so much fun

you and grell 100% go see productions together when she’s off work.

both of your eyes lighting up, analyzing the pretty set, costumes and props of the performance

if this WASN’T in the victorian era, grell’s favorite musical would be ‘chicago’

HANDSDOWN.

nono, and lets talk about your art.

most of the time she sees you, you’re holding that sketchbook like it’s nobody’s business.

and *it is* quite literally nobody’s business.

meaning the grell has been dying to take a peek at what you’ve been scribbling in there.

many attempts of her trying to shimmy her way to grab is away, just for you to snatch it back dramatically.

she cackles every time

and when you eventually give in, she is AWESTRUCK.

grell is staring at those pages.

cricket cricket cricket

kind of embarrassing. does she like them or not?

her face is in fact burning up! you have the cutest little doodles and sketches of her.

she’s going to tease you about this every time she gets the cue to. congrats!!!

seriously, she loves all of your little artistic interests.

“paint me like one of your french girls”

no grell, we’re not painting you naked. :(

maybe

[artemisandhersilverbow]

I'm still not over Taylor's Fortnight MV... to say it's my favorite visual work she's done would be an understatement. As with all things on this album, she did her research. Her incredible DP - Rodrigo Prieto - who has shot The Man, Cardigan, and Willow MVs. As well as, Brokeback Mountain, The Barbie Movie, Killer of the Flower Moon, etc.

There are so many ways to parse the story of the Fortnight video, but I will mostly focus on Taylor's use of mirroring to make some of the video's larger points.

I am a queer former film student so I wanna note that that's the bias I'll be writing from. If that disinterests you, no worries! This just may not be for you.

Love that we start with silent film era titles. One is black, one is white, perhaps a ying yang visual or simply representing the original album + the anthology. Could also be the light + dark of her two sides represented by Taylor and Post Malone.

The vertical alignment shift in the word Fortnight is interesting because the other time i noticed her doing this was in the closing poem for TTP with, "Some stars never align." Would be cute to have it like a nod to screenplay scene heading: INT. FORT - NIGHT

We start with Taylor, virtually still, but singing. She's handcuffed to an askew bed frame - sans mattress - with bars resembling a prison/cage.

The mirroring she's doing here is reminding us of "real life" Taylor's outfit at the 2024 Grammy's, but with the addition of white gauzy gloves + garter belt (like on tour), it reads more bridal, more bed sheet. That similar clock necklace is set to, best as I can tell, 9pm.

And she's got enough hairpins to... idk... make me spin out? Her make up evokes a little Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, legends of the silver screen, etc.

Taylor stops lip-syncing. Breaking the fourth wall, with direct eye contact, she's forced a "Forget Him" pill and unshackled from her bed prison. Unlike the next instance we get this match shot, it feels like she's telling the audience she knows we're watching and her look has a "this is what I'm forced to do" anger charged to it.

Also, the pill itself seems to break Taylor's reality from here on out. She "forgets him," but perhaps also becomes a different him herself.

She walks over, in her wacky funhouse of a prison room - skewed angles, upside down doors (those who enter from the left walk on the "ceiling" - to an actual mirror. But this mirror looks more like a one-way mirror. Meaning that the subject can see themselves, but so can others they can't see on the other side. Usually so the subject can be observed.

Still appropriate to break the fourth wall as though we are watching her in a way she can't return.

She wipes her face to reveal Post Malone's tattoos under the veneer of her prerfect facade. Once done, she utters the first "I want to kill her." She wants to "kill" Taylor TM?

I'll basically be going forward assuming that Post Malone is established in this mirror shot as a representation of Taylor, perhaps her True Taylor underneath the engineered perfection. This door/portal splits her in two on entry. From one white-clad figure to two black-clad ones. Kind of like the splitting of a prism.

Instead of exiting this upside down asylum, she goes deep into a department - perhaps the Tortured Poets kind. We get an awesome match cut/panning transition where Grammy dress referential Taylor morphs into a Victorian mourning dress. One very similar to the dresses on stage during Folklore during Eras (at the bottom of post). Perhaps also a nod to Emily Dickinson herself.

The way they design the set to make it so her asylum and office are connected feels like a not so subtle call out on how she feels about her chosen industry. Not quite a cheery take on the Lover House for ex. Time also becomes a little bendy, irrelevant when she does this portal walk.

When she enters she sits at a mirrored desk, morphing into Post Malone's silhouette. To the side we have faceless writers, also dressed in black older fashions, that seem to go on for infinity like a mirror trick.

Taylor sits down to start writing, Post Malone is already typing. They're both in black with embellished collars. We see that she has a top sheet with typed words, but under they're blank. Post has a pile next to him, along with his fountain pen, which perhaps are fully done b/c placement on the other side of him. Their desks are also arranged ever so slightly different. So Post-Taylor is a typing machine, Taylor needs to catch up...

But then Post Malone looks up to create this awesome mirrored match cut.

Taylor and Post-Taylor get to work, singing the chorus, camera cutting on their lines in mirror shots respectively.

We see a typewriter jam the same lines from the song, but specifically "I LOVE YOU." Granted, we can't be 100% sure whose typewriter it is, but we see Taylor type "Love You." Perhaps they're mirroring each other in even this task.

Eventually their stories starts leaking blue and orange/gold ether which prisms out to reveal "The Story of Us."

Really great shot of the infinity vanishing point effect from the unidentified crowd, how they're positioned makes them look like they're mirroring all of us watching/sharing our opinions.

This is where I'll stop for Part 1 because it's not ok how late this album has been keeping me up.

But a couple of things to start:

Taylor using very strong, very consistent mirroring techniques to create distinctions from narrator, character, and audience. Even the music is mirrored in the chorus with Post Malone's repetition.

By both wearing the face tattoos under a perfect exterior (the face we know her by), and immediately separating into two characters - one with her face/gender expression as we know it and Post-Taylor who now wears the face tattoos we just saw/is also sporting the face and gender expression we are familiar with him. It's Taylor TM the Brand vs Hidden (in plain sight) Identity Taylor.

Her typewriter emits an orange/golden glow from all of her repeated "I LOVE YOU'S," while his emits blue. Together they're creating the next story vignette: "The Story of Us."

One basic read for this is that Taylor could be owning her male POVs that come up in her songs (Folklore we're looking at you). Another read I have is that Taylor TM is writing the love song framework expected from her as an artist while Post-Taylor injects the devastation, anger, emotion, the heavy blues we often unearth from a song we originally thought was upbeat, romantic, unassuming. And considering these mirrored halves, I think that aligns with her own messages about her music, that people will always going looking for paternity tests - the publicized romance pulled from what we think we know about her. But perhaps the assumed truths of a song could be, and often are, driven by your gendered expectations - "Girl loves boy, sings about that." The hidden in plain sight Taylor subverts what the surface level shows.

The True Taylor is an unrecognizable author. And that writer is producing the meat of the work.

Additionally, I love that she's wearing a dress that feels taken off the Era's stage.

Folklore in particular was a really different writing era for her. She presented the characters and stories as fiction and all the sudden an unknown male collaborator — William Bowery — gets credited on it. I'd love if the message, in part, was hey I'm actually my own male writing partner. Regardless, her other half/POV was able to allow her to write truths so long as they remained unrecognizable.

But she's wearing the mourning dress, looking over at her hidden true half, looking over anxiously. And then begins to write. They're half the story that makes up the whole, one needing the other to tell the story they want to tell. Perhaps it's a call out to Folklore in particular as a solution to being limited by expectations of her signature diaristic-like songs' perspectives. Using it as a way to tell a version of the truth from a POV society or the powers that be in her life would accept it from — not Taylor TM as she is/who she's known to be.

More generally, the "male pov" and the male pronouns, just seem to be called irrelevant smoking guns in the game of knowing the unknowable - what her work, a lot of her work, is referencing specifically. These two writers, as presented, are still both Taylor. Them's the rules here. Ok, see you in PT. 2!

[n3kk1tty]

Beasts of Santa Carla

This story includes a lot of original characters. Photos of characters and favorite scenes will be drawn. You can find their photos on the masters list along with the prologue and past chapters.

( Masterlist )

Original Characters: Yutaj , mentions of Veve, Volk

(Beasts of Santa Carla is a AU of the Lost Boys. It involves adult themes, poly relationships, and is definitely not made for the underaged. If you don't like poly content, queer representation, shipping of the boys together or heavy sexual themes and violence. This story is not meant for you and that's okay. This story is made solely for my own enjoyment and anyone else who's along for the ride. )

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 5

You stare down at the mark on your wrist tracing it lightly with your finger tips. The chain tattoo a permanent reminder of the bet you had made with that foolish man.  How could they barge into your life and demand you'd fall in love with them. It was a ridiculous notion to someone who had been alive for 181 years and had been treated cruelly by love. The last time you were asked to be courted was in the Victorian era when you were still young and foolish. This was a foolish endeavor in the end but at least it would keep you from being bored you thought as you stared at the sun setting. Laddie was ecstatic at the idea of you going on a date with Paul and Marko. 

He had been dragging you around all day buying new shoes and makeup just for the event. You two had even gone into a fashion store in Santa Carla that served underworlders so you were able to snatch a new outfit from the current fashion trend for elves and angels. It was kinda fun running around with the child as you nervously looked at all the new things prepping for your first serious date since Queen Victoria was in power. You had plenty of wealth accumulated from the years working but you never had a reason to spend money on yourself frequently other than a passing want. So as you spoiled and taught your new little partner in crime you welcomed the change of pace with open arms nervously.

While Laddie was dragging you around Santa Carla all day playing dress up you had stopped in a witch shop after lunch. It couldn't hurt to present the pack with a courtish gift as a show of good faith and effort to this bet of romance. Though this gift was mostly for your own personal benefit. You place the carefully wrapped gift back into your pocket as you and the small Vampire walk the old steps down to the cave entrance. Laddie was running ahead excitedly with the makeup case as you swallow your nervousness and prepare for your first day of courtship. You were walking straight into the fire of the lion's den but you weren't going to be afraid. You were dead set on proving to David that this falling in love thing wouldn't happen plus you had to repay him for kissing your neck in the bath so an early wake up was for your favorite bottle blonde.

“WERE BACK! “ Laddie screams in excitement as the sun is swallowed by the sea and sleeping vampires stir. You shake your head at your trouble maker as you stand at the entrance before walking in confidently. “ I’m coming into your cave. Pardon my rudeness but I’m here for Paul and Markos date. “ You say in a reasonable tone pulling the young vampire with you to an old couch. You use the time to light up one of the barrels in the cave for lighting. Shushing the boy playfully, you ruffle his head gently .“ Laddie, it's impolite to wake people so harshly. You'll need to apologize to them when they get up, okay baby fangs. “

“ Okay big sis. I just wanted them to see your outfit I picked and the clothes I got!” You smile gently at the boy, hands caressing his chubby cheek. “ Well we don't wanna show them an incomplete look now do we. Why don't you help me put my makeup on before grumpy David ruins the surprise. “ Speaking of grumpy vampires, he was currently stammering out of his nest after Laddie's shouting had startled him awake. Following the sound of you two's hushed giggling and sweet scent wafting from the shared quarters of the cave. David stopped in his tracks as he looked at the sight of you on the couch smiling ear to ear as you walked Laddie through putting eyeshadow on your eyes.

