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tanuki-kimono · 5 months

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Cw: We are going to talk here about periods, and sex education in the past. Read this note according to your own sensibilities :)

How women dealt with periods during Edo period, article by shunga enthousiast Shungirl who made a paper pad following instructions found in makura bunko 枕文庫 - ie ancient sex books illustrated with erotic ukiyoe.

One of such makura bunko is 渓斎英泉 Keisai Eisen's 閨中紀聞-枕文庫, first published in 1822. It details Chinese remedies recipes for menstrual pains and irregularities, give tips about sex, and information about menstruations and pregnancy. From a modern point of view, some beliefs are outdated, but it was then such a bestseller it went through several reeditions.

Several words were apparently in use during Edo era to designates menstrual period: keisui 経水, gekkei 月経, tsukiyaku 月水, etc.

When girls went throught their first period, their females relatives or nannies would taught them how to deal with them. One method was to use paper as sanitary products (please note people without easy access to paper probably dealt with periods differently).

__________ 御馬 paper pads

Sanitary pads, such as the one recreated above by Shungirl, were then called mima 御馬 (probably as a pun on true "mima" which were then fine horses own by noblemen, or attached to sanctuaries as mounts for gods etc) or simply ouma お馬 ("honorable" horse).

Ouma were made from inexpensive recycled paper called Asakusagami 浅草紙. Sheets were folded 8 times, tied with twisted paper strings (koyori 紙縒), and then wrapped with another layer of folded paper. It was secured once again with paper strings.

Part of the strings could be left long so to tie around the waist, or/and pad was hold into place by wearing fundoshi 褌 loincloth (which would also help prevent leaking on inner tights).

Asakusagami quality was low (it was also used as toilet paper) so paper pads had to be changed often, meaning you had to fold quite a lot of them to go through your period!

Shungirl folded the pad above following instructions found in the book 実娯教絵抄, which provided several other "models":

__________ 詰め紙 paper tampons

Another method for dealing with periods were tampon-like paper bundles which were inserted into the vagina, the 詰め紙 (tsumeshi? I am not sure of the reading).

This method may have first appeared in red-light districts (?). Beside its use for periods, prostitutes also used those tampons as method of contraception (OP has an interesting article on this subject).

By the end of Edo period and into Meiji, paper tampons were widely used even by women who were not prostitutes - despite voices branding this method as unsanitary.

__________ About girls' coming of age rites

Menarche (first period) was an important milestone for girls, and was celebrated as such via specific rites (shochō o iwau 初潮を祝). Those differed a lot from places to places, and also depended on social status.

Celebrations would concern close family, but often spread to wider community who could received for example a festive meal (sekihan 赤飯) for the occasion (some Edo era senryû poems stress how mortifying this publicity could be!).

Interestingly, some traditions were also pretty sweet: in some places, mothers would sew 3 stiches into their daughter's underskirt (koshimaki 腰巻き) as a good luck charm, hoping their periods would last only 3 days <3

Those rites were part of coming of age traditions (seijoshiki 成女式) which marked the start of a young woman adulthood. Another example is the blackening of teeth (ohaguro お歯黒) which usually started around 16-17 years old.

Celebrating menarche publicly was a way of advertising that the girl was no longer a child and would "soon" be a bride. Yet, if menarche often took place around 13-14 years old, in reality it was somehow unusual to have girls married so soon!

Before marriage, especially in non-noble/samurai families, young women often started their sexual life via flings or yobai 夜這い ("night crawling" ie pseudo-secret nighttime encounters) before any wedding actually took place.

#cw: periods #cw: sex mention #japan #japanese history #edo period #edo era #periods #sex education #sex history #sanitary pads #tampons #paper pads #ouma #mima #paper tampons #tsumeshi #coming of age rites #ressources #references

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blueiskewl · 5 months

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Disputed Ukrainian Treasures Returned to Kyiv After Dutch Court Ruling

A haul of Ukrainian treasures sent to Europe for an exhibition nearly 10 years ago have been returned to Kyiv from the Netherlands after a lengthy legal battle.

The collection of ancient artifacts was dispatched to the Netherlands from four museums in Crimea before Russia’s annexation of the region in 2014. But the annexation meant their return has not been straightforward.

“After almost 10 years of litigation, artifacts from four Crimean museums that were presented at the exhibition ‘Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea’ in Amsterdam have returned to Ukraine,” the National Museum of History of Ukraine said in a statement.

The collection comprised 565 items, including antique sculptures, Scythian and Sarmatian jewelry, and Chinese lacquer boxes that are 2,000 years old, the museum said.

