#(also not including the vampirism in that statement cause I was speaking in general including pre-contract FGHFGH)

[vampire-sugar]

Overdue TQOTD post...

I finished the book back in April LOL but just never got the urge to write about it. It took me an excruciatingly long time to finish, and that was because the writing was very repetitive imo. AR has the ability to make a vampire origin story so so so so so boring. Which is crazy, because The Story of the Twins is interesting and Maharet and Mekare are interesting characters, but the writing I found pretty bland. Which, again, is crazy because the writing in the Akasha and Lestat chapters?? Fire! So I know AR can do it lol but unfortunately none of it really hit when it came to the Twins and a lot of other chapters. Those parts read a lot like the dreadful Marius chapter/section in TVL and that shit nearly bored me to tears (insane bc that's when you finally find out about TWMBK).

Under the cut I get into more spoiler-y stuff about the last two chapters, including some (not so) subtle racism in the writing + things I actually did like about the book (bc there were some!!).

----It's been a while so I don't fully understand my notes but this is what I managed to make of them----

So, last two chapters, we finally get the showdown between Akasha and the rest of the vampires, and really they just talk and try to reason with each other. Here are some of Akasha's reasons for why humans need vampires to intervene in their affairs.

"Millions have been exterminated by one small European nation on the whim of a madman", "Entire cities were melted into oblivion by bombs", "The screams of the hungry are deafening, yet unheard by the rich who cavort in technological citadels", "the idiot foolishness upon which the complacency of the rich has always been based"

I singled these quotes out because it shows that her issue is not just with men, but with the rich and powerful. And her solution, of course, is to kill all men except 1 in 100 and kill all male babies born except 1 in 100. I'm upset that there was nothing behind Akasha's motivations when it came to the Twins other than wanting power and control, and her true motivations in this case are also gaining power and control over the women that she would eventually rule over rather than actually caring about the things that she listed to Marius & Co. Regardless, that doesn't make what Akasha is saying untrue. She's right, obviously, these problems exist! But the vampires also bring up another great point which is that: humans are aware of these problems (are literally the victims of these problems), and are revolting! They are rising up against the rich and powerful. Those humans do not deserve to die.

Marius tells her: "But it is the outcry against these horrors which is the light I speak of."

And then shortly after he hits me with the: "For the Western world, not to resist would be unthinkable." And maybe I'm reading too much into it, but coupled with previous instances of weird quotes about the East, this reads to me as yet another casual statement of non-Western countries being hopeless or lost causes. Like, "of course you were able to mass kill in the East, Akasha! They just roll over and take whatever horrific thing is committed against them! But the West won't have it!" That's how it reads to me.

[Note: The vampires' problem with violent resistance in general is strange, considering they are literally vampires who kill to survive, but whatever. They keep saying violence is bad and I'm like don't you "violence" every day?]

Anyway. Another insane quote:

This is said by Lestat, in reaction to Khayman putting on the equivalent of a fake tan to look more human (Khayman is Egyptian and I think(!) was described as having dark skin at some point):

"Sometimes, he covered himself with a darkening pigment- burnt sienna mixed with a little scented oil. It seemed a crime to do so, to mar the beauty." ???????????? Insanely racist thing to think say Lestat/Anne.

Alright so overall, was an insanely long read, definitely my least favorite book out of the 3 I've read, and it has put me off reading any more even though I really want to... but what I did like was:

Jesse Reeves

Claudia haunting NOLA house

AKASHASTAT, those chapters were golden

Devil's Minion chapter

That's all I can remember of the good. Will watch QOTD movie soon. Soon.

(also crying at my last post ab this book being me making a wildly incorrect prediction thinking it was so obvious, i am so bad at predicting things lol)

[lestatslestits]

@disregardandfelicity , I hope you don’t mind me stealing your tags. I thought I would try to answer this from my perspective, with a couple of caveats. The first being that I am only partway through reading The Vampire Chronicles, so I’m bound to miss something I haven’t got to yet. The second being that I’m likely to forget something, just in general, and also that this is my own interpretation, so if other folks have stuff to add, I would love additional thoughts/perspectives. 👀

The gadget fixation is certainly an element of why I think so many people get autistic vibes from Armand, but I personally think there’s more!

How he engages with the gadgets is particularly interesting to me. Systematically blending things of like color together is something that I assume is visually stimulating for him, as well as engaging other senses (touch, sound), and also would presumably engage the autistic tendency of repetitive behavior. Obviously there’s other gadgetry that he fixates on, but the blender is a good example of that particular interest and why I think it engages him.

He also absolutely mows through interests, as seen by the fact that he does things such as feeling the need to watch “every film, regardless of merit, ever taped,” before fixating on a few specific ones (Blade Runner and Time Bandits) before finally fixating on individual scenes that he watches on repeat. To the point where Daniel wonders, “But how many times could a mortal watch it? For Armand there seemed no end.” Which. Actual depiction of my family wishing I would please stop watching The Phantom of the Opera at age twelve.

In general, I think his fascination with the human world (and fixation on Daniel as the Key to it somehow) speaks to the autistic experience of feeling eternally separated but desperate to understand. We see that a little bit with pretty much all of the Vampires (Hello, Lestat crying in Walmart) but I think Armand is a particularly significant case because his desire to understand (and his fear that he will never manage to exist among humans in The Vampire Lestat) is so tangible. I think that’s why everyone tends to feel so observed by Armand—because he is observing them, constantly on the lookout for any information or understanding he can glean.

To say that he is, perhaps, not the best at social cues, would probably be an understatement. Via Lestat in Memnoch the Devil:

“Where is the other eye?” asked Armand. It was just the sort of question he would ask. He had not risen to his feet. David, the Englishman, had risen, simply because Dora had risen, but Armand sat there looking up at me, asking the direct question. “What happened to it? Do you still have it?”

“It was just the sort of question he would ask,” is telling, in my opinion. It’s Lestat fondly rolling his eyes and going, “there’s Armand saying Weird Armand Stuff.”

That’s shortly before he makes the very normal statement, “I’ll know the blood of Christ if I taste it.”

He also seems to have pretty intense emotional dysregulation issues and struggles greatly with being rejected in any way. Rejection sensitive dysphoria and emotional dysregulation in general are common among autistic people (as well as people with ADHD but, frankly, those disorders are rampantly comorbid, so…)

So yeah. Armand is pretty easy to read as autistic, in my opinion!

(Additional caveat that Armand has, obviously, experienced a massive amount of trauma and many of these traits can be caused by things that aren’t autism, including trauma. But it’s just as easy to arrive at an autism reading, in my opinion).

Bonus: AMC’s Armand’s little self-regulating thumb movement.

[satanfemme]

hello i would like to know about the vampire ocs,,,

putting this under a readmore cause it got LONG long lol 😳. but if u read any part of this I'll love u forever!!! kisses!

YES. so I've got two (2) that I'm focused on rn. both of them live in a fictional island town in lake superior called backbone island (it's based off a mixture of mackinac island michigan as well as rural upper peninsula michigan) and both of them r involved in faustian packs, which is basically what the vampirism is representative of (since faustian packs tend to be done by "signing in blood"... and well.... to become a vampire u certainly "sign" in blood so to speak LMAO). basic world building u gotta know is just: backbone island is fairly cut off from the mainland (very limited cell service/cable, and therefor not a lot of casual tech despite being in the modern day. also NO cars at all due to island law). also the island's economy relies Very heavily on tourism from rich people, which was at its peak in like the 80s, and been much lower ever since (making the economy for the actual locals... kinda bad)

AS FOR THE OCS: the first is named Hunter! and he's a FUCKED UP little guy (I love him) he grew up on backbone island as a repressed gay man, tho luckily he's genuinely big into traditionally-masculine interests like hunting (lol like his name) fishing etc, and altho in theory I think he could have a more fem side too, his fashion sense is also Very masculine (think camo hats and red flannel shirts). so like. all things considered he doesn't necessarily need to "hide" his "real self" or anything. he's just a bit weird about romance/sex (also the island is fairly lgbt friendly ftr!)

and his big thing is he's BIG into catholicism. like to the extent that he's pretty obviously relying on it to Cope with a thing or two and it's his #1 interest. he's also a deacon for the local church, Saint Michael's, which is something he's very proud of (he enjoys helping the church more than anything but would Never enjoy any real spotlight positions like being a priest). unfortunately (for him) church attendance + the influence of the church on the island has also been on a big decline since the 80s. speaking of, the economy being rough hit him personally big time too as a young adult, and he spent a good while Very Poor.

and ok, so that's his backstory, but as for the fucked up and evil "present" about him: between poverty + his church struggling, he got pretty fucking Desperate for a fix to these problems and "accidentally" fell headfirst into hardcore occultism. this "isn't at odds with his catholic values" at all tho... due to the very extreme mental gymnastics he internalizes to excuse it to himself FGHDFGH. but basically he ended up summoning a demon and/or a devil (tbh might straight up write this guy as mephistopheles himself, but I'm undecided yet. I think the nature of the retrospective demon reveal is gonna rely heavily on what kind of tone this story naturally falls into) and this demon promises, ofc, to fix all these problems for him at a price. the price being he gets turned into a fucking vampire baybeeeeee. I will say tho, as much as I love fun vampire lore, the lore in this story will probs be a Lil more down to earth than usual with the main points being: 1. he's technically dead now. doesn't need to breath, doesn't need to eat, etc. 2. he'll stay young and ~beautiful~ forever unless he's killed by someone else. and 3. about once a month he needs to drink one human worth of human blood (and communion "blood" doesn't count 😔). uhmmmm he's lowkey hot about it tho (ofc) and basically uses his sexy hunting gear, like hunting bows and knives and axes (no guns tho; that's not sexy enough for this), to kill tourists/mainlanders for his meals, guilt-free from his perspective (notably: not just the rich ones tho. he literally kills a sad working class guy - who doesn't even want to BE on the island - in the opening chapter :-( so, sorry he's for real kinda evil and I'm not just saying that. and once again, he's doing moral gymnastics about it lmao dumbass <3)

speaking of tourists tho!!!!!! the demon ofc fulfills their end of the bargain (for now) and 1. tourism starts going up again helping the island economy!!! and 2. hunter gets RICH rich. like. "practically infinite money, you could never spend it all without laundering it" rich. he buys himself a nice house and then donates large-but-not-too-suspiciously-large funds to Saint Michaels, helping revive his beloved church

and OC TWO: Johann!!!!!! Johann is one of the very few new people to move into backbone island, and is doing so because he has major sad backstory issues (family deaths, mostly) and feels like he could use the rural isolated forest-y beach-y vibes for a fresh start (tho whether or not this is a genuine need vs just self-isolation is debatable at best). he's got a gray australian shepherd named kipper who he loves more than anything and he's an artist! (not that he feels like he can identify as one, despite his many gen beautiful paintings and drawings... r u picking up on the low self esteem depression issues yet? :-( poor little meow meow unlimited). he's some brand of atheist (haven't decided yet if he'll be culturally-christian or not) and financially he's not poor poor, the uhhhhh family members' will inheritances have certainly been a help for that, but he's def nowhere near as comfy as post-contract hunter is.

oh and also he's un-repressed homosexual <3 he's not loud about it but he's gay as hell and looking for love 👀 and he has cute braids!

sooo anyway basically he moves into town and, despite him being from the mainland, hunter pretty quickly takes interest in him (it's the homosexuality). I haven't quiteeee figured out the specifics of this part yet but after a lil while they'll meet officially and become casual friends (tho hunter is always the one pushing for more. johann likes hunter a lot too but, u know, has the whole self-isolation complex. tbh he's borderline annoying with the depression, but I support him <3) hunter also starts pressuring johann into attending church, which johann agrees to do only because hunter is there.

well, etc etc etc they get closer over time and share a few "dates" and more or less become an unofficial "thing", tho they're rarely physically romantic with each other and never kiss.

well eventually johann's gonna find out that hunter's been lying about where he got his money. cause like. OFC johann knew hunter was rich beyond reason, more or less anyone who knows of hunter on the island knows that (in fact a lot of the church's community projects make sure to publicly name hunter as the main contributor!) but hunter's excuse has always been "inheritance from the kelloggs" (<-michigan specific rich family. I mean. I'm assuming u know who the kelloggs are, but jic u don't know why I chose them specifically for my michigan-located story), BUT unfortunately hunter's surname does Not line up with any part of the kellogg family tree at all. I'm not positive yet what'll prompt johann to look into this but it'll def be because of hunter benig weird and suspicious, so johann's gonna have a gut feeling that something is up. (I know telling-not-showing about these guys in this post probs doesn't make their personalities come across fully, but I prommy u hunters a fucking weirdo sometimes, Especially especially post-contract. it probs scrambled him a bit tbh)

so johann's gonna find out hunter's been lying about a major part of his personhood, and possibly even got all that money from morally-dubious means or something!!! (which I mean... isn't wrong. I would call demon money dubious). so johanns gonna straight up stop speaking to hunter for a while out of anger and mistrust </3 buttttt unfortunately oops! turns out johanns in love with him for real. so johann gets Real sad about the situation too, in addition to the anger, and does nothing but sulk and think about how much he misses hunter for days on end, and also becomes a bit reckless in seeking out the isolation he feels he "needs".

one of these days goes for a scenic walk at night. however this dumbass spent, like, probably months at this point doing nothing but follow hunter around the island like a sad puppy tho, so he is NOT directionally aware of the forest on a personal level At All, especially at night. so he gets lost or twists an ankle or both (whichever feels right vibes wise once I write it, I'll pick whatever really emphasizes how hopeless he's feeling, without overdoing it hopefully). LUCKILY (for a fun story, not lucky for these character themselves) as u may have guessed: hunter is out hunting (humans, cause he's a vampire) at this time of night and finds johann. he does NOT kill johann (yet..) dw but instead brings him back to his church to make sure he's doing alright. physically, he is fine btw. but he's reluctantly REALLY glad to see and be speaking to hunter again. they decide to stay the night (deacon privileges) and it's a bit like a sleepover for them, goofing off, trying on the chasubles. the tense air between them fades and one thing leads to another and they just start kissing right there in the pews <3

uhmmm but, again as u may have guessed by now, hunter who is a literal vampire is Pretty fucking hungry for human blood after being interrupted on a hunt. and is also very in love with johann. so he def already has the thought in the back of his mind to do the occult shit that the demon did to him, but to johann this time, so that his boyfriend can be a vampire with him too... and also so he gets to drink that sweet sweet male wife blood in the process. and then johann, who is naive to this fact, and is just a bit of a sappy romantic, is all like "oh hunter~ I missed u SO so much, I was SO sad without you, I never ever want to be without you ever again, I want to live with u FOREVER and ever <3 <3 <3 <3." so hunter's like, "ok, real shit?" and turns him into a vampire right then and there. which sucks for johann who meant those facts more in a metaphorical sense and is now being painfully killed without explanation for what he "wished" for. and like for real I'm considering both these vampire's turnings as "pacts" but johann's is so one-sided it's practically fraudulent 😭 literally rip king u didn't deserve that (btw of note: often in vamp media, when a vampire is exchanging blood with the human they're turning, they'll use like wrist blood or maybe tiddie blood if they're old school. for these pacts tho, I'm gonna use palm blood for that SWEET sweet stigmata imagery)

ok anyway SORRY this is so long and rambly so I'm gonna wrap this up right about now. but all that's ^ literally gonna probs be at least the first half of these guys' stories. cause unfortunatallyyyyy after this things get pretty locked into stone into their tragic endings. (relatively) immediately after johann's turning things get somewhat good-ish for them at first! they're in love and kinda cute sometimes and all their superficial problems like finances are 100% taken care of. but there's obviously new issues/tensions at play with the whole "hey hunter, why didn't u tell me that you're literally an undead demon-worker as a side gig to your day job as a catholic deacon (?!). and why did you literally kill (and then un-kill) me in an occult ritual 😐" thing. and also, in case the "turning johann into a vampire without his real consent" thing didn't make this obvious, hunter is somewhat ~toxic and controlling~ even if he means best from his pov. this gets worse over time btw. so it isn't too much later that things start going to shit for these two, again, but even worse this time cause in addition to their respective personal traumas they're also now both DEAD and need to KILL and EAT PEOPLE on a semi-regular basis. ("need" to the extent that they couldn't even starve to death if they want to!!!!! if they get hungry to the point of starvation, the evil demon vibes they've got going on in their soul-less bodies will simply take over and they'll go feral until they're satisfied again).

tl:dr I love toxic fucked up gay people and I can't wait to torture these characters AND make them kiss, for my enjoyment.

