#No one wins except Dracula

[immediatebreakfast]

With joy I hurried to the window, and saw drive into the yard two great leiter-wagons, each drawn by eight sturdy horses, and at the head of each pair a Slovak, with his wide hat, great nail-studded belt, dirty sheepskin, and high boots. 

People! What a joy to see people! Not the Count, not the shadows of the Weird Sisters in the corners of the castle, but actual living people! How many weeks has Jonathan gone without seeing another person? The only company he has are the wolves, the moon, and the fractured memories which he keeps in his journal... Because I have the feeling that Jonathan doesn't trust his own mind anymore.

But oh, how cruel is fate sometimes.

Henceforth no effort of mine, no piteous cry or agonised entreaty, would make them even look at me. They resolutely turned away. 

Even if it's horribly cruel how the Slovak, and the Romani leader's response to Jonathan calling for help it's laughter, I can't shake the feeling that; just like how Jonathan can only call for help from his locked room, the only thing they can do is laugh.

Jonathan, the slovaks, and the romani are prisoners of Dracula in different ways. Jonathan is both the physical, and the symbolic prisoner inside the castle, the hysteric wife trapped with the yellow wallpaper. The slovaks are trapped in an economical spiral, along with being just humans against the man who has riches that spawn over centuries; even if they see Jonathan, everyone is so scared of the Count that they can't do anything. The romani are in worse, shunned by society (that keeps rejecting them to this day), and subjected to racism no matter where they go, what is their choice if they don't want to live in poverty? What choice do they have except reluctantly enter in service for a being that still sees them as subhuman, but at least pays them.

So, with Dracula looking over their shoulders, waiting for any kind of misstep, Jonathan can only cry by the window as he watches the wagons go, the slovak can only laugh, and the romani can only look away.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! I'd like to run a game that's Jane Austen-esque or a political/social drama with fantasy elements. Think A Court of Fey and Flowers, except I don't want to subscribe to their channel so I haven't actually seen it. Fairy settings in particular would be appreciated! Thank you in advance

THEME: Political and Social Drama

Hello, I think I have a really fun collection of options for you to take a peek at. We’ve got fairies, we’ve got secrets, and we’ve got drama!

Fey Court Chaos, by Mabbly.

Fey aristocrats party the equinox away. You have been invited by the most prestigious monarchs of this wild magical land. Parlay with potential allies, humiliate your enemies, & impress those worth impressing–but avoid getting kicked out yourself!

Fey Court Chaos is a party-based tabletop role-playing game designed to let you escalate a royal ball into dramatic highs and lows. You will need a pool of dice or coins to play. Any kind will do, but the fancier the better!

This is a game about trying to make a name for yourself while possibly ruining the status of your companions. You’ll wager points of Reputation every time you do something risky, with the risks rising depending on the status of the person you’re interacting with. Success means a rise in reputation or learning a juicy secret. Failure means losing someone’s favour, or even giving one of your own secrets away! If you love fantasy faerie settings, this game gives you all the basics, and has advice for the game runner as well. You should definitely check it out!

The 147th Annual Necromancer’s Ball, by Meghan Cross.

You are cordially invited…

The 147th Necromancer's Ball is a one page TTRPG about necromancy and feeling fancy for a GM and 3-6 players played with a single d6.

You are necromancers attending The 147th Necromancer's Ball, dressed to the nines with your familiars in tow. You are ready to have a wonderful time, but more than that you are ready to show your rival once and for all that you are better than them by displaying your social prowess (and maybe even winning Necromancer of the Year.)

But not everything goes according to plan when a party crasher shows up to ruin the evening for everyone - and it is up to you to stop them and save the party!

This is a game all about being dramatic as fuck and also petty as fuck. You can roll Necromancy when you want to do magic or command the undead, and you roll Feeling Fancy when you engage in social entanglements or navigate the ball. Showing that you’re the Necromancer of the Year won’t be easy, especially once a party crasher shows up to complicate things - and possibly steal your chances of winning!

If you love silly games, as well as taking time to describe just how drop-dead (pardon the pun) gorgeous you look, this might be your game.

Avalon Society, by Martian Machinery.

Avalon Society is a game about courtly love and intrigue, and the conflict between passion and duty. You'll play knights, lords, ladies, upstarts, pretenders, unknowns, or possibly a changeling or a sorcerer. Pull swords out of stones, break curses, ascend to the round table, duel your rivals, or even fall in love with them. It’s up to you.

Avalon Society is a setting created for Good Society, which is the game of social intrigue, and in fact, the game that helped build A Court of Fae and Flowers! Good Society takes place in the same time as Jane Austen’s novels, but Avalon Society replaces character roles and family backgrounds in order to represent an Arthurian story. The court also shifts seasonally, which feels very reminiscent of a fairy court. The biggest downside - you also have to buy Good Society in order to use this supplement.

Townhouse Dracula, by Tenbear.

You have the opportunity to attend a dinner party at the one and only Townhouse Dracula. Here you will vie for Dracula’s favour, which includes eternal life and power beyond your imagination.

To decide who gains this power Dracula puts party guests through a gauntlet of past memories. Guests do their best to impress Dracula and convince them that they would be an asset to have in the Dracula lineage. 

Townhouse Dracula presents the players with scenarios that their characters will have to navigate, trying to piece together Dracula’s memories when they might not have all the answers.

This is first and foremost an improv game, so it’s good for people who like coming up with pieces of a story on the fly. You’ll get tokens as rewards for being funny, clever, bold, kind, etc. At the end of the game, you’ll tally your score and determine whether or not you become part of Dracula’s lineage. If you like the mysterious allure of vampires and want to stretch your storytelling muscles, you might want to check out this game.

Tax Cuts and Pixie Dust, by Weird Blue Yonder.

The home of a sordid assortment of terrible woodland spirits doing terrible things in a desperate bid to sit atop the Fairy Throne.

You are those woodland spirits, and election season is just around the corner…

Tax Cuts and Pixie Dust is probably the most political game on this list. It uses pretty standard faerie tropes - you can be an elf, a leprechaun, a banshee… even a giant! All of you are supposed to be part of the same party, but you all secretly want the throne!

This is a game about dirty politicians, with the humour and camp turned up to allow you to get really ridiculous with it. The resolution system involves building small dice pools of d6’s, tallying successes to see how you fared. The GM is responsible for presenting scenarios and complications, which are present in a few roll tables. At the end of elections you vote on each player’s position in the new court, and that’s game!

Butterfly Court, by mishagw.

In Butterfly Court, you will play as a member of the titular Butterfly Court, the court of the monarchy of the kingdom Praecia. This is a court intrigue game that uses the No Dice No Masters system, based on Avery Alder's Belonging Outside Belonging games.

This is a storytelling, roleplaying game, where players portray members of a court, but not necessarily the monarch or the heir. Instead, the game focuses on everyday lives, intrigue, relationships, obligations, and myriad other concerns of the regular people in the court: nobles, but also staff, servants, artists, and other people that make court life possible.

Butterfly Court doesn’t dictate who you are exactly, but it leaves a broad space for different kinds of supernatural beings. So if you want faeries, this game is certainly able to take place in a faerie court. The game is designed to pit your characters into situations that are difficult for the country at large: rebellions, scandals, famine, crime, etc. You also create factions that have different methods and priorities.

Everything that you create together is shared communally, because Butterfly Court uses a GM-less, diceless game system. This means that you’ll each have shared authority over where the story goes next, although there is a cycle of play that helps you move from one scene to the next. I think that the idea of this being a game about different factions navigating political turmoil has the potential to be represented really well through a collaborative system like this.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

If you want something more like Jane Austen, you might like Le Bon Ton! If you like equal parts adventure and social intrigue, then Household might be for you.

[lipglossanon]

Winter’s Knight

vampire!Leon S. Kennedy x fem!reader

inspired by Leon’s romantic look 😌 and the song Dracula’s Wedding by OutKast 💜 also the poetry mentioned is from Emily Dickinson; there’s also one line plucked from Dracula

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, biting/marking, fated pair, strangers to lovers, blood, blood kink, scent kink, dirty talk, oral (f receiving), OC friend of reader named Lara just in case that throws anyone off, unprotected sex, creampie

title from Winter’s Knight album by Nox Arcana

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!! 💜 😘

“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” you mimic in a high tone before rolling your eyes, “opportunity my ass.”

Your friend Lara convinced you to go on this holiday trip with her, all expenses paid, as she wanted the company. The boyfriend that was originally going to be accompanying her had been dumped the week prior. Cheaters never win had been Lara’s flippant reply when asked. 

It felt like it happened overnight and before you knew it, Lara had whisked you away to three different countries one of which being the current visit in question. You think you’re in Romania or maybe Estonia; you’re a little mixed up as your plans had changed mid train ride. 

Lara’s family had some connections in the area and so you were both staying in a rather posh old castle turned tourist destination. 

A very lovely place except now you were completely turned around when all you wanted was to get a bottle of water from the concierge and go back to bed. Your footsteps have slowed considerably as you take in the magnificent gothic architecture and the beautiful paintings ranging from landscapes to some strange brooding man encapsulated in shadows; you’re never fully able to make out what he looks like, too much shadow blanking his features. 

You find yourself at a dead end, ornate furniture filling the space with a singular painting taking up the entire wall. It literally takes your breath away. It must be the place you’re staying in, the front gate still looks the same from what you can tell; it’s this castle seated on a rocky cliff face overlooking the villa down below. Your hand reaches out to touch, but you hover over the gilded frame before dropping it back to your side. 

“Lovely, no?”

A smooth, low voice has you spinning around, a thrill of fear humming in your chest. 

A man stands to the side, a little further down the hall. He’s tall, slim waisted with broad shoulders that stick out to you, even being shrouded in the dim lighting like he is; his eyes shine like an animal’s before you blink and it’s gone. 

That small niggling of fear in your brain is getting louder as he moves closer, making no sound in his sharp dress shoes. 

He keeps his eyes locked on the painting as he stops next to you.

“Quite an ancient castle,” he murmurs, almost too low for you to hear. 

When he finally turns to face you, you almost gasp. He’s beautiful, almost ethereal with his snowy white hair and fair complexion; both make the blue of his eyes almost glacial. 

He smiles sardonically, “Lost?”

You squint your eyes at him, lips pursing in suspicion, “You could say that.”

He grins and his teeth glint sharply before he turns, holding his arm out for you. 

“I can guide you back to your room, miss?”

You smile sarcastically as you step up alongside him, completely ignoring the proffered arm, “Miss is just fine, sir.”

His eyes flick from the end of the hallway to you and he hums in amusement, “Well miss, shall I lead the way?”

