#fic idea: league of extraordinary gentlemen

[teecupangel]

I keep seeing this floating around and I keep thinking of Desmond and his ancestors getting drug into the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

First off Captain Nemo showing Connor how to pilot his huge ass submarine. Aaaaand also Ezio and Tom Sawyer both endlessly flirting with Mina Harker.

I dunno. Altaïr might chill with Dr. Jekyll.

I think Desmond would be the first to catch on to Dorian Gray, or maybe Altaïr.

Either way Moriarty gives off Templar vibes and I don't think that is something that must be explained.

(also bonus Frye Twins content? They seem very likely to be involved there)

I’m going to be honest, I barely remember the movie and it’s been so long since I read the comics so I am working with what I can remember XD

Since you added Dorian Gray, I will assume that this is more in line with the movie than the comics.

For this one, Desmond and his three main ancestors get transported into the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and they assumed they had just been transported into another time until they start realizing that, given the year, there should be information about the British Brotherhood but there’s nothing.

There wasn’t even any information about the Kenway bloodline and a quick stop to Italy would show that there are no evidence of the Auditore family and the Assassins tombs never existed at all.

It is during this time that they are approached by a man who only goes by the name ‘Bond’ who recruits them into becoming part of a league of ‘extraordinary’ people.

Bond says that his ‘employers’ have been keeping an eye on them and found them a good fit. (Mainly because of their capabilities as Assassins, especially the Eagle Vision).

They’re introduced to Quartermain who is noted to be the ‘leader’ of the group and Tom Sawyer, his… protege? Assistant? They weren’t clear. All they said was that Tom Sawyer is part of the group.

In this one, Ratonhnhaké:ton would definitely try to learn how to pilot Captain Nemo’s submarine and Captain Nemo would be more than happy to try and teach him, enjoying the young man’s enthusiasm.

Ezio would be more on the side of just casually flirting with Mina Harker as a way to get more information about her and this league of theirs. She knows this and response in kind because she tells him that they (Ezio and the others) ‘smell’ different. (We can also push for the idea that Jonathan Harker’s death still haunts Mina and Ezio can related to that, being reminded by Cristina’s own death).

Desmond though would be more inclined to talk to Dr Jekyll because of the whole two personalities in one body situation. Dr Jekyll would feel a kindred spirit with Desmond but also tell him that he will never understand the horror that the doctor is going through because Desmond accepted his Bleeding Effect and even embraced it while Dr Jekyll is stuck in hell, trying to wrestle control from his ‘other self’. Whether this turns into a bromance or a romance is up to you.

Altaïr would be the one to catch on to Dorian Gray, mostly because the four of them decided to divide and conquer to get more information about this world and talking to Quartermain is both informative but also a bit too bland so Altaïr sometimes talk to Dorian Gray. He doesn’t know his story (no one does because Desmond didn’t really read the classics but he did watch Invisible Man XD)

Speaking of which… they can all see the Invisible Man using their Eagle Vision. That’s why none of them suspect the Invisible Man when things started heating up.

‘M’ definitely gave Templar vibes and the twist can be that he is part of the Templar Order back in their own world, having changed places with the original Moriarty when he fell from the top of Reichenbach Falls. He actually transmigrated to the dead body of Moriarty and took his place.

And he held the other Assassins (Edward, Arno, Jacob and Evie) in some kind of stasis in his secret headquarters because the ‘smell’ Mina talked about it actually the otherwordly energy their bodies give off. They’re the perfect batteries to use for WMD that Moriarty had been developing in secret and it’s up to the League and the Brotherhood to stop him.

This would probably end with the Assassins leaving the Brotherhood to form… well… the Brotherhood while helping the imprisoned Assassins get back on their feet. Also, they haven’t found out how they were getting ‘sent’ in this world and that would be their priority, ending this more on the side of the League and the Brotherhood having a tentative alliance.

[maxwell-grant]

I guess it's also time for the annual ask: Thoughts on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?

@mirrorfalls asked: Perhaps it's time to touch the elephant in the room: thoughts on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?

anonymous asked: Any thoughts on Moore's LOEG? anonymous asked: any advice on how to do a fictional character mashup story ala chimera brigade, league, etc? anonymous asked: you wrote a bit on the wold newton universe and the chimera brigade, any thoughts on league of extraordinary gentleman?