[waithyuck]

cold

pairing: vampire!huang renjun x reader (f) *halloweenie special*

genre: smut, supernatural au

word count: 3k

warnings: blood, biting, blood drinking, brief descriptions of gore (I guess idrk), explicit language, degradation, sexual content (oral, facefucking), no aftercare, mentions of being killed, renjun is a mean dom :/, reader is kinda weirdly into the whole vampire thing **unedited**

a/n: this was kinda written in a rush but I tried my best to produce it in the best quality I could! I hope y’all enjoy 💕 (I also wanna add that yes, it was already planned that there wouldn’t be any penetrative sex in this)

< previous | next >

~10/24/2020~

~~~~

walking home from work at eleven o’clock at night was probably the worst mistake you could have made. even worse, you thought it would just be such a great idea to take the back alleys, since it was faster and all you wanted to do was lay down on your bed and go to sleep.

you were an idiot, straight up.

you were walking with your head down, too preoccupied reading something on your phone to notice and be alert of your surroundings. you didn’t notice the creeping shadow coming up on you from behind.

when it grabbed you, you weren’t even able to scream; it covered your mouth immediately and shoved you against the brick of the building next to you. when you looked to see what it was, your body froze in horror.

this man–thing...no, creature, was standing before you grinning sinisterly, his sharp canines bared to you as he drank up your figure with his glowing, blood red eyes.

well, this was it. you were going to die in the hands of something you were pretty sure classified as a vampire. you didn’t stand a chance, not with the amount of strength, speed and stealth this man had already showcased to you.

you couldn’t make a sound, the fear inside you suffocating your lungs and making it hard to breathe. the man didn’t utter a word to you, and as he inched his fangs closer and closer to the vein pulsating in your throat, you squeezed your eyes shut and awaited to feel your death.

but it never came.

the weight of the man-creature-vampire thing was lifted off of you, his cold presence gone in an instant. you heard blood curdling snarls ringing out in the darkness of the alley, and you were too afraid to open your eyes to see what was happening.

you imagined that it was basically a fight between two vampires, and the victor would claim you as the meal. you should have run, but your legs were weak as the fear still consumed every cell in your body.

you were basically dooming yourself.

the wild growls finally ceased when you heard a loud crack of bones snapping, followed by a cut off yelp.

you assumed one of them was now dead, and finally you opened your eyes to take in the sight before you.

there stood another creature; much younger than the previous one by the looks of him, standing over the body of the now dead vampire. it’s head was severed from its body messily, the neck snapped clean off to where you could see the spine poking out in its place.

you wanted to throw up.

when the younger vampire looked at you, his blood red eyes squinted, and he moved closer to you in seconds, using his super speed to crowd you back against the brick wall. you whimpered, but didn’t feel as much fear as you did before, and you managed to keep your eyes open as you stood before him.

his nostrils flared as he sniffed around you, and it surprisingly didn’t weird you out as much as it should have. truth be told, even in the dim light of the moon, you could tell that this man was highly attractive. you cursed yourself for thinking this way about a creature that could easily tear you in two.

you were torn from your thoughts when you saw two fingers snap in front of your face, making your body jolt in return.

“the fuck are you doing out this late?” he suddenly questioned, his voice not at all like how you were imagining it to sound. it was soft…it wasn’t a voice you would have paired to be with a vampire. “it’s dangerous as fuck out here, you know.”

he was speaking so casually, like he didn’t just rip the head off of one of his kind. you sputtered out of cheer nervousness (and a little bit because he was so dazzlingly attractive), not knowing how to respond. his blood red eyes practically rolled out of his head at your pathetic attempts to speak.

“humans are so pathetic, seriously.” he spat, looking you up and down. “I don’t even know why I saved you. you smell good enough to devour.” his smirk, paired with the last part made your spine straighten, your hair prickling at the sense of possible danger.

“n-no!” you finally managed to blurt out, your hands coming up to instinctively cover your vulnerable throat. you wracked your brain to try to figure out how to negotiate with him; to get him to leave here without draining your body of life and blood.

unfortunately, only one thing came to mind, and you hated yourself for thinking it in the first place.

...you couldn't deny that you kinda had a thing for the whole undead, blood sucking, super strong creature shit he had going on. a million and one flashes raced through your mind, showing you different scenes of this stranger taking you up against the brick wall right here, and even biting you just to have a little taste.

it was fucked up, but you could stop your thighs from clenching at the possibilities.

he quirked an eyebrow at you, his smirk never leaving as he leaned into your space even further, flattening your body to the wall with his own.

“no what?” he practically purred, his cold breath fanning against your skin, causing goosebumps to form instantaneously.

“I’ll…” you started, weakly meeting his strong gaze. “I’ll d-do anything...j-just don’t kill me.” you tried to sound strong but there was a shiver in your voice, your chest trembling as you tried to speak. you saw his eyes flash with mischief before he pulled away entirely, giving you your space back.

“okay.” he nodded, his lips still presented in a smirk. “I’ll come find you whenever I need a favor.”

you couldn’t even ask him to elaborate or question him on exactly how he would find you, because in an instant he was gone from your sight, vanishing away and leaving you in the darkness with the still laying dead body of your first attacker.

with a quick shake of your whole body, you practically ran home, slamming the door shut and locking everything, including the windows.

~~

you weren’t sure when to expect to see the vampire who saved you again, but you didn’t think it would take him two weeks to show his face.

you were minding your own business in the safety of your home, throwing your dirty clothes into your bedroom hamper when you heard a soft thud come from your window.

turning around, your eyes met the same red ones from that night two weeks ago, and you had to fight yourself not to shriek. his face was stoic as he stared at you, decked out in all black from his hoodie to his jeans, lowkey making your mouth water.

“hey there,” he said, slithering closer to your form. once again, he cornered you against a wall, not caring to give you any personal space. he inhaled softly, his nose living closer to your neck. “you smell absolutely delicious, darling.” his sharp canines were on display as he smiled mischievously at you, your heart racing in your chest at not only the fear, but the proximity of this attractive man as well.

“um, h-hello.” you muttered out stupidly, wringing your hands together in front of you.

“let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” he stood up at little straighter as he spoke, his eyes glinting as he looked at you. “you owe me a favor, and I’m being generous enough to let you choose what you want to give me.” he looked down at his nails, feigning disinterest as you were practically hyperventilating before him.

you nodded your head to acknowledge that you were hearing him, and he took that as a sign to continue.

“so, what will it be?”

you thought back to the thoughts you were plagued with that first night, and you almost immediately clenched your thighs. you really wanted this vampire to have you, all of you, even your blood for fucks sake. it’s like the sight of him cast a spell on you, and all you wanted to do was have his cock shoved down your throat as he did his best to ruin you completely.

you knew he was capable too; there was an aura around him that screamed dominance, and having the extra factor of being a vampire did nothing to extinguish your lewd sexual fantasies.

it was really fucked up, but you made your mind up in less than a minute.

“you can bite m-me.” you squeaked, looking anywhere but him. you swore you heard his breath hitch, but he nonetheless crowded you once again as he nosed into the juncture of your neck and shoulder.

“hmm, tempting.” he allowed the tip of his nose to graze softly against your sensitive skin, causing you to shiver as it tickled you. his sinister eyes flicked up to meet yours. “are you sure?”

with a small nod you agreed, your brain screaming at you to run and never look back, but your core telling you the very opposite.

his hands found your waist as he grounded you, holding you steady as he finally began to scrape his teeth along your flesh.

“I won’t take too much,” he muttered, almost like a reassurance to you. before you could even nod, he quickly plunged his fangs into your skin, and the pleasurably painful sensation immediately had you moaning out loudly.

you gripped his shoulders tightly, your eyes glazing over as your whole body pulsated with a sudden need, the burning hot pleasure running down from where he was currently biting you to your core, instantly causing your panties to flood with your desire.

he took a few large gulps, and once you began to feel lightheaded, he pulled his fangs from you, moaning at the taste of your blood.

not being able to hold yourself back, you spoke very through that came into your head.

“I w-want your cock,” you breathed out desperately, not sure exactly where the statement came from. it was so sudden and out of the blue, but he didn’t seem fazed for one second.

“oh really?” he questioned playfully, his blood stained lips quirking up in amusement.

“”yes, please,” you begged in response, gripped at the fabric of his hoodie tightly.

he hummed, his throat vibrating with the sound.

“get on your knees.” he demanded, his demeanor changing as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. he pointed to the ground in between the both of you and at first you were shocked at his words, even though you were the one who admitted you wanted him in the first place. you pressed your back against the wall even tighter as he gazed upon you with his blood-red eyes, your woozy head spinning.

“h-huh?” you managed to sputter out stupidly, causing him to sigh in annoyance. he shot his cold hand up to grip your throat, his nails squeezing into your skin slightly as you squeaked in surprise.

“you said you wanted my cock, right?” renjun growled, getting closer to your face with each word. you managed to nod shyly in his hold, your eyes wide and glassy as you stared back at him. he smirked, “then get on your fucking knees. don’t make me tell you again.”

he let go of you neck and returned his hand to his side, your eyes watching his every move before you finally shook yourself out of your stupor and lowered yourself to your knees in front of him. you didn’t really know what to do with yourself at that point, so you looked up at him with wide eyes, waiting to see if he would say anything else.

he rolled his eyes, scoffing as he reached for the button and zipper of his black jeans.

“dear fuck, do I have to fucking hold your hand through all of this?” his voice was icy and biting, but you still felt a warm shiver crawl up your spine as your core clenched at his words. he finally was able to undo the button and zipper and he then pulled down both his pants and underwear, leaving his almost fully hard cock out in the open on display for you.

he gripped your hair suddenly, forcing your face toward his crotch roughly. “put it in your fucking mouth, slut.”

you didn’t hesitate then, opening your mouth while using a hand to guide him past your lips, immediately swirling your tongue around the sensitive head. he groaned out above you and reached a hand to rest behind your head, not pushing on you just yet.

this wasn’t your first rodeo, so you were able to almost instantly take him all the way down your throat, only having to work up to it about three times. when his cockhead hit the back of your throat, you gagged a bit but it paid off to hear his moan cry out above you. you looked up innocently at him, bobbing your head up and down with your cheeks hollowed, drool dribbling out of the sides of your lips, adding to the messy look.

“that’s a good girl,” he breathed, his hand rubbing the back of your head almost tenderly before he shoved you completely down on him, your nose pressed against the skin of his pelvis.

your eyes blew wide and tears were prickling, but you willed yourself to relax, your throat slightly constructing instinctively around the intrusion in it.

“can I fuck your pretty face?” he growled out, finally letting you up for air. you pulled off to breathe, spit connecting your lips and the head of his angry red cock.

you managed to croak out a rough “yes”, your voice already hoarse from the few minutes of action it had been through. he gave you no time to prepare before he reached down to cup your chin and jaw in one hand, opening up your mouth before he roughly thrusted inside.

it sounded so filthy; the sounds escaping you were not cute and you were a bit embarrassed, but you were enjoying every second of the abuse to your mouth and throat. your panties were most definitely ruined at this point, and you could feel your pussy pulsating with every rough thrust of his cock down your throat.

“fucking take it, slut,” he grunted, his hips never ceasing their movements. you tried to breath through your nose as best you could, and were grateful for the small breaks he would allow you before going to town once again.

you braced your hands on his thighs as his pace quickened, his hips sloppy as he chased his high. there were no words shared and no derogatory comments spit at you as he grew closer and closer, his growls and snarls only growing louder with each passing thrust.

the sounds he was making were almost enough to get you to cum untouched, the mental stimulation almost overbearing as you felt your core tingle in need for him.

there was a nagging precense in the back of your mind that told you he wasn’t going to fuck you like you so desperately wanted him to, and there was a part of you that was perfectly okay with that.

the vampire let out a loud growl before he coneoktelt buried himself to the hilt down your flexing throat, your head knocking into the wall behind you as his cum shot directly down your esophagus.

it was uncomfortable, but you managed to swallow what you could before he pulled out and shot the rest of his hot cum all over your awaiting face.

you basked in the feeling of each shot landing on your skin, and you closed your eyes. your body felt as if it had no energy left, and you barely noticed him pulling his pants back up and fastening them closed in one swift movement.

you were right about him not fucking you or returning the favor, which was fine considering the lack of strength you currently had. the burn in your core was slowly fading along with your physical and mental strength.

as you lay slumped against the wall, his cum painted on your face and mouth, you mustered up the strength to look at and found him perched on your windowsill, ready to leave.

“what’s your n-name?” you croaked, your eyes barely open.

you could make out a smile forming on his lips.

“renjun,” he quickly responded, a lightness in his voice that you hadn’t heard before and that was a complete contrast to his earlier tone.

“and don’t worry, darling. I’ll be back for you.”

and in a quick flash, he was gone, and it was like he wasn’t ever there in the first place.

[theodorically]

I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (often shortened to I Brought You My Bullets or Bullets) is the debut studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance, released on July 23, 2002 by Eyeball Records. Produced by Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly, it was recorded at Nada Recording Studio in New Windsor, New York, in May 2002. In the band's 2006 documentary Life on the Murder Scene, the band describes the painful conditions lead singer Gerard Way was in during the recording of the album due to a toothache, causing the album’s recording to take longer than planned.[2]

Categorized into genres such as emo,[3][4][5] post-hardcore,[6][7][8][9] screamo,[10][11][12] punk rock,[13][5] pop-punk,[5] and garage punk,[8] I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love has a raw sound featuring guitar riffs, very energetic vocals and occasional screaming. Despite being sold under the alternative rock genres,[14] it is considered an emo album with strong influences from punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal.[15][16][13][17] Songs on I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love such as "Skylines and Turnstiles" and "Our Lady of Sorrows" have been described as hardcore punk songs.[18][19]

I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love is often regarded as a concept album. It involves two Bonnie and Clyde-esque characters who are eventually gunned down in the desert. On My Chemical Romance's next album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004), the unnamed man supposedly then finds himself in purgatory, where he makes a deal with Satan: his hellbound lover for the souls of a thousand evil men. He is then resurrected and sent on his gruesome task.[20] Though it is generally accepted by the group's core fanbase, this has led some to attribute its supposed existence to over-analysis on the part of hardcore fans.[21] The alleged storyline is not confirmed by the band, but some evidence includes:

The following album's cover, named "Demolition Lovers II" (Two) (As the name is close to the name of the final song on I Brought You My Bullets...) and its interior artwork (including the text that reads "The story of a man, a woman, and the corpses of a thousand evil men.")

The lyrical themes of the final songs on both of the band's first two albums, which are "Demolition Lovers" and "I Never Told You What I Do for a Living". The lyrics of the latter include "They gave us two shots to the back of the head and we're all dead now" suggesting that the character (if it is linked to the storyline) has been killed and has failed in saving his lover from Hell.

The song "It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish" from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge also includes themes of a man rising from his grave, who suggests that his purpose in doing so is to commit a murder.

Another theme apparent on the album is the nature of vampires, as in both the undead creatures and, metaphorically speaking, those who seek to corrupt and exploit others.[22] The song "Skylines and Turnstiles" was written shortly after the September 11 attacks and expressed feelings of sorrow and loss,[23] and "Early Sunsets over Monroeville" was inspired by the George A. Romero film Dawn of the Dead. Gerard Way describes it as "a sweet song about Dawn of the Dead", with the lyrics using references from the film. Before the September 11 attacks, Way was working as a comic book writer and animator. He was working on a vampire comic (which he never completed), and has also said that is the reason for the vampires in the lyrics.

The Black Parade is the third studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. Released in Europe on October 23, 2006, and the United States on October 24, 2006,[1] through Reprise Records, it was produced by the band with Rob Cavallo, known for having produced multiple albums for the Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day. It is a rock opera and concept album centered on a dying man with cancer known as "The Patient". The album tells the story of his apparent death, experiences in the afterlife, and subsequent reflections on his life. It is the band's only studio album to feature Bob Bryar on drums before his departure in 2010.

The Black Parade received generally favorable reviews from critics, and the band achieved its first number one single in the United Kingdom with "Welcome to the Black Parade". The album debuted at number two on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and is also certified as triple-platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), as well as with gold certifications in both Argentina by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF) and Chile by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Chile. The Black Parade was given the Platinum Europe Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for one million sales in Europe. The limited edition boxed set also earned My Chemical Romance a nomination at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Four singles were released from the album: "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Famous Last Words", "I Don't Love You", and "Teenagers".

My Chemical Romance began The Black Parade World Tour on February 22, 2007, in the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. The tour featured 138 performances worldwide, as well as several festival and condensed shows. The tour was the longest and most internationally comprehensive headlining tour the band played, featuring three legs in North America, two legs in Europe, and one in Asia, Australia, and Latin America.

