#he's like from the 15th century you guys

[ash-and-starlight]

things i’m going crazay about today: the illustrations in the he who drowned the world illumicrate cover

(artist is glassbearer on ig)

[gortashs-skidmark]

Tieflings DnD - variations for the fanfic writers and artists!! -

There’s a lot about tieflings on the internet. THESE ARE CANON, except for one thought i put in.

If you’re gonna do BG3 fanfics about Tieflings, please please please consider adding some spice with origin lore and CANON facts about their race :) it would be SO fun!

Pls I need more zevlor fanfic too.

UPDATE: I color coded a bit, and added some more facts, mostly political which explain some of our beloved tiefling's backgrounds. Orange; Canon Historical Events, Abilities, Bodily Facts, and Bloodlines. It means i think you should look into it.

Pink: I think it's cute. Red; Warning, Comment Purple; Headcanon (only one of them)

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; <3 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

- Tieflings are prone to bad luck, because of the Curse of Aasimar.

- Loviatar, the goddess, is a Tiefling. For those weird people in Act 1 who like that fucking guy Abdirak.

- They’re arcanally gifted, most of them. Zariel Tieflings are much better melee fighters.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

- Tielfling Blood; is tainted from the hells so they could have human parents. Be descendants of demon, devils, evil deities, night hags, and succubus!

- i know y’all love aphrodisiac fanfics, succubus spittle is exactly what you need dawg. Someone make me a fanfic including succubus heritage.

- along with that, Tieflings are unable to breed with anyone except humans or other Tieflings. Literally. They can be Tiefling or human.

- Usually there is some tell to if they’re Zariel, Asmodeus, Mephistopheles by birth mark, or traits like cat eyes, or night hags bloodlines have red eyes without pupils or scelaras

EDIT: I thought the flaming pupils were cat-like slit eyes in the game, but Karlach does indeed have regular slits!

- Tieflings can be male, female, or without gender. It is a canon fact. A win for my gender struggling homies.

- They can have green, blue, purple, pink, yellow, red skin tones. With dark hair colors only like black, purple, dark red and blue. I don’t care for this, genes be gene-ing so have any color you want.

Mephestopheles is recorded as to having blue skin, pale blue whites and red eyes, soot black scales, with large wings in the 2nd Manual. BUT in a 3e version he is described having red skin, bat wings, being 9ft, with white eyes, and slick black hair. Both of these are present in Mephestophic Bloodlines in BG3. Raphael is the son, though cambion, is red.

Asmodeus rules the Nine Hells. Mephestopheles being his archduke, only rules the 8th layer. Asmodeus has a humanoid, and a scale-fiend version of himself. He's red, slim, 13ft tall, horned, vibrant red eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard. He is Lawful-Evil.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The Blood War (where Karlach escaped) is described as a "philosophical war" and which kind of evil would rule. Asmodeus plays a part but didn't start it, it's rooted in ancient Hell conflicts. Asmodeus claimed it was a senselessly bloody conflict from a militia standpoint. He really hates it, he's not a fan of it. INFERNAL POLITICS ARE FUCKING COMPLICATED. look into it :)

Zevlor is a Hellrider or Rider of Elturel! a Cavalry unit for Elturel during the 14th and 15th century. They ride horseback, and use spears and bows. They're well reguarded!! Zevlor should have more pride in himself for his service, being a refugee isn't his fault, or The Descent.

In the late 1400's striving for Paladin Knighthood in the Order of Companion was a rank of Hell rider. Before and after the year 1494, you could be a Paladin and join freely.

The Order of Companions was an Elturel, of Western Heartland, theocratic realm of Paladin Knighthood. It's just a region of Paladins that are highly reguarded. They typically worship Tyr, Torm, Helm, and Aumanator.

They kept order in the high capital of Elturel, preserving local civilization from outer destruction. They're super Lawful Good.

Typically an Oath of Devotion or an Oath of the Crown.

"For a City Guard, they outmatched the armies of the Whole Realm" - Forgotten Wiki Realms

They guard general land, they aren't really police, and can escort as far as Waterdeep if privileged to. It is a job they hold for life. I FUYCKING LOVE HELLRIDERS.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

- Tieflings can have feathers! Although rare. They can have fur, scales, or be bald like humans. They can be any variation of sorts!

- Tieflings are technically minorities and don’t live in the highest neighborhoods. It gives them an even worse reputation.

- Most of the Tieflings with famous status, also give bad reps. Like Loviatar as mentioned.

- When Tieflings get nervous, experience anxiety, or are upset. They’re known to wrap their tails around their leg!! Super telling.

- They can use their tail like a monkey, very dexterous about it. It’s about 5-6ft long.

- Their ages, weight, height. All similar to humans. Idk how logical that is with 5 extra feet of meat behind them. Sometimes they can live longer, to about 120-150 years old.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

- Tieflings are as sensitive as humans, same hearing. They usually have dark vision. And their body temperatures can be colder or warmer than humans depending on their type of tainted blood. --Mephistopheles blood lines are from the frozen layer of hell, maybe their blood is colder.

- They don’t purr, sorry girlies. They’re closer to humans than Tabaxis or Driders.

- Tieflings don’t regrow horns unless they’re still young, though they do tend to file them down.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

- There are so many Tieflings bloodlines. I love the Babau Tieflings bc they’re already known as uncanny creatures-- Babau Tieflings are gaunt and skinny, darker skin, and a small horn coming from the back of their head.

- Marilith Tieflings are known to be seductive- more than they already are, and have dark hair. They have snake-like half-bodies and have grey tongues.

- Succubus Tieflings! They’re like the ones you see in bg3, often have a small set of wings.

- Tieflings can have so many fucking variations it makes me dizzy.

- Tieflings can have bat-like wing shaped ears, that perk up and shit. I know yall think about ear movements. <zevlor has this>

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Edit: Ya'll loved this :) I can do another on Tiefling politics if ya'll want. Or more bloodlines and fun facts if you want.

I have built another list of Canon facts about Driders and Kar'niss Headcanons if you monster fuckers are interested!!

Currently in the works; He Who Was Headcanons and Shadar'Kai canon facts and events.

[cryptotheism]

wtf even is hermeticism? I heard of a comic book that showcases hermeticism, and it turns out it was mostly cabala and some stuff about higher dimensions, and the fuzzy line between stories and reality.

The thing about the fuzzy line between stories and reality cropped up in a youtuber's analysis of a different comic book series that revolved around hermeticism, like empowering yourself by telling a story.

Is it like, tricking reality into being a different way by acting on the basis of the Nous?? Is that how Hermes Trismegistus became a god, by ascending to and becoming one with the Nous/Monad/whatever?

If he never existed, the stories about him created him, on the basis of the Nous?

Hermetica is a body of ancient texts attributed to Legendary Sage Hermes Trismegistus. They're extremely difficult to date, and you see guesses anywhere from the 4th century BCE to the 4th century CE.

Hermeticism is quite eclectic. It exists as a blend of Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish, and other north-African mythologies and philosophies all rolled into one. The important thing to remember, is that Trismegistus is portrayed as being the source of all wisdom ever forever. All knowledge came from him. Everything cool or interesting about Egyptian, Greek, or Jewish theology is supposed to be his doing.

Hermeticism is a blend of several different religious currents that would be difficult to summarize in a tumblr post, but Hermetic doctrine is honestly less important than HOW Hermeticism syncretizes these disparate currents into a single theology. Its VERY good at sniffing out similarities between theologies, and gluing them together. Additionally, it really likes math. Hermeticism is really good at using math and science to reinforce its mythology.

So when people say "Hermetic" they generally mean one of three things:

1 - Classical Hermetica, as in the ancient body of work attributed to Hermes Trismegistus.

2 - Renaissance Hermetica. The theology was lost for a hot minute, and reintroduced to Europe in the 15th century via a weird Italian named Ludovico Lazzarelli. This was the first guy to identify as a "Hermetic Christian." (There were also some Islamic mystics around the 8th-10th century who really liked Hermetica, but they're oddballs even by the standards of Islamic mystics. #isma-ilimoment)

3 - "Neo-Hermeticism" This is the version of Hermetica that came back in the 17th-18th century. This is where you got folks like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, who rediscovered just how good Hermetic theology was as a conceptual mortar. They just went hog-wild with it. That's where you get "Hermetic Quabbala." Europe at the time had just seen an explosion of interest in ancient Egypt, and thats why a lot of Quabbalistic texts have a bunch of Egyptian stuff.

