#but i think saying ‘there were other versions in which the vampire survived’ = this is the version where he is stupid

[wetcatspellcaster]

Metapost: "The Ascendent"

**this is a meta for my fic, Pieces Still Stuck in Your Teeth, and NOT a discussion of the BG3 game canon in any way. If you try and make this into a disk-horse, I will BITE you**

(spoilers under the cut for Chapters 1-23 of Pieces Still Stuck in Your Teeth).

So... remember in the Chapter One endnote when I said I was a Spike/Buffy fan first, and a person second? x

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In more seriousness, there was a number of fictional seasonings/ingredients that went into creating what I felt was the villain of a Gothic horror, and what I felt could turn the Ascendent into something that was both 'fixable', and something I enjoyed writing.

Those ingredients were:

Spike and the idea of 'soulless' vampires in the BtVS canon - do I like this conceit of BtVS worldbuilding and how it's used in the show? No. I think it often underlines how bad Whedon is at writing romance. BUT I do think it gives Buffy this free pass for which vampires she can/can't like or adopt, and I needed some of that for my protagonist. I need a 'I can fix him' moment - BtVS has those in fucking SPADES.

Howl's Moving Castle (this one was accidental, I'm still mad at myself but I can't deny it's there) - man conducts magic ritual for power, removing an essential part of himself in the process that needs to be returned

Picture of Dorian Gray (the idea of an exterior staying pristine while something hidden suffers and decays)

Curse of Strahd (the soulless in Barovia, which I mentioned in Chapter 23)

The idea of default moral alignments in D&D. I have a whole chapter arguing against this in my thesis (mostly bc it's often applied to entire races) but I was fascinated by creating a set of circumstances where I feel like a default moral alignment is valid, actually. 7,000 deaths seems like a good set up. I wanted to imagine a being that was trapped within a default moral alignment, and the laws of its very being prevent it from being good no matter what it tries, and it knows that (this kind of creates a feedback loop with the Spike/Buffy stuff)

The parts of the BG3 canon I took and REMADE (I'm stressing this throughout, I was making a horror story and a horror monster your honour):

Astarion conducts the Rite of Profane Ascension with scars on his back, but has to scar Cazador's back personally, suggesting that um... the Rite REALLY SHOULDN'T BE CONDUCTED BY SOMEONE WHO'S GOT THOSE SCARS. Cazador wasn't going to do it that way, is all I'm saying!!

The idea that Ascended!Ending Astarion is a concentrated version of certain traits that have persisted throughout his story - his flirtiness, his understanding of sex as a mechanism and expression of power, his use of a façade as a mask for trauma he refuses to acknowledge.

The lines alluding to dissociation in the brothel foursome, post-Ascension.

The idea that Astarion seduced Tav to survive or protect himself- in my case, because I made the Ascendent empty save for Astarion's survival instinct, the idea that he would gravitate towards Tav as one of his default modes to potentially survive made sense to me - this is why it becomes an obsession.

･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ

For me, when writing, the Ascendent is a few things:

An intensification of vampirism in a different, fucked-up direction. Yeah, A!Astarion, you can walk in sunlight and you can eat and drink and don't need blood. But you are still a hungering maw of emptiness that feels like it will never be whole or close and connected to the living - just now in a wildly different, metaphysical/existential direction! Welcome to depression, alienation, and otherness!

A soulless being, that knows it is soulless - that initially was very happy with its life but then as the years passed, increasingly spends its every waking moment knowing there is something innately wrong with it that it can't seem to shake, no matter how much it engages with life and all the pleasures of life. (see the 'every meal without savour' speech)

A magically literal metaphor for Astarion's dissociation in moments of extreme trauma, up to and including the fight with Cazador - essentially, the moments when there is nothing but a performance or an exterior, because the self/soul are suffering and they cant' come to phone right now

Astarion's survival instinct. As I say in Chapter 23 - Mephistopheles thinks it is an empty body, who's performance is trying to deny the reality of it's own existence. Rosalie, who has a bit more understanding of Astarion, sees that the performance is not just a coping mechanism but one of Astarion's main modes of survival. The Ascendent is Astarion's survival instinct/techniques for endurance, without any soul or person behind them to protect. This is how I tried to tie in the flirty, hypersexual persona and wrap it with a bow.

I wanted a monster that was undeniably scary, and monstrous to me (oh? you can't fit in or be happy no matter what you do and no matter how hard you try, and you think there's something intrinsically off? how's that autism diagnosis going Emma) but that I also felt sympathy and true sorrow for. I needed to have motivations for him chasing after Tav that I could write meaningfully from and sympathise with.

Not only has Astarion used Tav as a life-raft once before, they've also proven to be the most secure thing he's ever clung to. Of course a rabid survival instinct Astarion would become obsessed, and see them as a potential solution to the problem (this was then intensified by Rosalie also being a walking, overbearing moral compass, and having bound him in a contract in the first week of living, accidentally - a lawful good immoveable objects meets a default moral alignment unstoppable force.)

...Because I also wanted that moral alignment spice!! Wizards of the Coast, default moral alignment is fucked up actually!!! Imagine something trying so desperately to be good - literally being bound in a pact and having been told to be good - but the laws of the universe and its very essence are like "nah mate, we kind of want to destroy and annihilate everything, we're neutral evil personified". That's scary!! that's fucked up!! that's what a birth from 7000 deaths gets you!!!

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So, now for the actual timeline, for people who aren't interested in my silly musings but mostly just want answers lmfao.

Rosalie makes the decision not to intervene in Cazador's mansion, making it seem like she'll support whatever decision Astarion will make there.

Rite of Profane Ascension happens. Astarion conducts the ritual, rips his own soul from his body, the Ascendent is born with literally zero context. Mephistopheles is fucked in Cania, because a bunch of stuff has just gone wrong.

(oh, by the way, the Ascendent knows Infernal as a default language. Bc it's born from an Infernal rite.)

The Ascendent is now default neutral evil, and feeling some kind of way. Rosalie and him break up. He's supposed to have everything, but the one thing he thought was a done deal - his most stalwart suppporter - just rejected him.

Netherbrain defeat (the Ascendent is not invited. Imagine being an all-powerful, hypersexual survival instinct vampire, and your ex-girlfriend neither wants you for sex, nor your power.)

Rosalie accidentally binds the Ascendent (a soulless devil) in a pact demanding that he never kill anyone, when that's literally what the Ascendent's new existence/new default moral alignment is driving him to do. Then, she fucks off and goes into hiding.

Well. The Ascendent can just get another wizard, to help him learn all of Cazador's secrets to cope [Hemlock is recruited].

The years go by! The Ascendent is doing sooooo well. Everything is great, guys! I'm rich, I'm beautiful, I have lavish parties and lots of sex - why do I feel nothing? I'm a vampire perfected - I have no hunger for blood, I can walk in the sun, I can enjoy all the freedoms of a living, breathing man - why do I feel like I'm starving? Why does everything turn to ashes in my mouth? I have friends - oops, I've sabotaged all those friendships with my innate neutral evil destruction. Why can't I feel anything? What's wrong with me? I'm doing everything right? Why doesn't it feel that way?

Also, I can't kill anything to feel better about it, because my hidden ex-girlfriend bound me in a pact.

In this time, to reflect the gradual degradation of the Ascendent's happiness and it's increasing awareness that it is something Other and innately wrong, the reflection starts going weird. Starts going strange. Starts getting a bit fucked up. Almost as if, when he looks in the mirror and sees a person, *nothing* should be what's there. Imagine being a spawn who couldn't see your reflection, and then a vampire who could see it's reflection, but knows that they're innately empty. Knows there's nothing there. I'd freak out a little bit about it as well tbh, I'd go a bit tooth and claw and elongated jaw about it.

The Ascendent finally admits that's there must be something kinda fucked about it. Life just ain't working out, lads. He starts looking for any and all impossible cures that will help with the malaise in his soul (and that innate essence problem, caused by default moral alignment). These include: more bad decisions, such as a house in Cania bc the Ascendent is hoping he'll feel more at home with devils than he does with mortals. All it does is make him feel more isolated and alone.

But eventually, he settles on two things! - Wish (Hemlock's idea), and Rosalie (the Ascendent's idea). Clearly, we just need Rosalie back! Her leaving is actually what fucked him up in the first place - none of this existential bullshit! She fixed us one, she can fix us again.

But looking for Rosalie hasn't worked out. In order to get a shot at her, the Ascendent goes and bargains for his own soul from Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles, adding a new sheet in excel titled 'what the fuck happens when i give this soulless monster a soul to play with?', agrees and starts tracking his new data.

Obviously, just putting the soul back in yourself will fix you. But the Ascendent, the nothingness living inside Astarion's body, will die. Taking the soul back would erase itself. The Ascendent - who is survival instinct personified - would never do this.

So instead, it starts interviewing and cannibalising the soul. Bc a soul is what it needs, this is the closest it's ever felt to being alive. Bc it's made this all about Rosalie, he thinks he's found his solution. The chase is making him feel alive again. It's true love, lads! not the soul.

Wish auction happens - the Ascendent is beaten to the punch by some unknown (hot) wizard.

This avenue cut off, the Ascendent makes the decision to try and win Rosalie back.

Astarion advises that to make her come back to the Gate, he should murder a bunch of people. Because this comes from the soul, not the soulless devil nothingness, it circumvents the pact.

...The events of Pieces begin!

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And finally - the Ascendent tries to destroy Jar!Starion for many reasons in Chapter 19:

The Ascendent knows that it dies, if the soul and the body get reunited (or is that constant high alert survival instinct just no longer needed, because the problem is fixed? you decide.)

The Ascendent values Tav above itself. Tav is going to fix them. Astarion believes he could never fix himself.

Dissociation - that soul isn't me. I'm here, looking at my soul. If I get too close, it'll kill me.

Self-hatred - that soul isn't me. That man made a mistake, and I've had to live with the consequences. He doesn't deserve to live, for what he's made me become.

The knowledge that Rosalie/Tav will only ever want that version of him, not the one that's living and breathing, that sees itself as the most wretched, fucked-up version of itself. So... give them no choice. They have to deal with me and love me at my worst.

And if the Rite didn't work - if the version of the Ascendent walking around isn't the best one, and the one people want... what was it all for? Why does the Ascendent feel like this? Why does it have to suffer?

･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ･ﾟ✧

....And, that's my little meta post! If anyone has any questions about the timeline or any motivations at any points in the fic, I'm obviously more than happy to explain things via ask/comment, as always!

TLDR: I just wanted to make a Gothic horror. I wanted a dark romance, fucked up obsession vampire/mortal dynamic, but I also wanted a situation that was scary for both Astarion and my Tav. I personally think an Astarion who is so dissociated and separate from reality that he feels that in his bones daily, is scary. It's the lingering impact of the traumas the Rite and those 7,000 souls embodied.

I was literally just trying to make it a horror, for everyone involved.

#metaposts #long posts #my writing #wip: pieces still stuck in your teeth #spoilers! #i've never really explained my writing process before in this depth so... I hope it makes sense! #writing meta

[spacebarbarianweird]

astarion with wizard!tav

Oh, this one is tricky! Never played a wizard (I am too dumb for this class) and I hope I haven't dissapointed you!

NSFW version

Masterlist

Headcanons

Astarion x Wizard!Tav Headcanons

You are this bookish person who rarely goes out.

Like, you left home for once, and look what happened! You were kidnapped and got a tadpole in your brains!

You are smart, intelligent, and know a lot of things. Spells, history, religion, and some weird facts are suitable only for quizzes.

Astarion loves listening to you - he's missed a lot of things within those 200 years, and you help him to catch up.

What do you mean there was a Spellplague? And magic stopped working for a whole decade? And the Time of Troubles when some gods ceased existing?

And you somehow know more about elves and vampires than he does.

