#tw: prostitution

[shelfperson]

while i see where some if it comes from, i feel like way more people took “as a former sex slave, armand is disgusted by teenage daniel’s sexual behavior” from the torture scene and not “daniel has been prostituting himself for drugs presumably for years, and armand both relates to and is repulsed by daniel as a form of projection” and i think that’s extremely fascinating.

like it’s a very consistent vampire trait that they only really get up in arms about social issues that affected them in their mortal life, and even then only when it would directly affect them now. i.e, claudia and louis being aware of and condemning racism but not really caring about european nazism despite very real parallels.

and there is. a big difference. between the ultimately consensual gross misogyny of the paper bag incident and armand being sold to a brothel as a child, then kept as a rich man’s catamite experiencing regular sexual assult.

AND armand is a man who does not experience that kind of day-to-day indignity. those are completely separate circumstances and armand doesn’t give any reaction to the memory aside from what it means for daniel. in fact, that remark has very little to do with how armand feels and everything to do with daniel’s lifelong feelings of guilt for constantly being a fucking asshole.

and the vampire armand, specifically, is not a creature prone to sympathizing with people who share his struggles anyway. especially not strangers he doesn’t know. look at the way he treats claudia, specifically. she’s in a spot similar to him, both growing up and now. constantly robbed of agency, both infantilized and adultified depending on what’s convenient, and in the books of course they’re both child vampires. and he doesn’t offer her any compassion whatsoever because he’s the type of person to take his suffering out on others and reenact his trauma with himself in marius’s place.

like mr. i-constantly-mind-control-my-lover, duchess of unsafe bdsm practices, is not offended by daniel’s understanding (or lack thereof) of power dynamics or safe and respectful sex. he’s throwing the boy across the kitchen because he doesn’t understand what makes danny special when, despite all similarities, he himself is not.

edit: i went into a whole rant in the reblogs about the importance of sexuality and sexual autonomy and sexual perversion as a theme in this show if any one interested

[strscrossed]

introducing — the victorian serial killer au!

tw: murder, graphic descriptions of said murders, and prostitution

this will deal with some pretty dark topics and I have put the triggers above.

the gist of it

mikasa is a prostitute, working at one of the higher end brothels. one day a strange but handsome young man comes along and starts demanding her nights. very rarely does he request sex, most nights he just wants to lay with her, let his heart bleed out in front of her, and feel her warmth. at first he’s just another client, until he becomes a fixture in her nights. he cares for her, so he claims. and her heart melts at the sweet little promises he whispers to her in the dark.

all this as a killer starts prowling the street, leaving prostitutes dead and dismembered. Eren promises mikasa that nothing will happen to her. he promises. whatever that means.

the leads

eren: the son of a well off doctor and belongs to a respectable family in the upper echelons of society. however there is a dark secret about his family — his mother was a former prostitute and she was eren’s whole world until she died. and when he uncovers why, it unlocks a very dark side of him. a loner by nature, he keeps his truth well-guarded secret and no one suspects him. he starts prowling the red light district when he catches sight of mikasa, a prostitute at a high end brothel and she becomes the only exception to his twisted thrill. he starts visiting her almost every night after killing.

mikasa: a fairly popular prostitute at a high-end brothel. a quiet, shy girl by nature, she keeps mostly to herself. she knows how to fake a smile and play a man. her life story is fairly tragic one, having lost her parents young, growing up in an orphanage, and then selling her body to put food on the table. it’s become mechanical to her. until one dr. eren jaeger shows up in her life and makes her cold world just a little warmer, just a little more beautiful. but, something isn’t right about him, and she can’t place her finger on it…

[cometomecosette]

"Les Misérables" musical character interpretations: Fantine

As usual, these three characterizations are all based on performances I've seen, either in person or filmed. They can also be, and often are, combined with each other to create still more characterizations. For example, Anne Hathaway's Oscar-winning Fantine in the film version is basically "the Ingénue," but with a distinct undertone of "the Fighter." And none of them are precisely Hugo's Fantine. I'd say that they all represent aspects of the character as Hugo wrote her, and that the ideal Fantine would blend all three of them, as the occasional actress does.

I'd like to thank @quarryquest for sending me the Fantine chapter of her book on the stage history of Les Mis just as I was in the middle of writing this. It provided excellent insights.

