#because i'm not sure

[beevean]

Ah yes, it's Draactor time :)

~

“It seems that you held him dear to heart. Is that right?”

“Ah, Count Dracula? Yes, in a sense. And I thought he held me to heart as well.”

“Really?”

“He was quite proud of me. He had nothing but praise for my work. At first, I only lived for those kind words. But at some point, his admiration began to feel like a chain around my neck.”

Hector didn’t know what to think.

It was clear as day that Lord Dracula held him in high regard. Isaac, who by that point could barely keep himself upright, was always a hair’s breadth from reaching their Lord’s expectations. He was strict, cutting in his criticism, knowing and expressing that Isaac could always do better. The student has surpassed his teacher, he had commented idly one time, and for a few days, Hector was careful to not walk too loudly by Isaac’s locked door, and not listen too closely to the sounds coming from behind it.

The Lord’s admiration was reserved for Hector and Hector only.

His sincere smiles and hands lingering on shoulders were all for who was now called the Lord’s protégé.

The vampire’s fangs had long left a collar of scars around his throat; no matter how quickly he healed them, they pulled each time he turned his head, faint to the eye but always felt on his skin. Isaac’s marks no longer looked like an impressive badge of honor.

Hector was different. He was special, one of a kind, the most satisfying student, the purest expression of Hell’s power in a human.

And Hector should have been in seventh heaven. What he could only pray for as a child, he was being showered with at long last. It was the sole reason he would still find the strength to get out of his bed and squeeze himself dry for every last drop of life: the earnest, earned approval from the one being who took him under his wing.

He should have been – but Isaac would drag him back on the ground, and keep him there under the burden of his envy.

Lord Dracula’s compliments had acquired a bittersweet taste. Hector couldn’t help but tense every time, muscles ready in anticipation, because the more appreciation the Lord openly showed for Hector’s work, the more resentment he’d brew in Isaac’s heart, as if the vampire amused himself by pitting his Devil Forgemasters against each other. Then he’d swat away those horrible thoughts, because their Lord only wanted the best for them, and as Generals they had a standard to meet. It just so happened that Hector had become the standard.

Was that really enough reason for Isaac to grow cold towards his friend, as if they no longer shared a past?

He understood very quickly that when Isaac was hurting, Hector had to bear the brunt of his pain, whether he was willing or not: it was his fault that Dracula deemed him disappointing, it was his fault that he dared to humiliate him, and he had to do something about it, since he was so talented.

But if he was, then how could Isaac make him feel so powerless?

They settled into yet another uncomfortable, comforting routine. Isaac started to demand more and more of him, to make things fair. And Hector, out of options, gave him the only thing he had: himself.

He laid there, body and mind full of Isaac, knowing that being used was the fair price for being loved, and wondered if he’d ever see his friend smile for him again. The castle looked dimmer without it. The cheerful boy he once knew was hiding behind the acrimonious man whose frigid gaze tore through him, like the sun covered by stormy clouds: Hector only needed to draw him out, show him that there was still place for him.

However, the most stubborn part of him – the part that in his mind looked like his child self, thin and dirty and with skin covered in a different kind of bruises and always peering from behind doors – dug his feet in, and insisted that he had the right to hoard Lord Dracula’s affection for himself, because he had earned it.

Hector was able to withstand his Lord’s insisting touch, that slid off him like cold grease poured down his back, for the chance of hearing his words that tasted like salvation for all the sins he had committed, and clutching them to his chest, filling the void Isaac left behind.

He was precious to at least one person in the castle.

It nearly made the sickness inside him worth it.

Even though, a few times, Hector had thought that Lord Dracula could spare some mercy for Isaac’s best efforts, he was sure that the Lord would have no reason to repeat him those things if he didn’t mean them.

Those convictions dissipated like smoke in the wind.

