#anyways i am open to ranting about any of these characters at any given time

[kingdomvel]

Steddie | 2.3k | first part

“Okay, what was that?” Gareth asks the moment they are inside the room they are using as a dressing room for tonight.

“What was what,” Eddie answers.

“You know damn well what I mean.”

Eddie doesn’t answer, putting his best poker face on.

“That weird mating ritual you have been performing with the boy in the front row the whole night, maybe?” Jeff adds.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Eddie says, his voice flat as he tries to avoid the other’s gazes. He takes a towel to dab at his forehead.

“Come on, man,” Freak butts in, “you told him to stay after the concert, you have told Chrissy to get them here. We said we were not going to be that kind of band, that we were going to be like My Chemical Romance: no groupies and after concert dnd sessions.”

“Yeah, if you go with that guy what happens to our dnd session.”

“We can play dnd any other day, okay?” Eddie snaps, his hands stretched in front of him. A part of him thinks he looks like that meme of Chris Pratt in front of the dinosaurs, the other part of him detests that he thought of him. “I will make it up to you.”

“Who are you and what have you done to our DM?” Freak asks, his voice serious.

“Yeah, what is this talk about postponing dnd for some boy?” Gareth adds, there is something in his tone Eddie doesn’t like.

“Some boy? Some boy? Am I the only one with eyes in this fucking band? He is the hottest person that has laid eyes on me and I’m not letting you fuckers take that opportunity from me for one session of dnd or I swear to God I am killing every one of your characters.”

The boys don’t answer, they look at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

“Wow” a voice says from behind Eddie.

He doesn’t recognize the voice but the expressions on the rest of the band in front of him make him freeze. They go from slightly annoyed to wary and to bemused. Mainly a mix of all at the same time.

The sounds of steps approaching them break the silence that had fallen in the room, before a voice finishes breaking it.

“How does dnd work with you nerds anyway, are you all bards or what?”

The boys drop their mouths open. Eddie still doesn’t recognize the voice, but there is only one person it can belong to. He sounds just as good as he had imagined. Eddie is honestly afraid of turning around after what the boy- Steve- has surely heard.

“Don’t pay attention to him,” a woman’s voice says. There’s the sound of a hit and a quiet ‘ow’ from Steve under it. “He is just trying to sound all confident after whining-“

“Robin.”

“Telling me to not get my hopes up because he probably wasn’t anyone important and you just did this every concert-“

“Robin.”

“But of course he is the luckiest bitch in this planet and has his instant crush reciprocated and-“

“Enough!”

There are some muffled noises that Eddie can only guess are the girl trying to continue speaking. He wishes she wouldn’t stop. His knight in shining armour may be embarrassed, but the rant has put a smile on Eddie’s face, has given him confidence again. He crosses his legs and turns around slowly, his hands coming up beside him.

“By all means, let her continue.”

The adonis, the hottest man that has laid eyes on him, his knight in shining armour, Steve takes his hand away from the girl’s mouth and rubs it on his jeans. Eddie can only guess the girl has licked it. God he wants to be her so bad right now.

“Hey,” Steve says, his hand coming up for a small wave. “Sorry about Robin.”

“No need for that. I’m Eddie.”

“I know,” Steve answers with a cocky smile as he crosses his arms.

“Oh and now you are acting all full of yourself as if you didn’t ask for the name of the band like 20 times 2 hours ago.” Robin says.

“Will you please just shut the fuck up?” Steve asks with the confidence only a best friend can have.  

“Not a fan then?” Eddie asks amused.

“Not really my scene,” Steve answers. There is a scoff behind Eddie, and if he wasn’t so lost in Steve’s brown eyes, he may have moved to swat whoever it was. “But I sure am a fan now.”

There is now a groan behind Eddie, but he can only focus on the way his heart jumps at the words, the way Steve’s mouth lifts in one side in a smirk, how his eyes spark.  

“I can get you front row tickets to all the gigs, baby.”

There’s a gagging noise being Eddie, and this time he does turn around to swat at Gareth. The little shit just laughs at him.

When he turns back towards Steve he is looking between them with a smile on his lips and he looks- damn- he’s been looking beautiful since he saw him at the beginning of the concert that night, but now his hair is a mess from the almost two hours of sweating and moving around and Eddie’s on stage confidence is slowly being replaced by his fast beating heart.

“Look man I-“ Steve starts, “I don’t want to be a problem,” he adds, glancing behind Eddie as he bites his lip. The girl next to him- Robin- turns to him with an incredulous look on her eyes that Eddie is sure mirrors his own. “But you are hot, I want to take you on a date, and the others wanted to meet you.”

Robin rolls her eyes and looks at Eddie with an eyebrow up.

“The others?” Eddie manages to say, just before he remembers the teenagers around Steve all night.

“Yeah, they are with Chrissy, I asked them to give us five minutes before coming.”

Eddie is about to say something, maybe ask about the date Steve mentioned, but in a second the door is filled with said teenagers, the one with the curly hair in the middle of it.

“YOU GUYS ARE LEGENDS!” he exclaims. It makes Eddie less annoyed about being interrupted. No one has really called them legends before, they have just surpassed 150k listeners in Spotify.

It feels good hearing it.

The dressing room fills with chatter fast, the boys and the teenagers getting along without problem. They take photos, talk about music, about their instruments, about their dnd tradition. The bad part of it all is that Eddie gets separated from Steve. He catches his eye at some point and Steve sends a little wave his way that he answers. He is talking with Robin and Chrissy and, by what Eddie can hear, Chrissy is getting every video Robin has managed to get of Eddie’s and Steve’s interactions through the concert, even a closer video of the kiss than the one Chrissy managed to get. From what he can hear, she wants to post everything on their social media before ‘someone else does and steals the chance at going viral from them’.

Eddie doesn’t know how he feels about posting Steve like that, Eddie should have probably thought, about that before making out with the guy in front of all their audience. But he seems completely comfortable with all of it. Eddie guesses that comes with being as hot as Steve is and knowing it.

It’s some time later, enough that Eddie knows they won’t be able to stay much longer in the venue, that he finally has a chance to slip away. It’s perfect, he has just seen Steve leave the dressing room, probably in search of the toilet, and Gareth and the curly hair boy he has learned is called Dustin are so deep in conversation they don’t notice him stepping away from them and leaving too.

He catches Steve just as he is leaving the toilet. Eddie doesn’t stop to answer Steve’s surprised ‘oh, hey’ that turns into a more surprised ‘woah’ as Eddie pushes him back into the toilet and closes the door behind him.

“Hey” Eddie finally greets. Steve only looks at the closed door behind Eddie and then at him again with what Eddie hopes is amusement. God, he really hopes it’s amusement, he is just not realising how creepy this looks. “So, about that date.”

“Couldn’t wait until I came back?”

“No. I mean, yes.” Why is it so difficult to talk with a pretty boy? Eddie takes a deep breath, composes himself. Theatrics, he is good with those, they make him confident. “I was suffering, being deprived from your company by your companions, and didn’t have another option.”

Steve squints his eyes, “so you decided to have the date in the toilet?”

“What? No.”

Steve takes a step closer to Eddie so now their chests are almost touching. It hadn’t downed on Eddie before how they are almost the same height. It feels very important now when he has Steve’s face right in front of him, when he can look directly at his eyes, at how they drift down to Eddie’s lips. When his inevitably drift to Steve’s lips, the boy is biting his lower lip. “Eager.”

Eddie’s breath hitches in his throat, he may have miscalculated this. There’s something he wanted to say. “No, I-“

Steve chuckles, takes a step back. “Relax dude. I know you haven’t really agreed to the date yet, we got interrupted and all that.” Eddie is about to speak, to agree a thousand times to the date, but Steve keeps talking. “You just offered to buy me a couple of drinks and called me hot,” he smiles when he says that.

“I want the date.” Eddie says before Steve can keep talking, “as soon as possible.”

Steve steps back closer. “Eager.”

“We are leaving on tour, won’t be back for three months.” Eddie explains before all his brain functions completely shut down.

“I can wait three months.”

“I can’t.”

The next second Steve’s lips are on his, his hands are on his hair, and it only takes a second for Eddie’s to do the same. Steve is even a better kisser than he was in front of the audience. Steve pushes him against the door, brings a hand to his hip, pushes one of his legs between Eddie’s. Eddie just groans and lets himself be pushed and moved. Kissed. “Fuck,” he whispers when Steve pulls away for breath. Steve smiles, takes one of Eddie’s hands in his, and kisses him again. It’s so sweet and filthy at the same time Eddie might cry, but he just moves his hips forward, and Steve answers in kind, grinding against him and getting a groan out of both of them. Maybe the rockstars that hook up with people after concerts are onto something. Though Eddie doubts he would want to do this with someone that is not Steve.

A knock on the door startles them both, Robin’s voice coming from the other side.

“Steve?” Steve and Eddie stop kissing to look at each other in silence, their eyes wide. “Chrissy said we need to leave already and you’ve been in there so long I started to worry you were kidnapped. Wait, you are in there, right? Also, have you seen Eddie? He disappeared.” Steve moves, an innocent thing that has his groin brushing against Eddie’s. And he is only a man. He moans. “WAIT! Are you both in there? GROSS.”

Steve snorts, making Eddie smile. They can hear a couple of steps moving away from the door before they come back and there is a bang on the door.

“Steve! Come out you dingus, have you forgotten about your pack of kids?”

Steve lets out a whispered ‘fuck’ before he looks at Eddie with an apology in his eyes. Eddie lets himself be moved away from the door so Steve can open it to talk to his friend outside.

“Hey.”

Eddie opens the door more so he can also fit in the gap, Steve sends him a look, smiles at his appearance, and then looks at Robin again.

“Hey” Eddie greets too. Robin is looking at them and there is no hiding what they have been doing. She can surely see their bruised lips, their wild hair. Eddie just prays she doesn’t look down and sees the bulge in his pants.

“You two are gross, was making me see that once tonight not enough?”

“You have not really seen it this time,” Steve points.

“Still.”

“You are the one that came to interrupt.”

“And for a good reason! Your kids.”

“What about the kids,” Eddie asks.

“He promised to take them home.” Robin says.

“I promised to take them home.” Steve says at the same time, a resigned tone in his voice. He turns to Eddie, his brown eyes sad, and pinches his nose.

“Can’t she take them home?” Eddie points to Robin, and they both turn towards her again.