The Lady

         This Fantine, in the words of Victor Hugo, displays “a serious and almost austere dignity.” At the beginning, her dress and hair are as neat, clean, and pretty as factory work allows, and her bearing is strikingly graceful and refined. She clearly once knew a better, more elegant life before her lover abandoned her. This sets her apart from the rough, uneducated factory folk who surround her, and at first, she might seem slightly cold and haughty in her distance from them, which no doubt contributes to how quickly they turn on her. But “I Dreamed a Dream” earns all our sympathy as she sings of her lost happiness, while in “Lovely Ladies” she moves us further by slowly sacrificing all her elegance for her daughter. Yet she never loses her core of pride and dignity. While this Fantine has as much raw anguish as any other, she tries to hide it from her oppressors under a brave face. Though she might reach the verge of tears several times, she’ll rarely let herself cry. When the moment of selling her body arrives, she’ll swallow her grief and fear with the drink she’s given, and offer a firm, resolute hand to her first customer. Her “Come on, captain…” is sultry, but not drunk or grotesque; instead, her hard, cold tone evokes Hugo’s description of the fallen Fantine as having “turned to marble.” Her rejection of Bamatabois will be calm and businesslike until he turns violent, and when “Monsieur Madeleine” approaches her, she’ll express her anger with head held high, making it clear that she sees him as no better than herself. This Fantine is a gemstone that’s thrown into the mud of the streets, but never breaks.

The Ingénue

         This is a warmer, softer Fantine than the Lady, and whether the actress is twenty-five or forty, she’ll probably seem younger too. This characterization keeps in mind that Fantine’s name means “childlike” and that her “tragic flaw” in her past was her naïveté. Despite being an abandoned mother, she hasn’t entirely lost that naïveté at first. Her air of gentle innocence is what sets her apart from the other, more worldly factory folk, and throughout the factory scene she’ll be frightened and brutally shocked by the cruelty she faces. Then “I Dreamed a Dream” will overflow with anguish, and likely with tears too. With just cause, this Fantine is more prone to tears than any other. More than the loss of her dignity, the tragedy of “Lovely Ladies” is the loss of her innocence, which dies once and for all when she accepts her first prostitution client, crying or trembling with fear as she does so. What comes next will depend on whether the director thinks the “Old men, young men…” verse contains a time skip or not. If not, then this Fantine will be awkward and nervous on “Come on, captain…” still all too new to her profession. But if so, then she’ll reenter heartbreakingly transformed: staggering drunk, crudely flaunting her body, utterly disheveled and broken. Either way, she rejects Bamatabois out of rash fear, then claws at his face in rash, animalistic rage. Abuse and misery reduce this vulnerable young woman to behaving like a cornered stray dog or cat. Yet through it all, there’s never a doubt that her heart remains pure and tender, because everything she endures is for the sake of her little girl.

The Fighter

           This is the grittiest Fantine. Her portrayal reminds us that Hugo’s Fantine was an orphan who grew up on the streets and that he describes her as having “fierce courage.” This is a passionate, determined woman who boldly stands up to her oppressors and who battles all obstacles to provide for her daughter. Like the Lady, she values and defends her dignity, but hers is a stolid, down-to-earth working-class dignity, not aristocratic grace. In “At the End of the Day,” she’ll protect her letter from the Factory Girl with the fierceness of a mother bear, and her self-defense to the Foreman will be firm and simmering with frustration. Her “I Dreamed a Dream” will also be angry as well as anguished and yearning, and in “Lovely Ladies,” the chief tragedy will be that despite her valiant efforts to stay “above the water,” poverty pulls her under anyway. Her prostitution sequence may or may not be drunken, but it will most definitely be hard, brash, and filled with biting rage. In her bitterness, this fallen Fantine will recall Jean Valjean as a convict before the Bishop’s mercy, and when she confronts him about her firing, she’ll stop just short of attacking him. None of this means she lacks vulnerability or deep, heartbreaking sadness; like any Fantine, she has them in spades. But the way she combines them with strength and anger make her a more complex figure than other Fantines, and arguably, it makes the gentleness of her deathbed scene especially poignant. There, for the first time, we fully see the motherly tenderness that lies beneath her fire, and which has motivated her struggles all along.

More comparisons to come!

[cosmicjoke]

Do you think Kuchel was raped by her clients?