“Oh, please do,” you simper and this earns a low chuckle from the handsome stranger, making your heartbeat flutter at the sound. 

He guides you back to the foyer and up the grand staircase, pointing out paintings or furniture that have some kind of significance to the castle. Pausing in front of an oil painting not far from your room, he falls into a sort of melancholy. 

“This was one of the ladies of the castle,” he finally pulls back, turning without looking back at you, “I’m sure you can find the rest of your way, miss.”

You startle, not realizing he was just going to dip out now. 

“Hey!”

He pauses, half turning so you can see the profile of his straight nose and sharp cheekbone.

“Thanks, mister?” You trail off, hand fluttering in the air as you gesture. 

He fully turns to smile at you, “Mister is just fine, thanks.”

You can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out of your chest, missing the way he lights up at the sound, eyes cataloging you far more closely than before. 

“Well, thanks Mister,” you shake your head, smile still stretched across your face, “maybe I’ll see you around then.”

“Maybe,” he murmurs, bowing to you at the waist, “goodnight, Miss.”

“Goodnight,” you tilt your head and wave your hand.

Laughing to yourself, you turn and head further down the hall and into your room.  He watches you until the door clicks shut and he turns back to leave. Pausing in front of the painting once more, he brushes a thumb across the placard on the bottom. 

“She feels like the one, hmm?” He murmurs to the half smiling woman, “now that she’s here, I don’t know if I can do it.”

A door snapping shut from further down the hall has him pulling away from the painting and slipping off into the night. 

You run into the strange gentleman again in the castle gardens situated just to the side of the towering edifice. Since Lara’s pacing in her room trying to figure out what went wrong with your travel plans, you decided to go for a walk instead of sitting around doing nothing.

You’re looking at one of the dead withered trees off to the side, debating if sitting on the bench here is safe from any falling branches when that low smoky tone speaks behind you. 

“There’s a certain slant of light, On winter afternoons, that oppresses, like the heft of cathedral tunes.”

You squash your urge to jump in place and spin around to face him. He’s no less devastatingly pretty in the weak winter sunlight. 

“Good afternoon to you, too,” you smile, enjoying the weirdness he exudes, “and what a conversation starter, might I add.”

He meets your smile with his own little grin, “Somber poetry for a somber day.”

You giggle, “Guess so.”

He gestures and you sit on the bench as he takes a seat next to you. 

“Here on vacation?” You kick at a loose rock with your booted foot.

“You could say I’m here for leisure,” he muses, blue eyes taking in every nuance of you. 

You tilt your head to look at him, “Oh I could, huh?”

Laughing, you straighten up, hands fiddling with the clasp on your jacket, “Well, I’m also here for leisure. Even though it’s kind of an accident.”

He raises an eyebrow and you continue, “It was a mix up and we ended up here. A vacation, just not in the right place.”

“How fortunate am I,” he smirks and you feel heat blaze in your chest, eyes dropping to look down at your jacket. 

You tug on the zipper, catching your finger in the teeth with a hiss. It snags a bit of skin as you jerk it free, blood beading on your fingertip.

His features are serious as he takes your hand in his, “You must see to it so it doesn’t become infected.”

You nod, touched at his concern, “I have some alcohol swabs and bandaids up in my room.”

He brings your hand closer and you get the wild idea he means to suck your finger into his mouth, but he only kisses the back of your hand as he pulls a handkerchief from his pocket, a light gray fabric that looks like it costs more than your entire wardrobe. You catch his initials, L.S.K., monogrammed in black on the edge. 

“Thank you,” you murmur, feeling flushed in the cool afternoon air as you clasp the handkerchief to your finger. 

“My pleasure. Shall I escort you back to your room, miss?”

Lips parting, you take in his pinched features as he stares at your hand before nodding again, “Yes, please.”

His eyes snap up and he smiles, relief spreading across his face, “Good, good.”

Once you’re both standing, he snags your elbow with his fingers and gently guides you along. Since he’s much closer than before and you’re not sniffling from the cold air, you catch a strong smell of cedar and cloves that nearly makes you swoon. 

“Are you okay?” He stops, grip firming up on your bicep to tug you closer making the smell even stronger. 

“‘m okay,” you murmur, eyes drooping as you slump against his chest, “just smell good.”

You feel him laugh and the low baritone makes your cunt throb so hard you whine into his jacket. 

“Maybe moving from the cold into the warmth has made you dizzy,” he says kindly, “come, let me help you to your room.”

Completely unsure as to what’s happening to you, you let him lead you back to your room. Your legs don’t seem to want to move the way you want to and the more you breathe in whatever cologne he’s wearing, the more slick drips from your pussy into the gusset of your panties to the point you’re soaked between your thighs. 

He murmurs low platitudes in your ear that just makes everything better worse, so by the time you make it back to your room and he eases you down into your bed, you’re asking him to stay. 

“No. You’ll thank me later,” he soothes, pulling off your winter boots and tucking you under the covers. 

“Please,” tears prick your waterline, emotions and hormones all over the place. 

His lips thin and he runs a hand through his white hair, strands ruffled when he clasps your hands together, “Just close your eyes. I’ll stay here.”

Dropping to the floor, he kneels alongside your bed, keeping your hands together. Struggling to keep your eyes open, you just know he won’t be there when you wake up and some part of you hates that idea. 

“Didn’t think it would affect you like this,” he murmurs as you drift off. 

With a small shift, he moves forward and pulls the pricked finger into his mouth. His hot tongue lashing against the digit is the last thing your mind holds onto before it slips away like sand in the tide. 

When you come to, it’s dark outside and Lara is shaking your shoulder. 

“Finally,” she huffs, brows pinched, “thought I was gonna have to take you to a doctor or something. You good?”

You squint at her but can’t remember anything but the stranger you met helping you back inside from the cold. The rest is a cloudy blank in your mind. 

“Yeah, just tired I guess,” you raise up, pushing the blankets away to swing your feet out of bed, “what’s up?” 

As you shift, you notice a small square cloth and a bolt of memory, of sitting on the bench with that man, makes your eyes widen. You pick up the handkerchief and tuck it into your pocket. 

She smiles weakly, “Kinda stuck here a few more days then we’ll just fly back home in time for Christmas.”

You frown, an uncomfortable sadness pinging in your chest, “Oh? That’s fine. I like it here, so it’s not like it’s a hardship.”

Lara laughs, “Maybe for you. I’m ready to be somewhere that has pizza delivery.”

You grin, “Fair enough,” you push her shoulder, “well, when do we plan on leaving?”

“Two days is what my travel agent says,” she looks down at her phone, “that was the nearest opening since it’s the busy season and plus a storm is coming in tonight.”

“Ahh,” you nod along, “plenty of time to sightsee then.”

She giggles at your teasing and stands up from the bed, “I just wanted to let you know. It’s kinda late but the kitchen’s still open if you wanna grab something. I’m honestly exhausted from being on the phone all day so I’m gonna crash.”

“Hang on!”

You throw on some shoes and meet her at the door, “I’ll walk you to your room and head down to grab some food. You sure you don’t want anything?”

“Nah,” she shakes her head, “I had something earlier since I thought you’d eaten. You sure you’re feeling okay, though?”

“Mmhmm,” you smile, pausing outside her door, “promise.”

She returns your smile, “Okay, goodnight then.”

“Night!”

The door snaps shut behind you as you walk away, heading to the staircase and down to the restaurant. You take your time, stopping to look at various paintings on the way down, even pausing in front of a suit of armor to peer into the empty helm. 

“Expecting a skeleton?”

You jump backwards, nearly tripping as you stumble into the firm chest behind you. 

Righting yourself, you feel hot all over in embarrassment as you meet your strange acquaintance for the second time today. 

“U-uh, hi,” you feel jittery with nerves, like a new crush, “thank you for today by the way. I don’t know how I got into my room, but I’m guessing you helped?”

His brows raise in surprise, but it’s quickly replaced by a warm smile that makes butterflies flutter in your chest, “Yes, you weren’t feeling well. Dizzy from the temperature change.”

You take a half step back, leaving more distance between you two. 

“Well, thank you,” you clear your throat, “uh, I was going down for a late dinner, do you want to join me?”

A sly grin crosses his features making you nervous, “I’d be delighted although I’ve already.. eaten this evening.”

“O-oh okay,” you stumble over your words as you turn to walk down the stairs, “anything you’d recommend?”

A sharp bark of laughter escapes him as he walks alongside you, “No, nothing I’d recommend. Although I’ve heard their special today is excellent.”

Surprised at his outburst, your brows furrow as you smile in confusion, “If you say so.”

You lapse into a comfortable silence as you both make the walk to the dining room. There’s just something about him that draws you in like a moth to a flame. At first you just thought it was his strange mannerisms, but in the short span of time that you’ve spent together you just feel connected on some hidden level that you’ve only just discovered. 

Dinner is a quiet affair; the strange man, who you still don’t know the name of, joins you for your meal. He makes small talk about the local area in which he’s well informed about, no surprise. After you’ve finished your meal, he offers to take you out for an after dinner stroll around the castle before bed. 

Not wanting to leave his company just yet, you readily agree and let him lead you around the place. It’s as he’s guiding you down a long L shaped hallway filled with more paintings that a chill runs down your spine and he freezes in place, half turning to shield you from the person who seems to materialize in front of you two. 

“Hello, Leon,” a silky voice purrs as a beautiful woman steps into view. 

She’s beautiful and ethereal in a way that’s almost terrifying, much like the mysterious gentleman half blocking your view; Leon she called him. 

“What a lovely surprise,” she steps closer, form appearing to ripple in the dappled moonlight streaming from the windows. 

“Ada, how can I be of service?” His polite tone’s cold and to the point, even as he pushes you further behind him. 

“Aww, don’t be like that,” she lilts, voice playful and coaxing, “I’ve already seen your pretty playmate. Is she a new friend?”

You blink and the dark haired woman is standing next to you, Leon twisting uncomfortably to turn around. 

She twirls a strand of your hair with a manicured nail, “I won’t bite. Unless she asks,” she winks at you and your eyes widen in surprise.

“She’s new, yes. A visitor,” Leon’s hand reaches out to grasp your hip, tugging you into his side, “so don’t play games.”

“Games?” She laughs, eyes bright, “are you still sore that I stole Claire away?” she pouts at him, “she wasn’t your one, so why are you still upset?”

You watch all of this with rapt attention and so much confusion. 

He scowls at her, eyes darkening as he straightens his stance, “It doesn’t matter if she was the right one or not, you stole her away from me.”

She laughs outright at that, side stepping away from you and closer to him, “Can’t steal someone if they want to be taken, right, Leon?”

