#Johnathan has a knife!

[thedoorbird]

Actually, Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Frustrated that a good Dracula adaptation doesn’t exist I just made my own movie poster for the movie that should exist but somehow doesn’t!!!

[trashmouth-richie]

Series summary: Hawkins Annual Halloween Festival is in town, and this year you and your friends were lucky enough to work the event. But when some of your co-workers are missing, and a trail of blood leads to the woods behind the festival. Your friends work together to find out what’s going on. A killer is on the loose but who could it be? Or is it the town’s spooky secret of what really happened at Hawkins Lab?

ch 2: A SCREAM AND A SLICE

ch 3: THE ROCKSTAR AND THE RED LIGHTS

ch 4: FAMILY VALUES

series trigger warnings: blood, character death, murder, smut, p in v, drinking & smoking pot, themes of misuse of prescription pills, character killer, stranger things canon events, light mentions of domestic abuse, neglect, etc.

BUY TICKETS

PROMO FLYER

part 1 summary: a movie night with friends ends with a very scared Nancy and you and your best friend getting high in your room, when the lights flicker across town— you + Eddie brush it off as nothing— because Hawkins Indiana has always been a little strange.

FLICKER

The popcorn bowl in your lap is nearly empty, only brown kernels left to shift noisily as Eddie’s hand scrapes around the bowl in chase of one last piece of the buttery snack.

Your eyes are glued to the screen, breath hitched in your throat as you watch Michael Myers stalk down the street. Even though you’ve seen it a dozen times, it still gets to you. Something about the rubbery, expressionless mask he dons as he chases and slashes through people's skin just rubs you the wrong way. 

“Ohhh fuck!” Eddie gleams, Michael’s knife cutting through Annie’s throat, “did ya see that?!”

“Trying not to,” Nancy muffles, her face buried into the broad shoulder of Steve, small hand clasped around her eyes, Steve’s arms pulling her closer into him.  

Movie nights in the Wheeler basement were a typical Friday for your group of friends. Something that you weren’t sure would continue to happen after you, Eddie and Steve graduated this past May. Being waitlisted for your dream school put your endeavors on hold and neither one of them had any grand plans of leaving Hawkins, especially since Steve and Nancy had rekindled their on-again-off-again relationship. 

Currently they were on again, and dipping into near pornography whenever they thought no one was watching or listening.

“I gotcha,” Steve purred into Nancy’s mouse brown hair, rubbing her back, “c’mon Munson, turn this shit off.”

“No!” You and Eddie both say at once. 

He smirks at you. The same dimpled closed mouth grin he had given you since you were thirteen years old. He clears his throat, “It’s almost over anyway.”

Eddie’s love for movies and music came at a young age. Anything to keep his mind busy while his parent’s fought. Anything to keep the noise of the screen door slapping shut as his mom fled their trailer again, his dad hot on her heels and swinging a fist through the dark night trying to make contact. Anything to drown out the noise and squeal of her tires kicking up rocks and dead grass against the aluminum trailer as she sped away, this time for the last time— without him.

He was your friend before his mom had left and any of that had started, and he had spent more nights sleeping on your couch than he had his own bed. You were comfortable with Eddie in ways that girls shouldn’t be with their best friends who were boys. But you could care less. It was always, and forever would be, platonic between you and Eddie Munson. 

Reaching over the laps of both Eddie and Steve, you tug Nancy’s shirt until she peeks over Steve’s collar. You mouth bathroom? And she nods, getting up and following you, trying not to trip over a very drunk Robin or passed out Johnathan. 

The light in the bathroom does absolutely nothing for Nancy’s complexion, playing on the peaked look of her skin and illuminating dark circles under her eyes that you normally had not seen. She sits on the sink and holds her arms against her chest as you finish up, washing your hands next to her. 

“How can you guys watch that stuff?” She half whispers and sniffs, rubbing a petite hand under her red nose. 

Drying your hands, you shrug, hanging the towel back up on the hook, looking back at your reflection and fixing your smudged eyeliner,  “it’s just a movie Nance,” you say to her through the mirror, “besides, the possibility of something like that happening in Hawkins, are pretty damn slim.”

She shakes her head of ill thoughts, “yeah, o-‘f course, I just,” a chill runs through her, tickling her spine and making her skin goosebump, “the thought of it is… scary.”

“I think that’s the whole point.”

Opening the door, Steve audibly gasps at the next jump scare, and Eddie claps along hooting and hollering as Michael’s next victim joins the dead. 

“I hate Halloween,”she mutters to herself, hopping down from the sink following you out to your friends. 

-

Nancy spent the remainder of the movie with a lamp on, reading over her English paper for Mrs. Click’s class that was due in a few weeks, huffing in disapproval at either the movie or her paper you weren’t sure. 

Robin wedges her way onto the couch with the four of you, whisper yelling about how stupid the characters are and how none of it makes any sense. 

“You’re ruining it Buckley, shh!” Eddie says, placing a ringed hand over her mouth. And you can’t help but laugh at them both. 

Robin licked the flat of his palm, her signature move, and Eddie squealed in disgust, “fucks sake Robin.” 

“Aww,” Robin says, squeezing his cheeks with her long chip painted fingers, “don’t be jealous Eddie-bear.. you probably won’t know this but that smell is puss— ow!”

Your elbow digs into her ribs, “shh!” you sneer, 

The ending credits roll and Eddie’s on his feet, ejecting the tape and slotting it into the paper protector. “Who’s up for the second one?”

He groans when the entire room yells no. Pouting and shoving the tape into his backpack. “What about you Byers?” he asks, kicking Jonathan’s leg to bring him back to life. 

“Huh?” he asks through a yawn, rubbing his shocking red eyes, “nah man I’m cool, need to get home, mom is working late and Will’s by himself.” 

He tosses the pillow he was using into the arm chair and trudges up the steps, saying see ya laters and thanks as he leaves. 

Eddie shoots you a wink and you stand reaching for the blankets you were cuddling with and fold them neatly onto the couch. 

Robin stumbles up the stairs behind Jonathan, trying to score a ride so she doesn't have to walk the three blocks to her place completely drunk. 

Steve pulls Nancy in his lap. She’s whispering to him with tears brimming her bright blue eyes, but you can’t hear what she’s saying.

“Yeah, c’mon” he whispers against her hairline, holding her up so they can both stand, “still have your toothbrush at mine… hey, we’re going to my place,” he announces to you and Eddie, just turn the lights off and we’ll see you tomorrow for opening day right?”

The Annual Hawkins Halloween Carnival was in town, and after two years of working the county fair in Roane County, you had all been asked to work at the carnival this fall. 

The carnival schedule was the weekend before Halloween to the weekend of Halloween. 

Seven days of thrills and chills. Pumpkin carving, face painting, a corn maze that seemed to go for miles, the best food in the Midwest, and finally the usual carnival rides with a sick twist of Halloween themed frights. 

Orientation was last week Saturday and Sunday a grueling 7am-7pm both days. Mr. Creel went over expectations and rules for you as staff to follow. 

It seemed easy enough. You and Eddie were put on rides just like you had been all summer. Nancy and Argyle were in charge of games, Tina and one of her cheerleader friends were doing the pumpkin carving. 

Steve and Robin would be set up in a small booth sponsored by Scoops Ahoy from morning until 5 pm, later taking over on rides for Eddie while he and Corroded Coffin made their debut on stage at night. 

 Steve was still pissed that they were insistent on him wearing the blue sailor uniform, even though the mall burned down last July— they managed to have Mrs. Sinclair sew the outfit for him.  

Jonathan would help Argyle and Nancy with the nickel and dime games, ones designed to have parents shell out pockets of change to have their kids possibly win a stuffed animal that wasn’t even worth an entire dollar. 

Billy Hargrove— who you were certain fled town after the mall fire, was apparently still in Hawkins and now in charge of the haunted hay ride at night and the corn maze during the day. 

Him and Eddie used to be close during his senior year, but it all fell apart and you weren’t really sure why. When you asked, Eddie would shrug it off, claiming he had changed after graduation, and that was that. 

You were surprised that the staff was minimal even though the festival was bigger and had more events going on than the summer carnival did, but you didn’t want to jinx your chances of working for it next year. Rumor was, Creel paid double for the Halloween event, Eddie called it the chance of a lifetime, and you knew it’d  be stupid to mess it up by asking questions. 

-

“Thanks for letting me stay again,” Eddie mumbles after you toss him the sleeping bag from your closet, “didn’t know he’d be home tonight.” 

After you had drove home from Nancy’s you had barely gotten into your room when your phone rang, it was Eddie and he was at the payphone outside of Benny’s. 

It’s me, can I stay over?

you didn’t think twice, telling Eddie yes and hanging up the phone. 

His dad had been released from county two weeks ago after Eddie finally scraped enough bail money together to get him out. He swore this was the last time he’d do it but you knew better than that.

Eddie was a lot of things but he wouldn’t let his dad rot in some cell. Even though he deserved every single second of being there. 

Al Munson had been in and out of jail since you could remember, petty crimes this and grand theft auto that. He was hardly a stable male figure for Eddie. 

But to the doe eyed boy with brown curly hair— Al hung the moon. 

It nearly killed Wayne Munson to see Eddie stick up for his old man, but he still offered his home to Al whenever he came through town on his next stunt, bleeding Eddie’s pockets dry and taking every emotional spark left in him when he tore out of the driveway, just before the blue and red lights could follow.