So the stuff about higher dimensions and the lines between reality and fiction? That sounds like 1970s Chaos Magic, which itself was highly influenced by Hermetica, specifically Neo-Hermeticism.

As for the nature of Trismegistus himself, even classical Hermetica has like nine different backstories for him. Depending on the text, hes Hermes, Thoth, a combination of Hermes and Thoth, a normal sage who was very wise, a man who achieved godhood, the tutor of Moses, etc, etc. There's no set mythology for Trismegistus beyond "Legendary Sage of Sages."

I'm gonna plug my patreon here because I'm writing about Trismegistus in an alchemical context on Patreon right now.

[blueiskewl]

Carrot Harvest Helped Metal Detectorist FindA Ancient Coins Hoard

When Alan Baxter found a medieval ring in a farmer's field he knew there could be more ancient artefacts nearby - but the stubble from the thick oat crop made it difficult for his metal detector to get anywhere near the ground. So he waited.

Four years later the farmer had planted and harvested carrots.

"It must have had a deep plough when the carrots got lifted and I could get my detector right to the soil," the 44-year-old said.

"Every 3ft I was getting a signal. I couldn't move, there was stuff everywhere.

"I didn't want to go home."

The highlight of his haul in 2022 was a hoard of farthings from the reign of 15th Century Scottish King James III.

"I got my first one and I knew it was really rare because I know my coins," he said.

"After that it was just like a tap, it just kept on going, and over the course of a few weeks I pulled 52 of them."

The 500-year-old coins, which were made of copper and were worth a quarter of a penny, were in very good condition, Mr Baxter, from Falkirk, said.

The coins are irregular shapes. They have the Saltire - the cross of St Andrew - on one side and a crown on the other.

"To hold something that's hundreds of years old for the first time is extraordinary," he said.

"You get a real buzz going up and down your body which lasts all day and all night."

An expert at the National Museum of Scotland said it was the first hoard of James III farthings to be found since 1919.

Metal detectorists need to ask for permission from landowners to search on their land and anything they find must be handed into the Treasure Trove for analysis and recording.

Under Scottish law all finds of archaeological, historical or cultural significance must be reported and can be claimed by the Crown.

Neither detectorists nor landowners have ownership rights to any archaeological finds made in Scotland. Finds that are allocated to a museum through the Treasure Trove system are usually acknowledged by an award paid to the detectorist.

Detectorists generally split the money with the landowner.

Mr Baxter has detected at many sites, all of which he keeps a closely guarded secret. They include the 14-acre fields in Fife where he has now found more than 500 pieces ranging from the Bronze Age to the medieval period.

"I go along to farmers' doors with my portfolio of previous finds and show them what I do and ask them for permission to detect on their land," he said.

"You try to make yourself presentable, you put gel in your hair and wash your car and turn up in nice clothes.

"I hate getting permission because it's quite awkward speaking to the landowner. Farmers are busy and the last thing they want to do is speak to a wee guy asking for metal detecting permission."

The James III hoard has been put into the British numismatics journal, which charts the best finds in the country.

It also includes two Balliol coins which Mr Baxter discovered at the site in Fife. These farthings are extremely rare and are the only two to have ever been found in Scotland.

John Balliol reigned as king of Scotland from 1292 to 1296.

The find was allocated to the National Museums of Scotland and £5,000 was paid out.

Mr Baxter has also found 69 medieval coins from the reign of English King Edward I, whose armies invaded Scotland at the end of the 13th Century.

The medieval ring, which was his first find on the Fife site, dates between the 13th and 14th century.

"Initially I thought it was a bottle top because when it came out of the ground I could see the silver edges," Mr Baxter said.

"I saw the writing at the side and the big clasped hands at the front and I thought: 'That's a medieval ring'.

"It was just a great feeling to see it because it was a sunny day and it was twinkling away and it was in really good condition because it's been coated in gold, which has protected it from the soil."

Mr Baxter, who works as a lab technician, said he believed it was a betrothal ring.

"It would have been a higher status individual who owned it," he said.

"It weighs 9.5g, it's a heavy piece. A medieval penny would weigh about 1.2g, so that's about seven medieval pennies, so it wouldn't have been a peasant who owned that at the time."

The ring is silver but it has been coated in gold. It was eight inches down in the ground when his detector picked it up.

Mr Baxter, who has written a book entitled Making history: My Life As a Scottish Metal Detectorist, said it was hard for people to understand how difficult it was to find ancient artefacts.

He said: "In a general field 90% of the time there will be nothing in it.

"You could go in all the fields on the right and left along the M9 from Falkirk to Edinburgh and there would be nothing in them apart from modern Victorian stuff or Georgian stuff.

"It's hard to get stuff that's beyond 500 and 600 years old because the population was a lot lower."

Mr Baxter said a field could be full of medieval items, but detectors were not going to find them if the crops were too high.

"Then it comes down to knowledge and the best conditions," he said.

"You need to know that the crops need to be soft cut.

"Barley and wheat is softer than oats. When oats get cut the stubble is really hard.

"And obviously the carrot harvest was the best."

By Angie Brown.

[fumblingmusings]

give us some Francex Spain headcanons please

This is so long and unorganised, apologies. TL;DR - Francis is lucky Antonio is so placid, because the moments he bites back genuinely frighten him, but the status quo of him sitting neatly on top of Spain always seems to swing back around. Again, Francis is lucky Toni's life ambition is to own a cafe...

For proper context - I imagine Antonio as Castille first, then comes to represent Spain as a whole, though I imagine there will be representations of Galicia, Catalonia/Aragon etc. just like there's the regions of Japan or Picardy for France or indeed how Arthur represents the UK internationally, but of course his brothers are still very much around. So, just for why I think Francis and Antonio have a relationship which goes way back.

Francis and Antonio I imagine as a sin/cos curve... like when Francis is up high, above Toni, things are 'correct' and in their natural place. They're friendly as Antonio is such a mild mannered friendly kid he's quite content to sit and listen to Francis crow about his amazing Kings and fancy court and so on. Francis loves to brag about how it's him that's the true heir to Rome, not the Germans. Spain nods, thinking about other more important things back home.

France used Spain very much as a bulwark against the al-Andalus parts of the Iberian Peninsula - as Francis at the time of Charlemagne and thereafter loved to see himself as the saviour of Europe, so as time goes by and we zip by the occasional Castille/France team up versus England/Portugal you start to get an increasingly influential Spain by the late 15th century, and the trouble is... Toni wants the same thing as Francis. And oddly enough, he's better at getting what he wants, despite seemingly not really trying. Maybe because he is honest to goodness just a little bit less... smug? But sometimes reading Spanish history in the 1500s is going like: Oh. Well that was convenient. It's not the reality of course, but it must have been very frustrating.

Antonio also dislikes the same things as Francis. So it's interesting. When they're fighting my God do they go at it. When they're on the same side their a pretty solid duo. But I love the idea of Antonio just pissing Francis off at times, and like... sometimes just by vibing. The man's vibes are zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. And Francis - depending on his ego that day - finds it rancid. I know a lot of people don't like the way Antonio is characterised, but I love him as he is so shh. He's so disconnected at times from the reality going on around him. Only his immediate circle matters. He doesn't seem to really understand his Civil War. I think compared to Francis, who is much more in tune with his people... it gets messy.

The trouble comes because Francis is jealous, and likes his standing as number one in Europe. No-one can challenge that. But Antonio does, for a good century or even two, and maybe Antonio doesn't necessarily mean to, but his King and Queens do, or maybe Antonio finds that ambition suits him. The 15th through to mid 17th century gives him the ability to out class Francis. Maybe it's not intentional at first, but once Antonio finally grasps what he may be about to lose during the Thirty Years War and then the failing of his line of the Habsburgs... the ugliness comes out full force.

But... Like to show the overlap once Spain starts to really assert themselves in the late 15th Century, and how truly infuriated Francis must have been at points. They both have a vested interest in Italy - Antonio wins that one. Francis has a stake in Barcelona - Antonio wins that one. They both want the Low Countries. Antonio wins that one. Antonio gets Holy Roman Empire. And the actual creme de la creme... Antonio has divided the world in two with that blooming Treaty of Tordesillas. And the Pope was the one to approve that one. The Pope! The guy who says France is the most important nation for Christianity in Europe (save HRE but... oh look Spain is now Holy Roman Emperor too Jesus Christ).

Needless to say, Francis feels the universe is conspiring against him. God's not still mad about that Avignon Pope... is he?