He deflates a little, gaze flitting to you and back to her, “What do you want now?”

“To bother you,” she smiles over at you and you notice her incisors are longer than normal, “since I’m just passing through, thought I would say hello to an old friend.”

They stare at each other for a beat longer than what’s comfortable before she sighs melodramatically. 

“As much as I would love to stay, and believe me I want to so very badly,” she blows a kiss at Leon as she walks backwards to the far end of the gallery, “I do have unfinished business nearby that I must take care of. Ciao!”

It’s so quiet after she leaves that the ringing in your ears sounds abnormally loud. 

Leon clears his throat and gives you an apologetic smile, “I’m very sorry about all of that.”

You wave your hands, “No worries. It’s not really my business, y’know.”

He winces at that and you scrunch your nose, internally cringing at yourself. It’s a somber feeling as he quietly leads you back to your room. 

Pausing at the threshold, you reach out and snag the sleeve of his shirt. 

“Hey,” you murmur, dropping your gaze to the fabric you’ve pinched between your fingers, “you wanna meet up tomorrow?”

He frowns although you don’t see it and slowly tugs his arm loose, “I don’t know.”

Whatever feeling that has been building in your chest feels like a punctured balloon at his flippant tone. 

“Oh,” you drop his shirt like it burns, willing the tears away at least until you can shut the door, “I-I didn’t mean to— nevermind. Kinda silly of me. Hopefully I’ll see you before we leave.”

His fingers circle around your wrist tightly, holding you in place, “You’re leaving?”

You level him with a flat stare, “Of course. We’re only here for a couple more days. So if you’ll excuse—“

He presses forward, pushing you through the doorway to follow after, letting the door swing shut behind you both. 

“Let go of me,” you twist your arm but Leon doesn’t budge. 

A concentrated look arrests his features, blue eyes skimming down your body and back up to your face. 

“Leon,” you bite out sharply, making him draw up short, “that’s your name, right?”

“Yes,” his eyes look wild as he lets go of your wrist to grasp both of your hands with his own, “yes, my name is Leon. Leon Kennedy. I’m sorry, this isn’t quite how I wanted things to go.”

You finally pull your arm away, “I’d like it if you left. I’m really confused and you’re acting strange.”

He looks at you so sadly it makes your chest hurt, “Can I show you something? I’ll leave you alone after that if that's what you’d like.”

Pursing your lips, you squint at him until you finally nod, “Alright.”

His shoulders sag and he walks back over to the door. Holding it open, he waits until you cross the threshold before stepping back in front of you. You make the short walk to the painting down the hall from your door when Leon pauses. 

You look at the painting then to his serious face with raised brows.

“You’re showing me this again?” Confusion colors your tone, “am I missing something?”

“Have you read the name underneath?”

Shaking your head no, you step forward to read the small gold plate underneath. 

“Claire Kennedy née Redfield,” you murmur to yourself. 

Claire? That mysterious woman mentioned her name earlier. The one Leon said she stole away. The correlation is there but you feel like you’re missing a huge part of the puzzle to actually end up at the correct explanation. 

You turn to Leon, “So is this the Claire you were talking about?”

He nods, eyes heavy and sad as he flits his gaze between you and the painting, “Yes. It was a political marriage. We were friends before everything happened.”

“Ookay,” you frown again, “so she ran off with her girlfriend?”

He flinches at that, “My other wife.”

You feel floored, “Wait, what?!”

Rubbing your forehead, you’re getting a pain behind your left eye from trying to parse it all together. 

“So, your new wife ran off with your then current wife? Am I getting that right? How long ago was this, Leon?”

He gestures a little wildly at the plaque, “You didn’t see the year?”

Squinting, you lean forward and can make out circa 1849. 

“Fuck off,” you blurt out, leaning back and taking a half step away, “what kinda joke is this?”

“I wait my whole life to bite the right one,” he mutters to himself, hand raking through his parted hair, “that’s not to say I didn’t mess up a couple of times before.”

You take another step back, away from Leon, “What do you mean?”

His eyes snap over to you and you freeze in place. Everything about him seems to be amplified to ten now, he’s exuding an energy that makes the hair on your arms stand up. 

“You’re the one,” he steps up until he’s in your personal space, “Ada and Claire were accidents. I didn’t realize that there’s only one compatible partner for me.”  

“Compatible partner?” voice pitching high, “you sound crazy right now.”

His brows lower, “You feel it too, little miss. It’s why you passed out earlier. Blood calls to blood.”

You’re hit with a wall of need so crippling your legs give out making you come down hard on your knees. 

“I’ve been shielding you,” he murmurs, kneeling in front of you, hands reaching out to brush across your jaw and neck, “it’s a lot to take in, I know.”

Gasping in deep breaths, you’re overwhelmed with the scent of cedar and cloves from earlier. You don’t know how you forgot that smell but now it’s all you can concentrate on; your head goes fuzzy as arousal sweeps through your body. 

“What is this?” you slur, eyes hazy as you slump forward into Leon’s shoulder, “what did you do t’me?”

“Nothing,” he soothes, petting down your back, “it’s just the effect of the compatibility. I can’t explain it; I just instinctively know it’s right.”

Reaching out, your hands weakly clasp at his shirt, “I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay,” he coos, “let me take you to my room.”

Not able to argue against him, he easily lifts you into a bridal carry. He uses one hand to block your eyes and you feel cold wind before he removes his palm and you see you’re in a room three times the size of your own. Leon eases you down onto an absurdly luxurious bed, sheer drapes lost to the shadows of the ceiling. 

Once he steps away, leaving a sizable gap between you both, the dizziness subsides and your thoughts aren’t as fleeting. 

“What the fuck?” you whisper, hands shakily brushing wisps of your hair back from your face, “what the ever loving fuck? Am I losing my mind?”

Your eyes quickly dart around, taking in the opulate furnishings and huge windows overlooking the cliff side, showcasing you now must be on the upper level of the castle. Your gaze lands on a time worn painting off to the side of Leon and his first wife, the dark haired beauty he called Ada. Next to it is another portrait of his second wife, Claire, yet another beautiful woman with red hair. 

Leon’s hands ball into fists at his sides as he takes in a deep breath, “It’s not as bad as it seems.”

“Leon, what’s going on?” Your voice breaks, mind struggling to keep up with what’s happening to you. 

“My first wife,” he points to the older portrait, “we were human at the time.”

“At the time?” You squeak out.

He hums, eyes flashing in the low light, “Yes. Then the change occurred to me after getting lost on a hunting trip. When I returned, I offered it to her but she refused,” he tilts his head up and shields his eyes with a hand, “and I made her like me anyways. She was my wife. Our vows were to be together in sickness and in health. She didn’t see it that way.”

You watch as he shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose, stepping to the portrait with his fingers outstretched but never outright touching the canvas. 

“She said it was til death do us part but I thought she was my one,” he sighs sorrowfully, “so I changed her and she loathed me. She eventually left one night never to come back. I didn’t chase after her, resigned to her resentment. I didn’t hear from her for hundreds of years. Then Claire came along.”

Your eyes jump from Ada to the smiling redhead in the other portrait. 

“Her brother needed her to marry someone with an upstanding background; someone with title and lands to trade,” he smiles bitterly at you, “I posed as my own great great nephew and set up the marriage. We became friends through our letters and when we wed it was wonderful. I kept what I was from her for as long as possible.”

He steps over to you and you flinch making his eyes droop in pain. 

“She figured it out quickly, such a smart woman,” he smiles crookedly, “I loved her dearly, but she wasn’t enough either. I changed her thinking that this is it, but it wasn’t. She wasn’t the one either. Ada came soon after and easily whisked her away from me.”

He sighs forlornly. Your lips part but you change your mind and refrain from saying anything. 

“Claire’s brother even convinced Ada to change him so he could defend her honor against me,” he blows out a short breath, “letting you know in case he shows up to be the gallant hero.”

“Leon,” you murmur, at a complete loss for words. 

“We all understand each other now and they’re happy where they are,” he laughs derisively at himself, “and I’ve lived alone here, running this place through a shell company hoping against hope for just one more chance.”

“This is insane,” you finally say to him, “you’re telling me you’re a vampire and I’m beholden to you? And on top of that you practically have a coven. This is impossible.”

“But you feel the pull, too,” his voice dips into that low smoky tenor, “you’re the one. You are to be my new bride.”

Your laugh startles you both, but you can’t stop the manic giggles once they start. Once the mania seems to pass and with it your hysterical laughter, you finally get yourself under control and clear your throat. 

“Prove it,” you tell him seriously, heart beating so fast your sure he can hear it, “let me see this vampire side of yours and if I believe you, if you convince me, then I’ll be your bride.”

His smile lights up his whole face making your breath catch.

“That’s easily done.”

He stands directly in front of you and that strange energy fills the room; you watch in complete astonishment as he looks like he dissolves until there’s only mist floating in the air. It drifts languidly past you and you feel the bed dip with body weight. 

His hot breath caresses your ear, “Is that enough, little bride?”

A full body shudder hits you as he kisses across your neck, the sharp prick of fangs dragging across your skin. 

“Let me bite you,” he whispers sweetly, “let me show you how deep our bond truly is.”

Feeling completely off centered, you breathe out one word without thinking, going with only what feels right.

“Yes.”

His teeth sink into the side of your neck and you cum, slick filling your panties until you’re sure it’s dripping down your thighs. It feels like a typhoon of emotions rains down through your body, pleasure so strong your eyes sting; then, it’s swept through to be quickly replaced by a feeling of home so deeply connected to the man behind you you could openly weep. It’s like a puzzle piece slotting into place somewhere in your chest. 

Moaning, your hands scratch at the bedding and he hums against your skin. Pulling away with a low groan, he runs his tongue over the puncture marks. 

“So good,” he mouths against your jaw, “let me mark you again.”

Whimpering, you lean back against him as he sinks his teeth into a new spot, softly sucking blood from the wound. His hands slip around your waist to pull you into the V of his thighs. You choke out a whine as your cunt throbs, on the verge of another orgasm and he hasn’t even touched you intimately aside from his teeth in your neck. 

“Leon,” you keen, one hand reaching over your head to tangle in his soft, snowy hair.

Chillbumps race down your body when he finally pulls away to place a soft kiss on the bite. He sucks at the tender skin making you mewl longingly until he pulls away with a sigh. 

“Let me taste that sweet little pussy,” he purrs in your ear, “I have been dreaming of biting your thighs and kissing your cunt til you can’t take anymore.”

Tugging his hair harder, you whimper and nod your head, “Please, Leon.”