“Don’t worry about it,” you shrug tossing him one of your pillows, “you know you’re more than welcome here, anytime.” 

Even though your parents hated the idea, you moved into the old apartments across town the week after graduation. Full of naive wonder and wanting some privacy you worked all the hours you could between Meldvald’s and Bradley’s Big Buy, earning just enough to have a couple hundred dollars left to go into savings after rent. 

The faucets leaked, the paint was chipping and probably poisonous, the front door didn’t even lock properly, but you could care less: it was freedom.

Eddie grabs the hem of his shirt and drags it over his head, revealing his tattooed chest and silver bar nipples, wincing when his shirt grazes the new piercing. His curls tickling his shoulders. 

“I know,” he grunts, unclasping his belt and chain from his jeans, tossing them to the floor beside his makeshift bed, “I just worry one day you’ll get sick of pitying the Munson charity case all the time.” 

He scoffs when you throw a pillow at him, “what I’m serious!”

“Knock it off, Bam Bam, you’re my best friend, I’m never getting sick of you.”

“oh Christ, listen—” he began, shaking his head in disgust and holding up a ringed hand to stop you, “this game only goes one way, babe, and that’s me calling you the same name I have since we were six.” 

You roll your eyes, a sudden heat to your cheeks that lately was becoming more and more prevalent each time Eddie used your nickname or an endearing name someone would use for a girlfriend. 

But that was just how Eddie was, he even called Ms. O’Donnell “honey” once to ace a test but all he got was a big fat ‘F’ and a week’s worth of detentions.  

Eddie reaches into his pocket for the plastic film, “besides, you only keep me around because you can smoke for free,” he says, presenting the pre-rolled joints and his trusty zippo. 

“Ooh, and he brings gifts? you shouldn’t have,” you mock in a terrible accent, fanning yourself with your hand as if you were a true southern bell, “it's not even my birthday, mister.” 

Eddie gets into the bit, sitting cross legged on your bed and dumping the contents of the bag onto your comforter, the skin of your knees touching, “well it’s not every day a lonely feller like me comes across a lady lookin’ as fine as you.”

Giggling he licks the end of the paper to seal it tight and you lick your own lips in greedy anticipation. You loved movie nights with all your friends, but there was always something special about being alone with Eddie. 

It was calming, but maybe it was just having him around that made the stress of bills and everything else just fade away. He had that special way about him. 

Holding the joint and lighter up for you his eyes locked with yours, and you swore his cheeks went pink, “ladies first, princess.” 

—-

Across town, Steve was spending the evening with his lips on Nancy’s neck, huffing when she gasps when the bed creaks from his movement. 

“Sorry— I’m still a little freaked out.”

Steve brushes a lock of hair behind her ear, “there’s nothing to worry about honey— I promise, I’ll keep you safe. You know that right?”

She takes a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. “I-I know that, I’m— it’s just this time of year that always gives me the creeps.” 

Nancy Wheeler had gained minor popularity when she struck the fancy of the king of Hawkins High. She wasn’t used to it, finding the glory of being Steve’s girlfriend suffocating. 

“Well I’ve got somethin that isn’t creepy,” he coos into the shell of her ear, “in fact, you always seem to like it.”  

“Steve..”

He shushes her with his lips, and like she always did, Nancy found herself giving in to him. 

—

Fingers twirled between the bouncy rings of a telephone cord, Robin waited patiently— well as patiently as she could— for Vickie to pick up. 

Their relationship was secretive, only her closest friends knew of Vickie and Vickie didn’t tell a single soul about the nights spent tangled in the corn powder blue sheets with the pretty freckled faced clarinet player. 

They had a system. Vickie dealt the cards and made the rules, while Robin had a hand of jokers and mismatched suits, only she didn’t—couldn’t— see it for what it was. 

The phone rang and rang, and would continue to ring. Hard to answer the phone when you’re too busy being pressed into the mattress with your feet on your boyfriend's shoulders. 

—

“Yeah mom, I’m home now.” Jonathan answered annoyingly into the phone, “… W—No he’s asleep.. I’m sure he did… yeah, fine..I’ll go check.” 

The phone would have stretched easily into the small bathroom down the hallway of the Byers’ home so he could check that Will had taken his nightly medication, but instead he let the phone slap against the floor in a clankety thud. 

Jonathan Byers had been the man of the house since his dad left in seventh grade. He cooked, he did the laundry, and worked part time wherever he could. His mom was barely able to keep it together since Lonnie had left. And most days, she couldn’t. Somehow the last year she had gotten worse. 

She was rail thin, and never ate a thing. Absent minded. Constantly writing things out and scribbling nonsense onto scraps of paper. Strewn across the living room, the kitchen, any surface available. 

She was always worrying if Will would be okay, but never reciprocating that same kind of love and care to Jonathan. 

Joyce Byers loved her boys equally, but the youngest was given more attention, maybe it was because he was her last baby, or possibly because his father had rarely ever acknowledged his existence. Still, the relationship between mother and son was broken off, string rolling in on itself when it came to Jonathan. 

The pills in the slot marked ‘friday’ were gone, just like Jonathan knew they would be. His brother took his medications religiously, never ever skippinga day, he had it clocked down to the hour,  minute, and second— the same time every single day. 

A routine he had since last year. 

Jonathan looks back at his gaunt expression when he shuts the medicine cabinet, smiling fake and toothy, taking the usual freebie from the hoard of pills his mother was prescribed but never took. 

His lips under the faucet he swallows the white oval pill down. 

Will wasn’t the only one with his own pill routine. 

—

“Eddie, turn the lights off already it’s fuckin 2 am,” 

Without fully waking you throw a pillow down to where he was laying, it wasn’t unusual for him to get high and pass out with the lights still on, but it was annoying beyond belief. 

A muffled groan is heard from beneath the tossed pillow before Eddie wrestled it from his face, “the fuck are you throwing shit at me for?” 

“you left the lights on again.”

Head on a swivel Eddie looks from you, to the ceiling to the switch, “open your eyes Helen Keller, they’re not on.”

the sting of light is still shining bright in your face and when you peel your eyes open you see that he wasn’t lying. Your room was dark, but the street lamp was glowing brighter than usual.  

Your toes curl around the plush fibers of your rug and you pull the cord to open the blinds. Eddie’s weight shifts onto your mattress as a loud yawn escapes his lips, followed by a scratching noise that you’re hoping is his nails against his skull instead of his balls. 

“what the fuck?”

The street lamps up and down your street were buzzing and glowing in an emberred haze. The glow of yellow was straining brighter than could be deemed possible and it was pulsing with an ominous flicker. 

You were tantalized by it’s beauty, like a moth to a flame hypnotized by the menacing doom— you couldn’t look away, and for a split second the welcoming sunshine of the lamp turned blood red, a warning of terror before being blown to bits and shattering to the ground below. 

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie jumps behind your shoulder, “what the hell was that, you saw it right?”

You definitely had, it’s illuminating shadow still glowed bright when you blinked your eyes. You have heard of electric surges, currants going hot when wires were overloaded. But flickering like that then burning red before burning out? It was almost like a fallacy, something Eddie probably would have made up for Hellfire, it simply couldn’t have been true. 

You rubbed at your eyes like a tired child, “told you that second joint smelled funny,” you said sitting on your knees facing him and shoving his shoulder, a look of shock on his face.

He scoffs and shoves your shoulder back, rolling his eyes playfully, “it’s a new strain Rick concocted himself, red…red somethin’…” he lays partly on the bed and stretches his body to the floor fumbling into his jeans pocket in search of the cellophane plastic of the baggy. 

“Ah, here,” he says, shoving the bag into your hand, your thumb rubs over the black sharpie written in boy chicken scratch hand writing.

You read it the same time Eddie says it. 

“Redrum.” 

♡ hope you enjoyed, comment what you think will happen next; reblogs are appreciated

♡ part 2: A SLICE & A SCREAM ♡

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[willbyersenthusiast]

i must give credit where credit is due and in this moment it’s due to none other than johnathan byers.

i’m watching the last few episodes of season 3 right now and he is SO PRACTICAL. at the end of episode 7 when the (TW: gory and gross) thing is wiggling inside of El’s leg and he basically knew exactly what to do. he got something for her to bite down on, sterilized the knife.

when the car wasn’t starting and he figured out what it was like SUPER FAST.

he helped Will build Castle Byers, hammering all the nails and putting it together with him.

i can’t think of anything else but comment if you know other moments where Johnathan has been just super handy and practical and helpful.

[john-macnamara]

PEIP Incident Report Released by ███████ to Tumblr Blog "john-macnamara" 03/13/2024. Subject: General John MacNamara; Elimination of Enemies

Incident #1: December █, 20██. Persons Involved: Colonel Wilbur R. Cross; Major Johnathan S. MacNamara; Lt. Colonel Rosalind B. Schaffer; Agent Xander P. Lee. Location: █████████, NM

At approximately 20:35, a standard mission update was sent in by Col. Cross. Team was instructed to stay put and wait for further instructions. The next two mission updates were unreported. At 22:14, a transmission was sent to Col. Cross. Was picked up by Lt. Schaffer, quote: "Cross is in unstable condition, Lee providing medical assistance. MacNamara in a fire fight with ██████, ███████, and █████. Prepared for further instruction."