[question-marked]

what kind of light are you?

the soft, warm sunlight at dawn

When asked to describe you in one word, they'd usually choose a word like "kind" or "nice". And that's what you are, kind, nice and a generally soft and gentle person. Perhaps that's not all of what you are, but that's what people notice most about you - and you get upset about it, because you want to be more. But you also really want to fit into the image people have about you, so you often do things that - if you think enough about it - you don't really want to do, just to keep up that impression they have. You're soft and warm like the sun at dawn, but you also have the potential to become brighter, stronger and soar higher over time.

tagged by @violetgleams (thanks for tagging me!)

tagging anyone who's interested, do this and say that I tagged you

[fantasyverses]

Listen. Being a fan of both the Grishaverse and Critical Role is amazing but also a giant pain in my ass.

One of the reasons (and the only one I can thing of, seriously, I love both so much) being, Jester and Jesper.

Those two that I love so much having such a similar fucking name.

[marypsue]

Keep seeing that post where OP starts like 'Thinking about...grieving the undead' and then adds on about like. Real life situations where people have not died but have left your life and you would have reason to grieve them.

All respect, that's an important concept, but that is not what I am thinking about when I read 'grieving the undead'.

[basshole-astard]

PSA: i keep seeing posts about staying cool in extreme heat that include advice like "gatorade is bad actually!" and "don't drink fruit juice it'll just dehydrate you!" and neither of these are true!

regarding fruit juice: there's apparently a misconception that Any Sugar At All will dehydrate you, and that's simply not true. yes, sugar will make you pee more when consumed in large amounts, but 1) the natural sugar in fruits won't do this to you 2) great news! a lot of fruit juices exist without any added sugar in them! 3) honestly even having a glass of the fruit juice with added sugar won't completely dehydrate you as long as you're also drinking water throughout the day. if its hot you deserve a cold treat of a drink!!! can't go wrong with fruit juice!!!

regarding gatorade: maybe this isn't an every day drink, but guess what: if it's 110F/40C or hotter outside, and you don't have AC, or you're moving around a lot outside of the AC, and you're sweating buckets: that's when you drink a gatorade.

gatorade exists to replenish all the electrolytes (salt) and glucose (sugar) that you sweat out. YES it is meant for athletes to drink during intensive work outs and not necessarily for people who aren't doing that kind of exercise. BUT GUESS WHAT! when you're sweating buckets because you had to walk to the bus in extreme heat, that's intensive exercise. please feel free to drink a gatorade after that! that's its intended use case!!!!

no: neither of these drinks should be a total replacement for water. but drinking a lot of water and then treating yourself to a fruit juice with lunch is a good idea!!! drinking a gatorade becuase you just had to walk for 20 minutes in the heat is a good idea!!!

Please Stop Spreading Misinformation About Drinks!!! It's fine if you drink things that aren't water!!!! Yes you should probably always be drinking water but drinking something else As Well isn't going to hurt you!!!! okay!!!! its fine!!!!!!

honestly so long as you are consistently getting Any (non-alcoholic) fluids in you, you're doing great!!!!!! okay!!!! i love you stay safe <3

[to-be-a-dreamer]

So I already made a full post about the Wild Life spreadsheet but it was more of a user manual than anything and I just needed to be sure everyone gets to see just how bonkers insane this session was because I-

Insanity. Chaos. I need an entire SMP based on this premise

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Soup solves everything.

[juney-blues]

when you're part of a group with structural power over another goup, you really do gotta just learn to say "i am not exempt from 'fuck 'em' when relevant" whenever someone expresses frustration with you or people like you.

[laurellala-comics]

What if the characters in Ace Attorney all texted each other. Because they're friends. <3

(My alt text descriptions were a little long so I've added the individual text exchanges below, btw if there's any way I can improve my alt text please let me know!)

[id: drawing one shows text history between Maya Fey and Phoenix Wright on Nick's phone, starting with older texts at the top

Maya: ramen? (Nick has given this a thumbs up)

now we see texts from today at 11:37

Maya: Burgers?

Nick: sorry, not today, big case :(

Maya: Aww Nick

Maya: I'll pick it up and bring it over!

Maya: ... can i use your credit card (she punctuates the sentence with a big smiling face emoji) /end id]

[id: drawing two shows text history between Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth on Miles's phone, starting with older texts at the top

Edgeworth: This was a riveting article, I thought it might interest you.

now we see texts from today

Nick sends a screenshot of a twitter post that reads: Lawyers help people get through the worst day of their life. They're good at it because they have experience getting through their own worst day, which just so happens to be every waking day of their existence

Miles: Ha.