The scent of cedar comes across stronger as he kisses your neck one last time before shifting you both until you’re laying back on his bed. He strokes his hands all down your body, eyes drinking in your expressions.

“You’ve been driving me crazy this entire time,” he slowly undresses you, scraping his sharp incisors against the skin he reveals, “smell so good, so sweet. Makes my mouth water.”

You whimper while watching as he unbuttons your jeans and works them and your panties off of your legs. He groans to see the slick mess between your thighs, cunt glistening with your arousal. 

“Look at you,” he breathes out, blown out pupils flicking up to your own dazed eyes. 

Wasting no time, he lays down between your spread legs and kisses the top of your pussy, ignoring where you most want his mouth. He drags his lips down and then buries his face in your cunt, spreading your lips apart with his tongue as he licks all over your pussy. Grunting, he shoves his tongue into your hole to spear you open on the thick muscle. 

“Leon,” you whisper down to him, feeling so turned on you can’t think straight. 

He groans and pulls back, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”

With a sigh, you relax against the sheets only to jolt as your pussy throbs when he bites you at the crease where your cunt meets your thigh. 

Crying out softly, your head thrashes against his bed as he repeats it on the other side. 

“I know, but bear with me,” he murmurs, blood coating his mouth as he lovingly kisses the puncture wounds, “doing so well.”

You splay back out against his sheets as he buries his face between your thighs again. He keeps your legs spread as he slowly kisses and sucks at your cunt, like he’s never tasted anything better in his life. Everything’s sensitive and on the verge of too much, but you wouldn’t dream of asking him to stop. That slow syrupy pleasure that’s made your thoughts honey thick is more than welcome. 

He laps along the seam of your pussy lips until he glides the tip of his tongue up to the hood of your clit. Leon circles the pudgy bud all slow and soft, tongue dipping down to flutter inside your soaked hole. Groaning at the slick flooding his mouth, he laps at your cunt with long broad strokes of his tongue. He pulls back to suck on your pussy lips before kissing across to your thigh and sinking those sharp fangs into your supple skin. 

Your back arches, a low whine spilling from your kiss bitten lips. He kisses and sucks the bitemark until it's ugly and irritated, then drags his lips back to your cunt, kissing your mound softly.  He makes out with your pussy with hot and bloody open mouthed kisses, spit drenching your swollen clit as you moan loudly. 

Your orgasm builds higher and higher until it’s a tight band ready to snap in your lower belly. Leon senses you getting closer from your body spasming and your voice gaining in volume as he greedily eats your cunt, hungry eyes watching you from between your legs. 

With a low keening groan rumbling from deep in his chest, he sinks his fangs into your fat pussy lips as he fucks his tongue into your clenching hole. That pinprick of pain flooded by intense pleasure is enough to push you completely over the edge. Wailing, your spine bows as your climax floods through your body, cunt pulsing and gushing slick as your toes curl in the sheets. 

Almost growling into your pussy, Leon flutters his tongue into your hole, lapping up all the slick dripping from your cunt, tongue loudly squelching in and out of your clenching walls. 

He finally pulls away with a low moan of pleasure, lower jaw coated with slick and blood. 

“So good for me, little bride,” he slinks up your body, joints moving unnaturally but you're hardly able to think past the pleasure buzzing in your brain, “going to make you mine, keep you forever.”

 Humming, you tangle your fingers in his hair and pull him down into the messiest kiss of the night. He almost snarls into your kisses as he gets rougher, tongue and teeth dominating your mouth, a bruising pressure on your lips. 

“Promise me you’ll stay,” he demands, eyes flashing at you as he presses you down harder into the mattress, “stay with me, be mine.”

You softly brush back his hair, voice soothing as you reply, “I promise, Leon. I’m all yours. I’ll be your new bride.”

He nuzzles his face into your neck before sinking those deliciously sharp teeth into you again. Weakly moaning, your eyes roll back as your clit throbs in time with your heartbeat. You feel him shudder when he pulls away to kiss the sluggishly bleeding marks.

“My bride,” he sighs, dragging his pouty lips across your jaw, nose tracing your skin, “you promise to give me all that you are.. all that you will be.”

“Promise,” you gasp out as his hand sneaks down to tease across your clit, cunt soaking the sheets further with fresh slick, “promise, Leon.”

He kisses you then, the hot copper tang of blood flavoring his sweet sentiment. You’re swept under another tide of arousal from his messy lips and tongue while his fingers play with your pudgy clit. 

He shifts until he’s next to you, blood smeared mouth parted as his eyes trail down your body. Gripping your hip, he helps turn your body to face him, leaving you both lying on your sides. Your hands reach out to trail down his chest just now noticing that he’s still dressed.

“No fair,” you tease, tugging on the silky  material.

He laughs softly, bringing your hand up to kiss your inner wrist before scraping his fangs across the sensitive skin making you shiver. Letting go of your hand, he quickly undresses, dropping his clothes off the side of the bed in a heap. You bite your lip, taking in the long lean lines of his body, eyes widening to see his thick cock filled out and resting against his thigh. 

“Leon,” you breathe out, wide eyes tracking back up to his pale blue ones. 

This time your hands lightly scratch along his pecs to his twitching abdominal muscles, nails barely scratch the soft thatch of hair above his hard cock. 

“You can touch me, liebling,” his lips quirk up into a half smile, “I only bite a little.”

A giggle slips out and your hand grasps the base of his dick and squeezes earning a low groan from the handsome man next to you. 

“Stroke me, tease me, do whatever you wish,” he murmurs, hands coming up to cup your breasts, “I’ll enjoy it all.”

You whimper as his long fingers dig into the soft flesh of your breasts, thumbs rubbing circles across your stiff nipples.

While one of your hands teases the head of his dick, you slide the other one to cup his balls making his cock kick, blurting precum onto your fingers.

“It’s so sticky,” you murmur unthinkingly, smearing the precum around his tip making it slippery for your fingers to rub across. 

He groans loudly, bucking his hips and sliding his cock through your fingers in a clumsy effort to fuck your loose fist. 

“And these are so sensitive,” his low tone razes goosebumps as he tweaks and pinches your nipples until you’re rubbing your thighs together. 

“Leon,” you moan, arching your back to press your breasts more firmly into his hands. 

“I haven’t had a chance to taste these,” he purrs, ducking his head to nip your chest.

“Please,” you tighten your hand around his cock and pump your fist, “bite me.”

He presses closer against you, hands pushing your breasts up as he dips his head down. Kissing the stiff peak, he licks around the puckered skin close to your nipple. 

“Smell so good,” he mumbles, kissing your nipple softly before sucking it into his mouth. 

He rolls his tongue around the hard bud before pulling away with a soft pop. He drags his lips down to suck on the skin underneath your breast before opening his mouth and biting deep into the tender flesh. 

“Oh god,” you cry out, body writhing so much Leon has to use one hand to grip your ribcage tightly to keep you still. 

You're too out of it to jerk him off, hands instead moving to grab onto his hips. He pulls away with a gasp only to sink his bloody teeth into the soft fat of your other breast. Your cunt is a drippy mess by the time he pulls away the second time, tongue sucking the blood off his fangs as his eyes seem to shine with unnatural light. 

“The finest of wines,” he smiles at you, licking his lips slowly. 

Your cunt throbs and aches, walls fluttering around nothing—feeling empty and needy. 

“Leon,” you grab his hand and guide it to your soaked cunt, “please, I want you.”

“Oh my beautiful bride, so wet and ready for me,” he hisses, easily sinking two fingers knuckle deep into your clenching pussy.

Your hands move from his hips to dig into his shoulders making him grind his fingers deeper into your aching cunt. He pulls them halfway out before thrusting them back in, the flat of his palm smacking against your swollen clit. 

Nails digging deeper into his skin, you rock your hips in time with his hand, whining and moaning as he fingerfucks your pussy rough and deep. 

“Such a sweet little wife I have,” he kisses your ear as your eyes struggle to stay open, cunt clamping down on his fingers from the endearment. 

He drags his cock against your thigh, smearing precum against your skin to mix with the slick dripping from your pussy. 

“I want to be inside you,” he whispers hotly against your lips, “I want to be buried deep in my bride’s pussy as I drink from her pleasured body.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” you chant, throat dry from all your gasping and panting, “I need you inside me, Leon. Please.”

He pulls his fingers out slowly making you  whimper once your cunt’s empty again. Leon shushes you gently, gripping his cock in one hand while his other grabs your thigh and wraps it over his waist. Rubbing the fat head of dick up and down your slit, he teases his cock across your hole before using the tip to part your pussy lips and rub across your sensitive clit.

You rock your hips forward and he kisses your neck, tongue lapping at the marks he left. Moving his cock back down, he slowly presses his dick into your leaking hole. 

“So tight,” he murmurs, praise lacing his tone and making you hump down onto his cock.

He lets you work your wet cunt on his dick until he’s buried fully inside your pulsing heat. 

“Needed this,” he groans, rutting his cock slowly in and out of your pussy, “needed to be inside of you, a part of you.”

Pleasure washes over you like the tide meeting the shore. Leon’s cock grinds against the spongy spot at the front of your cunt making you ooze slick until it’s dripping down his balls, leaving a creamy ring around the base of his dick. 

With a small shift, he rolls you completely over onto your back, body weight pressing you down into the mattress as he fucks in deeper inside your fluttering pussy. His pelvis grinds down onto your pudgy clit sending little bolts of desire throughout your whole body. 

“Leon, so good,” you whimper, fingers grasping at his biceps, hips rolling forward to keep his dick inside you, leaking tip pressed against your cervix. 

“Taking me so well, a perfect fit,” he kisses you gently, sucking your tongue into his mouth, teeth nicking the muscle causing blood to flavor your kisses. 

Moaning hungrily, Leon gets rougher, mouth pressing against yours so tightly your teeth ache. A high keening cry slips out between the bruising press of Leon’s lips against yours. Pulling away, he growls and drags his mouth to your neck, lathing his tongue against the multitude of wounds he left earlier. 

“So tight around me, are you getting close, little love?” He chuckles and teases your neck with his teeth making you keen and squirm against him. 

“Yes, please, ‘m close,” you moan, legs coming up to wrap tightly around his waist, “w’nna cum, wanna feel you inside me.”

Leon hums and swivels his hips, rutting his cock into your cunt without pulling out until you’re clawing at his back with short choked off whines. He grinds against your clit until your eyes roll back into your head. 

His teeth sink into your neck one last time, pushing you over the edge for the second time as your orgasm crashes through your body. Crying out, your arms and legs lock around Leon’s body, head thrown back as your cunt clenches around his dick. 