Hi there,

Yes, I would consider what Kuchel went through to be rape. She was forced into these sexual encounters and into sex work through desperation and lack of options. She wasn't having sex with these men because she chose to or because she wanted to, but because she had no other choice, being driven Underground by the persecution facing the Ackermans from the royal family, cut off from any other recourse or aid. I think it's pretty clear, given hers and Levi's destitute and impoverished circumstances, that Kuchel wasn't a prostitute through choice. She wasn't making bank doing that kind of work. She wasn't treated well, or taken care of by the men who ran the brothel she worked at. She was only there because she'd been cut off from any other means of survival, and it's pretty clear to me she was prayed on by sex traffickers as a result, undoubtedly roped into that life and then trapped there, and so I would absolutely define what she went through as rape, yes.

[darkosomatsuconfessions]

They should become prostitutes. They would have both sex and a job. Well, anal sex with weird old men but that still counts

.

[the-delightful-temptation]

//Valentino was the son of a Cartel boss. Very religious family who constantly beat him once they knew he was bisexual. He wanted to be an actor but his father forced him into the cartel business, and so he did, with promises that if he wasn’t useful and profiting he would be deserted.

He run the sex business, selling and buying prostitutes for his faction. But one day he was kidnapped by a rival of his father. Instead of saving him, his father allowed him to die. He got caught, so he no longer was useful.

One of the cartel ways to kill is to cut the eyes and tongue of the victim so they don’t snitch in the afterlife, this is why Valentino doesn’t see well and constantly drools, having a long and slithery tongue in his afterlife. 

[rosalind-hawkins]