Robin takes a breath, stops, looks at them, looks at them, sees the tent in Eddie’s pants. Grimaces.

“FINE,” she agrees, and Eddie grins. “But you owe me. Big time.” She adds pointing at Steve.

“I’ll give you ice cream for life.” Steve says. It must be an inside joke because it makes Robin roll her eyes.

“Give me your car keys at least. Rockstar here can drive you home, can’t he?”

“I’ll have him home before eleven.” Eddie swears with a hand on his chest. The other two stare at him in silence. “A.m.” he adds.

“You heard him.” Steve says while handing Robin his keys.

“Okay,” Robin answers. She takes a step back. “Have fun.” She takes a couple of steps away before she turns around. “Use protection, he is a rockstar, we don’t know where his thing has been.”

“Hey,” Eddie protests, but Robin is already running away.

“She is kinda right.” Steve says with a shrug. Eddie purses his lips. “But I have an idea on where it can be in the near future.”

“Lead the way.”

Steve slips his hand into Eddie’s.

[nonbinarypirat]

Okay okay, SO let’s talk about the latest chapter of Iruma kun because the lore is JUICY. Spoilers for chapter 358. This also leaves me with even more questions while answering some I had before. So I actually had a post planned where I was going to ask why Delkira received a special and sublime classroom to begin with. I wondered if maybe he was a previous demon king’s son and maybe that was why he was already revered. But NOPE it seems not likely. It’s still possible, I just got the vibe was that he was miraculous in his achievements and power. So it kind of answers that question but we still have no info on his family, the king’s classroom, or how he was able to achieve so much. On the other hand we got some VERY VERY interesting lore on Mephisto-pheles. It also explains why he gave this task to Iruma since he obviously sees the potential for him to surpass Delkira in the future. He wants Iruma to know what it takes to be in power, somewhat as an advisor role like he has been for previous kings. By assisting a king you can understand how to rule. And by building up a country, you can know what it takes to lead a country. I already guessed that since he was already interested in Iruma. But this just adds an extra layer to why he is as fascinated by him as he is. GOD NISHI IS SO GOOD AT WRITING LORE. I ASPIRE to write something with as much depth and intricacies as this manga. She is my inspiration truly 🙏🏽

Like, look at Mephisto’s face here compared to after he met Iruma. Different face but same vibe.

Now, going back to Delkira one, we get to see more of his personality and he’s so much like Iruma!!!!! No wonder everyone and their fucking mom keeps being like, “damn why tf do I see Delkira in him.” Neither strive for power for power’s sake, instead they strive for power because they see it as a step forward in their goal and desires. They both want to find their own path rather than it just being given to them. It really shocked me at first that Delkira turned Mephisto down but it actually makes so much sense why everyone is enamored by him. That is the most undemon like thing he could have done, he had the perfect opportunity to gain all the power in the world in a quick and easy way. Any other demon would have killed for that chance. They are so fucking alike and it makes me want to rage. I love it so much, I love that we are getting to see more of him as time goes on. Him and Iruma even have the same smile! Like come on.

He even has similar jesters to Iruma!!!! This flashback is making me rethink my theories about him and his connection to Iruma. Ughhhh, I’m so fucking happy about this. Also, this nothing to do with anything but look at Delkira’s cunty lil outfit. This sheer shirt? Rolled up uniform jacket he has popped open. These tight pants with a weird belt design? I would be Delkira’s number one supporter is all I’m saying. He’s babygirl just like Iruma. Maybe that’s the requirement to be the next powerful demon king, you have to serve mother fucking CUNT if you want to rule. Anyway, I think there was more I wanted to say but I got distracted with my rant lol. I just love this lore so much, I love how Nishi handles lore drops (especially with characters) and seeing more of Delkira because I am so fascinated with him and must know more.

[crazylittlejester]

I’m gonna go on a crazy ass rant because I’m upset and also very tired

A huge reason as to why I characterize Warriors the way that I do, regarding his fear of being poisoned and his food anxiety, is a way to explain myself and my own anxieties caused by my allergies, because when I say to someone I don’t think I can eat the food at the party/function/their house EVEN IF it was specifically made to be free of my allergens, they just don’t understand why I can’t eat it. They just don’t understand that just because it’s ‘safe’ doesn’t mean I feel safe enough to eat it, because there’s always that lingering ‘What if’ in my mind that food made outside of my vision is contaminated somehow.

It is so HARD to explain to people the genuine fear that you are going to die because a food created an odd texture in your mouth and you gave yourself a panic attack over nothing. It breaks my heart every time I go to my friends house and her mom offers to make me food because I’ve been at her house for thirteen hours and haven’t eaten a meal with them, because even though she cleans everything and offers to let me watch her make it, there’s still this loud screaming voice in my mind saying that that food is not safe to eat. And it just NEVER goes away. I feel awful because her mom is so sweet and willing to help me, and I just can’t ever accept because I manage to convince myself it’s contaminated every time

I have been dealing with this for my entire life and never not once have I been able to get someone to understand what this feels like or seen it shown in a media form anywhere. I’ve had family and therapists both just tell me to get over myself, because I’m being ‘ridiculous’ and the craziest thing to me EVER is that for the first time in nineteen years, I have had an outlet to throw this frustration into. Warriors and the food issues I have given him are so important to me because for the first time in my life I can explain this fear through a character and even if people may not relate or really, truly get what it’s like, they understand. They understand and they recognize it as a valid fear, and it’s because of a fanfiction about a traumatized war hero. (which is INSANE to me that this is what it took for people to understand, but you know what, I’ll take it)

This rant was inspired because I opened a sealed container of ice cream and the allergen labels were incorrect and now I can’t eat it and I’ve wasted money and I’m so upset and it’s been a really long week, but also because I never saw anyone talking about this when I was a kid, and if I’d had someone there to represent me like this, or just be there for me to connect with, I would’ve felt a lot better. Understanding allergies and food restrictions is so important for so many reasons, the most important being that if you know how to help someone, you can save their LIFE. And for other people who feel the same way I do, it’s so GOOD to know you’re not alone and that there’s someone out there who gets what you’re dealing with

If I can make people understand what it’s like to live life this way, then that is so important to me. If I can explain to people what to do in an emergency situation because their friend is having a allergic reaction, I will, because not enough people understand how allergies work, and I’m sick and tired of hearing stories about kids with allergies who were peer pressured into eating when they didn’t feel comfortable and then suffering the consequences, and I am TIRED of seeing companies mislabel their fucking food.

Also do NOT be afraid to ask any friends or classmates or coworkers with allergies how to use an epi pen because You Could Save Their Life. If anyone is curious, I’LL tell you, or look up a youtube video I’m sure there are some on there

Anyways, this is why I give Warriors the food issues I do in my fics, for anyone else out there with allergies who’s ever felt invalidated by people telling them their anxieties were stupid, and so people who have no idea what it’s like to fear your food will kill you can try to understand that this is the irritating reality for some of your peers. (not that everyone with allergies has this exact experience, I have a friend with allergies who just eats whatever and prays it wont kill them, but I know now that there are plenty of people out there with allergies who DO have this experience)

Sorry for kinda ranting, (I’m just a little guy 🥺), but this is something that is so hugely important to me, and sorry Warriors but you had too similar of a problem so now you get my exact issues 🫶

[see-arcane]

Van Helsing Venting (Vent Helsing)

Requisite apology goes here: I am sorry in advance to everyone with a soft spot for the funky old man.

But the reread combined with the podcast has helped put into focus an aggravation that has been nettling me forever without quite knowing how to articulate it.

I’ve brushed the edges of it more than once in several rants about how the Harkers are so constantly given the short stick in every single adaptation of Dracula for a hundred and a quarter years.

Jonathan is either erased, made into a bore, a brute, or unceremoniously killed off while all the amazing character traits and actions he’s responsible for in the story get stolen away and parsed out to others in the cast, often Dracula, Van Helsing, or [INSERT FEMALE THROWN INTO THE CASTLE TO BE BRIDAL CARRIED TO BED HERE].

Mina is alternately a feeble damsel who’s only there to be the pure maiden who gets to live through her seduction*** by Dracula (versus the suddenly scandalous-and-salacious Lucy), or a hashtag girlboss (reincarnated wife syndrome applied as desired) who divorces or otherwise abandons her milksop husband to hook up with a REAL MAN like DRACULA who sexily sex-liberates her. With sex. That she totally for sure wanted along with the bloodsucking.

But on one thing, the Harkers are equal—they never. Ever. Ever. Get to be the true protagonists of any Dracula adaptation, or spinoff, or offshoot, or revamp, et cetera.

This, despite Jonathan being the one to spend the most time with Dracula, alone, in his gothic horror novella of an opening, for Two Months, in which he got the most interaction and dialogue with the Count out of anyone else in the book.

This, despite him and his diary and his love to the point of blasphemy and his nerve and his kukri all being instrumental for the novel to work.

This, despite Mina being the one to literally compile the entire novel out of the transcripts it’s stitched from.

This, despite her connecting the dots to oust the bastard and showing immense courage all on her lonesome in confronting the Count for others’ sake more than once.

But why?

For the longest time, I was ready to grind my teeth and grouse over the obvious reasons of Jonathan and Mina Harker being so gloriously subversive then—and now!—that writers and directors of a certain sneering bent refused to acknowledge anything of their characters beyond the names when slathering their latest cookie cutter vampire bodice ripper with Stoker’s cast titles. The Harkers’ approaches to gender, to heroism, to defeating a villain whose entire role is being the worst of the Gothic Masculine Monster who bullies and preys upon pretty victims to collect for himself (hello harem and power fantasy combo, let’s make THIS guy the ultra-cool totally misunderstood sexypire star of the show!) all chafe against the mental rewrites too many filmmakers and writers make to turn the novel more palatable to their tastes. Assuming they read the book at all.

And that’s all its own pile of rants. But I’ve realized, only now, that this is just part of the problem. The other issue stems from Bram Stoker himself.

That issue being the conversion of an otherwise tight narrative and set of primed protagonist characters into the Abraham van Helsing Show.

I don’t know what it was about today’s entry specifically that made it all click home. Maybe it was already percolating since yesterday, or the day before. But somewhere in Van Helsing’s latest filibuster of dialogue—‘We must share everything! No, wait, tell her nothing! We must make all haste and not lose a moment! Let me turn five minutes’ worth of information into a monologue about bloom and blood and then suggest we all take a siesta on our laurels since we definitely have time to beat the Czarina Catherine! Jonathan, you stay at home with Mina while me and my non-questioning ducklings/the others who don’t really need lines anyway take care of the problem, doctor’s orders! And all my orders are followed, unquestionably, every time, despite them very clearly having only a 50/50 success rate, as is right!’—it all really hit me.