The team was left without further instruction. At approximately 1:00, a final transmission was sent. Quote: " ██████, ███████, and █████ incapacitated. MacNamara defied orders under extenuating circumstances, ████ ████████ has been eliminated. Cross has been stabilized. Prepared for extraction. We are sorry."

Post-Incident: Col. Cross was sent to the New Mexico center for emergency medical aid, recovered within one week. Lt. Schaffer given the chance to explain the circumstances, Maj. MacNamara unpunished. Maj. MacNamra also required to take a two-week leave of absence due to his mental state post mission. Viewed this as a punishment.

Incident #2: August ██, 20██. Persons Involved: Brigandine General Johnathan S. MacNamara; ████ ███████; ████ █████████; ███████ ████; █████ ██████; Major General Truman E. Youngerman; Colonel Rosalind B. Schaffer; Lieutenant Colonel Harriet Y. Smith. Location: ███████, ██.

On ████ ██, ████, Brig. Gen. MacNamara disappeared from his station in Point Pleasant, WV. Unresponsive, filed as MIA 48 hours later. On ██████ ██, ████, a message sent to Maj. Gen. Youngerman. Read: "A little birdie told me you were missing a general. Give us the information before he does. You have 72 hours before your general dies."

Maj. Gen. Youngerman provided Col. Schaffer with a hard drive filled with falsified and/or outdated information. She was instructed to swap it for Brig. Gen. MacNamara. Took Lt. Smith as backup. Backup was needed. ████ ███████, ████ █████████, █████ ██████ pulled weapons on the two agents, resulting in a short firefight with all three adversaries eliminated.

Brig. Gen. MacNamara found in a state of half-consciousness, showing signs of heavy torture. Dead body of ███████ ████ found in corner of room. Brig. Gen. MacNamara found clutching the knife. Was sedated and taken to the intensive care unit at MSHS.

Post-Incident: No more information could be found on kidnappers. Brig. Gen. MacNamara made a recovery within 54 days. Retains minor hand tremors, ensure he is still able to consistently aim. Promoted to Maj. Gen. upon his return.

Incident #3: June ██, 20██. Persons Involved: Major Chunhua N. Shào; Major General Johnathan S. MacNamara; Lieutenant Colonel Harriet Y. Smith; Major Ishaan D. Bhavsar; Private Reese G. Dobler. Location: Yellowstone National Park, WY.

Team instructed to remain in cabin and observe impacts of extraterrestrial substances on biological organisms. On May ██, 20██, the escape of a presumed non-sentient substance was reported by Maj. Gen. MacNamara. Previous data had proven a possession of both living and dead organisms. The substance would slowly replace the original matter with it's own. Only able to spread via fluid, however.

Maj. Gen. MacNamara prevented his team from becoming infected in quarantine for twenty days. On June ██, 20██, Maj. Shào reported feelings of dizziness. Throughout the next few days, Maj. Shào showed more signs of infection until it was undeniable. Maj. Shào was a host for the substance. Maj. Gen. MacNamara was given the order to eliminate her. After 17 hours of deliberation, a report was sent in. Quote: "I... I killed her. Chunhua's dead. It was quick, I shot her in the head when *sob* she was sleeping. We burnt her body. There's nothing- *sob* there's nothing left. The threat has been eliminated. Extraction is no longer a risk. *hic* Over."

Post-Incident Report: Maj. Gen. MacNamara and his remaining team members were extracted the next day and given proper medical treatment for minor malnutrition and dehydration. Maj. Shào promoted to Lt. Col. postmortem. Her stipend will be sent to her family, and a funeral will be held on June 24, 20██. For his skills in handling the situation, and following of orders, plans have been made to promote Maj. Gen, MacNamara to four-star general.

[lonleywriters-blog]

Please can I request NSFW Dark Knight scarecrow HCs?

Yess this man has me in a choke hold

Nsfw Johnathan Crane hc's

He likes control that's very evident

He likes to add risks like tracing a knife down your thigh

Loves using fear to create arousal

Very open minded

He is honestly so needy at times

After you have been together for a while he will let himself be submissive for you

Please ride him, he loves the intimacy and position of it

He likes teasing you especially in public

One day you were cuddling up to him while reading and he asked you to use a arousal serum he's made

He loves using aphrodisiacs

He will let you squirm and beg Infront of him as he sits in a chair watching

His hands will lightly trace up and down your back

Loves putting his hand around your throat even if he isn't actually choking you

He is vocal when in bed

Let's out praises and groans

"Darling...you take me so well."

[dross-the-fish]

Ok, if it's not significant then why would he specifically have a Kukri?

I can answer that!

You see Britain is a colonialist empire and back in the day Britain occupied India and in the late Victorian era it became highly fashionable for English folk to have all kinds of Indian paraphernalia in their home. This time period was the height of the British fetishizing India as being mystical and exotic. Johnathan having a kukri isn't, in of itself, significant, it wouldn't have been hard for him to get one and it could easily just be a thing he has because Bram Stoker thought it was neat. At no point in the book does Johnathan make any reference to it being culturally important to him and beyond being described as a big, scary, foreign knife there's nothing that would indicate that it's personally meaningful to Johnathan.

Tbh I don't like putting too much emphasis on Jonathan's kukri because a white Victorian man like Johnathan Harker getting all up into the mythical aspects of a weapon from a culture his culture is oppressing runs the risk of coming off as fetishistic or orientalist. The closest comparison to how the English felt about India and it's culture that I can think of is high school weebs and their relationship to all things Japanese back in the 00s. This is not a thing anyone should be trying to emphasize in their white characters.

[amaltheametalweld]

Oof today's entries were just a sucker punch! The death of the Westenra ladies was of course the worst. (Unopened by her!!!)

The sheer terror of being pinned down by her dead mother until the servants came to help lift the body off with Lucy just knowing that she's next-(and no help is coming)-followed by the accidental drugging of the only other people in the house (she's alone with her dead mother and she KNOWS she will die!) And the only thing Lucy can think to do is stand vigil with her poor mother and make sure Arthur knows the truth of what happened by hiding a letter she knows will be found with her own body.

Seward's entry by itself would have been a disturbing tale. Renfield escapes, only this time with the purpose of killing the doctor. He gets a knife and accesses the study coming right for Seward managing to cut him. Fortunately a right hook at the opportune moment lays Renfield out. But we're keenly aware by the change in Renfield's demeanor that Dracula was the one that really wanted our favorite insomniac out of the way (to prevent him from coming to Lucy's aid no doubt).

The delivered 22 hours late telegram adds another layer as we know if Seward had gotten it Lucy would be safe. Instead he goes gratefully to bed after his ordeal thinking he must keep his strength up, not knowing that this miscommunication is exactly what Dracula has been waiting for!!

And of course we can't forget Mina. She's been too busy with her new husband and her new home to spare time for her beloved friend. After what Johnathan has been through she can't leave him just yet. And now she will never have the chance to see her much loved Lucy again!! While she is wishing her such happiness the reader is met with the reality that Lucy will never get any of those beautiful moments she deserves with her family, fiance, and friends. She will lose her mother and her life before this letter can even be delivered.

[an-atlas-or-other]

So I’ve seen a bunch of people annotating movies and stuff so I thought it’d be fun to do myself. Here we go, Battle of the Supersons (2022). I’m… worried.

Why does Krypton look like a green hellscape?

And why are we going through Superman’s origin story? I thought this was a supersons film

Oh that’s why

Does that mean Starro was the reason Krypton was destroyed in this universe?

Ooo comic book art

Martha and Johnathan Kent are dead?

Speaking of, they really can’t pick who lives and dies between them. I’ve seen versions where they’re both dead, where they both live, and in that old as balls Superman film I’m pretty sure they only killed John. The only combination I haven’t yet seen is one where only Martha dies

Jesus Christ Jon’s hair is so messy, it puts mine to shame

Oh here comes the theme of the movie

Why are they always out for video games, leave them alone

Not just of the year, Lois has won the Pulitzer??? Why didn’t they mention that instead

Okay so Jon clearly doesn’t have his powers yet

They’re on the farm? I thought they lived in the city?

COSPLAY LMAO

Yess hide the evidence boy

CLARK WHAT THE FUCK

His voice is so wrong and he looks so weird, everyone else has normal proportions and there he is using cartoon logic to have a Dorito shaped chest and a tiny ass head and legs

Father-son bonding, adorable

Oh nice shoes

Yeah he even looks weird as Superman also why is the ISS falling out of orbit

Nevermind it’s the Watchtower

Yeah let’s just ignore that that’s nothing like a debris entry hole (on that note, something jarringly similar happened with the Soyuz capsule on the real ISS a while ago and now like three astronauts are stranded there for another six months waiting for the replacement to get there, which is a weird coincidence)

Why does every version of Arrow look so different like seriously

I like his design though, he looks cool

Do they really announce who’s batting at baseball games? That’s so lame, no wonder he’s getting bullied

SWING MY GUY JUST SWING THE DAMN BAT

Clark’s packing some mad man-tit game

Dude where are you running to it’s your dad’s property for miles out

The boots pft

Jon’s so cute omg

Yes just let random people see your son flying with you in public Im sure that’s fine /sar

I would be going insane rn I would not be as elated as he is

Sideburns

Superboy’s taken? Does that mean Kon exists in this universe? Why isn’t Jon asking about him?