“ Well good morning starshine did sleeping beauty enjoy his rest. I must have really tired you out for you to sleep past sunset though I guess when you don't work waking up on time doesn't matter.“ You teased David as you sensed him drawing closer. “ And I thought you'd be too scared to even enter our nest little moth. Must be bold to think I won't just keep you here while I have the chance. “ A fit of laughter bubbles out of your chest in response to the man. “ David, we are not on the same level. Plus I think I'd win our little bet quicker if you did.“ You flash your wrist at the man smirking as two blonde vampires come barreling out of the back towards you in almost comical manner.

“ A miracle must be happening Marko because there's an angel in the cave. “ Paul stretches out his arms along the back of the couch as he eyes your frame. The curly haired vampire whistles as he stalks behind David leaning against him.” Pauly I think you may be right. I do believe I see the most heavenly being in front of me now. “ You ignore them as you finish applying your eyeliner and massacre. “ You boys know damn well I'm no angel. Or do we need to go another round in the ring to prove it “ Paul Snickers as he moves in close to your ear. “ I could go all night with you in the ring. “ This comment sends shivers up your spine and a light blush to grant your face as you pinch the vampire's nose pushing him away from you.

“ No horn dog behavior In Front of Laddie. I ain't giving the birds and the bees talk today. Now shouldn't you be getting presentable for our date you so harshly fought for. You two smell like dogs. “ Marko pauses for a moment to sniff his pajama shirt before shrugging. “ Guess ocean rinse it is. “

“ Fuck no you ain't washing your ass in the ocean! What is with you hooligans and thinking that's a proper shower.” You stand up pulling the small item from your pocket looking around the room as you fume in annoyance. “ David y'all don't happen to have a door in this sink hole do you. “ A puzzled look crosses the three vampires as Dwayne comes around the corner lifting an old one up that's scribbled with graffiti. “ Princess I don't see how an old door is gonna help their odor. “ David chimes as you tug Dwayne over to a cleared wall for the door to lean against. “ If you give me a moment. I'll gladly show you your courtship gift as I seem to be the only responsible adult in this cave at the moment. “

David's eyebrow twitches at the comment but he can't chime in as Paul and Marko are currently smelling each other questioning who smells the worst. Maybe showering more frequently did need to occur. You thank Dwayne as he nods in response, a small smile to his face as your hand pats his arm. Fingers trace against a key of bone as you place it near the door knob. A keyhole appearing as everyone in the cave gathers around in amazement as unlocking can be heard before the door swings open revealing a bathroom within. “ Tada. Your very own bathroom with laundry facilities. Now for the love of all the underworlds below wash yourselves and clothes regularly like the rest of civilized society. Laddie cannot keep getting hose baths, it's getting outta hand. “

The five vampires rush in to explore as Micheal and Star inch closer in amazement. They had heard the commotion and had come to investigate only to be met with a mysterious woman opening a door against the cave wall into a futuristic bathroom. “ What is this? How is this. “ Marko says as he starts opening drawers full of things like band aids, medicine, hair styling products, and even makeup. Paul rummaged through the closet to see towels of all sizes in awe of the softness. Dwayne looks at the mirror feeling his face as he sees everyone's reflection. “ Not made of silver. Good attention to details, beautiful. “

“ It's the wonder of spacial magic. Most species utilize this now after it's founding back in the dark ages. All you need is the key to the room and anydoor you unlock with it will lead you right to this room. Even if the door is a graffitied old hotel door crudely leaning against a cave wall. “ The chaos twins rush through the other doors in the room to reveal a huge bathtub and a stone shower. Paul holds Laddie up in the mirror as they make faces and laugh something about it so sweet that a smile graces your face. “ So this and everything in here is a gift for all of us. We must be special to you. “

David looms behind you fingers tracing shapes into your back as he leans into your ear enjoying your scent. “ Laddie is special to me. And you must have not been taught proper etiquette in your lifetime as when you court someone it is polite to present gifts.” A hand snakes around your waist tugging your body against his form as he practically purrs into your ear. “ Seems a little extravagant for a simple courtship gift don't you think love. Or do you just like the idea of spoiling us. “ Your face heats up and annoyance finds its way quickly behind.

A sharp jab of your elbow gets the vampire off of you as he hunches slightly over from shock. “ It's because you feral hellions don't know how to properly wash your ass frequently. I can't even imagine how you use the bathroom or that you brush your teeth every night. Would it kill you to wash your coats you smell like old blood, body odor, and cigarettes.” You start tugging on David's cheeks as he returns the favor grabbing your horns as you two snarl at each other. One vamped out and the other hissing frustrations at the man mentioning cologne is not a bath. “Well how sweet of you to provide us the ease of this access. Maybe you should join us and take care of us sweetheart. You really seem to enjoy telling us what's proper. “

“ Oh gladly I'll whip manners into your behind. Though I think you'd like that too much , my bottle blonde. “ You and David start pushing out of the room into the cave as now you've acquired an audience in your little spat. “ Are you flirting or fighting?” Laddie says standing in the door frame. This gains a laugh from Paul and Marko as they have never seen David being treated like this. You and David freeze in your fight as your face is red as can be trying to not upset the little one.” We're definitely flirting, Laddie. We're getting along swimmingly; this is how romance works isn't it David.” David grabs your face placing an aggressive kiss to your lips, you growl back glaring at him as you press in further pulling back with a sloppy pop sound.

Your face is red as you hiss at the man a smug smirk on his face in his satisfaction. “ See, we were flirting, little man. Just some play fighting. “ You curse at the man in your native tongue high pitched clicking and chirping coming from your mouth as you growl. “ Wanna repeat that dollface didn't quite catch that. “ David's smirk grew larger as the blush on your face intensified, grabbing your wrist with your matching tattoos on full display. Marko jumps at the sight grabbing your arms holding the tats to each other. “ This totally isn't fair! We got our asses kicked for a date and you paid for a night now you have matching tattoos openly kissing and totally cosy with each other! Where's my kiss for my broken nose huh.”

Paul slides in grabbing the smaller vampires shoulder pouting himself. “ Yeah weres our kisses. We've been flirting with you all week baby.” You shrink into yourself as the three vampires circle you blush still heavily on your face. “ You two horn dogs can get kisses when you finally wash your ass! Now hurry up or we will never go on our date. “ The two run away from you laughing as you chase after them kicking at there bodies with your foot. The pair dodging haphazardly as Star and Micheal watch from the side lines both enamored by your sight. You were confident around the boys even though you were new and you didn't take shit from them something about that they liked.

They just couldn't figure out what you were as you definitely weren't a vampire nor were you human. “ If you two keep undressing me with your eyes I'm gonna catch a cold. “ Micheal and Star froze as you walk closer. Your scent was intoxicating to them and it definitely wasn't helping the hunger within them. “ We weren't meaning to stare.” Micheal said, turning away from your piercing gaze nervously. “ It's nice to finally properly meet you. I’m Star and this is Michael.” You grab Stars hand bringing it to your lips you place a kiss on her knuckles. This makes a feverish hue spread across her soft features .“ It's a pleasure to meet my sleeping beauty. Sorry our first few chats have been through pen and paper. You must be exhausted spending time with these boys all the time.”

You smile as you blatantly flirt with Star In Front of David knowing well the feeling of his jealous eyes burrowing into your back. You'd have to be stupid to not know David wanted you to treat him like this again but it's just too fun to get under his skin and knock his ego down a peg. This man was gunning for your heart and you weren't gonna make loving you easy for him but he liked this game and so did you. “ I enjoyed the letters and food you brought for me. It was kind of you to help me out when you didn't even know me. “ Star tucked her hair behind her ear as your smile grew wider the more jealousy you could feel from a certain blonde. “ Oh well of course. I don't mind spoiling a beautiful girl like yourself. I have plenty of money to provide and Laddie practically demanded breakfast before his teachings. If you don't mind I'd love to chat with you two to see how your education is going as well. “

You walk back over to the couch you were previously sitting on as Laddie opens the makeup case selecting nail polish to put on your nails. Micheal and Star follow sitting on the water fountain staring back at you as David sits in his wheelchair fuming. Dwayne lovingly pats David's shoulder before heading to do some laundry in the new washers you provided. “ Now handsome I can tell you're just dieing to ask me some questions, no need to be shy. I won't bite. “

“ Unless you want me to. “ You wink as the Micheal feels his heart skip a beat in excitement. “ Who are you. What are you. “ Your tail moves to display In Front of you spikes flailing up to be on display. “ My name is (Y/n). I don't have a human last name but I belong to the vermilion house. I am a succubus hybrid. My father is an incubus and my other father is a jorogumo making me a hybrid of an incubus and spider demon. “

“ Wait, you have two fathers. How does that even work? “ A eyebrow raises at the halfling's response, gaining a flicking of your tail from you. “ If you were reading the materials I provided in the section about Santa Carla residents you'd know succubi are a breeder species. We can bend our genders to our liking since birth and at will. “ Pheromones swirl around you before laying on the couch in front of them is you in your male form. You were bigger, more muscular, and had a deep sultry voice. “ And once we are marked and have mates. It doesn't matter if we stay in incubus or succubus with partners of the same matching gender. A simple kiss can cause a pregnancy to occur as once we are in heat cycles any shred of DNA can be used to make what humans refer to as sperm and egg cells. The beauty of a succubi is our ability to breed with almost anything; we can also produce offspring from multiple partners.”

You raised your hand transforming back into your female form as it suits you much better. “ I prefer my female form so I present it to mortals and immortals alike as female. “ Star looks on you with curiosity as David's eyes never come off of your form. “ What's those tattoos on you and David's wrist? They seem to be important for you to just now be revealing yourself to the group after hiding so much.” This question ignites a playful fire in you as make eye contact directly with David glaring back at him. “ A certain grumpy vampire thinks your whole group can win my heart. So we made a binding vow that I have to try spending time with you all in the chance we will fall in love with each other. While our little bet is going on I'll be your group's teacher and personal juice box of sorts. If he wins I become your mate permanently and obey him. If I win David gets to know the sweet defeat of being wrong and I'll know for certain love will never be possible for me. “

Pheromones swirl around you as you send them directly the vampire's way. “ But don't think I'll make it easy or that you get my blood and knowledge for free. I'm going to savor every moment getting personal and feeding off of you all. Specifically I'm savoring being a pain in David's ass till he caves and admits he can't love me. I just need one of you to say it and I'll be gone like smoke in the sky. “ David smirked evilly back at you staring you down. “ You keep trying to get under my skin but the more you deny your heart the more I'm going after it. “ Star and Micheal couldn't believe what they were hearing. You were trying to fall in love with everyone in the group because you and David made a bet. This is not what they wanted when they wanted your attention. They wanted your feelings to be genuine for them.

“ If you don't like David, why would you make a bet like that? What's stopping you from leaving and did you two not consider our feelings in the matter. “ Laddie looks up from painting your nails as he stares into Michaels, almost unnerving the poor boy. “ You can't break a binding vow Micheal. It's like breaking a pinky promise.“ The man becomes frustrated as he stands up in a huff. “ You can easily break a pinky promise. It's just as easy as getting up and leaving like we're doing now. “

“ I'd sit down if I were you. “ Your pheromones hit the pair of half vampires as their vision gets dizzy and they slump back down to sit on the cool water fountain edge. They cover their mouths as your scent was making them ravenous. They wanted to bite you, they wanted to do things to you, they craved you but your words angered Micheal like you weren't considering how he would feel about this. Just like David didn't care about how he felt about having to kill people to stay a vampire with him. “ I see you still need a little convincing Micheal that my words are true. I enjoy your feedback on the matter. I know this deal happened without your consent and that pisses you off but moving forward I promise anything between us will happen at a pace you're comfortable with. “ You stand above the brunette hooking your fingers together, you stare down into his confused longing eyes.