The song "Dead!" appears in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II, and the three songs "Teenagers," "Famous Last Words" and "This Is How I Disappear" were once available as downloadable content. The Black Parade has sold three million copies in the United States as of 2016, and four million worldwide. The record was reissued as The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts on September 23, 2016, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the album's release. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 361 in their updated "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[2]

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (often shortened to Three Cheers or Revenge)[1] is the second studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance, released on June 8, 2004 by Reprise Records.[2][3] With this album, the band produced a cleaner sound than that of their 2002 debut I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.[4] It was the band's first release to feature rhythm guitarist Frank Iero on all tracks, as well as the final release to feature drummer Matt Pelissier, who would later be replaced by Bob Bryar.[5]

The album was a success for both the band and the label.[6] The record produced four singles—"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Helena", "The Ghost of You", and in the United Kingdom, "Thank You for the Venom".[4] It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) less than a year after its release,[3] and has sold over three million copies in the United States.[6]

Musically, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has been described as emo,[7][8] alternative rock,[8] pop punk,[9] post-hardcore,[10] punk rock,[11] and pop rock.[12] While I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was considered "a particularly strident entry in that shifty genre of bands tortuously slamming together elements of emo, hardcore, and even metal",[13] Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge "both showcased their songwriting skills and gave them much-deserved attention".[4] Moving away from the "screamo parts"[14] and "the more complicated structures"[15] of their first record in favor of a sound that "skirts the line between pop punk and edgy, theatrical, emo"[4] while being "strongly influenced by hardcore punk",[15] Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has been variously compared to The Misfits,[16] AFI,[13] and Thursday.[13]

Lead singer Gerard Way has referred to the first single "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" as a "self help pop song"[17] while also being called "a surging piece of emo-pop with a hook as ridiculously catchy as it was ridiculous"[18] and a "moving anthem for the young and depressed"[19] by AllMusic and Rolling Stone respectively. This single went on to be nominated for the Kerrang! award for best single[20] and reached number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[21]

The album opener "Helena" has been referred to as an "album highlight and smash hit". Gerard has claimed that the song "shaped what the album is about" and "revealed their dark side" in comparison to the first single.[17] Its lyrics mourn the loss of Gerard and Mikey's grandmother,[17] Elena Lee Rush, and was their first entry into the top 40.[21]

[magnusmysteries]

Part 4: The Sixteenth Fear

The Magnus Archives was a horror podcast. It is now completed. Many of the show’s mysteries were never explained on the show. I intend to explain them. Spoilers for the show, but also spoilers if you wanna solve these mysteries yourself.

In part 3 I said every fear has an opposite. But the Flesh didn’t exist before the industrial revolution. So there would have been 13 fears then, an uneven number, and not every fear could balance against an opposite. So how could that be?

The answer is, there were only 12 fears before the Flesh. The Corruption and the Desolation used to be the same fear. 

Diego Molina of the Lightless Flame cult worships Asag. A Sumerian god of disease that could make fish boil. So Asag seems to be of both the Corruption and the Desolation.

In Infectious Doubts Arthur Nolan complains about it: “Not like I can vent to the others about what a prat Diego is. Got a lot of funny ideas. Still calls the Lightless Flame Asag, like he was when he was first researching it. I just really wanna tell him to get over it; I mean Asag was traditionally a force of destruction, sure, but as a church we very much settled on burning in terms of the – face we worship, and some fish-boiling Sumerian demon doesn’t really match up, does it? Plus there’s a lot of disease imagery with Asag that I’ll reckon is way too close to Filth for my taste, but no, he read it in some ancient tome, so that’s that –“

Ancient is the key word. The tome predates the industrial revolution and the Flesh. Asag probably isn’t a thing anymore and Diego is indeed a prat for worshipping it.

In The Architecture of Fear Smirke writes “I know you say the Flesh was perhaps always there, shriveled and nascent until its recent growth, but to grant the existence of such a lesser power would throw everything into confusion. Would you have me separate the Corruption into insects, dirt, and disease? To divide the fungal bloom from the maggot?”

It is not random that Smirke uses the Corruption as an example here. The Corruption is the opposite of the Flesh, so the Corruption is the fear that Smirke believed had no opposite for hundreds or thousands of years.

In part 3 I said vampires where Corruption/Desolation/Hunt. This is a little far-fetched, but I wonder if the vampire’s we’ve seen have been old ones that predate the Flesh. And that’s why they are part Corruption, since Corruption and Hunt used to be next to each other. Maybe there are more modern vampires without the long sucking tongue. Maybe instead of sucking blood, when they bite you begin to burn or boil. Since the Hunt is now next to the Desolation instead of the Corruption-Desolation combo.

In Vampire Killer Trevor says “I have killed five people that I know for sure as vampires, and there are two more that may or may not have been.” There is a missing middle part of Trevor’s statement. Maybe there he talks about killing two vampires that are modern and therefore different so he’s not sure if they’re actually vampires.

Speaking of fears splitting up, why is the Darkness the opposite fear of the Slaughter? In Last Words we hear of the first fear “A fear of blood and pounding feet, a fear of that sudden burst of pain and then nothing.” 

And of the second fear “The fear of their own end, of the things that lived in the darkness, became a fear of the darkness itself.”

I think the first was a general fear of violence. It includes what became the Hunt “Blood and pounding Feet...” and the Slaughter “...Sudden burst of pain and then nothing”, and the End “The fear of their own end…” And the second fear was the Darkness. They were the opposite by default, simply for being the two first fears.

When the Buried became a fear, the Hunt split up from the Violence to oppose it. When the Vast became a fear, the End split up from the Violence to oppose it. All that was left of the Violence was Slaughter, still opposing the Dark. When humans began warfare, fear of war fit nicely with the Slaughter.

The Eye might have been part of the Dark at first. Still from Last Words: “...because they knew the dark held flashing talons and shining eyes…” 

When the Lonely became a fear, the Eye split up from the Dark to oppose it.

So what about the Extinction? Does it have an opposite? Yes! There is a sixteenth fear. And what can be the opposite of the fear of the end of the world? The fear that the world isn’t real. That we’re all just living in a computer simulation. If you think the world isn’t even real, you’re not gonna be so worried about it ending. I’ll call it the Simulation.

Here is how the fears are arranged on the wheel, with the two latest fears added:

Description of image: A circle with 16 spots similar to a clock. On each spot is a number and the name of a power: 1. Corruption. 2 Extinction. 3. Desolation. 4. Hunt. 5. Slaughter. 6. End. 7. Lonely. 8. Stranger. 9. Flesh. 10. Simulation 11. Spiral. 12. Buried. 13. Dark. 14. Vast. 15. Eye. 16. Web.

The Extinction is next to the Corruption. Disease and garbage are both gross. Possessive is an Extinction episode, even if not acknowledged as such by any of the characters. It’s about garbage. And Maggie is creating people out of garbage. She is making the inheritors mentioned in Time of Revelation. There are also creatures made of garbage in Concrete Jungle. And Maggie was full of moving insect legs, showing Corruption influence.

Quote from Adelard Dekker from Rotten Core: “I’ve spoken before about how keenly I’ve watched news of possible pandemics, which is where I suspect the Extinction may pull away from the Corruption during its emergence.” Adelard knows the Extinction is next to Corruption.

The Extinction is next to Desolation. That fits, nuclear weapons cause fire. Quote from Times of Revelation, describing corpses: “They were stiff, and desiccated, mummified by some process Bernadette could not begin to guess at, but that rendered their flesh like tightly packed ash” Ash as if they were burned.

The Simulation is next to the Flesh. The Flesh makes you think humans aren’t people, they are just meat. The Simulation makes you think humans aren’t people, they are just NPCs.

The Simulation is the next to the Spiral. Both make you question what is real. The Spiral makes you doubt your mind, the Simulation makes you doubt your world.

There are four episodes about the Simulation: Binary, Zombie, Cul-de-sac and Reflection.

In Binary Sergey Ushanka uploads his mind into a computer. He becomes a simulation and it hurts. There is influence by the Spiral, the statement giver isn’t sure if she’s going crazy. And there is influence by the Flesh. Ushanka uploads himself into a computer and then he eats the computer. So that’s cannibalism.

In Zombie the statement giver thinks other people aren’t real, they’re philosophical zombies, In other words they like simulations or NPCs. The man that follows her repeats the phrase “Just fine, thank you for asking” and says nothing else. Just like some NPCs in video games will say the same phrase over and over. The man is identical the three times they meet, except for his t-shirt changes color. Sometimes in video games some NPCs will be identical, except for some colors are changed. (Because it’s less work to recollar a character than to draw one from scratch.)

John thinks Cul-De-Sac is about the Lonely. And yes, the statement giver was lonely. But the people affected by the Lonely choose to be lonely, and the statement giver didn’t. His boyfriend broke up with him because of cheating and then he lost his friends because they sided with his boyfriend. 

I think the theme of the statement is unreality, not loneliness. In the Magnus Archives, when someone gets marked by a power it is because they made some wrong choice. The choice the statement giver makes is to return to the place he found dead and soulless. He drives back to his ex-boyfriend to deliver the moose, rather than send it by mail. He specifically wants to meet his ex. Not an act of loneliness, quite the opposite. Also he is returning a moose that is angular and creepy, in other words it is unreal.

When the statement escapes from the nightmare it’s because he got a phone call from his ex. And he says “I love you.” and that fits neatly with the Lonely. But it also fits with escape from the unreal. He escapes because he communicates with a real person.

The road signs says “Road” and “Street”. Generic and unreal. All the houses look the same. Like in a computer game. The statement giver wonders if they are the same house. Like in a computer game where one might reuse the code for a house many times.

The house he enters has stock photos. Unreal.

The people on TV have something wrong with their eyes, similar to the eyes of the zombies in Zombie. And it's a fake cooking show, and a fake infomercial.

The dead woman upstairs was someone who had social media profiles, and that nobody notices had died. Meaning she lived her life online. That sounds like she was lonely. But living online also makes her a good victim for the Simulation. Everyone she talked to was on a computer, she couldn’t know for sure if they were real.

The woman had killed herself with a mirror. I think what happened was she had looked into the mirror and seen that her eyes were wrong, like the eyes of the people on TV. And she had thought she was just a simulation, like everything around her. And therefore she killed herself. Or perhaps she wasn’t reflected in the mirror at all? Like in…

Reflection. Adelard speculated that this statement was about the Extinction, but I don’t think so. The protagonist was in a world that seemed unreal. A fun fair is artificial so that fits the theme. The people were playing games, which fits the theme via computer games maybe.

Adelard says “I can’t quite get past the detail that there was no reflection at all in the mirror he used to return.” It is almost at the end of Adelard’s letter, it’s clearly meant to be significant. The no reflection might be symbolic for the statement giver starting to think he isn’t real, which might be what happened to him after he gave the statement.

Reflection has influence by the Spiral, with the maze of mirrors. There is influence by the Flesh, with the cannibalism.

[feralnumberfive]

TUA Season 3 Wishlist

Hello everyone! Since Season 3 was announced to start filming in February of 2021, I thought that it would be fun to make a wishlist of songs that anyone would like to see in the new season. I'm quite passionate about music and often think of songs that I personally believe would fit the show well. I know a lot of others do this too and thought that it would be fun to share our beloved songs with the fandom!

Guidelines/Information

You may submit as many songs as you want!

You may submit them to my ask box or send me a message (I don’t bite!)

You may request not to have your username by your song(s) but if not I your username will be attached to your song(s).  | Ex. “Help!” by The Beatles @feralnumberfive   OR   “Help!” by The Beatles “Anonymous” 

The songs don’t have to be by the original artist. If you’re submitting a special version or cover of the song, please specify that

Feel free to attach scenarios for your song(s)! They can be as brief or as detailed as you want them to be, but please try to keep it to one paragraph or less for your explanation | Ex. “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance ((Scenario: Five killing tons of enemies. He’s gone mad with anger and glee. The horror of those being slaughtered, seemingly by a teenager)) |

Some lyrics really hit hard, y’know? Similar to the scenario guideline, feel free to submit a song and lyrics from that song that you think would match a character/specific scenario | Ex. “Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra (I think the lyrics, Evil woman how you done me wrong, but now you’re tryin’ to wail a different song, would match Diego’s mixed feelings on Lila if she returns in S3)

It’s not required that you have a scenario/lyrics with your submitted song(s), so no pressure! Some songs just give off good vibes that fit with the atmosphere of the show. You can even submit songs and simply say (This gives off “Character name” vibes)

You can even just name a band! Some bands have tons of bangers that just match the vibes of TUA or of a TUA character

The scenarios don’t have to be serious, they can be odd or fun!

If a song is requested more than once, I will add the amount of times it was requested in parenthesis next to it 

If you see a song on the list that you really like, you can send (+1 for “insert song title here”) and I will add a tally to it

If you see a song on here that does or does not have scenario/lyric(s) and you think “Oh yeah I can imagine a scenario/lyric(s) for this!” go ahead and speak up! If requested, I will add your username to the scenario you created. If you’re not comfortable with having your username next to your scenario, I will simply put you as “Anonymous.” Same thing with the username and “Anonymous” if you want to tack on that a song gives “Character name” vibes | Ex. Song by Artist “username of person who submitted it” (Scenario: blah blah blah) || (Scenario: blah blah blah) by “username” || (Scenario: blah blah blah) by “Anonymous” || (Lyrics: blah blah blah) by “Anonymous” || (This song gives of “Character name” vibes) by “username” |

This will be open until the Season 3 Soundtrack is released (It will be fun to see if any of the songs in this wishlist are actually on the official S3 soundtrack!) 

The guidelines will be updated as the wishlist progresses. Most of the time I won’t reply to the song requests sent through my ask box, but I certainly will add your requested song(s) to the list. If you see that I haven’t added your song(s) after updating the wishlist, please reach out to me. Don’t be afraid to ask me any questions! 

Here’s the Playlist created from the Wishlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6QRajb4Nap3hjjs2KcWQYc

Wishlist

Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! by ABBA @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: Five rescuing his siblings))

Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles @feralnumberfive ((This song gives off Vanya vibes)) 

Rich Kids by New Medicine @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: The Hargreeves arrive in 2019 to find that they have been replaced. The Sparrow Academy quickly springs into action and attacks The Umbrella Academy)) 

Lonely by Palaye Royale @feralnumberfive ((Lyrics: | So sick and tired of being alone, so long, farewell, I’m on my own | I feel like these lyrics represent Klaus feeling alone due to his siblings ignoring him and him being a living person haunted by ghosts)) by @feralnumberfive 

Toxic by Britney Spears “Anonymous” ((Scenario: When they are all talking about Reggie))

girls by girl in red “Anonymous” ((Scenario: When Vanya is talking/thinking about Sissy))

WAP by Cardi B “Anonymous” 

Manic Monday by The Bangles “Anonymous” ((Because 4/1/2019 and 11/25/1963 were both Mondays, so the s3 apocalypse should be too))

Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington Jr. @feralnumberfive

Teenagers by My Chemical Romance @feralnumberfive | but really everyone in the UA fandom wants this | ((Scenario: Any fight scene with Five going ham))

Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: Something sad))

Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: The siblings get into deepshit™ and have to fight their way out of it))

Dear Wormwood by The Oh Hellos @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: Evil/Sparrow Five returns back to his family or Five struggles with his killer urges and impulses from his killer DNA))

Bit by Bit by Mother Mother @feralnumberfive

Lay Me Down by The Oh Hellos “Anonymous” ((Lyrics perfectly fit Five: “Fire and brimstone fell upon my ears, as their throats of open graves recited fear, like the bullets of a gun they drove my tears, and my feet to run the hell out of here”//“I was born a restless wayward child”//“I owe it to my brothers to carry them home”))

Vampire Money by My Chemical Romance "Anonymous" ((Gives off Klaus vibes))

Arms Tonite by Mother Mother @burnyouwithacigarettelighter ((Lyrics: | I died in your arms tonight, I slipped through into the afterlife, | Would totally fit anything to do with Ben’s death))

Oh Ana by Mother Mother @burnyouwithacigarettelighter ((Scenario: Any scene with Five just generally being a badass and/or the rest of the siblings!!))

Black Sheep by Metric  “Anonymous” ((Lyrics | Our common goal was waiting for the world to end, now that the truth is just a rule that you can bend you crack the whip, shapeshift and trick, the past again, | Which is SO five and anything about the commission or the apocalypse OR | I’ll send you my love on the wire, lift you up every time, everyone pulls away, from you,” | For luther/the siblings perspective on him.))

Everybody’s Gotta Live by Love @feralnumberfive​ ((Gives off Five vibes and also a bit of the siblings in general))

I’m Gonna Win by Rob Cantor @feralnumberfive ((All of the lyrics match Five so well))

Running In The 90's by Max Coveri/Maurizio De Jorio @latinofireball ((Scenario: For an Umbrella and/or Sparrow family dance))

The Sharpest Lives by My Chemical Romance @fandoms-or-life ((Scenario: Group fight))

Hayloft by Mother Mother @bi-ginny-weasley ((Gives off Five vibes and would be great in a fight sequence)) 

bad idea! by girl in red @pr-ingles 

Silver Lake Queen by Diplomacy @purplegrapefruit ((Scenario: Any woman-being-badass moment, bonus if it's all the girls and Klaus))

Blackbird by The Beatles (accidentally replied without getting your name, sorry about that feel free to reach out to me again :[ ) ((Scenario: I am really intrigued by the Sparrow in the comics who could turn into a flock of crows. I think Blackbird could be a good song for her. Especially since its about the yearning to be free which I think will come to pass with at least some of the Sparrow Academy members. It could be played in a moment when she is considering how trapped she and her team/siblings are under Reginald))

Cold Cold Cold by Cage The Elephant “Anonymous” ((Scenario: Maybe for a fight scene or the end of an episode when everything has gone tits up))