(TW: sexual assault, also a whole lot of racism)

(clip from Anti-Spook Squad by Doctor Lalve)

Let it never be said I don't love or do anything for you people because Jesus Christ what an ordeal.

It was pretty inevitable that I'd eventually have to talk about LOEG given the, niche, I made for myself here, and given I'd read and touched on all these other works that either inspired it or were inspired by it, like the Wold Newton Universe, The Chimera Brigade, Tales of the Shadowmen and etc. I'd read through plenty of different LOEG takes and fics, it's an idea that has a lot of appeal on it's own and is easy to flirt with, if not so easy to pull off.

One thing to put upfront: Kevin O'Neil was a brilliant, one-of-a-kind creator and his work here is great, it's the one thing almost unimpeachably great about the whole thing except when he's asked to draw racist caricatures, which he does quite a bit, we'll get into those. I love the collaboration between Moore and O'Neil and I frequently enjoy the little tidbits where they show up as themselves within the supplemental material. O'Neil does a lot of heavy lifting in these even at their worst, in fact especially at their worst. This comic is a legitimately impressive achievement, and I don't regret reading it, if nothing else I think it was a hell of a wake-up call in regards to all of it's warts I may have been overlooking or replicating in my work or that of others.

I'm gonna break it down by going through the individual installments:

Volume 1: One of the nicest things there is to League is that it only keeps getting better, in the sense that it starts off on the worst foot and it gets better by virtue of not really being able to get worse (yes, even with the Golleywog and Harry Potter sections and whatever). From the moment you open the book it takes about six pages for Mina to be assaulted by Brute Arab Rapist Hordes that Quatermain and Nemo have to gun down, and that pretty much sets the stage on what to expect. Volume 1 is where the series has yet to jump off the deep end in tackling all of fiction, being a more grounded adventure story based on it's premise of being a comic book crossover/hero team comprised of Victorian era literary characters. It's LOEG at it's shallowest and most straightforward, and also at it's least impressive. I'm not remotely charmed by much of what's done here, I've seen a million variants of these before and many of those weren't that great either, but their lows weren't as catastrophic.

(text comes from an essay Alan Moore wrote regarding his usage of Fu Manchu in the book, which was scanned and sent to me by @mirrorfalls, thank you for that.)

The LOEG's first enemy is Fu Manchu and the book sure likes depicting leering hordes of yellow peril cartoons for our heroes, Mr Hyde in particular, to brutally mow down. Alan Moore thought the genius trick to making Fu Manchu not-racist was to make him as inscrutable and sinister as possible so as to not even appear human, which is a great understanding of how racial caricatures work guys, the "not potentially offensive" shirt has people asking a lot of questions answered by it.

I've heard a lot of claims over the years that LOEG was intended to be a parody, or satire, and that it's using Fu Manchu to make a point as a criticism of the British Empire and imperialism, and I'm gonna make this clear before we move on: LOEG is not a parody or satire, not as a whole. It parodies and satirizes a lot of things, but it is neither parody nor satire. It is very much in love with much of it's subject matter even when it wants to burn it down. LOEG is also a frankly terrible critique of imperialism, it is one of the most imperialist things I've ever read. Part of it is because you can't just recycle problematic garbage and claim it's commentary, especially when you're going out of your way to sensationalize said garbage to be provocative or in many cases add shit that wasn't even there in the first place. Moore asked if anyone else was gonna try and criticize colonialist bigotry in fiction by tripling down on reproducing it as hard as possible, and then didn't wait for an answer before doing it.

Volume 2: Objectively an improvement over the first if only because Fu Manchu isn't there. It's also where the book kinda improves in terms of making a critique. LOEG never really has much to say about it's characters, instead developing them in service of the story or social commentary, and Volume 2 is better at it than the first. Still has a lot of the same problems as 1, it's still a shallow team-up thing that wants to have it's cake and eat it too, it's still the worse version of a concept that's been done many many times before and after. Edward Hyde gets the bulk of the focus here and he was very clearly Moore and O'Neil's favorite character to work on, he gets the most memorable sequences for better or worse. I don't wanna talk about him much and I don't wanna talk about how the book wraps up the Invisible Man's subplot (and how it's not even gonna be the last time sexual violation of a villain is played for oh-so-horrific catharsis), I'd frankly like to stop thinking about it.