"I've read the older vampire is, the longer they can spend in the sunlight. Ancient vampires are almost immune", you once casually told him, and this glimpse of hope stuck with him for a long time.

You aren't social - moreover, you absolutely cannot survive in social situations.

And you were oblivious to Astarion's flirting - like none of his seductive words worked on you. You just didn't get them.

But in the meantime, Astarion started appreciating it. Old habits die slowly, so when he sometimes slips back into all "seduce and fuck" things, it just doesn't work on you.

You know a lot of spells, and you are ready to use them. "Silence" during sex not to attract unnecessary attention. "Darkness" to protect Astarion from sunshine. "Protection From Evil and Good," which helps from inner demons as well as real ones.

But sometimes, you overstep Astarion's boundaries because you think you can help him.

Once, you used telepathy to console Astarion, only to hurt him by violating his mind.

"The only thing that was left intact was my mind, and you decided to get in there!" he yelled at you and disappeared for a few long months while you stayed alone in the wizard tower with only books as a company.

He returned. Of course, he did. But he wanted an apology, which you gave him, and the promise to ask about spells to use on him.

You have a shared love for books and a vast library where you read together and discuss things you've just learned.

You are looking for clues to cure his vampirism or, at least, give him the ability to walk in the sun.

There must be something! Something in this hellish amount of books.

Astarion isn't excited. He knows you are ambitious and need to know when to stop.

And there are too many stories of wizards who lost control of their powers and knowledge.

Besides, some artifacts and spells cost too much for the wizard, and he just wants you to avoid risking yourself for him.

After all, in your relations, he is a hero.

He is stronger and a better fighter.

He is street-smart; meanwhile, you are obviously book-smart.

So he knows how to survive.

And if strange visitors want something from you, beware your husband, who will sit them down and question them like a professional interrogator.

If you need a specific magic item - just say. Astarion will bring it. Just don't ask where he got it and how.

"Blood? What blood? Oh, that blood!"

He loves giving you things - books, primarily, but he also wants to ensure you have other things that bring you comfort, like a delicate shirt or a dress. Or a wizard hat.

And you return the favor. Astarion has a fire-enchanted blanket, which is warm on its own, and a darkness cape that allows him to walk in the daylight for a few hours until the spell weakens.

And, of course, the reflection spell. Now, Astarion knows how he looks.

When Astarion is an absolute mess and tells you he feels like drowning, you conjure the spell and let him look at himself, which helps him feel the ground again.

You are easily wounded in a fight - and he does everything to protect you.

"You body is a fragile vessel of fine potion," he jokingly says.

But he always worries sick - especially when your wounds are of magic origin.

He just doesn't understand what is happening to you, and it makes him sick.

Of course, there is Gale to ask for help from, but he soon realizes that the two wizard nerds aren't as powerful as they think.

Books. You read "useful" ones on magic, history, and others. You have never had time to read for fun!

So Astarion starts bringing you fiction novels. Some stupid adventure stories or straightforward erotica.

Initially, you were hesitant - you aren't used to spending time on nonsense.

But later, you found yourself enjoying a series of novels about the adventures of treasure hunters in the deserts of Halrua.

And love stories. You are absolutely lost in them, especially if they are somewhat spicy.

But you don't want to read yourself - you need Astarion's voice to narrate them!

Astarion mocks you often, but you know that behind your back, he can't shut up about you.

He admires your abilities, your skills, and your intelligence.

In his eyes, you are the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen.

And he makes sure you follow your routine.

Because, of course, you fall asleep on your books and forget to eat or change your clothes

So Astarion takes this role of a "caregiver" - he makes sure you eat regularly, get enough sleep hours (even if he has to drag you to bed against your will), always have a fresh set of clothes, and don't forget to walk at least once a day.

"No, please, one more chapter, I am almost done!"

But no objections - this fantastic brain of yours needs some rest.

--

Tag list

@tragedybunny @caitlincat-95 @tallymonster @astarionsbeloved @lumienyx @fayeriess @elora-the-slutty-songstress @veillsar @astarion-imagine-archive @micropoe10 @starlight-ipomoea @herstxrgirl @theearthsfinalconfession @ashrio20 @not-so-lost-after-all @vixstarria @wintersire

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #astarion romance #bg3 #astarion bg3 #astarion headcanon #baldurs gate 3 #astarion headcanons #astarion x tav #astarion x f!tav #tav x astarion #spacebarbarian headcanon #astarion x gn!tav #astarion x gn reader #astarion x reader #baldur's gate tav #tav oc #bg3 tav #tav #tav wizard #wizard dnd #wizard baldur's gate

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 393 spoilers translations (no images)

Apparently Horikoshi got a little too horny this week and his art tripped the boob-alert censors, so here’s an image-free transcript of the chapter 393 rough translations.

To view the image version that has been marked by the mature filter, click here.

PAGE 1

1 そういやトガちゃんって souiya Toga-chan tte Come to think of it, Toga-chan,

2 敵名つけねえの？ ヴィランめいつけねえの？ VIRAN-mei tsukenee no? can’t you [use] a villain name?

tagline 1 ありし日の敵連合ーー ありしひのヴィランれんごうーー arishi hi no VIRAN rengou-- The League of Villains from days gone by--

tagline 2 No.393 少女のエゴ　　堀越耕平 ナンバー393 しょうじょのエゴ　　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 393 shoujo no EGO   Horikoshi Kouhei No. 393 A Girl’s Ego  Kouhei Horikoshi

3 確かに たしかに tashika ni “It’s certainly true.”

4 そーいやおまえとウチのボスくらいだな sooiya omae to UCHI no BOSU kurai da na “That’s right, you and our boss”

5 敵名が無いの ヴィランめいがないの VIRAN-mei ga nai no “have no villain names.”

6 つけよーぜ tsukeyoo ze “Use one!”

7 いらねーよ iranee yo “They don’t need it!”

8 やです ya desu “Don’t want one.”

9 あった方が箔つくよ あったほうがはくつくよ atta hou ga haku tsuku yo “It’d be more prestigious to have one!”

10 「女吸血鬼カーミラ」…！ 「おんなきゅうけつきカーミラ」…！ 「onna kyuuketsuki KAAMIRA」...! “The Woman Vampire Carmilla...!”

11 「血う血う」 「ちうちう」 「chiu chiu」 “Bloody kiss.” (Note: This is actually a pun on the word “chiu” which is what Toga says as an onomatopoeia for sucking blood. It sounds like “suck” and “smooch.” Twice has squeezed in the kanji for “blood” for the pun.)

12 「ピカちう」 「PIKAchiu」 “Pikasmooch!” (Note: Same pun as the previous line.)

13 や ya “NO.”

14 下らねぇ くだらねぇ kudaranee “How worthless.”

15 個性届制定前までの名残だろ客喜ばせるだけだ こせいとどけせいていまえまでのなごりだろきゃくよろこばせるだけだ kosei todoke seiteimae made no nagori daro kyaku yorokobaseru dake da “It’s only a relic from before the enactment of the Quirk Registry, just to please people.”

16 「荼毘」が言うなよ 「だび」がいうなよ 「Dabi」 ga iuna yo Literal. “Don’t say that, ‘Dabi.’” Context. “You don’t get to say that, ‘Cremation.’” (Note: The implication is that Dabi’s villain name is pretty uninspired or boring.)

17 本名未だた知らねー ほんみょういまだにしらねー honmyou ima da ni shiranee “We still don’t know your real name.”

PAGE 2

1 昔は"ヒーロー""敵"に違いなんかなかったんだってな むかしは"ヒーロー""ヴィラン"にちがいなんかなかったんだってな mukashi wa “HIIROO” “VIRAN” ni chigai nanka nakattanda tte na “Long ago, there wasn’t a difference between ‘heroes’ and ‘villains.’”

2 一説によると いっせつによると issetsu ni yoru to “According to one theory,”

3 得体の知れねぇ敵対者への仮称が始まりだったそうだ えたいのしれねぇてきたいしゃへのかしょうがはじまりだったそうだ etai no shirenee tekitaisha e no kashou ga hajimari datta sou da “it seems like they were tentative names given to mysterious adversaries.”

4 そこから素性素性隠しに自ら渾名を名乗る者が現れたと… そこからすじょうがくしにみずからあだなをなのるものがあらわれたと… soko kara sujougakushi ni mizukara adana wo nanoru mono ga arawareta to... “From there, people appeared who gave themselves nicknames to hide their identities...”

5 生き抜く為に被った別人の��が いきぬくためにかぶったべつじんのかわが ikinuku tame ni kabutta betsujin no kawa ga “while others wore masks in order to survive,”

6 いつしかコミックに倣った"記号"となった いつしかコミックにならった"きごう"となった itsu shika KOMIKKU ni naratta “kigou” to natta “and eventually they became ‘symbols’ that imitated comic books.”

7 世界がコミックになったのは"名乗り"が原因って説さ せかいがコミックになったのは"なのり"がげんいんってせつさ sekai ga KOMIKKU ni natta no wa “nanori” ga gen’in tte setsusa “It’s said that [those] code names were the cause of the world becoming like comic books.”

8 俺ぁいいや おれぁいいや orea iiya “I don’t need one.” (Note: Literally he’s just saying “Me, no.”)

9 かっこいいと思うけど かっこいいとおもうけど kakko ii to omou kedo “Although I do think they’re cool.”

10 キャッ！ KYA! “Hyup!” (Note: This is really just a nonsense word for Toga to shout as she leaps up.)

11 だから連合入ったの！ だかられんごうはいったの！ dakara rengou haitta no! “That’s why I joined the league!”

12 生きにくいです！ いきにくいです！ iki nikui desu! It’s hard to live!

PAGE 3

1 私は わたしは watashi wa “I”

2 トガヒミコとして生きるのです トガヒミコとしていきるのです TOGA HIMIKO to shite ikiru no desu “live as Himiko Toga.”

3-4 そっちの尺度で私を可哀想にするな‼︎ そっちのルールでわたしをかわいそうにするな‼︎ socchi no RUURU (kanji: shakudo) de watashi wo kawaisou ni suruna!! “Don’t make me a pitiable person by those rules (read as: standards)!!”

PAGE 4

1-2 同情なんかじゃ…ない…！ どうじょうなんかじゃ…ない…！ doujou nanka ja...nai...! “I am not...sympathetic...!”

3 触られた さわられた sawarareta I was touched

4 …でも今浮かされる事自体にリスクはない …でもいまうかされることじたいにリスクはない ...demo ima ukasareru koto jitai ni RISUKU wa nai ...but being made to float now isn’t by itself a risk.

5 耳当たりの良いこと言ったって みみあたりのいいこといったって mimi atari no ii koto itta tte “You have something that’s nice to hear?”

6 結局檻に入れて死刑でしょう…⁉︎ けっきょくおりにいれてしけいでしょう…⁉︎ kekkyoku ori ni irete shikei deshou...!? “In the end, won’t you put me in a cage and sentence me to death...!?”

PAGE 5

1-2 でなければ仁くんのように殺すだけだ！ でなければじんくんのようにころすだけだ！ denakereba Jin-kun no you ni korosu dake da! “If not that, then you’ll just kill me like [you did] Jin-kun!”

3 勝つか負けるか かつかまけるか katsu ka makeru ka “Win or lose,”

4 生きるか いきるか ikiru ka “live or”

5 死ぬか しぬか shinu ka “die,”

6 生存競争なんだよこれはもう‼︎ せいぞんきょうぞうなんだよこれはもう‼︎ seizon kyouzou nanda yo kore wa mou!! “this is already a competition for survival!!”

7 ハッ HA “Hah” (Note: This is a sound for panting/gasping.)

8 それ…っ sore... “That...”

9 ハァ HAA “haah” (Note: This is a sound for panting/gasping.)

10 は wa “is”

11 お互いっ"当たり前"だね おたがいっ"あたりまえ"だね otagai “atari mae” da ne “true for us both.”