Rostyslav Karandieiev, Ukraine’s acting minister of culture and information policy, described the treasures’ homecoming as “our great historical victory.”

“It is very important for us to save and protect our history, traditions, and heritage. This is what we are fighting for at the battlefield. We are fighting for our identity and freedom,” he said.

“The exhibition in the Netherlands was showing the history of Ukrainian Crimea, therefore it is exclusively the people of Ukraine who should possess these treasures,” he added.

In a statement published on its website, the Allard Pierson museum in Amsterdam confirmed that the collection had been kept in storage while the legal dispute raged on over whether items should be returned to Ukraine or the four museums in Russian-controlled Crimea, with both sides claiming ownership rights over the historic pieces.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled on June 9 of this year that the collection should be returned to Kyiv.

In its statement, the Allard Pierson museum went on to say that the items were “independently checked and carefully packed in accordance with museum rules” last month and arrived back in Kyiv on Sunday.

Els van der Plas, director of the museum, said in the statement: “This was a special case, in which cultural heritage became a victim of geopolitical developments. After it became clear in 2014 that the judge would consider the case, we focused on safely storing the artefacts until the time came to return them to their rightful owner. We are pleased that clarity has emerged and that they have now been returned.”

Welcoming the development, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy said in a statement: “Until the de-occupation of Crimea, the ‘Scythian Gold’ will be temporarily stored on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.”

By Maria Kostenko, Victoria Butenko and Lianne Kolirin.

#Disputed Ukrainian Treasures Returned to Kyiv After Dutch Court Ruling #ukraine #crimea #russia #russia war crimes #looted #looted art #stolen #stolen art #gold #treasure #Scythian Gold #ancient artifacts #history #history news #ancient history #ancient culture #ancient civilizations

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amongdragons · 6 months

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Judicial and Exorcistic Aspects of Military Rituals

Military cults involve their own special rituals, often quite brutal. #MartialArts #ChineseHistory #ancientChina #ChineseCulture #ChineseMartialArts #military #chineseMythology #traditionalMartialArts #qingDynasty #MingDynasty #GuanYu #secretSocieties

Some communities, especially rural, and ethnic minorities, consider the martial deities as their patrons. Such patronage usually includes protection from wars and epidemics, and is remunerated with regular offerings as part of local worship (sometimes merging with the worship of ancestors). However, association with community does not always mean strict localization. Martial deities are regarded…

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#ancient China #brotherhood #Chinese history #Chinese martial arts #Chinese mythology #Guan Yu #martial arts traditions #martial gods #military tradition #ritual oaths #secret societies #Wuxia

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writers-potion · 1 month

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My Favorite Fantasy Tropes

MONSTER TROPES!

A deadly monster with a terrifying appearance bonds with a small child with its life.

An injured hero comes upon a monster, or a hero comes upon an injured monster and they understand each other. Giant vicious-looking monsters that answer to names you would give to a pet dog.

A character rescues or spares the life of a wounded or infant monster; later th fully- healed/matured creature returns the favor.

The horrifying eldritch creature that's been stalking the heroes turns out to be benevolent and actually, trying to protect them from something deadlier.

HERO TROPES!

The hero is the secret heir to a throne. It may be that he was whisked away and hidden as a child, his parents sent them away or were killed, etc.

There's someone in power in your book who might be described as "pure evil." This can feed into the "Good vs Evil" trope listed further down this list.

The hero refuses to give into the dark magic and instead ascends to a new level of power. This may change their hair to their dream color.

The hero falls in love with a princess/prince who turns out to be working with the real Dark Lord and killed her whole family just to rule the kingdom.

SETTING TROPES!

Pseudo-medieval European setting especially in places like the British Isles, France and Germany.

A library full of secret, lost, important knowledge. The characters may have to travel to this library, or they may stumble across it for some kind of revelation.

Ancient Japan/Chinese royalty setting where clues about the mystery is given out in subtle, secretive ways. Plus, the hero can't travel outside the palace.

A fantastical world can hide in plain sight without being discovered. When the secret is unmasked by the hero, he is trust into the world. Now, there's no going back.

CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP TROPES!

The characters involved don't know they're soulmates for part of the book but feel drawn to each other.

Twisting the original dynamic between characters from legends, myths and folklore

Semi-humanoid/ multi-race characters bonding with monsters/people of other race like elves, dwarves, goblins, etc.

Enemies-to-lovers

Marriages of convenience based upon political/power dynamic leverage

The main character(s), with a ton of romantic tension, must, for some reason, share a bed.

DARK FANTASY TROPES!

Magic is eveil and often The Corruption. Blood magic, human sacrifice and forsaken children are commonplace.

Magical artifacts with bad omens/curses attached to them. They require a grievous price in order to wield.