The Traveler's Almanac was definitely the most exhausting part to read in full and only not a total waste of time because of Jess Nevins' annotations, which turn this into fairly valuable research material. But so do Wold Newton articles and they're really not the most riveting thing to read, and at least those have a point or constrain themselves to a single topic or character, or are briefer and come with resources on hand or have a point or even can pitch some neat/cool ideas and concepts as a whole. Jess Nevins even did the better version of this in his own WNU chronologies.

Where as this is just complete ass and there's only so many times you can read a variant of "and then we went to this place with horrible cannibal savages and then we went to the other place with beautiful cannibal savages and then we found this utopia and then we found this dystopia and then we referenced this and that and this and that", and it brings me to another point I'd also seen brought up a lot in regards to LOEG: that it's too damn anglocentric to live up to it's premise, too contradictory within itself, and it was always too big of an undertaking to be done the way Moore and O'Neill did it.

I appreciate Moore trying to make this world feel like a world, in as gigantic all-encompassing a scale as he could possibly account for, with a full world tour and internal chronology. I sure would have liked a big fiction crossover almanac with entire chapters for Africa and China and South America, but we don't get that, because EVERYTHING in them is taken from colonial texts elevated to fact. Literally, entire paragraphs taken from political and colonial texts. All the time spent dicking around with all of those Euro political texts and ancient lore that just had to be paid it's due, and then Orlando goes to China and finds Sun Wukong stuffed as a public freakshow and dismisses his mythos as a bunch of loony (but intriguing and exotic!) hogwash, and Godzilla is later brought up in one line of dialogue to mention how Hugo Hercules killed him offscreen. (I think those might be the only two texts Moore brings up that aren't from European/American sources? There might be others but good luck finding them in the annotations).

Is it unfair to expect Moore to have read all of fiction? Of course it is, but that's what he wants this to be about, he wants this to be about All of Fiction and he wants to write about Africa and China and South America with nothing but colonial texts about those places as reference. He wants to write about how the things he likes are cool and happened and are real while the things he doesn't like don't count or are garbage or didn't happen the way we were told happened. He wants to make a story criticizing racism and misogyny in fiction while writing a text far more racist and misogynistic than most of the things he's bringing up. It's irreconcilable.

Black Dossier: It's constantly jumping between different formats and having to adjust it's prose and visual style accordingly, and it does that fairly well (the beatnik section is completely fucking unreadable though, the prose sections are already a handful to get through as is but that one was too much even for me), although Tempest I think is gonna do it much better. It's got some good parts, it's also got some bad ones. Definitely more readable than the prior two + Almanac.

This is the one with the Gollywog in it and I'm not gonna talk about that thing, I think what's wrong with it is self-explanatory as is. Look, I truly love a lot of Moore's work I've read, and I think a lot of the pushback against Alan Moore painting him as just a cranky old man who hates comics is overblown and shitty and symptomatic of bigger issues with how fans discuss comics and superheroes, but his defense of the Gollywog and his response to the criticisms of LOEG was embarassing and beneath him.

Century: This is the one with Harry Potter and The Lightning Penis in it. To those of you who heard at some point that Alan Moore had done a much-maligned pisstake on Harry Potter and got curious, don't get your hopes up. It's nothing, it's not even that mean, it's just a crude crayon doodle in service of a larger and very dumb critique of modern fiction that could have been anyone. Shame that he bullseyed ahead of the schedule the cultural about-face against Harry Potter without having anything actually criticizing Harry Potter to show for it.

Century does work for me a bit better because it dispenses with the pretense of the series and has it build up to the big awful tragedy it ends on, with all of it's remaining characters miserable immortals and all the fictions having curdled up and gone sour. It works for me only because I have no love whatsoever for this world and so it destroying our characters in the service of the larger narrative about stories and fictional immortality and whatnot is a decision I agree with and I think makes it stronger, even if the social commentary / the story's criticism of modern stories compared to the old ones is frankly absurd. Century I think was perceived as Moore/O'Neill having lost the plot, but to me it feels like the plot (more importantly, the point of it) finally showing up after so much pointless dicking around.