So Francis is forever looking for ways to kick Antonio in the shins - to go back to him being the main guy in Europe, the guy who wants it and works for it and you know Francis more than anything wants to admired. Antonio... oh. Not sure what he wants more than anything really. A peaceful life. Which he did not get to have for most of his existence really. Arthur and Sadık are handy for Francis to use from time to time to deal a smack to Antonio, but otherwise it's him looking at this guy who - let's be generous - is not the most ambitious man going, who seems to just grow more and more powerful, more and more influential and it eaaaaaaaaats at Francis.

But you know. Habsburgs. Religion. War. Antonio finally understands what he stands to loose, and ah. There's the ambition and drive. But he still looses, and now there's a Bourbon in charge and he is unable to ever fully get back up to that the ascent that the Trastámaras started. Pacte de Famille pops up again and again in the 18th Century, and I like the idea of it being characterised as Francis using Antonio's love of the Italies, and the fact that Arthur is increasingly a pain in the fucking arse for the both of them. Again, both Francis and Antonio love the same things. They also hate the same things. Sometimes that thing is a god awful English dude and sometimes love and hate are indistinguishable.

Like, Francis can loathe Arthur at points, but at least Arthur works to be a pain in the arse. Toni... wants to own a cafe. And he isn't even that good at it.

[doctor-badadvice]

This man has not updated his wardrobe since 1947

There's already a few posts discussing outfits and symbolism and while I found them very interesting, I'm a person of strong opinions now writing two characters with chess related names. So here's my two cents (or should I say, nickels) about Bishop's appearance throughout the 2003 show and what tells us about the specific moment of his life that's being portrayed. The focus will be mainly on the palette, but also on whatever influences are behind the designs.

So let's get started!

1815 — Battle of New Orleans

Here's the first disclaimer. I know next to nothing about US history past what little school required me to learn and generically speaking, I've never been interested in the nuances of how people come together to kill each other. History classes were far more interesting to me when we talked about society and culture. So take what I'll say with a grain of salt. My military expertise here is a couple Wikipedia pages.

As far as Bishop's uniform goes, I have no idea what's going on. I read that uniforms were supposedly mainly blue with whatever color corresponded to what the unit's duty was, with the exception of musicians who had their colors swapped. If that's true, Bishop here could have been a musician having a not so great day at work. But the field medics later in the flashback are wearing the same color so it's probably just a choice to keep the color palette consistent.

Other than that, the belt would suggest he had some kind of rank. Though I don't think they were trying to be accurate past the bare minimum. I'm not going to guess what Bishop was up to in his mortal days.

Also, a special mention goes to Bishop's facial hair. He must have been popular in his time.

1870 — Creation of EPF

This is where colors start being relevant but first, another disclaimer. I appreciate the work wiki editors do, but it would be nice to have sources to whatever's stated on a given page, especially if you're providing estimated dates. I can't say I disagree, but it'd be nice to know where the information comes from.

So the wiki says that Bishop was supposedly born in 1776. It means that at the time of EPF's foundation he was nearing his hundredth birthday. No wonder he's dressing in all black. The average life expectancy at the time was about 40 years old. It's very possible Bishop had already outlived most, if not everyone he knew and it's probably something one would struggle to come to terms with.

Design wise, turtlenecks were nothing new at the time. Medieval knights wore garments in a similar shape under their armors well before the 15th century. And yes, I guess that's more of a coat than the average tactical turtleneck, but it still gives him a hitman, or even hunter vibe which is more or less what he was up to at the time.

1947 Roswell. New Mexico/present times

I can finally explain the title now. But first, let’s take a step back!

Bishop’s default outfit is the secret agent outfit™ we’re all well accustomed to. Specifically, I think the closest he takes inspiration from is Agent Smith from the Matrix movies (as I previously mentioned here). Guy in a black suit with shades, apparently impeccable self control and a distinctive way of talking that compels you to listen to him.

There’s so much to say about motivations and themes these two share, but let's focus on the aesthetic side.

These two fools are men in black. Yes, like the movies. The whole trope originates from some old conspiracy theories about the US government hiding aliens. These theories date all the way back to 1947 from some guy named Harold Dahl claiming a man in a dark suit told him not to tell anyone about some UFO sightings. Various fellow ufologists made similar claims over the years, making it a staple of their general paranoia.

Because of the second flashback, it’s possible that Bishop himself was one of these men in black, if not the one the rumors started from. It's a funny thought and I feel like Bishop would also find it amusing to watch people lose their minds about his fashion choices for decades.

Color wise, white has been added to the mix. It’s been a while now since the creation of EPF and Bishop has found some kind of balance in his life. He’s still dead set in his hatred for aliens and clearly enjoys inflicting pain on creatures he sees as undeserving of basic human decency, but he now has some purpose other than looking at the sky for something to shoot down. He leads an elite task force with men and funding devoted to developing a proper defense of the planet. He’s a foe not to be underestimated and a formidable fighter who can and will take on multiple opponents. But he’s also a very scared man who doesn’t wish what happened to him on anyone.

I often praise the show because Bishop can survive getting impaled but he still remains human. He will react with sheer violence to aggression and reform his ways when shown kindness. He will happily stick his hands in turtle soup for some DNA, but also be the best man at his friend's wedding and even attempt dressing up for the occasion despite having been deprived of normal human interactions for more than a century.

(I know it's a little cluttered in this point but I can't just leave out Casual Friday Bishop)

Design wise, I like just how an otherwise elegant attire works during the fight scenes and this detail specifically.

This man’s power is stored in the leggy.

Interlude

So this pic above is me right now.

For context, I usually consider the episodes of the staged alien invasion to the outbreak as part of the same arc. The entire situation is absolutely absurd from Bishop dragging the president into his fanfiction in response to budget cuts, to Baxter's bodily misadventures, to Bishop making a deal with a random ghost over the phone while New York is turning into yet another Umbrella Corp mishap.

But anyways we're here to judge this man's fashion taste and we have two outfits to talk about.

First off, a special mention goes to the catsuit and this pose specifically.

The sass is off the charts.

Though I find this one kind of depressing. There isn't a lot to read in it either other than Baxter grabbing the most generic tactical turtleneck for the sake of keeping Bishop from walking around bare chested (and the scene before this pic clearly shows Bishop isn't afraid to show some titty). But seeing him in all black right after moving to a new body kinda points out that Agent Bishop, leader of the EPF, is kinda on par with a piece of military equipment (and the president probably sees him as much to an extent). He's the mold for an army of supersoldiers for crying out loud.

But he switches back to the usual suit afterwards and what matters here is the supersuit.

S3 onward

Imagine being an alien, member of the starfleet of your planet and senior officer of the invading force tasked with taking over Earth. You have trained hard, wargamed the whole operation a bunch of times and concluded that it will be piss easy to conquer this underdeveloped planet.

You reach the surface, get into formation and then this nerd rolls up.

The best way to describe this suit is "hostile". It's hostile to the animators and to whoever has to stare at this eyesore before Bishop shoots at them.

And I love it. There's nothing quite like a black and red suit of armor with various cybernetics and lights to say that you mean business. It goes very well with how the stakes just start steadily rising from this point of the show onwards and seeing as the suit was ready during the staged invasion, we know that Bishop never really planned to retire after unleashing his army of clones.

It adds that extra bit of cyberpunk that I like to see and it shows that Bishop never truly gives up on anything since we have actually seen this design before.

Bishop was so proud of his Slayer he just stuck with him in spirit.

Couple that with a new coat to take off for extra dramatic effect and— maybe the president was right about not trusting him with unlimited budget.

2105 — New York apparently

Another century has passed and Bishop is still alive and kicking. Well, he doesn't kick as much anymore as it would be unbecoming if the beloved president of the Pan-Galactic Alliance were to go around kicking alien butt.

Jokes aside, you can disagree with Bishop's portrayal in Fast Forward, but they were still trying to do something meaningful with him. The idea of the turtles having to work with him when they were trying to kill each other just the other day is surprisingly deep for a season that felt the need to have the most unfunny robobutler ever.

They were clearly attempting a chess joke switching the palette to white with black streaks. Bishop has completely turned his life around and it even shows in the way he presents himself. It's nice to see just how much he managed to accomplish as well, even though it would have been very interesting to see him have a gradual change of mind, rather than selling us the concept through timeskip magic.

Does the design still hold up then?

Well, Bishop is clearly making an effort to look the least intimidating. He is fairly more patient when others don't immediately do as he says, even asking for help rather than blackmailing, and is still commendably dedicated to his job. He still asserts dominance by showing leggy (seriously, Mr President, that slit doesn't have to go this hard) and he's still deep down, at all times, ready to throw hands.