12 ーー‼︎ 同情じゃないなら ーー‼︎ どうじょうじゃないなら --!! doujou ja nai nara “--!! If it’s not sympathy,”

13 ただのエゴだ…‼︎ tada no EGO da...!! “then it’s just ego...!!”

14 互いにそうならーー たがいにそうならーー tagai ni sou nara-- “If that’s true for both of us--”

PAGE 6-7

1 "我我は大勢であるがゆえに"‼︎ "サッドマンズレギオン"‼︎ “SADDO MANZU REGION (kanji: wareware wa taisei de aru ga yue ni)”!! Sad Man’s Legion (read as: We are many, therefore...)!!

2 死ねよ しねよ shine yo “die”

3 ヒーロー HIIROO “hero.”

4 こんな…！ konna...! “This...!”

5 こんなのないぜ…‼︎ konna no nai ze...!! “There’s been nothing like this...!!”

6 「世代を経るごとに強く…」 「せだいをへるごとにつよく…」 「sedai wo heru goto ni tsuyoku...」 “‘Stronger with each generation...’”

7 「そして誰もコントロールできなくなる」 「そしてだれもコントロールできなくなる」 「soshite dare mo KONTOROORU dekinaku naru」 “‘until no one can control them.’”

8 何年も…何度も囁かれてきた…終末論ーー なんねんも…なんどもささやかれてきた…しゅうまつろんーー nannen mo...nando mo sasayakarete kita...shuumatsuron-- “For years...it’s been whispered over and over...the doomsday theory--”

PAGE 8

1 今日だったんだ… きょうだったんだ… kyou dattanda... “It was today...”

2 それが今日だったんだ…‼︎ それがきょうだったんだ…‼︎ sore ga kyou dattanda...!! “That was today...!!”

3 世界は せかいは sekai wa “The world”

4-5 少女たった一人の気持ちで変えられてしまう…‼︎ しょうじょたったひとりのきもちでかえられてしまう…‼︎ shoujo tatta hitori no kimochi de kaerarete shimau...!! “can be changed by the feelings of a single girl...!!”

PAGE 9

1 圧し おし oshi “Push and”

2 潰れろ!!!! つぶれろ!!!! tsuburero!!!! “crush her!!!!”

3 ガンヘッド GANHEDDO Gunhead

4 マーシャルアーツ‼︎ MAASHARU AATSU!! Martial Arts!!

PAGE 10

1 浮かせるだけだ‼︎ うかせるだけだ‼︎ ukaseru dake da!! “You’re just making us float!!”

2 なんのダメージもない‼︎ nan no DAMEEJI mo nai!! “There is no damage!!”

3 そうだよ… sou da yo... “That’s right...”

4 「ゼログラビティ」は 「ZERO GURABITI」 wa “Zero Gravity is”

5 人を…傷つける為の力じゃないもの……‼︎ ひとを…きずつけるためのちからじゃないもの……‼︎ hito wo...kizutsukeru tame no chikara ja nai mono......!! “not...a power for hurting people......!!”

6-7 私は…人を落として幸せを感じたりしない わたしは…ひとをおとしてしあわせをかんじたりしない watashi wa...hito wo otoshite shiawase wo kanjitari shinai “I...would never feel happy about dropping people.”

8 オエエッ OEE “Uegh!”

9 同情じゃないならただのエゴだ…‼︎ どうじょうじゃないならただのエゴだ…‼︎ doujou ja nai nara tada no EGO da...!! If it’s not sympathy, then it’s just ego...!!

10 ……そうかもね…！ ......sou kamo ne...! “......that may be...!”

11 故意に人を殺めた事…‼︎なかった事にはしてあげられない…‼︎ こいにひとをあやめたこと…‼︎なかったことにはしてあげられない…‼︎ koi ni hito wo ayameta koto...!! nakatta koto ni wa shite agerarenai...!! “Deliberately killing people...!! I can’t just act like that was nothing...!!” (Note: Literally she is saying “I can’t do that for you, make killing people into something that didn’t happen.”)

PAGE 11

1 ただ…あなたの顔を見て ただ…あなたのかおをみて tada...anata no kao wo mite “It's just...I saw your face”

2 そうならざるを得なかった そうならざるをえなかった sou narazaru wo enakatta “and it couldn’t have just come to be like that...!” (Note: I think Ochako is saying Toga isn’t this way just naturally. Something must have happened to make her like this.)

3 理由があったんじゃないかって…！ りゆうがあったんじゃないかって…！ riyuu ga attanja nai ka tte...! “I thought there must be a reason...!”

4 あの日 あのひ ano hi “That day,”

5 世界がグチャグチャになった日に せかいがグチャグチャになったひに sekai ga GUCHAGUCHA ni natta hi ni “that day when the world became a mess,”

6 あなたにあまりに悲しい顔をさせたから…‼︎ あなたにあまりにかなしいかおをさせたから…‼︎ anata ni amari ni kanashii kao wo saseta kara...!! “[something] made you make such a sad face, so...!!”

7 あれがお前だろう!⁉︎ あれがおまえだろう!⁉︎ are ga omae darou!!? “Wasn’t that you!!?”

8 あれも私！ あれもわたし！ are mo watashi! “That also was me!” (Note: Ochako basically means, “Yes, it was me, but it was more than just me!”)

9 聞いてトガヒミコ！ きいてトガヒミコ！ kiite TOGA HIMIKO! “Listen, Himiko Toga!”

10 初めて会った時怖かった…！ はじめてあったときこわかった…！ hajimete atta toki kowakatta...! “The first time we met, I was scared...!”

11 わからなかったから…‼︎ wakaranakatta kara...!! “Because I didn’t understand...!!”

PAGE 12

1 あの状況でなんで… あのじょうきょうでなんで… ano joukyou de nande... “In that situation, why...”

2 あなたにも純粋に笑えるんだろうって‼︎ あなたにもじゅんすいにわらえるんだろうって‼︎ anata ni mo junsui ni waraeru darou tte!! “were you able to laugh so genuinely?!”

3 ……っうるさい！ ......urusai! “......Shut up!”

4 トガヒミコとして……か TOGA HIMIKO to shite......ka As Himiko Toga......huh?

5 じゃあ ja Then,

6 好きなだけぶっ殺して すきなだけぶっころして suki na dake bukkoroshite you can kill as much as you like,

7 好きなもんなりまくりゃあいい！ すきなもんなりまくりゃあいい！ suki na mon nari makuryaa ii! and become whataver you like!

8 その顔をやめなさい！ そのかおをやめなさい！ sono kao wo yamenasai! Stop making that face!

9 死ね！ しね！ shine! “Die!”

10 なんで死なないの‼︎ なんでしなないの‼︎ nande shinanai no!! “Why won’t you die!!”

11 一度はつき放したけど いちどはつきはなしたけど ichido wa tsuki hanashita kedo “Although I pushed you away one,”

12 あなたの居心地の良い世界ではないけれど あなたのいごこちのいいせかいではないけれど anata no igokochi no ii sekai de wa nai keredo “and though this world is not one comfortable for you,”

PAGE 13

1 エゴだ…！ EGO da...! It’s ego...!

2 わかってる‼︎それでも私は わかってる‼︎それでもわたしは wakatteru!! sore demo watashi wa I get it!! Because after all, I

3-5 喜ぶ顔をたくさん見てきたから よろこぶかおをたくさんみてきたから yorokobu kao wo takusan mite kita kara have seen so many happy faces.

6 好きなものを好きと言う すきなものをすきという suki na mono wo suki to iu “you tell those you like that you like them.”

7 あなたの顔は あなたのかおは anata no kao wa “Your face”

PAGE 14

1-3 羨ましいくらいに素敵な笑顔だと思うから うらやましいくらいにすてきなえがおだとおもうから urayamashii kurai ni suteki na egao da to omou kara “I think your face has such a lovely smile that I envy you, and that’s why...”

PAGE 15

1 まるで maru de It’s like

2 異常者だ いじょうしゃだ ijousha da you’re a deviant!

3 私は わたしは watashi wa “I”

4 あなたの笑顔を見なかった事にはしたくない‼︎ あなたのえがおをみなかったことにはしたくない‼︎ anata no egao wo minakatta koto ni wa shitakunai!! “don’t want to act like I didn’t see your smile!!”

PAGE 16-17

1 浮いた…⁉︎ ういた…⁉︎ uita...!” “They floated...!”

2 麗日に触られてないにの…！ うららかにさわられてないのに…！ Uraraka ni sawararetenai noni...! “But they weren’t touched by Uraraka...!”

3 接してる人に…伝播…してる…⁉︎ せっしてるひとに…でんぱ…してる…⁉︎ sesshiteru hito ni...denpa...shiteru...!? “It’s spreading...to people...[these bubbles] come into contact with...!?”

4-5 少女…たった一人！ しょうじょ…たったひとり！ shoujo...tatta hitori! “Just...a single girl!”

6 罪をなかった事にはできない！全てを肯定はしない‼︎ つみをなかったことにはできない！すべてをこうていはしない‼︎ tsumi wo nakatta koto ni wa dekinai! subete wo koutei wa shinai!! “I can’t pretend your crimes never happened! I will not affirm everything!!”

7 でも！ demo! “But!”

8 まだ少しでも私と話してくれる気持ちがあるなら まだすこしでもわたしとはなしてくれるきもちがあるなら mada sukoshi demo watashi to hanashite kureru kimochi ga aru nara “If you still feel like talking with me even a little bit,”

9 血なんて一生くれてやる！ ちなんていっしょうくれてやる！ chi nante isshou kurete yaru! “I’ll give you my blood for the rest of my life!”

10 あなたと恋バナがしたいのヒミコちゃん‼︎ あなたとこいバナがしたいのヒミコちゃん‼︎ anata to koiBANA ga shitai no HIMIKO-chan!! “I want to talk with you about romance, Himiko-chan!!” (Note: Yes, this is the “koiBANA” word again, which means “gossip, girl talk, talking about crushes, etc.”)

tagline 届け‼︎少女の叫びーー‼︎ とどけ‼︎しょうじょのおもいーー‼︎ todoke!! shoujo no omoi (kanji: sakebi)--!! Deliver them!! The girl’s feelings (read as: shout)--!!

#my hero academia leak translations #mha 393 #bnha 393 #my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers

[sofipitch]

Interview with the Vampire first draft trivia

I've been meaning to make this post for a while now so I'm doing it. The Vampire Companion is a reference book for the Vampire Chronicles made in collaboration with Anne Rice. It is basically the VC wiki in book form from the 90s but with analysis of lots of themes and symbolism (there's entries for literally anything got even a passing mention in the series, and example of entries on one page chose at random are " adventure, Aegean sea, aesthetic choice" with multiple paragraphs each I shit you not like the "Aegean sea" entry explains it is basically just mentioned in passing it is COMPREHENSIVE. It also famously has an entry for penis/phallus (none for vagina or vulva tho booo). This book features a lot of analysis of VC and it's themes and it is legit some of the worst analysis I've ever seen. A lot of it is in the Freudian mindset/style which *Kubrick stares in psychology student*. It also just reflects a lot of the opinions Anne Rice had about her characters she had in the 90s, the entry on Louis really shows she hates him.

HOWEVER The Vampire Companion has one really cool feature and that is that it mentions things that were in the first draft of IWTV which was later removed. I love this kind of trivia, I love reading the IMDB trivia for these kinds of facts, so I'm collecting them all here in this post:

Lestat was supposed to die in the fire at Rue Royale. When he comes back from the swamp it was originally his last appearance and even then when they meet the Nosferatu/zombie-like vampires of Eastern Europe Louis concludes that the murder attempt left Lestat like those vampires, literally an animated corpse when he came back from the swamp and to Louis, whether Lestat survived the fire or not, Lestat is dead

Lestat's original backstory in IWTV is that Lestat was a poet as a boy. I'm just transcribing this part bc I love it so much: "....it was his poetry full of dreams and longings, that endeared Louis to him. When Louis tries to get Lestat to talk about his poetry, Lestat curtly dismisses it, as if he views it as an idealistic boy's worthless fancies." T_T I think about this part a lot and I kind of wish this part had not been removed but given that Lestat was originally based on Anne's husband Stan who was a poet, she probably removed it for personal reasons.