The gods are all assholes who pass time eating prayer chips and drinking soul-booze while placing bets and trolling the helpless mortals.

Organized religion of the country is Corrupt Church or Religion of Evil. The leader is totalitarian and strange cults prevail.

The dead find staying buried a little boring and resist any and all attempts to keep them buried, short of cremation or dismemberment.

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

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abbyfmc · 19 days

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Yandere Emperor! x Opera artist! reader Headcanons:

Warning: I will use the Chinese imperial harem system, plus it will be set in a kind of forbidden city (yes, I have seen Chinese palace dramas, XD). Topics to talk about: Mention of kidnapping, abuse, possible manipulation and murder. Although I use elements of ancient China or imperial Asia, I am not describing any emperor in particular; instead, I'm making up my own.

Enjoy it!

1. Yan Li was about 29 years old when he became emperor, and at that time he had an empress whom he loved very much, but she died in childbirth with the first prince due to her poor health, and from then on he became very sad and depressed.

2. You were a beautiful street opera artist who sang and danced at different events. You ran away from home after your noble parents planned to marry you to a man of not very good intentions.

3. You suffered a lot the first few years, but slowly you gained a group of artist friends, and among them is this girl from a humble class named Lili.

4. On the other hand, you had met a young blacksmith named Zhou, with whom you had a secret romance, which only Lili knew about. You and Lili had become confidants.

5. Due to your escape from home, you were also able to avoid the mandatory imperial selection for a long time. In this selection, girls from certain clans were taken to the palace to be selected to be consorts or concubines of the emperor or princes present.

6. You had lived happy and free, without problems until that fateful day…

7. Yan Li's mother, the Empress Dowager, saw how depressed her son was, so she convinced him to organize a trip to the southeast of the country to distract himself, and after a while, Yan Li agreed. After this, the townspeople and ministers organized all kinds of spectacles for Yan Li's arrival.

8. You and your group of artists were hired for those shows, and you were the main actress, not knowing that that would put you in hell.

9. When he arrived at the town where you were, everything started well until the show started and you started acting, dancing and singing. He was captivated by your beauty and your voice, a quality that his wife also had.

10. For him, it was like seeing his wife back. He watched you do similar dance moves, and he remembered his wife doing these same dances for him in the past.

11. He was very impressed with you, which made him come to the conclusion that he wanted to have you.

12. After the performance, you sensed that something was wrong, so you told Lili and your group, and then fled through the darkness of the night to a neighboring town.

13. Yan Li finally set out to find out about you and your whereabouts, and was not at all amused to find out that you were gone.

14. You began to flee with your group of friends from Yan Li's clutches, and you even met with your beloved Zhou and told him about your situation. Yan Li on the other hand, was already getting impatient for not finding you, so he gave the following order:

--Look everywhere for her, and if anyone is hiding, kill them and bring her to me!-- 15. The guards questioned each villager to find out about you, and thanks to that you were located and caught trying to escape with your friends at night.

16. Yan Li walked up to the scene, walking with a smile as his men captured you and your friends. You were very scared; Yan Li holds your face lightly by your chin, making you look at his face. Seeing the situation you put your friends in, you began to beg for their lives.

17. --I…I will surrender to you, but please let them live, your majesty-- You begged Yan Li. He was surprised that you didn't resist him, so he just ordered them to put you in his carriage. Lili tried to do or say something, but Yan Li told her to stay out of all this.

18. Yan Li had you put into his carriage and tied your wrists and ankles and then Yan Li got in, sitting next to you and that's how he ended up taking you to the palace.

19. He talked to you the whole way and although he seemed kind, it didn't take away your fear of what he might do to you. Basically when you arrived at the palace he locked you in a palace that he had prepared just for you.

20. After investigating your past, he discovered your bad relationship with your parents and what you did after running away from home. You seemed magnificent to him and in a way… bold and brave.

21. When he let your parents know that you would be his consort from now on, they agreed. You weren't expecting anything good from them, but this last one definitely hurt you, since they sold you to him just like that.

22. The wedding took place, and Yan Li conferred on you the imperial title of "Noble Lady", and immediately had your green label prepared. The green labels are labels that contained the names or imperial titles of an emperor's consorts, which turned the label of the concubine with whom he wished to sleep.

23. Yan Li spent his free time with you and explained to you personally what things were like in the palace, something he had not done with any other woman, in addition to emphasizing that he would take care of you and love you.

24. When your green tag was ready, Yan Li immediately turned it over and sent word that you would sleep with him that same night. He sent for you with eunuchs and everything. When you were locked in his room, you were wearing fine silk pajamas that Yan Li loved. It was a beautiful dream to see you like this; you wanted to run, but he held your hand tightly, reminding you of what he was capable of doing to your friends, innocent people, and possibly your loved one, so you ended up submitting to him.