GOTHAM STINKS LMAO

Batman looks cool also Penguin has a ponytail and it doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would

The Cave looks awesome wow

Damian why are you so immature?

Rah’zz? RAH’ZZ??? THE OL’ RAH’ZZ’L DAHZ’LL?? NO it’s pronounced RAY’SH like from the Hebrew word resh do you really think the (most likely white, let’s be honest here) creators of the Al Ghuls knew about Arabic anything? They probably just went with Hebrew and said “eh, it’s close enough.”

Damian you’re so cruel

NURSING MY BAT-WOUNDS

Oh Cassie she’s so cute

The eye twitch

BAT COW

Small-town hick

So he did let him milk her (also its a bat-bucket with bat-milk- WAIT NO-)

Well at least South America exists in this universe

Batman and Superman look like mini figurines omg I want one

Nerrrrrrds with good grrrraaaaaaades

Ooo great burn Kent he really felt that one (I’m lying)

That’s mildly horrific

Well its better then that one fight scene in Batman v Robin which isn’t saying much but at least it’s average

Ooo long knife

He ded

Melvin don’t deserve shit

I love how scandalized Jon looks

Damian should have punched him

Starro’d Lois is kind of creepy

Should have done that earlier Einstein

Why does he know about STAR Labs? Actually his mom is Lois Lane nevermind

How’d he turn it if he can’t fly

Krypto?????

Well he can float now

Yeah, why did you come here?

Good boy

How’d their noses change so much between two generations

Why does Damian only talk in whispers it’s kind of weird

Jimmy is so cute 100/10

MONOLOGUES LMFAO

Oh he’s got his complete costume now

WHY WOULD YOU SEND THEM OFF WITHOUT TELLING THEM THAT SOME GRANDPAPS YOU ARE

That spaceship is so adorable why is everything so cute omg

Hacked? It’s your computer, you just looked it up (I bet he just said that to look cool)

Oh yeah Luthor’s the president for some reason I got it in my head that it was her father

Also his voice is so wrong again

“Nah you ticked me off you can die instead”

Awe Dami that’s sweet

She said bitch on live television

OH SURE SAY YOUR SON’S FULL NAME ON A NATIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT I BET THATS NOT GONNA COME BACK TO BITE YOU IN THE ASS

Poor Wally, ran straight into a wall

MMH looks awesome

I love how you can see the small differences in their fighting straight away

Awe Dami watching his friend’s back

Tall bat ears

That’s not how Kryptonite works but whatever at this point

I’m debating whether or not the writers even knew much about the comics to begin with at this point if they got something to basic wrong

That was an interesting editing choice

Also what happened to Alfred they didn’t even show if he got Hive Minded or what

Why does Damian’s hair stick up like that can he even put on the hood or is it just for decoration?

There’s a subtle but rather jarring change in how Mama Starro is animated and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one irked about it but still

Thats not how things fall out of orbit

Also the perspective makes the station look about the size of Argentina and how did no one notice this during production

Yas stab the president with the flag

There’s symbolism in there somewhere but I’m not bothered enough to dissect it

I would have written this “resigning to death” scene differently but it’s a kids movie so I’ll let it pass

I love how Batman’s face doesn’t change at all when he spoke to his own child (who almost fucking died)

Awesome but also nooo don’t bat it randomly into space throw it into the sun or something

How do all the adult men look so weird and then Bruce looks so… normal

OMG HIS HAIR IS COMBED BACK AND HES IN A SUIT THATS FUCKING HILARIOUS

Oh and now that Damian’s actually in full lighting you can see he’s been whitewashed (again)

At least it’s not as bad as Ian

That’s not how physics works but whatever

HAHAHA poor Jon

At least Damian’s got the perfect sort-of indestructible friend for him to bully

Overall, good movie. I enjoyed it thoroughly even if the story seemed a little off at times. Sometimes I wondered if the writers even knew much about the DC universe to begin with save for surface level knowledge. 7/10

[jeeperso]

Dracula as D&D

Special thanks to Stavarosthearcane, who came up with this on discord, and figured out most of the picks.

The gist being, how would our intrepid vampire-hunting polycule shake out as an actual D&D party?

well, let’s go down this list, by order of introduction. Apologies for using the Coppola Dracula gifs, but it’s the version that has everybody. 

Johnathan Harker

Our dear friend, the sweet, sweet boy. Health and sanity almost ruined beyond repair by his escape from Castle Dracula. But as we discovered this year, he’d survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around him. Nothing would keep him away from Mina, and his intensity upon learning the Count was after her was enough that it spooked his fellow hunters at times.

But, even before that, from the telegram that revealed he’d lived

He came in the train from Klausenburg, and the guard was told by the station-master there that he rushed into the station shouting for a ticket for home. Seeing from his violent demeanour that he was English, they gave him a ticket for the furthest station on the way thither that the train reached.

well, rather narrows the options, doesn’t it?

Mr. Johnathan Harker is a Barbarian on the Path of the Zealot, his rage coming from his absolute “When Mina comes for me as a vampire I will go willingly” devotion to his wife, with the Haunted One background to reflect he has SEEN THINGS.

Mina Harker, nee Murray

The glue that holds this rampaging polycule together, and after the Professor, the smartest person in the entire party. that the entire book is the work of her research and transcription is proof enough of her proper class: Bard, College of Lore. To replicate her status as The Train Fiend (and her plans to be Johnathan’s secretary), Mina gets the Izzet engineer background, and its Urban Infrastructure feature. I am of course, open to better ideas

however, Mina is also multiclassing. Not by choice, as Dracula forces levels of Undead Warlock upon her, to make her like him. Why warlock? Because I’m reskinning eldritch blast as “give Mina a gun”. Mina also gets the ‘Watchers’ Dark Gift forced upon her, which is mostly of benefit to Dracula, but reflects how she learns to turn it against him a few times each day.

Dr. Jack Seward

A man of rationality, Dr. Seward has no time for magician’s parlor tricks, for his is the science of the mind. However, as we learn, he has quite the storied career before being put in charge of a sanitarium, and well versed in the sort of antics the professor gets up to. At the same time, when the impossible rears its head, Sweard is the one who immediately suspects mere madness or foul play rather than the unnatural, even from his own mentor

Dr. Seward is an Inquisitive Rogue, with the sage background

Quincy P. Morris

The Cowboy, whose solution to every problem is “Gun”, or failing that, “Knife”. Amongst the party of smart people, it’s obvious he graduated from Fighter Community College. But despite his affectations, he is no mindless brute. he is a gentleman who knows how to navigate the viper’s den that is Victorian High Society with aplomb, and his fighting spirit is second to none.

And, in the vein of Akira Kurosawa to Sergio Leone, Mr. Morris is a Samurai Fighter, with the Outlander background

Arthur Holmwood, the Honorable Lord Goldalming

there are several options for the man Lucy loved the most, and I was leaning bard (college of eloquence), but as Stavarosthearcane pointed out to me, when facing a monster with dominion over rats, it’s Arthur who planned ahead by bringing rat-catching terriers

Arthur is a Beastmaster Ranger (the poor bastard), but his real utility is the Inheritor background, which in addition to becoming the Noble background (with Position of privilege), comes with the Bruce Wayne levels of wealth needed to bankroll our newly made vampire hunters

Professor Abraham Van Helsing, M. D., D. Ph., D. Lit., etc., etc.

Older and experienced in the unusual, Van Helsing is spoiled for choice on what class to take and has almost certainly multiclassed. So, I will presume that, like Mina, he also started as a bard in the College of Lore, before becoming a cleric in the knowledge domain, and then power-levelling that class upon realizing he’s up against vampires

[valeskakingdom]

Will you arrest me, sir (part52)

A lot of time went by after Scarecrow aka Johnathan Crane told Scarlet to leave and continue her work, and ever since then, Scarecrow was like vanished. She didn't see him, she didn't hear from him anything. Not even the GCPD was trying to find him anyhow - it was like Scarecrow was a one-time project that has ended with a big failure.

This meant Scarlet was alone again. Indeed she could just walk back to Jerome but she decided against it. Why? Easy thing: Why would she crawl back to an idiot like him? Someone who couldn't accept she was right in creating new ideas for their plans? Why should she go back to someone who she had problems working with? There was no sense for her in working with him again. Working without him was much better. She could plan, it was all well-structured,  no one would insist on anything to do, no one would try to be better than her - it was just perfect!

And so she decided to keep doing her work alone - but of course, she wouldn't fully forget about Jerome. Oh no! She wanted to play a little game with him. Over the time she observed Jerome, she followed his actions, and became aware of all his plans and what he was about to do: he was looking for her. He was making plans how to get her back, he even thought of kidnapping her to keep her with him. The fact she just vanished after their little argument was driving him nuts. How did she dare to leave him?! How did she dare to just vanish?! To not tell him a word about what she's doing?! How did she dare to make him feel worthless?! She belonged to him! And only to him! There was no other person she was allowed to call her partner! She and he were meant to be! They were destined to be partners in crime!