Daddy Issues by The Neighbourhood @b99detectivealpaca ((Scenario: Anything related to Reginald)) 

Footloose by Kenny Loggins “Anonymous” ((Scenario: Dance scene that will inevitably happen))

Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne “Anonymous” ((Scenario: Also for the dance scene that will inevitably happen))

Rät by Penelope Scott @sukker-sugar ((Scenario: Sth related to reggie, and specifically with the lyrics | Experiments and sacrilege in the name of public good | They taught me everything just like a daddy should |))

Time Warp (Cover from CAOS Soundtrack) by Ross Lynch, Jaz Sinclair, Lachlan Watson, and Jonathan Whitesell @theladyfae ((Scenario: A random scene in a club where everyone's dancing to it but then it cuts to the siblings fighting against multiple enemies))

Waiting For The World To End by Mother Mother @feralnumberfive ((Gives off Five vibes and the lyrics match him so well))

1983 by Neon Trees "Anonymous" ((Just gives off Season 3 vibes))

Skyfall by Adele @fudgemutt ((Scenario: For when the whole Umbrella family comes together and works as one, and specifically the lyrics | Let the sky fall, When it crumbles, We will stand tall, Face it all together, At Skyfall | ))

Dirty by Grandson @fudgemutt ((Scenario: An epic Five fight scene, and specifically the lyrics | Do you have enough love in your heart, to go and get your hands dirty? | ))

The Day Before You Came by ABBA "Anonymous"

Tiger by Abba @notmireelname

Tropical Loveland by ABBA @notmireelname

Twisted by Missio @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: Give loses his goddamn mind))

Heart Of Glass (Cover by Miley Cyrus) originally by Blondie @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: Five losing his mind and thinking about his family or something to do with Klaus cause it gives off Klaus vibes)) 

Without Me by Alec Chambers “Anonymous” ((Scenario: Five finally snaps at his family after they continuously blame him for their problems))

Something’s Gotta Give by All Time Low @enjoltairesimp ((Scenario: A badass fight scene, preferably one that includes Diego))

Any songs created by Mother Mother (not a song, just a statement) @enjoltairesimp because it would be amazing 

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by The Beatles @enjoltairesimp ((Scenario: A reunion scene with Klaus and Dave)) 

Music Of The Night by Andrew Lloyd Webber (either version from the Musical or Movie) @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: Five either turning to the dark side or being convinced to do something "bad"))

A Good Song Never Dies by Saint Motel @life-needs-abit-of-madness ((Vibe of the song is so good)) 

Hotel California by Eagles Everyone in the UA fandom ((What else do we need to say? S3 will match Vol. 3 Hotel Oblivion of the comics. It's an absolute killer bop that needs to be in S3))

Cold Cold Man by Saint Motel @life-needs-abit-of-madness

La Jolla by Wilbur Soot @sukker-sugar ((Scenario: Either someone dies (but like klaus in s1, they get resurrected) and we see this in the background while they talk to god, or we see the siblings lounging around and talking about what they'd do after the shenanigans™ are over with that in the background ))

When I'm Sixty Four by The Beatles @feralnumberfive ((Something with Five))

Just A Girl by No Doubt @feralnumberfive ((A badass scene of any girl character fighting//bonus if it's Allison or Vanya since they're the only two girls in the Umbrellas))

You're The Devil In Disguise by Elvis Presley @life-needs-abit-of-madness ((Scenario: A fight scene))

You Don't Own Me by SAYGRACE @give-the-boy-a-hug ((Scenario: Someone's walking away after a fight))

Ballroom Blitz by Sweet @feralnumberfive ((This would be soooo good for a fight scene with dancing or a fight scene in general))

Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In! By Will Wood and the Tapeworms @feralnumberfive ((Would be awesome for a fight scene))

My Generation by The Who @feralnumberfive ((Another fun song for a fight scene))

Hopelessly Devoted To You by Olivia Newton-John @feralnumberfive ((Either the siblings' or just Luther's feelings towards Reginald))

You’re The Best by Joe Esposito @feralnumberfive ((Scenario: Either Luther, Diego, or even the whole family having some sort of montage of overcoming their issues))

Rumor Has It - Adele @alex-mercerss ((because what better song for Allison to have playing for it, plus I’ve seen it mentioned a few times somewhere))

Show Me How to Move - The Elwins @alex-mercerss ((this is such a fight scene song no matter where you put it))

Really anything off of Let Live and Let Ghosts by Jukebox the Ghost @alex-mercerss​ ((half of this album was literally written about the apocalypse))

2econd 2ight 2eer by Will Wood and the Tapeworms @feralnumberfive ((Could absolutely imagine Five losing control and killing to this song))

As the World Caves In by Matt Maltese “Anonymous” (( I think it would be good where five is having a flash back to the apocalypse or he sees his family die but he cant do anything bc the cube is making his fear come out therefore it is just a hallucination))

I Heard A Rumor by Bananarama @uuhhhhwhat ((Scenario: A scene where Allison is sad and thinking about Ray and/or Claire))

There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet by Panic! At The Disco "Anonymous" ((Scenario: A Five fight scene))

Are You Satisfied by MARINA "Anonymous" ((could work for anything Luther related because the lyrics describe him so well))

[yuta-nakamots]

Beautiful Time - h.rj ; Part 4 of 6

Pairing - Vampire!Renjun x Reader

Genre - Fluff i guess?? with some angst in the beginning??

Warnings - Mentions of blood, feeding, general vampire stuff

Summary - Vampires are creatures forced to walk upon the earth for longer than humans could possibly imagine. One would think it gets boring after a while, but not to Renjun, the foreign exchange student who seems to know a little too much about the early twentieth century. 

Word Count - 3.2k

A/N - this is the last calm chapter we’re having haha. sorry it took me so long to update. i just started online summer school but my schedule turned out to be somewhat lighter than expected so i’ll try to update more frequently. feedback is greatly appreciated!

Today was the day that you’d be saying your last farewell to your friends and family. It was a day you dreaded and feared for, a day you never thought you’d ever have to endure. You were at the airport, surrounded by your loved ones as they wished you well in your journey abroad. You wished you could trick yourself into thinking that it was just that simple, that you were only going to be away for four years before being able to return, but you knew it wasn’t that easy.

Renjun was there for you the entire time, he was waiting for you at the check-in gate and came to help you with your luggage as soon as he saw you step out of the car. “Hello, my name is Huang Renjun, I’ll be a transfer student at the same university as y/n this coming school year. Nice to meet you” he said, introducing himself to your parents as he struggled to keep a respectful distance between the two of you.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! It’s nice to know that y/n will already have a friend before school starts. She’s not the best at making friends” your mother jokes, oblivious to the way you rolled your eyes at her.

Despite the fact that Renjun was there, your emotions were just too much. You tried your hardest to not let the tears escape your eyes as you hugged your favorite relatives for what just might be the last time, though your crying would be easily justified anyways.

Once your little party had dispersed, everyone leaving the airport to continue on in their normal lives, you turned to Renjun who immediately pulled you into a hug before the tears could start falling again. You let out a sob, your tears wetting his shirt as he held you in his embrace. “Everything will work out, I promise. You won’t ever be alone as I’m still alive” he whispered, his lips almost grazing your ear as he spoke. “I know it’s not the same but you have a family with me. Whether it includes the other guys or whether it’s just us, I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you.”

You felt numb the entire plane ride, barely even speaking to Renjun other than asking how to say the name of the airport, which he told you was the ‘Changchun Longjia International Airport’ and even taught you the pronunciation in Mandarin. As soon as the plane had taken off, Renjun was quick to raise the armrest between the two of you and pulled you so that your head rested against his shoulder, his arm wrapped around you with his hand gripping your waist.

Renjun felt your intense overflow of emotions from the sadness and grief of parting from your loved ones to the fear of making such a giant change in your life, the excitement of going somewhere new, but also the smallest amount of happiness and fulfillment. He didn’t know the cause of it, but you did. You knew you loved him even if you weren’t big on vocalizing it towards him, but you always showed it to him whether it be through the way you untangled his hair after he spent an hour messing it up out of frustration, or the way you pressed your face further into the hoodie he was currently wearing. You let his scent calm you and eventually sleep overtook you, your energy spent from dealing with so much within just the past few hours.

By the time Renjun is gently rubbing your shoulder and calling your name to wake you, the plane is already about to land. Once you got off the plane and retrieved your luggage, you didn’t even have to think about finding Jaemin, who was supposed to pick you up because that’s literally what he did. Your mind was blank, just absently staring at the ground when suddenly the monotonous tiled floor was no longer under your feet. You didn’t even have enough energy to flinch as Jaemin’s arms held you as he swung you around cooing, “oh my baby is finally here! Do you know how much I missed you? Did you miss me too? I think you did!”

Renjun had to forcefully grab you out of Jaemin’s hold while lightly scolding him, “can’t you see that she’s tired?”

“My little cutie can fall asleep in my arms any day” Jaemin said, pulling you back into his arms and smashing his cheek into yours as if he were a cat. Renjun could only roll his eyes as he took your bags over to where Haechan was waiting, leaning against an expensive-looking car and as you got closer, you noticed it was a Tesla. You were shocked that they had a Tesla, you were even more shocked to find out that Haechan could drive, as none of them had previously mentioned any driving abilities, not that they really needed it with their superhuman speed.

“Did you guys actually steal a car or what?” Renjun exclaimed, clearly just as shocked as you.

Haechan scoffed as he pushed himself off the car, “‘or what’ is your answer. I’ll have you know that we didn’t steal it and it was fully paid for,” he said as he helped Renjun and Jaemin with your luggage, “not by us though. Chenle paid for it. That kid is loaded, I swear.”

At the mention of the new ‘kid’, Renjun’s face lit up as he let out a noise of surprise. As Renjun helped you into the backseat of the car, you made eye contact with him and asked, “who’s Chenle?”

“Ah! Chenle, he’s-” Renjun began, only to be cut off by Haechan, who was buckling himself into the driver’s seat.

“A pain in the ass.”

“Haechan, please be quiet or so help me, I will remove you from this vehicle.” His statement caused you and Jaemin to laugh, only getting an eye roll from Haechan as he started the car. “Chenle is, I guess what you could say, a younger cousin of mine. He’s a whole lot closer to your age though,” that sentence earning a chuckle from Haechan before Renjun reached over to smack the side of his head before continuing, “so he and I are definitely a ways apart in the family bloodline but I heard he was recently turned and he’s in training to take over some business his family runs.”

“Oh? How old is he?” You asked, excited to possibly meet someone who hasn’t been the same age for over ten years now.

Jaemin abruptly turned around, nearly scaring Haechan as he pulled out from the stall, his toothy smile showing as he spoke to you, “he’s only nineteen though he was turned a few years ago so I think he should be about twenty-three maybe.”

“Anyways,” Renjun began, “I think you’d like Chenle. He’s a lot more modern than I am so he’ll probably get your jokes more often than I do.”

“It’s okay that you’re old,” you interjected, “I think it’s cute when you get all confused and I have to teach you.”

Renjun shook his head, letting out a sigh of embarrassment, “The important thing about Chenle though is that he’s still considered a new vampire and I think you’ll find comfort in him since you’ll be transitioning alongside him. You’ll have him to play around with and talk to so it won’t be as lonely.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe how boring it was to just have Renjun to talk to” Haechan blurted as he navigated his way out of the airport.

“But you two are like old grandpas,” Jaemin complained, “I had no one to play with and talk to, they were both already some thousands of years old when I was turned. It was like being around mummies” he said, clearly exaggerating.

Despite the overly playful bantering, you were actually thinking about this Chenle guy and you were excited to meet him though you immediately associated him with your imminent fate to become one of them. The thought makes you shudder just a little because you had already done your own research and you knew just how painful it could be.

Haechan seems to always drive a little faster than what seems safe but you’re too tired to care, already dozing off, leaning against the window. The next time you open your eyes is due to Jaemin screaming at you to wake up as the car pulls up in front of a small, traditional, yet cute looking house. The aesthetics of the house immediately sparked the architecture major in you and you knew you could spend hours admiring what you assume to be Renjun’s house, but thankfully said boy pulls you inside the front door, not giving you much time to fully root yourself into the driveway.

Renjun himself seemed to pause in awe when he walked through the front door. “Like what we did to the place?” Haechan asked with a smug look on his face. The interior of the house was almost nothing like the exterior. The furniture was modern but minimalistic, mostly white with occasional wooden accents and grey walls. The difference was almost shocking yet you noticed how there were still traditional elements like the dragons carved into the walls and the gold plating around the light switches.

“Chenle paid for it” Jaemin stated. Again, it was that kid being mentioned with money, causing you to wonder just how much of it he had while Haechan complained to Renjun about how much work it was to remodel, only having himself, Jaemin, and Chenle to do the work. Though when Renjun continued to ignore him and wander off down a hallway, he moved onto bothering you, telling you how he plans to enroll in an interior design program in order to be your other half, who was interested in exterior design.

You playfully pushed him away as you followed Renjun, not wanting to be left alone with the most annoying one out of the bunch. You walked down the hallway to find Renjun  and Jaemin already in what you presumed to be you and Renjun’s shared room.

It was a large, spacious room, the walls colored a cute pastel grey-blue mixture, almost the same color as Jaemin’s hair, ironically. Your eyes went from the large closets on opposite sides of the room to the entrance to the bathroom with the beautiful marbled flooring, then finally landing on the large queen-sized bed which was definitely an upgrade from the twin bed that you and Renjun had gotten used to sharing, the other person always half, if not fully, on top of the other.

Haechan quickly joined the three of you and immediately took it upon himself to challenge Jaemin, “I bet I can unpack a suitcase faster than you.” So of course, they both used this opportunity to utilize their enhanced speed to compete against each other in unpacking your suitcases, only slowing down to ask you or Renjun where you wanted a certain item or who it belonged to. You thoroughly enjoyed the show they put on for you, even if it was slightly headache-inducing due to the fact that your eyes couldn’t fully capture them moving so quickly.

By the time you sat down to eat the stew Jaemin had lovingly cooked for you, you were starved. You had barely even taken a single bite when there was a knock at the door. Jaemin left his position in front of the stove to see who it was, exclaiming as he opened the door and letting out a loud “Chenle-yahhhh!”

Your head immediately jerked up at the mention of the name, curious to see what he  looked like after hearing so much about him. You were met by his fox-like smile and darkened red eyes as he introduced himself to you, already seeming to know who you were all the while squirming in Jaemin’s hold. “I’m Chenle, though I suppose you could tell already. Nice to finally meet you, y/n.”

“Oh, I’m so happy! Our Chenle is finally talking to a girl! And I can’t believe my two babies are here together~” Jaemin’s incessant cooing causing Haechan to do his infamous dry heave as Renjun directed your attention back to your stew which was already cooling down.

Once Jaemin had calmed down, he took a seat next to you as Haechan and Renjun were busy talking to Chenle about business-related things. You had slowly lost your appetite, as you still associated Chenle with the fact that you had promised them that you’d let them turn you once you settled down here. Jaemin sensed the drop in your mood and didn’t hesitate to grab your hand, that had balled up without you noticing, and drawing shapes on it while reassuring you that it won’t hurt as much as you think. “Y/n, look at me. As long as Renjun is here, it won’t hurt at all. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

He only continues speaking once you take another mouthful of your food. “You’re lucky you have him, though I was lucky enough to have my sister. She turned me to save me after we got into a car accident with my parents,” he looked at you to gauge your reaction, going on after he sees you still chewing, “my parents didn’t make it and she knew they wouldn’t so instead she chose to save me, not wanting to lose all the people she cared for. Personally though, I only really appreciated her after I made the transition,” he looked at you again and you motioned for him to continue while gathering up another scoop. “She spent her early years as a vampire going back and forth between us and her husband. I didn’t realize how much self-control it took until after I had to experience it myself, the constant thirst, especially when your significant other isn’t around.”

You swallowed the food that was in your mouth before asking, “why do you always refer to relationships as if you’re still human? You never just call people ‘mates.’”

“Ah, I think that’s because I’m still fairly new to the whole vampire thing. I still view relationships the way you would, you know? I could be married by now and had kids if I was still human, I think I’d be turning thirty this year” he mused.

While you were lost in the thought of Jaemin having kids and chasing his own little toddlers around, you didn’t notice Chenle taking the seat across from you until he cleared his throat, a little too obnoxiously for Haechan’s liking, getting a slap to the back of his head. The second you looked up and made eye contact with him, he asked “so when are you turning?”

All eyes went to you and Renjun, who had begun stuttering from the sudden attention. “W-we, uh, we haven’t discussed it yet.” If his ears could turn red, they’d have been burning by now.

“Well hurry up then. I can’t wait to finally have someone to play with. Everyone here is so old and boring, they don’t even know what memes are” Chenle quips, earning himself yet another slap from Haechan along with an eye roll from Jaemin, who claims he’s not that old and knows what memes are too.

You miraculously managed to finish your dinner and stayed to help Jaemin clean up the few dishes he had used to cook for you. Haechan and Renjun had ventured off somewhere while Chenle stayed seated at the table, only turning the chair around so he could face you and ask you questions while you did the dishes. Chenle asked you countless questions ranging from when you were born to what your favorite season was and if you had watched the latest trending shows on Netflix.

You could tell he was much closer to your age, as it soon felt like you were talking to just another friend rather than someone who wasn’t even the species as you. Chenle was very energetic and playful, already having taken to teasing you in the slightest ways while cracking jokes that you doubt Renjun, or even Haechan, would understand.

As you finished with the dishes, Renjun had returned to the kitchen, coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist while resting his head on your shoulder. “My love, there’s something I want to show you” he murmured into your ear, gently pulling you away from the sink. Jaemin and Chenle followed along as Renjun led you downstairs and through the lounge area you only caught a glimpse of earlier.

While your attention was drawn to all the high-tech gaming devices set up, you didn’t notice the solid steel door Renjun was guiding you to, only turning to look at it as he was turning the handle and pushing the door open, revealing Haechan inside a small room painted almost entirely grey. It resembled the look of a hospital room, except instead of the cot, there was a metal table with leather straps hanging loosely from the sides which Haechan was playing with.

