#caramelized words

[barcstravis]

would you believe this groupchat is called “the billpaul trenches” (ft @ccrptechnical @finchmund)

[celira]

i would love to blame the caramel debate that happened in the Discord server, but my brain is just...like this

[the-silly-words-on-your-screen]

Caramel is just half burnt sugar but a handful of caramel is way tastier than a handful of sugar

[colfy-wolfy]

who taught these guys how to be silly?

[thatsbelievable]

[nanmo-wakaran]

source

[carameldansan]

BROOO they’re all gonna die 😭 going into the show blind, but I’d be so upset if somebody traded my life for bread. However it’s forgiven since it was senshi. ♥️

[wanderingmaskdragons]

Dragon Doodles: Salted Caramel!

[caramel-catss]

big huge long rant/analysis about the hero of time and ganondorf in hero's purpose

i have a lot to say about this show so buckle up

first off, link. he's given his entire life, multiple times over, to the kingdom. and yet here he stands again. he enlists because he genuinely doesn't know what else to do with himself. he's known nothing but being the hero since he left the forest.

by continuing to fight, link reinforces demise's curse. and he doesn't. even. know it. zelda never told him. nobody ever told him. no matter what he does, link will only have to fight ganondorf again in his next life.

and he doesn't know what to think about it. when ganondorf finally tells him about the curse, he's so conflicted. being the hero ruined him. we've seen in the previous episodes his attempts to heal, to find something to give his life new meaning. but he only has found that in fighting longer. he doesn't know peace; only war. so when ganondorf tells him it's meaningless, this fight is meaningless, link doesn't know what to do. (these screenshots are from before he describes the curse but he tells link the exact details after)

he pauses each time before replying. his thoughts drift before he goes back to what he's always known, what's been told to him. he tries to come up with excuses why he should not listen to ganondorf - the people of hyrule (who don't remember him) and his father's death. zelda's lullaby plays as link and ganondorf fight. he is doing this for her. he is doing this for the kingdom. he's trying to remind himself that, because the alternative to fighting for hyrule is unthinkable.

but ganondorf is offering peace. he's offering something that to link, can only happen to other people. and his words make sense. link has been to the shadow temple, he knows hyrule's dark past. but zelda never told him about the curse. nobody ever told him that everything he's done will be meaningless in the next cycle. as ganondorf said, "meaningless courage."

this battle is not the hero of time's. it's between the chosen hero and demise. ganondorf and link are both only puppets for them, waging an eternal war they never chose to fight.

demise even takes over ganondorf's body at the end of episode five. and honestly, the same happens to link, too. zelda, skyward sword zelda, appears briefly when link's thoughts are literally changed to match his role in demise's curse. she laughs as well.

she appears again when link backs off for a second to comprehend ganondorf's words. the hero's spirit is literally not allowing him to stop fighting.

in episode six's teaser, the chosen hero appears, literally commanding link to return to him just like how demise commanded the same of ganondorf. the chosen hero raises his hand at the hero of time, and demise raises his at ganondorf.

final words about link. ganondorf's words may be a desperate attempt by him to make link give up the kokiri emerald, but he's right. all along, link has been a puppet. a puppet of the crown, a puppet of the hero's spirit, a puppet of demise's curse. fucking chills

okay next ganondorf. yeah i'm not done yet. holy shit i have so much to say about ganondorf.

ganondorf, unlike link, is aware of the cycle. "my ensuing demise has enslaved me." it is a cycle he is desperate to break. he still hates hyrule, yes, but he has put part of the blame for demise's curse on it.

he sees link as just as cursed as he is. and not "cursed and yet the hero", but "cursed to do horrible things." his view of the world is negative to all three triforce holders. he hates zelda, he hates link, and he hates himself. he wishes to break the cycle so that all three will no longer war with each other and kill the land.

his manipulation towards link is so interesting. obviously, ganondorf does not want to become buddy-buddy with link... but he tries to convince him that they should share a common goal. he knows link is traumatized. he knows link follows the kingdom's orders without question. and he uses that against him. though ganondorf might have debatedly "good" intentions, he is still using link. both zelda and ganondorf are using link.

and the scene where he realizes who link is. screenshots won't do this one justice so i'm linking (lol) a timestamp. (the video is embedding weird sorry, it's at 29:25). the music is incredible during this scene - all of the music for hero's purpose is, but i digress.

