#apprentice deirdra

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

Deirdra is ready to make her appearance at the Midsummer Masquerade. And in this outfit, she's sure to turn heads.

Full image under the cut. Thank you @nvvermore for this stunning commission! My Dee has never looked hotter 💚

Seriously I am in love with this artwork.

No mask, because why bother when you're one of the most recognizable women in Vesuvia? She's here to be seen on her lovely wife's arm... and hopefully in many other locations as well. After all, there's no shortage of fun to be had at the @midsummer-masquerade

[nadiaportia]

I, II, IV for apprentice Li asks

Thanks Eren! This is really long because I did it for each and am incapable of writing one sentence answers.

EDIT: Good god, I wrote this out in the middle of the night and somehow mistook IV for V soooo IV will be tackled in a future ask!

Sayelle

I.) How did your MC and their LI first meet? 

She and Nadia met at a masquerade, years before she died. In fact, ever since she came to Vesuvia, she had attended every single one of them until the plague outbreak - Vesuvia might not be Bizatena but when at the masquerade she would sometimes pretend she was back home. She was introduced to the Countess as a close friend of Asra.

II.) What was your MC’s first impression of their LI? What about their LI’s first impression of them? Was it accurate or did them getting to know one another change how they saw each other?

Sayelle thought Nadia was kind, impressive to the point of it being a bit intimidating but also distant... a common first impression but one that is swept aside very quickly after one gets to know Nadia for a bit and one experiences her warmth and how considerate she is of people’s feelings. Nadia recognized Sayelle as someone who’s very grounded and is at ease with other people, a trait she admires a lot. 

V.) What would your MC do for their LI after they come home from a long/bad/hard day? What would their LI do for them?

Oh, Sayelle would hear Nadia complain about having too much work on her hands atm and spontaneously take her out on a dinner date at one of their favorite places (which isn’t necessarily the fanciest one but it defo has its own charme to it) where they buy a huge plate of spiced swordfish with baclava for dessert and do the thing where one puts the food on their fork and gives it to the other person. When Nadia sees Sayelle stressed out, she takes whichever book she’s reading to get her head clear out of her hand and reads it out loud for her. 

Ximena

I.) How did your MC and their LI first meet?

Xime and Lucio actually didn’t meet before their respective deaths due to plague and spontaneously bursting into flames so it’s basically what happens in the route, unless you are counting the dreams Ximena has of being in his wing. There’s some more skepticism and initial dislike tho because we are not gonna start this out rose-colored.

II.) What was your MC’s first impression of their LI? What about their LI’s first impression of them? Was it accurate or did them getting to know one another change how they saw each other? 

Ximena thought Lucio felt entitled to her help (which he did), brash, selfish and uncaring and originally wanted to drop him as soon as she was done helping him in turn for basically solving the entire murder mystery with his confession. Lucio thought Xime was cynical, stuck-up, proud and boring. Being tethered to each other certainly gave them a better understanding of each other as well as seeing the other face their respective demons/fears.

V.) What would your MC do for their LI after they come home from a long/bad/hard day? What would their LI do for them?

Xime is never one to decline a warm (shared) bath while sipping some of the good vintage or being on the receiving end of a really nice massage and Lucio is all too happy to give them when she’s stressed... or really, whenever. As for the other way around, Xime will sit on the couch with her legs crossed, Lucio puts his head in her lap and she runs her fingers through his hair and feeding him honeyed meat or pomegranate seeds - it’s a little gesture but puts him at great comfort and for good measure Mercedes and Melchior try to get some 

Deirdra

I.) How did your MC and their LI first meet?

Deirdra and Portia would see each other at the market the entire time, so often that at some point they basically knew what each other’s grocery list was. Before that... Portia could swear that one evening at a pub in Nevivon where she used to job as a bartender, she saw someone that looked a lot like Deirdra with the sole exception that their hair was dark blonde and they were speaking in another language to another group of travellers... but when she asks Deirdra if they’d ever been to Nevivon, the answer she gets is a confused no.