You looked at Renjun, having an idea as to what this room is for, as he places an arm around your waist and steps inside. Haechan looks up and clears his throat loudly, almost as annoying as the way Chenle did earlier except this one is filled with pride. “Lady and not-so-gentlemen,” he began, Jaemin whining from behind you, clearly upset at Haechan’s choice of words, “this room is my work of art, which Renjun had commissioned me to construct. It is complete with state of the art noise cancelling walls and sealed ventilation to aid you in your transfer from human to vampire” he said, with a smirk at the end.

You were taken aback at how blunt Haechan was being, but you didn’t have much time to dwell on it due to Jaemin letting out a loud ‘wOW’ and running to the table, dragging Chenle along and asking him to strap him down. You let out a laugh at their childish antics while Haechan let out a sigh before turning back to you and Renjun and stating, “I’ll be ready whenever both of you are.”

Later that night, as you were cuddling in bed with Renjun after letting him feed from you, you turned to face him in your euphoric haze and whined “Renjunnieee~ when are you going to make me into a vampire? I want to be like youuu.”

“When would you like to do it, darling?” He replied, smiling at your current state, your eyes barely even open as you struggled to stay awake.

“I want it a-s-a-p,” you babbled, “as soon as possible.” Renjun only laughed as he placed a hand on your cheek while running his thumb over your lip. “I need to stop aging now or else I’m gonna end up older than youuuu.”

Renjun wheezed at your worry of passing his frozen age of twenty when yet, he was well over a hundred years old. As you were about to start whining again, he leaned in to press a kiss to your lips, effectively silencing you and saying “we’ll turn you as soon as possible then.” He pulled away slowly as your eyelids fluttered shut, smiling to himself as you let yourself drift off to sleep.

A/N - this is the last calm chapter we’re having haha. sorry it took me so long to update. i just started online summer school but my schedule turned out to be somewhat lighter than expected so i’ll try to update more frequently. feedback is greatly appreciated!

@nct-writers​

[impalementation]

Not sure if you’ve talked about it before because I couldn’t find anything from tags but, what’s your opinion on Faith in each season and her dynamic with Buffy?

I’ve gotten a couple different asks in this vein! Sorry for taking so long to answer them, this response got out of hand. Consider this my official thoughts on Faith. Putting it under a cut because it got long.

I think Faith is a crucial addition to the show. Admittedly, she isn’t someone I spend a ton of time thinking about, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t interesting or important. I like Faith for two reasons: first, for how she affects Buffy, and second, for how she ends up transcending the role of “someone who affects Buffy.”  

Regarding the first, a lot’s been said about what a classic foil she is, as well as how she’s an example of doppelgänger-type anxiety. Faith is someone that, simply by existing, makes Buffy conscious (even possessive) about her identity, in ways she’s never been before.

Which is one of the big themes of season three: Buffy’s relationship to identity, especially slaying as an identity, and slaying as a symbol of identity. In Anne Buffy abandons her slayerness, abandons her life and name, and fights a villain that literally takes away its victims’ personhood (“Who are you?” “No one.”). She loses her powers in Helpless. Her slayerness makes her an object of social retribution in Gingerbread, and a hunted animal in Homecoming. In Lovers Walk she toys with the idea that she could leave Sunnydale and have an identity that doesn’t have to do with killing demons.

And then you have Faith, a slayer who is presented as an alternate version of/path for Buffy. When Kendra was introduced, the show didn’t do much to emphasize what she and Buffy had in common; if anything, the show emphasized the ways they were different. Kendra was more rulebound, less social, and had accepted the idea of being a slayer a long time ago. Whereas Faith regularly plays up her and Buffy’s similarities: “We’re slayers, girlfriend. The chosen two.”, “You know it could be you.” Buffy herself admits that “it could be me.” I think it’s pretty deliberate that Buffy in The Wish has a jaded, Faith-like swagger. Or that the season features the concept of alternate-universe selves in general.

(That said. Despite the fact that I don’t see Buffy and Kendra as foils to the degree that Buffy and Faith are, I do think season three features Faith for much the same reason that What’s My Line introduced Kendra: both are about being at a crossroads of identity. Buffy in The Wish is a bit like Kendra too.)

I posted before about how seasons three and four introduce the idea of Buffy making choices about who she wants to be, rather than choices about who lives and dies. And how Faith is central to that. Faith makes Buffy aware of choice by (a) being a slayer, meaning that unlike any other character, she’s under the same constraints that Buffy is, (b) openly having desire for things (food, sex, slaying), © making different choices than Buffy, and (d) tempting Buffy to use her powers non-heroically, whether in the Bad Girls sense, or by forcing Buffy to potentially kill her in Graduation Day. Also, by encroaching upon things that Buffy considers “hers”, like her friends, lovers, or family, Faith clarifies for Buffy that she even considers anything “hers” at all. In other words, she makes Buffy notice both her identity as it is, and her identity as it could be.

But for all that Faith has nice symbolic and dramatic reasons to exist, what I actually really like about the way the show uses Faith is that she becomes a character in her own right. It ties into the show’s existentialist themes in a really effective way. I know, I get tired of myself as soon as I bring up the existentialist stuff, but I don’t think it can be understated how existentialist Buffy is. It’s why Buffy is a vampire slayer specifically, even though most of the time she isn’t even fighting vampires. She’s a vampire slayer because vampires are the opposite of existentialism. They’re nihilism. They’re thieves of agency, identity, and life. By virtue of lacking souls, they are incapable of moral choice. They don’t age, they don’t mature. They’re the opposite of “growing up.” They fill the open-ended eternity of their existence with destruction and death.

(You might point to Spike and Darla as exceptions to this vampire symbolism, but I genuinely don’t think they are. Both characters realize that their vampiric nature causes harm to those they love, and this realization leads both characters to self-destruct. Darla by staking herself, and Spike by getting a soul…which also results in his death a season later. Them achieving the ability to make a true moral choice leads directly to them ceasing to exist as soulless vampires.)

To bring this back to Faith, I see something vampiric in the concept of a doppelgänger or foil, the idea of this empty vessel that takes your identity because they have none of their own. Someone whose identity exists only as a reflection of someone else’s. A grasping, black hole of self.

The problem is, a real person can’t be a foil. That’s a literary construct. In real life, seeing yourself as a reflection or extension of someone else just means that you’re afraid of creating your own identity. Maybe for good, understandable reasons, and maybe not. Who Are You? is one of my favorite episodes because it makes this problem explicit. It turns Faith from an abstract foil figure into someone who literally steals Buffy’s identity, and is shown to not have a solid sense of self. I posted earlier about the similarities between Anne and Who Are You?, but I like those similarities not just because they create thematic continuity around identity-related ideas. I like them because there’s this kind of awful, tragic irony to the fact that even Faith’s identity crisis episode uses pieces from Buffy’s arc.

Speaking of using pieces from Buffy’s arc, I also love the way that Buffy’s role in Who Are You? mirrors Faith’s role in season three. Just as Faith threw Buffy’s identity into relief, Buffy now throws Faith’s identity into relief. Being Buffy frees Faith to act in ways she wouldn’t ordinarily let herself, and being treated as Buffy forces Faith to confront whether she actually does or doesn’t want to be treated in those ways. You might say that by fully confronting the ways that she sees herself in terms of Buffy, Faith is able to start moving beyond it. The episode is basically an exorcism of Faith’s foil-ness.

Unfortunately I can’t speak very well to Faith’s arc on Angel since I haven’t seen most of it. Just Five By Five and parts of Sanctuary. But there are a lot of things I like about Faith’s return in season seven. I love that in her introduction she asks whether she’s “the good slayer now”, and when she and Buffy talk in End of Days she tries to pull a “maybe we couldn’t exist at the same time” thing. Because she’s literally talking about herself like she’s a literary device. But by this point she’s also developed enough that it’s only semi-serious; she’s quick to accept Buffy’s point that no, her choices were her own.

I think it’s perfect that season seven includes Faith, because season seven involves Buffy once again grappling with choice, and what it means for her to be the slayer. I think it’s perfect that Faith gets the opportunity to finally understand Buffy’s loneliness, and that the two of them are able to commiserate about being “hot chicks with superpowers.” Because it’s them finally getting to have their slayerness just be something that they have in common. Instead of this big complicated identity thing. It foreshadows Chosen, and the way that being a slayer goes from being something that isolates Buffy, to something that Buffy can share with people. I also really like the reversal of the fact that in Empty Places Faith isn’t the one who wants to take Buffy’s leadership away from her. She no longer wants to take Buffy’s role or Buffy’s friends. Instead it’s everyone else that is determined to perpetuate the idea that only one of them can be in charge, or that Buffy can be replaced. It fits with the way that the season frames isolation as not just a personal problem, but also a social and systemic problem. Even though Faith has grown past many of her issues, that doesn’t mean that the people around her have, or that the fundamentally, systemically solitary nature of being a slayer has changed. See also: Andrew mythologizing Faith’s background, and Caleb calling her the “Cain to [Buffy’s] Abel.” Of course it would be an avatar of the First that tries to get Faith to see herself as an archetype again.

Other things I like: The fact that Faith reveals to Spike that she was in Buffy’s body, because it’s yet another case of her finally owning up to being herself, instead of a reflection of Buffy. The fact that when the night out goes badly in Empty Places, it’s not because of anything that Faith did (that night), the way it was in Bad Girls. The fact that Buffy hands Faith a blade as an expression of trust in Chosen, a reversal of gutting her with a blade in Graduation Day.

Overall I just think it’s a really cool statement on identity that the character who was introduced to give Buffy identity issues, then has to go on her own search for identity. No one in Buffy is exempt from the project of self-creation, least of all the vampires and the doppelgängers. But it’s especially appropriate that Faith go on that journey because she’s a slayer, and slaying is arguably a metaphor for existential striving. It would be weird if she didn’t grow, really. She’s the rare case of the female redemption arc, especially a redemption arc that doesn’t involve her becoming less violent or sexual (or dead) afterwards. Just less unethical about it. She gets to play that role in a more-or-less gender-neutral way, the same way Buffy gets to be a hero in a more-or-less gender-neutral way. Buffy and Faith both start out as archetypes, and both end up humanized in a way that transcends and complicates those archetypes. 

[Your ask didn’t mention Buffy/Faith, but a couple others did, so: as far as Buffy/Faith goes, my feelings are the same as most Buffy pairings, which is that I don’t personally have any investment in it, but I can certainly see the appeal. It sounds like a fun thing to ship. I would’ve been totally on board from a story/character perspective if the show had ever tried to make them non-subtextual. Partly because I’d be on board with anything, as long as it was interesting. But also because I can see it making a lot of storytelling sense, given that Faith’s whole job is to shake up Buffy’s sense of identity.]

[darks-ink]

Disinterred CH.15

Chapter 15: Clean It Up

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent. So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

(Tumblr hates links and I want this to appear in the tags so… for author notes/full fic summary/links to the other chapters/mirror links to AO3 and FFnet, click here)

“We need to talk to detective Payton.”

The woman behind the desk quirked an eyebrow at him, then glanced at the group behind him. “If you have a crime to report, you can speak to whichever officer is available.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Danny insisted. “It involves a case he was working on.”

She opened her mouth again, clearly intending to shoo him away. Jazz cut her off, however. “It’s really important, please. Can you just contact him and tell him that the Fentons want to talk with him.”

The lady glared at them shortly, but complied. The call involved a brief back-and-forth, but once Payton had heard the words “Fenton” and “case” he seemed to have made up his mind.

Sighing, the woman at the desk put the phone down again. “He’ll be here in a few moments.”

“Thank you.” Danny grinned, just a little too pleased with the small victory. Hey, he would take whatever he got right now. Any distraction from the upcoming conversation was more than welcome.

When Payton appeared he looked more than a little resigned at the sight of their group of teenagers. “I thought that the Fentons wanted to talk to me?”

“We’re temporary stand-ins for his parents,” Sam said with a shrug. “They’re… occupied.”

Payton sighed but, to his credit, didn’t otherwise react. He simply led the four of them to an empty room so they could talk.

“What is this about, then? Because I’m guessing that the ‘case’ you wanted to talk about is yours?”

“Yeah,” Danny confirmed with a nod. “We… We kind of left our some details.”

“You are aware that it’s illegal to lie to the police?” Payton crossed his arms, a mild glare send towards the teens.

“We didn’t lie!” Sam exclaimed, throwing out her hands. “We just didn’t tell the entire truth.”

“Is that so?” Payton didn’t look particularly convinced. Danny didn’t really blame him. In fact, he kind of felt bad for the officer. His involvement in the case certainly made it a lot harder than it had any right to be. Ghosts, in general, made work for the police difficult.

“When we talked about my… ghostly nature,” Danny started hesitantly, “we implied that my… more ghostly appearance was just a one time thing. It’s not.”

Payton nodded, now looking slightly more believing. “Is this related to your glowing green eyes during the confrontation with your parents?”

“Uh, yeah. I can trigger the whole transformation on command, but the glowing eyes happens for all sorts of reasons. Usually when I’m using my powers or when I’m experiencing really strong emotions.” Danny shrugged. “I kind of… use my more ‘ghostly’ form as a disguise of sorts, so people don’t recognize me.”

“But what would you need a disguise for?” Payton squinted at him, suspicion clear on his face. “Nothing illegal, I hope?”

Danny snorted in response, leaning back in his chair. “Hardly,” he said, before tapping into his powers to make his eyes glow on purpose. “Come on, it can’t be that hard to figure out.”

Payton scrutinized him for a few long moments, eyes gliding over him. Then the man sat forward, arms resting on the table. “You’re saying that you are Phantom? Well, that certainly explains why you laughed when I said that if Phantom thought you were okay, it was probably safe to trust that judgment.”

“What can I say, ghost hunting runs in the family.” Danny smirked, a rather Phantom-like expression, to drive the point home.

The detective continued to eye him, then sighed. “You do realize that this isn't going to change the decisions we made last meeting, right?”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed with a shrug. “I mean, I guess I’ll try for college but if I can’t get in I’ll just work for my parents. I’m already following their footsteps as Phantom anyway, might as well give inventing a shot too.”

Then his expression fell again. “But to get back to the original topic… I’m not just telling this for fun. It’s a secret for a reason.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Payton agreed, sitting back again. “What is it then?”

Danny frowning, running through his options. Apparently he took too long, because Jazz spoke up. “He’s not the only one. Not the only one with a human and ghost appearance, I mean.”

“And you’re telling me this because… you don’t think they deserve their secret if you didn’t get to keep yours?” Payton queried, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Danny bit out. “I’m telling you because he’s a jackass who uses his powers for bad purposes!” The vivid green light from his eyes flickered on the desk in front of him, but he ignored it. “He hurts people, he manipulates people! And he has gone too far!”

“And who is he, then?” Payton seemed genuinely intrigued. Apparently Danny’s rant had convinced him to at least play along.

“In human form or ghost form?” Tucker piped up. “Because he looks drastically different and he has no problem flaunting that fact.”

“In his ghost form he calls himself Plasmius.” Sam crossed her arms. “But the public usually calls him the Wisconsin Ghost, I believe.”

“The blue skinned vampire ghost?” Payton frowned. “I’ve heard of him, yes. Known to cause problems, picks fights with… Phantom.” The last word he said more quietly, realization of Phantom really being a 16 year old apparently striking him.

“That’s him,” Danny confirmed. “His human form is also well-known. Old family friend of my parents, current mayor of the town…”

Payton grunted. “You’re saying that the Vlad Masters is a ghost like you?”

“How do you think he won the election?” Jazz questioned with a scoff. “He didn’t stand a chance until he overshadowed most of the voters.”

“And that’s just one of many sketchy things he has done with his powers.” Tucker’s jaw visibly tightened at the thought of everything the man had done. Of what he had tried to do to him. Danny was glad for friends like these. “Stealing money, overshadowing business rivals to take over their companies, attempted murder of Jack Fenton…”

“Kidnapping Maddie Fenton, twice. Kidnapping Danny at least that often, including trapping him in ghost-proof bindings and electrocuting him,” Sam continued. “Sending potentially dangerous ghosts to Amity Park, in the hopes to either kill Jack or hurt Danny.”

“And that’s not even to mention that he tried to clone me,” Danny joined in. Then with a grimace, he added, “And emotionally abusing the one clone that survived. Well, as far as a ghost can survive, of course.”

Payton blinked, apparently stunned by the information overload. Then the last part processed, and he frowned. “He cloned you?”

“Not very successfully, but yes.” Danny shrugged, a faux casual air about him. “She didn’t quite come out right, and she wasn’t stable. But she’s with my parents now, and we managed to save her.”

“Which is also why they’re not here,” Tucker explained, leaning on Danny’s shoulder. “Hence Sam and I as the replacement parents.”

Payton remained quiet for a few moments. Then he sighed. “You are aware of how bat-shit insane this sounds?”

“Welcome to my life,” Danny said with a snort. “Or, well, you know what I mean.”

“We can’t just take your word for all of this,” Payton insisted. “It sounds… Well, it sounds too bizarre to come up with, but that doesn’t mean that it’s true.”

“And we can provide you with whatever proof you need.” Sam glowered at him. “We just need your assurance that you’re gonna look into it, and that you’ll do your best to arrest Vlad.”

Payton sighed, looking like he was very much regretting his involvement in this case. Again. “Of course. That’s literally my job, miss Manson. Although I do wonder how you expect us to arrest and contain a ghost.”

“Inventions to restrict his powers exist,” Tucker supplied. “You can probably move to arrest him the normal way, since he won’t be expecting you to know. Use some ghost-proof cuffs and you’ll have him before he realizes.”

“Fine. It’s a deal. I’ll need all evidence you have of his crimes, including witness reports,” Payton instructed, looking like he was trying to get back in control of the situation.

Danny nodded, then pulled out his phone. “I’ll call the Red Huntress. She was one of the people Vlad manipulated, and he straight-up tried to hire her to catch the clone when she escaped.”