starting with the music. it's an arrangement of great fairy fountain... with final hours in the background. the greatness and holiness of link and zelda, and ganondorf's impending death. jesus christ majorlink, you've made something better than the game itself

ganondorf's first reaction to link is fear. above all, he is still terrified of the hero of time. the man who defied nayru's laws to kill him.

and look at the way link's first sight of ganondorf is versus ganondorf's first sight of link. they are both terrified of each other.

it's something to acknowledge that before ganondorf connects link to the soldier who stands before him now, he sees him as a child. when he tells link that they are similar in their uprisings and being forced into destiny, he isn't wrong. really, none of what ganondorf tells link is wrong. they are both victims in this story.

i'll likely reblog this later with more thoughts i have about them because this has been cooking in my head for about a year now. there's also great depictions of skull kid, impa, zelda, the happy mask salesman, malon, etc etc... i love this show. everyone watch it right now, even though if you read this i just spoiled episode five. and listen to the ost. and scream about the references to skyward sword and twilight princess with me.

ending this with a frame where impa cries out to the goddess and prays that the lives of hyruleians are not worthless, and then it cuts to zelda and link. and yes, link is a puppet to the crown - but impa and zelda still care about him very, very much.

[ruthytwoshakes]

I am conflicted about engineer's height ,,,like yea I know in the game hes not really that short compared to the guys, like hell he goes up to heavy's shoulder,, but hes just, he cant be that tall. no way. no way jose. hes like , heavy's boob height at most 2 me. whaaat the hay is going on here,, what is this trickery !!

[felidthing-fr]

this scry was out to get me personally and i managed to buy one of TWO (2) dragons with the exact colors. he's going to be a reality

[bloodtwin]

@magicanddaggers sent:

Send me ► for a text tadpole moment not meant for you - Astarion source: texting meme.

( 🎶 oh wa ohwa oh / dansa med oss / klappa era händer / gör som vi gör / ta några steg åt vänster / lyssna och lär / missa inte chansen / nu är vi här med / caramelldansen / oo oo oa oa / oo oo oa oa a ⸻ 🎶 )

( ⸻ oh. hi, astarion. )

[savage-rhi]

*inhales deeply*

LET'S GET DANGEROUS....

I know I don't owe anyone anything, but I want to be transparent about why I've not been as active lately.

My recent job loss and the discrimination that contributed to said loss had me severely depressed. After coming down a little from survivor/PTSD mode, I needed to take space from everyone and everything. I am starting to feel better, thankfully.

I have been performing odd jobs in my neighborhood so that I am good on cash for bills and housing this month and part of next month. Beyond that, I don't know what to expect.

I am still working on my Ko-Fi shop. This is one of those things I jumped right into thanks to survivor mode, and I didn't account for everything as thoroughly so I'm taking my time with it.

I did speak to a few legal advocates and a couple of lawyers during these past few weeks. Here's the good, bad, and ugly:

Good: Yes, there was illegal discrimination at play. My place of employment didn't handle things the way they should've regarding my excused absences related to disability, and they contributed to emotional duress and screwed over my education prospects.

Bad: I didn't have a paper trail for everything, but I had enough to prove that I did what I was supposed to do on my end when it came to adhering to my place of employments processes. There is sadly nothing that can be done about the third party health insurance company that played a role in screwing me over.

Ugly: Even with the pro-bono stuff that was offered, I'm looking between 20,000-35,000k out of pocket if I wanted to take this to the highest.

Folks...I do not have 20-35k lying around nor the emotional bandwidth to go through a trial/suit. Yes, GoFundMe is an option if I was dead serious on dragging these fuckers dicks through the dirt, but guys, honest to god, I'd rather that 20k-35k go to the following:

Keeping a roof over my head and food on the table until I have stable employment

Ensuring I can afford medical care for my disability, and afford new tests that I'm going to need for long-covid issues

Help me stay in my graduate courses/obtain my therapy licensure

Use it to help out other disabled folks in similar situations

I have closure that I was indeed wronged, that I did everything on my end to the best of my ability, and these dehumanizing assholes aren't going to rob anymore of my energy or time than they already have.

I have appointments to see if covid has fucked up or contributed to anything more serious that hasn't been addressed. I have a secondary PCP now cause of health concerns that have gotten worse. My fibromyalgia flares have been more chaotic since catching covid in January and I'm still figuring out what my new baseline is with that.