“ How about our first lesson, handsome? I show you what a binding vow is. “ You hold a piece of gum up between you as blood encircles your intertwined pinkies. “ Micheal I pinky promise I'll give you this piece of gum. “ A red line forms on your fingers as you pull away from him flashing the gum. “ And what will not giving me the gum do. I don't see the importance of this red line you've put on my finger.” You place your finger In Front of him as you pop the gum in your mouth biting down. Suddenly and violently your finger is absolutely obliterated right before his eyes like it had been pierced and smashed all at the same time. You winced as your blood sprayed the two in the face Micheal looked in horror at your mangled finger he just helped destroy.

“ People with power have a hard time doing what they promise unless something is on the line for them. So the heavens made binding vows. If a party breaks the vow depending how serious the vows deal is, say like falling in love. The more the punishment will be. “ You smile at the man as your blood flows back to you and with a sickening pop and twisting your pinky is back to it was before flesh healing before his eyes. “ And what's gonna happen if you don't follow David's bet or he doesn't follow it either. “ The blonde smiles behind his cigarette as he takes a long drag staring his favorite halfling down. “We will probably turn into inside out porcupines. “

You place a hand on Michael's head ruffling it a bit as the boy looks pale. “ Don't look so pale baby face. One may start thinking you care about us. It's best not to think about the deal in general. It only involves me and David playing a game of chicken. You can love me, hate me, I don't mind, I just hope we can at least be friendly for you and Laddie's sake. I’m only here because I'm bored and y'all are cute.” A soaking wet Paul suddenly lifts you in the air as a towel is tied loosely around his waste twirling you around as you squirm at the sudden wetness. “ I knew you couldn't stay away from our group's good looks. Us vampires are irresistible.” David rushes to help hold up Paul's towels as Laddie tries pulling you off of his older brother, you kicking and squealing in protest.

The tension in the cave has disappeared completely as the scene of you three. Star leaned against Michaels arm gently looking at the commotion and sharing a look with the boy. With just your presence you lightened the group up, especially the tension between David and the two. It wasn't a fight about if David actually cared what they wanted and it wasn't another night of being pressured by their companion to join them in eternity. It was just the group back to how it used to be before Michael, it was fun. It was intoxicating to be back in this peace. With David too busy with you that took the heat off the halfling's and to say they weren't planning to use you was a lie. They had planned to accept your blood and become day walkers and get themselves free from having to eat humans. They just didn't know how but with you not afraid of David and him currently at risk of becoming a porcupine they could relax.

They had a hard time standing up to him. He was controlling and sometimes forceful with what he thought was best for people he loved. It made it hard to hate him as he never did anything to the group outta malice but instead twisted devotion. You get tired of wiggling against the naked wet man as you let out a high pitch whistle which makes Laddie stop in his wake, eyes turning yellow and vamping out. Before anyone could process what is happening you give the child one command. “ Double team.” Laddie jumps up grabbing Paul's arm on you before he jumps swinging his whole body weight like a battering ram against Paul's leg knocking the vampire over. You place your legs on the ground in a stance grabbing Paul's arm before you use the momentum to fling him over your shoulder and onto the couch. David looks down in his hands where Paul's towel is and he instinctively drops it to cover Laddie's eyes. 

He may have succeeded at saving Laddie's eyes but definitely not Star or Michael who got full front seats to Paul's show. “ How the fuck did you teach Laddie to do that. “ Paul says as he's flopped over upside down on the couch still on display as Star and Micheal are covering their eyes but laughing a bit at the display. Marko and Dwayne come out of the bathroom to the scene on the couch. The poor silent vampire almost drops the laundry basket while Marko starts laughing so hard he flops onto the floor. You grab the towel tossing it over Paul's unintentionally spread eagle as you let out a wolf whistle admiring his barness. 

“ Guess you are a shower not a grower. “  Paul blushes a bit smiling with a  wink before he gets off the couch. A fuming Dwayne hands him his freshly cleaned clothes before slapping his ass back into the bathroom. “ I leave to do laundry and you guys get into whatever the hell that was. “ You smirk at the man as David let's go of Laddie's face patting the kid on the back for the excellent leg sweep. “ In fairness you let the tall  lanky blonde escape the bathroom unnoticed. Paul hasn't exactly been the one to think sometimes.” Dwayne grumbles at David but is just glad the chaos is subdued for now. “ I was busy keeping Marko from mixing all the soaps into one to use on his head. “ 

“ I would have smelt like the Ultimate soap. “ Dwayne shakes his head before you chime in. “You'll absolutely destroy your curls doing that. Also I got you stuff for your curls. Why is your hair still wet?. “ Marko innocently smiles up at you before blinking a bit tilting his head. “ I just let my hair air dry. “ Of fucking course he did. You shake your head. You will absolutely not stand by and let him do that to his beautiful curls. As a woman with a cousin who you've helped take care of her hair since y'all were small, you are appalled at this blasphemy. Grabbing the man from the floor you usher him into the bathroom, having Dwayne find you a stool or chair. “Laddie, can you bring me the products over there? Marko who has been taking care of your curls for you. “

Star stands in the doorway watching you gently looking the vampire over. “ Well Star was giving me help for a little bit but she's been pissed at us so I've been just doing it the way I used to. “ The girl looks away, ashamed as you shoot her a questioning look. “ And what would Star be mad at y'all for. “ Marko hums to himself looking over his shoulder to make sure David wasn't nearby to make a fuss. You get the picture and bring Star in the room shutting the door so no one could snoop on your impromptu therapy session. If you were gonna be around these vampires all the time you would put up with no drama from this. “ Ever since Micheal came she decided she doesn't wanna be a vampire with us anymore. Her and Micheal won't feed and for a while so wasn't Laddie. It was kinda scary, their energy dropped and they started feeling sick.“

As you put product in the man's hair you make note of the girl's uncomfort as she holds onto Laddie. “ If you don't wanna talk about it sweetheart with me around, you don't have to be here. Though I think it's important as a pack, you talk about your problems calmly. Why don't you wanna feed or be a vampire?. “ You pulse calming pheromones into the room as you don't look at her, letting her decide if she wants to talk or not. “ We miss the sun. We don't want to kill people to survive. You guys are used to it but we aren't and I don't think I ever will. “ You look in the mirror staring at the beautiful girl shaking your head.

“ And your solution was to starve yourself till you found a way to not be one? Star I know that it's not any of y'all's fault for not understanding your own people's society or diseases and such. That is a job your sire was supposed to do.” You pause to grab the brush to start forming curl clumps in Markos hair as you go back to work. “ But starving yourself halfing or not. You'll eventually cause insanity to yourself. When vampires aren't able to feed on human blood or demons for a long while even if it's just a cup of it every six months they risk getting a disease called madness. You'll become worse than an animal. An uncontrollable ravenous beast who won't stop killing till you're put down.“ Star looks worried as she looks down at Laddie, coming to realize the severity of what she had been doing to him when she had him refuse to feed. “ But we've been eating alot of protein and animals since you gave us those books. We should be fine. We've been doing better. “

“ Sorry to break it to you. But that's only a temporary solution especially for halfling's. You'll have to choose eventually and going back to human ain't really a thing that happens after becoming a vampire. It's an incurable disease.” Star shakes her head, panic lacing her words as Marko shifts his eyes to the side, not able to look at her. “ But the comics said. That if you destroy the sire you'll return to a human. “ Paul hears this from behind the door in the bathroom he was changing in and your hands immediately stop. You go stiff understanding exactly what she's implying.

“ And you believed a comic book written by mortals of vampiric knowledge they've been taught through grape vine encounters. Do you understand what you just implied? The level of treason you'd face killing your own kind in this town.” You put down the brush and in an instance you're grabbing her face looking her dead in the eyes as Star's face turns to panic tears threatening to spill but only the people in this pocket of space can hear her whimpers. Your eyes soften, unable to stand the look on her face. “ Star. If you kill any underworlders in this town you'll be hanged from the peers and executed in the worst way possible. Any humans caught killing underworlders in this town would also be killed the same and have been. That book is wrong and will only bring you downfall. It will harm you and everyone you love with statements like that. “

Marko snarls from the chair pissed at what he has heard and so does Paul but before either can say anything or move your glaring them down. “ You two listen to me now and listen good. I don't care if you've known me for a lifetime or a few weeks or a few fucking hours. Any of you two start a fight in this room right now I'll sure as fuck finish it. Now y'all three need to sit your asses down and fucking talk it out. This discussion is not leaving this room. “ Laddie runs from Star holding onto your legs as tears pool in his eyes. Your hand falls to his head as he whimpers into your leg. “ Why can't all of you go back to liking each other? Why does everyone always fight now? “ The boy shakes scared of another brawl about to break out. He hated when the pack fought and ever since Micheal came that's all they ever did. No one had time for him anymore until you showed up and here they were ready to fight again.

The three vampires look down at the boy. Was this what they were doing to him? Was this what all there back and forth had done to their little unit. Star used to smoke with Paul all the time and watch the night sky over the ocean. Marko and her used to make homemade jewelry for their outfits and they would help take care of animals together. Now look at them. They were at eachothers throats all the time and their relationship had soured to the point of not talking to each other. All of them were too selfish to think about Laddie's feelings in this. That's how he got away that night. That's how he ended up a day walker because everyone in the pack forgot about him or the care for each other and just worried about their selfish wants. Your tongue clicked in annoyance.

“ You are all being stupid and selfish. “ The three look at you in shock. “ Someone had to say it. Paul and Marko you two are dumb for not listening to your pack members' worries and concerns. Star your stupid for thinking a comic book gave truthful information and that murder was a solution to not wanting to commit murder.” You grab Paul and Markos' faces , shaking them side to side. “ Which by the way news flash only these fuckers are some of the vampires who still enjoy hunting. There's a ton of vampires who don't kill you guys are just too ignorant of your own freaking species society. Do you know how much blood banks make by tricking humans into donating blood for money willingly. All you have to do is go to one and tell them you're a vampire they will sell you blood at a discount.”

The three faces are in shock as you rant at them like a mother scolding kids who just fought over a toy for nothing. “ Star if you wanna walk in the sun drink my fucking blood, eat my flesh, you can even suck my blood like a juice box every night. You don't have to go commiting murder, or doing something stupid just to get your ass sunburned. You don't even have to ever drink a drop of human blood. I’m sorry I can't make you human but I'll be your willing supply of food as long as you'll have me. Just stop hurting the people who care about you and you two fuckers need to learn to push your feelings to the side and talk it out.“ Stars face explodes into blush as she stutters at your proposal. You come closer to her flexing your chest up at her making her head spin as you get closer determination on your face.

Paul can't help but laugh at the scene as it looks like your two seconds from giving Star a gay heart attack. Marko begins to chuckle as well as you continue to push yourself forward into Star so stupidly determined you're not even noticing your two seconds from motor boating the girl like an angry tiny bird puffing it's chest. “ And what's so funny huh! Can't you see we're having a moment. “ You look at the boys as Star buries her face in her hands, turning away from you. The boys now even further in a laughter fit at the scene causing Laddie to look up at them in confusion. “ She's totally been eyeing your tits all night and now your shoving them in her face telling her to eat you. “ Paul chokes out from laughter as he slumps onto Markos shoulder.