25. He did this every time he wanted to get you pregnant, which is why you ended up having six children with him; four princes and two princesses, while your first son, the "third prince" was the eldest of all the princes. You had to rise through the ranks and use Yan Li's hands to protect yourself and your children from palace intrigues.

26. Thanks to Yan Li, you have gone through the following ranks: Noble Lady, Imperial Concubine, Consort, Noble Consort and so on until you reach the empress.

-End of part 1. Have a good night :3

#yandere #yandere oc #cw yandere #yandere love #yandere x you #yandere male #platonic yandere #tw yandere #male yandere #yandere x reader #obsessive yandere #yandere emperor x reader #yandere headcanons #yandere imagines #yandere imagine #yandere scenarios #yanderecore

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alfredosauce50 · 2 months

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Yandere Denmark headcanons

Ruthless, ambitious, and with a mind for expansion, it’s no wonder he always finds himself in positions of political power. But like all men, he has desires of the flesh, the longing for real connection. He comes onto you as an ordinary man, and you love him as one.

What you don’t know, is that he’s the king. When you learn the truth, you pull away fearing for your own safety. But he holds onto all the tighter. With the nation obeying his every whim and every pair of eyes and ears working for him, he’s impossible to escape.

Content warning: Sex, violence, and dubious consent. R18+ only.

The nobleman

Mathias commands respect everywhere he goes. As one of the most powerful men in the ancient world, he has a potent presence that causes the whole energy of a room to change if he were to enter it. But he also likes to blend in when he can. He will dress down to avoid standing out, even if it’s still in clothes for those in the top percentile.

He often leaves the palace grounds to visit the city in person. Whether it’s for leisure or to see how his kingdom is doing, he insists on doing it without protection. And when people recognize his face as the same one on the back of their coins, he gives a reassuring smile as they talk excitedly amongst themselves. The King is here!

Chinese silk, richly dyed clothing, and the most exotic Arabian perfume. They’re everything you notice about Mathias when you serve him at your diner. A member of the ruling class, you think. But that’s all. The last thing you’d expect is for the king himself to show up in this humble establishment, fitting in like everybody else.

“Tell me, eskler,” He begins, watching you set down his meal in front of him. Lamb shank, mash, and the soup of the day. A hearty meal to go with the homey atmosphere. “What do you think about the king?”

“I don’t know,” You lift your gaze to him thoughtfully. Without batting an eye, you tell him the words he didn’t know he needed to hear, and would, in turn, change his life forever. “I’ve never met him.”

He’s taken aback by your response, but it draws him in like no other. There’s people who don’t care for politics, and then there’s you. Someone who’s never even seen him before. And so long as he keeps his identity a secret, he’ll be treated as an equal. It’s nowhere near the treatment fit for a king, but somehow, he can’t get enough.

Mathias asks you out for dinner. You reject him the first time, and understandably so. You don’t wanna accidentally become a part of his harem, or whatever it is the elites are doing these days. However, you eventually have a change of heart when you keep seeing him in your diner. Not to pester you about a date, but only to eat and chat.

“Seeing that you’re more polite than any other man I’ve met, I’ll take you up on your offer,” You tell him.

“Really?”

“What, did you have higher expectations for men?”

“No, that’s why I’m surprised you would say yes,” Mathias explains, following you with his eyes as you clear up the last remaining tables. He eventually stands up to ask this. “What makes me so different?”

The truth is, you sense that he’s a good person, and he’s shocked when you tell him. He tries to see himself in your eyes, and in turn, discovers a whole new side. Thanks to your willingness to engage with him on his level, he gets in touch with the more vulnerable parts of his character. He drops his guard, and feels strangely human.

He starts seeing you in secret. The moment he gets the chance, he disappears from the palace and makes a discrete trip to your home. His alibi? The same thing he’s been doing the whole time. He’ll always show up with flowers and other gifts, but more importantly, an empty stomach, having developed an appetite for your simple cooking.

“So, what are we having for dinner today?” He rubs his hands expectantly as he peers over your shoulder.

“Pickled fish,” You hum.

“Can I help?” He lights up, rolling his sleeves.

“You can help me by staying out of the kitchen.”

He’s very playful. Rolling around with you in the grass, pretending to bite you like a frenzied dog, it’s a timeless romance that transcends the ages. He can play with you like a child but love you like a woman, so being with him feels like a dream. His presence is just so fulfilling you can’t imagine asking for more, but he just keeps surprising you.