Spring Term of my graduate studies started last week, and I'm getting as much as I can done so I have more free time.

I am trying to find motivation to work my fanfics, drabbles, interacting, etc. It's been hard with everything.

My former employer is trying to get out of unemployment benefits and I've been battling that on top of the other stuff.

I need time to rest (like hibernate) and I haven't had the opportunity to do that.

Thank you again to everyone who has checked in on me, asked me how I've been, sent something positive, or donated. I'm sorry I haven't had the hit points to get to everyone individually, but I am trying and I am grateful for the compassion and appreciation.

If you still want to donate before my Ko-Fi shop is up, you can donate at these places:

PayPal: JayRex1463@yahoo.com

Kofi: KitchenRaptorJ

CashApp: $JayRex1463

If you don't have the means, that's a okay. Take care of yourself first.

If you want to send me comfort things (Ardyn Izunia, Higgs Monaghan, Karl Heisenberg, dinosaurs, dragons, etc.) like art, fanfic, etc. my way, that would be wonderful and I am open to that. I'm still open to a friendly hello or check in, just know I won't respond right away.

Now that all is said and done...

[thegreenleavesofspring]

It may - or may not - interest all of you to know that everyone who has expressed the second opinion to me was also unwilling to actually try that on which they were conferring judgment.

[m0thisonfire]

Gently, Now. Gently...

Oc x canon

Caramele x Vedan

Caramele is very insecure about the condition of his hands. Fortunately, Vedan is there to reassure him in his own bats-dardly way...

Warnings: Implied post-smut, mention of past abuse, hurt/comfort, angst, discussions of trauma and injury, Vedan is a brat

A/N: I'm still reteaching myself how to write, I haven't written in over three months. This is pure self indulgence because these two will not leave me alone, and if I didn't post this my brain would have exploded from all their antics. Enjoy.

"... So how are you feeling?" Vedan finally asked in a soft whisper, his eyes fixed on where he was gently fidgeting with his partner's soot-colored fingers, "No aches? No noticable tears or possible rips?"

Caramele didn't respond right away, humming sated as he basked in his afterglow. Vedan was once again struck by how small this man looked, relaxed among the thick covers and his plush pillows... The barrow wraith only cracked open a glowing blue-green to give Vedan an almost amused look, "Mh, not that fragile, Ve. It'll take a little more than one of your romps to actually damage me."

The count made a humph in his throat, pouting as he interlaced their fingers together, grumbling, "Well, forgive me for worrying. Even the most durable Graveborn are prone to injury during strenuous activities..."

The smaller Graveborn huffed, now sounding more light-hearted. He groaned, covering his face with his free arm and letting Vedan play with his hand. The vampire glanced down, seeing the blackened digits twitch and flick against his, as if Caramele was trying to grasp his hand. Vedan frowned, his brows furrowing as he examined the ringmaster's hand more carefully.

... In all honesty, he didn't know the full story behind the injuries that left the nerves in Caramele's hands scorched and irreparable. Nor why Caramele felt the need to hide it from everyone else in the different factions. From what he managed to gather from the reserved Graveborn, it wasn't a forging accident. And it was before he joined his circus. So that meant before he became a ringmaster and died, but after his time as a smith. A true puzzle. One Vedan was determined to eventually solve.

Eventually.

Sighing, Vedan squeezed Caramele's hand, watching intently as the burned digits eventually did weakly interlock with his own. It was a clear effort on Caramele's part, a small frown visible from under his arm from where Vedan was laying.

Vedan pulled Caramele's hand closer, turning it so he could press a lingering kiss to the back of the black-grey skin. He pressed another to it when it made Caramele lift his arm slightly, a dimly glowing eye watching the vampire carefully, curiously.

"... What are you doing?"

"Wondering." Vedan answered softly, running a thumb over the side of his partner's hand, "I can't help but be curious. For many reasons."

The barrow wraith snorted, a smirk tugging on his lips as he teased, "Yeah. One of them is you being nosy."

Vedan scowled without any real annoyance, shifting so he could invade Caramele's space. Pressed against the smaller man's side, he hissed gently, "I am not nosy. You know what I mean."

Another snort was his answer as Caramele shifted to face him, looking up at him with a sleepy grin and raised brows, "You're right. Sorry. I know what you mean."