The moment Van Helsing turned into the never-doubted, never-need-apologize, yes, do kiss his hands like a fucking mafia godfather in gratitude for Doing the Things He Should Have Known to Do in the First Place After Lucy, ‘leader’ rather than ‘the lore collector/mentor’ is when the novel turns on its heel and starts breaking its back to accommodate him at the expense of everyone else.

The Harkers get it the worst, naturally.

Once they arrive in Purfleet and the documents are handed over, Van Helsing leads the pack in peer pressuring them into sequestering Mina away as their cheerleader who Need Not Suffer the Icky Horror of -checks notes- finding boxes. Not sent away anyplace safe and guarded by home rules and garlic and crosses; just left to Yellow Wallpaper her days away in the asylum suite.

Meanwhile, Jonathan proves to be literally the only useful member of this group project via hauling ass all over London to gather information to bring back to the table…which Van Helsing then oh-so-helpfully disseminates on top of the obvious point that, hey, yeah, there’s probably boxes there. We should do Wafers about it.

Now, in fairness, Van Helsing was a vital character up to a certain point. Jack called him in for his broader expertise, for how open his mind was as far as what he was willing to investigate or believe as a threat. Without him and his lore collection in Amsterdam, a lot of the details regarding anti-vampire tactics and Dracula’s history lesson wouldn’t have come into play. All this, plus providing the hideous proof of the Bloofer Lady’s reality, making the last three nonbelievers into members of the Drac Attack Pack. Last but far from least, he helps reassure Jonathan to free him from his crushing self-doubt, and then brings in both of the Harkers to create the full group. Fuck yeah!

All that considered, it does make some sense for him alone to give his little seminar on the Dracula Issue…

…except for the fact that Mina has absorbed and transcribed all the info herself. Literally all of it. And the fact that Jonathan personally knows the fucker. All three of these characters should have been at the head of the table, sharing what they know.

But they weren’t. It’s starting to become all about Dr. Abe—because that’s how Stoker keeps his OC self insert in the lion’s share of the spotlight.

This is also when Van Helsing is fresh off the nightmare with Lucy, fresh off of acknowledging that there is literally no reason at all to keep vampire secrets from anybody in this room, fresh off of being oh so thrilled with Mina’s helpfulness and canniness, fresh off of what should have been him learning his lesson and—in open-minded fashion—cutting off any benignly sexist chivalry at the knees to keep Mina in the loop and share the mastermind role.

And what does he decide?

Off to the tower, princess. It’s man work time! Man work here meaning: Investigate some scary dirt. Some rats are there. Everyone break up some Christ crackers, men. Thank God Mina isn’t here to suffer this, amirite? Oh, and Jonathan, be a dear and gather all the information on Dracula’s locations and properties while me and the others…do whatever. Read? Smoke? Something. Anyway, attaboy, such a good hard worker you are, Only Non-Titled Fresh-From-the-Lower-Class Man in the Group!

And then, after October 3rd?

He’s horrified. He’s upset. He’s King Laughing about Dracula’s good meal and within inches of being kukri’d. But you know what he isn’t?

Apologetic.

Oh, he says sorry for the crack about Dracula eating well—but all the actions that led up to the attack? Not a peep.

And when he falls right back into the ‘withhold as much information as possible until it’s time for a Big Specialboy Meeting and my Big Specialboy Corn-flavored Monologue of the Day, in which I’ll give more orders with full expectation that everyone here will hop to it like good little student-soldiers because the author says we can only follow me me me?’

The only saving grace is that Jonathan—not even Mina! JONATHAN!—finally puts his foot down and refuses to chase the stick without conferring with Mina first. Mina, who has always taken precedent to him, period, but also Mina, who has proven herself to be the soundest mind in the entire group and already well aware of the dangers Dr. Abe has been rambling about and trying to be oh-so-covert and sneaky about with Jack.

On that subject? Van Helsing is STILL living a fantasy world where he, and occasionally Jack, are the only ones who can put 2 and 2 together and consider taking anti-vampire measures against Mina.

When everyone has already read everything.

When Mina knows exactly what the risks and measures are.

When Jonathan ‘Would Sell His Soul for His Love and to Slaughter Dracula’ Harker knows all of this.

WHEN EVERYONE HAS EYES THAT CAN ALSO SEE MINA’S TEETH.

Brammy Pajamas. Bramothy Stokerton. Bramward Stokerbroker. My guy.

Your OC, by your own text’s rules, is not special here. He is not the protagonist. He is not the extra-clever center of the narrative’s universe, per your own fucking writing. Stop forcing this man and his refusal to evolve from his preconceptions and his main character pedestal-theft and his goddamn corncobs down our throats.*

*Note: This will not happen.

The one silver lining yet to come will be that Jonathan and Mina get to roughly shoulder their way back into the story’s forefront by the book’s climax. In a huge way. Jonathan even gets an upcoming scene in which he gets to finally, rightfully, chew Van Helsing to ribbons for casually declaring a Certain Horrifying Action has to be taken (Again! No questions asked! No explanation offered until after said chewing-out!) and the narrative treats this as the right move!

But still. Still. Van Helsing is showered with Stoker’s overblown attention to a character that should have had his influence and dialogue whittled down to a supporting role rather than crowding out the Harkers for two whole thirds of the book, complete with them batting their eyes at how brilliant~ he is for much of it.

Despite.

The facts.

In The Text.

That Mina and Jonathan could have led the the whole fucking thing themselves.

We’ll see in later chapters that Mina is ONCE AGAIN the one to figure out Dracula’s plans ahead of time and set everyone on the right course. Jonathan is ONCE AGAIN the one laser-focused on seeking and slaying the Count almost on a supernatural level. On top of all that? What galls me almost as much as the Harkers being robbed of their story spotlight IN THEIR OWN FUCKING STORY?

If Van Helsing hadn’t been one-man-showing the bulk of the dialogue to make sure Brammington got to wave his self-insert around as much as possible?

We could have let Jack, Arthur, and Quincey be actual presences in the book. Jack has a big role! Absolutely! But even he gets relegated to an orbiting figure rather than an active one once Van Helsing starts hogging the pages. Arthur is practically reduced to a mutely mourning money machine. Quincey gets a few moments to remind everyone Hi, Yes, I am a Cowboy. And that’s it.

THAT’S. IT. FOR ALL OF THEM.

Hell, even Lucy and Renfield get whittled down to wisps of dialogue compared to the whole trees’ worth of lines Van Helsing rattles off.

All because Stoker couldn’t bear to let Van Helsing be the character he should have been.

The support. The guide rather than the commander.

Star Wars isn’t about Yoda, but it wouldn’t be the same without the wise little weirdo! That’s what Van Helsing would and should have been great for! But no!

I see now that I owe at least one small retroactive apology to those movie makers and spinoff writers who try to spin Van Helsing as the very real definite archnemesis of Dracula despite the fact that they have exactly two (2) scenes together and no dialogue. It’s not just the cool name. It’s not just because all of the (frequently male and/or Dracula-crushing) directors and writers refuse to acknowledge Jonathan Harker’s existence or importance.

It's because Stoker himself damn near choked his own book to death with the old man’s screentime, backed up by an utter refusal to let the narrative or the characters acknowledge when he’s fucked up. He always has to be the wise scholar. He always has to command the room and the story when neither of them belong to him.

I’d genuinely like to see one of two adaptations in the future.

In one, we could see a Van Helsing who, following October 3rd, chooses to step back. One where he and others logically point out that he has misled everyone with forced unnecessary ignorance and following stodgy hindering social rules, again, and it has doomed someone precious to them, again. One where the Harkers finally get proper center stage, likewise for the Suitor Squad—the latter of whom are written in canon as having a legit history of dangerous adventures undertaken together. Flesh those out, writers! Let these characters be present in their own fucking story! It’d be a golden opportunity to highlight a point Stoker fumbles even as he champions so many other forward-thinking notions:

Sometimes the older generation has to let go of the reins. Sometimes progress doesn’t come just from following and nodding along, but from forging ahead with new concepts and fresher minds. Case in point, Mina and Jonathan, who are apparently still too radically-written to be bothered with depicting accurately in the 21st century apart from a podcast that is literally just reading their lines verbatim.

The other option an adaptation could take? Supposing it really wanted to lean into the horror and heartbreak and forcing the ducklings to stop grasping at the Dutchman’s coattails?

Kill Van Helsing.

Dracula would absolutely think to target him, assuming that he, the elder with his acquired lore and scholarly nuisance, must surely be the keystone keeping his young enemies together. Given the chance, he’d follow that assumption to its conclusion and, on top of burning what he assumes is all the documentation on him, murdering his fellow clever old man in cold blood, ala Renfield. Bonus points if this comes at a bittersweet cost of Van Helsing landing a parting blow on the Count as thematic penance for ‘failing’ Mina, the second young girl who trusted him and paid for it, giving the bastard his second scar to match the shovel blow on his brow. Double bonus if the mark comes from a Wafer burn.

“Any last words, old man?”

“God bless you.”

Cue him slapping the Son right in the fucker’s face. He doesn’t last long after that, but it’s still a good view to go out on as the Vampire curses and sizzles.

And, natch, he will have been wise enough to leave another memorandum for Jack and the others just in case this very thing should happen. A rousing farewell speech, some parting intel, some apologies made. Perhaps a more personal goodbye to his pupil; complete with Jack’s professional mien cracking like glass and the long-put-off tears finally pouring. Then, finally, the crew move forward as one; no longer leaning on or chafing against Van Helsing’s assumed lead, but using the exact same tools they’d always had at their disposal, along with their own wits that the narrative forced them into ignoring in favor of the Professor’s lectures.

Anyway.

Van Helsing is not a bad character. He’s richly made and interesting, as any worthwhile member of a cast should be! But Stoker crammed him into the wrong role and spread him far too thin across the whole book. Doing so has been detrimental not only to all the media which followed it, but to the actual leads of the novel.

[ludicrousimaginings]

None of my friends have read or watched Lockwood and Co(tragic) and I am having /thoughts/ about this show and have no one to share them with.

Enter; Tumblr

There are so many things I could rave about, the lighting; the cast; the score; pretty much EVERYTHING. But I really want to talk about George.