He spoils you. His generosity is magnanimous, pampering you with jewelry, dresses, homeware, and everything you could ever need, and more. Mathias imagines himself to be the solution to all your problems, and takes great pride in using his privilege to help you. Little does he know, it’s the one thing that drives a wedge between you both.

“This is really nice and all, but—”

Mathias is taking you to store after store, fishing out anything he thinks would look good on you. And he isn’t picky, or shy, for that matter. He will watch your silhouette behind the paper screen until you finish.

“—this is a bit much, don’t you think?” You appear from the side of the screen in a revealing jade dress, cheeks flushed. “I don’t need all these things, and besides, I could never pay you back if I tried.”

“Why would you pay me back?” He questions.

“I’m just saying,” You reply, sliding your hands in his. “It always feels like we’re from different worlds, Mat.”

He takes that statement personally and becomes cautious about protecting his identity. You hold him to a high enough regard already, and he’s only revealed so much — that he’s an aristocrat. Even then, you’re still wary of the class difference that sets you two apart. Mathias is destined for greatness, but this is all you’ll ever be. Imagine how you’d react if you found out he was the king.

He’s afraid that he’ll scare you off. All rulers have blood on their hands, a ruthlessness that evades the ordinary man. You would be heartbroken if Mathias were anything of such, and he knows. He only wants you to see him as the person he is when he’s with you. Kind, gentle, and passionate. You make feel like a man, and when he feels like a man, it fills him with a carnal sense of purpose.

He’s sensual at heart, so he can’t go without it. Not without you, or the intoxicating completion you give him. So when you start pulling away, he’ll feel the whips of panic because a part of him is slipping away. Every interaction you have with him will become emotionally charged. Mathias chases you like crazy, but you withhold from him, causing him to have frequent bursts of passion.

“I thought we talked about this—”

“—No, I thought we talked about this. You said you loved me, and now you’re not gonna marry me?” Mathias sits up out of alarm, then stares at you like you just betrayed him, because to him, you have.

When you argue

There’s no arguing with Mathias. When he wants it his way, he’ll eventually get it. And in that same breath, you can never stay mad at him, allowing for a vicious cycle that never ends. Something about him just gets you to forgive him before he even does anything. It doesn’t matter what the argument is about, or how bad it gets, because it’s guaranteed you’ll be kissing him by nightfall, and he’ll be making love to you until sunrise.

“What’s makes us so different to each other?”

“You know why,” You rub the tears from your eyes as you rush down the stairs. “I’m not your equal. I don’t have money, I can barely read, and I don’t know anything about the things that are important to you!”

“Those are trivial things! And they’re nothing I can’t give or teach you!” He runs in front of you, talking excitedly. And he believes in every word he speaks. “The fact that we’re arguing makes us equals!”

No matter how outlandish.

“It doesn’t work that way, Mathias!”

He uses sex to his advantage. You know touch is his love language, so it becomes hard to resist, especially after a bad fight. The tension calls for a hard release of it, which he does through a hot and raw pounding. It gives him the safety and reassurance that you will always love him, and he’s addicted to it like a drug. Don’t be surprised that he starts picking fights just for the sake of it.

“I’m gonna cum inside you, okay?” He pants over you, moving his pelvis back and forth in fluid thrusts.

“You wouldn’t dare,” You breathe under him.

“I would,” Mathias speeds up to a pace that gets his face to contort from a pleasure so good, it looked like he was in pain. He was going so hard and deep, his orgasm came in seconds, arriving in strong jets that fills you to the brim. And he’s not letting you go until every last drop of it is pumped into your womb.

He wrecks boundaries and shatters your mind in the process. He can’t handle distance, let alone tension, and will force his way into your world. You can’t help but let him, too helplessly in love with his smile and memory. He seems nurturing and giving, when really, he takes just as much, and if not, more. You don’t always realize that, and lose yourself as well as your ability to say no.

The King

He has a fierce intelligence that intimidates. Not only does he have one of the greatest military minds of all time, there is no taking advantage of him in political exchanges. He can read anyone with a single glance, then find a way to get out on top. It’s all in his slick grin, which goes away in an instant. Making it obvious he’s hiding his amusement is just how he mocks his enemies.

Mathias is above the system. He doesn’t abide by existing power or religious structures if he thinks they’re useless. Sailing west into an open ocean, guiding his people to enlightenment and discovery. Questioning rulers, then going so far as to overthrow them. He’s a dark horse when it comes to challenging the natural order, a master of annexation, a force to be reckoned with.