That's Bishop alright and it's no coincidence that he starts running around shooting aliens the second Baxter shows up in his life again. I'm not much of a fan of his new armor though. I think they were going for a futuristic design but it's the blandest they could think of. It reminds me of Obi-Wan Kenobi's armor in The Clone Wars but it just kinda comes out of nowhere. It would have been cooler if his tunic turned into a set of armor kinda like what the turtles got.

In any case, if you really want to see reformed Bishop really shine, you should check out @adenthemage / @violetvulpini 's art. You will not be disappointed.

[god-forsaken-sp-confession-blog]

I think saying that the transmasc Kyle headcanon is inherently anti-semitic is a bit suspicious.

Let me get this out of the way, the emasculation of Jewish men is an actual thing throughout history and this stereotype is manifested on the show itself with Kyle's cousin Kyle being a manifestation of every stereotype against Jewish men in one person (kind of Mort Goldman from Family Guy), and the emasculation of Kyle Broflovski can be pointed out to anti-semitism in various situations (situations where in the majority of the times he is cisgender). One of the stereotypes that emasculates Jewish men is the old belief that they menstruated, which is the talking point of accusing the particular headcanon as being anti-semitic.

However, I'm optimistic enough to say that people from a cartoon fandom in the 21st century who use the trans your gender app (commonly known as Tumblr) have a more advanced perspective on gender than European anti-semites from back in the 15th century, therefore, I don't believe that the headcanon of Kyle being transmasc is inherently anti-semitic because his genitals don't really affect his masculine expression in any shape or form. He can have a vagina and still be the same boy we all know and love, a boy who plays video games, likes fart jokes, and other boyish things. Why is giving him different genitals emasculating him? Why do you think that? Have you ever talked with a transmasc person?

Now, in defense of the accusation, since it comes from an actual valid place, there is a LOT of art going around that inserts anti-semitic stereotypes of Kyle in a way that completely destroys his character. Kyle is not a weak "twink" (God I hate that fucking term so much it's unreal), he is one of the characters that most kick ass in the show as he is one the people who had the honor of punching Cartman in the face. He is not submissive also, he stands up to himself a lot in the show and a huge etc that was already compiled by another user before and all those stereotypes have been applied to cis Kyle and they are equally as dumb and emasculating as how they would be on a transmasc Kyle.

Anyway, while the concerns are definetly valid and come from a good place. People should not really see being transmasculine as less masculine than being a cis male and be free to explore transmasc experiences through their favorite male characters as a way of comfort and relatability, same with what a lot of transfems do with female characters of other shows.

There, I'm done, sucks that your blog got terminated though. :((

.

[cbk1000]

Hi there!

Ive recently stumbled across your works, and I just wanted to say that I enjoy your writing soso much!! Each time i read any of ur pieces, i feel ever so blessed that i can read them for freee,,, ??like wow!! I absolutely love your characterization of arthur, and any piece of banter you write never fails to make me laugh!

Your writing style is so addictive, ive honestly found myself missing it when I read anything else. Because of this, id like to ask if you have any book recs? hehee anything that inspired that brain and writing of yours seems like it would be a worthwile read!! From ur alltime favs, or recent favs, comfort books, or books that gave u personal epiphanies, pls feel free to not hold back !! (If its not too much trouble)

And once again, thank you soso much for all your lovely works!! 💗

I LOVE talking about books, so thank you so much for this ask. This is a very truncated list of some of my favourite authors and books because if I wanted to talk about all of them, that would be a post as long as one of my fics.

First up is Terry Pratchett, who I came to rather late; I just started reading Discworld in 2020, despite @clonemaster-general and @jinxedwood telling me years earlier I should read him, so they should feel free to be smug about the fact that I ignored their sound advice for a long time and then went, "Ok, where do I sign up for the cult" after reading approximately one (1) Pratchett novel.

Discworld is a fantasy satire series that's over 40 books long, but those 40+ books simply take place in the same world and do not have to be read in order, although I would recommend reading any subseries featuring the same characters in order (the City Watch books starting with 'Guards! Guards', the Witches starting with ''Wyrd Sisters' etc.) Pratchett did write some non-Discworld books, although the bulk of his very large body of work is that series. He was a very gifted writer who was able to present the stupidity and injustices of humanity in a way that made you laugh and feel that it's bearable to live alongside these things. No other author has made me laugh so much at dumb little puns or dick jokes and then suddenly slapped me with a banger of a line about human nature.

'The Once and Future King' by T.H. White. A retelling of Malory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur'. It's silly, it's touching, it asks why humans go to war. If you're tired of relentless grimdark, this book shows you that a novel can explore serious themes and ask serious questions of its readers while also being a bit silly and stupid, because like suffering, silliness and stupidity is an intrinsic part of the human experience.

'The Left Hand of Darkness' by Ursula Le Guin. I could really just say, "All of Ursula Le Guin's stuff" because I've read several novels, a ton of her short stories, plus most of her essay collections and I've loved them all, but I wanted to mention this one particularly because Le Guin was examining our ideas of gender and society in the fucking 60s and I'm tired of hearing right-wing nutjobs bang on about trans people like they're some alien species newly landed on our planet to kidnap our children. Also, what I love about Le Guin's sci-fi is that she was concerned primarily with the culture of alien societies, not laser guns, and her world building is incredibly deep in that regard. Her father was an anthropologist, and you can see how his studies shaped her writing.

'The Lymond Chronicles' by Dorothy Dunnett. I love me a good swashbuckler, and these are some good swashbucklers. There's also some really beautiful prose that really evokes the landscapes of 15th century Europe, and her action/battle scenes are some of the most gripping I've read. The caveat with this one is that I actually don't like the main character all that much; he's a real special guy who speaks all the languages, is good at all the things, is a master strategist at 20, and is hot to boot. But the story is told mostly through the POVs of other characters that get caught up in his exploits so you're not stuck in his insufferable perspective, and I found the books overall (there are six in the series) very hard to put down.

'The Count of Monte Cristo' by Alexandre Dumas. The OG swashbuckler, really. Shipwrecks! Duels! Poison! Revenge! People just don't do dramatic adventure novels like Dumas anymore.

'War and Peace' by Tolstoy. I can't not mention this; I've read it twice so far in English and once in Russian. Tolstoy was an amazing observer of human nature. Also, he clearly thought Napoleon was a little bitch and reading about him from the perspective of a Russian novelist is quite entertaining after reading about him from Victor Hugo's perspective.

'Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo. I also have to mention this one. Yes, there are very lengthy asides on the Parisian sewer system. In the middle of a chase scene. But tbh, Hugo was curious about everything and while maybe he talked about every single one of those things a bit too long, it still endears him to me. Also, he was known more as a poet than a novelist by contemporary readers, and even in translation I think the fact that he was a poet really comes through in the prose.

Also, really anything by Patricia McKillip if you want dreamy, poetic fantasy that feels like being dropped right into the middle of a fairytale where magic has no hard rules and is something a bit wild and dangerous and beautiful.

I also read a lot of non-fiction, so I'll just list a few of my faves: 'Survival in Auschwitz' by Primo Levi; 'The Gulag Archipelago' by Alexandre Solzhenitsyn; James Herriott's 'All Creatures Great and Small' series; 'Landmarks' by Robert Macfarlane (but really any of his nature writing; this one I liked particularly because it's about the power of language to evoke a sense of place and how our vocabulary for the natural world is slowly being subsumed by our increasingly technologically-driven world). 'The Demon-Haunted World' by Carl Sagan, which was written in the 90s but if anything is even more relevant today as we struggle with parsing the mythology of pseudoscience and the real-world harm it perpetuates.

And I read a fuck ton of poetry, so I'll just rattle off a list of some of my favourite poets: Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooks, Edward Thomas (I also love his nature writing), Alexandre Blok, Pushkin, Ursula Le Guin (she's primarily known as a novelist, but she has some very good poetry as well), Mikhail Lermontov, Anna Akhmatova, Alexander Pope, Tennyson (particularly Idylls of the King), Seamus Heaney, and Yeats.

Anyway, this is a small sampler of books I've read and loved.