“ I mean I'm sure Star has been thinking of eating you in other ways. '' Marko pokes fun at the female vampire, the laughter replacing all the negative energy in the room and it feels like the relationship is being patched even if just a little. “ Shut up you two. Geez. Don't you have a date to go on. Shouldn't you be getting ready. “ Star punches Marko lightly as she picks up the diffuser, finishing up Markos hair for you. Laddie starts grabbing makeup staring up at Paul with sparkles in his eyes while the tall vampire immediately understands the assignment. You and the young boy get to work with Laddie putting on makeup with your assistance and you styling Paul's hair.

It had been quiet, too quiet. David had left to put his actual clothes on and to try and fail at flirting with Micheal again who had been giving him the cold shoulder. Dwayne could sense the mischief in the air as well, as they were sure no one left the cave. That meant that four people of the crew could be up to no good in that bathroom as it was entirely too quiet. As they open the bathroom door they don't even get a chance to react. All they hear is your voice saying “God said let there be light!” And then what can only be described as a mini flamethrower In Front of them as Laddie squeals in amazement on the counter. Paul and Marko are going ballistic in chaos at the flame and Star is looking on in shock and awe.

“WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING IN THE BATHROOM. “ All five of you are sitting on the couch as Dwayne is spraying the bathroom with air freshener to get rid of the smoking hair spray scent as David chews you out for your pyromania stunt. “ Laddie asked what flammable ment on the hair spray. “ Paul says, rubbing the back of his neck. “ So (Y/n) had a lighter and she is responsible. “ Marko says, looking at the floor, not daring to look at his pissed off mate. “ And you two just went along with that! Laddie was in there !” David's voice is serious as he glares at you and Star down, her squirming in her spot while you confidently lean against the couch, legs spread out almost in a defiant stance.

“Yep” You reply putting emphasis on the end with a popping of your lips making the blonde glare down at you. He keeps making eye contact with you, getting closer as you blankly stare back, flipping your lighter around between your fingers. The man grumbles for you to explain yourself. “ If you had to know Laddie is more of a visual learner and kids will do stupid shit all the time why not do it with responsible precautions. I was holding the can and lighter plus the room has air conditioning and fire precautions in place. Anyone who could get hurt was standing behind me and well if I got my ass lit on fire I can just Heal myself up. So really you're blowing a fuse for nothing fussy fangs. “ David grabs your face roughly pulling you closer to him as his facial expression morphs vampiric and his tone low and threatening.

“ Just because you can heal yourself doesn't mean I want any of you hurt. You may not care about your body but I do. Now cut the shit and take this seriously. “ You look him in the eyes as you place a kiss on the tip of his nose laughing in his face as he looks confused and a little flustered at the display. “ Aw. David cares about my well being, how cute! You know David you're really hot when you try acting all angry with me.” Grabbing his face forward you place several kisses to his face as David is stunned and taken aback at the sudden affection. It's like the man is short circuiting as you've been not the least bit affectionate since yesterday and have been antagonizing him the whole time you've been around him.

With one last aggressive kiss to his cheek later and his face stained with blush, confusion, and lipstick. You pop up off the couch grabbing Paul and Marko in a rush while you walk back to the door against the wall pulling a paper out from your bra. “ Well it's been fun flirting with you Sweethearts but me and these chaotic boys have a whole night of mischief ahead of us. I'm just afraid there's not enough of me to go around for the night. “ You bite your finger drawing blood as you throw the paper to the door with blood on it. This causes the paper to turn black and dissolve into the door , demonic eyes and flesh taking it over as you fling the door open to a bustling market place beyond it.

Before David can protest and make it to the door you've already pushed the pair inside as you are closing it on the man winking to him you blow him one last kiss. “ You really shouldn't scold me In Front of the kid David. You know how much it turns me on” Just as he reaches the door it slams shut returning immediately to normal the paper And blood having disappeared as soon as it was shut. The man aggressively opens the door only to find the bathroom once again in there while a confused Dwayne and Micheal enter back in the cave after getting the bikes set up. Not only had you succeeded in flipping David's anger into extreme lust but now you had blue balled the man as well.

He didn't know whether he enjoyed this game with you or not sometimes. All David knew is the next time he saw you, you were definitely gonna have to take care of his needs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night market was bustling with all sorts of underworlders and heavenly alike. Stores lined with demonic, angelic, and human goods while people walked by in swarms. It momentarily distracted the boys while you were bent over against the wall trying to catch your breath from what you had just done. You weren't thinking, fuck you weren't even processing what had occured till you placed that finale kiss. You absolutely did not want to acknowledge that you had not only kissed David affectionately or that you were actually aroused by his care for you. But you got such a rush of energy and excitement that you peppered that man's face like you were seasoning him with your affection.

The worst part is you weren't thinking when you did it. It all happened on instinct after that man lit your heart ablaze with the statement he was scolding you because he was worried of you getting hurt. It was dumb. It was a poor move on your choice and you were faking it till you made it trying to deny something in your heart was touched. If this was a dating sim that man just scored a point and you practically had stars in your eyes when those words came out his mouth. Though luckily you were good at bluffing for the most part and was able to run off before you could meet the consequences of your actions.

Paul and Marko are in awe at the site before them. They had been transported to a world they had never seen before and it was busting with life and creatures like them. It was like walking straight through a story book and damn they were hooked. Marko freezes before patting his body down slowly coming to realize not only was he not wearing his favorite jacket but neither was Paul as they didn't even have time before they were pushed out the door to snag them. “ Fuck our wallets are back at home.” The pair turn around to the stone wall you're leaning against to see the door completely gone. “ Oh shit. How do we get back. “ Paul says also coming down from his shock to recognize he also had no wallet on him.

Your head shoots up as you pray they don't make a comment on what had just happened instead hoping to get this date started and far away from what just transpired. You grab their arms leading through the crowd as you smile cheerfully. “ Don't worry about it! I have a copy of the bathroom key so if we use that we can enter straight back through that door. But let's not worry about that now. I don't know about you boys but I'm starving!” The boys are confused but they quickly forget about it as they enjoy the feeling of your arm intertwined with theirs. “ How are we gonna pay for food though? This doesn't seem like the place dining and dashing will go over well. “ Marko says, making note of the angry looking demons guarding their stalls and shops with pride. 

“ Don't worry sillies. I’m paying tonight! My treat. I did kinda wanna apologize for breaking your nose Marko and almost crushing you with my ass Paul when we dropped out the sky. “  Paul smiles down at you cheekily as you strut along the streets. “ I think that would be my preferred method of leaving this world. “ The blondes laugh in unison as you smile gently back at them. “ I did wanna set some rules though you absolutely have to follow here. The night market is between the planes of existence so it's in a neutral zone. It's a lawless land held together by a code of sorts. Don't steal anything. Respect the staff. And if you start fights keep them outside the shops. “

As you say this you three witness a ghoul coming out in a bucket dismembered as an angry Harpy places him outside their store. A swarm of demonic children running up to it begin rummaging and eating through the pile of viscera. “ If not, you'll end up like that guy. Some necromancer will revive you but hope you have enough deadmans coins to keep yourself from slavery. This isn't really the place your money will be worth much anyway. The hells and heavens share a currency unlike the earth realm. “  Paul turns his head looking down to see a small devil child rooting through his back pocket. “ Hey! Scram kid!” The kid flashes his teeth at Paul in a huge smile before running off with his friends. 

This prompts you to reach into your bra pulling a black card out. “ That is why I have bags of holding sewn into my bra. An old succubi stage trick we borrowed from clowns. “ Marko takes the chance to peek in your bra's pocket as you show him the strange bag glowing with items inside. “ That's awesome babe! What things can you fit in there!” You laugh as you walk into a shop showing him the pocket attached to your skirt as well. “ Well my bra I mostly use to hold makeup, money, or my lighter. If I wanna hold objects from our shopping trip I need to be able to put them in there without flashing my tits to everyone here. So I had my spare clipped into my skirt. “  

You feel yourself tugged closer to the tall man's body as he whispers in your ear gaining a blush from you. “ Guess we will have to make sure not to undress you till we get home. “ You laugh pushing his face away as he licks your hand in retaliation. “ Well if it ain't my favorite regular! Where have you been (Y/n), I was worried you were gonna get thinner on me. “ In Front of you is a tall Yeti woman standing at the  restaurant's entryway, her white hair tied back by a bandanna. You raise your arms up and happily allow the 8ft woman to lift you up swinging you like a limp cat as she greets you. The boys looked shocked as the woman let's you go patting your head with her huge hands like you were a child. 

“ This would be my favorite place to eat in all the realms. This tall Yeti woman is my unofficial official godmother. “ The yeti woman proudly stands straight as she ushers you to a booth seat by the kitchen. “ How do you have an unofficial official godmother? “ Marko questions as he looks over the menu that's in a different language, you motion for one in English to the tall woman. “ Her father and aunt have come here since wee and small. They grow up in Yutajs shop, find mates, bring mates here, have babies, babies come here. Father gets drunk with newborn strapped to chest declaring me godmother. I am proud godmother. (Y/n) Where is Veve or wolf boy. Why bring vampires? “

You laugh as the boys try to decipher the image of an infant you strapped to your birth father's chest while drunk thinking of the implications of a parent doing such a thing. “ God mama meet two of the boys who are courting me. I figured for our first official date there would be no other shop who's food could compare to yours. “ The woman pauses before lowering herself down to the boy's eyes glaring daggers at them as she looks them up and down. Paul and Marko feel intimidated by her height alone but her bulging muscles and huge clever on her side also don't help. “ Tiny one. Last time courtship go horribly wrong. You sure these boys don't hurt you. God mama will gut them like fish if single hair is misplaced on your head. “

Paul audibly gulps as the yeti reaches for her clever before you grab the boys hands smiling at her. “ Don't worry about me, Yutaj. These boys are sweet, good boys. If you'd believe it they challenged me in combat for my hand in courtship and won. They are very strong. “ The woman gets closer before clapping her hands loudly. “ Aw! Proper yeti courtship! Lucky girl. You all must drink eat and be strong. I be right back!” The boys relax in their seats as they glance at the menus but back up to you. They could sense and see the past courtship comment made you uneasy for a second which worried them as the short time they known you, you hadn't ever cracked under the pressure.

“ Something bothering you sweetness? She mentioned you were hurt before. Do you wanna explain that to us? If not, you don't have to, okay?” Paul says grabbing your hand gently massaging circles into your palm as your leg bounces under the table anxiously. Marko slides in next to your side placing a hand on your shoulder massaging it as well. “ We just wanna know so we don't do anything to upset you when you're around okay. “ You look at them as you sigh a bit fiddling with fabric draping from your collar. “ This is only the second time I've been in courtship before. Courtship for succubi is a little more serious than just dating like humans due as matting is permanent for us. Let's just say the last one ended with some oni losing his eye and me spending the next 100 plus years running away from him and what happened. “

Marko tightens his fist in anger not knowing if he should push you further as your mood seems to be souring. They wanted to know you more. Know what brought you pain, what made you you. You had lived a life longer then there's and you know so much but it seems like you're keeping your cards close to your heart. They are staring at you and you know it. You don't want pity, you don't wanna be the victim forever. You just wanted to move on and this courtship was the first huge move you made in a long long time towards finding a sense of normalcy. You had settled in Santa Carla fifty years ago and was just now settled without being hunted down and hassled. You had friends, you had community, and you now were slightly comfortable at trying for love again. This was your opportunity to at least try to get a happy ending and stop living in the past. You sigh slumping back in the seat pushing them away.

