#become his bride

[athenepromachos]

If this doesn't scream of Vampire King searching for the one to become his Queen........🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[voiceofsword]

assorted doodles (+an edit) for a god au friend and i have been rambling about

[lady-merian]

@emeraldchase okay, here goes!

I’ve seen a lot of jokes about how the best the Ring can do to tempt Sam is a garden. I’ve laughed at them too, but there’s an element to some of the jokes that dismisses the importance of the scene in my opinion. 

The Ring offers power according not only to a person’s desires, but to their abilities. We can infer from what the Ring offers Sam that Sam would desire to do good with it, (arguably, overthrowing Barad-dur and turning the wasteland of Mordor into a garden is a good desire,) but that doesn’t mean it’s not a dangerous power fantasy in its own way. The desire to remake the world in one’s own image and enforce it by any means necessary is something not even our dear Sam is immune to. He’s not imagining a world where nothing threatens peace, he’s imagining being the threat that enforces the peace. If it takes a flaming sword to bring his order into the world then it takes a flaming sword. The Ring tries to convince him it would give him the power to do so. 

The Ring is, of course, a liar, and it’s a credit to Sam that he realized that after rejecting what the Ring was offering him, but it’s also a credit to Sam that he rejected it in the first place. This is his equivalent to Galadriel’s test. Unlike Galadriel, however, he’s in possession of the Ring at the time the temptation comes upon him and I think that’s saying something. 

Curiously, his reward when he returns to the Shire gives him the wholesome version of these desires, not to mention many more blessings besides.

The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.

Though Sam as the mayor isn’t a position of great power equal to the great kingdoms of Middle-earth by any stretch, it’s a responsibility. (What that looks like is better seen in the unpublished epilogue to the story, in my opinion.) A responsibility he’s proven himself capable of handling. Likewise with a garden swollen to a realm. The part of the Shire that most benefited from his use of Galadriel’s gift was Hobbiton, it’s true, but he did travel the four farthings of the Shire to mend what harms he could. 

I’m not suggesting that Sam could have become this tyrannical ruler, because Sam hasn’t trained his will to the domination of others and also does not have the innate power that Gandalf and Galadriel both have. (Not to mention Sam is correct that Sauron would have seen him if he’d put the Ring on in Mordor: Frodo put on the Ring at Mount Doom and Sauron was instantly aware.) There are few enough who would survive a direct contest with Sauron in a situation like that, so I’m not putting Sam down either by saying that Sam putting on the Ring would have doomed Middle-earth. 

What I’m saying is that just because the vision was of a garden doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been detrimental to Sam’s character if he’d accepted the vision. Gandalf was wary of even handling it. Sam meanwhile goes to the ends of the earth as far as his people are concerned, right alongside the Ringbearer, and remains mainly concerned for the welfare of Frodo. The thought of what he might do with the Ring hasn’t crossed his mind until that moment. When measured up against his devotion to his master and also his plain hobbit-sense, the Ring can’t compete.

[xxcrossroadsxx]

Years ago I thought that the manga could end with Chise actually dying, but now I realize that that goes against with the main themes of the story. Regaining the will to live, appreciating what the world has to offer due the different people you meet, but also, defying fate.

Will o' The Wisp seems to be one of the characters that knows the deeper meaning of becoming a magus and what awaits them. Even in Fragment X: The Golden Cloth, he is very ambiguous about it.

Will Chise's fate as a Sleigh Beggy change after becoming a full mage? Maybe there will be a big price to pay, but I don't think her journey will be her succumbing to her curses. After all, Nevin's words to her are still very present in her heart.

Looking his final speech, I wonder if it's something that will happen in the future.

[somepsychopomp]

need an Edling royal wedding where Ling's advisors and officials are all begrudgingly holding their tongues as their Emperor marries a peasant boy from a foreign nation. None of them want to lose their jobs or their heads so they do as ling demands up until they have to organize the bride price.

And Ling suddenly has no idea what to do. Sure, his treasury has heaps of gold to give, or incense or spices or silk or whatever in the world he could possibly want to give... but Ed is Ed. He was a gremlin orphan that was homeless by choice and who genuinely doesn't want for much at all. (Aside from the lasting health and happiness of his loved ones, but Ling can't really give that, you know?)

So his officials pick out a lovely bride price to offer to his betrothed's family consisting of all sorts of lavish items and maybe a few swords... only to realize that Ed's father and mother are super dead.

His next brilliant idea?

He'll just make a show of giving Ed's bride price to Alphonse Elric at the wedding! Problem solved! :D Right, Ed?