[lacefuneral]

you know what. i think fictional ofmd stede bartholomewl bonnet the 15th should have a tiktok

to be clear: NOT modern AU stede. NOT modern AU historical reenactor/cosplayer stede

i mean that just entirely inexplicably (maybe a timetraveler left their Magical Phone?) 18th century stede is just. on there.

it's mostly lame dad jokes. outfit of the day. food reviews (which is really funny bc it would be like. Roast Onion or hardtack). and then short bedtime stories that he's able to fit within the span of the video limit

his videos are very innocuous but his comment section is filled with 21st century millennials and zoomers calling him a DILF and saying shit like "i love his cringefail whimsy." no one doubts for a second that this is literally a guy posting from the past

[archiveikemen]

Liam Evans Main Story: Chapter 13

I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by downloading and playing their games.

read this before interacting with my posts

A series of letters revealed the Evans family's past.

(Liam is being honest with me about his feelings, and this isn't a matter that's easy to talk about.)

(But what is this… uncomfortable feeling?)

Drops of black ink fell onto my heart, gradually spreading and corroding.

Kate: Um, Liam.

Liam: Mm, what is it?

Kate: What you just said about… living because your life is precious… do you mean it?

Liam: … Huh?

(You said that the life Jacob saved was precious.)

(And yet…)

== Flashback Start ==

Liam: Hey… want to kill me?

Liam: You want to kill me, don't you? If that's what you want, I’ll gladly let you do that.

Liam: Only then will you definitely… “forgive me”.

…

(The other time too.)

Liam: … Pfft, … haha, hahaha

Young Man with Piercings: … Wha… Why are you laughing…

Brown Haired Man: … Oi… what’s with this guy…

Liam: Fufu… fine, you just want to get rid of me, right?

Liam: Then let’s try to kill one another, starting now! … Haha, I wonder if you two can even kill me…?

== Flashback End ==

(At that time… I don’t think he cherished his life.)

(No, if anything I—)

Right when I tried to identify the uncomfortable feeling I was getting—

Liam cupped my cheeks with both of his hands and rested his forehead against mine.

(...!)

Liam: Fufu, what’s wrong? You look so serious.

Liam: Rest assured. I meant everything I just told you, from the bottom of my heart.

Liam: What I talked about was my past.

Liam chuckled when I looked into his rose coloured eyes to see if he were telling the truth.

Liam: Hey, are you hungry? Victor was baking muffins this morning, there might still be some left.

Liam: I’ll make you a nice cup of tea, and put in some honey specially for you.

Liam: Come on, shall we go?

Kate: Wah…! H-Hey, Liam!

Liam let out a genuine laugh as he pulled me by the hand.

(... Am I just overthinking?)

(Liam just told me that he meant everything he said. So I shouldn't doubt him anymore, right?)

I convinced myself that I was indeed overthinking. But when I sat before the typewriter that night, I couldn’t type a single word.

…

The next day, Liam invited me to accompany him to a meeting at The Scala.

In front of the theatre members gathered there, Tom began to speak in a more enthusiastic manner than usual.

Tom: Our latest production “Wuthering Heights” was a huge, huge, HUGE success! There are lots of people looking forward to The Scala’s next production!

Tom: It is The Scala’s mission to respond to our audience's voices. Therefore, I’ve been thinking about what could be our next production.

Theatre Member: Tom, just cut to the chase and tell us already! So, what’s our next production going to be?

Tom: Patience. Patience. Our next production is… “The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre Dame de Paris)”!

Liam: I’ve never heard of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Have you, Kate?

Kate: Me neither, I haven't read that one yet.

The theatre members around us gave mixed reactions, so Tom gave them an explanation.

Tom: The story is set in 15th Century Paris. At the Notre Dame Cathedral, there was a man named Quasimodo.

Tom: Quasimodo spent his days alone at the top of the tall tower ringing the bells, never knowing what the outside world was like.

Tom: One day, he met a beautiful dancer named Esmeralda and fell in love with her.

Tom: By the way, Kate.

Kate: Y-Yes?

I was surprised when Tom suddenly called out to me, and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes—

Tom: What does love mean to you?

(Uhh…)

Kate: I think love is something we cannot do without. People need love in order to survive.

Liam: Ahaha, I like your way of thinking, Kate.

Tom: Fufu, that’s a wonderful answer, Kate! Personally, I think that there are endless possibilities when it comes to love.

Tom: Quasimodo found out what love was, and aimed to change his destiny.

Tom: Which is why I believe that this story will be very meaningful to perform in this rapidly evolving era—

Liam brought his lips to my ear, so that Tom wouldn't hear.

Liam: … He asked you for your opinion, but he just wanted to say what HE thinks, don’t you think?

Kate: Fufu, that’s alright. He seems to be having a lot of fun.

Tom: And so, Liam!

Liam: Wah! What is it?

Tom: I was thinking of giving you the lead role in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.

Liam: Eh… me?

Tom: Why are you surprised? You’ve been increasing in popularity lately, and now you're receiving offers from other countries.

(From other countries… That’s right, Liam is now the top actor in The Scala.)

The audience watching Liam during “Romeo and Juliet” and “Wuthering Heights” were becoming more fervent.

Receiving all that adoration and expectations, Liam reached for the stars.

Tom: Everyone here agrees with me.

Tom: What do you think, Liam? Will you accept the role…?

Liam: Haha, you’re as assertive as ever. OK! I’ll definitely live up to your expectations.

All the theatre members immediately started cheering.

Tom: Now that it’s been decided, I’ll start working on the theatre adaptation of the novel. Hugo’s novels are hard to understand, and to write a theatre adaptation—

Liam: You haven’t written the play yet? You’ll have to work really hard, then.

Tom: You’re the one who has to be prepared for a tough fight.

Tom: Quasimodo is the polar opposite of you, you're a flamboyant man. Meanwhile he lacks self-confidence and is lonely—

Liam: …

Liam: No worries, Tom.

Liam: I feel that I will surely be able to play this role well.

…

After we left the theatre, Liam and I were walking along the River Thames.

Liam: Tom got too carried away with his talking. I was planning to go on a date with you, but it's gotten so late.

Kate: Fufu, but it’s nice to have something to be that passionate about. I’m really looking forward to seeing you on stage.

Liam: You’re so sneaky, Kate.

Liam: I can’t stop working hard if you say that.

As we laughed and chatted about all sorts of things, we happened to overhear the conversations of people passing by—

Lady Passerby: There’s going to be a fire festival at the public square tonight. Let’s go have a look.

Liam: …

(Ah…)

To Liam, the sight of fire might be a painful reminder of his past.

(It’s best to avoid the pain if it can be avoided. You shouldn't be forced to remember it.)

Kate: Liam, I want to stop by the gelato shop you told me about that time. Can you come with me?

Liam: …

Liam: Mm, I’d love to.

…

While we were walking down a narrow street off the main road on our way to the gelato shop, a hooded man with a cane appeared and blocked our path.

(...?)

Liam: Oh? You were at the theatre…

The man approached Liam with his cane—

Hooded Man: “Long time no see.”

Liam: … Uh.

Immediately after that courteous greeting, he happily gave Liam a hug.

(“Long time no see”? Is he an acquaintance of Liam’s?)

(However—)

The man’s hood covered his eyes, making it impossible to see his face and recognise who he was.

After hugging Liam for a little while, he walked away with his cane.

(... And he’s gone.)

Kate: He had a somewhat unique aura. Do you know him, Liam?

Liam: …

Kate: … Liam?

Liam: Ah, yeah. He’s one of my supporters, I saw him at the theatre the other night.

Kate: I see. Looks like he’s such a big fan of you that he reflexively went for a hug.

Liam: … Y-Yeah.

Liam: …

…

After returning to the castle with Kate, Liam heads to the lounge alone.

Alfons: Oh, it’s Liam. What are you doing here at this hour?

Liam: Hey Alfons. Let’s go do something thrilling. I need an extraordinarily good one to satisfy my curiosity…

Liam: Shall we jump off a cliff? Ah—... how about playing chicken in front of a moving carriage?

Liam: … I need to satisfy my curiosity as soon as possible.

Liam: Or else… I’ll do “something wrong” again.

Alfons: …

Alfons: Aha! Of course, I’m always up for some fun.

Alfons: However, before we go out—

Alfons took off his black leather gloves and moved to stand behind Liam.

He then stroked the nape of Liam’s neck with his bare fingers in an alluring gesture.

Alfons: I think you’ll need to hallucinate tonight.

…

— The next day, Liam, Alfons, Roger, and I were heading to the east for a mission.

On the east side, there was a slum called “East End”. Our destination was an almshouse in the outskirts of the slum.

As the carriage shook, I glanced at Liam sitting next to me.

Kate: What on earth is our mission even about?