Looking he was going to regret asking, Payton nonetheless asked. “I thought the Red Huntress didn’t like Phantom? Or ghosts in general?”

“Misunderstanding,” Danny explained, waving Payton’s concern off with his hand. “We got everything figured out, and she knows of both my identities.”

“Of course,” Payton groaned. “And I’m guessing you know who she is, then?”

“We all do.” Sam grinned at the clearly overworked detective.

The detective only groaned, but didn’t say anything. Danny figured he had a pretty good idea of what the agent was feeling like.

But it was for a good cause.

It took a few days to gather all the evidence the police required. The witness reports alone took a considerable chunk of time, considering the sheer amount of people in Amity Park alone that knew about Vlad’s shady business. Aside from the Fentons (all five of them) and Sam and Tucker, Valerie also had to be included.

And sadly, that was easier said than done, as she needed to reveal her identity for the report to count. After all, a judge wouldn’t just accept the statement of a masked vigilante that no one knew.

Thankfully she trusted Danny’s judgment (and, of course, the judgments of his friends and Jazz) and allowed Payton and his team to know. They were… less than pleased to discover that she, too, was a teenager.

Knowing that it had been Vlad who pushed her into ghost hunting in the first place… Well, that eased their moods a little. Besides, she and Phantom now worked together – and they trusted Danny to keep the people of Amity safe. From ghosts, at least. Human crime… Well, that was their job.

Additionally, there was some trouble with Dani’s witness reports. Law wasn’t exactly made with cloning in mind. Legally, Danielle Fenton didn’t exist.

But then, neither did ghosts.

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent.

So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

Most of the people involved who knew enough about the case to know that three of the people involved were ghosts… Well, they were just glad that the ghosts were solving their issues like normal people. Instead of, you know, blasting each other to bits on the streets.

When Danny first heard people mention it, it had been some of the other officers of Payton’s team. People who knew he was a ghost, but who hadn’t been told about his Phantom alter-ego. He immediately thought back of all the times he and Vlad had brawled and burst into laughter.

The officers looked at him like he had gone crazy, eyebrows raised. Between giggles, Danny managed to explain himself. “You- You really don’t know the half of it.”

That hadn’t really explained anything to the cops, but Payton coaxed them back to work before they could question Danny. The detective attempted to glare the boy into behaving himself, but failed once more. Now that he knew what the boy had faced off against, he wasn’t surprised.

Finally enough evidence had been gathered. The cops set out, armed with anti-ghost weaponry and ghost-proof cuffs. A cell had been prepared beforehand, covered by a ghost shield provided by FentonWorks. A special one, they assured, which would hold even the most powerful and skilled of ghosts.

Payton double-checked his gear. Then he gave the start signal, allowing his officers to pour into the mansion.

Within minutes the team returned, guiding Vlad Masters in their middle. The man was dressed, as always, in an impeccable suit. He frowned at Payton when his guides stopped him in front of the detective.

“Sir, with all due respect, but what on Earth is happening here?”

Payton offered the man a lopsided smile. Then in one swift movement he cuffed Vlad’s wrists together, preventing his escape.

“Vlad Masters, also known as Vlad Plasmius, you are under arrest for… Well, for a lot of crimes.” His smile grew a little wider, a little more genuine. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court.”

Vlad’s eyes widened, his gaze shifting between his bound wrists and the police officers surrounding them. Payton ignored him, continuing with his whole rights speech.

“Wait, no,” Vlad pleaded. “You must be mistaken- I have never heard of a name like ‘Plasmius’ before.”

“Save it for court.” Payton shoved the man forward, towards the van that would transport him. Several officers, all armed with ectoplasmic weaponry, would ride with him. The cuffs should prevent him from using his powers to escape, but better safe than sorry.

Then he turned towards the rest of the officers still waiting. He inclined his head towards the mansion that stood before them, looming in the approaching dark.

“Well then, let’s see how many sketchy things we can find in here. Sources say that he has an underground lab hidden, like some kind of supervillain.” He grinned at the crowd of police. “First one to find and enter it without disturbing actual evidence gets a reward.”

He clapped his hands together. “Ready, set. Go!”

And then the officers were off, leaving Payton to observe. The boy had been right. Arresting Vlad had been easy, as the man hadn’t expected them in the slightest.

How clever he thought himself. What a sham.

The Summer vacation hadn’t done much to calm Casper High’s rumor mill. The turbulent arrest of ex-mayor Vlad Masters right after the start of said vacation had spurred on all rumors. Not much was known about it, but that didn’t stop the teenagers. They whittled away, discovered the smallest details. Any slip-ups were gladly accepted and brought into the rumors.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise that they discovered that Danny Fenton had been involved as well. Not as a perpetrator, oh no.

As a victim.

Which, of course, combined well with the previous rumors of him being a ghost. It didn’t take long for the first theories to emerge, suggesting that Vlad was his killer. That he had played a critical role in the death of Danny Fenton.

And so when the school year started, against all odds… The rumors hadn’t died off. Quite the opposite. Even more people than before believed that the boy, now in his final year of school, was a ghost.

So they kept their eyes open for his arrival.

Eventually, their wait was rewarded. The doors of the school opened, and in the opening he stood.

Lanky, with unbrushed but shiny black hair. Icy blue eyes that, ironically, sparkled with life. A surprisingly healthy gloss to his pale skin. A playful but kind smile on his face. For once, he looked well-rested. No bags under his eyes.

Perhaps… Perhaps Vlad Masters really had been responsible for his death. Perhaps Danny Fenton could finally rest easy, knowing that the man was finally arrested.

His outfit was much like the usual.

The girl he had his arm wrapped around… much less so.

She, unlike Danny, looked uncertain. Shaky. A red beanie sat perched on her head, but messy black hair still spilled out of it.

Her eyes, blue as the skies, glanced around the entrance hall with vigor. She looked guarded, like she was expecting someone to suddenly attack her.

She had her hands stuck in the pockets of her oversized blue hoodie. A crease in her brow suggested, however, that said hands were clenched into fists.

Standing right next to Danny Fenton, it was very very clear that she looked almost exactly like him. A little younger, perhaps, but undeniably identical.

The crowd parted the let the two through. But they remained nearby, hovering around the two. Waiting. Watching.

In the end, it was Dash Baxter who decided that he’d had enough. He stepped forward, breaking from the line and into the circle of personal space that had been granted to Danny and his… whoever she was.

“Hey Fenton,” he bit, stressing the last name of the ghostly teen. “Who’s this?”

“Oh hey Dash,” Danny greeted as he turned to face the other boy. He pulled the girl next to him a little closer to his side, drawing a displeased hiss from her. “This is Danielle, or Dani.”

“With an i,” the girl muttered under her breath, barely audible.

“Okaaay.” Dash frowned, looking between the two. “That still didn’t answer my question of who she is.”

“Oh, right.” Danny flapped his free hand. “She’s my dead sister.”

Dash froze up, and sharp intakes of breath could be heard from everywhere in the crowd. “She’s your what?”

“My dead sister,” Danny repeated, finally releasing the girl to reach towards his locker. Then he looked over his shoulder at the crowd and grinned.

And stuck his arm right through the still closed locker door.

“Funny how that works, huh?” he said, with his arm still waving through his locker. He looked like was searching for something without being able to see it.

Dani, meanwhile, seemed to have gotten over her nerves. She leaned back against the lockers, standing right next to Danny. She was still eyeing the crowd, however, a little warily.

Soft mutters could be heard from the crowd, but no one had a real response. Sure, everyone had been convinced that Danny was a ghost. Hell, Dash had even seen the boy go intangible before.

But this was undeniable proof. And it was a lot less feeble than a whiffed punch by a jock.

Finally Dash got his thoughts back in order, though. “So why’s she here now?”

“Well,” Danny hummed as he finally pulled his arm out of the locker again. Held in his hand were several books for school. “You guys all knew I was a ghost anyway, so she didn’t have to hide anymore.”

He turned back to face his once-bully with a lopsided grin on his face. Then he shrugged. “Besides, where else is a ghost going to get an education?”

[thataspdfeel]

that book list I promised

//rubs my grubby hands together happily

Boy howdy do I ever have some book recommendations. This would’ve been posted earlier but mobile decided to go fuck itself. Just a heads up, this is gonna be long

I mostly read series because tbh teen fiction is some of the best. It tends to take the most risks with both style and characterization. (Granted, it also tends to fall risk to some of the worst tropes imo like abuse stalker creepy guy is hot cause he loves protag)

Anything Garth Nix has ever written in his whole life. He’s one of my favorite authors and tends to stick to series. Keys to the Kingdom is 7 books and the first is Mister Monday and you read in order of the days of the week. No really. You’ll see why. His Old Kingdom series is 5 books and a short story so far and starts with Sabriel. It’s about necromancers who keep the dead down rather than raise them. Like I have the biggest boner for this series it’s not even funny

Terry Pratchett is my absolute favorite author of all time (besides Shakespeare) and he’s written over 50 books. You don’t have to read them in any particular order but he does follow characters across books sometimes. I recommend starting with Monstrous Regiment, Small Gods, or Going Postal first. If you want to start in chronological order, I think The Colour of Magic was written first

If you’re patient, read the whole Lord of the Rings series from The Hobbit onward. Tolkien sucks his own dick and describes clouds for a whole page cause he’s a world builder kind of writer. I haven’t had a chance to try the series again but I remember enjoying The Hobbit. Just know this is a very tedious option and may result in more boredom

Less boring is The Chronicles of Narnia but there are a few books that are just an absolute bear to get through. I recommend this right after lotr because these stories are a result OF THE SAME DRUG TRIP because Clive Staples Lewis (no really that’s what CS stands for) and Tolkien were college roommates. And because Narnia is a fucking fun place to visit

George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire cause it includes more detail than Game of Thrones and because I’m always a slut for kingdom musical chairs and dragons

Speaking of dragons, The Inheritance Series which is Eragon etc because it’s like lotr for people who can’t stand reading about a cloud for two pages, almost entirely action. Plus, in one of the books, they (Eragon and Saphira) do a couple of really stupid, slightly offensive things to the elves and admit their mistakes which I thought was cool cause it feels like sometimes protagonists don’t apologize in books

Chris D'Lacey also writes these REALLY COOL books about dragons called The Last Dragon Chronicles where these ladies make dragons out of clay and I’m 90% sure The Fire Within is the first book. There are at least 7 and I really need to catch up

Angie Sage writes about a boy named Septimus Heap who’s the 7th son of a 7th son and those books start with Magyk and there are at least 6 maybe 9. They’re fucking awesome and full of magic and adventure and I’m pretty sure he gets a pet dragon somewhere

Suzanne Collins also writes a lot of great stuff but I REALLY like her Gregor the Overlander series. Think Alice in Wonderland with a guy and no drugs and it’s awesome

Anything Rick Riordan has ever written in his life. I love love love the Percy Jackson series and he also wrote Children of the Lamp which is the bomb dot com about djinn children

Douglas Adams has a whole Hitchhiker’s Guide series and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the first and it’s just bonkers and loads of fun. Basically earth gets blown up and the protagonist has to deal with it. An absolute riot

James Rollins writes the Blood Infernal series about vampires and were-beings not just werewolves. The first book is Sanguine and the protagonist’s best friend is a werewolf. The first two books don’t have much to do with each other aside from being in the same universe but book three picks up at the end of book one and ties them both together. I’m pretty sure there’s sex

I’d also recommend anything Edgar Allen Poe or Shakespeare ever wrote. I know that’s more Classical Canon or whatever the fuck but honestly? Delightful. Same sentiment for Stephen King

I can’t remember the names of all the series I’ve read but these I definitely do. So onto individual books!

I, Coriander by Sally Gardener set in 17th century London and has to do with a fairy world if I remember correctly

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine about a really ugly inn keeper’s daughter and it’s kind of a retelling of Snow White (She wrote other stand alones but I haven’t read them. Based off this, though, I’d recommend them)

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about a girl who immigrates from Nigeria(?) to the US and it’s just really really good

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe set in Nigeria(?) right when colonialism happens. The first part is pre-colonialism and then it gets into the beginnings of it and all this happens within the lifespan of one man. Trigger warning though for mentions of abuse, explicit child murder and explicit suicide. Like it’s a good book but it’s gonna be a rough ride if you don’t know what you’re in for

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is good, if tedious. It’s a Latin American book so the story is circular and told in spirals. I literally have no other way to describe it. Also don’t ignore the family chart at the very beginning because people get the same names across generations and it’s absolutely hellish. Trigger warning for incest, I think rape, definitely abuse, and a baby gets eaten by ants at the end which is more gross than anything

Black Rain by Kuroi Ame is about the bombing of Hiroshima. I’m pretty sure that’s all the trigger warning you’re going to need

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie is a collection of short stories about various Native American characters living on a reservation

Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt is about a Blackfoot medicine man who finally talks about his life but it’s less interview and more John interpreting things so this needs to be read a little critically

Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions by Richard Erdoes is a book where a Sioux medicine man talks directly to Erdoes from a Native perspective about various things from sex to politics. Was a joy to read honestly. Very enlightening

Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo basically entails the way of the bushido or the samurai code more or less. Kind of technical but I enjoyed it

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause is about the werewolf protagonist trying to fit into her pack and figure out how to be a teenager. There’s at least one graphic mention of death (I think). It could also be suicide) so heads up

The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause is a vampire romance set in the 90′s and has absolutely nothing to do with the other book and was definitely something I loved. The protagonist watches her mother waste away from illness so avoid if that’s not something you can handle. Apparently, there are more stories (which I’d LOVE to read) and I’d recommend them just based off the two I have read

The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney was amazing and I’ve just found out it’s a series not just a stand-alone so I know what’s going on my to-read list. It’s about an apprentice to The Spook who puts down evil things that hide in the dark. Kind of spine-tingling so if you don’t do horror, don’t read when it’s dark. It’s not horror-horror but if it’s not your thing, definitely read during the day

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is the only thing Faulkner ever wrote I can possibly stand. It’s a short story and the time is out of order but I still liked it

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is also a short story and my absolute favorite

Also not a book, but I greatly enjoy the Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet but not everybody does because 1 early American literature and 2 Puritan but that’s something if poetry is up your alley

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is about the life of a horse set from the horse’s perspective. No seriously. With I statements and everything. I thought it was very interesting. (I was also like 8)

White Fang by Jack London is by wolves. I don’t remember much more than that because of how long ago I read it but it was probably decent since it stuck in my mind

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman is about a prince’s whipping boy which is a thing because you can’t spank a prince directly so you have to punish somebody else. V interesting

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl was very enjoyable. I like Roald Dahl anyway but the concept of a chocolate factory was awesome. I also read it before I saw either movie and before the remake

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is pretty good but skip the epistolary at the beginning and read it after if you want to spare yourself some headache

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic and just really fun and I can definitely see why it’s a classic

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman was really interesting and honestly, I’d read anything that man writes after I read that

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is even better than the movie but there’s abuse mentions in it like even more so than the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, heads up for graphic depictions of miscarriage, racial violence, and I don’t remember if the one death mentioned is graphic or not but it’s a heavy book

I’d have more but I can’t remember their damned names right now and it’s bugging me. I also have obscure video game recs because I’m one of those indie freaks. They tend to really draw me in

Also, if you like manga, I’ve read like idk how many series but a shitload and the day onemanga shut down was the day my soul died

Anyway, I hope this is fine. It isn’t even the half of what I’ve read. Like I spent almost all of my childhood reading and I enjoyed most of it. I just wish I could remember book names. Their stories are floating around in my head, just not their names. If I remember any more, I’ll probably add to this list

[krinsbez]

A History of Alien Invasions; my college thesis, part 1

Well, my dad’s always going about how I ought to publish this thing that I had to write in order to earn my college degree (I will not be telling you what in because I want y’all to respect me). To my profound irritation I cannot find the actual word document, though I do have those of my classmates, so unfortunately, you’ll be getting the version sans bibliography I posted on a forum board once.

Beware wall o’ text...

A History of Alien Invasions: Depictions of Alien Invasions and Changes in Pop Culture 

Of the many ways to examine changes in society, one of the most interesting is to examine the entertainment produced in different eras. Media such as films, books, and TV programs all reflect what is going on in society at the time. Different kinds of entertainment reflect varied aspects of the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times, whether their creators intend to or not. For example, horror films reflect people’s fears. A variant of that genre which is particularly prone to reflect the attitudes and worries of an era is one that often gets short shrift in terms of cultural study: films depicting the invasion of the Earth by aliens. Unlike traditional horror films, which largely tend to play to people’s primal “night terrors” in a world of black-and-white battles between good and evil, alien invasion tales tend to speak to a part of the human psyche that is more in tune with “the real world.” The alien invasion film engages one’s fears of subjugation, loss of identity, and other cultural and political uncertainties, rather than the more conventional nightmares of vampires, serial killers, and other such sources of bodily harm. (Lucanio 11). An analysis and comparison of an array of alien invasion films will help demonstrate the way they tend to reflect society. In addition, a discussion of two or three depictions of alien invasion from other media will be included, as they are necessary for completeness’ sake. These works span a period of time from the late 19th century to the early 21st. Among these are several remakes of earlier films. To best demonstrate the changes between the original films and their remakes, the two will be discussed together. With remakes, it is important to remember that not all differences are due entirely to socio-cultural change. Some were caused by differences of the “vision” of their respective creators, or by studio politics. However, even these “differences of vision” can sometimes be used as an example of societal change, as each creator’s “vision” is just as molded by changes in the zeitgeist as anyone else’s.