Clicking his tongue, Vedan smacked an unamused kiss to Caramele's temple, listening to the resulting chuckle and fighting a smirk of his own.

When Caramele's eyes slid shut again, the smile on Vedan's face faded, growing into a frown again as he examined Caramele's hand again.

"... Are you sure you're okay? Your hands-"

"M'fine." Caramele interrupted sleepily.

"... I'm just checking to make sure they aren't-"

"Vedan."

"Wh- Don't 'Vedan' me with that tone!" Though Vedan did feel a bit cowed when Caramele exasperatedly fixed him with a narrowed glare, clearly not in the mood while he was winding down. Vedan sighed, relenting slightly with a defeated, "Fine. If you say so."

Caramele hummed and turned his glare to the ceiling. But didn't pull away from the contact, letting Vedan fiddle and focus his attention back on his injury. Then he sighed and closed his eyes, grounding out, "I can feel you fighting the urge to ask. Get it over with."

Vedan halfheartedly glared at him, easing as he gently pinched Caramele's index between his own index and thumb, "... I would like to know how this happened. I mean... The damage is-"

"Divine magic. It was a week before I left for the circus."

The answer caught Vedan completely off guard, mostly because he wasn't actually expecting Caramele to answer, causing him to glance up. Divine magic?

"Divine... Magic." The count repeated slowly. Now that was interesting for many reasons. Mostly because from everything Vedan knew of it, it was mostly used by the righteous and those blessed and favored by Dura and other Celestials to defend and protect people.

"What were you doing around divine magic? And how did it cause... This?"

Caramele didn't respond for a good long moment, and for a moment Vedan wondered if he was going to ignore him and just go to sleep. Then the barrow wraith managed, "Leon."

The name made the vampire's possessive hackles rise for a second before he calmed himself.

Leon le Menteur. The person Caramele would mention in passing when he recognized questionable behavior from people around him that set him on edge. And the indirect reason it took Caramele so long to actually feel comfortable with Vedan.

"... I see. And how did he get access to divine magic? I knew he was part of the Heresy Inquisition, but..."

"He was born with it." Caramele muttered, the hand on his chest twitching slightly, "He was always destined for the temple in Ranhorn, but..."

He's not a good person.

Worse than a lot of Graveborn.

Worse than you.

Vedan nodded in reluctant understanding, gently tightening his grip on Caramele's hand, "He turned it on you."

"Pretty much."

Silence filled the bed as they both delved into thought, Caramele in his memories and Vedan fighting his anger and desire to hunt down the insolent brat himself. While Vedan was cruel and sadistic in most cases in his everyday unlife, there were lines. His desire for gore and such had mellowed out a bit from his initial awakening from the ritual. And even he had a moral compass, askew and self-centered as it was.

But his small family, his lover, were different matters altogether. Caramele was his now, in many ways. And despite his inherent selfishness and apathy, Vedan couldn't deny the curl of burning hate he felt whenever he heard of Leon's past deeds against his partner. Especially looking at the results of that misused magic, leaving the man beside him unable to use his hands even in undeath. It was near impossible for Caramele to use his hands without his gloves and the enchantments on them... And it left him without an entire sense.

Touch.

For a smith and ringmaster, occupations reliant on one's hands, it was a cruel punishment indeed. Even crueler with the fact Caramele couldn't feel his hands being held. Or kissed. Or squeezed and messed with. Or...

Vedan closed his eyes, trying to keep his brow from twitching as he pulled Caramele's hand to his face. The man didn't look over when Vedan gently pressed it to his cheek, feeling the scratchy, callused and scarred skin against his unmarred flesh.

Caramele couldn't feel it. Couldn't feel Vedan turning his head and softly kissing the blackened skin, using his other hand to trace the old divots and dips in his hand. But he could hear it, turning his head to watch Vedan. A part of him wanted to pull away, that old feeling of self-disgust and hopelessness filling him watching the count. Not because of Vedan himself. Because of the irony of the situation.

Ironic that a noble caused this out of rage of his feelings being unreciprocated, who then proceeded to sneer and cringe away from the mess he had made with clear discomfort until Caramele had escaped the town. He couldn't quite grasp that Vedan, stations above Leon and infinitely more spoiled, so willingly touched and comforted him.

At the time, Caramele was still spiraling. And as he had his whole life when it involved Leon, he took the disgust directed towards him and internalized it. Because if Leon was disgusted, others would be, too.