Liam: …

Kate: … Liam?

Roger: Hm? Hey, Liam. The young lady is talking to you.

Liam: Oh, sorry! I spaced out…

Alfons: Liam and I spent the entire night playing together. It’s inevitable for him to feel sleepy.

Alfons: Allow me to explain today’s mission for Liam’s sake, since he seems very unfocused.

Alfons: For today’s mission, we are going on a tour at an almshouse that provides support for underprivileged children.

Alfons: The almshouse is known to be exceptionally wholesome, clean, and praiseworthy.

Roger: … Hey, Al. Are you sure you’re not in a foul mood?

Alfons: No way! Just thinking about the mission is making my heart race painfully fast!

(If it’s only going to be a tour like Alfons said, it should be fine…)

But I knew from the start that there was no way Crown’s mission could be that simple.

With a spare key obtained from goodness knows where, we entered the almshouse through its back door.

Roger’s curse ability was to “pick up sounds from long distance sources”.

He stood by the entrance and listened carefully to our surroundings, so that we could take action if anything happened.

(This almshouse is very clean and well-maintained, just like how Alfons described it to be…)

However — there was something unsettling about it.

Liam: … Let’s go deeper to the back of the house. Kate, stick with me.

Kate: Okay…

Located at the far end of the house was a room similar to a storage room, and when we opened up a trapdoor concealed beneath the flooring—

(... A hidden stairwell?)

Alfons: … Now, it is time for our pleasant and enjoyable tour of the facility.

[sangahnomiya]

little known fact (I have literally only ever yapped abt this to 5 people) but ever since I watched the donghua of cinderella chef last year, I've been brainstorming a crossover AU with apothecary diaries, yona of the dawn and snow white with the red hair.

(will it ever get written? ONLY GOD KNOWS but I'm dumping my brainrot here anyway)

the cast of characters:

yaoyao and chunyu (cinderella chef)

maomao and jinshi (apothecary diaries)

shirayuki and obi (snow white with the red hair)

yona and hak (yona of the dawn)

other characters who appear in this AU (even if I haven't worked out what they do yet), bc you should not separate them ever: ryuu (AnS), and the happy hungry bunch (YotD)

the team dynamics:

in my HC shirayuki is the oldest of the group and seems (SEEMS) to be the most level-headed, while maomao and yaoyao are definitely evenly matched in levels of unhinged. yaoyao is canonically around 18-19, so she's most likely the second oldest

yona is the youngest at 16. however, she is also the only one of the group with a kill count. naturally the older girls are somewhat concerned but they're supportive anyway, and maomao later on offers to help make poison for yona's arrows. (it's her way of showing friendship)

yaoyao is the only one of them who's ACTUALLY married, and so she probably assumes that the other girls are also married to their respective tall, dark, handsome companions. shirayuki's avoiding eye contact, yona is flustered, and maomao... is not amused.

yaoyao and maomao are the kitchen powerhouse duo. if they combine their forces with yoon, then they become truly unstoppable

yona and shirayuki are definitely mistaken for the other girl by multiple people, due to their red hair (and dark-haired bodyguards/love interests). this could lead to a case of mistaken identity where shirayuki gets chased by soldiers bc they mistook her for yona, who's a fugitive

when the four girls get absolutely caught up in brainstorming a plan, the four guys have no choice but to trail after them and wait it out till they're done. obi is the most used to this behaviour from shirayuki while she works so he's already accustomed to it, and hak knows yona well enough to know that she'll explain it to him after, but chunyu and jinshi are still somewhat baffled. sucks to be them lol

like shirayuki, obi is the oldest out of the four guys and he takes care of them in his own way. big brother obi to the rescue!!!!!

the worldbuilding:

I will not lie, I only thought of this AU bc I wanted to put yaoyao and maomao together and have their nicknames be xiaoyao and xiaomao. but like everything else I start bc of something ridiculous, I ended up thinking way too much abt it so here's what I got so far

geographically speaking obiyuki would be coming from the west (AnS is set in a European-styled setting), while maomao and yaoyao would technically be in the same area. if we're going off of the assumption that yotd is set in pseudo-korea, then the kingdom of kouka would probably an ocean away from the empire of Li.

given the settings, it's not uncommon for foreigners to pass through Li, and since obiyuki canonically travel around n stuff they would probably pass through Li at least once

in terms of timeline, I'm very, VERY ROUGHLY guesstimating that cinderella chef and yotd were set in around the same time period (western jin dynasty in China, and the three kingdoms period in Korea).

emphasis on the rough guesstimate bc the show never explicitly mentions at what point in the past she's sent to, so I'm making do with what I can gather from the style of clothing and the architecture used in the setting. but I can only do so much since the show took quite the artistic liberty with historical events and other things like that

on the other hand, the apothecary diaries APPEARS to be set in 15th century China, but it's also not confirmed either so yes. this is fine. [strained smile]

so yeah! that's all I got for now JSJSJFHG I really want to write this AU but first I've got to pin down the dates and historical time periods bc my brain is weird like that. hope you enjoyed 🫶🏼

[beevean]

Changing Castlevania from a living Creature of Chaos to Dracula's Castle of Science was so lame

It is, and not just because you have such a cool concept of a castle that is actually an eldritch location that defies the laws of logic and reality, intimately tied with its Lord, and there was nothing done with it. (special shout out to LoS for actually doing something very cool with it)

Reducing Dracula to a "man of science" is a bit... I don't know how to say. My first word is "tasteless"?

One, I noticed the focus the story puts on Dracula's supposed holding on knowledge. Lisa going to him to ask him to teach him older ways to heal people is cute. Isaac wanting to protect him because his knowledge is more important than his own life is ehhh feels reductive IMO (and this is why making Isaac both a worshipper and Dracula's bestie doesn't work), but whatever. Alucard lamenting that with his madness and death the world will lose "a repository of centuries of learning" feels weird at this point. Like. Why is the main concern what Dracula can offer to the world? Why is he only worth something because he's a giant living library? Besides, the castle didn't crumble with his death unlike in the games, so all of his books and inventions or whatever he has still stand. What about him as a person? Don't you care about your damn father, Alucard?

Two, it's just another way to CHURCH BAD. See? Humans are stupid because they have the CHURCH BAD that holds them back! Vampires don't, so they get to have electricity in the 15th century! Ohhh, ahhh! And Lisa doesn't get to escape this, ofc, because she was the one who was offended at the idea of being seen as a witch - no no she wants to learn real science, thank you very much!

And three, tied to the above, it's yet another piece that adds to the elvification of vampires. I'm reminded of this scene:

Lenore: Mm. It's a lovely night, don't you think? Hector: It's a bloody chilly night. It was warmer in my cell. Lenore: That's because we channel waste heat around the castle with pipes. Hector: Really? Even to the cells? Lenore: I keep telling you. We're not monsters. Hector: Dracula's castle moved heat around with pipes. Is that vampire magic? Lenore: Actually, just science. Centuries old. The thing is, Hector, humans forget things and vampires don't. You have a lot to learn.

(yeah sure you're not monsters because you keep the cell warm, that's why you guys stripped hector naked and doused him in icy water, lenore you are such a bad liar and you're lucky hector was lobotomized after s2)

And this scene, where Alucard lights the lamps in the Belmont Hold and the Japanese not-twins are all amazed:

Sumi: Magic lanterns! Alucard: Lightning. Not magic. Taka: You put lightning into lamps and you tell us it's not magic? Alucard: It's really not. The Parthians were storing lightning in jars two hundred years before Christ.

Again, vampires are soooo cool because they have advanced technology to dazzle the inferior rac-- I mean, humans with. They have their own culture, their own books with their own "vampire philosophy", untampered by the stupid CHURCH BAD. That's what makes them worthy of being protected :) and that's why the Belmonts are mean when they kill them and their mysterious children :)

In some aspects, NFCV really reminds me of Twilight - and in this case, it's the insistence on both making vampires "creatures of science" (something something crosses freak them out because amazing predator vision) and elevating them to a noble, smarter race that is nothing but superior to the stupid humans. The only thing missing was Hector or Isaac going all Bella Swan and begging to be turned by Lenore or Dracula to become a superior creature.

[realcatalina]

More mystery with portraits of Hasburgs

These two paintings are located in different museums, but are believed to be once a part. Currently they are labelled currently as Philip of Austria and Margaret of Austria, 1483, by Master of Legend of Magdalene.

And it's kind of a problem. Because at least the boy doesn't look like early work of this artist at all! Not even remotely close.