The Nemo trilogy: Easily the one I most enjoyed reading, the Nemo Trilogy is almost like a breather set in between books, just fairly straightforward pulp adventure stories done in far less rancid a fashion than Volume 1. It feels less like a LOEG book and more like one of those LOEG fanfics made by people who like the concept and characters but are dissappointed by the books, so they fill or add or rewrite in the blanks with their own ideas, which is basically every LOEG fanfic ever made. I quite like Janni Dakkar as a character and I'm already a huge mark for Captain Nemo, one of my favorite characters ever, and I was of course very glad to get away from the extremely tiresome Mina/Allan/Orlando trio for a change. Frankly I'd even recommend these as a standalone, they're so disconnected from everything else in LOEG.

If you guys want to read a comic take on Captain Nemo though, read Mobilis by Juni Ba. Infinitely better than anything Moore did with the concept of Nemo, takes far less pages to actually explore the character meaningfully and has far more interesting, more humane and personal things to say and do in general, one of the best things I ever read and a tremendous palette cleanser after LOEG.

Tempest: Tempest is what I'd call the best of the LOEG books, in terms of craft and in terms of achieving what it sets out to do. Namely, it's one of the most elaborate and most artistically impressive slowly unfurling middle fingers I'd ever read, Alan and Kevin in full burning down the house mode throwing everything they've got at the wall, playing around with as many different styles and gags and ideas as they can cram into the great apocalyptic ending of their collaboration. It's a very spiteful work that has a lot of joy and humor to it, fully divested from giving a shit about it's characters and instead recasting them as the bit players they always were in the grand fuckening of humanity at the hands of our fictions.

It gets to burn down everything and also preserve everything in a big dreamy Noah's Ark forever, it plays to every strength the series had, and frankly I barely minded the detours because this thing is all detours. The superhero parody that takes up so much of it isn't really anything funny or insightful or really anything, but there's good bits in it, and I like Alan Moore talking trash about superheroes (of course, it pales in comparison to What Can We Know About Thunderman, but that one is a league of it's own). It's Alan and Kevin's farewell to comics with all the mixed feelings towards it and the industry and the subject matter they both have decades of so much experience with it. It is The End of Everything and I think it ended on the best note it could have ended with.

In summary, I think LOEG has a lot of individually cool or neat or even great ideas that I think get lost, because there is so, so much of it, and so much of it is impressively painted sludge. Sometimes it is ingenious, sometimes it is fun, it is never not visually impressive, but it's more frequently dull and grotesquely self-indulgent and far too shallow. It suffers from an almost inescapable side effect of doing this dealing with the fiction he was dealing with without accounting for taste or bothering to reign in his worst impulses, too much to cover and not enough actually being said about it. In truth, much of it doesn't feel much different than reading the wiki summaries for it I had already read forever ago. It is a unique beast taking swings that I'd never seen before that most wouldn't, probably for very good reasons most of the time. It is also guilty of literally everything it's criticizing other works of being and doing, and sometimes it actually provides it's best commentary because of that! It's a complicated thing to tackle and wrap your head around. God knows what Jess Nevins must have gone through to make the annotations for this, as they put it on the Almanac annotations.

I don't consider it wasted time because, I did really enjoy the final two installments, there are good bits scattered across the other books and I learned some good things from it as a whole, but would I recommend it in it's entirety? Unless you're really a huge fan or completionist for it's creators (although reading LOEG really disillusioned me on Moore in a lot of ways, not that this is a bad thing, if anything that's a necessary thing to really try and grasp a creator's body of work) or you're the kind of sicko who'd be in the tank for the whole thing, no, not really.

It is one of the most impressive and accomplished works I've ever read, I will probably come back to it for research purposes, but holy shit am I glad to put it behind me.

[soliamurr]

Something I've been ruminating on lately is an iteration on the "someone kills Joker for Jason" fic idea (personally, I'm leaning towards Alfred) that actually reckons with the fact that Bruce, in fact, did try to kill the Joker, in broad-ass daylight in public, while Joker had 'diplomatic immunity' for his crimes and had to be physically restrained by Superman, and also that he kept trying to kill him the moment that immunity was revoked, including deliberately leaving Joker to die in a crashing (possibly also exploding?) helicopter.

Partially because I do think there's an interesting level of reckoning that I wish we saw more of about Bruce deciding not to kill as a code for himself. He works with people who kill, and while he's personally against killing, he isn't proselytizing that opinion like someone desperately seeking converts. (This does get more complex in the context of how he deals with his children's' choices in this matter, but as a general principal I don't think its inherently bad for parents to try and teach their children the values they uphold. That is, in fact, a part of parenting.) I also think there is something somewhat noble, or at least deeply admirable, about Bruce's level of self-awareness in saying that "I, an imperfect human being, should not be making the judgement call on who deserves to live." Especially since in most contexts, that's a permanent decision.