Rock Bottom: Season Zero, Chapter Nine

Excerpt: the first meeting between Seto and Noah Kaiba

~~~~~~~~~~

Once Seto'd gotten dressed, he'd pocketed the money and entered the elevator to go back to the ground floor and finally head home for the night. He was about a third of the way down when the elevator stopped, and Seto started. The doors opened, and he was faced with a teen who looked like he could be Seto's twin, even though his hair had been dyed a vibrant neon green.

He had the same lanky form as Seto, same height, same proportions. Even their eyes were the same piercing shade of sapphire blue. The other smirked as he stepped inside the elevator and pushed the button to take him to Gozaburo's office. The doors closed as they stood side by side and the carriage continued its descent.

"So you're my father's little whore."

The smooth voice, the mocking tone, the arrogant attitude, his own physical pain: it was more than enough to make Seto snap.

Seto turned on the other teen, catching him in the jaw with a closed fist. The other looked surprised as he was knocked into the wall of the elevator, as if he wasn't used to physical retaliation. Seto turned to face the elevator doors again, feeling smug.

"You're no better than me, moneybags."

[awkwardwhims]

Whimsy Legacy Expanded - Ali's Backstory

TRIGGER WARNING: Ali's backstory is a series of flashbacks which involve some triggering topics such as teen pregnancy, drug use, sexual abuse/acts, death, etc. Please don't read if you think these topics may be triggering to you. I tried my best to keep the scenes modest; but the scenes are obvious with what happens.

Transcript "I ended up on the streets, just trying to survive. Ended up getting into some trouble with drugs & soliciting myself…"

[aceroxluz]

( ANA DE ARMAS . CISFEMALE . SHE/HER ) - the chicago resident , ( LUISA ‘LUZ’ ACERO ) , was heard blaring ( IGUAL QUE UN ÁNGEL / KALI UCHIS ) this morning . the ( THIRTY-TWO ) year old is ( UNEMPLOYED ) in the city & has lived the ( EAST ) tower for ( ONE YEAR ) . since being here , they have been told to be ( - SARCASTIC ) , but also ( + FLIRTY ) , i guess we’ll find out soon !

Luisa had no illusions about her life. Born in a small home in Santa Clara, her father was a dishwasher and her mother was a maid both at the same swanky hotel for tourists, both hardworking and trying their best, trying to make something of themselves as best they could. Luz realized at a young age though that, no matter how hard they worked, it never really mattered. Nothing they owned was really theirs. Sure they had a place to live, had food, had possessions, but…at the end of the day, all that could be taken away by the snap of fingers if the hotel owner (or some snooty guest) wanted to cause problems. They lived their life tiptoeing by.

Luz wanted more than that for herself. She wanted more than cooking and cleaning and being at someone else's beck and call. So when she found ways to do that...she jumped at it, morals be damned.

Luisa was barely sixteen the first time she not only slept with someone, but was paid for it too. Her virginity for enough money to buy extra food for them for a week? Easy deal. And then she kept at it, covertly sleeping with men (and women on occasion) in exchange for food and money. She soon caught the attention of higher up hotel guests too, and while they could use her as they wanted for a pretty penny, she started coercing them into giving her more. Eventually, along with food and money, she could sometimes get gifts. Clothes and jewelry, makeup. Anything she could want until she was old enough to have an actual job. She doubled down on her beliefs then. She didn’t want to be a maid. Or a waitress. Or anything like that. She was good at sleeping with people…good at being a good time. So she ran with it, all covertly under her parents' nose.

For years it went on like that, with Luz earning enough money from her clientele that she not only got her parents a better place to live, but she got them out of their jobs altogether. And when she was twenty-five, she earned a best gift of all: a way off the island. The US had always been the dream after all, a goal that never quite seemed attainable--until now.

Her mother had a cousin in Miami that took them in once they arrived, and with her parents squared away, Luz decided to do life on her own now, heading north to New York (she'd had a few hotel guests always inviting her to the city after all, promising her more money and jewels if she ever took them up on it). And for years, Luz did just that, happily hanging off the arm of some well-off man, wearing pretty dresses and expensive jewels in exchange for, well, not a whole lot of effort on her part. Finally last year though, she decided a change of scenery was in order and headed off to Chicago, an old client telling her she'd have fun there- which she definitely has. And while she still has some clients here and there looking for more of the high end escort type, she's found an equally-fun way of getting cash quick in ways of being a cam girl. Her Onlyfans is not only premium content, but an easy way to connect with clients old and new--all from the comforts of her bedroom.

And sure Luz would one day like to actually have someone want her for her and not just her body, she'd like to maybe even one day get a real job, but until then, she could at least make sure she was financially secured so she'd never, ever, have to struggle in the ways her parents did.

[bearsinpotatosacks]

Did anyone want a heartbreaking flashback from my Noir AU? Because I have one. For context, they're in their early-20s, Richie's just been assaulted by someone outside the club, Mikey's comforting him when the truth comes out

I'm going to tag @scenedenial and @pajamasecrets because you two are powering my inspiration for this AU

[roppongi-division]

"The question isn't who's going to let me, it's who's going to stop me."

Timeline

Age 0:

She is born to her mother and an unknown man in San Antonio, TX.