He treats those below him with respect. He will look anyone in the eye to speak to them on their level, no matter who. He’s not pretentious at all, but very understanding of people from all walks of life. Kind to the poor, merciless to the rich. Civilians are cared for by their king and love him for it, but the same can’t be said for high society. Not that they have anything to say about it.

Mathias is uncensored to violence. He wouldn’t bat an eye at the inside of someone’s skull, heads rolling, or spilled guts. As a king, he’s seen it all. He fights with his men like the God of war for all his incorruptible dreams, so every battle serves a divine purpose. If it means he can give his people a better life, give you a better life, he would gladly take it away all the same without hesitation.

And yet, when you come around, his invincibility, sharpness, everything that makes him ruthless, goes away instantly. That impenetrable exterior his enemies work tirelessly to get past, is broken. He returns to who he is at his core, a kind, gentle, and curious man because you see him as such. Being with you is like rising to the surface and taking a breath for the first time, constantly.

For this, he can never stop thinking about you. Every waking hour of the day, you’re on his mind. With the rush of politics and warfare, all he wants is to drown in your love, beauty, and femininity. You are the light to the darkness that pervades the world, your presence a sacred haven in all the chaos. It’s no wonder the world is made for two, because he can’t understand it without you.

That’s why he’s such an intense lover. Mathias will show up to your doorstep uninvited and beg for your attention like he’s starving for it, because there’s no other way to describe such a feeling. Whether it’s through talking, touching, or kissing, the way he looks at you is how all girls want to be looked at — a look with so much love, you can hardly return it. But he makes you every time.

He can stay calm even in times of conflict and crises. He knows when he’s in control, and this has served him well for many years. But if he does lose his head, it’s when you’re caught in the crossfire. He will do anything to keep you safe, even if he has to sacrifice thousands of others. He wouldn’t just go to war for you like other men, he would wage them. Start them. Finish them.

His dedication is the stuff of myths and legends, because if it came down to it, he would venture to the depths of the underworld to rescue you from the dead. Slay monsters to prove his worth. Challenge Gods. Nothing is bigger than his love for you, and he’ll make the whole world feel it. What he has with you is for the history books, epics, and sagas, but he’d prefer privacy over all.

You are his only weakness, so if someone caught wind of the king’s secret lover, everything would be over. Unfortunately, he gets too carried away by going to your home too often. To protect you, he has no choice but to reveal his identity and take you back to the palace. Dressed up in his most extravagant robes, he knocks on your door with a band of soldiers surrounding the property.

When you answer, the first thing you see is Mathias in his crown, and behind him, the royal guard. Your heart sinks as everything clicks. Why he was always so secretive, why he was always so adamant that you were his equal, his other half. Why the court advisors bowed before him despite being the highest ranking officials in the state, because he was above everyone and everything, all except for the Gods themselves.

“Let me explain.” He tells you, brows raised.

“I knew it,” You utter, slamming the door in his face. But nobody simply shuts out the king, not even you. That reality sinks in as he stays outside your home, asserting he has no intention to leave without you.

The honeymoon

The first week is the toughest. You feel betrayed and overwhelmed by who Mathias is, so you refuse to see him. He’s very understanding at first, and prepares a separate room just for you. It’s fully furnished, lavishly decorated, and filled with everything you’ve ever laid your eyes on. He’s been thinking of you all this time, yearning to be with you, but you have yet to give in. This isn’t the man you thought you knew, and yet, some part of you always suspected he’d turn out this way. He seemed too good to be true, and he was. After all, every force has an equal and opposite reaction, where his love for you alone goes head to head with his ruthlessness.

He tries to find you around the palace, which is perfect for when you eventually get cabin fever. You roam the palace grounds out of curiosity, even joining some of the servants in the kitchen. Mathias would never show up in a place like that, and that serves you well for a few days. You feel like yourself again and all is well, that is, until you run into him in the orchard, picking apples for himself. It’s the second time you’ve made the crucial mistake of thinking of him as any other king when he isn’t. No chore is too low for him to do, no place too filthy for him to be. You both stare at each other, eyes wide. Without a single word exchanged, you turn around and run off.

“Will you at least have dinner with me?” He calls out to you, watching your back grow smaller and smaller.

“I’m quite fine, thank you.”

“Please?” Mathias softens his voice. “I miss you.”

You can’t resist him, especially when he talks and looks at you like that. The man you thought you knew is still in there, and it sucks you in like a rip. You join him in the dining hall and have a meal together, even if it’s a silent one. You’re keen on leaving right after, but he’s quick to notice that. He’s never wrong when it comes to reading your body language, even when you were being subtle about it. Turns out, with him, nothing is subtle. He catches you before you get far, grabbing your hand and pulling you back. “I’m still the same person you love, so will you just stay with me?”