So other artists have been suggested instead, and for example the girl's has been most recently labelled as by Pierre Coustain.

Which doesn't make any sense either. Because while this was court artist in Burgundy, he specialized in making coat of arms and flags, sculptures etc. Like we can speculate on Pierre Coustain's involvement in these portraits(figures by Pieter van Coninxloo):

But only about the coats of arms. This guy wasn't portraitist.

...And you know me, I am nitpicker. I my motto is:

Never trust period label...because often times they are added centuries later.

So of course I checked the labels. On first glance, they seem as very genuine. This form of letters was around in 15 and 16th century.

...So I needed some help reading it, but luckily on wikipedia it was in description of paintings.

Girl's:

Gedaen Int Jaer ons here 1483 tsinen v en Jaerre/FAT LAN M.IIII.C.IIII.XX ET TROIS QUE LORS AUOIT TROIS ANS ET TROIS MOIS)

This was created in 1483 and she is 3 years and 3 months old.

(Very specific...oddly so.)

Gedaen Int Jaer ons here 1483 tsinen v en Jaerre / Fat Lan m. III c. IIII xx. z trois ou ve. an de son eage.

Once again it says year 1483, but that Philip is 3 or 5 years old.

Like how does nobody question this? You cannot be specific to month with girl, and not know how old the boy was!

Unless the label is not original at all! And likely not even done in 15th century. Because at those days, labels weren't really popular. They took off mainly in 16th century. And given the amount of mistakes I doubt Margaret nor Philip were even alive when this occured.

Because have they been, somebody would take greater care in getting it correct!

(And, If the text is from much later it is damn well-made.)

So if text is untrust-worthy, the dating of 1483 is also untrust-worthy, and then we cannot even be sure it is Philip or Margaret!

And though the boy doesn't fit Master of Legend's early work, he damn sure looks very alike to his late work! (1510-1527)

But then these kids cannot be royals from Netherlands. This is not its fashion from 16th century. We have portraits of Philip's kids raised in Netherlands, we know what they wore.

And while, yes the girl's hat looks bit like 1460-1470s male hats worn in netherlands, girls didn't wore this I checked. And given Netherlands were already back then northern capital of painters. It's very unlikely it wouldn't appear in art of that time from that country.

So possibly these are foreign royalty. But whom?

Well, artist started working around 1480/1490 and stopped about 1527. (Assuming we have correct artist.)

And the boy wears order of golden fleece around his neck. And clearly he is not adult. List of knights of Order of Golden fleece is on wikipedia and it includes when people got it and their birth year.

So finding people who got it before age of 15 in corrrect timeframe wasn't that hard.

Six candidates:

Philip of Austria (who it is currently identified as)

Henry VIII

Charles V

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

Louis II, King of Bohemia and Hungary

Philibert of Chalon

But at age of 14 and 13, Henry VIII and Philibert are simply too old...to be depicted here. And Louis II's sister was older than he. And we know what Charles and his sisters raised in Netherlands wore.

Thus if not Philip and Margaret, the only other valiable option is Ferdinand and Catherine of Austria.

(if the list of candidates was complete...)

And it just so happens that if you put correct dimensions to these(in cm), and put them in order of birth, they don't look so weird...

Potentially this might have once been full set of siblings.

Done firstly around 1507(first four)

and rest after 1515, when Ferdinand became the member of the order.

...And if we compare what the girl wears with spanish fashion, then at least in examples from 1490s similiar hats were popular(not as much raised, but we always see them on adults. Maybe then the raise is not so high, and traluscent veils of this kind even much later(those are with cofia de tranzado)...this shape of neckline, also very popular in Spain at least around turn of the century.

In my research into iberian fashion, i didn't go that much into fashion after 1505(not in debt) and it's not ideal that I point to examples about 20 years prior to when I think it might be.

But it is a possibility, and would explain the resemblence.

...

However then we have to assume 2 more possibilities.

A) the list of knights of order of fleece was not complete...and we're missing candidates...and then once again, where does the fashion point us?...Spain in case of girl...

B) But what if the boy and girl don't belong together?

What if they just had same background(popular in Burgundian/Netherlandish court from 1450? to about 1507)

and same dimensions(by chance, or they were later cut to make them same dimensions)?

(C)what if both options? L)ist wasn't complete and boy and girl don't belong together?

Well, the boys who got orders of golden fleeces as kids were usually royalty, with whom Hasburgs had friendly relationship.

Only other option already not covered, would be either Christian II of Denmark-but he was made member in 1519-so he is on the list, as adult...

or John, Prince of Asturias and Girona. He married Margaret of Austria, in 1497 and died that same year. And Joanna married Philip of Austria in 1496.

We know Margaret's portraits were created in early to mid 1490s, likely to be sent to Spain, and probably Philip's also.

But what if Spanish send reply? And Hasburgs send their own painter, to paint Spanish royal children? That would also explain resemblence to Joanna's children. Because boy would have to be her brother, and girl Joanna herself.

Again, the boy seems to be later work of the master, but it was a workshop. It is possible one of its member simply became more prominent later in workshop's lifetime and it happened to be him who was sent to paint the boy.

And i cannot get further than this. Dendrology would be helpful here.

However as these portraits have year upon them, the institutions who own them think they have the correct date already. We can only hope they decide to test it anyway.

[made-this-cause-why-not]

Quick rant about ATYD because, the slander just does not make sense to me. It's not a perfect fic and people are allowed to not like it but some of the reasons for people not liking it are just so weird to me. Like- people don't like it because Sirius is sexist.... Sirius is a teenage boy. Do the people that say that hang out with teenage boys IRL? They are sexist and sometimes racists, pieces of shit- especially around their guy friends or girl they think 'are cool with it'. Also, it was the 70's. Like, do people not realize that a white, rich (like fully out of touch with reality, Billionaire with money dating back to the 15th century Rich), SEVERLY TRAUMATIZED cis guy from the 70's would be a piece of shit as a child. Like, as Sirius got older he would grow to regret all the fucked up stuff he said an take the time to actually apologize and stuff but we never saw that because he was 21 when he was imprisoned. He never even left his frat boy era. And then I have seen others be mad because they made Dorcas white. This is a complaint I have only seen from white people and as a Black mauraders fan, it literally does not matter. Like- Dorcas meadows is a character mentioned less than five times in the entire series, with her race being nothing more than a token black person that J.K shoved in The Order to prove it wasn't all white and that the HP world has diversity. Her being made white changes nothing in the plot. People also say that wolfstar is toxic in it, like this isn't a fic about two deeply traumatized boys with no role models or healthy relationships or base their own off of, other than Effie and Fleamont which they don't meet until they are like 13. Like, of course they are going to be toxic and fucked up- their entire lives have been fucked up. The only valid critique I have seen is the fact that the G word is used to describe the wolf packs. Granted, I didn't know that was a slur until 2021 or so, it's still a fucked up term to use. But yeah, I feel like people often say it's a bad work, which is fine if you just don't vibe with it, but the reasoning for not liking it makes me pause a little because 'what?'.

Edit: Forgot to say this but people also hate the characterization of Mary because she is oversexualized, to which I say: so is Sirius. Like, they are both sooooo fucking slutty and sleep around a bunch, the fact that people only talk about Mary in this light can be attributed to one of two things. Either A: grasping at straws, or B: Putting the weight on Remus's narration. Him being inexperienced for alot of his time as hogwarts would allow for any kiss or hookup seem like the end of the world for in his eyes and by reading with the grain I can understand that- but even then don't slut shame the black women and not the Black. "but mary lost her virginity at 14"- people get their sexual urges right as they hit puberty. Teens are horny. In the 7th grade my middleschool took an all day trip that used to be over night until two students got caught fucking in a cabin. 13 year old 7th graders. I am not saying it is right to loose your virginity at such a young age but it isn't unheard of.

Edit 2: Last edit I swear, but I just saw some one's post saying they didn't like how remus having a learning disability was for shits and gigs or that he did drugs and joined a gang. Firstly, remus having a learning disability is a beautiful metaphor for his lycanthropy and class. He is studying along side his friends, completely confused and just playing along to not give anything away. It doubles onto how isolated Remus must have felt and his whole problem with opening up to others. Also, the fact that Remus had to push himself so hard academically just to get the same grades as his rich friends who coast by on their name and the fact that they have been learning latin and french from tutors since they could walk- I mean, it's just chef's kiss. And, do people not realize that people in the real world do drugs? That a lot of people struggle with addiction and are more prone to said struggle when they grow up in a shitty environment with out learning proper ways to cope with the traumatic events? Remus was in a gang because he was surrounded by people who were in a gang- people who understood him more than James or Sirius did.