II.) What was your MC’s first impression of their LI? What about their LI’s first impression of them? Was it accurate or did them getting to know one another change how they saw each other?

Oh, Deirdra was fascinated by Portia and took an instant liking to her, her openness even though by all means Deirdra is a stranger to her at first. Still, she never tells Deirdra at any point that she has a relatively high position in the Palace, nevermind that she’s basically head servant, so that surprises them - but it’s not something they hold against her because they ultimately know that Portia’s kindness has always been genuine - even though they do push her to tell the truth afterwards. Portia is also drawn to them, she notices herself blush everytime Deirdra laughs at her jokes and when their eyes glitter with joy as they listen with true interest to Portia’s stories from the Palace. She finds their sense of humor quite charming and genuine.

V.) What would your MC do for their LI after they come home from a long/bad/hard day? What would their LI do for them?

They both go out for a fun night to take their mind off things if it was a tough one for Deirdra but if it was a really tough one they settle for a nice night in where they lie in bed in each other’s arms and talk about whatever comes to their minds. When it was a long day for Portia, they sometimes do a karaoke-for-two night where they pretend they’re on a stage with an audience (it’s always just the other person and their respective familiars) and belt out some bangers - Deirdra with some Oriolian songs they would sing at night back home and Portia with folk songs from Nevivon.

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

My beautiful baby Deirdra by @miserytheapprentice !!! I love her!!!!! Especially the soft, soulful eyes.

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

If I look then I touch then it's already over

Midsummer Masquerade Day 2: Suspension/ Overstimulation | Deirdra x Nadia 🍋

At the opening event of the Midsummer Masquerade, Deirdra and Vissenta are the stars of the show. But Dee may be in for a lot more than she bargained for...

CW: bondage/restraint, overstimulation, D/s dynamics

With thanks to @misery-lake for the use of Miz.

Artwork of Deirdra and Vissenta (full version under the cut) is by the ever-incredible @vissenta-senadz. Thanks for being a ho with me 💛

In the darkness of the ballroom, floating under her spotlight like a painting in a gallery, Deirdra could almost believe that she was alone. She can’t turn her head, not with her hair tied like this, and even if she could, the light above her would hide anyone outside its bright glare. But if she focuses, she can hear the heavy breathing, the little pants and sighs that tell her the other exhibits are just as keyed up as she is. 

Nadia explained it to her weeks ago, when Deirdra first expressed interest in the art of suspension. This gallery event was the grand opening of the Midsummer Masquerade, the first in a series of sensual delights designed to offer guests a taste of all the diversions available for sampling over the course of the night. Exhibits — or rather, exhibitionists — would be suspended from the ballroom ceiling, tied carefully into positions that would showcase their best assets or test their endurance, depending on their preferences. Each one would have a curator there to perform the rigging, but also to monitor the exhibit and the guests to ensure that everyone was healthy and having fun. The exhibitors nearest the door, done up in black silk rope, would be for viewing only. In the center, bound in white silk, would be the exhibits which could be touched with permission from the curator. And finally, the two exhibits closest to the stairs would be suspended in the finest gold silk, free for anyone to touch. Vissenta, a veteran of the local human artwork scene, is one of them. Dee herself is the other. 

On that thought, Dee hears the double doors at the other end of the ballroom swing open, and the murmur of the crowd outside heightens. But no one speaks and no one enters until, from the bottom of the ballroom stairs, near enough for Deirdra to touch if she could just move her arms, Nadia’s voice rings out. “Honored guests, welcome. Welcome to an evening of sensual delights, of fantasies fulfilled, of desires brought forth from darkness and made real. Welcome to everything you never knew you wanted. Welcome... to the Midsummer Masquerade.”

As the last word fades, there is a snap. Thousands of short candles blink to life around the edges of the room, their heatless flames offering just enough light to illuminate the plush red carpet that rolls up the center of the room between the exhibits. Music, low and sweet, begins to echo from a distant corner. Muffled footsteps and hushed voices dull the sounds of breathing as the first guests enter the room. 