Her father abandons her and her mom after finding out Mireya isn't his daughter.

Her mother begins dating another man.

Age 2:

The man she thought was her father leaves the family for some reason.

Another man takes his place as his mother begins dating him.

Age 3:

Her mother begins putting her in child beauty pageants.

She is told how to stand, how to walk, how to sound, etc.

Though she doesn't win most of them, her name gets out there as a beautiful young child.

Age 4:

She soon becomes something of a child model, starring in commercials and magazine covers.

Age 9:

After her mom changes boyfriends for the umpth time, she finally decides to ask who her father is.

Her mother refuses to answer, stating that she doesn't want to talk about him.

She also tells Mireya not to ask about him again.

Age 13:

She starts entering teen beauty pageants.

She views it as the same thing as when she was younger; she is sick of it.

She dreams of being a professional actress.

Age 14:

She starts high school.

She isn't allowed to make friends or hang out with boys, per her mother's instruction.

She finds this to be hypocritical of her considering she changes boyfriends all the time.

Her school is hosting a school dance. She asks her mom for permission to go. She says 'no', unsurprisingly.

Upset, Mireya sneaks out to go anyway. For the first time in a long time, she has fun.

She fights with her mother upon her return home, calling her a hypocrite.

Age 15:

Her body begins to mature, meaning she gets a lot of attention from guys.

Age 17:

She graduates high school.

She considers going to college to studying acting; her mother thinks it is a waste of time and money.

Age 21:

Despite pressure from pageants and her mother, she manages to graduate with a bachelor's in acting and theatre.

She decides to leave San Antonio to go to L.A. to pursue an acting career.

She and her mother have one last fight when her mother tries to stop her.

She states she's sick of the pageants, the pressure, and her mom trying to live her life through her because she made mistakes.

She runs off with the money she made from the pageants and heads for the west coast.

Unfortunately, the money she makes is quickly used up because her mother has blocked her credit cards.

She is forced to stop in Las Vegas and find work until she can get some money in her pocket again.

She gets hired at a bar as a bargirl.

The mistress in charge teaches her the ins and outs of bartending, dancing on stage and flirting with customers.

Mireya takes to it quickly.

One of the girls, who has a Middle Eastern theme going, teaches Mireya how to belly dance, which she loves.

Age 22:

While working in one of the bars one day, she is told that a new DJ is coming to help with one of the shows.

She doesn't really pay him any mind until she locks eyes with him. He calls himself 'DJ Veenyle'.

He asks her out on a date after the show. Mireya happily accepts. He introduces himself as 'Kai Quinlan'.

The two spend several days together, enjoying each other's company.

Sadly, Kai has to leave, and the two bid each other farewell, hoping that they'll see each other again.

Age 23:

After saving up some money, she decides to leave the bar and continue to L.A.

She arrives in the city and is pointed to a nearby movie studio.

Unfortunately, it is just an indie studio that produces B-rated films.

She searches for another movie studio that is further away, but can help get her career started.

Unfortunately, the movie makes adult films and, unknown to her, is secretly owned by the mob.

The mob gets her hooked on heroin to make her more compliant.

She is basically used as nothing more than a prostitute.

Age 24:

She is, surprisingly, saved by Kai Quinlan, who came to rescue her.

He cares for her while she is recovering from her trauma and drug use.

After several months of therapy and medication, she is deemed fit healthy.

After several more months, Kai asks her to marry him. She accepts.

She refuses to tell her mother, not wishing to speak with her.

Though things get tense between her and Kai's mother, Kai is, thankfully, there for her.

The two are wed in New York City, Kai's birthplace.

Kai's sister bequeaths her and Kai a brand-new car as a wedding present.

Age 25:

The two have their honeymoon in Tokyo, Japan.

She is surprised when Kai asks her to stay with him in Japan.

After thinking about it, she decides to put her acting career on pause and agrees to stay with him.

They both renounce their American citizenship, officially becoming Japanese citizens.

Age 26:

It is revealed that she and Kai are unable to have a child due to her being diagnosed with hyperprolactinemia.

She is depressed by this ordeal and becomes melancholic.

Kai helps her every step of the way.

After almost a year of therapy, she starts to feel better, though she is still sensitive about the topic of children.

Age 27:

No longer having the heart for acting, she passes the time by teaching young girls and women how to dance.

She is introduced to 'Zakari Hiroya', an orphaned teenager who plays games of chance.

She is asked by Kai if they want to adopt Zakari. She is skeptical, but agrees.

She eventually decides to raise him as his own son.

She goes back to work, dancing in bars and nightclubs.

Age 28:

After a period of time of this, she eventually decides to open her own with her husband's help.

The two find a suitable place in the party district of Roppongi in Minato and take out a loan to have the nightclub built.

Age 29:

Within a year, the couple's nightclub is finished.

Though Mireya wants to jointly own it with her husband, Kai refuses, letting his wife be firmly in charge.

She calls it 'Gypsy's Palace'.

Kai begins playing exclusively at the nightclub, boosting its popularity.

Though she is the owner, she still performs and dances.

Age 31:

She manages to pay off the loan for the nightclub.

She decides to expand it, adding a casino in one wing.

Zakari decides to help out, performing extreme stunts in the casino for money.