Nick: Just one "ha"?

Miles: Not your best work.

Nick sends a frowny face :( /end id]

[id: drawing three shows text history between Miles Edgeworth and Maya Fey on Maya's phone. The text bubbles from Maya here are green as a result of her, an iPhone user texting Miles, a google pixel user. Maya has also sprinkled several emojis into Miles's contact name, the libra scales, the angry face emoji, the shouting emoji, and the clashing swords emoji. They're mid conversation and Miles has sent a text bubble so big we can't read the whole thing.

Miles: -completely unnecessary. Doing a Steel Samurai reboot so soon after the series ended is a foolish decision, everyone will be directly comparing the two from the moment the first episode drops. I don't believe they even have a fresh direction for the show, the only difference will be the cgi. God forbid we rock the boat and follow a new character! It's abundantly clear to me that the studio executives are cowards.

Maya: Oh my gosh, and did you see the new outfits? Maya includes a sobbing emoji

Miles: Oh, don't get me started.

we see three dots at the bottom of the screen indicating that Miles is still typing. /end id]

[raticalshoez]

Was thinking of my post about dream teams and got really invested in whatever Unrequited Hate has going on

[egophiliac]

I just realized it'll take the eng server almost a year to reach the 3D Cheka T pose model :' ) we're at book 7 part 6, and we get a new main story update every 2 to 3 months..

Anyway, do you wanna share some fun, spoiler-free shenanigans that happened in jp's server.? Just to have some crumbs to lick off the table until we get our own sandwich (my heart is empty and my soul is crying)

spoiler-free is pretty hard, especially considering. the, uhhh, particular turn that things take directly after 6. (like, the fact that the other characters are showing up probably counts on its own?) and I do think that if you can avoid getting spoiled, most of it is definitely better as a surprise! some of the genuinely best Twst moments are waiting for you. :D

if I may, however, present one of my favorite little throwaway bits with absolutely no context:

[fictionadventurer]

How did Treasure Planet manage to come up with the greatest aesthetic in all human history? Victorian elegance plus space-age flair, with just enough dirt and grime and wear and tear to make it feel real? A combination of traditional and computer animation that perfectly embodies the movie's blend of old and futuristic? How does it get any better than that?

[cherrywhite]

hey silt verses? I just want to talk

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

Hot take maybe but I think Bertie would be FAR more likely to survive the first two months of Dracula than Jeeves would be. Bertie has a healthy sense of self-preservation. Jeeves consistently underestimates how dangerous a situation might get (Steeple Bumpleigh, the club book) because he’s overconfident about his level of control over any given situation. He'd handle Dracula masterfully if they faced off in England, but on Dracula's home turf? Much more doubtful.

I realize this might be a tough sell, so I will explain further (or it's not a tough sell, and I'm going to explain further because I want to). (criteria taken from @canyourfavesurvivecastledracula) Without further ado.

Would Jeeves and Wooster survive Castle Dracula?

Jeeves

Jeeves' survival will depend on how long Dracula finds him more entertaining than irritating. On that basis, I don't think he's long for this world. On the one hand, he has a huge wealth of knowledge about English society and culture that he can recite perfectly from memory. That should buy him at least a little time with noted teaboo Dracula.

On the other hand, he would be absolutely no fun as a vampire plaything. Jeeves cannot be got. Sneaking up on him while he's shaving will yield zero reaction (though that's at least good for his short-term survival--given that, although he DID take the crucifix from the old woman out of politeness, he certainly isn't going to wear it. The rules of fashion don't go out the window just because you're in a spooky castle). Then, although managing the whims of rich jerks is not an insignificant part of a valet's job, Jeeves usually does this by bending his employers to his will. Dracula is not the sort of employer this will work on. It'll just add insult to injury when on top of being impossible to scare, NOW Jeeves is telling Dracula that his favorite cloak is several centuries out of fashion and he's not allowed to wear it anymore.