Like, I know that I can't really say this because I am a legal adult ranting on tumblr, but all of the slander just makes me want to tell people to go outside. Make friends irl- not mutuals. Touch grass, hand out with people you age. Like yes atyd isn't perfect but it was very much accurate to how real people would have been in the 70's and I personally prefer that to the babygirl-ification of every male character in Harry Potter to the points where they are almost caricatures of themselves

[autumnaaltonen]

What are the names of each alucard form?

The Many Forms of Alucard

For just the average shapeshifting, Alucard has shown to be capable of changing into bats, insects, snakes, a dog, or just large masses of darkness and shadow.

But when you say "forms", I am going to assume you mean the persona's Alucard takes on in his Control Art Restriction System, and other associated persona.

The Control Art Restriction System was designed by Abraham Van Hellsing as a sort of leash for Alucard. He is far too dangerous on his own, so his powers must be contained via six 'levels'. Each of these levels, like a safe, has a designated amount of power locked behind them, effecting Alucard's physical form as a result. We the viewers are not prevy to all of these states, becuase when Alucard sees it necessary to unlock the Control Art Restriction levels (or ask permission from his master), he's really an all-or-nothing kind of guy. The states we have observed are as thus:

Level 6: Referred to as "Count", is the most recognizable form for Alucard, as it is his default. He is often seen wearing is iconic red frock coat and large fedora, with a black pin up suit, long leather boots, white gloves, and somtimes his classic google sunglasses.

Levels 5-2: Unknown, possibly the same as Level 6 or 1.

Level 1: Referred to as "Nosferatu". This form is seen multiple times throughout the series, first when he is discovered by a preteen Integra, as well when fighting Luke Valentine, Tubalcain Alhumbra, Anderson and Walter. He wears a full body, black straight-jacket, with his level 6 white gloves.

Level 0: What fans have dubbed as "Vladcard". This form turns Alucard into his previous human-sefl, Vlad 'the Impaler' Dracula. He wears his 15th century Romanian armour, a tattered black cape and a large broadsword at his hip. And, as pointed out amusingly by Seras, he also has a mustache 🥸.

Other forms not associated with a particular level include:

Girlycard, where Alucard appears as a young girl with stright, long black hair, a white jacket and pants over a black button-up, and a white ushanka.

Bussiness Man (or Dripcard🫠), appears when Alucard travels to Rio with Seras and Pip. His air is gown long, and he wears a slick black suit, gray overcoat, black tie, red button-up shirt, black leather shoes, and his classic goggle sunglasses and white gloves.

For more Alucard info, I always trust in the work done by our fellow fans at https://hellsing.fandom.com/

[kaus-quietis]

Greetings, Anon! Thank you for your questions. I have to admit, even in the past, I refrained from posting reactions or speculations as BSD chapters release, but you already knew that, so I will indulge you. I'll answer each part of your ask. BSD ch113 thoughts below, manga spoilers ahead.

♠ "What was your raw reaction?" It was not a calm, quiet one, I can tell you that. No, in fact I screamed with excitement as if I was in a Roman amphitheatre and my favourite gladiator just got back up on his feet, out of sheer force of will, grinning and sweaty. My scream was the fastest way I could "verbalize" the fact that I was overjoyed to see him alive again, even if it's in the 15th century, and on top of that he seemed to be some kind of spy monk all chained up and having what seems to be a ridiculous amount of fun getting caught and discussing with Bram. This is all very in-character for him.

♠ "Was that something you expected?" Absolutely not. Yes, yes, I truly did not expect a jump back in time and this infobomb drop, despite the fact that we did get a few hints that Fedya seemed present at past events when all the other character really appeared younger than him (near the end of S4ep3, where on a rooftop Fedya says "It's not V, it's Five" and I am seriously like bruh I give up what I want to say is I need more data to work with, what am I supposed to do with this, rationally speaking?). However, we can't yet extract anything conclusive from this. Is he ageless? A time-traveler? Immortal? Does he revive? When was he born? Was he born at all or created differently somehow? Is he of BSD's world, or an external one (Beast liveaction finale anyone?)? Is this all within the Book and he's just… idk flipping the pages? Anything is possible and I refuse to spend a lot of time working with incomplete data. This is not very follower-friendly (as in, my blog is basically inactive in-between), I know and I apologize, but if after many chapters there will be something worthwile to add to my essay (with what Fukuchi said in ch113 I already have important stuff to add), under those circumstances I will consider writing an update. It's not yet time.

♠ "<Was that> something you felt different for the characterization we all made for Fyodor?" Hmm, I would hesitate to refer to a characterization "we all made" for him (I wish! T o T), because my analysis and blog are but a tiny tiny part of the fandom (I think…? I wonder about my Fedya essay's reach or influence sometimes). But let's say here we refer to one that comes close to what I tried to show in my essay. In that case, I would say that there is nothing to fear here in this chapter, but it's very understandable to have massive trust issues at this point. We went through a miserable, miserable time when the previous ones made the guy who visually memorized a full deck of used cards somehow not notice Chuuya wearing contacts and fake vampire teeth, despite knowing the vampire race since… well, the 15th century! I cannot even begin to describe what I felt reading ch111.5-112, I was beyond repulsed. Lovers of "villain" characters understand the following thing well: in most media, our fav has to lose, he has to die or disappear at some point, with rare exceptions. I, too, know this well, but that was no compelling way to solve BSD's villain threat. I still don't know how BSD will wash away that narrative stain, as I consider it, but then again one of the reasons we love this manga is that it keeps us on the edge of our seats and the most absurd yet fun turns can happen out of the blue. We can reasonably ask ourselves: ok, what is the purpose of showing Fedya's backstory now? If it's for build-up, we can already start grinning like Cheshire cats. What could possibly be next? I'm cautiously optimistic, things look in-character and good to me. Very good, in fact.

♠ "Or do you think it is later on going add some depth to his character?" Backstories are shown usually for a very clear purpose. We don't know the purpose yet, but if it's done well, then… then my whole essay could be at risk lmao (and I love this sensation). New info could add so much depth to his character, in fact, that his previously observed traits could gain new meanings, or even contradictory ones. Whichever it will be, I think it's pretty safe to bet on "his backstory will be very relevant".

♠ Bonus: even if I enjoy going "full analytical" and enter conference speech mode when asked, I am driven by strong emotions, by which I want to say – I am not immune to assassin/spy monk Fedya chained up like that and having the time of his life again. I missed seeing him entertained like that, and his current …………. visual representation in the.. uh. ..chapter, yeah, well, it's doing things to my Depeche Mode-worshipping heart.

Anyway, to conclude with some facts we know as of now:

a. Fedya and Bram are inside the Bran Castle, close to the Romanian city of Brașov, "deep in the Carpathians" although not built at high altitude itself. It's basically a fortress built between 1377-1388, with several later additions. The BSD representation of it is very accurate to how it looks today. It's near perfect, actually, I applaud.

b. Bram mentions King Matthias, and in this context that can only mean Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary for 1458-1490. The meeting between Fedya and Bram thus happens some year during his reign, when Transylvania was still part of the Kingdom of Hungary. What is still strange to me is that I can't pinpoint Bram's exact position, as in… were his people independent? Or avoided? I feel like I need to re-read past Bram-related chapters to think about this.

c. Nevermind Bram, the things that Fukuchi says, those are the real goldmine here, but the gold is still… encrypted? I mean: Fedya made the DoA plan (more than confirmed now), and because Fukuchi asked for the condition to keep casualties under 500, Fedya respected that and we got entertained for like half of the whole BSD manga: using coin bombs for terror, for economic/political destabilization, using the vampire infection to avoid further violence, these things. The more you think about it, the more insane it gets. Since Fedya agreed to this condition, it means causing (more) deaths and violence were expendable things to him. (But imagine this: Fukuchi said "I want max. 500 deaths" and Fedya said "Yeah I can do that", now if Fukuchi would've said "I want max. 2 deaths" I really believe Fedya would've still said "Yeah I can do that". What can't he do, especially since murder for murder's sake isn't his goal?). This is in perfect harmony with his "necessary deaths only" approach so far, and much much more. There are far more implications in what Fukuchi said, which I won't type out here now. Gotta keep them and build around them for a future analysis update.

This was a rather long read, but still, I hope this satisfies your curiosities, Anon. *bows dramatically & disappears in a borderline insufferable ENTP way*