“ For starters, thank you for the comfort but I don't wanna be touched when talking about it. I appreciate y'all trying to win me over. I really do. Just I stopped believing in love or any romance after what happened. Once you get your power taken away from you like that. You just never stop feeling powerless. No matter how much you get stronger, run away, or deny what happened.” You pause, taking a deep breath scratching your claws at your neck. Your foot thumps against the ground wondering if you should sour the night like this. Was it really their job to put up with your trauma? It happened ages ago. Why couldn't you just drop it. You hadn't seen that guy in over 60 years. “ Take your time. We are just here to spend time getting to know you. And if this is something you feel like we should know (Y/n) then feel free to let us know. “

Paul's words almost brought tears to your eyes with just how gentle they were treating you. They were strangers to you and they were treating you with such care right now. It was almost a complete contrast to how you had interacted with them before. “ When I was younger me and my cousin would sneak out of the underworld where we lived to explore the human world around the shrine my dads worked at. We eventually made friends with this oni boy who lived in the mountains around the temple. We all three grew up together and he would always tell me I'd be his wife when we were older. Of course I never did take it as seriously as I should have. “ A waiter comes with some water and you order appetizers while you try making it through this hard discussion. But a part of you knew maybe talking about it could help you let go of some of the pain it was causing you.

“ Well when I had my succubi urges finally kick in at eighteen we quickly discovered my hunger was much stronger then what one person could provide. I didn't know how serious he was about me being his wife, or how jealous he could be. When he found out I started feeding at brothels to keep myself alive after pre-saved essence stopped working, let's just say I found out the hard way how obsessed he was. “ This was painful to admit it was like a dam broke inside you. The words were flowing out of you like a nonstop ribbon and the more you tried to stop it the more came out as images of that haunting night flooded your brain. Part of you wished you could blame the two for mind manipulating you to be so open but truthfully it's just because you felt safe in the moment. You let out a laugh trying to stop yourself from breaking as you had no clue why you were being so open but it felt so right.

“ The only reason I got away that night unmarked was because I was able to claw his eye out before he had me completely pinned. These collars aren't full proof, a strong enough person can get through them and that was proven. Everytime he finds where I am without fail he shows up trying to force me to be his. He followed me halfway around all the realms, slaughtered anyone who was even slightly close to me, and has tried everything he can to get his hands on me. The only reason he hasn't succeeded is because I’m fast and constantly evolving to keep up with his endless pursuit.“ You reach in your bra pulling out a hand rolled joint with your red herbs in it gulping in the calming smoke as you could feel your anger bubbling. Trying hard to cope from your information dumping as the boys stair in a mix of sadness and anger. “ So if you wanna do something to avoid triggering me just don't try and fuck with my neck or collar. I'm happy y'all want to go the low and slow route but I think if you ever tried to get my collar off I'd kill you all before I even had a conscious second to think what I was doing. I'm that broken from this nonstop nightmare I've had to endure just because some fucker loved me. Now I don't wanna talk anymore about this depressing shit on our date. I've ruined the night enough. “

You look down at the table as the waiter comes with your food asking if you'd like anything else. You dismiss him stating you're not as hungry as you thought you were, sipping your water as you dare not to look at them. The table is silent as the boys contemplate the information they were given. Brewing in anger at the hard life you must have had just trying to keep away from that bastard. It was no wonder why you were being so push and pull with the group. You were trying to break past that trauma but it seemed like it was easier said than done. Marko takes the straws from him and Paul's drink as he fits them to his fangs. You two look up at the curly blonde only to try and choke back a laugh as Marko stares at you declaring very seriously he was not a vampire but a walrus now.

“ What's wrong (Y/n) can you not love me in my new found Walrus-ness. My fangs can not dare pierce your gorgeous flesh as my tusks are too long. Behold them in their glory. “ The man trys to take a drink of his water but can't get the cup closer to his mouth, choosing to instead try and fail smacking his mouth to it. Your mood lightens as you begin to giggle and chuckle as he keeps attempting to drink with the straws in his mouth insisting he is infact a walrus. “ Hey! That was my straw you jerk. You're getting your spit on it.“ Paul tries reaching across the table to retrieve it from his mates mouth only to have his hands batted away furiously. “ This isn't a straw, these are my tusks! How dare you try to take my walrus pride from me.” Your face turns red from trying to hold in laughter as the two bicker and fight across the table slapping each other's hands away before the straws fall out coated in saliva.

“ Oh no! My tusks!” Marko pouts as Paul scrunches his face at them deciding he doesn't want his straw back after all, trying to wipe Markos spit back on him. This causes you to completely break into a fit of laughter at their attempt to cheer you up. These boys were nothing but dorks after all and had done their best to cheer you up. You fall onto Markos shoulder giggling as you try reaching for the food at the table deciding that tonight's going to be fun no matter the hiccups as long as you were with these two. The pair join in your laughter and you spend the rest of the time in the restaurant enjoying stuffing yourselves full before your next adventure of the night.

When it's finally time for you to pay and leave, Yutaj comes running from the back with a drink for you. “ What is this?” You look down at the mysterious thick pink liquid in the small shot glass as the Yeti woman proudly smiles. She pats your back harshly telling you to drink quickly before it gets cold. Raising an eyebrow but not one to turn down a free drink you down it as the boys watch. “ Tis fertility drink. Must be strong for marriage and child birth. “ You almost choke as the tall woman states this and the boys bust into laughter as your face goes bright red. “ WERE NOT MATES YET! Jesus Yutaj are you trying to ship me off to the wedding bells already! “ The tall woman laughs ruffling your head in her hands. “ God mama, just happy to see tiny one finally smiling again. Good husbands make you smile and laugh for rest of your days. I approve of these two, must bring others for God mamas judgement though. I good sense of character.“

You leave the restaurant with the boys teasing you calling you their tomato faced bride placing kisses to your forehead as you elbow them in the sides making your way to the arcade.  You three spend some time exploring the game floors and looking at all the stuff to do before you start hoping onto machines eagerly. Paul and Marko become extremely competitive at the racing games hurling insults and trying to rile each other up while you keep eyeing the cute stuffed animals in the claw machines behind you. You three start racking up tickets in a huge pile as you play through game floor after game floor enjoying your time filled with competitive banter and light flirting. You show your skills off in pacman, street fighter, and waca-mole. You are able to effortlessly defeat Paul and Markos score while they do better in other games. Marko being way better at frogger, shooting games, and skeeze ball while Paul kicks both your asses in racing games, air hockey, and basketball. 

By the time y'all make it to the prize counter you're holding a pile as tall as you. Paul uses his share to snag a gaming console on the top shelf for the pack to enjoy at home while you use your tickets to try and get things for the others. Marko noticed you had been eyeing all the stuffed animals in the machines but you never stopped to get one for yourself. You hadn't even used your tickets on yourself at the prize counter. So while you and Paul are laughing shoveling your items into your bag of holding talking about how much everyone will enjoy the stuff you got them Marko turns to the biggest stuffed animal he can find.

“ Hey babe what did you get?” Paul says looking up to see a bear that was almost Markos height staring back. It was black with red eyes and had horns and a tail. The only way he knew his mate was behind it was Markos curls just barely sticking out from the top. “Tada! For our tomato bride a big stuffed animal that you can cuddle when we aren't around to help you sleep. “ You stare at the bear and the two blondes as your eyes almost sparkle looking at the big thing. You had eyed it earlier but didn't want to seem childish for wanting soft things. Tears pricked your eyes as your face flushed, emotions hitting you strongly. Without thinking you tackled both the bear and Marko to the ground as you feverishly squeezed the life outta the bear rubbing your face on its softness. When you pulled away your smile was from ear to ear as your tail swayed in excitement.

“ I love it Marko! I’m gonna name him brownie batter and he's gonna go on my bed when I get home. “ Markos stares at your face as his heart flutters in his chest. In this moment it felt like the world stopped and there was nothing but you and him. He swore to himself he would do anything to make you smile like this more often as his gaze softened on you. “ I’m glad you love it sweetheart . You know your face is the most beautiful when you smile like that.” His hand gently scooped against your face as he felt the warmth radiating off from your body. The air between you was electric as your gazes met and before you could think you placed a soft kiss to his lips.

Soft and plump lips pressed gently to glossed ones in a feathery embrace. When you pulled back your brain was light and fuzzy as you felt on cloud nine. Before you could think you were being hosted off the ground by the taller blonde who excitedly peppered both your cheeks with kisses and praise squealing about how cute you and Marko were but he wanted some sugar too. Marko gladly obliged, kissing his mate back with passion as you froze in place. The pair stopped to look at you wondering if maybe this was too much. You shyly scooped Paul's face down to yours as you gently kissed his lips. He let you guide the pace and with a quick soft moment of affection you pulled away before hiding your face in your bear refusing to talk to the either as steam came out your head.

“ I need a drink!” You shouted quickly turning from the pair darting away towards the nearest bar as they gladly skipped behind you allowing you your space to process what happened. When you three did finally find a joint to hit up for some liquor it was a struggle to get your new plush friend tucked away into your skirt pocket. Just as the last of his plush limbs tucked into your skirt your attention was pulled to the crowd at a table cheering with thunderous roars and chants. You three weasel into the crowd staring down at what was going on and at the table sat a dwarf, red oni, and orc. Your heart caught in your chest for a second but relaxed instantly as you knew that wasn’t your one eyed harasser.

“ What are y'all doing?” Paul asks the demon imp next to him who points at the wall where the most breathtaking electric guitar that Paul had ever seen stood hanging. “ There having a drinking contest for that guitar there. It's a one of a kind handcrafted instrument from Lucifer himself. Shit sucks, these three losers probably gonna win it”. Marko made note of Paul's staring instantly, agreeing with his mate how cool the instrument was and deciding if it was a drinking game he'd gladly win to gift his tall man that awesome instrument. “ Is the game free to join in?” The imp looks at him like he's crazy before a wicked smile appears on his face. “ Fuck yeah anyone crazy enough can join!” The crowd cheers as Marko sits down at the table filled with shot glasses stacked in all sorts of manners and succubi and imps bringing out shots on platters.

You finally snap out of it to realize one of your crazy bastards was at the table. You push close to lean down in Markos ear as he makes motions hyping the crowd up while Paul cheers him on as well. “ What do you think your doing!?” You whisper in his ear as the others smirk at him. “ I won you that teddy bear now I'm winning Pauly that guitar.” The blonde smiles at you as the glasses of alcohol are dishes out to opponents. “ Yeah I can tell that. But you do know what this game is and who your opponents are right?” The blonde is still innocently smiling at you as you take that as a definite no. “ They are playing devil's towers. You all have to drink the same alcohol proof level and stack the shot glasses ontop of eachother. Those are the three most alcohol tolerant species known to the realms and you're a cocky vampire.”