And so Jerome tried to get back her attention. Several times he killed people in her name, several times he did great shows just in the hope she'd see all this and come back to him. He screamed her name, painted her name on walls and the streets, scratched her name on every victim, he even looked for her when walking through the crowd that was watching his assassins - but there was no Scarlet, no doll that was longing for him. Jerome was left alone by her. He couldn't proceed with that though, he needed to hear something from her, she had to react at some point! But there was nothing, no hi, no reaction to his kills, just nothing.

What he didn't know though, was Scarlet saw everything - and she enjoyed it all. She enjoyed seeing how clueless and desperate he was. She enjoyed he was craving her attention, she loved to see how badly he needed her right now. But of course, she also knew letting him wait too long for a response would just bring him in a bad mood and this wouldn't end up well - and so she wanted to set a sign: Like in good old times she costumed as an old lady, begging for some food and money and walking through Jerome's favorite spot of the city, and in some headless moments she either slit people's throat open or stabbed them to death. She enjoyed it completely killing people, the blood dripping down her hand, their bodies, and splashing in her face; she enjoyed their blank stares at nowhere when they were about to die, she enjoyed how easy it was to kill them since no one had a chance to defend themselves. Sure it wasn't as satisfying as if she wasn't planning some great killing shows, but it was like a drag on a cigarette as if she was a smoker - just satisfying her needs.

"Alrighty," Scarlet panted with a huge smile on her face as she positioned the corpses next to each other "Now I just need to scratch the letters in their skin" With the letters, she meant the letters of Jerome's name - as said, she wanted to set a sign for him to see she saw all his signs. She wanted this to be the response to all his assassins.

"Let's start with the J," Scarlet grabbed her knife and scratched a big J in the first victim's forehead, it started bleeding immediately. The blood was dripping down their face like a little river was originating from a lake "A beautiful big and fat J for Jerome"

"Perfect," She grinned when she looked at the face covered in blood "Just as messy as Jerome's little head is, right?" She then smeared the blood across the whole face with her hands "Yes, you just love to have it all messy and chaotic. We don't want to ruin it by any structure in it, right? This would just be too boring for you"

"But now let's come to the E," And so she continued her deed with the next corpses "And the R, and the O," and then she paused since her wrists started to hurt from the scratching "Wow, this is getting into your joints, eh?"

And then she started hearing the horns honking - the GCPD was coming, or more: They were about to get her. Usual criminals would start running away, not finishing their work  - but Scarlet always finished her work, she didn't mind if the GCPD stood in front of her, pointing their guns at her. She was a fighter, she wouldn't care whether Jim Gordon would catch her and bring her back to Arkham, she would always find a way out of this and continue her stuff.

"Time for some fun, I guess," She cackled as she continued to scratch the next letters into the corpses' foreheads "Little Jimmy ain't that far away and things need to be done before. What type of professional would I be if I didn't finish my work because of some foolish cops?"

"Hands up, Scarlet Patel!" You suddenly heard Jim Gordon's voice behind her "You're under arrest for convicted murder of 7 people! Put the knife down and turn around! Now!"

"Oh, hello Jim," Scarlet chuckled, turning around when she saw Jim, Harvey, and several other policemen pointing their loaded guns at her "Hey, Harvey! Long time no see, right? You've been looking older and older by the day. Aren't you too old for that job now?" She cackled "I'm just joking, don't worry" She then looked over to Jim "What are you gonna do now, Jim? My work's done here and will be continued elsewhere"

"Your work ends here," Jim claimed "You have no chance to escape this time! You're surrounded by cops and they'll shoot at my command if needed!" Jim didn't want to mess it up this time. Things should have ended when he met her in Arkham where she was working with Scarecrow. Things should have ended when she was sent to Arkham for the first time.

"Give up, Scarlet!" Harvey yelled, "Your time is up!"

"Giving up? No," She grinned "Right now is no time to give up. Now it's time to rise. It's time to set a sign, to start a fight! Gotham has become a place full of new faces! These new people are full of surprises, they're brilliant! They're masterminds! You can learn a lot from them, you know," Scarlet paused "But no one will be as great as me! I am the greatest showman here! There's no time for me to give up, Jim! It's time to show who's the star in the show!"

"But this battle is not yours, Scarlet!" Harvey yelled "You had your time to play your games and this game was your last! You have no chance to escape!"

"I don't?" Scarlet frowned ironically "Hm, let me look: Cops are surrounding me with their guns - okay. I have a few knives in my pockets to stab them, slitting their throats or just to harm them in any other way, and," Scarlet looked around at the lanes and houses in the hope to see an opportunity to escape "I see a fire escape staircase that will be my one-way ticket to freedom. Do you think I won't have a chance? Then you don't know me well enough"

"You and Jerome are quite similar," Jim told her, facing her. He knew what she was doing, she was trying to trick them. She tried to distract them with anything to fulfill her actual plan. But what was her actual plan? Was it just running away or was there a big boom behind it? Jim and his mates needed to be careful. Scarlet was full of surprises, she always had an ace in the hole.

"Oh, I know I know, Jimbo. Jerome and I are quite impulsive and unpredictable in our deeds. We play with people's minds, scare them off, ruin their lives, and yet the GCPD still didn't manage to catch us. Funny isn't it?" Scarlet laughed "But now, this is not the time to catch me, I have plans to follow"

This was the moment when Scarlet ran to the staircase that hung down from the house, of course, some cops stood in her way, waiting for Jim Gordon's command to shoot but Scarlet was faster. She grabbed all the knives she had in her pocket and threw them at the cops' heads whereas the blades kept stuck in their eyes which killed them instantly - and this made it easier for her to escape. Through this, several cops fell to the ground and she had a free way to reach the staircase climbing up.

"Shoot! But try not to kill her! We need her alive!" Jim Gordon yelled, running and climbing after her. The cops shot at Scarlet, they tried to hit her body whether it was just her leg, her knee, her arm, or her back - but nobody was able to shoot at her. She was too fast as she climbed up the ladder.

"See, Jim Gordon? That's how you make the impossible possible! You already tell people the end of the story, you already tell them about the surprise! They won't believe you at first but this is what you get!" Scarlet kept climbing up fast until she reached the door that lead to the roof of the building "Catch me if you can, Jim Gordon!"

Jim's adrenaline was pumping in his veins, he wanted to catch Scarlet as he caught Jerome - this was the perfect time for it! She was alone, she had no pals, and most of her weapons were out of use for killing the policemen - so all she might have was a gun with limited shots. She had to lose this game, and even if not he'd do anything to catch her and bring her back to Arkham Asylum. Scarlet was out long enough, she made enough chaos and brought enough darkness over Gotham - it was time to end this. He kept climbing after her, as fast as he could, sometimes he even had the chance to grab her ankle but she was too strong and kicked herself free from his grip. Right after that Scarlet broke the door open that lead inside the house, right to the hallway where you could reach the house's roof. For Scarlet, it was just perfect: not only that she temporized through a plank she noticed next to the door, but also the roof gave her a big opportunity to flee. She could jump from roof to roof or flees through another staircase.

"Fuck!" Scarlet heard Jim Gordon yell when he tried to open the door that lead upstairs to the roof. Scarlet found that glorious, so she had enough time to run upstairs and try to find a way out of this little problem she had with the GCPD.  She heard Jim try to open the door the whole time, but it failed since the plank impeded this - so amusing, isn't it?

"It's just perfect," Scarlet talked to herself as ran upstairs, opening the door to the roof "Alrighty, now I need to find a way to flee without the cops catching me"

Scarlet immediately ran out onto the roof and checked where she could jump to the next roof or where she could climb down - the problem was: there was no opportunity to flee this time. The roofs next to the house were too far away to jump over, she could die if she jumped - that was guaranteed. There was neither another ladder nor any pipe where she could climb down the roof. She was fucked!

"Fuck!" She hissed, jogging to the edge of the roof to check the height "That's too high to jump down. That will kill me," She looked around wondering whether there was something useful she could use as a band-aid "Of course, there's nothing to use. It sucks!"

"Patel!" She suddenly heard Jim Gordon's voice, he somehow managed to open the door to reach the top of the roof. When she turned to him, Jim and Harvey stood in front of her, pointing their guns at her "Your journey is over now!"

"Wow," Scarlet chuckled amused, indeed they were right and there was no way out of this situation anymore, but is that a reason to lose your charm? "Can you believe this happens here? We three standing on a roof and I have no chance to escape. So, you won! It's over for me!" Provocatively, she reached her arms put to them "Come on, detain me"

"There's something fishy here, Jim," Harvey commented, still glancing at Scarlet suspiciously "She's playing with us!"

"Wouldn't be the first time she's doing that," Jim muttered "You don't need to play fool with us, Scarlet! We know what you're trying to do! But this time this won't work!"

"Oh, but I'm doing nothing," She chuckled "I know my time is over. I mean," She looked around "Do you see any opportunity for me to flee? I don't. You're blocking my only way out with your man. It's too high to jump down the roof, it's too risky to jump on another roof, as it's too risky to fight against all of you and your men with my little knife I have. I would be dumb if I did that"

"You are no type to surrender, Patel," Jim uttered, he couldn't quite figure out what she was doing right now, her behavior now was untypical for her "You would never give on something so easily. You're too megalomanic and eager for that"

"This game you play is just a means to an end! You try to stall us while your pals wait for your command to plan the next assassin in Gotham City!" Harvey yelled.