War of the Worlds

This analysis begins with the granddaddy of alien invasion fiction: The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells, first published in 1898. Wells’ novel, quite possibly the first tale of alien invasion, has been adapted numerous times, in an array of different media, including radio, movies, television, and even comic books. For purposes of brevity, the focus shall rest on only the original tale, and three adaptations. These are the 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast, the 1953 George Pal film (Rovin 164-165), and the 2005 Steven Spielberg film. Wells’ novel tells the story of an invasion of the Earth by Martians. The Martians land in projectiles shot from Mars, build nigh-unstoppable war machines, and set about destroying/conquering everything in their path until being struck down by germs. The book is in the form of a survivor recounting the invasion several years later and thus is told mostly in the first person, describing his trials and travails from shortly before the Martians land to shortly after they perish. A portion of the book is written in the third person, describing events to which the narrator’s brother was witness, and a good deal of the discussion of the Martians’ technology, biology, and other such things, discovered after the invasion. From the brief description provided above, an uneducated reader could be forgiven for thinking that the book is fairly simple, an impression one gets from surface examinations of most alien invasion fiction. This impression would be woefully inaccurate both in the case of The War of the Worlds and other works in this genre. The book exists largely as a work of satire of British Imperialism; the point is made both through the general feeling of the novel and explicit statements by the narrator that what the Martians are doing to Britain is not particularly different from what Britain was doing to the rest of the world (Wells 9). At times, this comparison is over emphasized; while a brief mention is made that they might move on to Europe, they never actually invade anywhere other than England. The novel also touches on evolution, and unsurprisingly, given Wells’ socialism, class struggle. (Taravella 249) Naturally, Wells’ anti-Imperialist sentiment and other philosophical musings do not appear in the other versions, or at least are heavily de-emphasized as they were made in different times and different places, where these issues were less important. Also, the creators of these works did not necessarily agree with Wells’ left-wing politics. This is not, of course, to say these adaptations and remakes are without deeper meaning as can be shown through analysis of them. Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast is a good starting point. With a few exceptions, the lion’s share of Welles’ version is made in the form of a faux news broadcast, an embryonic form of the style of faux-documentary we now call a “mockumentary.” It takes place in 1939, a year after it was produced. In an opening monologue (parts of which were copied almost word for word from Wells), Welles sets the stage by stating that, in this fictional near future, “business was better. The war scare was over. More men were back at work. Sales were picking up.” This statement gives an idea of the mindset of Welles’ audience; it lets analysts know that these two things, the economic situation and the brewing conflict in Europe, were troubling the minds of the American people at that time. The latter is of particular importance as it was this particular anxiety that most likely drove the famous, or infamous, reaction to Welles’ broadcast: mass panic. Due to a series of circumstances that will not be discussed here, many listeners came into the broadcast in the middle, and missed the introduction that would have told them that the apparent “news broadcast” was a work of fiction. These listeners therefore assumed that the broadcast was real, that the Earth, and more specifically the United States, was being invaded by Martians…and reacted accordingly. Eventually, of course, the furor died down, leaving a mark on pop culture, both by itself and by making Orson Welles an international star. However, it is striking in what it reveals about the American mindset at the time and how that mindset diverges from that of contemporary America. Most obviously, the broadcast showed how people reacted to the media. To the modern observer, saturated with information and wary of media bias, the reaction to Welles’ broadcast seems to be ridiculous, almost insane. It is important to remember that, in those days, information about what was going on in the world was limited to four primary sources: word of mouth, newspapers, movie newsreels…and the radio. Partially because of this fact, the media tended to be, or at least was perceived to be, less partisan and more concerned with providing the facts. Welles’ program was designed to evoke the feeling of the real thing: a program of dance music, occasionally interrupted by news flashes of unusual explosions observed on Mars, eventually escalating into a live newscast of a full-on alien invasion. The power of radio at the time cannot be understated. As an example, in 1926, the BBC’s Father Ronald Knox performed “Broadcasting The Barricades,” an account of a populist revolution done in a similar fashion, albeit in a less realistic and more humorous style. It, too, produced a panic, albeit a smaller one (Gosling). The other major factor in the panic was the situation in Europe. The broadcast was made in 1938, on the eve of the Second World War. By October, the month of the broadcast, Hitler’s Germany had seized control of Austria and the Sudentenland. It was a forgone conclusion that a war was on the horizon in Europe. Unsurprisingly, many Americans feared that the United States would be pulled into the conflict, as had happened two decades earlier in the First World War. It is notable that, according to a study performed by the Radio Project, many of those who panicked did not believe that America had been invaded by Martians; they thought it had been invaded by Germans, (War of the Worlds Film) likely because of that nation’s recent aggression. War of the Worlds came to the big screen in 1953, produced by George Pal. This version was even more divergent from Wells’ novel. Pal’s Martians invaded in what was then the modern day, and their behavior was quite different from the Martians of Wells and Welles. Whereas the previous iterations came as conquerors (Wells’ Martians fed on human blood and seemed to be planning on keeping men as cattle, while Welles’ Martians “[made] a conscious effort to avoid destruction of cities and countryside”), Pal’s Martians came as destroyers, obliterating everything in their path, reflecting the belief that the Soviets intended not just to conquer the West but obliterate our entire way of life. The threat of nuclear annihilation probably played into this change as well. The scope of their invasion was also much greater, being global rather than confined solely to a single nation, just as the Communist menace was. In addition, the hero, rather than being a hapless observer, is a forceful man of action, a scientist constantly involved in the vain attempts to battle the invaders. He also has a love interest, something that is emphatically not present in Wells’ novel (Wells’ nameless narrator is married, but his wife is mentioned only briefly). These latter changes are due partially to Hollywood’s tendency to stick action heroes and romance into just about anything, but are also an attempt to reassure the audience of the power of American Manliness and of traditional gender roles, both of which were perceived as being under attack by Communists. Even more than the above changes, two things explicitly mark this film as a product of the early years of the Cold War. The first is that, while specific mention is made of nations all over the world fighting the Martians, there is one nation that is explicitly not mentioned: the Soviet Union. When one adds in that Washington becomes the center of human resistance, the implication is quite clear that the Martians are merely a substitute for the evil Soviets. The second of these is religion: in the climactic sequence, the hero runs from church to church, which somehow remain inviolate while the rest of Los Angeles is burning, looking for his love interest. He finds her at the same time as the Martians finally do attack a church, namely the one in which the hero and his ladylove are standing in. Oddly, the only damage is a stained-glass window, and the Martians die almost immediately thereafter. The film ends with a shot of a cathedral, while a narrator solemnly informs viewers that after the science of Man failed, the aliens were defeated by microbes “which God, in His wisdom placed upon the Earth”. The implication of this imagery and statement is that the Martians were struck down by the hand of God for their sacrilege. While this line does appear in Wells’ novel (220), it is part of a larger statement, which lacks any such meaning. This change is symptomatic of one of the basic attitudes of the Cold War; that America stood for God and faith as opposed to the Godless “Commies”. In 2005, a new film version of War of the Worlds appeared in theaters. Directed and produced by acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg, featuring super-star actor Tom Cruise, and with big budget, state-of-the-art special effects, one would think that this film would be a bombastic spectacle that would dwarf its predecessors in scope. Such was not the case. This version focuses on a modern-day blue-collar dockworker from New Jersey and his two children, as opposed to the scholarly philosopher of Wells’ novel, the famed astronomer and assorted journalists of Welles’ broadcast, or the renowned scientist of Pal’s film. There are effectively no references to what is happening in the world at large, little speculation as to the motives and nature of the invaders (who, incidentally, are not Martians, but from another world, never identified). Far more attention is paid to the panicked crowds attempting to escape the invaders than to the authorities seeking to fight back. In short, despite its high production values and big names, it is a much smaller story than its predecessors. Unlike Wells’ and Welles’ ominous tales and Pal’s implication of divine intervention, Spielberg’s film is much more humanistic. Its hero is a flawed, working-class everyman trying to protect his family, rather than a perceptive intellectual trying to learn about the invaders or find a way to defeat them. At the climax, after it is realized that the aliens are perishing, the movie pictures soldiers destroying the invaders’ war machines. As with Pal’s film, Spielberg’s ends with a narrator quoting from Wells’ closing monologue, but rather than emphasizing “the smallest of God’s creations,” and thus Man’s impotence in the face of the threat, it instead emphasizes how Man had earned his immunity to them through centuries of deaths, proving that “men do not die in vain.” Despite the smaller scale, Spielberg’s War of the Worlds is far more explicit than the previous film. Alien war machines explode out of the ground in the wake of violent thunderstorms, crowds of fleeing people are blasted by the invaders and violently evaporate, a river is filled with floating corpses, hordes of terrified refugees trample each other in a stampede towards perceived safety, the aliens graphically drain people’s blood to spray onto the gruesome red weed that sprouts everywhere in their wake…these are just a few of the multitude of depictions of graphic violence displayed in the newer film. So, what is the source of these changes? The third of these, the explicit violence, while the least significant, is probably the easiest to explain. Throughout the second half of the 20th Century, the American people became more jaded and inured to violence. It is therefore much more difficult to elicit gasps of horror and shock from a modern audience, and it is easier to use graphic imagery to provoke the viewers than to inspire a sense of dread. Thus, a profusion of Grand Guigniolesque grotesquery is offered, a pattern that will become discernible as this survey of alien invasion films continues. The other two changes, the smaller scale and greater humanism, are more difficult to elucidate. Partially this is because Spielberg’s style of filmmaking tends to be highly personal; hence it is a case of “creator’s vision.” However, it is more than that. Many of the later films under discussion have a similar emphasis on the common man, the average Joe, the little guy, rather than the square-jawed, always-confident, intellectual hero of the Fifties’ films. There are undoubtedly a multitude of reasons for this change, but among the most likely is that it relates to a growing alienation of people from the authorities. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The next tale of alien invasion was born in 1954. That year, author Jack Finney wrote a story, serialized in Colliers Magazine, entitled “Sleep No More,” a tale of mysterious “Pods” from outer space replacing the inhabitants of a small California town called Mill Valley when they fall asleep. The next year, he expanded this tale into a novel, The Body Snatchers. The year after that, it was developed, more or less faithfully, into a film entitled Invasion of the Body Snatchers, directed by Don Siegel. The film became a cult classic and was remade in 1978. (Rovin 38) This remake, directed by Philip Kaufman, was less faithful to the novel: the location was changed to the big city of San Francisco, it took place in contemporary times, and the characters were changed considerably. In the '50s versions of Body Snatchers, the main male and female protagonists (Miles Bennell and Becky Driscoll) are quite different from those of the '70s remake (MATTHEW Bennell and ELIZABETH Driscoll). Until his breakdown at the very end of the movie, Miles is a very decisive, take-charge kind of guy who comes as close to being in control of events as one can in such a situation. Matthew, on the other hand, spends much of the movie slightly befuddled. He is confused and unsure of what's going on and what to do about it. Becky and Elizabeth are practically the opposite. Becky is an exceptionally passive character, merely following Miles' lead in all things and contributing little. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is intelligent and incisive: she's the first person to realize what's going on, and it is she who convinces Matthew of the threat they face, rather than the other way around. The change in name, from the diminutive "Becky" to the more respectful "Elizabeth" reflects the greater assertiveness of the '70s character. These changes are a clear reflection of the changing attitude towards women and male authority between the '50s and the '70s. Another difference is in the actions of the Pods. In the '50s versions, the "Pod People" pretend to be normal humans not just by looking like them, but also by acting like them, to the point that only an intimate or close observer can see something wrong. In the '70s version, however, they do no such thing. With one or two exceptions, the Pod People appear cold and emotionless throughout. Only the complacency and obliviousness of the human population makes it possible for them to hide that something is wrong. This difference becomes more blatant in the climax of the film, in which the heroes are captured, escape, and then are chased by a horde of Pod People. In the '50s version, the Pod People attempt to persuade the heroes to join them, explaining that the process will not hurt, that it is really a good thing for it to happen. Only after Miles tears apart their arguments and rejects them do the Pod People take forcible action. This simply takes the form of locking the heroes in with some Pods and then leaving them alone, content that it is only a matter of time before they fall asleep and are replaced. Even after the escape, the Pods attempt to persuade; the pursuers shout out that it is all right, it won’t hurt, and such things. In the remake, the Pod People aggressively burst into the room, grab our heroes, and hold them down while they are injected with sedatives. Only then is a half-hearted attempt at persuasion made, one that has more the feel of a weak justification. When the heroes escape and make a run for it, their pursuers call out weird and inhuman screeches. At the same time, the way in which the Pod People go about replacing people is displayed more blatantly. In the '50s versions, while the Pods are clearly conspiring together, said conspiracy is off-stage and unseen until near the end. In the '70s version however, they openly meet and exchange Pods in broad daylight. The greater alienness and inhumanity of the Pod People and their more blatant conspiring in the '70s version are, perhaps, due to societal changes, two in particular. First, the people of the ‘70s were more jaded about violence than those of the earlier generation. Because of this jadedness, the subtle menace of the ‘50s film would not have sufficed to terrify a ‘70s audience as was intended. Thus, the aliens were made more gruesome and inhuman, so as to increase their impact and provoke a response from the audience. The blatancy of the Pod People is due to another societal change. In the 50s, the people were afraid of invasion, infiltration, and corruption by external forces, namely the Soviet Communists. Thus, the Pod People are clearly outsiders, who seek to seduce the heroes to their side with rhetoric and propaganda…just as the Communists were believed to do. In the '70s on the other hand, during the years of detente with the Communist enemy, people were less afraid of external invasion. Instead, they feared threats from the inside. In the wake of Watergate and Vietnam, the cynical public almost expected that the government, the people in whom they were supposed to trust, were in fact conspiring against them.

[science-criticaltheory]

Maine Lawmaker Seeks Discrimination Protection for Climate Change Deniers by Associated Press

Larry Lockman said his bill would reaffirm free speech by protecting climate change supporters as well. Photograph: Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

State representative introduced a bill that would limit the state attorney general’s ability to investigate or prosecute people based on their political speech.  

Maine laws protect people from discrimination based on factors such as race, disabilities and sexual orientation, and a Republican lawmaker wants to add a person’s beliefs about climate change to that list.

State representative Larry Lockman has introduced a bill that would limit the state attorney general’s ability to investigate or prosecute people based on their political speech, including their views on climate change. It would also prohibit the state from making decisions on buying goods or services or awarding grants or contracts based on a person’s “climate change policy preferences”.

Lockman, an independent business consultant from Amherst, told the Associated Press that he believed it was an open question whether human activity is the primary cause of climate change.

Peer-reviewed studies, science organizations and climate scientists say that the world is warming from manmade forces.

State representative Lois Galgay Reckitt, a Democrat of South Portland and a marine biologist who sits on the judiciary committee that has the bill, said prospects for passage are poor. She said she expected “the entire Democratic caucus is going to hate it”, and some Republicans will, too.

“The issue for me is I’m a scientist and I live near the ocean. It’s absolutely clear to me that climate change is happening, and it worries me,” she said. “I will fight this tooth and nail.”

Lockman wants to prohibit the state attorney general from investigating, joining an investigation or prosecuting any person based on that person’s protected political speech.

But he said his bill would reaffirm free speech by protecting climate change supporters as well.

“I don’t want to see a Republican state attorney general issuing subpoenas for the records of progressive or liberal thinktanks or public policy groups to chill their free speech,” he said.

The Democratic attorney general, Janet Mills, declined to comment.

In his bill, Lockman says that the supreme court’s decision in Citizens United “continued the protection of protected political speech, no matter the source or message”. That case allowed corporations and unions to make unlimited independent expenditures in US elections.