Rice had originally planned for Louis's tone in IWTV to be similar to that of Oscar Wilde but it changed when she changed from the POV of Daniel (1st draft) to Louis (final version). As annoying as the constant quotation marks are in IWTV, I think nonstop "the vampire said___" would have been worse

The reporter says that Louis looks to be around 35 instead of the final 25

When in Paris Louis and Claudia both accidently run into a random vampire and he runs away scared, Louis and Claudia then make themselves more obvious as vampires to attract the others to them

One evening they come home and a whole bunch of vampires are in their flat, and they take them to a rotting mansion with older human servants who are hoping to be turned into vampires. There they finally meet Armand

The vampires then get together in a room and recite Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal" and then a blonde woman is brought in, begging for her life, and she is passed around as they drink from her. Louis is horrified but drinks from her, and then Armand takes Louis to his bedroom where a woman is asleep on the bed and Louis crawls into the bed and drinks from her, killing her in her sleep

The group of vampires have more strict rules than the theater ones seem to described as loving conformity, abhor wasted opportunities, and constantly provoking each other into dares and challenges (vampire Jackass). Louis doesn't like the vampires but Claudia joins them, dressing in all black, dies her hair white, and befriends 3 brothers and has fun tormenting priests

In the original version of IWTV Claudia goes off with three vampire brothers she meets in Paris and does not die (I think Claudia leaving and meeting Bruce in the AMC show might have been an allusion to this). However AR claims she experienced "psychological difficulties" (the book's phrasing not mine) until she rewrote the ending where Claudia dies. Having Louis grieve Claudia was cathartic for her

When the vampires learn that Claudia killed Lestat they think his death was just and no punishment is required XD

Louis finally leaves not fitting in and Armand chases after him, asking why he left and then leaves the others for Louis. He also tells Louis his backstory (which is never revealed in IWTV)

In the original draft of IWTV Claudia is described as 3 or 4 instead of 5

Anne Rice did not originally realize that Claudia, the 5 year old who can never die, was a projection of her own desire for her daughter who died at 5. She originally saw Claudia as a way to talk about how women can be infantilized or considered inferior to men, by making the way women can be treated (not intelligent, not strong, not rational) physical in the form of a child

AR did use Michelle's (her daughter's) physical appearance, blond hair and blue eyes for describing Claudia, but again, denies that she was aware of a deeper significance at the time, but says it made a lot of sense later. However Claudia's personality is not based on Michelle (which makes sense bc we mostly see an adult Claudia in the book and movie and Michelle died at 5)

AR originally planned for Armand to be a central figure and villain in Queen of the Damned but decided he wasn't evil enough (I think this is cute)

Armand was completely different. He is described as innocent and angelic and in his twenties (However the final version of IWTV simply describes him as young, being 17 was added later and I personally always see him as early 20s bc of how I pictured him reading IWTV)

Armand was originally only from Venice, not Kiev, son of a guilder and later living with his maker for over a century (similar to what we learn in TVL and TVA but not nearly as dark, no sex trafficking or pedophilia)

Louis and Armand originally genuinely have a good relationship, traveling the world together after leaving Paris, and at one point Louis convinces him finally that vampires are inherently evil, he offers to go into the sun with Louis T_T However Louis cannot bring himself to do that so he adopts Armand's morals

Armand shows Louis a way to humanely kill and drink, by identifying "Those Who Want To Die" and Louis describes going to a cemetery and finding the mother of a child who had passed doesn't want to live anymore and Armand gently kills her. However Louis decides he simply likes it better when is victims fight back

The original ending of IWTV is Louis mentions that he hates going back to New Orleans because it was where he met his mortal love, but he never elaborates on who this was. (??? Anne???) As the interview ends around there Daniel notices the sun coming up and starts backing out of the room while Louis keeps talking because he was still afraid of Louis eating him. XD Louis finally realizes what was going on when Daniel makes it all the way to his car XD and is angry with him and asks for the tapes back. Armand arrives and says Daniel should have the tapes, that what Louis really wants is the tale to be public. Louis and Armand get in a cab and ride off into the night together (I also wonder if the end of s1 being Louis and Armand holding hands in front of Daniel is an allusion to this)

AR also points out that the book has large tonal differences, she wondered if it was an issue but then decided she liked it, saying Louis is a cynical cold person who warms up and then grows cold again throughout the novel. This character arc was never intentional though

Anne Rice says two main inspirations for IWTV are Richard Matheson's "Dress of White Silk" which is from the POV of a child vampire, and the movie "Dracula's Daughter" which had a tragic and sensual vampire.

The original IWTV short story (which you can still read) is very different, the vampire is not like Louis but based on Oscar Wilde, she intended the tone to be ironic and witty. The vampire enjoys killing and tells the reporter that, and like in the books says "the room the interview is in is just a room" but at the end reveals he is waiting for the occupant to come home so he can kill him, and the reporter runs away frightened. Lestat does not really exist other than as a nameless maker and Claudia and Armand also do not exist

The Vampire Companion does not really have "first draft" comments on any of the other books (only the first 4 had been out when it was published). I imagine it is because an author's first book is usually subjected to more edits and rewrites while they are struggling to get it published, but once the foot is in the door you don't have to do that as much (and AR took this a step further with firing her editor after becoming a NYT bestseller!).

However there were a few things about characters who appear later which I found interesting:

In the Daniel entry she says she wanted to explore Armand and Daniel's relationship more in future books, which we know she never does :(

Gabrielle was deliberately based on AR's own mother. Her mother was a feminist activist, often making AR feel like her mother paid more attention to her activism than to her, which mirrors Lestat wishing Gabrielle would teach him to read so he can enjoy the escapism. However both Gabrielle and AR's mother were unhappy in their domestic motherly roles, which is reflected in Gabrielle. AR's mother was also an alcoholic and died when AR was young of complications due to alcoholism. AR deliberately wrote Lestat saving his mother from death by making her a vampire, and Gabrielle being freed from the expectations of her gender as a wish she could have done the same with her mother T_T

David is also meant to be her father, he was dying due to some heart disease at the time she wrote TOTBT (he was not actually dead yet but I think was by the time she published or shortly after) and David is described as dying due to similar causes. So she wrote once again one of her parents not dying but becoming immortal. TOTBT is also much darker compared to TVL and QOTD, the previous two Lestat narrated books, and her grief helps explain why (but also "AR pls go to therapy" challenge)

I also find this excerpt on Anne Rice projecting onto Lestat interesting bc this is VERY similar to what Gabrielle says to Lestat: "As a writer I put myself into Lestat much more deeply than I had put myself into Louis because I was dealing with aggression in Lestat, and dealing with my own repressions. Lestat was my male hero who could do what I couldn't. I wanted to get out of the mindset of the passive grieving person [from when she was writing IWTV]." :/

#vc #vampire chronicles #interview with the vampire #the vampire lestat #queen of the damned #tale of the body thief #louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt #the vampire claudia #the vampire armand #daniel molloy #gabrielle de lioncourt #david talbot #amc interview with the vampire #iwtv #amc iwtv #tvl #qotd #the vampire companion

[panlight]

If every vampire were to have a special gift, which would be unique for them, which would Rosalie, Emmett, Esme and Carlisle have?

I've answered a version of this before but it's fun to revisit!

I think I usually say that Rosalie would have something similar to Heidi of the Volturi's gift, that her enhanced beauty would get some psychic element and spill over to superpower. And I still think that is the most logical thing, but it's not super exciting. It's predictable. Rosalie is also big into family, and into justice (sometimes revenge), and she's very determined. Any of that stuff could have been enhanced, too. Maybe she has an always correct gut instinct about people in dangerous domestic situations. She doesn't 'hear' things like Edward or 'see' them like Alice, she just knows. And can intervene.

Likewise the obvious answer for Emmett is that his super strength somehow spills over into a superpower. Maybe even MORE strength or he himself is so strong he's basically invulnerable to attack (can't bite through his skin, can't rip him apart). The other option is that the strength is not the focus, like how Edward for some reason is also super fast even though he already has mind-reading. Emmett can be super strong and have something else entirely. Maybe a cheerful aura like Didyme had, or maybe being near Emmett puts you in a party mood, or a work-out mood, or just makes you feel chill and supported. Literally gives off Bro Vibes, but in a good way.

Honestly have always kind of felt like the shield thing would have worked for Esme almost better than Bella. Bella loves fiercely, sure, and she has her protected mind, but Esme loves EVERYONE with the intensity that Bella loves Edward (not romantic in all cases obviously, just talking about the strength of Esme's love) and with that love would come with a desire to protect. A shield could do that. But maybe it's more like Renata's shield, it doesn't protect against psychic attacks, but physical ones. Or maybe Esme's love just radiates out of her so strongly that she could stand in front of those she loves and enemies just . . . can't bring themselves to hurt her to get to the others. Makes everyone instantly remember their mother or a beloved parental/familial figure and the line of Volturi guards just turn into blubbering messes as Esme comforts them.

Again the obvious one with Carlisle, I think, is some kind of healing ability. I know I've said this myself before. But he wasn't a doctor in his human life, that's a choice he made after becoming a vampire. The literally meaning of compassion is "to suffer with," so maybe his gift would be more of a thing where he can take the suffering from someone else by feeling it himself. Whether he actually takes the illness and cures them, or just takes the pain so they aren't suffering anymore, idk. I mean he's a vampire so he can't die, and I don't think any illness could survive the stone-and-venom environment of SM's vampire physiology anyway. And there's a theory floating around fandom that he does have a power in the sense that he unconsciously draws people to him; thus building a family and building allies and being able to blend in with the human world when humans usually subconsciously find vampires off-putting.

But at the end of the day I like that they don't have any supernatural powers. I feel like sometimes the superpower just overwhelms the character and they get reduced to that rather than a more nuanced personality. I think Carlisle's more interesting and impressive because he has accomplished what he has accomplished without one. I think Esme keeping a family united by love rather than a 'real' power is lovely. That Emmett bringing the fun because that's just WHO he is and not what he can do is cool. That Rosalie is just determined and focused and smart and THAT's why she is what she is and does what she does rather than some power is awesome.

#asks

[zevranunderstander]

one thing abt bg3 and I don't know if I'm making sense here but I just can't get myself to really care about astarion and gale, because they're both just dragon age characters with less edge and intrigue to them

gale is the caring, bookish, very domestic and romantic, cat-loving, bisexual mage that anders from da2 is, and both their stories have them commit a thing they personally deem as unforgivable and end up in a very suicidal state for parts of their respective story. but where anders' story was probably the most defining arc of the whole franchise, gale's feels so safe and bland in comparison? we don't really see much of gale's story and character development on screen, we just see him struggle with the aftermath of his backstory, while dragon age 2 on the other hand had you watch anders' entire character development from a just-escaped self-centred mage, to a caring healer with revolutionary tendencies, to a person who has become so fed up with the political landscape that he blows up a church

like, dragon age actually asked real questions with anders' storyline, and genuinely sympathized with his reasons for committing an act of terrorism (I'm ignoring inquisition on purpose) and bg3 just feels like a very shallow copy of a trope of character?

and for some reason this irks me even worse, but astarion is just. zevran and fenris mashed together into The Most Marketable Romance Option. Astarion feels to me, like someone did market research on how to make the most well-beloved character. And funnily enough, whenever at least I see a poll on dragon age romances on here, zevran and fenris are ALWAYS the two top contenders, and their stories are similar, but still both really meaningfully deep to me in a way that I just *couldn't* connect with with astarion's storyline.