I loved George Cubbins from the book, how could I not? And I admit that it's been a while since I read the books, but I honestly don't remember a whole lot about Cubbins or his relationships with the characters, aside from him being... NOT Lockwood. Lockwood is tall, dark haired, immaculately dressed and perfectly polite. George Cubbins is described as short, blond, always messy and never cares about social niceties. He was simply created as a foil for another character, and I don't think he evolved a whole lot passed that.

Now, foils are great! Excellent literary devices, but unless they're given room to expand and grow, they aren't as memorable as other characters. I don't remember much about Cubbins from the book, it was always 'Lucy and Lockwood' ... Oh and George too. Nothing wrong with that, I didn't feel there was anything missing from the books in that regard, myself at least.

What surprised me about the show wasn't that the character's ethnicity was changed or anything like that, it was that I immediately felt it was a refraction of a character I had previously overlooked. I remember Cubbins being gross and rude, just because he apparently doesn't care. Any more nuanced characterizations admittedly went over my head.

To those of us who have radar like ability to find other people similar to ourselves, George Karim opens the door and is immediately recognizable as neurodivergent. The scene where he is introduced cracks me up everytime, right from the moment he opens the door and and STARES DIRECTLY INTO LUCY'S EYES. Wide eyed, clearly intentional, uncomfortably direct eye contact. Every tiny detail I pick up each time I rewatch the show makes me think that George Karim is almost definitely on the autism spectrum, and I can't tell you HOW WELL IT'S DONE. The forced eye contact with strangers, but not with Lockwood, and later on Lucy. The fact that the only problem he has with Lucy is her messing up the biscuit rotation system. Before that, he shows no outright discomfort, cheerfully trading barbs with her. A wonderfully consistent detail, is his sensitivity to touch(which seems to be his most powerful Talent too??!?!)

Hypersensitivity is a bitch, I personally have a mild touch sensitivity, overstimulation or experiencing a "Nope Not Good" texture or sensation can Suck™️. His wacky t-shirts are all oversized and well worn. His aversion to wearing pants/trousers when he's at home, also the way he holds his hands directly in front of him, perfectly straight, when he is wearing rubber gloves for cleaning. That's how I feel when I have to touch a microfiber cloth.

None of this is a drastic change from the book, it's just MORE. George Karim's lack of social prowess isn't because he's an ass or is rebelling against polite society, it's just more difficult for him to pick up the queues and nuances. Well... He's also rebelling against polite society, but more out of principle than true disdain.

Anyway yeah that's my rant on that subject, have a wonderful day

[monstersinthecosmos]

please make longform sheith posts on tumblr 😭😭😭 (if you so wish ofc)

hjaklgd I hung onto this ask because I was waiting for the right time to talk about Sheith and I got such an insightful comment on my fic Tonight the Stars Revolt! that I decided I wanted to talk a little meta about the thought process that goes into this fic and so here you are and it's time to utilize this invitation !!!!!!!!!!!!

The comment from DocYo5 as follows:

It feels like reality, the feelings and thoughts Keith has, fitting for someone who had to grow up without close relationships, with Shiro being closest to a family member before he left for Kerberos. Understandable that he's able to open up to him, because he trusts him and somehow understandable that they can have sex together without hard feelings... At least from Keith's point of view. We can only guess how Shiro feels about this, probably more than he lets out. For me it's surprising to have sex with someone repeatedly without considering to love him, to announce it as weird to like him when I think it's much more weird to fuck someone often without love, only to get release. In this fic I think it's possible that it stays that way. So I am curious what you will make of it. The way you put it it would make sense.

So!!!! This is exactly the dynamic that this fic is ABOUT, okay? And while some of this pertains to my fic specifically and the places their relationship goes behind the scenes of canon, I did build it off of canon, so a lot of this speaks to the way I’m reading them on the show.

Since the fic is Keith’s POV we’re spending more time with his interiority, naturally, but I’m going to get to Shiro in a second lol. But I think Keith is someone who really compartmentalizes his feelings. I think he, more than the others on the show, sort of has an ON and OFF switch in which he’s either a grumpy little shit or he’s simply dealing in facts. It’s SO rare to see him smile; I think he laughs, like, once? Even in the shitshow of S8 he can’t enjoy himself on their day off at the carnival.

Compartmentalizing can be a useful tool, especially given that the characters are at war, but it can be so harmful, as well. And Keith, unlike the others, tends to have sort of violent outburst from time to time and does lose his temper. I know the creators one time ascribed this to his being half Galra, which I think really opens a fucking can of worms when we talk about Keith’s emotional intelligence as well as being neurodivergent; it’s a popular fanon read that Keith is autistic, and there’s a lot of clues!, but I also have to ask like, how much of his Galra half is driving in his brain? And if his brain is only half human, that literally means he’s neurodivergent from a typical human.

I strayed from my point a little but I’m trying to say that Keith perhaps relies on anger a little too much, whether it’s genetic or not, and sometimes I think compartmentalizing looks like him being angry all the time because he won’t interact with any of his other feelings.

THE EXCEPTION TO THIS of course, is with Shiro! There are so many moments of him and Shiro where he’s vulnerable and soft in a way he doesn’t show to other characters! And I think it’s easy to overlook this when we watch with shipping goggles—of course we ARE SEEING IT because we’re shipping it lmao but it’s easy to forget that he doesn’t show this to anybody else.

So anyway I’ve been very intentional in this fic to try to write Keith as obsessively compartmentalizing and trying to keep a hold on all of his emotions and have control over the way other people perceive him. I’ve ranted & raved about this before but I read Keith as a person who makes himself deliberately unpleasant so that he can control when people come & go from his life, rather than ever trusting anyone or relying on them or having his feelings hurt when he inevitably gets abandoned again.

I often struggle in this fic with the line between showing and not telling because I am very aware that a lot of the text IS telling, but this is intentional! Keith obsesses over every feeling, every interaction with Shiro, he questions everything he says and does and worries about it for days! This is part of his anxiety around the whole situation and not knowing if he’s behaving correctly! He doesn’t want to compromise his relationship with Shiro, because it’s the ONLY meaningful relationship in his life AND Shiro is the ONLY person he has the stomach to trust, but on top of that he simply does not understand how he’s supposed to act. So every interaction between them is this huge puzzle for him to figure out and he’s stressed out as fuck!

And this fic is about him trying to compartmentalize all these human emotions and needs, like, his need to have sex, his need for companionship, maybe even his need for love? And he has the drive to want these things. (Does his growing and uncontrollable horniness have anything to do with same non-human half that dictates his temper? We shall see. 😏)  But how does he navigate “I am horny and want to get off” vs “I need the companionship of my best friend” alongside “having sex with someone is actually very intimate” and in the end "sexual intimacy makes me uncomfortable because in some ways this thing with Shiro is everything that I want, but if I admit that and lose it I will be destroyed” ?? How can these things coalesce for him???

The idea for this fic was me trying to subvert some tropes I was seeing all the time in Sheith fic and the main one is like, we have a habit of making them such soulmates and making it so seamless! WHICH IS FINE AND GOOD, I LOVE THOSE FICS TOO LOL, but I wanted to ask like, what if it was messy, what if they were just fucking? And I think part of me wanted to keep the illusion going for longer, when I was first planning the fic, and it wound up like growing a life of its own and taking me to a lot of places I didn’t intend to go. And I say that because, where we are right now in the story, I don’t think either of them are denial about their feelings, or withholding on purpose. I think Keith is compartmentalizing, and I tried to get at this a little bit when he has the conversation with Pidge about what love means. He loves Shiro, he already loved Shiro. He will love Shiro regardless, as a friend. And he’s also fucking Shiro. And he’s keeping these two things separate. And I don’t write it as if he’s pining and WANTS more (just yet) as much as he’s just found himself in a tricky emotional space and doesn’t know where his boundaries are.

The complication of the perhaps-alien-half dictating his libido trying to co-pilot with his very human half that is demisexual is a problem, too. Like he asks Pidge in Chapter 8: . “If you love someone as a friend, but you’re fucking them. When does it become, like. I don’t know. Romantic?”

He doesn’t know! We don’t know! Let’s keep going and see what happens lol.

SHIRO ON THE OTHER HAND.

What makes him such a great character (for me lol) is that like, he could so easily be such a 2D character and just, the fearless leader who is always chill and nice to everybody, and we DO get that to an extent, but they were generous in making him so multifaceted. He has PTSD. He struggles with his disability. He even loses his temper sometimes! When he gets back (as Kuron) he has a lil depression cave sesh in his bedroom in his PJs. Like he’s a very well rounded character and it makes him extremely realistic and human to me!

I don’t think it’s as fair to say that he compartmentalizes the way that Keith does, except what we can glean from his canon timeline. Meaning: He fights for the Kerberos mission despite his disability, he makes it up there only to be abducted, he survives the arena, he escapes to lead Voltron. And ALSO him being canonically queer; I think this starts getting into headcanon territory because I don’t think we get any clues in canon that they’re navigating homophobia in their universe, but we absolutely still see ableism and sexism. (Put a pin in the racism conversation as well when it comes to like, alien species and systems of oppression because there’s a lot to unpack and I’m trying to focus LOL.) So like, we do know that their world isn’t perfect, and Shiro is someone who had to work his ass off and fight for his rank and for his career. He’s someone who can put his feelings aside and focus on the task at hand, and we know this because he’s NOT perfect, he does occasionally lose his temper, and he has PTSD!

Basically, I think we have to assume he compartmentalizes to function, because he comes out of a year of INTENSE trauma to immediately lead a team, and lead them with kindness and patience, and the writing tells us that it’s not a matter of him being Perfect Cartoon Man, because he’s not a perfect person and he’s traumatized as fuck.

Because the fic is Keith’s POV I’ve tried to communicate this by Keith noticing that Shiro wears “masks”, or uses different voices. Sometimes it’s even about his clothes, like as they become more intimate and Keith starts seeing more of Shiro’s scars, and how Shiro is self-conscious about them. But it’s also moments like in Chapter 7 when Shiro is crying.

I feel that Keith and Shiro have some like sort of equal-opposite relationships to trauma and grief that balance each other in the end. Like, Keith lost his dad at a young age and had a horrific childhood, but that’s been his reality for most of his life and he’s learned how to carry it day-to-day.  Even though he’s a messier and more immature person, he’s used to shouldering it and it’s sort of baked into his personality at this point. But Shiro’s trauma is SO new. Shiro’s is a ton of shit ALL AT ONCE, vs. Keith’s 10+ years of grief and disappointment, and it’s so recent!  Even though Shiro is, on paper, a more mature and emotionally intelligent person, this is very new to him!