Jeeves will 100% go exploring in the areas he was told not to go-- though to be fair, he MIGHT actually get away with this, what with his superpower of appearing in rooms without being seen or heard. Said superpower might save him from the brides as well (though this is by no means guaranteed). Since I find it doubtful that Dracula would come to rescue his annoying ass, not being noticed is his best defense.

There are a couple other things working in Jeeves's favor; the question is just whether they'll be enough to save him.

He DOES know shorthand, and could try to send coded letters. He might even have the foresight to squirrel away some extra stationary where Dracula can't find it. But could he get them posted? Would it even do him any good?

He certainly has enough cultural literacy to figure out what his new boss is pretty quickly. If he didn't chuck the crucifix out the carriage window, he might start carrying it around in his pocket.

Psychology of the individual, sure, but the individual in question is a 400-year-old vampire who lives in an isolated castle in a foreign country and is regarded as a terrifying mythological figure in the surrounding villages. Jeeves has never come up against anything this alien before, he's cut off from his normal resources, and opportunities to play people against each other are limited.

He probably has enough upper body strength from all that shrimping and fishing to climb the wall, so he COULD escape if he wanted to, if he survived long enough. It's just, again, that overconfidence, and also Dracula has a vast library full of rare old books that are entirely at his disposal. He's keeping his eyes and ears alert for potential escape strategies, of course, but I don't see him being as desperate to get out as Jonathan was.

There are just a lot of "depends on"s here, and I'm not convinced that luck would shake out in Jeeves's favor, all things considered.

Bertie

Bertie is so perfect for the job of Castle Dracula Prisoner it's like it was made for him. Think about it. Being held against his will in big manor houses comes more naturally to him than breathing. He's afraid of things that are scary. A lifetime of dealing with Aunt Agatha has made him the world's preeminent expert in "curl[ing] up in a ball in the hope that a meek subservience [will] enable [him] to get off lightly." He will NEVER go exploring in places he's been warned away from if nobody is forcing him to (Rev. Aubrey Upjohn's office notwithstanding. There were biscuits in there). He's both fun to talk to and easy to toy with (and extremely English). A+ prisoner. Dracula adores him.

In my opinion, Bertie is at Castle Dracula either because Aunt Agatha got some wires seriously crossed and thinks he’s going to meet an eligible potential bride (I mean, there are certainly brides there), or because Dracula has something Aunt Dahlia wants him to steal (far less likely, given that one of Dracula’s THINGS is famously not owning anything silver). Either way, he's shown himself entirely willing and able to escape down drainpipes if a sitch gets too scaly.

He DOES take the crucifix, and DOES wear it (which is what will save him during the shaving scene, because you KNOW he's going to jump a foot and cut himself like the dickens). He's read enough supernatural goosefleshers to be genre savvy about terrified old women cryptically pushing crucifixes into one's hands. I also think his sunny disposish endeared him to the villagers, and they were particularly vehement about urging him not to go. He doesn't speak German or Romanian, but he's empathetic enough to recognize Pure Terror. So by the time he actually gets to the castle, his imagination is already running wild and he's plenty aware that he is in imminent danger.

I think the biggest risk to Bertie will be the brides; whether or not he's susceptible to trances, if he thinks they're trying to marry him, it's against the code of the Woosters to turn them down. But that only becomes an issue if he comes face to face with them, which, luckily, I think is unlikely on account of the aforementioned "won't go exploring" (and if he did, Dracula would definitely rescue him).

I'm inclined to say due to his drainpipe-escape habits that he WOULD be able to climb the wall and MAY attempt to sneak into Dracula's room to look for the keys if his desperation grows to outweigh his fear. Whether he does or not, though, he does NOT have the stomach to attempt shovel murder, and therefore won't get magic brain fever, and may very well simply walk out the front doors when the people come to take the boxes away. OR he climbs his way out like Jonathan did. Either way.

When Bertie tells this story at the Drones later, Tuppy will say that no doubt it's been greatly exaggerated and all that probably happened was that he spent a couple months in an oldish house entertaining a weird loner.

[causticflower]

can someone check on this man

[levia-san]

Based off this tweet (x)

I've been wanting to draw this ever since i saw it