[overly-hubristic-mad-scientist]

Meg is definitely more forgiving than me because if I found out my fiancé and his boyfriend killed my dad, brought him back to life, and was indirectly responsible for having him locked up and lobotomized I think I’d actually just kill them

[a-star-that-burns-brightly]

thinks about how Shidou is constantly chasing after a past that will never be revived vs Mahiru constantly chasing after a future that was never meant to be

MILGRAM Portal Timeline (2023/10/24, Shidou's birthday) Mahiru: Shidou-san, you have a family...right? Having family, having children, how does it feel...? Shidou: Yes, it's a wonderful thing. Children are...Well, they're hope itself. When you have children, growing older becomes enjoyable. The more you age, the more your children grow. Mahiru: Ah...how wonderful. It was my dream to become a bride. It may be a little old-fashioned but, I wanted to make it come true... Shidou: It's not too late. I will keep you alive, Shiina-kun. Let's get out of here and make that dream come true. ...You still have your whole life ahead of you.

Despite their hopes being snuffed out by the loss of their loved ones, they still find hope within each other.

[theodimasbabygirl]

I've seen some people mention this briefly but can I just say I hate the trend of giving Mabel a new love interest every season?? Its so fucking bland and especially worse knowing that they've cycled through two PERFECT developable love interests for her (Oscar and Theo). It just...reeks of some kind of sexualization for lack of a better word I suppose. Its an easy way to get people talking, an easy person for the audience to suspect, etc. I just HATE it. Oscar was there to be a boy toy, Alice was there for woke points, Tobert is there for the sake of giving Mabel someone to kiss. Its OLD and LAZY.

[bandaidfingers]

🩸BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992)🩸

Not a favorite Dracula movie of mine by any means, but a must-watch movie for a lot of non-Dracula related reasons. This movie is an absolute visual treat, the sets and costumes are stunning throughout, and is filled with excellent actors including Gary Oldman as Dracula and Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing. It really isn’t a horrible adaptation either as it follows the sequence of events in the books fairly accurately, and features narration from the characters in the style of diary entries which I really enjoy as a reference to the epistolary structure of the original novel. This move is also one of the rare few that features the entire cast supporting characters, however I have mixed feelings about their portrayal, particularly Mina Harker’s odd romance with Dracula (another dead-ringer reincarnated wife romance subplot—completely uninspired) which I find to be a distasteful treatment of her character even with her original personality still being somewhat intact in other ways. Ultimately this movie is worthwhile only if I don't actually think of it as a Dracula movie haha.

My favorite scene in this, which I based my little illustration off of, is when Dracula’s shadow is moving behind Jonathan, I love the way it starts out subtle enough that you might not be sure you’re seeing it right, gradually getting more out of sync up to the moment it begins moving completely independent of him. I think it’s brilliant.

Anyway, happy Halloween everyone, and I hope you’ve enjoyed both my artwork and my movie chatter this month :)

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"I say to just go with your heart," Randall smiled, as he pulled up a chair in front of the changing rooms, very eager to what Emily picked out as her wedding dress: He knew there were plenty of superstitions surrounding the bad luck that came with the groom seeing the bride in her dress before the wedding day proper, but honestly, he wasn't thinking too hard about that now. He'd had his fill of bad luck in his past life; in this new one, he felt there could only be good things from here on out.

Of course, he knew his advice wasn't exactly the most helpful he could give, but to tell the truth, he had faith in her ability to find the perfect gown. This would be her own dress-not an heirloom passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter, meant to be worn out of duty, but one she herself chose-just as she chose her own husband, so too would she choose her own dress, and no one would impede her.

"We've got a lot of variety, so you certainly have plenty of options," he chuckled, as he took his seat. Hopefully not too many, he thought, as he made himself comfortable, excited to see what she chose-no matter what she chose, of course, he would love and find her beautiful in it; what was most important to him was that she was happy with her choice, and would look back on it fondly.

[cedarw00div]

There are two wolves inside of me. One wants to make Raphael the worst person alive to Agnezes and torture her, and the other wants to make him be kind to Agnezes while still being a little shit. They are both kissing and fighting eachother.