In her mind, Deirdra can see it, the glow of admiration and the heat of desire in a hundred pairs of eyes as people begin to take in the artistry on display. The endurance, the trust, the sensuality, the skill. Some of the participants are suspended to accentuate their particular assets — flexible hips, ample breasts, taut muscles. Vissenta is bound as if on her knees, her ass and thighs a glorious display that even Dee has to admit is mighty tempting. Other displays are pure artistry, including one that twines a pair of lovers into a knot nearly as intricate as the ones that hold them aloft. This was what Deirdra and Nadia had eventually agreed on, after trying a dozen different poses. A harness of braided knots loops her waist and breasts. One of her ample thighs is held aloft, the other left to hang low, her foot bound to her hair in a loop that forces her head back into a graceful arch. 

She sinks into it, closing her eyes and savoring the anticipation. She is waiting for the first murmurs of admiration or distaste, the first touch. She doesn’t have to wait long. A firm smack on her ass makes her shiver, and the voice that follows makes her smile.

“Nadia, darling, you’ve outdone yourself again.” Misery sweeps forward, and Dee can feel the flutter of delicate silk sleeves over her skin as her friend walks by. “The artwork this year is exquisite.”

Nadia’s voice is low and self-satisfied. “You know I would hate to disappoint my guests. How could I possibly keep something so beautiful all to myself?” One of her fingers trails along Deirdra’s jaw, and she shivers again, her belly clenching. And in this position, she realizes, there will be no relief. 

Misery chuckles at both of them. “Have fun, you two,” she says, and her footsteps fade away. 

Dee can hear the smile in Nadia’s voice when she replies, although the reply isn’t truly for Miz. “Oh, we most certainly will.” 

Deirdra trembles at the promise in those words, and then more hands are on her, and she’s lost in the sensations. Someone grabs her thigh the way a lover would before burying their face in her core and she feels herself go hot. Fingers pinch her nipples, pulling one and then the other, and she tries to arch into the pleasure-pain in spite of the ropes holding her. Fingernails glide along the crease where her ass meets the top of her thigh and she nearly comes out of her skin, whimpering for more. 

Nothing is enough now; not the pressure of the silk cords on her skin, not the lingering or feathering or bruising touches, not the cool of the night air across her dripping core. Deirdra is wound so tight with need that the seconds that elapse between each hand that lands on her body seem to stretch into infinity. But when she opens her eyes to plead for release, Nadia's gaze meets hers. Not yet, my love, say her hooded eyes and self-satisfied smirk. 

Dee's breaths are coming hard and fast now, her ribs straining against the soft silk ropes as she tries to breathe deep, to regain some control of herself. Her panties are soaked, molded against her mound from wet and from the fingers that test and tease her. Her thighs are shaking with need, with her desperate longing to press them together for even the tiniest measure of relief. 

Finally Nadia sees, and seems to take pity on her poor, unfulfilled wife. She steps into the circle of the spotlight and sets her hands to the ropes as if to adjust them — but it is only pretext. The Countess leans down, one of her violet braids dangling against Deirdra's cheek as she whispers, "they can touch you all they like, my wildflower. But you're not here for them. You wanted to show everyone you're mine? Then tonight, no one makes you come but me." She straightens and steps away.

Dee nearly weeps at the loss. She is going to die here, she's sure of it, because she can't possibly take any more of this stimulation. But of course she can, and she will, because Nadia demands it. 

And so she closes her eyes again and gives herself up to touch. Time and thought cease to exist — her entire existence gives over to the places where skin meets skin. Fingertips along the line of her throat. Palms grasping her hips. Knuckles traced down the side of her breast and ribcage. She is breath, she is trembling, she is a bubble swept on a wave of pleasure that is still a long way from crashing on the shore. 