“So lovely,” he pulls back, licking the blood away from your neck, “my perfect bride.” 

He rabbits his hips into your squelching cunt until finally stilling, cock buried balls deep inside your spasming pussy as you milk his throbbing dick. Your pussy walls flutter and clamp down around him as he spills hot and sticky inside your slick heat. 

“Beautiful,” he kisses your earlobe with a sigh, cock kicking inside your pussy as he finishes painting your walls white. 

Endorphins make you dizzy and bubbly, smiling up at Leon’s blood stained face as he gazes lovingly down at you. 

“My husband,” you murmur, lovesick and sweet, hands coming up to caress his face and he kisses each of your palms. 

“All yours,” he promises seriously, “there is a reason why all things are as they are.”

You laugh and smooth a thumb under his eye, “You’re so cute.”

He snorts a laugh, delighting you immensely, and settles down into the messy sheets before pulling you into his chest. 

With a soft kiss placed atop his heart, you snuggle into his body until he wraps his arms around you. The soft rise and fall of his chest lulls you to sleep. 

Talking to Lara the next day is surprisingly easy. You have the feeling Leon used some weird vampire energy on her since she seemed unusually chill about it. Promising you that she’ll keep in touch once she heads back home, you spend the few short hours she has left together before she leaves early for the airport. 

It’s sad to see her go, but with Leon’s steady presence next to you filling your senses with that wonderful smell of cloves and cedar, you have zero regret in staying. 

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Sexiest Podcast Character — Scripted Bracket — Round 3

Propaganda

Yaretzi (Hello From The Hallowoods):

Hot werewolf lady

HEY NOW! Yaretzi is a hot post apocalyptic monster hunting LESBIAN space werewolf lady who is in a relationship with a space vampire literally just called The Countess, who is herself in a long feud with Dracula, who runs a biker gang.

She runs a magical hotel with her queer platonic life partner, a renegade demon who gives off exceptional queer vibes.

Together they are raising their adopted child, who is a decaying human skeleton inside a 9 foot tall suit of monster slaying power armor. He, in turn, is taking care of his pet seagull, who is a zombie. Also the seagull is simultaneously both one bird and an entire flock of zombie seagulls.

Anyway, Yaretzi has been hunting monsters for her star god for a very long time, and she is hot and deserves to win.

Werewolf who made a pact with a star deity to kill conquistadors

Spends centuries hunting demons and eating their hearts

Guides the only demon she failed to kill into a sense of his own personhood, adopted a son together, then started dating one of her traditional ancient enemies (hot vampire lady)

Smokey growly voice, grows huge when she transforms, fierce and loving and terrifying

Hera (Wolf 359):

I don't care if she's an AI with no physical form, she is HOT

my digital wife <3

oh it's always "i want a hot computergirl with poor cable management to glitch on my shit" and "i want to fuck her until she bluescreens" on this website until it's time to put your money where your mouth is. i have a post about usb penetration with tens of thousands of notes. i see the things you all say. you have a hot computergirl in front of you and this is how you all repay her? you would abandon her? prove yourselves as the computer sex website; vote for hera NOW!!!

[thevioletcaptain]

⚡️🦇👻 Spooky Season Movie Recs 👻🦇⚡️

These are some horror (and horror-adjacent) movies I've watched or re-watched recently.

If it's on this list, it's because I had fun with it, whether that fun was derived from it being genuinely scary, kinda fucked up, visually impressive, funny as hell, just plain weird, or some combination of the above.

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms. Horror. 95 minutes.

I've been mentally referring to this one as The Tonight Show with Cousin Greg because somehow they made David Dastmalchian look like an aged-up Nicholas Braun. Despite this -- or perhaps aided by it -- this is one of my favorite horror movies I've seen this year.

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

A misunderstood teenager and a reanimated Victorian corpse embark on a murderous journey together to find love, happiness, and a few missing body parts. Horror/Comedy. 101 minutes.

I've actually watched this three times since August. Kat Newton is a fucking delight in this role. Really feels like an instant classic to me.

It's What's Inside (2024)

A pre-wedding party descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase. Sci-fi/Horror/Comedy. 105 minutes. Whoever wrote that logline should have taken another run at it, because it leaves out what I'm pretty sure is the main draw of the movie: it's a body-swap story. Except everyone swaps. Multiple times. Shockingly hetero considering the subject matter, but still fun.

Renfield (2023)

Having grown sick and tired of his centuries as Dracula’s lackey, Renfield finds a new lease on life — and maybe even redemption — when he falls for feisty, perennially angry traffic cop Rebecca Quincy. Comedy/Horror. 93 minutes.

This was everything I could possibly have wanted from a movie with Nic Cage as Dracula. It's goofy. It's gory. I had a ball.

Hold Your Breath (2024)

In 1930s Oklahoma amid the region’s horrific dust storms, a woman is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family. Horror/Psychological Thriller. 94 minutes.

As someone who experienced a dust storm as a child, this movie tapped into some long-buried fears, which is always a win in my book. Also, it has Ebon Moss-Bachrach aka Richie from The Bear in it. Double win.

#Alive (2020)

As a grisly virus ravages Seoul, a lone man stays locked inside his apartment, digitally cut off from seeking help and desperate to find a way out. Horror/Thriller/Action. 99 minutes.

Somehow this was written and wrapped production before the pandemic even started, and ended up being the most relatable zombie movie I've ever seen.

Additional movies under the cut!

I'll keep adding to this list over time, as well as my Letterboxd log now that I've remembered it exists, so definitely check back if you want more recs.

Don't Worry Darling (2022) Mystery/Thriller. 123 minutes.

The Night Eats the World (2018) Zombie/Horror. 94 minutes.

Longlegs (2024) Horror. 101 minutes.

more to be added here!

[spencerscharacterbattle]

WELCOME TO THE SECOND SUPER AWESOME CHARACTER BATTLE, NOW WITH 128 CHARACTERS!!!!!

this bracket has 128 of my current favorite characters in media, whether they be obscure or well-known!

HOW THE FORMAT WORKS!:

the first round will contain a battle between the four characters in each box. only two in each box will move forward (the highest and second-highest voted)

the second round will contain a battle between two winners of one square and two of another, and only two will move forward

the third round is exactly like the last round, except only one will move forward

the fourth round will contain a battle between one winner and another, and only one will move forward

the fifth round is exactly like the last round, with the winner moving forward to compete for the ultimate win

the sixth round is the final round and will decide who is the winner of Spencer’s Super Awesome Character Battle 2024!!

just like last year, each poll will be up for a week, so there’s plenty of time to vote for your faves!!

THE CHARACTER BRACKET IS BELOW!!!

(there is a text transcript under the “keep reading” as the text is very small, i apologize for that)

victoria chase (hot in cleveland) vs brock (unikitty) vs chococat (sanrio) vs bozz (the state)

hello kitty (sanrio) vs applejack (mlp) vs bumper allen (pitch perfect) vs kenneth (craig of the creek)

derpy (mlp) vs peggy (papa louie) vs aidan russell (rainbow high) vs rick (the state)

pizza steve (uncle grandpa) vs princess celestia (mlp) vs christine (the state) vs ernie (sesame street)

ariel (the little mermaid) vs starlight glimmer (mlp) vs louie (the state) vs gonzo (the muppets)

levon (the state) vs marley rose (glee) vs choo choo (jellystone) vs bert (sesame street)

rock (rock paper scissors) vs princess luna (mlp) vs deuce gorgon (monster high g3) vs violet wolf (great wolf pack)

octavius (night at the museum film version) vs lee ping (detentionaire) vs cavendish (milo murphy’s law) vs damien (total drama reboot)

purple m&m (the m&ms) vs cheese sandwich (mlp) vs bowie (total drama reboot) vs vince noir (the mighty boosh)

scooter (papa louie) vs glep (smiling friends) vs barry (craig of the creek) vs bridgette (total drama)

holly de’vious (rainbow high) vs wander (wander over yonder) vs octavius (night at the museum animated film) vs secret keeper (craig of the creek)

pepé (the muppets) vs frankie stein (monster high g3) vs hunter (sean saves the world) vs thacher (hailey’s on it)

allan (smiling friends) vs trixie lulamoon (mlp) vs delilah fields (rainbow high) vs naboo (the mighty boosh)

pekkle (sanrio) vs jedediah (night at the museum film) vs princess cadance (mlp) vs poppy rowan (rainbow high)

U*SA*HA*NA (sanrio) vs eva (total drama) vs yolanda (the muppets) vs emperor awesome (wander over yonder)

holger (detentionaire) vs moana (moana) vs noah (total drama) vs lightning mcqueen (cars)

sarah (yolo) vs cam (detentionaire) vs dracula (monster high g3) vs scissors (rock paper scissors)

pim (smiling friends) vs dakota (milo murphy’s law) vs sabrina st. cloud (rainbow high) vs melanie moretti (hot in cleveland)

rachel (yolo) vs commander peepers (wander over yonder) vs mark (craig of the creek) vs uma van hoose (rainbow high)

pinkie pie (mlp) vs omar (craig of the creek) vs biffy (detentionaire) vs margot de perla (rainbow high)

sean harrison (sean saves the world) vs cooper (trolls) vs orange m&m (the m&ms) vs ahkmenrah (night at the museum)

liz (sean saves the world) vs juke (the amazing world of gumball) vs gwen (the state) vs octavia (mlp)

pencil (rock paper scissors) vs amiria (papa louie) vs natasha zima (rainbow high) vs toralei stripe (monster high g3)

steve (the state) vs jedediah (night at the museum animated film) vs clawdeen wolf (monster high g3) vs abed nadir (community)

howard moon (the mighty boosh) vs raj (total drama reboot) vs troy (the state) vs scarlett (papa louie)

sylvia (wander over yonder) vs rizzo (the muppets) vs max thompson (sean saves the world) vs richmond (the it crowd)

gwimbly (smiling friends) vs wanda (the state) vs ghoulia yelps (monster high g1) vs brandy (detentionaire)

sheryl meyer (rainbow high) vs dj pon 3 (mlp) vs wayne (total drama reboot) vs top cat (jellystone)

emma (total drama reboot) vs joy scroggs (hot in cleveland) vs master frown (unikitty) vs david (craig of the creek)

milo murphy (milo murphy’s law) vs paper (rock paper scissors) vs charlie (smiling friends) vs frida kahlo (clone high)

bob moore (hot in cleveland) vs barry (the state) vs tow mater (cars) vs laurel de’vious (rainbow high)

felix unger (the odd couple 2015) vs liezel (papa louie) vs rainbow dash (mlp) vs sugar (glee)

[possession1981-moving]

i was tagged by my beloved angelic @xiaojuun @baekhyunnybyun @yeofi @ye-xiu and @byunbaekhyunie to make a giffing recap/review of my 2023 creations which is always such a good time to be honest thank you all for tagging me 💞

tagging @sunghanbin @yunwooz @souladies

rules: link your favorite and/or most popular post from each month this year <3 (it’s totally fine to skip months!) and tag some CCs you love!