Age 32:

Together with Reika Aichi of Shizuoka, she starts up a recreational center for young girls.

Age 33:

The H-Era officially starts, and the Party of Words takes control of the Japanese government.

Her husband becomes depressed, due to TDD breaking up.

She does what she can to make him feel better.

Age 34:

Present.

Chuohku, in an effort to consolidate more power, forces Kai to join the D.R.B.

After hearing that he must form a team to enter, Mireya offers to join. Though Kai doesn't want her or Zakari to get involved, they join, regardless.

She becomes the second member of the Roppongi Division rap battle team, Private Party, alongside Kai Quinlan and Zakari Hiroya.

Schedule

12 a.m. - 1 a.m.: Performing at Gypsy's Palace

1 a.m. - 1:30 a.m.: Returns home

1:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.: Asleep

9 a.m. - 11 a.m.: Freshens up

11 a.m - 12 p.m.: Makes and eats brunch with family

12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Heads to recreational center

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Tutors young girls in dancing

2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Returns home

3 p.m. - 4 p.m.: Works out

4 p.m. - 6 p.m: Freshens up for evening

6 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.: Walks to nightclub

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.: Does paperwork for nightclub

8:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Prepares and opens up nightclub

9 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.: Observes nightclub

11:30 p.m. - 12 a.m.: Performing with husband at nightclub

Character Hashtags

Regular Hashtags

#Found a family that loves me

#Welcome to Gypsy's Palace

#Happy with my life

Trauma Hashtags

#A fatherless existence

#I couldn't live my own life

#Deprived of a child(hood)

Other Info

Hobby: Dancing

Weakness: Large Ego

Trauma: "Ever since I was born, my mom has always dictated how I should live."

Twitter: @TheGypsyQueen1

Drinks: Yes

Smokes: Yes

Special Skill: "I'm not afraid to take charge when I need to. I'm a charismatic leader."

Intro Quote: "If negativity knocks on your door, it's your choice to let in it."

Trauma Quote: "I'm sick of it, mother! I'm sick of all of the pageants, the stress, not being able to do what I want, everything! But worst of all, I'm sick of you! I HATE YOU!!"

Ending Quote: "Sorry, but we don't abide wallflowers here in Gypsy's Palace."

[tarnishedxknight]

Headcanons: Covering Up As a Coping Mechanism For Noah/Gabranth

{out of dalmasca} This gifset made me think of a set of headcanons I have for Noah regarding him using things like clothing and armor as a way to shield himself from the outside world. You might be thinking... well, yeah, that's kindof what armor does, heh. In this case, I don't mean physical shielding, though. Noah uses covering himself up as an emotional coping mechanism to make him feel safer. Since I was inspired by the gifset, I figured I'd take this opportunity to write down all my headcanons on the subject.

As a youth, Noah was often called out for not smiling enough, or for always looking sombre or angry. For pouting too much. For being sullen. His father was mean about it, his mother nagged him about it, and the few friends he had teased him about it. This was in stark contrast to Basch, who always seemed to be happy and smiling (yes, he smiled a lot more when he was younger). This gave Noah a very exposed feeling early on in his life. He felt like he was always being watched and judged.

After the fall of Landis, Noah moved to Old Archades with his mother and had to do some really terrible things to survive and feed them both. His choice to eventually join the Imperial Army was due to four reasons, three of which were deliberate and one was subconscious. The deliberate ones were 1) to learn skills and gain power in order to survive, which was important to him above all, 2) to have steady, legitimate, well-paying, and respectable work instead of what he'd been reduced to, and 3) to become the judge so he'd stop being the judged, which was the reason he didn't stop until he'd reached the rank of Judge Magister.

The subconscious reason was that, from a very young age, his father had instilled in him that martial skill was at the crux of a man's worth. Noah and Basch had swords put in their hands while they were still in single-digit ages. At 14, they both tried to pass initiation into a local knightly order, with only Basch making the cut. By the time Landis was besieged when the twins were 16, they both were far more skilled than most youths their age. So even though Noah hated his father and is glad he's dead, he still unknowingly carries around and believes in some of his father's ideals, namely that being a skilled warrior means you are powerful, respected, and you have worth as a person. So subconsciously, by pushing himself to reach a high military rank, Noah was chasing his own self-worth.

Alright, swinging back around to what I said about him feeling judged and exposed as a youth, now add to it having to resort to shady and illegal tasks and also prostitution to feed himself and his mother at only 16-17. That did nothing to make him feel less exposed or judged, for he literally had to disrobe when he didn't want to, and the illegal things he was doing marked him as a no-good criminal among the locals. His self-worth had gone from bad to worse, and he had nowhere to hide, not even inside his own body and mind.

So he turned to the one thing he understood, that power and skill help one survive and give one value. Survival doesn't just happen, you have to work for it. So he did. And in the course of rising through the ranks, Noah found that wearing armor didn't just protect him physically, it also made him feel safer emotionally. Suddenly, having a barrier between him and the world was like placing a demarcation between him and everyone else. He wasn't exposed anymore. He felt contained, put-together, and safe.