If Leon was approving of certain things, then surely those things must be inherently bad and scary.

If Leon loved Caramele and this was the result, then maybe it was safer not to love at all.

...

Watching Vedan, Caramele was continuously thankful he was the way he was.

Egotistical, brash, selfish, and mean. On paper, the same as most other aristocrats and painfully similar to Leon. But under it... Vedan was just lazy. Yes, lazy. Caramele had begun comparing him to the mean old cat from his village that the count reminded him of.

That cat hated everyone, hissing at those that passed the well or attacking any that tried to pet it. It stole food and caused problems everywhere it went, often seen sleeping in some out of reach place. But...with patience from a few of the residents, the cat grew amenable towards some people. Caramele included. He actually loved that cat, and it would even let him pet it sometimes.

That was Vedan. Just mean and old and lazy, someone who preferred to be alone. He was cruel, but it was all he had known when he was alive. He had learned to let other Graveborn and living into his circle, out of necessity or loneliness, Caramele didn't know. But somehow, Caramele managed to land himself directly in Vedan's inner circle by pure luck.

Pure luck. That was what this was.

Vedan opened his eyes feeling Caramele's fingers twitch slightly, watching the man's brows furrow as he exerted his energy. Gently rubbing his thumb over Vedan's cheekbone, then moving to brush a lock of silver white hair behind the vampire's ear.

Caramele wished he could feel it. He knew how Vedan felt, his skin from their arms brushing together and his hair brushing his cheeks when they embraced. But again, Caramele wished he was less...

"I know that look."

Caramele didn't respond, locking eyes with Vedan with a frown.

Vedan didn't return it, his smirk returning as he moved closer, keeping Caramele's hand against his face, "It's fine. If I didn't want you to touch me, you'd know."

The ringmaster curled his lip, protesting weakly, "But it's ... Not exactly pleasant. Why doesn't it bother you?"

The count glared at him, rolling his eyes as he retorted, "It's still you, idiot. It's not like it's raw or infected. Just scratchy and tough. I don't mind it."

Caramele stared at him, weighing his words and trying to decipher if he was lying or not. The annoyance seemed genuine enough. And that usually meant Vedan was serious. Sighing, the barrow wraith nodded, looking away as he tucked his other hand against his chest.

The count raised an eyebrow, looking quite unconvinced with the small nod he was given. He hummed, glancing away for a moment before he grinned mischievously, pointing out with a teasing tone, "You know, there are Graveborn in worse condition..."

Caramele groaned and rolled onto his back, listening to Vedan snicker as he pulled away, "Don't start, Ve."

"Torne for one-"

"Gods, you're starting."

"-I can't imagine it. A slew of guts and limbs meshed together? From three different people? Now that's unpleasant."

The barrow wraith groaned and covered his face, Vedan continuing unbothered, and now quite amused, "And how about that new fellow that arrived last week? Finch, was it? Ugh, all those feathers-"

The count cut himself off with a loud laugh when Caramele immediately rolled over to grab his face without any real force, the ringmaster giving Vedan a pure 'shut the hell up' look, deadpanning with an even voice, "You've proved your point, you meanie. Now hush. I want to go to sleep."

The vampire just grinned, snickering as he pulled Caramele closer and pressed a lingering kiss against his nose. The barrow wraith rolled his eyes, but snuggled closer, grumbling annoyed as he wrapped his arms around Vedan's waist. The count hummed, feeling his partner's tail wrap around his leg, anchoring the smaller man to him as they settled.

But Vedan couldn't resist one last poke, recalling unbothered, "... You know, I once saw Salazar without his eyepatch-"

Caramele immediately pulled away and rolled over so his back was against Vedan's chest, snapping without any real anger, "I am going to bed. Goodnight."

The barrow wraith just sighed when he heard Vedan laugh and pull him closer again, but didn't fight it. Instead, his tail just tightened slightly around the vampire's calf as he pouted. Caramele relaxed, choosing to bask in the familiar form pressed against his back. Safe, secure, stable...

Caramele was the first to fall asleep. It took Vedan a moment longer, as always. But he still wondered. Always wondering when it came to him...

[sugaaaaaaaar]

DEVSIS!!! BRUH WHY

NOOOOOO!!! THEY ARE SEPARATED WHO IS DOING THIS

(hot take but why is black pearl in first place like she low-key kind of doesn't deserve it)