Jonathan Reisman, an associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Maine at Machias and a vocal critic of the scientific consensus on climate change, said he requested the bill.

He said the bill is an attempt to defend the first amendment freedom of those who speak out in a way that does not reflect the consensus.

“It’s about Citizens United and the government abridging speech,” he said. “It’s not about climate science. It’s about climate policy.”

Lockman has a history of causing controversy. He once dressed as a vampire outside a federal building in Bangor to protest against the Internal Revenue Service. He also once accused liberals of assisting the Aids epidemic, saying they assured “the public that the practice of sodomy is a legitimate alternative lifestyle, rather than a perverted and depraved crime against humanity”.

He said he could not predict the outcome of his latest bill but expected a lot of interest at a public hearing scheduled for 6 April.

Lockman’s bill is “absurd and unnecessary”, said Dylan Voorhees, climate and clean energy project director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

“Clearly an attempt to provide cover for climate deniers,” he said. “I see a trickle down from the Trump administration that has emboldened some folks to make climate denial statements.”

[xiombrag]

#Feminism – Storytelling

Okay! I hope this is the last thing I'm going to have to say on the article I linked regarding Vampire 5th Edition.

There's three related, but separate, things to parse here.

1. The accuracy of the article.

2. How to treat nuWW and V5.

3. The effect of the article, and the behavior of the article's author.

...

1. The accuracy of the article.

So, it seems that the author was working with the pre-alpha. I wasn't able to get ahold of the pre-alpha, but I was able to get ahold of the alpha. I can't verify what he saw, but even if it was accurate, between what he saw and the current alpha, a lot changed.

The current alpha has a totally different scenario. No pedophile. The scenario is set in Gary, Indiana, and the characters are all black. I'm a white dude, so I may have missed something (understatement!), but I didn't see any racism. All the characters are flawed, but still human, struggling with the difficulties of being turned into monsters in their own way.

There is no mention of being triggered at all. The Brujah-specific "compulsions" do sort of feel like they're poking fun at the righteous crusader type, in a SJW sort of way, but not as strongly as it sounds like the pre-alpha did.

Humanity is in this version of the rules. I don't want to bog this post down with details, but I rather like the new Humanity rules. The Hunger rules are interesting as well. Both work together to make a tension between your character's humanity and their Beast, like the old Vampire, but in an interesting, new way.

Now, if the pre-alpha was anything like he said, it's a little concerning it was like that at all. And one of the examples in the alpha contains, perhaps coincidentally, the white power code number 1488, though when told about this, nuWW reacted swiftly to take the alpha down to fix it, so that's good.

And yeah, the point about old WW not sexualizing the covers was always silly. Remember the original Tzmisce clanbook?

So, I'm a lot more sanguine (ha ha) about this new version of Vampire now.

That said, I'm still concerned about the general edgelording of nuWW, which I still see evidence of. Yes, they only hired Zak S for that one thing... but they also have that statement, still on their website, about how they investigated and are sure he never did those things that everyone else knows he did. The nuWW have expressed concept for content warnings, mocked the previous work old White Wolf did, and hell, even if they're rolled back on it, the bad decision making and the edgelording on that pre-alpha was pretty bad, and by more accounts than just the one article.

2. How to treat the nuWW and V5

Given that, I'm still disinclined to give nuWW my money. I'd be willing to play V5 now. I'd be willing to buy V5... used, so they don't get my money. But I'd have to see a lot less juvenile button-pushing before I get enthusiastic about them as a company.

Also, there's been this counter-meme about "making room for edgy". Nothing in the pre-alpha or the alpha was edgy, y'all. Offensive, maybe, but not edgy. Edgelordy, but not actually edgy.

You want some games that are edgy? Like, actually push the edges, without being contemptuous of how other people feel? I can name several off the top of my head: Monsterhearts 2, Urban Shadows, and Misspent Youth. The first two are even in the game genre as the World of Darkness, and the third can be set there if you want.

Or, how about something that makes white dudes uncomfortable, pushing the edges of what the typical white gamer finds acceptable? That's fucking edgy. And for that, you're going to want #Feminism.

http://storytelling.pelgranepress.com/feminism-a-nano-game-anthology/

And you know what? Unlike the edgelord fucktards at nuWW, the nanogames in #Feminism rate the games on how heavy they are, so you know what you're getting into. Choose the amount of edge you want.

Fuck it. If you get anything out of this post, stop reading now and buy #Feminism if you don't own it already. Vampires aren't edgy. Speaking truth to power is edgy.

3. The effect of the article, and the behavior of the article's author.

This is an important factor for several people that I respect who dislike the article.

While I thought that the article made the distinction between nu White Wolf and Onyx Path clear, it seems it caused confusion that lead to people being harassed.

The distinction was probably clear to me because I was already clear on the distinction between nuWW and OP before I read the article, so I didn't realize how poorly explained it was while reading it. If I wasn't already inclined to believe the people reporting the harassment (and I am), my house-mate had some of trouble with the distinction when I explained this stuff to him, providing further empirical evidence that this stuff is confusing.

I'm told, again by people I trust, that right now is "harassment season," and this article stirred up a lot of shit and caused people in OP unrelated to nuWW to get death threats for being associated with Nazis at literally the worst possible time. So that's a bad thing, and though I may talk about nuWW's edgelording in my own way, I won't be resharing the article further.

If that weren't enough, when the author took down the article, he initially vaguebooked about who caused him to do it. Then he changed the post, naming names of the people, including one feminist gaming critic, who he thought was persecuting him, pretty much pointing a finger and going "Attack!"

While I agree with the intent of the original article, even if I originally had issues with some of its conclusions and now have some concerns with some of its content, I also agree with those who've pointed out his behavior in pointing fingers in this way is not cool (understatement!).

In general, the only action I condoned here was not buying V5. If you read that article and decided to "go after someone," particularly a woman, you done fucked up, start over and try again.

#uft

http://storytelling.pelgranepress.com/feminism-a-nano-game-anthology/

[ileneca7]

The Velocity of Money… and Revolution

  David Brin is an astrophysicist, technology consultant, and best-selling author who speaks, writes, and advises on many topics including national defense, creativity, and space exploration. He’s also one of the “World’s Best Futurists.” Find David’s books and latest thoughts on various matters at his website and blog. If you missed my interview with David, read it here. ~ Ilene 

  The Velocity of Money… and Revolution

Courtesy of David Brin, Contrary Brin Blog

If you’re perfectly comfy with the economy’s gyrations, then pay no attention as I explain what’s actually going on. Economists have been recognizing signs of serious dislocation for some time. Even right-of-center fellows like newsletter mavens John Mauldin and Lacy Hunt have finally recognized the core indications. I wish I could share their excellent newsletters with you. But – at some risk of misinterpreting or even treating them unfairly – I intend to paraphrase. And criticize.

A recent Mauldin missive correctly cites the most disturbing symptom of trouble in the U.S. economy: a plummet in Money Velocity (MV).

To quote John:  “You may be asking, what exactly is the velocity of money? Essentially, it’s the frequency with which the same dollar changes hands because the holders of the dollar use it to buy something. Higher velocity means more economic activity, which usually means higher growth. So it is somewhat disturbing to see velocity now at its lowest point since 1949, and at levels associated with the Great Depression.”

Somewhat… disturbing? That’s at-best an understatement, since no other economic indicator is as telling. MV is about a bridge repair worker buying furniture, that lets a furniture maker get dentures, so a dentist can pay her cleaning lady, who buys groceries….

There are rare occasions when MV can be too high, as during the 1970s hyper-inflation, when Jimmy Carter told Paul Volcker “Cure this, and to hell with my re-election.”  But those times are rare. Generally, for all our lives, Money Velocity has been declining into dangerous sluggishness, falling hard since the 80s, rising a little in the 90s, then plummeting.

Alas, while fellows like Hunt and Mauldin are at last pointing at this worrisome symptom, they remain in frantic denial over the cause. Absolutely, it is wealth disparity that destroys money velocity. Bridge repair workers and dentists would spend money – if they had any.

We have known – ever since Adam Smith gazed across the last 4000 years – that a feudal oligarchy does not invest in productive capacity. Nor does it spend much on goods or services that have large multiplier effects (that give middle class wage earners a chance to keep money moving). Instead, aristocrats have always tended to put their extra wealth into rentier (or passive rent-seeking) property, or else parasitic-crony-vampiric cheating through abuse of state power.

See my earlier posting: Must the Rich be Lured into Investing?

Situation Normal: Cheating Flows Up

Do not let so-called “tea party” confederate lackeys divert you. The U.S. Revolution was against a King and Parliament and royal cronies who commanded all American commerce to pass through their ports and docks and stores, who demanded that consumer goods like tea be sold through monopolies and even paper be stamped to ensure it came from a royal pal. Try actually reading the Declaration of Independence. “Taxation without representation” was about how an oligarchy controlled Parliament through jiggered districts and cheating, and used that power to funnel wealth upward.

Here’s a fact that shows where we came from… and might be going: over a third of the land in the thirteen colonies was owned – tax-free – by aristocratic families.

The U.S. Founders fought back. After their successful revolt, they redistributed fully a quarter of the wealth and land, and they did it calmly, without the tsunami of blood that soon flowed in France, then Russia, then China. That militantly moderate style of revolution actually worked far better at fostering positive outcomes for all. For the people… and yes, for local aristocratic families, who retained comforts, some advantages. And their heads.

Nor was that the only time Americans had to push back against proto-feudal cheating, which we now know erupts straight out of human nature. The Civil War was certainly a massive ‘wealth redistribution’ by giving millions of people ownership of their own lives and bodies. During the 1890s Gilded Age, we avoided radical revolution in favor of reform – e.g. anti-trust laws.

Our parents in the Greatest Generation – who adored FDR – sought to prevent communism by keeping market enterprise flat, competitive and fair. Far lessradical than the Founders, their reforms created the flattest social structure and the most fantastic burst of economic prosperity, ever.

And dismantling the work of that generation has been the core aim of the confederate aristocracy, since Reagan.

Dire beasties! Debt and the Fed

But let me share with you more of the myopia of decent men. John Mauldin continues: “Debt is another big issue for Lacy Hunt. People compare debt to addictive drugs, and as with some of those drugs, the dose needed to achieve the desired effect tends to rise over time.”

John then shows a chart (he always has the best charts!) revealing the additional economic output (GDP) generated by each additional dollar of business debt in the US. Needless to say, the effectiveness of each dollar of debt, at growing healthy companies, has plummeted.

Um…. Duh? Once upon a time, the purpose of corporate debt was to gather capital to invest in new productive capacity (factories, stores, infrastructure and worker training), with an aim to sell more/better goods and services that would then produce healthy margins that pay off the debt, across a reasonable ROI (Return on Investment) horizon.

This would then actually decrease the net ratio of debt to company value, across a sapient period of a decade or so.  This approach still holds, in a few tech industries, but not wherever companies have been taken over by an MBA-CEO caste devoted to Milton Friedman’s devastating cult of the quarterly stock-price statement.

Today, companies borrow in order to finance stock buybacks, market-cornering mergers and other tricks that our ancestors (again, in the Greatest Generation or “GGs”) wisely outlawed. Tricks that GOP deregulatory “reforms” restored to the armory of cheaters. Tricks that enable the CEO caste to inflate stock prices and meet their golden incentive parachutes, with the added plum of pumping rewards for their Wall Street pals who arrange the debt.

Every parasitic act of “arbitrage” is justified with semantically-empty incantations like “correct price determination” – mumbo-jumbo spells that bear absolutely zero correlation with reality.

No wonder each added dose of debt is ineffective at actually growing long-term company value! What’s so hard to understand? Why are Mauldin and Hunt puzzled?

Oh, yeah. They are honest and sincere men, at last able to perceive symptoms. But alas, they are also far too stubborn to acknowledge the root disease — a conspiratorial cabal of would-be feudal lords. Loyal to a fault… (well, these plutocratic connivers are their friends)… John and other residually-sapient conservatives choose denial over admitting that Adam Smith had it right, all along.

Instead, Mauldin focuses again and again on his chosen Bête Noir … theFederal Reserve, even though the Fed has almost insignificant power over any of the things we’ve discussed here.  It’s Congress – Republican for all but two of the last 23 years – who sent U.S. fiscal health plummeting, from black ink to red that’s deeper than an M Class dwarf star. Congress did this while devastating every protection against monopoly/duopoly or financial conspiracy.

Misunderstanding your own icons and heroes

Consider that Friedrich Hayek – often touted as the “opposite to Keynes” – actually agreed with John Maynard Keynes about many things, like the need for a very wide distribution of economic decision-makers. In an ideal market, this would be all consumers, empowered with all information. (There goes Brin’s broken record, repeating “transparency!” over and over.) Though yes, a 21stCentury Keynsian will call for a government role in (1) counter-cyclical stimulation and (2) inclusion of externalities, like the health of our children’s children and their planet. (Note the spectacular success of the greatest modern Keynsian politician, California’s Jerry Brown.)

Hayek complained that 500,000 dispersed and closely watched civil servants could never substitute for the distributed wisdom of an unleashed marketplace of billions. Hm. Well, that’s arguable. But so?

What does the right offer up, as its alternative? A far, far smaller, incestuous cabal of a few hundred secretly-colluding golf buddies in a circle-jerking CEO caste? That’s gonna allocate according to widely-distributed market wisdom?

Hayek spins in his grave.

This selfsame CEO-caste went on a drunken debt spree that blatantly served the cabal and not their companies, nor the economy or civilization.

Blaming the Federal Reserve for that is like condemning the owners of a liquor store for all the drunk drivers crushing pedestrians. Sure, the low price of booze might have contributed, but it’s not the primal cause. Oh. And yes, it’s been Congress that keeps funneling wealth from the middle class into gaping, oligarchic maws.

Some of these guys almost get it

How I wish I could share John Mauldin’s newsletter with you! It’s smart! I mean it. I always learn a lot, the charts are excellent. Moreover, I get self-pats on my own back, for assiduously reading the smartest commentators that I can find, from every side. Also, John’s a cool dude and way fun. I read every word and its maybe 70% real-smart stuff!

(For contrast, see the super-smart liberal “Evonomics” site; the place where Adam Smith is most-discussed and would be most at-home.)

Moreover, John does honestly acknowledge – forced by the blatantly obvious – that income and wealth disparities are problematic and rising, while money velocity plummets.

Only then he goes to the newest catechism of the rationalizing right… arm-waving that technology is at fault.

Yes, okay, automation has a depressing effect on middle class wages. So? Then it is time for a conversation about the social contract again. Like how to keep the middle class “bourgeois” – by keeping them vested in shared ownership of the means – as well as output – of production. It’s what the Greatest Generation did, while troglodytes accused them of “communism.” The most-entrepreneurial generation in history, they were far from commies.

Some in-yer-face time

Okay, it’s that time again; so let me talk again directly to the confederate/feudal elites aiming to restore inherited hierarchies of old. This is no longer about Mauldin, but the would-be overlords standing right in front of him, in his blind spot.

Dear oligarch-traitors. Let me avow that human nature and history seem to be on your side. Our experiment in flat-fair-open systems always had the odds stacked against it. Hence, you feudalists will probably get your wish. Briefly. The middle class will very likely fall into proletarian poverty while you rake it all in.

Your evident plan is to leverage new technologies to entrench oligarchic rule, right? I depict something like it in EXISTENCE, though done by far smarter zillionaires than you.

Only – was it really part of the plan to wage open war on every single fact-using profession? Now including not just science and journalism and law, but the FBI, intelligence agencies and the military officer corps?  And all the folks who are innovating in genetics and artificial intelligence, too? Really? Are you that confident?

Or else, perhaps you are like so many past lords — so lulled by sycophants that you cannot hear Karl Marx chuckling, as he rises from his mere-nap. (Copies of his works are flying off the shelves, faster than any time since the 1970s.) If so, you may get much more than you bargained for. More revolution than any sane person would want.

Adam Smith wasn’t the only one to seek a way out of this dilemma. Nor were the U.S. Founders. Will Durant – one of the greatest historians – said this, in his book, “The Lessons of History“:

“In progressive societies the concentration (of wealth) may reach a point where the strength of number in the many poor rivals the strength of ability in the few rich; then the unstable equilibrium generates a critical situation, which history has diversely met by legislation redistributing wealth or by revolution distributing poverty.”

The recent “great” time for America was built by moderate, if somewhat leveling, legislation. The Greatest Generation chose a Rooseveltean alternative to violent revolution. And it worked — inarguably, spectacularly — till cheating once more gained the upper hand.

Me? I stand with the Founders. With Adam Smith and a flat-fair-open market society filled with opportunity for all and grand, cheat-advantages for none. A relatively-flat society that still has loads of incentives. One wherein true competition among healthy-confident equals can thrive, pouring a positive-sum cornucopia for everyone.

And now, yes, “equals” must include all previously-squelched sources of talent – genders, races and the raised-up/blameless children of the poor.

You confederates, you are the traitors to that flat-fair-open-accountable Better Capitalism. The form that stood up to Marx and quelled him to sleep. The only kind of market system that can withstand the coming wind, when he awakens.

I stand with the Greatest Generation… and greater ones to come.

I stand with the moderate, scientific, flat-fair revolution that accepts facts and complexity and denies simplistic incantations. Moreover, that moderate/calm/eclectic kind of revolutionary numbers in the tens… hundreds of millions. We include nearly all of the most-skilled, and our growing cadre hears the alarum.

We awaken. We rise. And you had better welcome this. Because it will either be our reforms or the tumbrels of Robespierres.

Choose.

[Read also: Must the Rich be Lured into Investing?, “Class War” and the Lessons of History, and our recent interview with David Brin.]

The Velocity of Money… and Revolution was originally published on MarketShadows