JANUARY top post: this xiaojun phantom bts set which... i can't blame anyone for it's so gorgeous. favourites: taeyang on the cross is probably one of my fave creations of ever. however, i made a lot of stuff i'm obsessed with in january apparently so i'm gonna give a list of other faves. my other xiaojun phantom jacket shooting set, this sf9 leo-line set (🥲), my taemin armpit set lmfao, kai kokobop set and jongtae not included are just all so beloved to me.

FEBRUARY top post: fuckboy keeho in the leopard jacket favourites: this jacob simply kpop mc set because the colouring is CRAZY... also this jongin set like I AM GONNA CRY.

MARCH top post: MR ROVER favourites: my doyoung in shades of blue set for roloved's birthday <3 i really love the way it came out like the textures and the colours just so sexy. also this cutie jonginie and tbz relay dance pile 💝

APRIL top post: taemin military freedom set which honestly makes all the sense in the world. favourites: my gorgeous princess sheon and this chorong set from dnd which is one of my faves possibly ever actually.

MAY top post: jiwoo icky mv set. my followers are gay women. it's also my fave from may. favourites: aside from the above set, juyeon in red for vianey's bday, shinee tell me what to do mv and jacob's bday set were all exceptional exercises in colouring.

JUNE top post: taekey reunion really blew up. favourites: i love the composition of my fromis menow mv set. keeho in jump is a fave colouring-wise and then there's this set of chanhee just being the prettiest ever.

JULY top post: junhui psycho mv set A WIN! favourites: this other set from psycho. also this taemin stage set from hard is INSANE, ksoo in electric kiss is so fucking sexy, and my edit of changmin from maps july issue goes so hard.

AUGUST top post: this set from the end of possession favourites: my brave girls' mv, jihoon fancam 😵‍💫, everglow slay mv, and also this jacob that i'm normal about. there were a lot of good creations in august i could have added more sorry.

SEPTEMBER top post: this goth ass coppola dracula set favourites: gemma arterton from byzantium and chanmina b-list mv.

OCTOBER top post: queen of the damned rose petal scene for the horny people favourites: sunmi stranger mv, the handmaiden love set and a tale of two sisters

NOVEMBER top post: seulgi chill kill fancam! favourites: zhang yimou's hero, sunmi stranger dykey outfit fancam and dawon last sequence fancam <3

DECEMBER top post: gong li in raise the red lantern, coincidentally also one of my faves of all time. favourites: other faves were tvxq rebel mv and woodz amnesia mv

[ben-talks-art]

Having to win vs. Wanting to win, the appeal of Hero vs. Villain interaction, and building a bigger sense of rivalry

Something that I was wondering about for a while now was why between the two Spiderverse movies, the second one appealed to me so much more than the first

The first one is a more complete story, has a very solid beginning, middle, and end, while the second one feels like half of two movies pieced together with the Spot storyline and the Spider Society storyline which even together still don't even make a full movie...

And yet, I just find myself enjoying the second one a lot more and re-watching it a lot more often. 🤔

And the reason for it is probably because I'm just drawn more by the way this movie handles character interaction and banter, particularly between the protagonists and antagonists and how they establish connections with each other.

Spiderverse 1 is a great movie, but when it comes down to it, Miles only really has meaningful interactions with his parents and with Peter.

He doesn't really have a big heart to heart moment with Gwen or the other Spiders that much, and more importantly, he really doesn't have that big of a connection with the villains, Kingpin and Dock Ock. He does get a little with the Prowler, but that's really it, just a little.

Meanwhile, in Spiderverse 2, Miles gets to talk A LOT with everyone. With Gwen, with Pav, with Hobbie, with Miguel, and with Spot. There's just a bigger focus on having these characters not just interact but actually connect with one another.

When Miles fights Kingpin at the end of the first movie, I just don't feel that big of an investment cause these two barely talked with each other, so they have nearly no rivalry. While in the second movie, there's a huge rivalry born between Miles and Miguel because we see that both of them are fighting due to their conflicting ideologies, and we also see their relationship changing as the story progresses, as Miguel goes from being hostile to Miles, to trying to be understanding, to being frustrated, to back to hostile again.

This made me notice how much I rely on characters actually interacting and giving a sense that they're connecting with one another for me to feel invested in their confrontations.

It's one of the reasons why Kung Fu Panda 2 stands out so much compared to the other 2 to me.

The fact that we actually see the hero and the villain meeting each other early on in the story, talking, learning about one another, growing as they get to know one another, comparing their experiences, and giving a true sense of connection... We don't really get that in the first or third movie.

Po doesn't even meet Tai Lung or until the climax of the first movie, and his first conversation with Kai in the third is mostly just done for laughs.

It's also a small problem I had with the Castlevania show in seasons 1 through 4 (haven't seen Nocturnal yet).

In this series, characters don't really talk when they fight, and they don't really meet the people they're going to fight until they're fighting them. So a lot of times you're just watching people with nearly zero history between them trying to tear each other apart.

They feel like soldiers, fighting because they have to, not because they want to.

I think the biggest exceptions are the fight with Dracula at the end of season 2 and Death in season 4, because Dracula does have a history with Alucard since they're father and son, and Trevor does try talk a little with Death since he sees a lot of himself in it as both of them are like entities who only know how to kill things. But aside from that, a lot of the fights feel like Power Rangers battles where the heroes are just fighting the enemies of the week out of duty.

The show does its best to give each character the necessary amount of depth, motivation, conflict, personality, and history, but it kinda sucks in building the sense of rivalry between these people.

I think the biggest rivalry in the show is probably Hector and Camilla, which... are honestly two characters I care very little about since they have so little to do with the actual protagonists.

Frankly, I really wish I could have seen Trevor, Alucard, or Sipha actually talking with these two, or any of the other villains for that matter, to see how their interactions would go, but most of the villains just talk with each other.

Much like Spiderverse 1, and Kung Fu Panda 1, the heroes and the villains just feel like they're so distant from one another and only truly meet when the story is already about to end... And that feels like such a waste.

I wanted to see the main trio talking with Hector, Camilla, Issac, and Lenore. I wanted to see Po talking more with Tai Lung or Kai, trying to learn what makes them tick. I wanted to see Miles talking with Kingpin or Dock Ock, or heck, the Prowler.

Miles and Prowler interact so much in the comics and in the games, but in the movies there is so little of them.

I remember having similar thoughts with the Rick Riordan books.

The heroes in it usually have great banter with the smaller villains, like Ares, Seth, or the giants, but when it comes to the big villains like Chronos, Apophis, or Gaea, the confrontation with them is so brief and the way they're defeated is so simple, and more importantly, the connection between them and the protagonists is so thin, that it kinda feels anticlimactic.

The books try to build up the rivalry by having the characters see each other through dreams or visions, but they don't really talk much during the actual battles, and most of their exchanges prior to these battles are just generic stuff like "I'm gonna kill you! No, You won't! Yes, I will! No, you won't!"

Another example of the importance of interactions, Sonic Frontiers.

You get a ton of chances to talk with Sage as you go through the islands, and by the time you reach the third one, she kinda turns into a viewer excited about seeing how Sonic will defy the odds once again.

She's changing as they exchange words. Imagine how lame it would have been if she hardly ever talked to him, kinda like how it happened with Infinite where they just meet briefly before a fight and have the most generic banter ever.

Similarly, why does everyone love Superman vs. the Elite so much? Because the whole movie is about Supes butting heads with these guys who try to get him to test and provoke his ideals and beliefs.

This isn't just a hero fighting villains of the week to save the day or stop them from conquering the world. These people are trying to prove a point and they're using each other to do it.

Their interactions are causing them to develop an antagonism between each other that makes it even more exciting to see when they do eventually clash in the climax, because we followed their history and know where each is coming from, what they're fighting for.

Same reason people love Batman and Joker. Their interactions are always like that.

And then we have Kingpin in Daredevil.

That whole show's biggest selling point is just these two being constantly at each other's throats because they each represent something the other absolutely hates.

Anytime they're in a room together you just get a goldmine in writing quality because they have such amazing interactions and so much good chemistry.

Same case with Killgrave in Jessica Jones.

A lot of people often ask "Why do Marvel movie villains suck so much?" because they don't actually build this sense of animosity with the heroes. They're just things to be dealt with, not things the heroes personally want to deal with.

Ironman had to deal with Ironmonger, Thor had to deal with the dark elf, Captain America had to deal with Red Skull, but DD wanted to deal with Fisk and Jess wanted to deal with Purple Man.

This contrast of "want to" vs. "have to" does so much to increase the investment in a character for me.

Aquaman did that really well by making you feel like both villains really wanted a piece of the protagonist for very petty and selfish reasons.

It makes them feel more shallow, yes, but it also makes them feel more real, and it makes their fight more personal.

Mind you, I don't necessarily need a Hero X Villain banter all the time. There are many cases where I get really invested even if the characters don't talk.

The best example probably being Rock Lee vs Gaara, which is mostly a silent fight just like the ones from Castlevania, but unlike those where it feels like characters are fighting because they have to win, this one feels like they fight because they want to win.

There is no banter, but you still sense their motivations and ideals clashing through their fighting methods and expressions.

Same thing with Thanos vs. the Avengers. They don't exchange many lines, most of it is just Thanos' monologuing (which I kinda feel it's a wasted opportunity because I think Cap and Thanos could have had some really good exchanges), but you still get the sense that this fight is personal for all of them. They don't just have to win, they want to win.

The final battle of Chainsaw Man part 1. Same deal. Very minimal talk, but just enough talk to let us know that these are people fighting for personal reasons.

Avatar, The Last Airbender, lots of quiet fights, but the heroes do get to meet most of the villains before facing them and do build a rivalry before exchanging punches.

My favorite fight in My Hero Academia is, again, a battle of ideals, a fight of "I want to win", not just "I have to win," a fight where there is a lot of banter with their personalities shining through their words and actions and bouncing well off each other.

They make it more personal, more selfish, and thus, more interesting.

I love feeling this sense of connection when I watch or read heroes fighting villains in stories, and I really wish more series would try harder to develop this feeling so I can enjoy it more often.

I want to get more of this sense of "This fight is personal. I'm fighting for myself! I want to win!" and all that stuff.