Marko quirks an eyebrow at you as he takes a shot of the liquor he was handed, it burns his throat momentarily with a slight sweetness coating his mouth,  he knocks it back quickly before definitely putting the glass on the table before you. “ What's got you worried babe I'll be fine. I drink plenty enough. And besides, the rules seem simple. “ You can feel your annoyance grow as you step back allowing this man to learn his lesson the hard way as you pull Paul in close. “ I bet three shots in and you're carrying the drunk bastard home. I ain't giving no one piggy back rides tonight in these heels.“ Paul rubs your back looking down at you as Marko takes a second shot stacking it, the crowd cheering in response. “ Why's that hun. It looks like he's just shooting back a cloudy liquor, can't be that bad. “ You turn to the table counting down after Markos third shot before both you and Paul hear a loud thump followed by a babbling vampire and the three demonic men laughing at him. 

“ Because that's definitely 200 proof shots he's taking.” Paul's face goes white as he retrieves an extremely drunk Marko who's about to puke as you shake your head in disappointment. “ That's what that sissy vampire gets for trying to drink with us real men. “ The oni chokes out as the other two men laugh with him in agreement. “ Hey sweetheart! Why don't you take a ride on something bigger then a tooth pick tonight. How much you cost for a night anyway whore.” The man reaches to try and fondly your ass as Paul instantly vamps out giving a nasty growl to the men, Marko growling as well through his stupor. You pat their shoulders reminding them they can't start fights here and that it's fine as your spiked tail smacks the drunkard's hand away. Paul softens a bit as he kisses Markos head beginning to walk away as you follow. All of a sudden a shot glass hits the back of Paul's head making you turn with a stare to the table of degenerates.

“ I ment to hit the little succubi slut but hitting the fruit bat there's even better. Running like a bunch of cowards. “ That was the last straw. You could put up with being degraded and treated like nothing but an object. But you'd be damned before you let anyone hurt these men who have done nothing but been nice to you all night and respected your boundaries. “ Actually Paul. You and Marko take a seat. I'm getting you that guitar baby. Mama has some trash to take out first though. “ The crowd cheers as you sit down at the table, a smile with so much ill intent behind it even the gods would be afraid plastered to your face. “Darlin, could you put fruit syrup in my shots? I prefer to actually enjoy my drinks. If you don't mind, are there any limitations to how someone can stack the shot glasses?. “

The imp woman smiles at you as she explains the rules to you. Last one standing with their tower still up and not boozed out wins. If your tower topples, you're out. If you pass out from alcohol or tap out you lose. You puke or get up from the table, you're out. You can use any ability to stack the glasses but you can't glue them in place. The woman smiles as you kindly thank her twisting your neck side to side with a sickening crunch. “ So the fruit bats whore gonna win them their honor back. Can't wait for when you get too drunk to make it home girlie. We will see if your little boy toys can keep you safe. “ The Red Oni smiles at you showing his yellowed teeth with a malicious tint in his eyes as you stop yourself from impaling him right there and then.

As soon as the tray comes out you down three shots right In Front of the men beginning your tower with confidence. “ Oh excuse me should I be going slow for you limp dicked fucks. I know how the senior citizens have a hard time keeping up.” The three growl slamming three shots in quickly behind you as it's changed from a slow paced game to a race to keep up. As the men take shot after shot trying to follow you knocking one after the other you pause to slit your wrist in front of them as blood oozes on the table. “ What the fuck are you doing!” The dwarven man stairs in horror as a giggle escapes your mouth. The blood bubbles and moves before a swarm of leaf cutter ants start to pull themselves out of the rusty pool. You knock back another glass as you pass the shot glass to your writhing black pile. Your little buddies take the glass and gently stack it in a stable position on your tower.

“ Sorry my hands just get so tired from having to stack these glasses. Having my ants do it is so much easier.” The dwarf makes a face at the pile turning away to try and not puke. The orc gets upset waving down the servers in a rush. “ Is this really fucking allowed!? Doesn't that count as someone else stacking the glasses for her!” The imp woman smiles evilly as she places more fruity shots In Front of you. “ Not at all. They obviously came from her blood so they are part of her. Would you like to fold sir? There is no rules against the matter. “ The man gets furious and before he can think his leg bumps the table knocking down his roughly stacked tower. “ Aw what the fuck!?” The bar keepers drag the orc out the bar cussing and fussing, tossing him in the alley like trash. The other two stare at you as you lazily down shot after shot. Making your tower quickly hit fifty. The dwarf keeps trying to avoid staring at the ants as they gingerly stack the glasses in a stable manner.

“ What's the matter? Don't like bugs, dwarven boy?” The man stares at you in horror as you open your mouth, centipedes, beetles, and worms wiggling in a furious frenzy before you slam your teeth down with a sick crunch in front of him. Blood oozing from your mouth in a sloppy display. This causes the man's stomach to flip as he runs from the table trying to make it out before he vomits. Paul is a little freaked from the display as well but impressed with how quickly you are knocking out shots and opponents. Your poker face was strong as you funneled shots down your throat like a conveyor belt. It was the rare occasion you were happy your father had taught you his drunken ways. If this man knew who your father was you were sure the whole bar would shudder at even the utter of his name. Devkar of The Vermillion clan.

In his younger days he traveled the globe bar hopping from country to country; relm to relm drinking whole communities dry while sleeping with any man who was even slightly feminine. Devkar would start fights and leave a wake of destruction wherever he went in his storm of chaos. It honestly surprised everyone he ever settled down and had a kid, let alone with only one partner. You knew your dad's dirty tricks and you were putting them to good use with the abilities he had given you. Your father was a master healer and had learned every healing magic he could get his hands on for one sole purpose. He'd use his ability to continuously heal his liver so he could out drink even gods. You weren't that dedicated as he was but flesh manipulation was your specialty so while it appeared you were drinking the shots you were actually funneling them into a makeshift organic bottle inside your torso right now.

The ants were made when you were mostly sober so they could keep doing their task while you attempted to keep the alcohol from hitting your bloodstream as much as possible. This meant you had to have complete focus on what you were doing as the drunker you got the more difficult it would be to keep this little trick going. “ Your little bug trick ain't gonna work on me little bitch. “ The oni man slurred as he was starting to show effects of being dangerously intoxicated making it difficult for him to stack his glasses in an effective manner. Your plan was working perfectly. You may not be as strong as your opponents but in a war strength wasn't always the winner. You had great knowledge of many different species from working frequently with customers and knowing what could make them break was pushing you in favor of winning.

Orcs were clumsy, big, and easy to anger. Making the orc knock over his tower in an angered state was the easiest way to defeat him. Dwarfs were strong drinkers and huge eaters but none of their cultures recipes ever included bugs instead usually involving meats and cheeses. So You had made a bet that you'd have to get the dwarf to vomit to win against him and you were right. Usually it unnerves non insect based creatures the idea of having live squirming insects in their mouth so your trick worked in flipping his stomach. Now for your last obstacle was the Oni. These fuckers could drink a lot but there was one biological trick to knock them out you learned from your father. Make them drink quicker then their muscles can burn or process out the alcohol and keep them talking so they don't notice before the huge amount of alcohol infused blood slams straight into their brain. This way they wouldn't notice and slow down preventing you from getting them too drunk to continue.

You smirked as you took your 70th shot as the man struggled to keep his eyes focused and hands from shaking as he hurled insults at you. You leaned against your palm making a gun shaped hand jester at the man. “ Bang!” The oni collapsed face first into the shot glasses as the crowd exploded into cheers. You let your ants return to your body as you stood up confidently grabbing the guitar before you looked at the imps and succubi for permission. Obviously this man had been treating them like shit before you got here so while he was passed out you'd do this one thing for your fellow service workers that they probably wanted to do to him all night. You transform your leg into an armored thorned boot as you stand over the collapsed giant.

Paul, Marko and the crowd cheered in joy as you repeatedly slammed your thorned foot into this man's crotch. Blood went everywhere as the crowd went crazy with patriots and staff alike singing praise for the abuse after you dish out sick blow after blow crunching visceral hitting the floor in a wet hot pile. When you finally do decide to stop, the man finally starts groaning in his drunken sleep as you are sure he will never get to reproduce unless he pays someone a pretty penny to fix him up down stairs. Though you are sure he's gonna be black listed from the night market after making enemies with almost everyone in this bar. You hand the boys the guitar and key home as you go use the bathroom to empty the liquor out of your torso as it starts leaking into your bloodstream. Unable to keep it together anymore, once you and the boys make it out of the line of sight of the bar you collapse face first as your body instinctively relaxes. All the liquor hits you at once and now you are too drunk to even stand let alone comprehend the following events.

Paul stares in shock as Marko bursts into a fit of drunken giggling, joining the curly blonde as you talk incoherently in a drunken babble. “ Oh sweethearts. What are we gonna do with you too? Time to get your drunken butts to bed. “ Paul gently smiles as he scoops you up in a piggy back as Marko hooks his hand to Paul's belt loop. The night ends with two giggling demons clinging to each other in a hazy bubble of joy and alcohol as Paul gently guides you into the nest in the cave whispering his praise for you both just as the others get home in time for the drunken chaos to begin.

Else were an abused drunk oni stands before a throne of skulls as his king stares down at him in disgust. Behind the man is your portrait in a golden frame. The drunkard in a fit of rage points to the painting shouting. “ THAT'S THE WHORE WHO DID THIS TO ME! THAT VAMPIRE DICK SUCKING BITCH-” Before the man can even utter another breathe the king crushes his skull in an instant blood and brain matter shooting out as everyone bows in fear before him. “ How dare you defile my bride with your filthy words and presence. You will pay with your life for tainting her light with your existence.“ The man turns to the painting staring at your faded image in a passion. “ Soon my goddess. You've returned to me again.“

Likes, Comment, and reblogged are appreciated.

( Previous Chapter)

( Chapter 6 )

[cityoftheangelllls]

"Wait! Please, wait for me! Isn't it lovely? Do you like it? Do you think it will do?"

I'm really excited to share this commission I got from a friend on Instagram, who requested that I draw Cinderella in a pseudo-historical redesign of her pink homemade ballgown! Cindy's pink dress is my absolute favorite of all her dresses, so I was very passionate about doing this! I borrowed inspiration from a variety of gowns from the mid-Victorian era, mainly the 1850s and 1860s. Although I am certain that Disney's animated Cinderella is set during the early 1870s, Cinderella's mother's dress undoubtedly dates back a couple decades earlier, I'm assuming the 1840s or 1850s, and Cinderella isn't exactly caught up to the fashion trends of the time, so I aimed to make the dress look slightly out of date and have a few eclectic details that make it look more homemade, at the commissioner's suggestion. The commissioner also really likes the bell-skirted, lace-bedecked version of the dress featured in Disney On Ice and the live show "Three Classic Fairy Tales", so I included some elements of that design as well.