So Shiro in this fic also has some feelings he’s juggling, like, “I am touch starved and have physical needs” and “my mentee grew up kinda hot” and “I have to be very careful with him and his feelings”. He sees Keith for the mess that he is, and he’s patient, and he can wait for Keith, and take Keith’s lead.

I don’t feel that Shiro is pining necessarily, either—I think he’s a lot more grounded and realistic, and their encounters aren’t causing him the same level of anxiety because he can read Keith so clearly, even when Keith can’t read him back. But I think, he is pining a LITTLE lol. I think because he’s smart enough to know where this is heading, and he’s being patient, but he’d speed it along if it were up to him. They’re both so sensitive in different ways and I think they’re both so vulnerable to hurting each other’s feelings!!!! And Shiro is trying so so hard not to crush Keith like a little egg!!!!!!!!!!!

😊

Anyway !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for coming to my lecture! I don’t say this often about my fics because it makes me squeamish but I LOVE this fic, it really is where I put all my Sheith love, and all the thoughtwork I do about them is FOR THIS FIC lol it’s my lovenote to them, I’m putting my whole Sheithussy into it ahskjgdlasd

[eightlightstar]

Besties with Bangtan

pairing: bangtan x afab! reader word count: 2.3k genre: fluff, crack/humor, series warning(s): swearing, mentions of anxiety summary: Snippets from Juliet Hong/Jules/Hong Jia (Joshua Hong's [Seventeen]) sibling's life who happens to be BTS's neighbour, best friend, and an employee at HYBE (currently working for BTS). Written in first person but other characters call her Juliet/Jules/Jiah/Miss Hong.

Min Yoongi

Part 1 - Genius Lab

"Goddd, I don’t think I can do this”, you groan for the umpteenth time. You know in the back of your mind that you can do it, that you can finish it before the deadline, but you feel sick to the stomach if you even think about it. You are on the verge of tears when you decide it’s no good to sit here and whine to yourself. You step out of the office and go straight to the elevator after getting an Iced Americano from the cafeteria. You pause. You turn to the right and smirk to yourself while opening the stairwell door, ‘Gotta tell Mingyu & JK, they'll be so proud’.

When you reach the 16th floor from the 11th floor, you're not as exhausted as you would have been. 'Looks like working out with the guys paid off!', you muse. You head off towards the end of the corridor and pass by many studios – Hope World looks empty for now and the woofer is on full blast when you near RKive. Even with the soundproofing, the vibrations are hard to miss. You chuckle to yourself and go towards Genius Lab which is located at the very end of the corridor and punch in the passcode.

You hesitate before opening the door but open it anyway and slowly poke your head inside. Yoongi is directly staring at you, and you give him a sheepish smile. “Come on in Jiah! I hope you at least got me coffee if you’ve come to whine,” he says. “How could I even think about coming to see you without an Americano in my hand? Here you go,” you say and hand him the Iced Americano and sit on the couch while he swivels around in his chair and focuses his attention back onto something he was obviously busy with before you had decided to barge in.

“Yoongi, I did not bring you coffee so that you could turn your back on me!”, you nagged. “Well, you’ve obviously come to whine. And I never respond until you’ve finished ranting. So, I might as well write a song in the meantime”, Yoongi replies coolly. “Thanks for the coffee by the way, I feel like I’m alive again”, he grins. “And before you berate me, this is only my 5th coffee and I slept in the afternoon”, he finishes. “I wasn’t gonna say anything. But I’m surprised you slept even after downing that much caffeine”, you quip mockingly, and he chuckles. “Anyway, I’m here because I’m scared”, you say and pause to look up at Yoongi.

But he gives no reaction and continues working, knowing that you don't need prompting. “I have to finish the pet project that I took on and the Chairman expects it by the 20th. I’m not even close to finishing it and that’s why I’m scared. I know in the back of my mind that I’ll mail it to him before 11:59 PM on the 20th but I’m still anxious. I don’t regret starting the project per se, but I regret not doing anything for the entire year and then racing to finish it in the last 10 days. I don’t even know why I was given a year’s time to finish it if I was capable of finishing it in 10 days. I mean, it could be reasoned that usually a year is given so that one can think and formulate their ideas and collect resources and plan extensively so that it can be finished in the last few days. But yeah, you get my point. Don’t you?” You let out a huge breath and lift your head up, expecting to look at the back of Yoongi’s head again.

But surprisingly, he is facing you with a small smile. “What do you want me to say? You’ve obviously got everything sorted out, so I don’t see any reason why you had to come here and whine”, he pauses. “Unless… your reasoning was not helping you finish it, and you were on the verge of tears when you decided to come here. Am I right?”, he asks with a triumphant smile. You give him a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes and affirm that he is right with a nod of your head. “That’s usually why I come to you or Joon. Today I came here because I had already picked up an Iced Americano and because Joon is busy – the floor right in front of his studio was vibrating”, you say and let out a dry laugh.

“Okay, see. You’re obviously distressed and it’s okay to be. I am not saying everything is going to be okay because I don’t know if everything is going to be okay. But what I do know is that you’re more than capable of finishing it. I suggest that you stop coming to the office. Stay home, finish it and step into the office and resume your duties on the 21st. Speak to the Chairman and maybe add in that I suggested this break”, he grins cheekily. “Thankfully, I live right next door and can still barge in on not just you, but all of you whenever I want, provided y’all are at home”, you say in a much cheerful tone. “Thank you, Yoongi! Coming to you has always yielded good results. I’ll go speak to the Chairman and then head home. Do you want to come with me, or will you come later with Joon?”, you ask as you get up to leave.

He looks at the clock on his screen and says, “It’s past 1 AM, I think I’ll come with you. And we can drag Namjoon away too. You go to the Chairman and come down to the parking lot. Me and Namjoon will be waiting”, he says and stretches his arms and legs before getting up and turning off his elaborate system set up. "Oh wait. Josh is in the building too. I'll tell him I'm taking a break from the office", you say as you remember your brother's existence. "Okay but be quick" says Yoongi as faux threat.

You walk out of the studio and he locks it behind you. He stops in front of RKive and knocks while you wave to him and walk off towards the elevator to get to the 19th floor. You keep rehearsing what you're going to say to the Chairman, and you are brought back to Earth only when the elevator dings open. You move to step out but stop when you see the Chairman and the Pledis CEO getting in. “Oh! Miss Hong! Were you coming to see me?” he asks as he peers at you from above his glasses. “Oh yes, Mr. Bang. Hello Mr. Han!" you bow as you greet them and turn to face Mr. Bang. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about my pet project. I was thinking…today is the 13th and I need to finish it by 20th, but I’ve barely managed to do anything. Would it be okay if I worked on the project at home and resumed office from the 21st?”, you ask him nervously. “Oh…and it was Yoongi's idea that I work at home”, you add as an afterthought.

“Did he really tell you to say that? Wow I can’t believe this guy!”, Mr. Bang and Mr. Han share a laugh. “Of course, you can have the time off. I would have given it regardless of Yoongi suggesting it or not. You took this on, and you want to finish it – I appreciate that. Now that you’re going to be working at home, I expect nothing less than an amazing project. Okay?”, he says and smiles genuinely at you. “Yes, okay Mr. Bang. I’ll do my best. Thank you so much!”, you smile and bow your head slightly.

“You’re going to the parking lot too, right?”, Mr. Han asks you. "I actually need to stop by the practice floor. Jisoo's still here so...", you trail off. "Ah of course!", exclaims Mr. Han. "Give them my regards and if you can, get them out of the building. Please." Mr. Han pleads. "I'll try my best, but you know the guys. I'm sorry to say but you made them that way!" you surmise. He chuckled while nodding woefully and all of you finally get into the elevator. The elevator ride is silent. You bow to the men as you exit at the practice floor. As you walk towards Seventeen's practice room, you realise that they are the only ones in the entire floor!

"Hi?" you say as you peer hesitantly from the door in case you disrupted them mid-practice. But to your relief, they were all sprawled on the floor breathing heavily - the telltale signs of an exhaustive dance practice. "Oh, hey Jules!", Vernon sees you first. "Hi Vernon!", you holler and motion to your brother. "Josh, can I talk to you for a sec?" "You're anyway gonna jabber in high-speed English that we won't understand. Might as well say it out loud?" giggled Seungkwan. You almost cursed at Seungkwan but didn't go through with it as Seungcheol was staring right at you. "Thanks Kwan! I didn't even realise", you jeer and turn to your brother.

"So, the thing is, I'm taking a week-long break from the office. I'll be holed up at my place working on my pet project. Just wanted to let you know", you announced monotonously. "Wait...you STILL haven't finished it???" Hoshi shrieked as got off the floor. "Yeah, it's a whole thing. That's why I'm taking time off, to finish it." you blurted hurriedly. You turn to Seungcheol, "Also, I bumped into Mr. Han on the way and he basically implored y'all to go home", you say and give him a saccharine smile.

Joshua turns you to face him, "Honey, are you going to be okay? You end up not eating or sleeping properly when you work like this" he questioned with worry. "Don't worry Josh, Seokjin will kill me before I starve myself to death", you voiced with amusement. "Okay, call me if you need anything and don't forget to call Mom", Joshua lectures you as he hugs you. "Yeah, yeah whatever, Oppa!", you leer at him. "Anyway, Hoshi, please let's go come on", you urge him. Everyone looks hopefully at Hoshi, and he grins cheekily as he says, "Okay! Let's go".

The elevator to the parking lot is chaotic as all 14 of you try to talk to each other. As you reach the basement, Seventeen head off towards their Carnivals while you hurry off towards the Black Palisade, one of the cars that the Tannies use to commute. Yoongi is standing outside the driver’s side, and you see Namjoon sprawled on the backseat. “Was he that tired when you went to get him?”, you ask as you approach Yoongi. “Yeah, he looked like he was about to pass out. I had some coffee left and thanks to that, I was able to haul him till the car. He passed out as soon as he sat down”, Yoongi sighs and motions you to get into the front seat. You both get in and soon you slowly emerge from the basement of Hybe and drive off into the night towards home.