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

I’ve got a notion I wanna confess

Midsummer Masquerade Day 1: Marking | Deirdra x Nadia 🍋

Deirdra is getting ready for the Masquerade, and wants everyone to know precisely whose she is.

See this post for gorgeous art of Dee’s outfit for the @midsummer-masquerade

CW: biting/bruising, D/s dynamics

In the mirror, Deirdra watched as her wife’s slender fingers slid around her waist. She admired them both together — Nadia’s elaborately done violet braids contrasted against her own wild copper curls; Nadia’s tall, slender frame contrasted against her own soft curves; Nadia’s dark, wicked smile contrasted against her own anxiously bitten lips. She sighed and rested her head back against her wife’s shoulder, right in the spot where they both loved her to be. 

“What is troubling you, my love?” asked Nadia, reaching to thread their fingers together, their wedding bands bumping together in a way that still made Dee’s heart stutter every time it happened. A small line of concern appeared between her brows. 

Dee turned her gaze away from the mirror and reached up to smooth a hand over Nadia’s cheek. “I’ll be fine, darlin’. Just a little nervous, I guess. You know how I get around crowds.”

The Countess leaned down to press a kiss to her wife’s forehead. “You do not have to go. I will make your excuses if you find it all too much.”

Dee whipped around to meet Nadia’s eyes. “No, honey, that’s not what I meant. This is too important to you — to us — for me to skip out on you just because I’ve got butterflies.” She reached for both of Nadia’s hands and brought them to her lips. “I just need a few minutes to remind myself why we’re doing all this.” She skimmed her gaze up and down Nadia’s body meaningfully. 

The Countess had worn a gown that looked much like the wrap dresses she favored for everyday wear, with one notable exception: every inch of the fabric was sheer. Only well-placed drapes of fabric and braids hid key points of her anatomy from public view. Deirdra, for one, deeply appreciated the look. 

Nadia did not blush at the blatant appraisal, but gripped Dee’s shoulders and turned her around to look at herself in the mirror. From there, she could see both her wife’s smoldering gaze as it traveled across her skin, as well as her own obvious reaction. Everyone in the palace, in fact, would be able to see it, because the outfit Nadia had chosen hid absolutely nothing from view. The teal silk bra lifted her pale, freckled breasts up for inspection, but the fabric stopped short of covering her nipples, which had peaked under Nadia’s gaze. The matching garter belt, a wide ribbon of teal lace, did far more to accentuate the curve of her ass and hips than to hide anything at all. A sheer silk robe offered the illusion of modesty, but it would be shed soon — after the Masquerade’s opening event, Dee wouldn’t be wearing it any longer. Every inch of exposed skin was flushed, already anticipating the multifarious ways it would be tempted and touched this evening. 

“This is why,” Nadia breathed, her lips brushing the shell of Deirdra’s ear. Her fingers slid across silk and skin and silk with never quite enough pressure to truly be called a touch. “Because I want to show the world you’re mine.” Her voice went husky, teasing, as she continued. “And I know you want them to see it, too.”

Dee shivered. A sound wrenched itself from her throat, one that might have been a whimper and might have been a yes.

Nadia’s fingers came back up to tangle in Deirdra’s curls. “Would you like that, love? For all of Vesuvia, all of the world, to see me make you mine?”

Dee’s eyes fluttered shut on a moan, and Nadia’s fist tightened, pulling her hair until she opened her eyes and answered. “Yes, Countess.”

And Nadia, the clever woman she was, heard the unspoken but. “But…?”

Dee bit her lip, even though she knew it would smear the lipstick her wife had so carefully painted on her lips. She wasn’t usually demanding in their bedroom. That wasn’t the dynamic they had agreed upon, and generally she trusted Nadia to understand what they both needed. But tonight she needed something very specific, so she met Nadia’s eyes in the mirror as she spoke. “I don’t want them to have to wait for it. I want everyone who walks in to take one look and know. That I’m not just yours in name or law, but in body and soul.”