I don't mean to say that the game doesn't use these themes, but astarion is a vampire, because romancing vampires sells, and he is sassy and funny and bitchy, because that sells, and he is white (as opposed to fenris and zevran) because that is a lot safer and more marketable than him being a character of color. He is an elf, because romancing elves sells. I genuinely even believe that the reason astarion is a rogue is because zevran is a rogue and because rogues are 'sexy', just because I just don't think the class really fits him all that much and there could have been way more compelling classes he could have been (like a bard who's based on seduction, his backstory doesn't really explain why he's a rogue?). His plotline is so heavily overlapping with two really beloved dragon age characters, probably also because the story felt really safe and 'proven'.

And I do think that astarion's storyline stands on it's own, but it brings so little new stuff to the table. the idea to use vampirism as a stand-in for his oppression was cool, and that astarion's storyline interacts with other victims of his abuser (which zevran's and fenris' storylines didn't do very much) was really nice, and I did like the choice for the endings because astarion has both more agency than the other two characters but he also has worse choices. but that's kinda it? it just feels like astarion's plotline is a a bit more developed version of zevran's and fenris' plotlines?

zevran and fenris both have a former master hunting them, and explicitly were slaves before escaping and both struggle with the fear of "am I really free?", and the looming threat that their master is actually hunting them - and the group they just joined. and due to their life full of abuse (in both cases sexual abuse is at least implied) they have tremendous problems with intimacy and vulnerability. zevran's storyline EXPLICITLY is about how he had to use sex all of his life to survive and sees it as entirely transactional and you need to actually get to know him better to realise he's not sleeping with you because he likes you all that much, but because he *doesn't want you to fucking kill him* and sees this as a way to come across as more likeable and trustworthy. zevran is also entirely desensitized with the combination of sex and murder specifically, because he is an assassin, who used sex to survive. both have tattoos given to them to show that they are property, but fenris' tattoos are also magical inscriptions that are key to his master's power and his master would hunt him to the end of the world to get him back, because of the tattoos.

and this is just kind of a personal opinion, but astarion being a white character felt for these comparisons alone like chickening out and 'playing it safe'. there is no way in hell that the writers of bg3 were not aware of these two characters specifically, because, you know, dragon age is literally the biggest other franchise of their genre. and you cannot tell me that the way astarion is written was a total accident, because you do not by accident write a copy of two of the most well-beloved romances of the fantasy RPG genre. and baldur's gate 3 is kind of sparse about the companions' racial diversity in general, and then them copying over the blueprint to two characters of color and making their character white - the character they make the most content for and put on all the marketing - just feels so personally rude to me. especially because the only actual character of color they have on their roster has half of the content that astarion has, and generally seems like an "oops we forgot to add a character of color" character last minute addition, who wasn't even really part of the early access tests apparently

#myposts #i dont really wanna tag this as the fandom because like i dont wanna start shit but like. these 2 characters especially piss me off #because they are just copies of characters that are kinda better than they are?

[lorkai]

Hi! Can I request idia and vil x f reader angst? (Seperately) She can conjure ghosts and control them but it's taken a toll on her, the right half of her face has turned half dead, like the norse goddess hel Her appearance was important to her and now she's insecure, in the Halloween event people think she's in costume and kids get scared if her. This makes her incredibly upset, how does idia react?

*･゜ﾟ A/N: I took a while with this request, but it was because I really liked it and wanted to write it this way or that and I couldn't decide which version was better lol. Also I have to say I had a lot of fun writing this, thanks for requesting and I hope you like it! (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

This ability wasn't something you asked for or wished for - if anything, you wanted more to go home than gain magical powers. And that magic was a consequence of something that happened as soon as you arrived in this world, the blot monster had hit you with a weird blow and you thought that was the cause of your powers; you could control and even conjure ghosts now. Crowley didn't try hard enough to look for satisfying answers and between surviving with what little you had, having to deal with your three idiots and doing the director's job, you didn't have time to look for answers either.

The sight reflected in front of you was disgusting and made your stomach churn every second you stood in front of the mirror and touched the non-existent skin of your face. The sensation was unpleasant and all you could think about was how you turned into a freak, this was a result of your magic. After all, everyone knows that magic usually takes something in exchange for the power it offers and the price you were paying just wasn't fair.

In the beginning this skill was incredible. You could defend yourself against the other students by controlling the ghosts or invoking them to help you, to defend you. At first you didn't feel so different from the other students because you also possessed a different kind of magic, although everything was strange that no one seemed to understand, but now it has all turned into a nightmare. Everyone has already started to notice and comment on his unusual appearance, especially during the halloween party that Professor Crewel has planned.

“Wow Yuu, your makeup looks incredibly scary.” Epel had said, dressed as a vampire.

“What is that on your face?” Ace laughed, pointing at you.

"Your face looks so weird with that on it. What are you dressed up as, death?" Sebek, without the slightest tact or delicacy, asked with a frown and a look full of judgment.

The problem was... you weren't wearing a costume. The flesh and skin of your face had started to dissolve a few weeks ago and in a few days the skeleton on the right side of your face would be visible for all to see. You have tried many things to stop the progression of this disease or curse, or whatever else is happening to you, but to no avail. And sitting on your bedroom floor you wonder why this has to happen to you, you were absolutely beautiful. But not anymore.

Now you were something far from the ideal and perfect that you've grown used to and it makes you cry loud enough for the sound to echo throughout the room.

Let the festivities splinter! May the world explode! May Crowley's pillows be warm when he lies down to sleep!

Right now all that matters is letting the pain leave you, just as you're sure Ace and Deuce will leave you when they notice your face isn't pretty anymore. Or how people will whisper more about you. No matter how much you rub your eyes or take a deep breath, the tears don't stop falling and in the distance, you hear a peculiar noise. The sound of footsteps.

Your heart beats wildly inside your chest as you wait for the person to walk right by, not stop at your door or try to enter. You don't have the strength to get up and you don't even have the strength to scream that they don't come in as soon as the doorknob moves, you doesn't have the strength to hide your tearful eyes from his soft gaze nor to push him away when his arms encircle your waist and he pulls you into a hug, letting you cry until your heart is calm again.

You lift your face to see him:

Vil Schoenheit stared back at you. Silky hands caressed your cheeks as if to feel your skin - or lack thereof. And you know he can understand everything with just one look; your pain, your fear and all your insecurity. His lilac eyes carry a softness that makes you shed a few more tears because even now, with your horrible appearance, Vil seems to love you as always.

As if nothing had changed. As if you were still the same beautiful girl he met months ago.

"Don't look at me that way… Not like that…" You pull away from his hands, which bring you so much comfort, and hug your knees even tighter, hiding your face from his gaze. You didn't want him, the epitome of perfection, looking at you right now. “I look awful! You, uh, should leave me and go.”

“I'm sorry, my sweet potato,” he whispers into your ear, tucking your hair behind your ear. His gestures are calculated not to stress you out further and you know it, listening to him hum and his hands working wonders on your tense shoulders. “But I won't leave you alone. Not when I know you're going to keep swimming in these bad thoughts instead of focusing on what's important.”

You chuckled. "And what would be important, Schoenheit?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Vil smiles and cups your chin, guiding your face towards his. His soft lips brush over yours, his eyes locked on yours. "Beauty comes in many forms, not just the outer appearance, but the inner appearance as well. You are still beautiful in my eyes and if you can't see that for yourself, I'll make sure you do."

Idia Shround can be many things. But dense isn't one of them, he knew something was wrong when you repeatedly didn't want to spend time playing with him in his room anymore or when you insisted you couldn't go to school because you were sick. Small lies at first that he chose to ignore because he thought he was being influenced by his habit of overthinking things, sitting beside you and holding your hands now, Idia knows he should have sought you out sooner, listened to you more early.

At least she wouldn't be in pain, that's what he thought. It's a little awkward to sit in a dark room and say nothing, but he's afraid he'll say the wrong thing and make the situation worse than it is.

"You should go." You murmur to him, softly. There are no more tears to cry and no voice to scream, at that moment the only thing you want is to wrap yourself in the covers and go into hibernation for long months so you don't have to deal with the pain. "I bet you're disgusted by my face. I mean, it's kind of repulsive, it's weird to the touch. Maybe it's contagious too."

He can't say he's seen anything like it, but he's pretty sure it's not contagious. His fingers are quick as he searches your condition through the S.T.Y.X database, determined to help you this time.

"Yuu-shi, you really are a funny person," he murmurs, holding your hand even tighter as he looks at you with great appreciation. The same look you loved. "my hair is literally fire and you think it's cute, I smile like a maniac and you said it's your favorite smile, and you have every reason not to like someone like me. But I don't see any reason not to like or accept it you, both then and now. Say what you will, I'll still stand by you and make you realize it."

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #twst idia shround #twst vil schoenheit #twst vil #twst idia #idia x mc #idia x yuu #idia x reader #vil x mc #vil x reader #vil x yuu #fem reader #fem mc #female reader #lorkai headcanon #lorkai imagine #diavolosbaby

[heraldofcrow]

Annalise 👑 🩸

Please 👁️👁️

Send Me a Character

And I will tell you my:

First impression

Impression now

Favorite moment

Idea for a story

Unpopular opinion

Favorite relationship

Favorite headcanon

—

Thank you, you know I’ll take any chance to talk about my girl!!

Ok, so I really love Queen Yharnam because she is just so cool and she gets me and she looks like my deceased grandmother and I love vampire queens and the vibes are immaculate, plus I stan women in white dresses automatically because it’s a trope in Gothic literature and my favorite color is red and—

SHIT WRONG CHARACTER!!!

Ok, sorry. You-know-who is gonna kill me for this but ANYWAY!!

—

My first impression of Annalise was…intimidated? She seemed so cold and arrogant, like she really had no actual care for us as the main character and just maybe wanted to use us for our skill. Don’t get me wrong, I loved her because she looked and sounded badass, but I wasn’t exactly in love with her full character yet. I mostly just enjoyed her aesthetic.

My impression now is SO different. I think after really learning the lore, seeing the cut content version of Annalise, looking at her concept art, hearing all of her dialogue, I see a very different character. A very cynical and ruthless lady with a lot of tragedy in her life that forced her to put up an icy front, but you can even see her kinder side when she says we are dear to her and that she considers us her kin, someone that she wants to share the chamber with. You could read that as manipulation, as though she were just flattering us so that we serve her, but something tells me that’s how the Church would describe it, and we all know how they think about her already.

My favorite moment with Annalise is when she says “moon-scented hunter” in the way she does because I don’t know why, it just sounds so elegant, but also when she rejects our proposal because she doesn’t want us to get hurt…awww. (But okay, imagine if we rejected guys like that in real life like, “I’m sorry I can’t date you, because I can’t risk your life,” LOL. It would be so ambiguous and scary to hear jsks).

An idea for a story…oh dear. I think I traumatized you enough already with that ONE headcanon story, so I’ll talk about a nicer one. I think it would be cool to show a snippet of Annalise’s youth and her friendship with Maria, which I headcanon was pretty strong, but I would also love to cover what happened when Maria left Cainhurst and how Annalise reacted to that. There could be some good drama!