[merakiui]

i was listening to mafumafu's cover of jailbreak and realized the mv has a trope i love very much!!!! with childhood friends trope, i also love it when two characters grew up having much the same motive (in the case of kuina and kawasemi, the song's characters, wanting to escape the caged city they're confined to). but then the characters mature and end up walking down separate paths, whether purposely or not or because life just happened and that was the cards they were handed, and now they can't stand on the same side because life/duty/etc compels them to remain set in their ways.

it hurts in the best way to see kuina chasing after kawasemi to apprehend him and stop him from flying the plane. and then he has no choice but to helplessly watch what ultimately becomes of his friend when the plane engine overheats and explodes... AAAAAAAAAA it hurts, but it hurts so good. T_T i can't even begin to ramble about the symbolism and the fact that they're named after birds... neru's brain is too big... orz

in short, i just really like the trope of two childhood friends with the same goal/dream, something happens that causes one of them to deviate from or abandon that goal/dream, and then they later reunite as changed individuals, with one still clinging to the goal/dream and the other having lost hope in it entirely. bonus points if one of them is hunting the other down for whatever reason hehe. <3

[softquietsteadylove]

drama for the runaway bride au: A man from the nearby village has seen Thena at Gilgameshs little forest house and informed royal guards who informed the King and now they're standing in front of Gilgameshs door again and invite themselves in and they're dragging Thena back to the castle

Gil smiled down at the flowers in his hand. Thena would love them--they were soft and white and lovely, just like her. He would put them in some water when he got home, maybe after dinner. Thena was probably chopping vegetables this very second. She was getting better at it.

It had been almost a year since she found him--or since he found her, maybe it was better to say. The beautiful bride he found hiding in a tree trunk was no longer a lost little fawn. She had come to learn everything that was required to keep the house in good order. She had taken over those duties all together when he'd been injured.

The cabin was as much hers as it was his, as far as he was concerned.

And it was high time he tell her as much, too. Maybe it was silly to do something so formally when she had indeed lived alongside him all this time. He often blushed to remember that they even shared a bed. But he felt he had to say something--let her know just how important it was to him that she was here.

"No, let go of me!"

The flowers dropped from Gil's hand. He took off in a run, his feet slipping faintly as he charged towards the house, a royal carriage parked out front.

"Get off me!" Thena screamed, so unlike her usual self. But she was a force to be reckoned with, clawing and thrashing, teeth bared like a wild animal.

"Your highness, please," the men pleaded with her.

"Let her go!" Gil bellowed before he could even think about it. All he knew was that he could see Thena being taken away, and he had to stop it. "Get away from her!"

"The lumberjack is back!"

"Stop him!"

"He has a weapon!"

"No!" Thena pulled against the suits of armour holding each of her arms. "No, don't hurt him!"

Gil slid to a stop, holding his axe but eyeing the line of royal soldiers with their swords pointed at him. "What do you think you're doing with her?"

"The princess is coming with us!"

"Like hell she is," he snarled at them. He would fight all of them, outnumbered or not, if he had to. "You're not going anywhere with my Thena."

"Gil!" she cried out for him. She managed to pull away from her captors, shoving the men out of her way until she could stand in front of him. "Enough!"

"Your highness, move!" the frontmost man barked at her.

"No!" she barked right back at him (that was his Thena). "Or would you rather report to my father than you've run me through trying to capture an innocent man?"

The guards did lower their weapons, although it didn't do much to make Gil feel better about the whole thing. The captain glared at him. "He is no innocent man, your highness. The lumberjack stands accused of kidnapping and holding the princess hostage."

"There is no such crime," Thena stated, although it seemed that - princess or not - her word didn't weigh as much as it should to the men facing them.

"His majesty has been searching, my lady," the captain scowled at her, still standing in front of Gil to protect him. "For nigh on a year, now."

It was a year this very day, actually.

"Then tell him you've found me," Thena challenged, her shoulders squared and her braid sliding off her shoulder and down her back. "Tell him you've found me and that I refuse to return."

The other guards looked between themselves. They were just men following orders, doing their jobs, trying to feed themselves and their families.

"I cannot, your highness."

"Well I won't be going with you, so you may pick which is a worse fate," Thena snipped at him, grasping Gil's hand behind her. "But if a hair on this man's head is hurt, I will have the lot of you executed."

Gil blinked. The men didn't seem to take her all that seriously, but he would be trembling in his armour if he were in their shoes. They hadn't seen her furious at the end of a long day when he'd forgotten to wipe his muddy boots off yet again.

"Princess Thena," the captain resumed his attempt at reasoning with her. He stepped forward, hand on his chest (and off his weapon). "Not only your father but your fiance the prince has also-"

"I have no fiance, captain," Thena cut him off without even batting an eye. "And if there is a snivelling pup inhabiting the castle saying he is, then I mourn for the days of your honour as a royal guard."

Damn, she really had a way with words, especially when they were insulting.