[interstellarsystem]

Every Bird is our Hearttype: Being Collectively Birdhearted

We've always been very attached to birds. I don't remember how we started wanting a bird so bad, but we remember begging our mother for a budgie for years as a kid. We got one, and after that we got a pair of cockatiels (one of which we still have, he's 11 or 12 now).

We always loved them to bits. Over the years we've gotten a few more pets, rescued some other birds from various circumstances and talked about anything bird related almost non-stop to people we get close enough with. All of this to the point where people have a bird question or problem and they know to ask us, even if we're only a friend of a friend to that person. We've had teachers in schools we never met before ask if we're "the bird one" after they get our name. It's always been birds.

So it makes sense that we have an attachment to birds that could be described as a hearttype. We've had occasional phantom wing shifts as well as the feeling of talons of various configurations and thin bird legs overlaying our own human ones--plus other types of shifts--for as long as we can remember. But are there specifics? Exclusions? Birds we can't relate to or can't seem to like? Well... Not that we've found.

Every. Single. Bird. All of them. Every new species of bird we see, no matter how weird looking or mean or how gross their habits are--we love them on sight. It's like the joy of opening a gift on Christmas morning to find the thing you wanted most, except in our case it's likely a bird people hardly hear of like a Dracula Parrot or a Kakapo.

This extends to fictional birds as well. Pokemon, phoenixes, bird fursonas, gryphons, those ones with four wings from Lethal Company, random fantasy birds that might not even have a named species--anything remotely bird shaped and it's a win. Even including some dinosaurs and dragons. Quetzalcoatlus? Win! Dragons with a bit of feather fluff like Flight Rising Skydancers? Close enough! Some random thing with a bird-like beak? You bet we love it!

We would literally click through a list of every known bird species on Earth if we had the time to sit down and do it. Just for fun. We love those things. Every time a person we follow shares a picture of a new bird we've never seen before it's basically like they just gave us the gift of pure, unfiltered joy for the next hour or so.

At this point, it's really only logical that if we haven't found an end yet, then for now we can just assume there isn't one. Everyone in our system experiences this the same way, so we say we're collectively birdhearted and leave it at that. Some of us identify as specific birds or a few are bird cladotherians, but generally? We're not every bird. Most of us aren't birds. We've just found ourselves inseperable from them. But.. because the list of birds that fit the feeling is too long to include in any bio anymore, we just use the term birdhearted. And really? At this point it'd just be a list of birds we know of.

[alexhornefan]

Taskmaster Series 17, Episode 1- A few random thoughts about the episode and the contestants. Spoilers within.

A good first episode and I really enjoyed everyone. Nobody stood out more than any of the others, IMO, I thought they all seemed really good, really fun and a great bunch.

Joanne was a really competant and possibly overlooked (by me, as I don't know most of these people) contestant. I thought based off of her interview with Alex that she was going to be a disaster, but she was nowhere near as bad as I thought she might be. Although it's still early days and sometimes we get those episodes where they just start to dive.

John had a real Ed Gamble vibe for me. Wants to win in that competitive way. I can see him losing his shit and arguing about points with Greg but he was fairly really strong in this first episode as well as Joanne and Steve. I also think people expect him to do well so it'll be interesting to see if he maintains that high level or if he starts to get in his own way.

Nick I thought was really fun. I wondered if he'd do any character stuff considering he was dressed as Dracula but insane costume aside, he was just really fun, had a great vibe not taking anything too seriously and just going for it. I think he's going to be great fun and someone who isn't going to take points and winning seriously.

Sophie was absolute chaos in this first episode but in the best way and I think it's maybe not how she'll be all series, she maybe just had a couple of stinkers in this one, sadly. She was also great, I laughed so much at her in the river although I felt bad but it was also classic TM. I don't think she's someone I'd even think as a contender to win but she's going to be amazing.

Steve is someone who is going to be the one to beat. I think he has the respect of Greg, which always helps, so Greg could favour him if it's on Greg to decide. He's also very sharp in how TM works and to look out for certain things, like the tie at the end of the episode. He's clearly creative as well so a big threat to John and Joanne. Oh, and the puns from Steve are great. Clearly it's something Alex is going to love and it will grate on Greg throughout.

Seems I've already written-off Nick and Sophie but I hope they have an episode win or two along the way.

I think any of these three could be winners at this point but I'd say most likely John or Steve.

As for the episode itself, I thought it was a good selection of tasks.

The prize task was okay. It's probably my least favourite part of the show, if I had to pick something, but it's not awful. I thought Steve earned the 5 points though. The first task with the egg I enjoyed mostly but I thought the editing of John's was a little naff and with everyone else DQ'd except Joanne, it still wasn't worthy of 5 points. I didn't even think the task came across dangerous to the egg either. I thought the danger to the egg was more pronounced in Joanne's task personally, but it's not a decision that annoys me.

The team task was a little bit overly complicated I think. The whole list of where the pictures are going to be with the two-word limit made it a bit too hard, I think. But the task itself was kept short and the reveals were fun. The teams also seem pretty good.

Last recorded task with Gary was also good. Fairly simple premise and I loved the waders being on the scarecrow that everyone looked at. I had no idea, lol!

I thought the studio task was fun and they all did great in that task as well.

[immediatebreakfast]

Sometimes I wonder if despite being such a nice book Dracula is destined to have horrible adaptations that don't care about the original material, while the few good ones remain hidden for avid readers to see.

Yeah the Drcl Midnight Children manga is still shit, and it twisted all of the characters so beyond that the only thing they share is name. Warnings for sensitive content regarding sexualization with Lucy because I do warn you it gets really gross.

Shinichi Sakamoto literally had the easiest job in the world if he wanted to adapt Dracula into manga since he already has a gothic art style that could have been the perfect ring for the novel. We have already seen in the Manga Classics adaptation that you only need to draw what is happening in the novel, that's it.

Just grab your ink pen, and let Stoker's writing do the heavy lifting while you go crazy drawing all of the dresses, and the bats.

But nooooo! Everyone thinks they have the Big Brain™ to "subvert" Dracula while doing what everyone else has been doing but worse every time. The same tropes, the same complexes, the same beats, even making Dracula the protagonist. All of it feels the same, and Midnight Children does this too BUT WORSE.

It's infuriating to see Mina and Lucy portrayed like this. Also I only mention Mina and Lucy because these girls are the only characters who got any "dept" in this story, everyone else is a downright cardboat cutout, or worse a stereotype (Guess who is this one). Again, these modern writers end up being more sexist than century old irish writer with all of these "subversions" somehow.

We start with Mina Murray, a peasant girl who managed to get into Whitby's only boys academy which makes her a pariah among her peers, and subject of bullying for being first a girl, and second poor. This Mina is... pitiful.

She is not the Mina Harker/Murray Train Fiend, lady journalist, and leader of the group. This girl is only Mina in name, and in typewriter use because this is just a poor teen girl desperately trying to survive in the middle of a hellish school while surrounded by bullies. Drcl Mina is intelligent, but only in information, she tries to document just like Mina Harker, and the narrative conveniently spits on her efforts by having Dracula somehow tamper her precious typewriter.

Even with all of drcl Mina's wits I don't feel the same resolution, and admiration that I felt for Mina Harker in the novel. The manga is only presenting a poor girl named Mina scraping at every small bit of information she can find to somehow explain all of the supernatural shit she is seeing, and the sudden sickness and death of her only friend. I don't want to cheer for this Mina, I want her to grab her bag, and get the hell out of that school and out of Whitby even if it means abandoning Lucy because the conflict feels pointless. It feels like something that she can't win, or fully understand because SHE IS A CHILD.

A child that is trying so hard to be voice of the group while no one listens to her. All of Mina's qualities, and intelligence are not there because the story downright erased the epistolary format that gave her so much charm and character to make way for shock value scenes that only paint Drcl Mina as a pitiful fool going in circles for trying to win against Dracula.

We all know that Jonathan is Mina's other half, the only person who defends her, and loves more than god itself through the whole narrative. However, having Jonathan with Mina in Midnight Children could mean that Mina would have some sort of supporter, and that doesn't make room for tragedy™ so no Jonathan for Mina!

Now, talking about Lucy (Luke). How the fuck Sakamoto decided to make this Lucy a trans girl, then immediatly sexualize her in the most gross way possible. It's a new layer of grossness because in this adaptation is very textual that Lucy is trapped inside Luke, and she has to pretend to be a boy in front of everyone else except when she is alone with Mina.

It could have been a sweet, but rather tragic story about Lucy trying to overcome her own internal battle with her gender along with her trying to make sense of her upcoming tragedy masked as a chronic illness.

But no, this Lucy is passive, midly cruel, and reduced to a puppet device for gross sexual scenes that borderlines on transphobic voyeurism. Remember that Midnight Children Lucy is a TEEN.

She never lifts a finger to make the suitors stop their bullying towards Mina despite her calling her "my only friend." She never tells Mina of any pranks, nor consoles her in her lowest moments. This Lucy is every adaptation Lucy that paints her as the whore to the madonna, and somehow becomes more useless because of the rampant sexism, and the perceived sexualization that will always follow Lucy's character despite her being a symbol of purity, and the perfect victim.

Just to tell you that the first encounter between Lucy and Dracula here is on the Whitby shore, but instead of being a glance of red eyes that incites dread, teenager Lucy is alone when wolf Dracula steps on Whitby soil, and something really gross it's implied for shock value, and I had to put the phone down, and take a moment.

ALSO STOP DRAWING 15 YEARS OLD LUCY NAKED JUST STOP. IT WILL NEVER LOOK ETHEREAL NO MATTER HOW MANY FUCKING FLOWERS YOU DRAW ON THE PANEL BECAUSE THE FOCUS IS ON LUCY BEING NAKED. THERE IS LITERALLY A FUCKING PANEL WHERE LUCY IS COMPLETELY NAKED, AND EVERYONE (INCLUDING ADULT VAN HELSING) JUST STARES, AND IT HAS EVERY SINGLE INSULT ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, and that scene is so cheap edgy that I can't.

Also all of the symbolism, and mystery of the bloofer lady is gone because here vampire Lucy graphically kills the children she feeds from, so... another plot line into the trash.

[thenightling]

The other day, on a Universal Monsters page, I was surprised to see LOTS of comments whining about the new monster animatronics for Universal Studios Epic Universe Monster expansion (opening later this year.)

Mostly they were upset that the classic monsters didn't look like their 30s counterparts. I thought they did a good job of reinventing them while paying homage to the originals. Frankenstein's monster still has that (to me) annoying flat head (which is NOT in the novel!) and the face is definitely Karloff.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon looks almost identical to his movie version except with sharp teeth added. And then you get the whining"Gill Man doesn't have teeth!" So? It's a slight change and it works because there are fish with teeth like that.