Unpopular opinion…hmmm. I don’t vibe with the interpretation I’ve occasionally seen about Annalise being some kind of vampire seductress actually, and I don’t think her knights were just simps because of that. I see her as having been very strict with them and distant, but also benevolent enough to reward them for their work. I don’t think she messed around with them or their feelings. She promised them blood for their health and long life, but any thoughts of marriage and intimacy were forbidden. She just wasn’t the sensual siren the Church thought she was, but I sadly feel like parts of the fandom share that same view. *cough* reddit *cough*

Oh boy, well my favorite relationship headcanon anyway is….well…you know. LOOK YES I SHIP THEM, but hear me out, there is something very angsty imagining Bloody Crow and Annalise to be the last remnants of Cainhurst, and Crow being the last knight…but also Annalise’s hidden partner. I know I said earlier that Annalise didn’t mess with her knights, but that’s why Crow is different because I see him as independent, and with his own unique identity. That is, there was no other “Cainhurst Crow.” He chose to be a knight for Annalise much later in his life and carried out her wishes because he wanted to, not because he was already in her service. Yes, I see them as my traumatized blorbos surviving against all odds together and doing their best to preserve the Vileblood line. It’s meant to be really tragic and heart-wrenching instead of just “shippy.” I love them and their stupid helmets ;-;

I think my overall favorite headcanon for Annalise was that she actually did live even after the Alfred thing because the Hunter canonically revived her, and eventually she did have her Child of Blood. I just think that after she full-filled that wish, and was free, despite having lost everything else, she raised her child and saved her family line, living out her days with her little one and very quietly rebuilding her kingdom. I just don’t see why this couldn’t happen. Yes, it’s a bit happy for Bloodborne, but I mean, we also ascend and seemingly are meant to lift humanity into its next childhood, so maybe in that new world, Annalise’s bloodline endured. She is immortal after all, so what else would she do? I think she was one of the few that made it and good for her. <3

—

Ok, that’s everything! Thanks again for asking about my blorbo, Queen Yharnam 🥺🖤

#ik i’m evil #no regrets #lol #asks #mutuals #ask game #bloodborne #queen annalise

[theoscout]

So I finished reading all three of the Strahd stories written by PN Elrod and I have a lot of thoughts (btw I call her version 'Caretaker Strahd' and consider him a different character to 5e Strahd)

SPOILERS FOR THE STORIES UNDER THE CUT

strahd is so definitely a gamer, I could totally imagine him showing off his setup and pc if he lived in modern times

he'd have those cool ones that flash when you type on them and really expensive gear too, he's somehow found out how to play video games despite computers not even being invented in his time

That thing he does where he possess someone else is SO UNDERUSED omg, what are the limits? Can he possess wolves and bats if he turned into them first? Possess dire wolves?? Dragons???

since vampiric charm in 5e only works on humanoids I'd assume that his version of it also only works on humanoids, except that he was able to possess another vampire in the same way so maybe his works on undead too

WHICH MEANS HE CAN BUILD A FLESH GOLEM AND POSSESS IT

fanfic where Strahd builds a mecha and kicks ass

i'd imagine his first mecha would be a robotic version of himself that uses the weird potion as fuel so he can go to other domains (and also has a self destruct button to avoid another 'Azalin's ANGY' incident

his second one might be a giant wolf with him in wolf form piloting it with the magic ball, because a four legged mecha is easier to build than one with 2 legs

also I can't shake the thought of him asking for Barovians to pay taxes in the form of blood donations

I mean for one thing he wants to survive and not let people know he's a vampire but come on are you going to eat your townsfolk when you run out of prisoners?

it's slightly better when he says that he can use his mind control powers to make them forget that he drank from them but stillllllll :(

according to Azalin the most experimentation he's done about going into the mists is the thing with holding a string and running in, and tbh that's like the only thing I agree with Darcelus on

like dude you've been alive for hundreds of years and you're too horny about some redhead to investigate wtf is going on?

makes you wonder how much he knows about the sunlight burning him as well

if I were a vampire I would be testing this out every day and try to develop some kind of sunlight proof outfit to go outside with, and if people ask what I'm wearing I'll just say I have a skin condition

OH and since people are bound to take notice of his mechas he's building, maybe he can excuse this by saying he needs blood to power his mechas

so now he doesn't need to bite his villagers :D

and about the way he can make an outfit that sunlight proofs him- I have an experiment in mind. If he can metabolise, then he can cut pieces of his hair and put them under sunlight and look at them under a magnifying glass to see how they burn. And he can slot materials such as cloth etc between the sunlight and his hair to see if it blocks out the sun, and maybe he leaves it there for a few hours to see if it ACTUALLY blocks out the sun and isn't just burning there but slower

maybe the vision part will be harder to do since IDK if UV ray resistant glass even exists here, but maybe he just casts a spell on the costume so he can see out of it

and he can just put on an entire suit of armor over it assuming it's cloth and then he can go out in public in daylight- he doesn't need to breathe so suffocation isn't a problem

alternatively he can hide his ridiculous clothing by casting disguise self but he probably has already solved that problem

i sure hope vampires don't sweat

I don't think they do but if he does, I don't think he'll like it one bit

I lowkey headcanon him as autistic because he's good at keeping a straight face, hates being social (to the point where he will throw letters at people from the shadows rather than talking to them directly), once stared for ages at a wall because he was angy, identifies with animals more than people, and idk he probably has some sensory issues from how strongly he reacts to certain smells

or maybe I just can't feel pain idk lol

i wonder if Sergei and/or Tatyana were polyamorous, he sure as hell never asked them first

wonder how much it would explode his head if it turns out centuries later that they were poly all along and he killed Alek and Sergei for nothing

:(

but also >:]

Strahd said that kissing women felt nice but he doesn't really want to do it because he hungers for blood and he has to repress it, why does he hunger for people aside from Tatyana it seems?

hmmmmmm I have never ever seen ANYONE react to a person irl like how Strahd reacts to Tatyana, and it seems like I'm not the only one who finds it sus. Not just like in 'gee you really shouldn't be this obsessed over a girl' kind of sus, sus to the point where people theorise that she's a succubus or something. SO I'm thinking, does Strahd look inside and wonder why he's so attracted to Tatyana? like... he's not very curious or scientific the way Azalin is, so he probably didn't investigate it and he isn't the introspective type AT ALL so there maybe isn't a lot of looking into it that he did

my headcanon is that something happened between him and Tatyana in another life, maybe he was already cursed from there or something

because his crime wasn't that bad in comparison to other darklords.... killing two people vs mass murder

crack theory- Tatyana is a darklord as well and stuck in the same domain as Strahd, in a past life she cast a spell on him that made him fall in love with her madly, but her curse is that he will never be able to be with her and that she won't recognise him from the past life

because ngl her situation seems worse than Strahd in some ways

still I would REALLY love to know if there was any more background to Strahd's obsession over her other than 'tatyana's hot'

just scrolled to the top and remembered that since Strahd has some sick writing skillz, he would make an amazing youtuber as well

he'd be able to write something like the DSMP for money and entertainment purposes

that is a cursed line why did i write that lmao

wonder how he'd do as a streamer

I don't think he'd be a streamer since he seems to love his privacy and his autobiographies seem reserved for meeting people he really trusts and showing them his life story without having to sit down and explain it through because he hates social stuff

so his autobiographies are partially propaganda but really it has a lot of secrets so it's possibly to get people to like him

Azalin said that Strahd had a weird/ random sense of humor so I would really like to see how he responds to memes or if he would make them

Strahd REALLY goes out of his way whenever possible in his autobiographies to be like "actually no I'm not that nice, I'm doing this semi nice thing because of xyz" to the point where I'm suspecting he's trying to cover up the fact that he cares about stuff more than he actually does but he's trying to be intimidating

he obviously feels emotions and is sad about Sergei and Alek but he's an emotional repression person and probably tries to hide ANY kind of pain that isn't Tatyana related

I really want to know what would happen if he met Sergei or Alek's ghost.................................................

I feel like a bunch of scenes in the books may have been for fanservice to some degree lol (cough cough strahd taking off his shirt cause he doesn't want it to get ruined by swords cough)

idk what Strahd has going on for Van Richten but it's funny how he just saw one random guy and went 'ok I trust you, here's my entire life story' twice

another user said Strahd was trying to seduce Van Richten because of how he let him go free after Van Richten read his first autobiography, then probably arranged an illiterate thief to carry his other autobiography to the exact bookstore where Van Richten likes to hang out so he could read it in the perfect time frame, and then send a minion to pick it up afterwards lol

TWAA was so full of cartoon physics it was funny to imagine lol

Why did Strahd imagine such oddly specific scenarios such as Azalin going mountain climbing while casting spells and himself trying to grab a carrot off Azalin while Azalin twirls it around on a fishing rod like Strahd's a minecraft pig

Strahd's so done with Azalin by the end he just lets Azalin bow his spectral form like a sockpuppet :sob emoji:

#strahd von zarovich #sergei von zarovich #tatyana federovna #i strahd #I strahd the war against azalin #pn elrod #books #my posts #azalin rex #caretaker strahd #that's my tag for anything elrod strahd related #one thing I've noticed about how much I think about the books now #is that I'm pretty sure that even Caretaker Strahd can't stand me #i mean a lot of people irl can't stand me and they aren't even aloof aristocratic vampires with ptsd #so being able to read his autobiographies and see a bit of his thought patterns is something I'd most likely never do even irl #Even If I Literally Met Someone Just Like HIm #rudolph van richten #ravenloft

[thenightling]

Mayfair witches first episode review

I just got done watching the first episode of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches.  I have to say it IS better than the Interview with the Vampire TV series in regard to faithfulness to the books.

 I never really liked the characters in the Mayfair novels. I couldn’t attach myself to them the way I could Anne Rice’s vampires, especially with some of the things Rowan does in the later books, which I never could quite forgive- such as when she murdered her own Taltos child after the child had literally nursed her back to health.  As far as I can tell The Mayfair witches TV series is a lot more faithful to the boks than the Interview with the vampire TV series.  Try and also keep in mind I was fourteen-years-old the last time I read The Witching Hour, Lasher, or Taltos.   And twenty-one when I read Blood Canticle (the novel where Lestat and Rowan finally meet and is, frankly, the worst book in The Vampire Chronicles). The biggest change, thus far, is the characters Aaron Lightner (of The Talamasca) and Michael Curry have been merged together. I actually don’t mind this change too much as the new character of Ciprien Grieve is interesting and compelling in his own way.  I hope he survives as Rowan’s romantic interest like Michael Curry did in the novels, and doesn’t die the way Aaron Lightner died.  

I know that merging Michael Michael Curry and Aaron Lightner together is a pretty big change for a lot of people but other than that it’s fairly recognizable to the original book, much more so than the Interview with the vampire series.

Considering my not-very-much attachment to the Mayfair Witch books I actually wouldn’t mind some big deviations with this one. In the books many of the characters were unlikable, incestuous, and just plain boring.  So far the new amalgam character of Ciprien Grieve is the most interesting thing since he’s also the biggest deviation. The Talamasca, thus far, though so far mysterious, is being portrayed better than it was in the Queen of the damned movie (2002) where they accidentally used the motto of The Watchers from Highlander the series (”We observe and record but never interfere”).  This new show seems to remember the roots of The Talamasca where they were inspired by the real organization of the SPR / ASPR (Society for Psychical Research).

It’s not bad so far.  It hasn’t reached any of the plot points yet that I disliked like the books. So far we have Rowan’s power to kill with her mind awakening, and the backstory of her biological mother, Deirdre Mayfair, which is just as tragic as I remember it being in the book The Witching Hour.

The Mayfair Emerald has a new redesign.  It’s not just a heavy rectangular emerald.  It’s also in a setting made to look like a large key.     

It’s scary to think of poor Diedre as being doped up with Thorazine all those years in what appears to be a chemically induced version of Locked-in Syndrome.   

And so far Rowan is more sympathetic than her literary counterpart. I hope it stays that way.  I always thought of the character as kind of cold and selfish and a bit narcissistic in the books.  And I never quite got over how in Blood Canticle she didn’t so much as show remorse for the Taltos child she murdered but instead wanted a “live specimen” to study and dissect.  Lestat’s attraction to her was completely “forced.”  And by that I mean it felt inorganic.  The attraction had no basis in established plot or character personalities.   I strongly feel it was one of those things Anne Rice later regretted as she later quietly pretended it had never happened.