"My lady, I implore you," the captain bent at the waist and bowed to her. "I am not to return without you, sworn on my life."

Thena sighed. She wouldn't be responsible for something like that--she refused to be. Gil gave her hand a squeeze, "captain?"

"Highness?" he peeked up at her, a little too eager for how little time had passed.

"If my father has threatened you all with death," she held her head high. "Then I suggest you run away."

The men paled.

"These forests are deep. You could find the village, start anew, take your families and leave the prison my father calls a castle. But I will not return there with you, and if your lives depend on me doing so, then I am telling you now to save yourselves."

"Highness," another guard interjected, although Gil got the sense that he wasn't really allowed to speak up so freely. "If it's about the lumberjack, perhaps your father would employ-"

"Silence!"

Gil shrank slightly, and he was behind her! The men facing them flinched.

"My father," she said it like she would talk about hay mould, or spiders, or wild boars. Her eyes locked with the guard, "is not fit to stand in the same room as the man behind me."

"H-Highness-"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Princess," the captain took the reins again, his voice raising. "I have been ordered to bring you back. And I regret to inform you that I am to use any means necessary to do so."

"Truly?" she didn't back down from the threat, but still stood close enough to Gil that no one would be able to approach him without her being in the way. "Would you tie me up and kidnap me, captain? Would you apprehend the crown princess?"

"If I must, my lady," he informed her with an equal lack of remorse. "I was ordered to retrieve you, alive, but by no means was I told to do so with gentility. And if I must bring you back by force, then so be it."

Gil gripped his axe again. He didn't like where this was headed. Thena backed up into him even more, pressing her back to his chest. Her hand gripped the handle of his axe, throwing off his grip. She didn't want him to fight.

"I'm sure my resistance will be attributed to my so called 'kidnapper' fighting you off?" Thena assumed aloud.

"Aye," the captain confirmed.

"Then I must tell you..."

Gil held his breath same as the guards did. He didn't know what she had up her sleeve, but it had better be good. It really seemed like everyone's lives were depending on it.

"That I have already married him."

What was that now?

The men traded looks, most horrified, a few more curious than anything. The captain looked positively flushed with rage. "I beg your pardon."

"I have married this man," Thena proclaimed like it was nothing. She wound their fingers together.

"Each and every marriage must be officiated properly, your highness." The captain looked mortified, but in an angry way. "Your father will never recognise it as a lawful union."

"Then I suppose you will have to go and tell him regardless."

"Thena," he breathed against her hair. He wasn't sure if this would only invite more trouble down the line or not, especially considering it was a bold faced lie. But he went with it.

"That his daughter has run off and had a bastardisation of a marriage in the woods with some lowly peasant?!"

Gil huffed; he wasn't rich by any means, but he wasn't sure if he was a peasant, either. He had just worked at the castle not two weeks ago!

"Yes," she persisted, "tell him exactly that, or anything else. But he may know that I love the man I am with, and that I will not return to his gilded cage to be sold like chattel."

The captain sighed deeply. If looks could kill, he would be on trial for regicide, "if that is what her highness wishes."

"It is an order."

As if the word 'order' were a magic spell, the men all snapped up straighter, heels together. "Ma'am!"

"Then we must inform the king," the captain declared, pulling back his tiny battalion to deliver truly terrible news.

"I wish you luck," Thena sent them off with the snide wish, crossing her arms as they loaded into the carriages again. She kept glaring until they were dragging themselves off the beaten path and back to the main road again.

Gil let out a breath once they were out of sight. He leaned on his knees, heart hammering, "wow."

Thena also sighed, turning around to face him. "I suppose we will have to be prepared for the possibility that the magistrate will come knocking next."

"Uh, Thena?"

"Perhaps Eros will come with some fake document to state that I am not legally allowed to marry anyone but him," she continued, rolling her eyes and sorting out her braid again, "like a land deed."

"Thena," Gil tried again.

"As much as I never want to see him again, I would pay any price to see the image of my father's face when he finds out his crown jewel has-"

"Thena!" he interrupted, not at all yelling at her but certainly not keeping quiet anymore. He stood to his full height again, smiling at her, "married, are we?"

Finally faced with the consequences of her lie, she looked down at the ground between them, quickly flushing rouge. "U-Uh, w-well-"

"Wish I had known," he chuckled, trying to get a peek at her face, "I'd have gotten you a gift, darling."

She squirmed, toying with the edge of her apron (which none of the guards noticed was literally made from her once-wedding dress). "I had to think of something they couldn't argue with me about."