One person even said the Frankenstein monster looks like he's wearing Goth Rock pants. (Because they're ripped up). That's not even supposed to be the original monster. It's Victoria Frankenstein's creation.

The Wolfman is the 2010 version, which was an Oscar winning practical effect until studio meddling replaced it mostly with CG, the practical version won the movie an Oscar. But the CG replacement insulted Rick Baker so badly that he retired. That was Rick Baker effects. (An American werewolf in London, Thriller...) He's iconic.

And I admit it, the 2010 Wolfman does look better than the original. And I'm glad it's not the 2025 Wolfman (that so far, doesn't look good at all...)

Dracula is a completely new redesign but we barely see him and I don't think he looks bad at all.

And the invisible man is perfect! :-P

I think the people complaining are too invested in their own Nostalgia. They don't consider that sometimes change is good.

They say these look awful but don't consider that we could be subjected to bad Disney-style back-lit projected faces (that no one likes!)

These are gorgeous. They look like real entities. And they have very fast, and very fluid movements.

It's weird when you see "Fans" of Universal monsters dismissing a new incarnation out-of-hand rather than appreciate that there is a new incarnation.

They couldn't possibly make them exactly like the 1930s monsters. Yes, they have the rights to them but some of the effects are really dated. i.e. Frankenstein monster's elevator shoes. Having Dracula never show his fangs (in the first Bela Lugosi Dracula movie). And yes, even The Creature from the Black Lagoon not having teeth.

I've wanted Universal to have year round (not just Halloween) acknowledgement of their monsters for a long time and now they're getting the most advanced animatronics ever made. Can't they be grateful?

It's okay to be critical but they were out-right hating on them at a glance, not even watching the video, just some stills.

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

"racist show" ??? find me a less racist show right now. I can't even think of a tv show that isn't unintentionally racist in some way. new iwtv? no, it's good but it's definitely got some unfortunate bits. reservation dogs? nope there's a video on youtube calling it anti-black. black sails? doctor who? noughts and crosses?

what is this even about? Ed being "too violent" ? there is no way to avoid every possible racist interpretation someone might have.

Oh it's because the historical guy they stole the name and not much else from to give to OFMD's main character owned slaves irl. which I consider to be a valid argument when its brought up in discussion of the show by people who actually want to discuss the finer points of historical fiction and what goes and what doesn't and completely disingenuous when it comes from tumblr anons and in blorbo brackets and the like. Every single piece of historical fiction from that general time period is haunted by the specter of slavery. Ofmd is no exception, I feel like they handled it well and they handled it well specifically because they made sure to have the perspectives of the descendants of enslaved peoples in the writers room, which many many many pieces of historical fiction like Black Sails and doctor who have not done. I think it's very important to have characters like Oluwande and Frenchie and I think that while I sorta wish they'd changed the name they altered the story so much from reality that that's just a fucking original character with a name ripped from a historical guy.

Edit: the reason I consider it to be pretty disingenuous is because I don't like it when fucking genocide and racial trauma is used cynically to dunk on people you find annoying and no one is ever consistent about it. Like Black Sails is way worse at handling the Slavery thing and yet Stede was the one who had to beat the allegations in that Flint V Stede poll that broke containment for example, People will compair it to Hamilton despite the fact that they're only really comperable in the fact that they're both historical fiction (OFMD is about people you've never heard of, Hamilton is about fuckers who still effect legislation to this day. Hamilton sticks to history pretty closely OFMD says fuck history the pirates are kissing. Hamilton is a biographical broadway show and OFMD is a Television Romantic Comedy. It even takes place on opposite ends of the 1700s. there's no comparison unless you want to lump Bridgerton and Black Sails and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Six (the musical) and Dracula Untold and so on and so forth). Basically there's a ton of historical fiction for which the problems OFMD has are also criticisms that could be applied there and I tend to notice which ones people apply them to. Usually if there's a prominent person of color who's kind of a nerd attached to it, it draw tumblr's ire and if there isn't they get to skate by and Tumblr doesn't even notice it's existance. I don't know if that's because we're all self hating nerds and we hate to see another nerd winning because it invokes the self cringe or because of racism (tis definitely the racism) but it's true.

[kristencsummerlin]

Fanfic ask game - L and M!

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

After I finish a chapter. I self edit two to three times than I send it to my sister to read. She'll correct my grammar. After her feedback I edit again. Send it to her to re-read. And then if I'm feeling paranoid I'll read through it incase I need to edit a second time.

After posting I tend to ignore it for a while, writing the other chapters til I decide to read through it again and it more than often results in me editing it here and there.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

I'm assuming I answered the question incorrectly last time which is my bad. I'll tell the stories and ideas I've thought about but done nothing with nor do I think I ever will do anything with. And for fun and it make it easy on others I'll give everything names.

The Fraggers!: LOL So Lobo, New 52 Lobo, Sheba (who I think was supposed to take Lobo's spot in New 52 before they created New 25 Lobo), Slobo from Young Justice, Crush/Xiomara Rojas Lobo's daughter, and my OC Leah (fun fact I created her when I was 11) get forced into an Alien Family Game Show. Sort of like Big Brother except it's families competing other families. Everyone agrees to it because there's this huge cash reward for winning. And everyone in the family likes money to some degree. Crush is lucky to have Slobo because he's the one making sure Lobo doesn't betray everyone. There's supposed to be bonding and fights. The Lobos keep fighting for the name and because they think they know how to handle teenagers better than the other.

Maggie Opal: It's about a young adult girl with an imaginary troll friend/boyfriend named Hank. Our girl basically has schizophrenia and is leaving in a shitty life. People start going missing in her town including our girl's bully so she looks into it. It's played throughout the whole story that magic isn't real. Like the woman kidnapping and killing people is labeled a "Hag" but she's not supposed to be. Until Maggie finds out she's pregnant which makes no sense to her because she's only done sexual things with her imaginary boyfriend. And than plot twist magic is real. Our girl hasn't been imaging anything. Hank is an actual troll. The woman she fought was an actual Hag. Magic just doesn't have a kewl color effect or anything like that. And Maggic never realized the truth because her extension of belief was too strong.

Yandere Boyfriend: A yandere killer becomes obsessed with a detective. So he's been going after and killing criminals that the law's been letting get away due to the lack of evidence, lawyers, or simply because the person has money and power. So our yandere has been playing Dexter, murdering them in the hopes our detective will fall in love with him that way and or to make their life less stressful. Of course the detective will catch on and try to stop the yandere despite believing he's doing the right thing because a crime is a crime. I even thought about the yandere having a pet turtle name Mr. Williams who he talks to about everything.

Demi: It's my demigod college AU story. Like Nicktoons it's gonna be a freak of the week so different stories about different characters at the time. All the characters are somewhere between 18 to 30 years old unless they're a staff member. I guess the premise is "I the writer love mythos and fables."

The last two are connected to my posted fics. One being Hellsing Dracula, which is the story Dracula but what I think the Hellsing's version of it is. Because as much as Hellsing is accurate to Bram Stroker's Dracula, it also isn't. So I figured it would be fun. The second would be a different story of how Shirley and Alucard met. Although I don't think it would be a good read which is why I've done nothing with it. Next would be my altered version of Nicktoon episodes and movies but in my universe. Again never done anything because I think I can explain those events through the Nicktoon series. I guess a fanfic for Dracula vs Hitler being it's my guilty pleasure book but it's too insane to every do anything with. And lastly the Future Hellsing/Blue Exorcist crossover but I need to finish the previous stories before heading to the that one.

Hopefully I answered the question correctly this time lol. I don't know what else to say I don't really come up with themes or messages for stories. At least not before I write them I just pants the stories.

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Sexiest Podcast Character — Scripted Bracket — Round 2

Propaganda

Keisha (Alice Isn't Dead):

She has a big truck. She broke into a police station. She’s gay. Truly she is the most of all time.

Canonically lesbian and anxious, fighting eldritch abominations while crossing America in a big rig all in search of her wife.

Yaretzi (Hello From The Hallowoods):

Hot werewolf lady

HEY NOW! Yaretzi is a hot post apocalyptic monster hunting LESBIAN space werewolf lady who is in a relationship with a space vampire literally just called The Countess, who is herself in a long feud with Dracula, who runs a biker gang.

She runs a magical hotel with her queer platonic life partner, a renegade demon who gives off exceptional queer vibes.

Together they are raising their adopted child, who is a decaying human skeleton inside a 9 foot tall suit of monster slaying power armor. He, in turn, is taking care of his pet seagull, who is a zombie. Also the seagull is simultaneously both one bird and an entire flock of zombie seagulls.

Anyway, Yaretzi has been hunting monsters for her star god for a very long time, and she is hot and deserves to win.

Werewolf who made a pact with a star deity to kill conquistadors

Spends centuries hunting demons and eating their hearts

Guides the only demon she failed to kill into a sense of his own personhood, adopted a son together, then started dating one of her traditional ancient enemies (hot vampire lady)

Smokey growly voice, grows huge when she transforms, fierce and loving and terrifying

[rat-rambles]

I've been thinking about val as a villain and in how a meda textual way he a great representation if how far us as queer people have come.

Quick history session for thoughs who dint get a cinema history class (or if yours missed the queer part of that history). In 1934 the hays code was introduced in America (a bunch of catholics made very serious rules that moves and tv had to exist ) and it's biggest reason for existing was to suppress queer content this is why we got the queer coded villain in the states becuse we litterly wernt aloud to show gay people any outher way. Fast forward and you see some post hays code but still heaveily influenced stuff, the little mermaid's ursula was quite litterly based on a drag queen and she's great and for a long time the queer community clung on to queer villains becuse that's all we had.

As many people have knowdised with the rise of exceptance of at least gay and to some extent queer people at large the queer coded villain has nearly gone extinct. I mean how are you supost to show these charters that in one hand represent the worst most vile parts of humanity and equate that with queerness and how can we as queer people let go of what ment so much to us for so long.

Walk in valentino and the v's but espicaly him is incorporating everything toxic and fun about queer villainy. He's a manipulator, power hungry, possessive, obsessive very orginal dracula type of queer codeing except a he's actually queer he gets to kiss the outher men but even better than that the real victory. He gets to exist and so dose angle dust angle dust our canonicaly queer fem boy who loves his boy friend and will beat him with the mother fucking power of queer friendship. That's fucking powerful and it's on Amazon prime every company watchs what Amazon dose they'll see that and go oh so we can have gay villains and Hero's and people will buy both fantastic. It's full circle baby we win.