Anyway, yeah, I may keep watching, if for nothing else but I kind of like the new Talamasca agent.  I wonder if he’ll turn up in the Interview with the vampire TV series when the story finally catches up to modern day.

#Anne Rice #Mayfair Witches #Interview with The Vampire

[ntaras]

"i wouldn’t say she answered to no one in the og timeline. she did answer to “the elders”, as she was the one commanded by them to destroy datusha but i do think it’s not the same as the misguided loyalty she shows in the new timeline. she is very submissive to the coven in the new timeline which is a trait that doesn’t suit her." - exactly ! They've made her come off so.......helpless. Meek, almost,which is very much not her. OG Nitara didn't have a singular fuck to give about anyone that wasn't her or Vaterneus. Did she answer to the elders? Yes. Did she do as she pleased regardless? Also yes.

" like would she obey them? yeah, she has and does. but she’s very blindsided and that utter loyalty seems to by why she’s not manipulative and clever anymore- she’s *just* really desperate due to that loyalty. which once again, don’t like. og nitara would never" - that's the other thing. The way that she seems to have no self-reliance at all........it's one thing to answer to a council,but it's another to be a spineless enabler as you do so. I know she grew up under the system and all, but they could have played with that a bit.

She should be more........self-aware,I guess. Maybe a case where she knows that the Coven is slowly destroying her home,but at the same time,it benefits her to play by their rules. She's loyal to her home and people,but she's also not willing to lose whatever favour and status she has with the Coven as their seeming chosen one. Let her be selfish.

Or maybe bring family dynamics into her story. What was it like for Nitara being raised by a military general like her mother? What expectations were put on her as a result of her mother being so accomplished and illustrious? Why does the Coven have such a vested interest in her? Is that due to her mother's prestige or Nitara's own achievements?

I think my main problem with this version of Nitara is the way she was bludgeoned by Dominic. At least give the woman something to do. That's all she needed. Give her a mission or purpose. Hell,bringing back the beef between her and Ashrah would have done wonders for them both in terms of development. One little scuffle in story mode is not enough. They can't stand each other as a rule,so let them fight.

i agree with pretty much everything you said. i want to believe that if nitara returns in future games they’ll perhaps delve somewhat into her growth/her character, but it’s clear she’s just some vampire lady to dominic so hopes are low.

i would actually be interested in a plot line for her where she has to battle between being champion of the people or champion of the coven- and to actually choose between survival of the people which would mean going against the coven and eventually seeking full dependence from them or staying loyal to the coven in the comfort of their rule. like there’s some path for a story for her but like i said, changes are low of doing something with her. it took reptile like 30 years to not get his ass continuously kicked + kung lao still isn’t anything but the second best. nitara isn’t getting anything for a while lol

the beef between ashrah and nitara was so minuscule and we actually SAW them interact compared to armageddon where their beef was confined to written form and yet still gave soooooo many interesting concepts. like a couple paragraphs of text told us so much about them versus getting so little with them actually speaking to each other in the new game.

#she got the ultimate jobber curse </3 #ask #nitara

[maybeamiles]

Saw the last voyage of the demeter today. HOLY SHIT IT WAS FUN. 10/10 good first horror movie.

I am pleased to report that I was not too scared by it. The jumpscares were, well, jumpscares, but between knowing the monster in advance and not actually being scared of vampires, blood, or gollum-esque monsters, I was able to enjoy the movie and not be constantly looking over my shoulder when I got out of the theater.

(Of course, it helps that I live in the middle of a fucking desert and saw the 12 O'clock show. If I'd been in, say, Edinburgh and seen the evening show, I would probably be far more spooked.)

Anyways I have more thoughts but they are SPOILERS SO BE WARNED. THEY ARE UNDER A CUT FOR A REASON.

But if you want a TL;DR without the spoilers: Changes were made to the version we saw in Dracula, they were good and necessary changes, and Dr. Clements is going on my list of favorite characters who deserve a happy ending.

Alright, so yalls have seen the movie now? Okay let's go.

First of all, 10/10 for including a multicultural/multiracial cast. More period shows should do that.

Second of all, I love Dr. Clements. He is such a good protagonist for this story. He would fit in so well with the main dracula crew, and I now want to write a fanfiction where he meets Van Helsing in a bar somewhere and joins the Vampire-Hunting squad. Or bumps into the crew at the Abbey. That would be good, too.

It was fascinating to see Clements, a man of pure science, deal with the threat of the supernatural, and it was nice to see him go "this shouldn't be possible, but here we are, so I'm going to figure out why, and how to stop it." Then the more superstitious crew tried to blame anything other than what was in front of them. Him and Anna are a tiny microcosm of the whole Vampire-hunting crew, minus Van Helsing's expertise.

All of the new characters were good additions. Even the dog. I liked the little detail where, as things got more dangerous and the crew got whittled down, Anna put on mens clothes and integrated into the crew. And the stuff with the kid? GOD, THAT WAS HEARTBREAKING.

They did make some changes to the story of the crew. They didn't try to put blame on the first mate, they made the captain lose it a little bit over the death and vampirification of his grandson, they didn't have the captain tie himself to the wheel, and they didn't have anyone commit suicide in order to escape Dracula.

I think that these changes, while not the most accurate version of the original Demeter's story, worked very well. In the novel, the Demeter's story is dark foreshadowing, another glimpse at the terror that will be inflicted upon the main characters. They never learn the nature of the monster. That wouldn't work for a modern audience that would immediately think "vampire" the moment blood loss was mentioned. As such, we needed a sense of resolution that we wouldn't have gotten if they had just been "yep everyone died. We never see what killed them. Wow, that sucks."

There were even some changes to the vampire lore in dracula. Vampires are no longer repelled by crucifixes, and they burn in direct sunlight (which they don't do in Dracula). That makes Dracula a much more physical threat (and maybe means they actually had a chance of killing him).

The horror we got was very much a "bad things are happening, but we don't have the skills to fully stop them" kind of horror. The decision to have some of the crew members turn was amazing. It made things so much tenser when I realized there were two vampires they had to deal with, and then the scene where the kid turns and the captain kinda looses it? OUCH. And then Anna. Poor Anna. She had it so rough. I think she died in the water from cold or injuries or something, but her death was a very narratively satisfying end to her story.

And finally, the ending. GOD THAT ENDING. Logically, I know there's no way that Dr. Clements would survive if he actually found Dracula. He doesn't have the tools or knowledge to defeat him. But I still think it would be very cool to have a Dracula AU where he teams up with the main cast for whatever reason. I think this guy deserves a proper victory after everything. I had no clue how they would make an "everybody dies" story end in a satisfying way, but BOY did they pull it off. I want Clements to survive all future encounters with Dracula even if I know he shouldn't.

#last voyage of the demeter #movie review #dracula #horror movies #tw suicide mention #last voyage of the demeter spoilers

[hekateinhell]

"DA girl if you read all this lol bless you because you asked for thots and I guess I had them big time" but of course 🥹 a good @hekateinhell meta post (so basically, any @hekateinhell meta post) is like chicken soup for the soul.

Such a good point re: the use of "waif"! Lestat constantly thinks of Armand as a child or something close to it (specially in TVL) in a way that is very specific imo. He's obviously meant to look very young and boyish all the time, but the contrast between his looks and his personality, the sheer contradiction of his existence is so shocking to Lestat at first (so innocent, so seductive, so cruel), so it would make perfect sense for him to think of cult!Armand as a "filthy waif" in the context of a dirty, disheveled child.

"That's my all-time favorite Armand description btw" QUOTE OF ALL TIME. I tear up every simgle time I read it, starting from "this was the coven master, surely" lmao Anne was so outta pocket for that one 🤧

"some of my friends and I have this theory that she based Armand's later physical characteristics off of the character Alexi" I haven't read CoSB but I know of Alexi because of you of course! Honestly grateful for Alexi, who knows how Armand's whole backstory would've been like if it hadn't been for him 🥹

"you'd been seen in New York, as handsome and vigorous as you ever were. But I had to lay eyes on you to believe it." I love this one because I feel like the only other person who'd describe Armand this way is Armand himself. imo Louis' version of Armand and Armand's version of himself are actually very similar (and I can only imagine how rare that is) which goes to show just how well they know each other.

"And it's an excellent example of how differently we see ourselves, even superficially, compared to how others see us." Absolutely, specially for someone like Armand who's both been defined by the way others see him but is also at odds with the way he's perceived.

"Daniel romanticized vampirism and Lestat romanticized humanity and they're at opposite sides of the spectrum at these respective points in time" and it's fascinating when you put it like that because even though they were coming from opposite sides of the romantic spectrum, they both reached the same conclusion (and the fact that they probably exchanged notes on all things Armand while at NI as Lestat was writing QotD will never not drive me insane).

tysm for indulging me and turning my silly musings into monumental meta as usual xoxo DA ❤️

Lestat constantly thinks of Armand as a child or something close to it (specially in TVL) in a way that is very specific imo.

He really does! Armand was no innocent when Lestat met him, yet his natural manner with Lestat in the chapter when he's opening up to him and sharing his life story is incredibly vulnerable and childlike (i.e. how he holds the backs of his arms when he's upset, like he's comforting himself). And at the same time he's just recently massacred his own coven! For most of their subsequent canon interactions, I think Armand maintains this demeanor around Lestat — it's something intrinsic within their relationship.

I'm suddenly reminded of where Marius in B&G describes newborn vampire Amadeo (still in Venice, pre-cult) as having a faint cruelty in his eyes. Lestat in TVL sees much more of the evidence of Armand's capacity for cruelty than Marius ever did, and still it's Lestat who feels a greater responsibility towards Armand after the cult is destroyed. He tells Armand how to survive in the current era the best way he knows how to, he gives him gold and the theater, etc. He doesn't even blame him for what happened to Nicolas because he could perceive the level from which Armand was operating. I go back to this quote from MtD often because I find it so interesting that it's Lestat who's saying this to Armand, and to me it's a testament of the guilt Lestat carries when it comes to him, given how everything has played out thus far:

"Why do you care about me?" I asked. "After all the bad things I did to you? Why?"

I haven't read CoSB but I know of Alexi because of you of course! Honestly grateful for Alexi, who knows how Armand's whole backstory would've been like if it hadn't been for him 🥹

I'll just say Anne was so wild for all of that lmao especially as a woman, especially back then. But it's interesting looking at some of her other stuff and recognizing aspects of various VC characters' physical attributes and personality traits scattered throughout. Would I have liked to not have the most tragic blorbo of all time? Probably yes, pretty sure Armand Pain™️ has taken years off my life. Would he still be Armand though? No. (btw there's another sex slave called Laurent that really gives me Lestat energy even though he doesn't look like him js)

imo Louis' version of Armand and Armand's version of himself are actually very similar (and I can only imagine how rare that is) which goes to show just how well they know each other.

DA... fucking ouch, babe 🤧 but I think so too, given what we have to go on! Armand even calls Louis his mirror in TVA ('mirror of patient misery' to be exact). It might not be how others see Armand, or even how we see him, but it is how he saw himself at that point in time. I think as much as they share this all-encompassing love for Lestat, they're able to understand each other in a very simple, fundamental way that Lestat just can't.

"Daniel romanticized vampirism and Lestat romanticized humanity and they're at opposite sides of the spectrum at these respective points in time" and it's fascinating when you put it like that because even though they were coming from opposite sides of the romantic spectrum, they both reached the same conclusion (and the fact that they probably exchanged notes on all things Armand while at NI as Lestat was writing QotD will never not drive me insane).