Nadia smiled, a dark and wicked thing that sent tremors through Deirdra’s every nerve. “Is that right, my love?” Without waiting for an answer, she tightened her fist in Dee’s hair again — not too tightly, but just enough to guide her over to the bench in front of the vanity. She sat, and pulled Dee down to straddle her lap. “You will always be mine, and I am proud of that. And if you want everyone to know—” she leaned forward to nip at Dee’s lower lip— “all you must do is ask.” 

Once again, Nadia’s fist tightened in Dee’s hair, tipping her head back. Her blue eyes fluttered shut on a groan, one that was quickly followed by a gasp as Nadia’s lips and teeth descended on her breast. Bites came, one after another, deep and punishing. Dee clasped her thighs around Nadia’s hips, moaning and hissing with pleasure at each new sensation, each sweet sting of pain. It was good, so good, a promise of what was to come, and Dee let herself contract until she was nothing more than soft skin beneath her wife’s lips.

But too soon, Nadia pulled her head and hand away, sitting back with a satisfied little hum. Deirdra blinked away her daze and looked down to see bruises blooming red and purple like peonies on her skin— one after another, in the curling shape of the letter N. With a smile, she leaned in to press a soft, promising kiss to her Countess’s lips. 

“Will that do?”

“Darlin’, that’ll do just fine.”

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

Deirdra's fashion sense has exactly 2 modes:

1) Just Woke Up

2) Serving Looks

There is no in between.

(Loungewear by Jibri. Gown by 11 Honoré.)

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

Apprentice Deirdra Intro!

(it only took me like 2 months....)

Name: Deirdra Aswen Carew (she/her)

Age: 36

Height: 5'6"

Favorite food: spaghetti aglio e olio

Favorite drink: hot tea

Favorite flower: spring squill

Sign: Pisces sun, Cancer moon

Canon Point: Nadia Upright Ending

Shippable: she is very married to Nadia but pre-canon Sapphic ships are a-okay!

Deirdra is from Caer Ellig, which is situated on the coast a bit south of Balochry and Malawi. (Think fantasy Cornwall for geography, and fantasy-mashup-of-gaelic-cultures for everything else.) She came to Vesuvia when she was 15, sent there for her protection by her family. Her primary magic is divination: tarot is her most popular service, but she also has dreams of the future, reads crystals and palms, and is mildly psychic. Do not try to lie to her or hide baked goods from her.

She is, as @vissenta-senadz likes to put it, Lesbian Dolly Parton. She likes it when people see her as a backwater hick and underestimate her. She likes it even more when she gets to use that to blow their ill-informed, bigoted opinions out of the water. She reads voraciously, especially weird metaphysical treatises and romance novels. She is your local mom friend. If you have met her more than once she worries about whether your feet are warm and if you're drinking enough water. Do you want a hug? She hopes you do, because she wants to give you one. But if what you need is a verbal slap on the back of the head, that's exactly what you will get.

She is my lavender-scented softgirl and I cannot overstate how much I love her.

More of her backstory to come via some erotica that caught feelings and then caught plot (whoops).

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

11 and 20 because I am craving this marvelous ship if that's ok

Um of course it's okay!!!

11. What’s their favorite thing that their partner has ever said to them?

"I love you." Dee still gets a little blushy and giddy every time Nadia says this to her. She is still a little bit awestruck that someone so beautiful and smart and glamorous loves soft little Dee the farm witch. Dee's friends think it is hilarious to say Nadia's name and watch her face go completely red.

20. What’s something they do absentmindedly that their partner finds adorable?

She wiggles her toes when she's happy.

Deirdra didn't wear shoes often as a child. When the weather was nice (which it often was, in her memory) she would run around the farm barefoot. To this day, she doesn't love the feeling of shoes, especially anything with itchy lace or a large heel. So as often as as can, she kicks off her shoes, and when she's feeling relaxed or happy she starts to wiggle her toes. Nadia loves it, because it tells her that Dee feels at home.