[pansy-picnics]

Helloooo I just wanted to say that your trans Varian art is very special and comforting to me <3 it gives me warm soft feelings and it always makes my day thank you very much. The little details you include like what he uses to bind and his family supporting him and also him feeling comfortable enough to take his binder off at the end of the day or around certain people just makes me feel so seen and happy <3 I hope you have a lovely day

AUGHHGJGG THANK YOUUUU you have no IDEA how happy these kinds of comments make me,,,, 🥹🥹🥹🥹 i don’t even really identify my gender myself and im definitely not transmasc but varian is just So violently transgender to me and it doesn’t feel right to not portray him that way. i put a lot of effort into my portrayal of it so when ppl say my art makes them feel seen i literally. scream and cry and throw up /pos

and YES you get it omfg…..the little freak plagues my mind constantly he is SO loved and supported by his family. he’s a very practical guy to me so unless he’s going out for work or has visitors or something he can’t really be bothered to get dressed up or bind. he used to when he first started working in the castle,, but now he feels a lot more comfortable there and if he’s just gonna be hanging around at home he’s not gonna go through all the extra effort. and him feeling safe enough to do that is SO important to me!!!!! it makes me so unbelievably happy that people are able to notice all those details and i’m just so,,, oughggghh

ALSO!! the detail of the binder in particular is actually one of my favorite things i haven’t really gotten a chance to talk about it here…..i’m kind of a history nerd also and although tts doesn’t really have a set time period (and i honestly don’t want it to), i enjoy adding in some historical references here in there cuz i just think it makes the world feel a lot more immersive. but heres a fun fact for you if you want to read:

most modern binders are made up of some kind of nylon or spandex, both of which weren’t invented until around the 1930s or 50s. most people use bandages to portray trans characters in fantasy settings, but bandages by themselves wouldn’t really do much unless they were compressive, and compressive bandages as we know them today also weren’t invented until around WW2. THIS is where corsets come in.

corsets get a rlly bad rep most of the time honestly, because for some reason most people are still convinced they were like. medieval torture devices. and they were used to promote a slim silhouette a lot of the time but so were a LOT of other garments!! corsets alone were undergarments worn on a day to day basis, both by rich and working class women and even by some men in the victorian era. they were just used the same way we wear bras today!! it wasn’t any different!!!

but boned garments like this also had the ability to shape and form the body, and though obviously i can’t confirm anyone was making corset binders in the 1800s people have been able to make modern replicas with similar materials that have almost the exact same effect as a modern chest binder, which tells us that it would’ve been completely possible for someone to hide their chest with a corset like garment AND!! it was quite literally PROVEN to us during the 1920s flapper era!!!

i could go on and on about the flapper era and it’s influence on the general social culture but basically, a LOT of inherent gender roles were being challenged, so women were wearing shorter skirts and haircuts, and women’s fashion trends in general started to take on a much more androgynous silhouette to reflect that. a boxy, more boyish shape was actually strived for and a lot of women with larger chests would wear bodices advertised as “bust reducers” to create this appearance, a lot of which were made with similar materials to corsets of the time!!!

they obviously aren’t exactly the same as a binder we would have today but its shockingly similar i think, and it’s just neat to know that people really have been doing this stuff for centuries :’3

[captainimfangirling]

Lisa Frankenstein Review

Really wanted to see this movie because 1) I love the 80s even though I'm not from the 80s, 2) I'm a fan of Kathryn Newton from Supernatural, and 3) love zombie romance (like Warm Bodies).

Overall I thought the movie was ok. I didn't think it was worth going to the theater for (movie tickets cost so much these days plus I take the bus). I think you should wait until it streams and seems like a lot agree because there was only like 5 people in the theater with me and it just came out few days ago.

Cole Spouse's character is my favorite even though he hardly said anything but he was very expressive. I enjoyed the animation in the beginning of the film telling the story of The Creature. It explains why he did what he did.

Warning: Spoilers

The creature knew what it was like falling in love with someone and for that person to not love them back and fall for someone else. When he saw Taffy's car he knew she and Michael were in a relationship and it as going to hurt Lisa like how his past love hurt him. So he took Michael's d*ck because he thought hey I can use this to make Lisa happy when you can't.

Lisa to be was more confusing than the monster. What was the point of having her mother killed by a psycho murderer? Was it to make her desensitized to seeing someone get killed by the creature? It doesn't make sense to me since it only happened once to her. I think it would've been more interesting if she actually did kill her mother and her reaction to seeing people get killed the creature would've made more sense.

One thing I'm disappointed about is that the trailer makes it seem like Lisa was in love with the Creature during the entire movie but really she was in love with Michael. I feel like she started falling for the Creature when she realized how much he loved her. I mean it would've been ok if it didn't feel very sudden.

Also did anyone think the Creature acted too modern? It's not just about him knowing how to drive but he knew about fashion. He's from the Victorian Era, he would've gotten Lisa to put on something that would've covered her ankles not give her black sexy lace outfit.

I hated her step mother but she was right about Lisa being a selfish person. I mean she did go through something traumatic but still she was very self centered. Like when she got mad at Taffy for sleeping with the boy she had a crush on after everything Taffy did for her. I think Taffy would've fought with her mother about putting Lisa in the mental hospital if given the chance. Also Lisa didn't even realize the Creature was in love with her until the very end when she didn't get the man she wanted. She didn't seem to care when the Creature was cried twice (it was the smell of his tears but still). Also she didn't even notice how better looking the creature was getting after he kept getting electrocuted. If she at least said oh you're looking more handsome maybe I can see it has her falling for him.

The last scene was opened ended. I think the Creature killed someone for a tongue so he can speak to Lisa at her grave. She heard him from beyond the grave and decided to come back when lightening stroke her grave (exactly what happened to the Creature in the beginning). So it's his turn to take care of Lisa like she did for him. Another theory is that the Creature became like a mad scientist stealing Lisa's body to electrocute it to bring her back to him. Either way I think they're gonna keep killing and stealing body parts for Lisa because she's the new bride of Frankenstein.

Like I said it's was a fun movie but wait until it's streaming. It actually gave me Totally Killer (from Amazon Video) vibe because that movie was also set in the 80s. Why are new movies set in the 80s? Times are very hard right now (for a while) and people tend to gravitate towards those times when life was simpler and fun. The 80s does look like a lot of fun with all that color and music.

Will it become a cult classic? I have no idea because I don't get why some movies become a cult classic even though they suck.

[gogandmagog]

On the subject of Gog and Magog.

No, because I’m actually peeing. Look what came today. Live from 1880, a non-reproduction original set of… well, Gog and Magog’s.

Some (most? many?) AoGG book readers will remember Gog and Magog, two of my especial favorite (okay, obviously) characters (and they are characters) from the series, first appearing in Anne of the Island.

“(…) and just behind each sat a large white china dog, with round green spots all over it, a green nose and green ears.”

—Anne of the Island, by LM Montgomery

Anne regards them as the ‘twin deities of Patty’s Place,’ and Miss Patty Spofford mentions in the retelling of their history that they are over 100 years old. Anne takes such a fancy to them that Miss Patty eventually parts with Gog and Magog, and gives them to Anne as a wedding gift. (Let’s remember here one of Ms Patty’s most iconic lines, “We send you our best wishes. Maria and I have never married, but we have no objection to other people doing so.”) Thereafter they haunt the House of Dreams mantle, and make dozens of appearances throughout the series. Anne speaks to them like they’re living creatures when she’s alone, Captain Jim calls them the “cutest little cusses” and bows goodnight, and Leslie, in her hours of discontent, fantasizes about ‘banging their noses together.’

Gog and Magog are Staffordshire dogs that were wildly popular in the Victorian era (the first pair were fashioned after Queen Victoria’s beloved spaniels), amongst the upper middle class, as both window and mantle decorations. They come in a variety of colors and sizes, there’s literally a Staffordshire set for all tastes. The spicier girlies that put theirs in their home windows would even change the dogs’ positions to indicate to their sneaky links that their husband wasn’t at home.

Gog and Magog were also impossibly dear and nostalgic to the author L.M. Montgomery. Her grandfather owned the original Gog and Magog (LMM was “enthralled” with them as a child), and Montgomery’s father often made up stories about them to amuse her. The most frequent legend had it that Gog and Magog came alive at the stroke of midnight, and that they’d jump down from the mantle and run the room. Having always “hankered to possess a similar pair,” on her honeymoon in England (where the dogs all originate), Montgomery sought a pair of green spotted dogs, like those her family had owned; she wrote in her journal that “the race of dogs with green spots seems to have become extinct,” (I had Google, so my efforts were all the easier) so she ‘settled’ for white and gold pair, as pictured below.

These two of Montgomery’s are now housed at the University of Guelph, in the Archival & Special Collections Department. They are on display! The original gangster Gog of Montgomery’s childhood met an accident long ago and is no longer with us, but the original Magog is still owned by Montgomery descendants.

“You will not have forgotten that Gog looks to the right and Magog to the left.”

—Anne’s House of Dreams, by LM Montgomery

[kindred-sims]

Tag Game for Historical Simblrs!

Thank you to the delightful @antiquatedplumbobs for tagging me! 💕

--

1. What has been your favorite time period to play in or which one are you most excited for?

From my own personal gameplay I did a while back, I really enjoyed the 1920s! I adore the fashion and music of that time period so that's always a fun one for me. For the Wakefields, I'm also equally as excited to do the 20s again, as well as the 1960s since I may or may not have a storyline in mind for it already (even if may be very far away, but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead). 👀

2. Do you have a favorite piece of historical cc? (CAS or BB)

Anything by @gilded-ghosts, particularly the Victorian Visions set. I absolutely adore Victorian era fashions and it just really scratches that particular itch for me so well.

3. Who is your favorite sim currently?

My lovely Josephine of course! Carrie as well, though, she may not be the heir for the 1900s (spoiler alert, sorry), but I do have quite a lot planned for her story that I'm very excited to explore.

4. What is your favorite world?

At the moment, its tied between Henford-on-Bagley and Brindleton Bay, though Windenburg is certainly a close contender. All three just really have the right feel for historical gameplay and I find myself coming back to them the most.

5. Are you more gameplay or story focused?

I try to keep a good balance of both, I'd say. Sometimes I try to plan a whole story ahead of time, but that doesn't usually work so well when the game decides it has other plans. So I mostly just try to work around it whenever that happens, but I don't mind! It gives me the chance to get creative and I always love having that chance.

6. Do you like to play with pets in your historical saves?

Yes! I make it a policy to try and give each generation their own pet(s), I feel like its only fair.

7. What’s your biggest immersion breaking pet peeve with the game?

I would say the sims constantly whipping their phones out, but thankfully I have mods to take care of that. The randomly generated townies, however, drive me nuts! I can't even begin to say how annoying it is when I'm trying to stage a scene in a public area and some pink-haired sim with a weird name walks by in the background, I truly cannot stand it.

8. What’s your favorite in-game historical item? (CAS or BB)

The cross-stitching kit that came with Cottage Living, if that counts! I actually got so happy when I saw that included with the gameplay, and I was obsessed with making my sims constantly use it. I just think its a cute little hobby for them to do and it really adds to the authenticity of the time period for me.

9. What would you like to see as a new pack or asset to the game?

Oh gosh, a horse ranch pack would actually be tons of fun, although I'm not sure what purpose horses would serve in a game that isn't open-world. I just think they'd be neat to have is all. A Victorian-themed pack would also be nice as well!

10. What pack do you think is invaluable as a historical simmer?

Cottage Living, for sure! That is, if you're starting off with/plan on doing a farm at any point. I purposefully waited for that one to come out before I even attempted my first decades challenge.

11. Do you have a favorite mod to enhance historical gameplay?

The Timeless mod by @pandorasimbox is always a good one, it definitely adds to the overall immersion for me!

12. What’s your ideal family size for playing?

However many sims I can handle at the time. I know realistically my households would be a lot bigger, but I also have my limits, you know? The most I'll probably do is six, but again, it really depends.

13. Do you use poses?

Only when I really have to! If I know a scene is going to be story-heavy, then I try to incorporate as many poses as possible, but other times I mostly just tend to stick to gameplay since admittedly, posing can get incredibly tedious at times.

14. Do you use any overrides in your game?

Too many to count! I don't know what I'd do without them, honestly.