You and me both! Since they never actually interact on paper and Lestat's so fucking traumatized post-Akasha, I always wonder how it played out in-universe — either way, I think they'd both agree Armand gives the best Puss-In-Boots Eyes™️

tysm for indulging me and turning my silly musings into monumental meta as usual xoxo DA ❤️

no THANK YOU for always giving me such excellent jumping off points every single time whether it's meta or filth or both!! the way I want to study your brain I swear 🥹♥️

#extra helping of chicken soup for you i hope ♥️ #you ask and hekate answers #dungeon anon #armand #vc

[nalyra-dreaming]

(Prev anon here again hi!)

What do you think the writers might do with regard to some of the unnamed vampires in part 2 of iwtv that kind of get retconned out in future books?

The couple vampires who Louis claims were ‘other fledglings of lestat’s maker’ that were the ones to help lestat survive and get the boat back to the US (I think?) which we know is impossible since Magnus had no other fledglings. I know I’ve seen some people suggest either Marius or even Gabrielle making an appearance to give him aid but I don’t even know how likely of an explanation we would even get about that part of lestat’s journey without him there to tell it 👀

My personal theory is that maybe a couple of the vampires lestat knew are indeed still at the theatre unlike in the book where armand said they’d left, vampires being in the coven with a bit of loyalty to lestat but not enough power to do anything would be intriguing, not to mention be a way for Louis and Claudia to hear about the 1790s

And then also the fledgling that lestat created to be his caretaker in NOLA which I can’t remember ever gets a mention again and would be kind of a big deal, I always thought the film excluding that detail actually made the situation make a lot more sense with lestat being completely alone. And it would make sense that Louis would make up or want to imagine lestat had somebody with him to ease any possible guilt of not being that person with him. We know lestat refutes that meeting even happening but we probably will see a version of it, right? It’s too good for the writers to give up such an angsty scene of a crippled lestat and Louis together like that, although imagining show louis and lestat playing that scene out breaks my heart, and the louis leaving him …it will hurt it will be a really bleak season

That it will be. Heartbreaking.

Ahhh yessss, the fledglings in NOLA.

TBH, there's a lot of possibilities for them to be in NOLA then, since there are a lot more vampires in the US, then.

IF that scene happens (and I agree, they'll likely do it), then ... IDK. I always felt it weird that Louis took these fledglings for Lestat's.

I mean, he surmises they are, because he hears one of them say "You can’t keep us with you!", but... I always felt like these might have been fledglings of someone else, young ones, (like Bruce sent over??), and helping him for a drop of his blood, actually.

Because weakened state or not, but Lestat still carries the Queen's blood, and in great quantities. And Marius'.

So I could see them keeping those vampires, though if it is explained might be another thing, since, as you said, Lestat disputes this to have happened at all.

We'll see. I could easily see Marius helping him cross over again, too. I'd love that, actually. And then, of course, that scene without any youngsters :)

#Anonymous #asks #amc iwtv #iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire amc #iwtv amc #iwtv 2022 #interview with the vampire #fledglings #ask nalyra

[isagrimorie]

I see that you’re a klonnie, so how do you think the tvdu as a whole would’ve changed if bonnie got pregnant with hope instead of hayley?

It's a fairly new ship for me!

But I haven't considered Bonnie getting pregnant with her version of Baby Hope. Mostly because of how Hope was born and how traumatic it was in canon for Hayley and Hope. I just don't want Bonnie to have that trauma for her on top of everything else.

I wonder how Bonnie would end up in New Orleans. IMO if Bonnie were to get pregnant with baby Hope there is no way I want Bonnie to remain in Mystic Falls, for a mystical pregnancy where she doesn't have any community.

Despite all the dangers NOLA has, the one thing NOLA has above Mystic Falls is an active witch community and that's something I wish Bonnie to have. A community and a support system. Especially since she won't be the only witch doing last-minute magical saves.

I think, maybe this is how it goes: Bonnie breaks free from whatever Professor Shane has over Bonnie, Klaus and Elijah have left for New Orleans early after Katherine's letter.

A month later Bonnie realizes she was pregnant after an ill-advised one-night stand with Klaus and out of confusion and fear she goes to NOLA for answers.

Here might be some changes:

Bonnie and Klaus are more of a love match than Hayley and Klaus's platonic, divorced parents' energy.

Bonnie and Davina become friends, and Bonnie doesn't tolerate Klaus's bullying of Davina. And while she appreciates Marcel and Davina's familial bond Bonnie doesn't like Marcel using Davina for his own ends.

Bonnie is repulsed by the French Quarter Witches' Harvest girl's practice. Later, she will learn more about the Treme witch covens (Vincent Griffiths' coven) which are more of Bonnie's liking. She also isn't that fond of the Ancestors.

Hayley still goes to New Orleans because of the crescents -- and the thing that keeps her alive is Elijah's attraction to Hayley. Although, I'm not sure what will make Hayley amenable to the Mikaelsons without the tie of Hope to the family.

I'll make Bonnie and Hayley friends. Hayley saves Bonnie when Agatha and other French Quarter witches try something against Bonnie.

The other difference would be, that Bonnie would be more of an active participant earlier in the series. Hayley took a while to find her footing because witches and vampires and having a miracle baby put Hayley on the backfoot until she found her pack.

Bonnie and Klaus's miracle baby will have the Qetsiyah-Bennet line and the Mikaelson witch line. I don't know if Bonnie's Hope would also be a wolf, or if canon!Hope was a wolf because both her parents are werewolves. But let's say Bonnie's baby Hope is also a tribrid but she's more powerful as a witch because of the Qetsiyah-Bennet power.

Originals!Sophie Devereaux is going to learn fast not to mess with Bonnie Bennet. Davina is spared getting the burden of becoming Regent of the Nine Covens before she's ready and Bonnie becomes the Regent.

A war with the Guerreras still ensue-- Bonnie was able to draw enough ancestral magic to survive Genevieve killing her as she gave birth to her baby Hope.

Bonnie helps Hayley against Celeste as they untangle the Crescent Pack curse, earning Hayley’s and the Crescent pack's loyalty.

Bonnie has no patience with Klaus and Marcel's territorial war and says as much, and as often.

Bonnie also wouldn't appreciate how Elijah talks about her child as if baby Hope was the second coming and as an instrument to Klaus's redemption and says as much to him.

Rebekah hasn't interacted with Bonnie much in Mystic Falls but she quickly realizes she likes Bonnie.

Elena and Caroline visit Bonnie regularly in NOLA and Bonnie's Hope grow up with a lot of aunts around her.

Bonnie also goes toe to toe with Dahlia because no witch is going to steal her baby from her, especially since she just got baby!Hope back.

Esther's also going to learn not to mess with Bonnie Bennet.

Baby!Hope will grow-up biracial which has its own challenges but she has a vast support network who will help her along and never leave nor disappear from her life.

Bonnie Bennet doesn't die in season 5 of this alternate Originals. Also, there's none of this nonsense where Klaus disappear from their child's life for years because he was ashamed. Bonnie will track him down until he confesses what happened -- that Hope saw him in the middle of a killing spree.

Freya and Bonnie also end up becoming friends and Freya welcome Bonnie in her heart as her sister. This means when they're all threatened no one relies on just Bonnie to do last-minute magical saves. On her side, Bonnie has all of the Nine Covens of New Orleans, Vincent Griffith, and Freya Mikaelson.

Vincent tells Bonnie early on: "You are not your friends nor your family's witch for hire. You have your own life. They can't expect you to always sacrifice your life for their lives."

No one in NOLA is impressed with the Salvatore brothers and everyone tells them so. This has little to do with Bonnie, it's just cathartic for me. (Look I like them in specific circumstances, especially Damon. I just find it hilarious how the Salvatore brothers think they're hot shit when they didn't even know werewolves existed).

#bonnie bennet #what if #asked and answered #ship: klaus and bonnie #tv: the originals #klaus mikaelson

[22drunkb]

Hi, sorry to bother you. Wanted to ask if you've watched/heard of House of the Dragon by any chance? I remember reading your masterful fairytale analyses on Hannibal back in the day, and having watched Hotd recently your blog was the first that came to my mind when I thought of reading some juicy after-viewing meta and analysis. Apologies in case you have already mentioned the show before and I missed the post. I would be also very interested in your tv and film recs. Any recent favorites?

Hi! Thank you for thinking of me; that is a real compliment.

I got off the GoT train around s3 or 4 (some discussion of that here) and, to be honest with you, endured the next several years of its dominating the culture pretty long-sufferingly, so I have not watched HotD. Sorry I don't have anything to offer you on that!

Recent favorites will also be slim pickings because I've been too slammed/burned out (and recently, sick) to watch much of anything lately, but:

For TV, right now it's pretty much Andor. I had also given up on Disney Star Wars, but heard so many interesting things about Andor specifically that I decided to give it a try and it is very good. Like, confusingly so. If you had asked me a year ago whether "psychosexual drama" (as opposed to like, props or design) was a phrase I would ever use in relation to Star Wars, I would have laughed, but here we are. It's received a lot of deserved praise for...pretty much everything (acting! set and production design! writing! political engagement!), but I still feel that some of the thematic aspects of the writing are underappreciated. It's not just politically intelligent, but it's experienced and funny in the ways it portrays activists, revolutionaries, and fascists. It shows you multiple sides of every character and sets them up to echo each other in interesting ways that make sophisticated, understated points about how people pursue their aspirations under their particular constraints. It has very quietly built an entire theme around the idea of "climbing" that links beautifully into Rogue One without having to announce it or wink about it. I am always a sucker for drama that is interested in responsibility and complicity, and this one is very interested in those things.

It was a couple years ago now, but I loved Station Eleven. Interestingly, in very different ways, this show and Andor share an interest in the theater troupe as storytelling device--which I always like, probably due to having imprinted on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at a young age. But it has a lot to say about surviving, and how to do it, and why. It handles time and memory and referentiality in interesting ways. All the technical aspects were excellent, but this show was specifically and especially robbed of an Emmy for costume design.

Speaking of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, I rewatched the movie version early in the pandemic and I think it's deeply misunderstood and underrated. I hadn't thought about this before, but I would bet it would appeal to a lot of Hannibal fans. Abstruse dialogue, tragic confrontation with inevitable Fate, self-awareness about being caught in the narrative, codependence, what's not to like.

I have not yet gotten myself together to watch the new Interview with the Vampire series, but I am 90% sure I and any Hannibal fan would love it.

Besides Hannibal, my standbys remain Black Sails, Person of Interest, and Leverage. Fleabag isn't a standby in the same way but is excellent in its entirety.

Some series I never finished for a variety of reasons but thought were great: The Expanse (still want to finish it!), GLOW, The Good Place, The Americans, Doom Squad, Killing Eve (though I hear they fucked up the ending). I think Mr Robot is very much worth watching for the first two seasons, after which point one should pretend it ceased to exist; same for Legion, except that the s2 finale also doesn't exist.

As far as reality TV goes, I genuinely love Blown Away. (Think Top Chef or GBBO, but for blowing glass.)

Movies: last year all I saw was Nope and Top Gun: Maverick, and I just watched Glass Onion the other night. Nope is wonderful (wrote something short about it here). I was already a stan for the original Top Gun (#problematic? yes! camp classic? also yes!), but even if you're not, it is an unbelievably layered and interesting cultural artifact in relation to Tom Cruise's Star Image, Whither America, and Whither the Film Business. Glass Onion was fun!

I feel the same way about The Green Knight and The Menu as I do about the IWTV series.

Some friends of mine have started asking me to recommend a classic 60s film every time I go over there, so I have recently had occasion to rewatch The Court Jester (spoof on medieval period pieces--there is no The Princess Bride without this movie--astoundingly clever songwriting, virtuoso comedic performances from Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, and Basil Rathbone, interesting gender and queer dynamics) and The Odd Couple (absolute comedy classic about two divorced friends who move in together and cannot handle it. Also much queerer than I realized as a child.) They both remain magnificent.

Hope something here hits for you!