You fall asleep as soon as you hit the road and only wake up when you hear Yoongi struggling with Joon. “Yoongi! Yoongi wait!!! I’ll call Jungkook or someone wait”, you whisper yell at him. “Fine but be quick! He really did buff up due to countless hours at the gym and now I have to suffer,” he tries sound annoyed but ends up sounding endeared as he always does when it comes to his members. You call JK and thankfully, he picks up in 2 rings. “Listen, can you come down to where we park the Black Palisade? Joonie passed out and me and Yoongi alone can’t heave him till the elevators”, you croak out tiredly. “Oh, sure I’ll be right down!”, he says and hangs up.

You and Yoongi lean on the car and sigh at the same time due to which you end up laughing together. “Mr. Bang was amused at you telling me to name-drop. And Mr. Han regrets being strict with Seventeen”. "You bumped into them together? Well, it would be surprising if Bang PD wasn’t amused. And Mr. Han should be happy, honestly. Their choreos are so much harder to manoeuvre than ours!”, Yoongi says and laughs. “Also, I needn’t have asked you to name-drop, but it was a safety measure since you looked very miserable” he adds on. “Anyway, thank you for the suggesting it and now I can peacefully work at home and finally be done with this project. Afterall, writing about BTS and their ARMY is a fun but tedious work”, you smile at him. "Don't forget to call your mom. She usually ends up calling one of us when you don't call her for more than a week" he fretted. "Gosh you're worse than Josh!", you exclaim as you hear the elevator open.

With rushed footsteps, JK comes into view. “Is hyung alright?”, he asks. “Yeah, he just needs to rest more, like we all keep telling him”, Yoongi says, shaking his head. JK opens the door and lifts Namjoon on his shoulder and walks towards the elevator. Yoongi locks the car and both of you follow right behind them. You reach the 6th floor soon enough and Yoongi walks ahead to open the door to their dorm so that Jungkook can walk in without stopping. He opens the door to 601 while you open the door to your home, door no. 600. It still feels like a dream – being Bangtan’s neighbour – even though it has been over 5 years now. You turn back to see Yoongi waiting by their door to say goodnight. “Goodnight, Jiah. Breakfast at ours tomorrow!”, he says cheerfully, now that he’s back with his members. “Okay, cereal tomorrow. Got it.”, you grin, and he looks sheepish. You wave at him and add, “Have a Sweet Night!"

[slicedmayonnaise]

Okay, Slice n Dice, I'm gonna rant, enjoy :3 (good luck)

When I first started reading WTE I was in an, "I'm not too big a fan of modern aus" mindset, and decided not to read it when I first saw it (Ford's top ten biggest mistakes).

One day, I was sitting on the floor, my third cup of iced coffee in my hand and Markiplier's rdr2 playthrough on my laptop and I thought to myself, "I wonder what WTEs about.." So I went back to good ol' ao3 and took a deeper look, aka read the first few chapters, oh my god did I regret not reading it sooner. I have a hard time immersing myself in stories because I get distracted so easily, but I was so immersed in the entire thing, that I could finally see in my tiny brain what was happening and it made me love the story even more.

After WTE I read BAE....hhhh I loved BAE....I ACTUALLY CRIED AT POINTS IN THOSE STORIES </3

Anyway, after WTE I didn't stop thinking about it, kinda just stared at my wall for half an hour looking confused, ik I'm going to do that exact thing once Washed Up is done, and I ain't complaining.

It actually took me a bit to read Washed Up too, after WTE I needed a break because I couldn't find any stories that matched how good it was, and for some reason, I didn't look at Washed Up which was literally created by the same person </333333 (I'm a little dumb)

When I'm hyperfixated on smth I get hyperfixated on things in that smth (like Javier) and I got hyperfixated on WTE (but I didn't draw fanart, which disappoints me) so that's another reason I didn't read Washed Up right away, I actually read WTE twice.

So I FINALLY started Washed Up and yeah that was the best thing I've ever done. Actually, this story might be one of the best fics I've ever read, I just absolutely love the slow burn that wasn't too short to be like, "What just happened?" and wasn't too long to make me get bored of the story, but in every chapter, I might've asked, "are they gonna kiss?"...

And the characters, omg, I actually didn't expect Vincente to turn out how he did, I love this version of him. and Eddie.......hhhhhhh Eddie.......I love Eddie...AND FLACO, WHEN I WAS READING THE TAGS I GOT SO SURPRISED THAT BRO WAS IN IT THAT EVERY TIME A NEW CHARACTER WAS INTRODUCED (without knowing their name ofc) I WAS LIKE, "Flaco?"

My reaction to when he showed up was priceless.

Okay, this rant went really off track-

I love how you sort of mixed like rdr canon into the story, but with your own like twist, yk, which is pretty much what the whole story is but you get what I mean (I hope-)

And Javier..oh poor Javier, he really won't like water now, or boats...sigh poor Javier </3

THE GIRLS TOO, I AM SO GLAD THEY WERE SAVED!!!!

Okay, this is getting really long I don't want to overwhelm you.

But just know, I love your story so much, I wish I had given it a chance right away because now it is one of my favorite things ever, and I hope you will write more in the future, speaking of the future I'm so excited for that spinoff with Flaco and Eddie.....so excited...

But thank you, for opening my eyes to a surfing au that I never expected to like so much, it didn't make me want to start surfing but that's okay cause I'm afraid of oceans.

AND I SWEAR I WILL DRAW WASHED UP FANART, I NEED IT IN MY LIFE, I JUST NEED AN IDEA, AND THEN WE'RE LOCKED IN!!!!!!

Okay, this was so long, oopsies-

THANK YOU <33333333

I was literally smiling like an idiot the entire time reading this oh my god. My cheeks hurt from smiling. I may or may not have also cried a little. Thank you thank you so so much oh my god 😭😭😭 <3<3<3<3<3<3 like idek what to say

I'm so so glad you like my fics and the way I write and like just thank you so much for all the feedback like idk what to say just thank you so so much. You have just made my entire year if not my entire life <3<3<3<3<3<3 thank you thank you!!!

[tokkiyuna-rabbit]

It's time I admit this. And I'm sorry for how cringe it's going to be. I am not seeking anyone's attention. But I owe an explanation to y'all, which is the intention of this post. (Also sorry for bad grammar).

Anyways!

I am sure that most of you have noticed my lack of prescence on this account. And some may even noticed I deleted all of my past post with the exception of a few posts.

You may be wondering why I did so. Why would I delete so many posts that people were genuinely enjoying? What prompted me to do this?

That's what I want to talk about.

No, I have not given up on my characters. Eunkyu, Eunyeong, Siwoo, Haoyu, Hyeonsik, and Aera will always be my precious characters. I worked so hard on them and it hurt when I realized that I wasn't doing them justice. (Honestly, Chunhee and Raon bring too much bad memories that I just cannot. Plus, I kept forgetting about them and realized why I created them...).

I have always been an indecisive person. I have always been a perfectionist that wants to make no mistakes. I want to be error free, but I can never be. I tried so hard to perfect my story that it lead to me losing what it truly was. I cannot even remember how I created my story and kind of story I wanted to tell. I kept changing my mind in hopes of finding that perfect story that would be perfect. And my art just made things worse (I'll touch on this towards the end).

Therefore, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. I was never good at regulating or even understanding my emotions. It's not what I am good at. I can't even keep my characters consistent because of that. And I am going to be the most open I have ever been: I have autism. I was clinically diagonsed when I was a baby by a doctor. And one thing that my autism does to me is having a lack of realizing and understanding of emotions. Which is why I can be so emotional about things that may not be that important for others. Heck, this rant can be seen as childish. But, it isn't to me. So combine that with being a perfectionist and that's just a disaster. To which I just ended up deleting everything. To run away from my problems, which is something that no one should be doing (with exceptions of course). Honestly, this part makes me embarrassed, but I feel like I have to get this off my chest. I just want to be honest.

Onto the art, I will be honest. I hated it. I hated how I could not produce the same level of quality of art. Especially since I went abroad and had little time to draw. I lost interest of drawing at the moment. But, it was also this trip that opened my eyes to many new experiences. I tried to show that with my art and story. But, it just didn't make sense. Probably because I was trying to hide this side of me from my classmates, so there was a time where I wasn't thinking or working on this story. Anyways, I just realized that the style I as drawing in wasn't one that I even liked. I just kept telling myself to draw what was popular and it would be ok. If I drew the style that was popular that it would be the perfect piece. But, how could it be perfect if I wasn't happy? Again, it lead to me deleting it because I couldn't stand looking at the imperfections. I was afraid that those who came to like my art and story would be disappointed.

I came to the realization that on my other account, I was much more excited to draw. Much happier even though I was drawing in a style that I believed was lesser because it wasn't popular. No one has ever cared for that art style before. It wasn't perfect. But, when drawing for my other account, I never drew them to be perfect. I was just drawing and I was happy. I was happy with that art style and even the little mistakes I made. After all, I made that style back when I was 15. If I truly disliked it, then I would have abandoned it a long time ago and yet its here still. And what about stories? I haven't made any new stories to be exact. But I do have a new OC and he is lovely. But I didn't create them to tell a story. Honestly, I just think I liked having a character to create stories for.

So what the heck am I even rambling? You will see my OCs again. Not in the old art style but the one I am happy with. Is it perfect? No. Is it the most amazing and eye catching? No. But, that doesn't matter. Art is meant to be subjective anyways, so who cares what style it's in? Art is meant to be expressive of the artist. What about my story? I am still going to keep going. I might post a few things in the future. But mostly redesgining the characters. You'll see those OCs again.

Oh and the fan art was just something to practice my art. I hope y'all don't care that I like that series. I'm not that into it as before.

Well, this is the end of this post. Thank you for reading this post. I will be logging out to avoid seeing notes on this post because I am anxious and afriad of what anyone are going to think about this post.

Fun Fact about Hyeonsik:

If he was a human, he would work as a cosmetologist. Ok, but an actual serious fun fact is that he likes art and often sketches the other characters. He's gotten in trouble for doodling them on official documentation.

[iwrite-sinsandtragedies]

posting this bit of the ramble separately from this post (just to keep it a neutral reference) but, I will say, the greatest drawback to Baxter's DLC - and Dereks by extension, I expect - so far is that, even a fully romantically invested Cove just... shuts off??? the moment the other romance is turned on.

rant below, btw:

Like, my MC has had strong feelings ever since day one for a Mr. Cove Holden and I have absolutely nurtured those feelings in Cove just as strongly so that it was very mutual and pretty well known by both them and everyone around them by the time that Baxter actually showed up. So, to see that all just get deleted flat out from the characters like bleach on the brain - It was just, I don't know.. Disappointing?