Mathias is sneaky. He’s really good at reeling you in and letting you think you’re pushing him away. And he gets closer the more he keeps doing it. He knows exactly what he’s doing, while looking like he doesn’t. His innocent act is more effective than you’re led on to believe, because you fall for it every time. Every interaction with him has a catch, just like the dinner that came with a stroll. And now, you’re in his bed a week after telling him you want to sleep separately. You only realize your mistake three nights in, curled up tightly in his arms, staring up at his tired, smiling face.

“What am I gonna do with you?” You whisper.

“The same thing you’ve always done.” He answers.

He’s comfortable in his natural state. Mathias has the body of a warrior, his skin scarred by all the blades that have touched him. Otherwise, he’s an impressive specimen produced from years of battle and good genes. Large, muscular, and well-endowed. If the weather allows for it, he’ll relax in the bedroom buck naked, and talk to you as casually as he would with clothes on. He doesn’t feel any shame or embarrassment when he’s so familiar with you. He can also work up quite a stink, so he makes it a point to chase you around for a hug. And he catches you every time.

He expects you to join him for breakfast and dinner everyday. Mathias has a lot of business to attend to in between, but wants you to be the first and last thing he sees. Waking up and falling asleep beside you isn’t enough. He also insists on taking all his baths with you, so you ought to get used to being naked around him. He’s the type to stare, and so much that it’s embarrassing, but he always makes sure to remind you how beautiful you are. He may be a handful, but he just wants you to be as comfortable around him as you can so you both can be like two peas in a pod.

“It’s not like I haven’t already seen every inch of you, so don’t be shy,” He wades over to you in the pool.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t stop refreshing your memory.” You splash his face, cackling. “Have some manners!”

He tutors you. Granted, it took a lot of convincing on your end, but you can’t deny that you want to be closer to him, and this is how. He teaches you all about his duties, as well as math, science, and literacy. You didn’t go to school, but he wants to involve you in official business as you’ll be his most trusted partner in the future. And if he sends letters, you need to be able to read them. He’s been elevating you this whole time, hoping that you gain the confidence to stand by his side one day. And when that day comes, he’ll propose to you in a way that feels so natural, you won’t hesitate to accept. If you see him smiling at you over nothing, that’s what he’s thinking about. You’re going to be this nation’s most beloved queen one day, and he can’t wait for it to come.

The night of your wedding, he will carry you to his chambers to consummate it. He doesn’t think of it as a duty wherein he needs to produce heirs, but something he’s been wanting to do for ages. Starting a family with you, if he didn’t already get you pregnant from all the unprotected sex he’s been having with you for months. But tradition is tradition, and there won’t be another opportunity as romantic as this. You’ll be ravished all night, taking him until your insides ache and you get sick of his taste. He has a penchant for all kinds of sex, but combined with his ox-like stamina and insatiable appetite, he could go at it forever.

Mathias would want to reincarnate by your side, finding you again and again in endless rebirths. In the dark ages where life is short and death is always near, having you just once isn’t enough. So after conquering the mortal world and making it perfect for you, he will search for answers to the question that needs answering. What comes after death, and if you’ll be there, waiting for him. It’s strange. He has dreams of having different lives, each more vivid than the last. Sometimes a dashing prince, other times, a champion boxer. He doesn’t understand what he experiences, but the thing about dreams is that they always make sense when he’s in them. So maybe, it’ll come to him one day, even if it’s thousands of years later.

#thank you to everyone who were willing to pay for early access 🥲❤️#I’m always broke so #Go stream Gods and Monsters by Lana Del Rey 💓#As well as Princess of China and Legendary Lovers 😭#alfredosauce50 #update #hetalia fanfiction #hetalia #hetalia x reader #hetalia fanfic #axis powers hetalia #Denmark x reader #aph Denmark #yandere #headcanons #king Denmark #historical

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apoemaday · 10 months

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Catalogue of Ephemera

by Rebecca Lindenberg

You give me flowers resembling Chinese lanterns. You give me hale, for yellow. You give me vex.

You give me lemons softened in brine and you give me cuttlefish ink. You give me all 463 stairs of Brunelleschi’s dome.

You give me seduction and you let me give it back to you. You give me you. You give me an apartment full of morning smells—toasted bagel and black coffee and the freckled lilies in the vase on the windowsill. You give me 24-across.

You give me flowers resembling moths’ wings.

You give me the first bird of morning alighting on a wire. You give me the sidewalk café with plastic furniture and the boys with their feet on the chairs. You give me the swoop of homemade kites in the park on Sunday. You give me afternoon-colored beer with lemons in it.

You give me D.H. Lawrence, and he gives me pomegranates and sorb-apples.