"No, I guess you were right," Gil chuckled, throwing his arm over her shoulders and pulling her closer, "now I just have to worry about your dad busting down my door, huh?"

"Please," she scoffed at the very idea, "Father hasn't set food outside the castle in well over two decades. I think he would sooner write me off as missing and deceased than lift a finger to verify it himself."

Gil wasn't sure if that was so true, but he couldn't do anything but take her word for it at the moment. He kissed her forehead, "are you okay?"

She sighed, leaning against his chest, tugging at the suspenders over his flannel shirt. "I tried to hide again but they circled the house and took me. I was worried...I thought you wouldn't-"

"Hey, okay, sh," he whispered, pressing his nose to her temple as she sniffed back her tears. He had been scared of that very thing. "It's okay, nothing like that is gonna happen."

Neither of them could guarantee that.

Thena put her hands on his hips, while he did the same for her. "I'm sorry to lie like that."

He shook his head. He didn't mind it nearly as much as she thought he did. Maybe he minded that it wasn't actually true, but that was for a later date. "It is our anniversary, actually."

Thena smiled, their foreheads meeting gently. She rose on her toes, just enough to touch her lips to his, "happy anniversary, my sweet lumberjack."

[usagimen]

I know sunday has passed here but, when thinking of the type of person Sayuri enjoys, she tends to gravitate those with strong conviction && passion. She is also someone that seeks out a partner that can grant her stability where she often feels on shaky ground. Patience is critical, she is not a woman who opens up quickly, there is genuine fear of her family harming whoever she loves as well. Ultimately, a person she can see the future with, children, marriage, baking bread together that is what she gravitates towards - the normal things we often overlook.

[moogle-mafia]

so.... i am officially done with the curse of strahd campaign... i did NOT expect all that. i think our dm chose violence on day one and he never stopped. he was merciful maybe... once? the npcs were great, i wanted to study them like bugs... but damn was that campaign difficult difficult lemon difficult.

got me emotional far too many times. the guilt for what we all messed up was always there in the back of my head. we were basically put through a wringer every week. i want to do it again.

and here's the problem i have. i don't know what to think, because i wanted her to get her own happy end. instead, she ended up:

it was kinda sad that we didn't get the Good Ending™, basically everyone in the party lost. only my character survived the endgame after being revivified, but i can safely say that she wishes she stayed dead.

1) objectified (decided to sell herself in hopes of getting out of the whole mess and fixing things)

2) a traitor (because she killed her friend who protected her this whole time she was dying and after that he stood guard over her dead body)

3) as someone even worse than she was before the whole adventure (came back to being opportunistic, but with an addition of crippling guilt and shame)

yes, in that order. didn't save anyone she ever cared for, sold the rest of her agency for scraps, ended up as an accessory to the count. sure, she did lift the curse, but the cost was... ehhh. and the consequences of that were also... ehhhh... her turning evil i think. because the epilogue i got didn't give me much hope for her keeping the rest of her humanity.

now i am unsure. paradoxically, i think that if i actually got the good ending, i would not be this involved in the story. this whole thing we did was a mess. i don't think there were any quests we did correctly. the dice were also ruthless. so i don't know, maybe it was meant to be, and our dm just cranked up the tragedy levels.

i made this character as an experiment, just to see whether i could play someone morally dubious. it was fun. more fun that i expected it to be. i don't like the fact that throughout 6 months of playing, she made approximately... one step towards the good. and in the endgame, she took at least two steps back.

but then again, isn't this what i wanted? i wanted terrible choices with terrible outcomes and i got them. maybe i just feel bad for being satisfied with a tragic ending, even though i shouldn't, because not everything has to end with rainbows and unicorns. and i agreed to the possibility of an absolute fuck-up.

i don't know where i was going with all that, i guess i needed some space to vent and figure my feelings out. the campaign was good. very fucking good. gave me brainrot. inspired me to write a diary. in character. in polish. almost 60 pages of writing. i haven't written anything in polish since high school.

slay, my fucked-up arcane trickster with a stolen name, you were the best. give my regards to dracula, since you are on earth already. and bring me some english biscuits when you're done with your conquest. aaand maybe stab the count with the sunsword, if you ever find it.

so... no more venting, i'm done. accepted the fuckery i did and its consequences.

[piratehug]

Thought I would draw my druid halfling tav! Called Cafray but nicknamed “Moggy” in their childhood cult. Still in the works as I don’t actually have a laptop that can run bg3 until next month :’(

This drawing is teeny tiny so don’t look too close. Eeeeee I have so much lore to share, they have an outlander background btw :3