And I mean, as much as it hurts me personally, I do understand that most people still find polyamory pretty cringe and avoid it - and though I don't agree with that mindset at all purely because it's so non-inclusive to who I am, I'm still not very surprised when I don't find it in the media I ingest either. It's just a sad acknowledgement that I'm always left being aware of.

But like, to straight up just not acknowledge previous romantic feelings in the face of a new relationship at all just feels so entirely fake to me. Like, it broke my immersion completely on several occasions because characters just start acting like they haven't been talking about the obvious feelings you two have for each other for the past several years. The fact that you can't even have an open dialogue of "Oh, what about Cove?" with anyone else is just very ridiculous to me.

Cove also straight up just doesn't have any strong reactions to you anymore and, though I could suspend belief on anyone else having that switch because they were just keeping quiet about shit to try and be polite, I straight up just cannot believe Cove-I feel everything-Holden could just stop blushing or crushing or loving you like that when you are actively still very touchy and very loving towards him at every chance you get. Especially not if you still choose to flirt with him - that 'laughing it off' behavior can only possibly work if you were previously just friends, it does not work when you both clearly have feelings for each other. There should be something there, is what I'm saying, for the sake of immersion if nothing else.

Anyways, this is getting long, lmao.

Suffice to say that I'm not at all surprised I don't get to be poly (even in such an otherwise inclusive game) I'm used to that, which is really a sad thing to say but, there it is. I am, however, pretty goddamned miffed that there was no dialogue or follow up or anything to make the transition between 'Clearly Romancing Cove' to 'Clearly Romancing Baxter' a more realistic and organic experience. That history should not just outright be deleted. If they could make it that Derek still seems to have some feelings for you in Cove's whole romance route, then Cove should also be given that too. Otherwise, it just kind of leaves an unhappy taste in my mouth, y'know?

[sora-sunshne]

Final Update for now, about the Au.

Okay, finally do a summary of Au, or what am doing now. Also I will edit pin post into master post. By the end of next months maybe. Anyway begin my rant.

—————

It looks like I decided to rewrite Ninjago Dragon Rising, but it turned into more of a dystopian alternate universe. So, the main story might take longer to complete, but I'm working on a lot of one-shot stories for this series that I'll explain later in my posts. Let me tell you all about it for now.

This story takes the idea of merging different realms during the show, but it not only combines the realms, but also changes the world entirely. Now, species from different realms have to work together, which leads many to leave their own home realm and move into others. As a result, many different kingdoms were formed.

This is how the crossroad was made in the series. However, things changed when new monsters or creatures began to appear in open areas like the desert, attacking anyone who is alone. Now, people are scared to be by themselves and even with each other.

Most importantly, when the Ninjago ninja disappeared or vanished, the view on them changed when other realms found out it also happened with them. People started to think that the realm of Ninjago is to blame, mainly their ninja or any element. This is when they found out that many people have been given elements, leading people to distrust anyone with elemental powers.

Some see these elements as blessings, while others think they are cursed. With most of Ninjago's history disappearing, people have started to call these elemental masters the guardians, who are blessed by dragons instead. I'll explain more about these topics in my next post.

I'm going with this AU idea because I want the ninja who reappeared after going missing to have a harder time. Many will distrust them, and they will also find out more about the topic of the guardians and how they are different.

There will be three series that are part of this AU. The main series will be called "The Tears of Dragons." It's the big one that I'm currently working on.

The second series will focus on fluff and angst, mostly about one-shot or mini-series, and it will be called "Shatterfam." It will mainly be about Arin's time with the Wolf Tribes and him getting along with others.

The final series, which will not come until much later into the main series, is "The Road on Memories." It will have many short stories and backstories about the time before the ninja appeared and about Arin and Sora's younger years after a couple of months after the merge, where everyone is trying to find out together or help each other.

—————

That is all for now, I will not post anything (that is not Characters bio)for the time being, as I will be working on plans for these. But might come back with a story maybe anyway have a great morning or night. See ya, and ask any questions

[lilioopdf]

(replying to u and the anon ab prema dropping paul)

i rlly hope paul doesnt go back to prema actually for next season (painful to say this but i hope he doesn’t win f2 this year so he has another year to learn and improve and have teams more interested in him esp since i dont see any other seat openings for rookies in the f1 grid and i do not wanna see him js kicked to the sidelines after winning the championship! best case scenario for me is he gets p2 in the championship, gets picked up by a driver academy/given a reserve position, drives another 1-2 f2 seasons while participating in fp1s for experience, and maybe hadj*r is the one who wins this year so HE can be kicked to the sidelines and we dont have to see his annoying face again :) ) ANYWAYS if he gets p2 in the championship this season hes likely to go back for another f2 season which i hope he stays w hitech in cz prema looks like theyre on a downward hill and pls paul dont get involved in that even if love them PLEASE🙏🧎‍♀️ paul aron save urself ! as much as i miss you in the prema videos js dont baby DONT ! STAY WHERE U ARE !

lol thats my rant :)

-🧸

same anon who gave the whole rant about the pain of paul and ollie’s podium🥲

also idk if u have anon icons but if u do i hope the teddybear is still available LOL

omg firstly, i am so SO sorry for the late reply 😓😓 ive been really busy recently and i didn’t want to give you a poorly thought out reply without reading your ask properly.

and ofc you can be teddybear anon! that’s literally so cute omg i love love love bears so much aaaaaa my fav cartoon character when i was a child was literally pooh because i loved how cute and cuddly and silly he was— and even till this day i sleep with like three bears in my bed and a bear eyemask so yes to conclude i really love bears, you made such a wonderful choice 🤭

but like i 100% agree that i don’t want paul to win because i want him to get a second year in F2 so he can gain more experience and knowledge yk? he might be performing really really well rn but he’s also learning SO much behind the wheel and i feel like a second year in F2 would be able to teach him so much and prepare him better for potential prospects in the future……. that being said, i don’t want poojar of all people to be the winner of F2 🫢🫢 like maybe let it be franco or pepe or just ANYONE ELSE but him…

okay but maybe i want him to do well enough like P6 or above so he can quickly move on to a new series and he won’t bother me in F2 or F1 anymore 😊😊

but yeah i think right now paul would do best by staying in a position where he isn’t be limited or fixed to a certain position yk? like another year for him to explore his options, participate in a few FPs, maybeee join some other series’ from time to time, would be SO beneficial for him, esp at this stage in his career (which is why as much as i love kimi, i don’t think he should be joining F1 next year because have we not learnt from our previous mistakes?? 😭 you’re literally doing an injustice by moving him up too early when he hasn’t properly mastered his current series well enough yet— just look at all the prev drivers that got put into F1 way too quickly by their academies)

anyway thank you for dropping by in my asks!! hope you have a lovely lovely week ahead 💗💗 take care!

[thenopequeen]

okay I am going to go on the rant, although this might not be 100% what I said eairiler IRL because there are some things that are only able to be communicated via hand gesters and stutters.

Also I am aware I sound very Red String on Cork Board. I am open to taking criticism. um but gentle if possible.

So to start, let's look at the actual role given to Racer (I will be using either Race or Racer as it's a bit easier to type out and are the names used to refer to him in the broadway musical which is what I'm most familiar with.). Oh and when coming to anything specific I will be referring to the recorded 2017 version because that's the one I've got a link to so I can watch it while reading fanfics or drawing (/srs. i do do this)

Race is listed as a background/ensemble character in any source I can find (although I could be missing some). however, his actions/overall role in the story are more comparable to Crutchie, who is listed as a supporting character.

This is heavy evidence for placing him as a supporting character, however what makes it interesting is that Racer almost seems to be favored over the other background characters.

About 50% of his dialogue could be given to another character and it literally would not impact the plot much, unlike the other supporting characters, who are unthinkable to replace in anyway shape or form.

If we're continuing comparing Race to Crutchie, which I will because they share the most similarities role-wise, those two are the ones with the most prominent solo lines. Racer has several from multiple songs (King of New York, Carrying the Banner, and Once and For All include at least one solo line that could technically be given to literally anybody else), and Crutchie has a few solo lines and a song to himself. Actually if you remove the tap section, King of New York could be potentially read as the closest thing we get to a 'side' character having a song. Literally all the other songs are group focused when it comes to singing, or are done by main/supporting/antagonistic characters. Racer carries King of New York, setting a wonderful tone with the conversation just before the song starts, as well as his very over the top energy that is present through out the entire song. Okay I also have a soft spot for the song because it was the first song I ever did a tap dance too last year (nowhere near as impressive as the show but it was cool)

Racer also is in at least TWO scenes where he doesn't technically need to be there. First off, the one where it's easier to explain: the scene just before Once and For All, where the gang is at the printing press. Technically, Race doesn't need to be down there in the first place. While yes, it's probably so he knows the way to direct the others into the room, he doesn't need to be there in the moment. This is also never explained in literally anyway. he's just there. Technicality, he could follow the trail of unlocked doors or somebody could bring him in. While this is technically grasping at straws I will stand by this. The second is a really minor thing that you'll only notice if (like me) you've watched this musical enough that you can quote a good part of it.

So in the scene where Jack is teaching Davey and Les to sell papes that ends with them getting chased to the theater, if you look closely you'll see a familiar face

I have rewatched this scene several times to make sure it's Race. it is. Why is he there. Literally the only other people in this scene are the passbyers who buy a paper, Synder, and the trio. Why is Racer here. He just kinda vibes. I still want an explanation because EVERYBODY ELSE leaves the stage quickly. WHY IS HE THERE???

Now to quickly break into the more IRL universe, in the cast call of this production, which my brother watches so so often (he wants to do musical theater), Racer;s actor is NOT listed with the other newsies. Even Spot, who is listed as support/featured in most sources, is just grouped into the rest of the ensemble. Instead, Racer is grouped in with the Delancey brothers. I still don't understand this.

This is your reminder that Race is listed as ensemble by literally all sources I could be bothered to find.

On top of this, in both the movie and the show, he's one of the most named 'background' newsies. While I've only seen the movie a grand total of once (didn't like the music in the slightest), Racer is a character you see A LOT. Sometimes he's not really doing much, but he's there.

In the musical this is in part because there is so much personality packed into him, but still. Elmer and Albert also have a lot of personality and yet I still find that Racer feels like he has more screentime.