"Wow, I'm impressed with what you think about me. I didn't expect you to expect me to be that smart," Scarlet grinned "But you know, eagerness isn't the key to success. You might know that," She let out a deep breath "And we all just wanna be realistic: the chance to flee successfully is close to 0. If I was mouthy now, praising that I’m marvelous and always find a way out, I'd just make a fool of myself," What they all didn't know though, was Scarlet already made plans how to escape in Arkham - she had would to it like the last time she tried: finding fellas she could make plans with and then escaping in the middle of the night - and everything she's doing and saying right now belonged to the plan. The details would follow for sure "And pals," Scarlet shrugged "I have no pals who'd pick me up, none is listening to my commands. I'm all alone, check on me if you don't believe me"

"You're lying"

"Oh, am I?" Scarlet frowned, now starting to mess with their heads "What do you expect me to do? Grabbing my phone," she did as she said and held it against her head "And calling my pal to say: 'Start bombing the down and pick me up from the roof as planned!'?" She started to cackle when they now pointed their weapons at her head "Please, this is so ridiculous! That's probably something Jerome would do but not me. I am way smarter than him - except right now"

"This doesn't feel right, Jim," Harvey told him "Something is off about this. Why would she voluntarily give up and put up with getting arrested in Arkham?"

"Because she knows she'll find new people who follow her since she knows how to manipulate them," Jim told him "She knows Arkham hasn't changed that much besides the new guards and a new director"

"You're so right, Jim," Scarlet smiled walking straight towards them "I'm impressed. But as you know every worker needs a break in their jobs, right? As do I. Things have gone wrong, they've been messed up, and people went crazy. I need some time off at a place that gives me new ideas and visions, and Arkham is just perfect for it!" She then reached her arms out to them "Now will you arrest me, sir?"

[john-macnamara]

At one in the morning, a message was sent out to PEIP HQ regarding the beginnings demonic invasion in New Mexico. From there it was quickly decided who would be informed, and by 1:05, General John MacNamara of the United States Military got the message forwarded to him. It took approximately twenty minutes for transport to arrive, and from there he made it to rural New Mexico in just under three hours.

By the time John got there, the cracks in the ground were already spouting more than just dust. There were small scale demons, mostly imps and hellhounds, but a few succubi crawling out of red-hot tears in the earth. This wasn't the worst he had seen in his tenure, no doubt about it, but it was a sign of worse things to come if PEIP didn't get a handle on them.

John lights a cigarette, surveying the area. Approximately one hundred imps, fifty hellhounds, and another fifty varied demons. Is that an oni? Ugh, this is going to be more of a nuisance than he'd prefer. They only have a hundred of their own people. John's going ot have to play this safe if he wants everyone out alive. He takes a long drag of the cigarette and begins to shout out orders.

"Alright! I want a medical tent set up fifty yards behind the nearest rift, with snipers watching for any attacks. Attack squads one and two will be splitting and flanking the easternmost and westernmost rifts. You will close in once your current rift is successfully sealed by one of the repair teams. I want every repairer attached to an attacker at all times. This also goes for squads three and four, who will close in from the north and south respectively. Protect your partner, if someone goes down call on our medical staff immediately, and defer to your commanding officer if anything is to happen. You all are trained in demonic combat, so I take it I don't have to run an instructional course on that. Am I correct?"

For the first time in too long, John allows himself to truly settle into his General persona. This is his job. This is what he was made to do. And despite the jabs and the questioning he sometimes faces by his peers, he knows he's damn good at it. Proof of this is easily seen when his voice spreads across the crowd, everyone attentive and listening. With a "Sir, yes sir!" they confirm John's assumption.

"Good. You were all meant to be here today. This is something right here and right now you can do to protect the world. Beyond any country, beyond any border, this is for the world. Do well to remember that. On my command, we strike."

John rolls his neck, smirking just a bit. This is the other part of his job that people tend to forget he's remarkably skilled at. You can't rocket to four-star General as fast as he did without combat prowess, now can you? He may not like to hurt people, but otherworldly entities? Beings that appear here only to hurt and inflict suffering onto humanity? Well, that's a whole other story. John wouldn't say he enjoys it, but he certainly doesn't mind taking his lust for combat out on a bunch of poor hellish bastards. He pulls out his favorite knife, the one he got from Wilbur when he had just joined, and starts to fiddle with it while he waits for an approach. You can't attack first, after all, and so far no civilians have been harmed by this particular infestation. If John has anything to say about it, none will be by the end of this either.

After only a few seconds of waiting, a hellhound rushes up to him, sulfuric drool spilling from its lips. John's smirk turns into a full-on grin, too easy. When the hound lunges at him, he dives under, running his blade through the soft underskin of its belly. It's easily incapacitated after that, and the assault has officially begun. With a rallying cry of "Charge!", John rushes into the thick of the combat.

Here's the funny thing about Johnathan S. MacNamara. He's always had a streak of violence. Not in the same way a man like Owen craves the pain of others, or someone resorts to punching rather than words, but simply a love of the fight. Exchanging blows, watching his enemies recoil in fear as he finally has the chance to show them just how strong he truly is? That's a feeling that gets his heart racing and adrenaline pumping through his veins. This is his therapy. And despite his denial, he genuinely loves it.

He decapitates two imps with his first swing, then another with his second. He knows his goal, thin out enemy forces so that by the time his own forces center, they won't have to fight off nearly as many opponents. There's hardly even a risk of death this time, this is far too easy. More demons swarm him, and he works through them without breaking so much as a sweat. However, they learn that he's a danger in close range, and instead start making swipes and quickly backing away. John chuckles, as if he didn't have a plan for this. He grabs an imp out of the air, crushing its neck and throwing it to the ground. In the same movement, he sheathes his knife and pulls out his trusty staff. Unlike the previous times he's used it, John presses the notch on the top of the handle, extending two blades from the tips of the staff. Silver and blessed, of course. What kind of military man would he be if they weren't?

He tears through multiple foes at a time, becoming a whirlwind of death and bloodshed on the battlefield. It's beautiful, in a way. His movements are precise and calculated. None of this is the panicked John who's made far too many appearances as of late. He's calculating and weighing every step he takes, every flick of his wrist, to optimize it for maximum efficiency. It only takes twenty minutes until the area around him is entirely razed. The attack and repair teams, when they reach the center, don't find resistance, only General MacNamara, standing in the middle of a circle of dead demons. His clothing is soaked with black blood, and it's splattered all over his body. This is a victory for PEIP, for humanity, and by god is he proud to be a part of it.

John signals for everyone to reconvene at the medical tent, and he runs a quick log of everyone still there. No deaths, thank the lord, and only four injuries. Out of a force of over a hundred people, that's not bad in the slightest. The cleanup crew is called in to remove the bodies from the area, and everyone is sent back to base to clean up and rest. For just a moment, John can say he's genuinely happy. He knows that what he just did saved lives, and he knows that he was irrefutably good at something. He feels less stressed than he has in a while, and he lets that feeling overtake him as he looks at the razed battlefield one last time.

And, well, if some of those bodies belong to his friends, that's for John to know.

[docwritesshit]

Killed for their soul to gain mine (pr. 2)

Author note: But shorter this time around, been about a week since I posted something and wanted y'all to have a little thing this week

“Remember, get him alone in the hotel or back alley, I don’t care to know the place you would rather bone,” Cam instructed. Jax rolled their eyes, tugging on their sleeves. From the guy's dating profile, he seemed to lean towards the more edgy types, meaning black leather boots, black jeans, black turtleneck with a silver chain along with many rings adjourning the fingers.

“Go get him stud,” was the last thing said as Cam pushed Jax into the bar. Jax grumbled, trudging to the bar in hopes to at least get a little liquid courage. Boss may have stolen their souls, that doesn’t mean Jax couldn’t get a little drunk.

“I do hope you aren’t trying to get out of this by passing out early light weight,“ Xaviers’ voice hissed in Jaxs’ ears. Jax grumbled, ordering a coke instead of the James shot.

“Target is by the door, heading towards you.” Nicoles’ voice chimed in. Jax glanced over their shoulder to see a tall, wide man slinking up to the bar with a black cap and ratty gray jacket. Jax shuddered, taking another sip, but mustering the suave of James Bond. Johnathan slid onto the seat next to Jax, giving a blinding white smile stretching across his face.

“Well, hello there. Feeling lonely?”

Jax bit down the snark they were about to rain on this piece of garbage night, but smirked and t leaned back in their seat, trying to put some distance but also trying to seem flirty. God they hate this so much.

“Meh, can’t be when I’m with such a handsome guy.” May the ones or one above strike me down in my place they thought. John smiled, placing his hand on Jax’s arm, while Jax tried to stop tremors going through their arms from the disgust.

“Since it’s getting a little loud, shall we go somewhere more… quiet?”

Jax bit their lip and tried to do their best bedrooms eyes as they were led away from the bar. John led Jax through the front of the bar and started to the back. Jax saw the van and the rest of the crew creep up on them. The runes on the sides made them invisible to the human eye, except those who had contracts of course.

The way Boss explained it was anyone that signed a contact has a mark on their heart with that demon's sigil. The contract signer now could see the demons and spells they do. Others could not. It’s the running theory that’s how they are disappearing now after refusing to turn in their heart.

John wasted no time pushing Jax against the wall and Jax wasted no time pulling out the dagger and stabbing it in his chest. John gasped, looked down at his now blood soaked shirt, and his face went pale when he saw the dagger. He looked back up at Jax, where he saw a not-at-all apologetic smile.