The higher up in rank he rose, he found himself wearing a helm as well as full armor more often than not. As a Judge and then a Judge Magister, he was in armor head to toe for the majority of his day, only removing his helm out of respect for the emperor or other high-ranking officials. This was something that really helped to relax him and make him feel very confident, because now in addition to the emotional comfort of feeling nicely contained in armor, no one could see his facial expressions. It was as if his emotions, thoughts, motivations, etc. were all secrets. This did wonders for his confidence and self-esteem.

Amoretta and Vayne were wrenches in Noah's well-oiled machine of obscuring himself from others. Amoretta always ordered him to remove his helm, even if all they were doing was having a conversation. She knew it made him uncomfortable and took pleasure in seeing him unable to hide behind his armor. Vayne took a page from Amoretta's emotional abuse handbook in much the same manner, preferring that Noah and all Judge Magisters remove their helms in his presence.

Aside from this, however, Noah felt the most at home, the safest, the most confident, and the most in control of himself when he was covered head to toe in armor. It got to the point where he wore it even when he didn't have to, or after hours, only taking it off when he finally retired at night. The only one as far as canon characters with whom he was fully comfortable being entirely without his armor was Drace.

Now... in his MCU verse, Noah doesn't have his armor anymore. In fact, armor is now really thin, it's got no personality to it, and it really doesn't give him the same feeling as his Judge Magister's armor did. So, whenever he doesn't need armor, Noah is most often seen in baggy clothes that well... obscure his body. It gets him a little bit closer to not be in form fitting things all the time, and... hoodies are a must. It could be the dead of summer and hot as hell, and Noah will still be out in a hoodie with the hood up because he feels safer that way.

It might seem strange to think that something as simple as putting a hood on over his head can make him feel safer, but it's not a physical thing, it's a mental thing. It's like fidget spinners for people with anxiety, or pulling your hands inside your sleeves, or people with autism or severe anxiety feeling like they can think more clearly and being more relaxed if they have another person with them as opposed to being alone in a public place. It's all about either occupying or reducing stresses and anxieties, which then lets you simply be a human instead of being at the mercy of invasive or obsessive thoughts that anxiety produces. Just by feeling that his head is covered, even if he can't cover his face, already gives Noah a sense of containment and of being less exposed, which reduces his anxiety.

Now, he will train without armor and even without a shirt on if he thinks he's alone and if there is little chance of anyone else happening upon him. So in the privacy of his own quarters, or the training gym at 3am when no one else is supposed to even be awake, he'll do that because... it's too damn hot to wear all that body armor crap that doesn't properly breathe. Even his Judge Magister's armor had breaks in it that let air vent, heh. He hates all this UnderArmour®-style Kevlar and carbon fiber nonsense that's like some kind of nasty second skin. He sweats way too much in that and it drives him crazy.

If your muse does happen to catch Noah training when he doesn't expect to be found, they will see him at his most anxious, and possibly angriest. Noah uses anger to cover up fear and anxiety, so you're going to get a nasty grump if you happen upon him and he's not covered up to his liking. Just FYI. Conversely, if he's wearing a hoodie with the hood up for seemingly no damn good reason, he's probably feeling anxious about something and he's trying to calm himself down. Subconsciously, of course. Noah doesn't actually realize he has this coping mechanism because it's something he's had for years that's very ingrained in his behavior and psychology.

Alright, I think I've blabbed enough about this. But as always, feel free to comment or to use this information in an ask or starter. Headcanons were made to be used, people. =)

[mothvalentino]

Headcanon

Valentino was born Valentino Álvarez in Sinaloa Mexico in the 1940s. His father Ignacio Álvarez referred to as Don Ignacio, was the head of a drug trade and human trafficking operation, dealing mainly with opium and marijuana locally and across the border to the United States.

His mother was one of the many prostitutes trafficked to the Álvarez estate and of Italian American heritage, she was allowed to pick her son's name. When Valentino was eight, his father fatally strangled his mother in a drug-induced rage.

At age nine, Valentino had to pass one of his first family trials, being ordered to shoot a rival dealer on the street with his father watching. He killed the target with a headshot right between the eyes, passing the test and becoming one of the children designated to take over leadership roles within the organization in the future.

Valentino had six siblings, all bastards of different mothers. They endured a harsh upbringing, being taught lessons by their father through means of violence, torture, and manipulation. The number one rule was family business over everything.

Whenever his father went to prison, Valentino took responsibility for the dealings during his absence. He traveled many times to visit associates in the States as well as in Colombia. In his teenage years, Valentino developed an opium addiction, preferring to smoke the substance in various opium dens, one of his favorites being located in Chinatown, New York City.

Until his death from a bullet wound to the chest in 1978, Valentino was a closeted pansexual who only lived his full sexuality in secrecy. He died as a result of the war on drugs in Mexico, fighting off a razzia with his father who died a few moments before him. Valentino died at the age of 36.