15. Do you, or did you, play off-the-grid during your game?

I try to play off the grid up to a point, but it gets annoying sometimes when my sims are constantly forced to eat mushroom soup for the hundredth time or when I have to put a million candles just to see inside of the house. I'm at the point where I may just end up removing that lot trait, but we'll see.

16. What lifespan do you play on?

A slightly-modified normal! Since I'm usually playing a legacy, I try to keep things moving at a steady pace, though I'll admit I've gone back and forth between normal and long multiple times if I'm wanting to take my time with a particular storyline.

17. What inspired you to start playing a historically?

I think a lot of it mainly comes from my love of historical fiction. I was a wee bit of a history nerd growing up (still am, otherwise we wouldn't be here), was obsessed with American Girl novels, the Dear America books, you name it I read it. I also visited a lot of historical museums and battlegrounds and read a lot of biographical stories about important figures in history, as well as consuming historical themed movies and TV shows too (The 1970s adaptation of Little House on the Prairie in particular is one of my favorites). Although I don't think it ever occurred to me to try a historical gameplay until I discovered the decades challenge, and after reading a few of them I decided it was something I'd really love to do for myself. Eventually I'd love to branch out and do more historical themed stories and gameplay, but for now, I'm enjoying the Wakefields and what I have in store for them!

--

As far as tagging goes, I'm leaving this open to anyone else who might like to do this! ❤️

[mygreenknittedsweater]

my favorite genre is black and white movies (silent or talkies) set in the early victorian / romantic era

the high contrast makeup! the eyebrows! the drama!

how a lack of proper information possibly due to them not being able to research so widely as we can today led to them being very revealing in exactly what things they thought wouldn't stand out as anachronistic and therefore the things they thought would stand the test of time! I can tell that Scrooges fiancé in the 1951 b&w film is wearing like. a cone bra type thing under her 1840s dress and I can spot it within seconds of her coming on screen, but there's something about every century thinking that their customs and fashions are the natural ones

[porcelain-rob0t]

what are your top 20 fashion history facts

aw yesss i love this question

let's go 20 fashion history facts. most of my knowledge is primarily from western countries and 19th-20th century, just as a little disclaimer. also this is stream of consciousness infodump so you can fact check and tell me if i got stuff wrong. some may be well known, others more obscure, im just happy to talk

in the 1940s, a lot of traditional beauty products were in short supply bc of the war and rations, so people had to get creative. one example is that fabric was being rationed so shorter simpler dresses and less hats. thats why the 1940s is known for all the really elaborate hairstyles.

a lot of things that we call corsets aren't actually corsets. if it's before the 19th century, support garments were called stays. also corsets weren't evil torture devices, they're just like bras that distribute the weight of the bust through the abdomen rather than the shoulders. they were only dangerous when worn incorrectly or ill-fittingly, kinda like wearing the wrong bra size.

bellbottom pants had their roots in older navy uniforms. the idea is that if you go overboard, you can tie off the ends of your pants to be used as floatation devices. my grandfather was in the navy and during my 70s fashion era, he told me that cool little fact.

a lot of makeup throughout the ages was made using what you had available. one of my favorite examples is carmine, a red pigment that was used in rouge, lip products, and blush. carmine is made from bugs!! isnt that cool?

pretty much everything that has ever trended has trended before, we call this nostalgia cycles, usually it's every 30 years but it can be as short as 10 years. for example, the 2010s was interested in replicating some 80s aesthetics, the same way we're seeing that with the 2000s now.

my favorite fashion subcultures in recent history is the mod look from the early-mid 1960s. it was built around rebelling from the restriction of 50s. this came from less structured dresses, shorter skirts, bright colors, and expressive eye makeup. if you think about it, the mod look is kind of a 30-40 year nostalgia cycle with the flapper movement of the 1920s.

speaking of subcultures, theyre all started by marginalized people working with what they have. prime examples are the punk and grunge movement being very proletariat in origin, most of the fashion staples are what people could get secondhand/cheap. this is your reminder that you dont need to buy from "punk" brands to dress punk, work with what you got! have fun, get creative, tear shit up, upcycle it, decorate how you want, add pins and stuff!!! :D

tight-laced corsets were not common during the Victorian/Edwardian. in the photos of women with seemingly tiny waists, those were often created with padding the bust and hips. photo editing also existed, it's always been there, it was usually painting in parts of the photo. setting the subject up in front of a dark background, using lots of contrast, and then you can use a bit of black paint on the photograph to make the waist smaller.

Christian Dior was the guy who popularized fake pockets in women's pants, so if hell is real and i end up there, i will hunt him down.

in the late 19th-early 20th century, models were called "living mannequins"

i only have 10 so far but expect a part 2

[see-arcane]

I can't find it on your header do you have a # for your fics?

Most of my fics and things connected to stuff I've written/am writing will be under the tag #my writing, though it's a bit jumbled.

Recently I kind of accidentally churned out a trilogy of AU novellas based on @mayhemchicken-artblog's upcoming collaborative comic, The League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk, involving assorted Victorian era public domain characters fighting evil in grand fashion. My fics aren't within that exact canon, but sort of a bootleg neighborhood--one in which Jonathan Harker meets a number of trials and torments of increasing weirdness. That tag in my blog is "The Adventures of Jonathan Harker and the Strange Old Men," which leads you here.

I also have an Ao3 account under DribbledScribbles, which you can find here. But because I'm paranoid and want to decrease the chances of AI writing programs combing my stuff for content, I've set them all to private, so they're only accessible if you're an Ao3 user. (Not necessarily a writer! Just someone with an account.)

Also, for anything related to Barking Harker, the Dracula sequel AU novel I foolishly started last year thinking it would be another fanfic until I discovered I was several hundred pages in too deep, the tag is just #barking harker. Take a gander if you like the idea of a full-on monster man Jonathan Harker forced to make a very unpleasant return to Castle Dracula alongside even worse Horrors (c) for our favorite white-haired Victorian anime man to endure.

[captaingondor]

8, 22-24, 31, and 38 for the DND Ask Meme, please?

Thanks for the ask! I'll be telling you about Essie, my warforged order cleric who's part of the mob in a Victorian-inspired dystopian city that's the center of am interplanar empire

8. How decisive is your PC?

If she is able to easily fit a situation into her straightforward and orderly worldview, she can make decisions quickly and easily. Unfortunately things are often more complicated than that. But when she makes a decision she definitely commits.

22. What is your PC’s #1 personality strength?

I think her ability to work with other people. She's definitely a support character in combat, but that's reflected out of combat too - she doesn't need to be flashy or in charge, she can recognize what even people very different from her bring to the table, she wants to see a system that can support everyone rather than just a privileged few

23. What is your PC’s #1 personality flaw?

Willingness/ability to self-justify less than moral actions if she can convince herself it's what's best for Domine's plan. And she's not the most in touch with her emotions so when she does feel something strongly she usually just interprets that as being Objectively Right.

24. If your PC found a book that detailed their whole life, from birth to whatever death they’ll have, would they read it and why?

She would read the first part, if it detailed what she did before becoming fully "awake," since she doesn't really remember that very well. She doesn't really want to know the future, though, she trusts that Domine (her goddess) will work things out. Unless of course she had reason to believe this book was a message from Domine.

31. What’s your favorite part of playing your PC?

I love playing lawful neutral characters because it's fun to play characters that are guided by some specific structure that might make them prioritize things in a different sort of way. With Essie specifically I really love the way her worldview interacts with the other party members, but especially the other warforged member who's a chaotic ecoterrorist barbarian. Essie frequently insists, without malice but with complete certainty, that this other robot is simply Not Right.

38. How did you choose your PC’s name?

Because of the Victorian-inspired setting, I wanted to pick an old fashioned nicknamey kind of name (-ie nicknames were pretty common/popular in the era.) The idea being it was an affectionate name given to her by the nun she was with for a time before she "woke up."

[orlissa]

June Reading Summary

I almost forgot about this!

June was a really good month for me reading wise: I finished 6 books (okay, I have a couple of pages left from the sixth one, but let’s say I have finished it), and most of them were *chef’s kiss*

With these I’m at 34 books read (without the double reads), which is not bad at halftime when my goal is 50

But let’s see what we have:

Laura Wood: The Agency for Scandal One of the best YA books I have ever read, no joking. I flew through the 500 pages long book in a single day. Late Victorian Era! All-women’s detective agency helping out women! Mystery! Political intrigue! Romance! Humor! An optimistic heroine! Honestly, I just loved the whole of it. This book deserves a whole lot of hype.

Laura Wood: A Single Thread of Moonlight So this one actually takes place in the same universe as The Agency for Scandal, and is set after it (TAfS is set in 1897, this one in 1899), but this one was published first. It’s basically Count of Monte Cristo meets Cinderella - our heroine ran away from home seven years ago, fearing for her life, and now she returns under an alias to prove that her stepmother murdered her father. There is also romance. I’ll be honest: I really enjoyed this one, but not as much as The Agency for Scandal.

Alyssa Palombo: The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel So... I think we, as an audience, have been spoiled? We hear the name Katrina Van Tassel, and immediatelly think of the Tim Burton Version or the Sleepy Hollow series version, which are steeped in dark magic and intrigue and power... and we forget the original KVT. This book doesn’t -- it’s actually way closer to the Washington Irving story than any other adaptations. And in itself it wasn’t bad -- it was a solid book -- it’s just with this title you expect more of a Sleepy Hollow series vibe. Instead the first part is a romance, with Katrina and Ichabod suffering in a very romantic fashion because they cannot be together due to their difference in station, then that fateful Halloween happens, and Katrina spends the remainder of the book trying to figure out what happened to Ichabod. Once again: go in expecting a kinda period-accurate romance, not a tale of dark magic, and you’ll have a fun time.

Bonnie Garmus: Lessons in Chemistry Masterclass in writing, honestly. I either stop here, or write a full essay, so I’m just gonna stop here.

Katharine McGee: American Royals It has a very interesting premise: what if America became a kingdom instead of a democracy, and since they did not show example, most monarchies around the world remained to this day? The book follows 4 POV characters, the heir apparent/crown princess, her younger sister, and two girls, a “girl next door” and a ruthless social climber, both competing for the attentions of the thrid royal child, the sole prince, all amidst modern media attention. I actually really enjoyed this book, I think the author handled the theme and the situations really well, although it felt like four POV were a little too much for a book of this lenght. And also, all the time I just wanted to see a whole damn history textbook of this alternative timeline :D

Livia Blackburn: Feather and Flame Some time ago I translated a Disney Beauty and the Beast novel, the first book in an anthlogy series, which deals with princesses becoming rules. This one belongs to the same series, and focuses on Mulan. Mulan is, without question, my favorite Disney princess, so I went in with high hopes. They disappeared by like page 50. There are like three stages of reading this book: Stage 1: There is no Mushu. No Yao. No Ling. No Chien-Po. This is a travesty. Dishonor on you, dishonor... Stage 2: Mulan arrives at the imperial city, the emperor names her his heir, then dies, and Mulan becomes Empress. She deals with insecurities and slimy minister and the prospect that she can never be with Shang properly. This bit is pretty good. Stage 3: Mulan is forcibly removed from the imperial city, and you facepalm every other page because she keeps doing Dumb Stuff. Also instead of dealing with the political intrigue, we go into another war situation with the Huns, which is just maddening, because 1, it’s pointless bloodshed 2, we have already dealt with war in the movie 3, you will never do a better representation of the terrors of war than Mulan’s company finding the burned down village. Never.