“Sorry dude, you might not need your soul, but I want mine.” Jax pulled out his knife and sliced his jugular to finish him quietly.

Cam then strolled around the corner, looked down at the body, looked back up at Jax, and shrugged

“Well, never would have expected you for an alley guy.”

“With all due respect, I am a neither kinda guy with that type, I much rather he fell into a manhole” Jax replied.

Cam kneeled down, checking the guy's pulse.

"You do know that I can do my job correctly, right?"

“I know, it’s just we got new info from the boss.”

Jax raised an eyebrow, waiting for Cam to finish cutting out the heart and placing it into the travel cooler.

“It seems we have to get the heart while they are dying and not dead. Someone is interfering and the heart disappears as soon as it stops beating now. A demon friend of his is starting to do what Boss is doing and ran into that issue.”

Jax chewed the inside of their cheek, letting Cams’ words roll around their head. Taking the victim's heart while their blood is still pumping is a bit… extreme, even for Jax and the rest of the group.

Nicole popped out of the van, Xavier following close behind with a large garbage bag.

“Secured the heart?” Nicole asked, Cam held up the ice box in reply. Nicole plucked the box and gave a forehead kiss to Cam. Xavier rolled his eyes, and started to bag the body.

“This guy couldn’t have signed for a slimmer figure” He grunted out, Trudging the bag and tossing it back into the van.

“Well, there are things even Satan can’t fix,” Jax quipped, stepping into the van while Nicole took her place in the driver's seat with Cam next to her.

“Onward to mystery,” Cam announced, the van turning the corner and disappearing into the winter's early night.

(pr 3 coming soon (ish))

[arethereanyoriginalusernames]

Meet my Characters: Ifrit Dawnsview

Hey, because my birthday is coming up, I’m being self indulgent and I’m going to try to start babbling about my children- I mean my characters. Yes, characters (although I do tend to think of my characters as babs)

While I’ve already spoken plenty about the arguably cooler sibling, Phoenix, it’s only fair I give the other protagonist some love too. In the images above, first is his current design, next two are older but contain some story elements I’ll talk about in a bit, and finally there’s my design ideas for his Critter Bots. I’m posting these so people can give me feedback + their thoughts on my characters, so let me know what you think!

Anyways, let’s get into the teenage mad scientist, Ifrit Dawnsview. I’ll leave it under the cut so people scrolling won’t have an entire essay to get through.

Nicknames: Rits, Ritzy (Phoenix), Rabbit (Wasp), Bitch (Johnathan), Freckles, the Lost Prince, the Mad Scientist, One-eyed Archer, Kid

Nicknames: Rits, Ritzy (Phoenix), Rabbit (Wasp), Bitch (Johnathan), Freckles, the Lost Prince, the Mad Scientist, One-eyed Archer, Kid

Nicknames: Rits, Ritzy (Phoenix), Rabbit (Wasp), Bitch (Johnathan), Freckles, the Lost Prince, the Mad Scientist, One-eyed Archer, Kid

Age: 16-17

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay (closeted af)

Nationality: Canada

Weapon: Mini Sword that turns into a crossbow, various inventions and gadgets he’s created

Power(s):

- Before becoming a host: able to absorb heat through physical contact, and can transfer it somewhere else. It takes a lot of concentration, and it often makes him ill, usually giving him a fever

- As a host: Able to turn invisible, has an aimbot like ability, can see things invisible to others, can summon white/blue flames, levitate for a short time

Family: Phoenix (sister), Queen Aerial (mother), King Hephaestus (father, deceased)

//

Ifrit was born into the royal family of the Dawnsview Kingdom a couple years after his sister, Phoenix. He has no memory of his father, as he was murdered only a couple months after Ifrit was born. He was 2 years old when his mother suddenly handed over the responsibility of raising him and his sister to the palace servants. He has never seen his mother since his second birthday.

From an early age, both Ifrit and Phoenix suffered abuse at the hands of palace staff, who saw the treatment as justified due to their shitty living conditions being caused by laws supposedly set by the queen and her council. To make a long story short, Dawnsview can be considered a hell on earth due to its corrupt government. Ifrit most frequently suffered neglect, barely being fed or looked after. He was raised by Phoenix for a good part of his life since nobody was looking after him. He has been attacked by staff for “getting in the way”, including an incident where the chef attacked him with a knife, leading to the infected scar over his eye.

Ifrit was often locked in the library, where he’d spend his time reading every book he could reach. Given his seemingly useless powers, he took an interest in various fields of science, as he saw it as an opportunity to make himself “less useless”. He’d attempt to create machines of various kinds with what little material he had to work with in his spare time.

At age 14, he met Harpy, a new member of the staff assigned to care for him and his sister. Ifrit immediately took a shine to Harpy, as “she” was the first person to care for, and care about the siblings. Ifrit was surprised to find out that Harpy was a fairy, as “she” didn’t have any wings. Harpy never explained what happened to them, but Ifrit could tell that something had been done to Harpy. Ifrit wondered how many good people like Harpy were out there in the kingdom, suffering but unable to do anything. This is what inspired Ifrit to want to one day save the kingdom.

One night, out of the blue, Phoenix woke Rits up, declaring that they needed to run away, and that they needed to go tonight. With the help of Harpy, they fled the kingdom, but got separated in the process. While on his own, Ifrit met and befriended Nymph, Chess and Syrellis (how will be covered in posts about them).

Eventually, Ifrit was reunited with Phoenix by the group of mercenaries she was staying with (Chess being a member of said group), but not for long. Phoenix wanted to become a mercenary, leave, and never return to Dawnsview. Ifrit however was set in his beliefs that Dawnsview could be saved and refused to go with her. The two got into a massive argument, and that night, Ifrit snuck away and started heading back to Dawnsview.

He nearly got himself killed on his own, but was saved by Syrellis and Nymph, who had followed him. After seeing the state of Dawnsview for themselves, they agreed to join Ifrit in rescuing the kingdom as a group of rebels. The group got a surprise when Chess suddenly appeared, asking if they’d like her to help. While dubious of her intentions, they agreed that hey, more the merrier!

Then upon entering the kingdom, the group was attacked for illegally entering by the Secret Service. Ifrit nearly got himself killed again, but was saved by Harpy… aka , Wasp, “Harpy”’s true identity. Wasp wasn’t exactly sure how to explain to Ifrit that he had been forced to assume the identity of a female caregiver by transphobes after being tortured (not exactly something you casually explain to a teen). He claimed that “Harpy” had sent him to protect Ifrit after seeing him approaching the kingdom border. Despite leaving it ambiguous as to who he was and how he knew Ifrit, the group agreed to have Wasp join.

The group took up base in an abandoned lighthouse located at the outskirts. Before planning their next move, however, the group was approached by Kingsley, a member of the Secret Service. Everyone, Ifrit especially, had reservations about him, but Kings reassured them that he had no loyalty to the crown and wanted what they did. Given that he was “the eyes” of the Secret Service, he could keep their location hidden, inform them of stuff happening around the kingdom, and act as a mole. Ifrit immediately felt tension with Kingsley, not helped by the two frequently running into each other.

Ifrit spends his free time gathering materials from junkyards to build things in his room, which he converted into his own lab. Using his knowledge of science, he’s built various mechanisms. Most notably the Critter Bots, which serve various functions such as surveillance, and disabling structures. Not all experiments work out, of course, and there’s been several explosions. It’s a wonder that Ifrit hasn’t blown himself up yet.

-

At some point, think like the end of season 1 or whatever, Ifrit makes perhaps the stupidest decision he’s ever made. After Chess nearly looses her life saving him, Ifrit’s had it. He’s grown tired of feeling useless and like a liability. He’s fed up with having to be protected, despite all the effort he puts into combat training and creating machines to help him in battle.

He recalls reading about hosts, people who inherit the powers of gods after agreeing to let their chosen god put apart of themselves inside the host. Ifrit summons, and becomes host to, Azzazel, the god of trickery and riddles. Unfortunately, becoming a host isn’t simple, and it’s advised that you don’t become one unless you can be certain that you and the god are compatible.

And Ifrit and Azzazel are NOT compatible.

Ifrit frequently argues with Azzazel in his head, and refuses to listen whenever she gives her input. While Rits gets some useful powers, it comes paired with moments of disassociation where Ifrit looses control of his body, resulting in a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde situation. When not in control, Ifrit acts on his goals in the most extreme way possible (ie. attempting to destroy the entire kingdom in order to save it, cutting down anyone who gets in his way). Azzazel tries to encourage Ifrit to self examine and figure himself out, but… yeah no.

///

Personality: Ifrit is either incredibly endearing, or downright frustrating. There is little in between.

On his more frustrating side, Ifrit often comes off as stuck up, and even bratty. Due to his insecurities and trauma he refuses to address, he will never admit to being wrong about anything (even regarding things such as how he feels, and especially regarding his sexuality). He will go as far as doing mental gymnastics to say that even when he’s proven wrong, he wasn’t really wrong. He despises being “babied”, and will act out to assert his independence, which leads to him shooting himself in the foot. He fears more than anything being a liability or useless. So much so that to him, admitting he’s wrong invalidates his intellect, which he views as the only thing that makes him useful.