On top of this, Racer is present in literally ever scene with all the newsies. And ALWAYS as Racer.

Anyways this is a slightly unhinged rant. Also if you haven't figured it out Racer is my favorite character.

Yeah idk how that happened.

Anyways agree with your sister that Racer is a supporting character. at least in everything but casting.

The cynical part of me says it's so the producers can get away with paying the actor less. The deranged crossover nerd in me says he's a Watcher

[m-s-justice]

Can we talk about Dempsey? I mean really. REALLY talk about Dempsey? I'm going to do it anyway. I'm not even talking at this point, I am just ranting. Beware: long, meandering post ahead.

Disclaimer time. I only play Black Ops and Black Ops 2, and even then very casually. I don't do the ciphers or extract and listen to every voiceline. On top of that, as for everything in 3 and 4, I only have the most tenuous grasp on. If I get something wrong, I beg pardon.

With that out of the way, let's get into the meat and potatoes: This Bitch has a lot of weird shit going on with him, so I'm going to try and (record scratch) break it down for y'all. This Bitch is a Main Character. One of the staple Four Motherfuckers. And we know next to nothing about him.

Nikolai and Richtofen both speak about having a family. Ultimis speaks about a sister(with him generally antagonizing her for his own amusement) and Primis had both of his parents die. Nikolai speaks about having a sister who made dolls and that she was, apparently, "a bitch" with brother in law and, potentially, unmentioned niece(s) or nephew(s). Takeo frequently mentions his ancestors, so he very obviously has a family.

Dempsey? He has a one-off line about a five year old daughter. She isn't even given a name. And she's never brought up in any significant way.

Then there's nationality. None of the characters explicitly go out and say where they grew up, but we can use context clues and inferences to at least headcanon where they could possibly be from. Nikolai in Gorod Krovi doesn't know the layout of the city and could very possibly have grown up on a farm. Takeo is close to the emperor and at least his Primis version was from a noble lineage, so he probably lived in Tokyo. As for Mr. Tofen, he probably had lived in Berlin at least at one point in his life since between World Wars it was The Place for gay people.

Dempsey? Uhhhhhh. He's American??? He has an Irish last name?? He knows like one or two Spanish words?? I have no fucking clue. I can't even reach for straws to grasp, there's abso-fucking-lutely nothing here.

Past Friends? Lovers, even? It's certainly implied that Dempsey is a slut, but? Actual receipts? Names? That one vague Phoebe mention in Alpha Omega with McCain. That's the closest thing we get and even that is so open-ended and vague we can't be sure. As for friends, Ultimis was at least friends with McCain and, presumably, the rest of the Marine Extraction Party at Verruckt. Did this Bitch just not exist before the marines?(Damn this Mf was amab[assigned marine at birth])

And then there's the thing all of the other three have where there's a big off-screen character that one of the Motherfuckers is heavily tied to and is vital to their backstories and character. Takeo has the Emperor, Nikolai has his wife, and Toffens has Group 935/Maxis(and in the case of Ultimis, the Voices).

But Dempsey kinda,,, doesn't? Primis has his field reports, but that's only in Solo and the American government is very uninvolved with the Crew directly. Also I don't think they ever received any of the reports and it's mostly some kind of routine/coping mechanism for the Bitch. The only sort of stand-in I can think of is the Player, as absurd as that sounds. Dempsey talking to Us(and Treyarch) is brought up by both the Shadowman and Samantha in either a manipulative or taunting fashion, so it has to be important. Or not.

(I would fucking die if a metanarrative was explored in Call of Duty: Zombies of all places. And the main character being Tank Dempsey of all people.)

My question is a bit of all of these things and a bit of more. Why?  We don't even have his FIRST NAME. and that's literally lampshaded. Dempsey himself jokes about it. Why doesn't he have a name, or a life before the marines? And if not why, then what's stopping him from having one?

(To digress a bit and jump into something purely personal[more so than this already is], I'm pretty upset over the waste of it all. All this potential and we get fucking nothing. He's just killed off with no resolution. You could tell me that Dempsey is actually a Keeper construct built specifically to help fight against 115's influence and at this point I could fucking believe you. You could tell me that the Shadowman went down on Dempsey's non-existent mother and that Dempsey is actually the Apothican-equivalent of the Antichrist whose sole purpose is to spread death, destruction, and disorder wherever he goes and I'll go "that's absurd!" but take it anyways since it's better than the nothing we got.)

But even worse is we'll never get an answer. (Probably. I mean something is going on in COD:Z: Mobile, but I don't think it's canon to the main story.) Dempsey just shows up in the marines one day, does something absolutely wild to get the nickname Tank, and then he eventually(inevitably) meets Richtofen and the other Fuckers and it's all downhill from there. That's it, stripped to the barest of bones, that's all we know about Dempsey.

[raydom-gamer]

Am I the only one who thinks that Asmodeus probably had the hardest time adjusting to being an angel to a demon? After all he was renowned for his beauty and was adored by all in the Celestial Realm.

MINOR SPOILERS FROM CHAPTER 8 AND LATER CHAPTERS BUT LEFT PRETTY VAGUE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was an angel. He probably had chastity and purity kind of shove down his throat to qualify as a beautiful being. So becoming a demon especially the Avatar of Lust, it must have really shocked Asmodeus's system and he probably fell for quite a few nasty tricks from some demons who took advantage of probably his naivety. I'm not saying that Asmodeus didn't know how to keep his defenses up but demons are canon to be more aggressive than angels and no demon can resist temptation given the right circumstances. Lucifer even confirmed that.

I feel like if you've gone from not having any physical or romantic partner to maybe one or two (there's no confirmation on whether or not angels are allowed to have sexual partners so I'm just basing this off cardinal desire) to the Avatar of Lust constantly needing physical affection and the struggle to fight against his own physical (and possibly emotional) desire that he's probably never had before or was as intense. He probably slept with a few demons that took advantage of his lack of knowledge of intercourse and probably hurt him.

Most likely by now, Asmo or one of his brothers have probably gotten his vengeance for it. Also wonder if him being able to charm people with his powers were the same as how he was able to charm people in the Celestials Realm. That also could have gotten him in some situations that he wasn't comfortable in, if Asmo was accidentally charming people only for them to leave him as soon as it was over which put him in emotional turmoil. Lucifer even confirmed that if he lose his focus, Asmodeus can charm him into doing things but he usually doesn't because Lucifer will make the punishment 10 times worse.

It just really makes me wonder if Asmodeus is actually a narcissist or if it's a defense mechanism to keep people from getting too deep under his skin. After all In chapter 8 when MC asks for him to make a pack with them Asmodeus gets very offended by insinuating he was easy and if that's what you think of him then you're mistaken. Which makes me feel like at one point over another he's been tricked and used by a (demon or human). But out of all of the brothers, he seems to want everyone to be as beautiful as they can be but frames it in a way that makes it seem like they'll still be ugly compared to him. Almost like he's always trying to keep people at an arm's length in a way of keeping himself safe but still being helpful.

Even with MC, he kind of always dodges deep questions of intimacy. He has no shame with wanting or talking about banging people but he's very reserved on cuddles and pillow talk. Asmodeus opens himself up to MC a lot more later on but not to everyone Solomon even mentions that Asmo seems closer to them than him sometimes.

I don't know what this whole rant was about but I was just really thinking about Asmodeus as an Jewel of the Heavens angel to a demon of lust without there being some kind of backlash or emotional trauma. I really wish the creators would go a little bit more into his personality a little bit more. Even if it has nothing to do with MC I feel like there's more to him than him just being a beautiful narcissist who likes makeup and fashion. I feel like we don't really know much about him compared to the other characters.

Anyway that was just some food for thought.

[multicolour-ink]

Hello!

I don't know much about "His Dark Materials", but what you have published has caught my attention (the most familiar I am is with the movie The Golden Compass).

I understand that some cultures and theories say that twins "share a soul" from the moment of conception.

Under that logic, is it possible for the brothers to share a daemon?

Sorry if it's a silly question. By the way, I love what you write.

We in the HDM fandom do not speak about the movie. It is a far cut below the entire series itself 😝

Thank you so much for your question and kind words 💗💗💗

I'll be honest, discussing "His Dark Materials" with anyone who is not that aware of it is difficult, mostly because of the sensitive topics brought up in the series that some people (understandably) can find too uncomfortable to talk about.

Yes, there are biblical name drops and references throughout the series, talks about Sin, and even a religious group that rules a world and are essentially the bad guys.

But I swear, under all that is a truly great story!

(I'll be honest, I believe a lot of the controversial stuff is mostly the result of the author ranting about his own biased opinions)

I would like nothing more than to explain these books in greater detail - for those who may have not got what some things meant the first time round, or just simply misunderstood them. I want to help people understand that there is more to this series than just "religion is evil", and not demonic literature.

But to do so would mean spoiling a lot of the series, which I don't really want to do, and would prefer to encourage others to check out the series first if they can.

But if anyone is interested (and doesn't mind spoilers), my inbox is open! I'm always happy to answer questions and talk.

Even my own opinions about this series have changed over the years. I admit, I was mostly blown away the first time as a young teen, simply because it wasn't like anything else I was reading at the time. Everything else was so grounded in reality - THIS, to me at least, opened up so many ideas and concepts. It was a lot to take in!

Anyway, apologies for getting a little off topic there! As for your question about the Bros: I've never heard about that cultural idea about twins being born with one soul. That is fascinating! Is it talking about just identical twins, or both identical and fraternal? Because it sounds like something more likely to do with identical twins than fraternal (given that the former starts off as one being that splits in the womb - whereas the latter doesn't).

I really don't know if Philip Pullman himself (author of HDM) ever addressed this, and I don't recall any twin characters in the books.

I will have to say that no, I don't think twins (or the Bros) would share a dæmon, as they are essentially separate people. And plus since dæmons can't be far apart from their humans, it would be a fine thing if, say, one twin had to go somewhere further away from the other and their dæmon couldn't stay near both at the same time! But, I would like to believe that twins with dæmons are more intertwined. Like I said with the Bros, as twins, their souls are spiritually linked and they can sense each other. I imagine that twins could (to some extent) feel each other's dæmons, and even communicate with the other's and not just their own.

Could they be able to touch each other's? Well considering the influence of the taboo, I would say no. But let's just say, that maybe some twins worked out a way in secret!

And in the AU, Mario and Luigi are just that unique 😉