You give me the loose tooth of California, the broken jaw of New York City. You give me the blue sky of Wyoming, and the blue wind through it.

You give me an ancient city where the language is a secret everyone is keeping.

You give me a t-shirt that says all you gave me was this t-shirt. You give me pictures with yourself cut out.

You give me lime blossoms, but not for what they symbolize.

You give me yes. You give me no.

You give me midnight apples in a car with the windows down. You give me the flashbulbs of an electrical storm. You give me thunder and the suddenly green underbellies of clouds.

You give me the careening of trains. You give me the scent of bruised mint.

You give me the smell of black hair, of blond hair.

You give me Apollo and Daphne, Pan and Syrinx. You give me Echo.

You give me hyacinths and narcissus. You give me foxgloves and soft fists of peony.

You give me the filthy carpet of an East Village apartment. You give me seeming not to notice.

You give me an unfinished argument, begun on the Manhattan-bound F train. You give me paintings of women with their eyes closed. You give me grief, and how to grieve.

#poetry #rebecca lindenberg #catalogue of ephemera #a personal favorite

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makapatag · 4 months

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cross disciplinary training in gubat banwa

so, GUBAT BANWA is a big martial arts game of esoteric martial arts. of beatdown and bone breaking. bakbakan at suntukan, pangamot ug pagdaug. it focuses on martial arts and the culture that surrounds that. during ancient seasian times (the main foundation for this game), formal categorized schools didn't exist: participating in your culture was you learning its martial arts, or a random hermit in the sea cave could teach you a secret martial art, or your family could have its own secret martial art, etc. etc.

so martial arts classes (in gubat banwa they're called Disciplines) are expressions of culture and tradition. from a mechanical side, I knew I wanted to make Gubat Banwa a multiclassing-first game, a la Lancer, for multiple reasons

I like multiclassing, I almost always multiclass

You get access to more of the game and the game's lore (much of Gubat Banwa's lore is in the disciplines)

You get to write a plurality of classes that deal with a plurality of playstyles

It makes writing Disciplines easier--they become small packages of power instead of the long Narrative Playbooks that they are a la D&D 4e's classes. this also makes making Disciplines easier as you don't have to write one for a 12 Level long progression

it creates a more emergent character progression (a Mangangayaw learning Sword Saint techniques for example might be a raider who raided a Virbanwenyo settlement and got the resident martial artist to teach him a thing or two, or it could be that they started picking up how Virbanwenyo Penitents fought)

however, Disciplines were more than just classes, they're also martial arts in their own right. So as I deepened my understanding with the Martial Arts I also found further justifications for multiclassing [which we like to call crosstraining]). these are from my and GB's Art Director Dylan's experiences from Filipino Martial Arts:

to become a true grandmaster is to learn or observe a large variety of styles (see: Johnny Chiuten, Anciong Bacon, etc.)

most real grandmasters that began their own FMA schools are those that studied and learned techniques from a wide variety of martial arts (Anciong Bacon knew Boxing and Dumog, for example. Johnny Chiuten knew multiple Chinese Martial Arts and trained in Balintawak and Lapunti, GM Filemon Caburnay learned both the arts of blacksmithing and of multiple arnis styles as he traveled across Visayas and Mindanao, and learned Kung Fu from Johnny Chiuten, before going down the path of perfecting his own fighting style that became Lapunti Arnis de Abanico)

even my own master in Lapunti who started with Lapunti was exposed to other Arnis and Martial Art styles so he was able to build his own style around it, and was able to contribute his own moves into modern Lapunti. i can see a bit of Chinese Martial Art influence in his movements now, a bunch of balintawak progression

very often if you're a student of violence, you will be learning multiple combat arts both out of necessity and out of love for movement. a balintawak warrior might have their movements augmented with jiujitsu training, a lapunti could benefit from learning sikaran, etc. etc.

kadungganan are meant to be nascent grandmasters, especially those that reach legend 12, so this is the main justification for the multiclassing instead of just having 1 martial art that you perfect. in real life this doesn't really happen, especially if you want to perfect your own fighting style. the assemblage of multiple techniques from 12 Legends worth of progression is there to facilitate the fantasy of a Kadungganan perfecting their martial art style, like the grandmasters of old

i knew since the earliest stages of gubat banwa that i wasn't going to compromise the multiclassing aspect, i just find it very serendipitous that crosstraining fits so well into the martial arts fantasy. it makes me pretty satisfied and happy, and i'm glad i didn't bend to internal talking and thinking about making a "pure discipline" progression possible

#gubat banwa #ttrpg #gamedev #thoughts #god let me please be proud of how i designed this game

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