That being said, Ifrit is someone who always wants to help others. When he learns that someone is suffering, he does whatever he can to find a way to make things better. He’s incredibly ambitious and driven, and has an annoying habit of refusing to give up. He’s incredibly protective of those he cares about, and he likes taking time to just chat with people. His determined and optimistic demeanour is a large part of how he endears himself to those around him. Many also find it amusing whenever Ifrit becomes passionate about something, as he will excitedly talk about his latest inventions, ideas, whatever. Plus he generally just gets excited whenever he gets to use one of his inventions, or start a new project.

He and Phoenix have also been nicknamed “the disaster siblings” for a while. Both have a chaotic streak to them, Rits less obviously than his sister. While Rits isn’t throwing active motorbikes at people, or recklessly driving cars through walls, he’s been called a mad scientist for a reason. He will absolutely cackle maniacally while plotting ways to blow up an entire building. Syrellis and Wasp have had to pry Rits away from materials such as uranium. He aways gets bummed out whenever someone tell him not to blow anything up.

////////Relationships

Phoenix: Ifrit calls Phoenix as often as possible to keep in contact. He feels guilty for leaving without saying goodbye, and wonders if he’s permanently ruined their friendship. He does often envy Phoenix, and she has a habit of unintentionally setting off many of his insecurities. He hopes that one day, he’ll prove to her that he can look after himself, and make her proud (even though she already is).

Kingsley: Ifrit has a complicated relationship with Kingsley. He gets frustrated with King’s sass, and King is frequently poking fun at him. They often argue, usually from King questioning something Rits says or does (and we know how much Ifrit hates being wrong). Despite this, Ifrit carries a great deal of respect for King, especially after learning what he’s been through. King is also one of the few people who doesn’t act protective of Rits, and is absolutely on board with blowing shit up. They bond over not wanting to feel useless, and wanting others to not worry about them.

Of course, it should be mentioned that a massive part of their relationship revolves around Ifrit’s crush on Kingsley, which Rits vehemently denies. Rits refuses to accept being wrong about his sexuality. He’d have known if he was gay by now, right? Basically, since he assumed he was straight before, he refuses to accept that he was wrong. Unfortunately, Rits does a VERY bad job convincing people that he doesn’t like Kingsley. Reactions to this vary from amusement to annoyance. Fortunately for Rits, King finds it mostly amusing, hence why he puts up with it.

Wasp: While Wasp didn’t intend on becoming a parental figure for Rits, he kinda did. Rits often complains about Wasp acting like his dad, and not letting him do fun stuff. Wasp is absolutely drained by Rits’ lack of self preservation, and often needs to bandage him up after his inventions explode. While the two get on each other’s nerves, they care a lot about each other. While Rits isn’t aware that Wasp and Harpy are the same person, he still sees a lot of Harpy in Wasp. Wasp is often the first person Ifrit turns to when dealing with personal issues, and has a massive amount of trust in him.

Syrellis: Ifrit sees Rells as a bit of an older brother figure. More chill than Wasp, but Syrellis will still pocket the can of uranium Rits was trying to sneak into the lab. Ifrit often likes to sit with Syrellis and ask him about the world outside of Dawnsview. He also enjoys all the stories Syrellis has about stuff he’s seen or experienced. Rits does catch on very early to Syrellis low self esteem, and wants to help, but Syrellis refuses to tell Ifrit why he feels the way he does. Syrellis wants to protect Ifrit from having to deal with the issues he’s had to deal with, something that doesn’t sit right with Ifrit.

Nymph: Ifrit often trains with Nymph, and even created a device to help him understand her when she uses sign language. There’s definitely tough love between the two, and Nymph is more than happy to punt Rits across the field whenever he fucked up. She’s the most likely to hold him accountable for things, and doesn’t have time for his excuses. While this often causes a rift between them, Ifrit does admittedly end up appreciating what Nymph does for him.

Chess: Ifrit doesn’t like it when Chess tries to get him to open up and deal with his issues, but he thinks she’s fun to be around others. She’ll often leave behind riddles for him to solve, and tries to help him grow more secure with himself by placing her trust in his intellect. Ifrit does get concerned whenever Chess leaves to do some secret mission, but he soon learns that everything she does has a point. And it’s become somewhat fun for him to try to figure out her plan before she explains it.

——————

And that’s all for now!

Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts, or what character(s) you want me to talk about next!

[dross-the-fish]

What you don't like white haired, kukri wielding, anime boy Johnathan Harker?

Ok I have to ask What is this fixation everyone has on Johnathan's use of a kukri? I know he had it, I know he attacked Drac with it, but how is it more significant than say...Quincey's bowie knife? Which Quincey has had from the beginning and carries at all times, I don't think John even wielded a kukri until later in the book and given that India was occupied by Britain and it was pretty common for middle class or well-to-do British folk of the time to have Indian paraphernalia this doesn't strike me as being a particularly eyebrow raising detail. I think it's only even mentioned once or twice in the book what kind of knife he has.

Further more beyond being a large functional knife I don't think Johnathan has any particular feelings about the type of blade he's carrying as long as it gets the job done.

Idk whenever I see people refer to Johnathan as "Kukri-wielding" it feels a lot like how anime nerds I went to high school with used to give their white characters katanas. I just feel like they've assigned some kind of "coolness" to it based on it's foreign factor and that's a bit weird.

If I'm missing something and I'm totally off feel free to correct me.

[aajjks]

Mrs. Choi says “I have to be here for the meetings, also before the plane leaves I will call my husband to inform him of our proposal.” She text him to tell him everything and of course the father FaceTimes his wife very angry…

Mrs. Choi says “Sweetie here is Jungkook he wants to ask you something.” She passes the phone towards him and says “He is right here.” Her father wanted to go off but he stops as he listens to him, even though he is genuine and respectful Y/N father couldn’t help but let his true emotions show on his face. His voice was clipped and tight “As long as I get to see her I am fine, and as long as I get to walk her down the isle, I will be alright. Just do not break her heart, you know Suho was her best friend, and you killed him without remorse, and you killed someone else, Johnathan, he was like a big brother to her, and he was about to get married to someone. I hope you know you have a blessed woman. Just take care of her and we will have no problems.” He hangs up the phone and by the way Jungkook looks at Mrs. Choi tells her that something is wrong as he calmly hands her the phone.

Mrs. Choi looks at his text and says “Alright, we’ll you have a blessings. Did you want to hear that?” She also text Y/n that he is planning to marry her after the trip.

Meanwhile with Y/n

She is reading a book then she gets a text message and she looks at the person who sent it, and it was her mother. Her mind went into shock as she read the message and didn’t process that she dropped the book. Once she realized she goes to her bed and starts screaming into the pillow. She looks at the rings that Suho have to her and she starts crying even more.

She hears a knock on the door and she rushes to get it but as soon as she opens the door she is alarmed as she sees Jungwon standing in front of her with the maids costume.

She looks at him and he makes a sign to be quiet, he rushes her to a room and locks it. He cuts the lights on as he hears her nagging him but he hears her stop. He looks at her disgusted face as she looks around the room, then he says “Believe me now? The man worships the ground you walk on.”

She looks disgusted yet sadden by the fact that he had to go that far. She saw picture everywhere, even some of them are marked out with only her circled with a heart. Even some of her when she was just a child, her heart hammered in her chest. She really needs to get him some help, this isn’t a way to go.

She looks at Jungwon and says “W-Why did you bring me here? Momma told me he has plans to marry me, this….this is way to much. I feel sick and very weak. Please I- I do not want to be here but… but I have to in order to save you.”

Jungwon says “I have thirty minutes until the security cameras turn back on and the guards to wake up. I have been here many times and made sure to stay hidden. I really love you noona. I have also recorded him….doing stuff to a pillow with your dress you had on for your high school early graduation.”

There was a pregnant silence then Y/N concludes “He still isn’t over his wife. I had a dream about him calling me noona, a pregnancy test, and him chasing me with a knife. I am gonna have nightmares.”

⚠️⚠️⚠️

(Trigger warning)

Jungwon says “Mrs. Lee is Y/N sunbaenim’s mother…. She told me everything. She told me how domestic she was and her personality and everything with Jungkook. Basically she was Jungkook’s caretaker until she got cancer, but before that they got married and got pregnant but due to her having cancer that they didn’t know it costed them their firstborn. They were inseparable then he got really insecure then it drove him to insanity and he killed her because he thought she was cheating but she wasn’t. Someone hurt her and took advantage of her and he believed the guy. Also that guy that hurt her is still out there and he took her wedding ring.”

Y/N looks at him and ask “What does all of this have to do with me?” Jungwon looks at her with sorrow and says “He is lonely, delusional, creepy, and a worshipper apparently. He probably thinks you are his wife, because you act like her. The way Mrs. Lee describes her daughter reminds me of you.”

-✨

Five weeks pass by quickly for you but not for jungkook.

Oh he’s dreading these work meetings. He just wants to come back home to you and now that’s he’s got your family’s approval and blessings he can’t wait to marry you.

Every night he goes to bed, he fantasizes about your wedding together, oh it’s going to be like his first, even grander and beautiful.

Jungkook picks up the phone from his night and and calls you, the line is going so he waits that is until you pick up.

And he almost cries when he hears your voice.

“Hi baby, I missed you so much, how are you?”