[ak-177]

Trash magic? 👀 all the Wips sound interesting!

Aaaaaah, Trash Magic, as everything I write, it's Thramsay haha, I definitely have talk about this waaaaaay too much times lmao but I love this concept I made, it goes like this:

First, TW: prostitution (not Theon's or Ramsay's, someone else's)

Theon is a mess of human being like on all my fics lol, and he gets a new job on a hotel, he's basically the person that tells everyone where is their room and things like that, right? And then, we have that Theon and Robb are besties, like, suuuuper friends, and all cool.

Buuuuut, Robb has some self-destructive behavior, but in a veeeeery different way from Theon, since he's always under pression and stress, he needs some relieve, something to feel free even if it's for a little time, so, he whores himself to anyone

So, Theon and Robb have a deal: Theon will always have a room ready in the hotel at weekends nights for Robb to use with his clients.

They don't know that Ramsay is the owner of the hotel 💀💀 so, Ramsay hears that there's a new "whore" working there, and goes to see Robb Stark (Robb doesn't know Ramsay tho). Ramsay pays for a night and goes to Theon asking for the special room, Theon has to idea what he means and gets into a fight with Ramsay because he thinks he's making fun of him or something like that.

I'm not gonna say more hahaha but you all can imagine how it's going to go lololol and yeah, it's completely Thramsay (maybe I'm gonna put a glimpse of Ramsay/Robb and Robb/Roose, yk, to spice a bit haha, it's still on discussion)

[elysiumheartrp]

If you've never seen a Louis Theroux documentary then I highly recommend them. Such a huge influence for Newt. There's one where he's outside a Nazi's garage, in their territory, interviewing them and the Nazi keeps asking Louis if he's Jewish (he's not, he just has a big nose) and he refuses to answer despite the Nazi getting increasingly insistent, saying it shouldn't matter. There's another one where he's doing a piece about the first legal brothel in Nevada and one of the girls who work there gets really enamored with him and keeps trying to convince him to sleep with her, including convincing him to let her massage him for an interview.

People do incredibly strange things to soft-spoken, bespectacled British men with cameras. It's the basis of this whole blog.

[emptinessbaund]

— basic information ( draft )

tw: prostitution, murder

A very delicate woman. Her manners, her behavior, resembled that of a noble, something I personally believe somehow had to do with her upraising: How she was treated in her childhood, what her family could provide for her when she was young. ( That's something I believe SHE passed on Levi, judging by Kenny's character. How would Levi, while raised in the Underground, grow to be such a delicate person? I believe it's the effect she had on him )

I believe she went through a shock when she grew older, around her teenage years, where she had to find a way to survive on her own, while being chased for being an Ackerman. ( A sudden transition maybe? Hers and Kenny's guardians/parents being murdered? Or something where she suddenly had to adjust to the most extreme circumstances ). Finding escape in the Underground ( I don't believe her to have been living in Underground for her whole life ), and watching the path her brother had taken, she came to face a dilemma: What would she do to survive? Follow Kenny, become a criminal, or sell her body instead? Still having a moral part inside of her, she chose prostitution.

And that's the decision to have CHANGED her.

I believe Kuchel to be the opposite of Levi: while Levi appears cold but deep inside is kind-hearted, Kuchel appears kind but she's cold. Having to sell her body, while having been very fragile at the start, killed her, numbing her of every emotion. In order to survive, Kuchel gave up on more than she could, turning to a cold-blooded woman, with no interest in the world. While Kenny is the one turned into a murderer, Kuchel ended up having even less humanity, and if given the choice she had back then, between crime and prostitution, she would have chosen crime. Life, humanity, purpose, dreams, lose all meaning to her as she wears the façade of a gentle woman when in reality she's only trying to make it for one more day. Until she gives birth to Levi.

Levi is the only person to awaken her old self. Her loving, caring, kind self. Her son is everything to her, but her view of the world doesn't change: it's the same world that forced her into giving up her heart and pride, and she can't forgive what was done to her. But Levi's her comfort, the reason she lives and can be who she was, only with him, and only for him. Her love for him is total and genuine, but when it comes to everyone else, she's still a could-be-murderer: her morals have ceased to exist, and she sinks farther into sorrow for the life she can't provide to her son: Living in the sunlight. Still, she loves him too much to let him go, she raises him in the brothel she works at, because she believes she can raise him properly even there.

If Kuchel were to see how Levi lived after she died ( since we've seen plenty of times how the dead in snk watch the living ), she'd consider his criminal turn a necessary evil: Kenny was right to teach him how to survive, and Levi was right in what he did in the Underground even if she would have wished he wouldn't need to follow that path. As for him joining the Survey Corps . . . She'd be devastated. Cause in her eyes, Levi chose to WASTE his life for ‘humanity’. She wouldn't want him to be a hero, in a world where he'd be the ‘only’ real one, cause the world isn't worth his sacrifice. Cause he deserved to live for himself, more than anyone else.

My point is, Kuchel would be a loving mother. To everyone else, she'd be someone to please anyone, appear kind and caring, but it would all be an act. You can say, it's an act similar to Historia's ‘Krista’ persona, but with even an even darker core.