(We are setting aside how this is more wishy-washy with DC, but that's a whole other interesting sidebar, on how to reckon with the "only permanent for some" reality of death in a comics-based universe.)

All this to say: if Alfred pulled out a gun from his old League of Extraordinary Gentlemen days, and found a way to permanently remove the Joker Problem, I'm not actually convinced Bruce would seriously mind.

[daughter-of-melpomene]

HOLIDAY SHOUTOUTS

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!! Whether you celebrate or not, I sincerely hope that your day today is amazing and full of love and light <3. That said, I wanted to give some special shoutouts here to all the fellow creators who have helped to make my year that much better. I love every single one of you, and I want to thank every single person who has interacted with my stuff and sent me asks about my babies, but for now these people deserve some special love for all they’ve done for me. Therefore, I want to shout out:

— @luucypevensie, for always listening to my ramblings, no matter how crazy, and for always being willing to talk about crossovers with me.

— @dancingsunflowers-ocs, for being so endlessly supportive of all my plot bunnies and ideas, and for making the most beautiful moodboard gift for my boy Sebastian.

— @carmens-garden, for being my man Wyatt’s biggest fan, for making such beautiful gifts for her exchanges, and for being part of the inspiration for my new Teen Wolf OCs!

— @auxiliarydetective, for introducing me to both One Piece and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen this year (and inspiring my babies Star, Lark, Enola, and Lila as a result), always being willing to listen to my half-crazy ramblings, and teaching me about both ancient Roman society and how German schools work.

— @oneirataxia-girl, for inspiring me to actually introduce my Narnia babies, being my girl Annie’s biggest fan, and just generally being the absolute best.

— @starcrossedjedis, for being an amazing newfound friend this year, being the other person who inspired me to watch One Piece, and just generally being a super cool mom friend.

— @endless-oc-creations, for being the biggest champion of my babies Luci and Carlos, convincing me to watch The Walking Dead, and for the absolutely amazing edits she made for my slasher OC.

— @come-along-pond, as always, for inspiring me to watch The Boys, teaching me British slang, and calling me Mother many times on Discord.

— @ginevrastilinski-ocs, for making such beautiful gifts for my girl Ivana for the Halloween exchange, always sending me asks when I needed them, and being my sister in cool Winchester sister OCs.

— @asirensrage, for always being an inspiration to me and putting up with my rambles in her inbox, and being one of the coolest creators in the game.

— @arrthurpendragon, for always being the best OC fairy godmother any of us could ask for, for her amazing fics, and for inspiring me to create my new Pride & Prejudice babies.

— @nolanhollogay and @witchofinterest, for being some more newfound friends this year and always supporting my ramblings on the queer OC Discord - you guys are the best!!

— @richitozier, for always being an inspiration to me, and for having genuinely some of the coolest OCs and most amazing edits around.

— @bibaybe, for working tirelessly to run the queerocs blog and always hyping up my babies and sending me asks when I needed them most.

— @eddiemunscns, for inspiring me to create three new Ted Lasso OCs, being super nice whenever I chose to bother her, and just generally being a cool person.

And so many more people that I’m so sorry if I’m forgetting!! Again, I really really hope you all have an amazing day even if you’re not celebrating anything, and remember I love and appreciate every single one of you!! ✨🎄

[lightdancer1]

The last of my three Buffyverse ideas:

I've had these on the back burner for a decade and waited until the Buffy comics were done to avoid having to constantly reinvent the wheel to do the full thing, but it all started with the old-model 'Wish to resurrect Tara Maclay' fics that are the worst part of shipping culture making the ship overshadow the people involved.

These five stories can essentially be said to be 'the last five seasons of Buffy if Tara Maclay came back in Season 8 and got to deal with the death of magic and the magic concentration camps like everyone else did.' They are both a reconstruction and a deconstruction of elements of the Buffyverse idea of soulmates, of a lot of tropes in Tara x Willow fanfics, and simply put an excuse to write Tara Maclay and Willow having their own badass adventures separately and then together and not do the racist thing of throwing the obnoxious Latina under the bus while the obnoxious demon gets a pass because she's played by a white woman.

Also featuring my idea that absent pesky actor contracts the First Evil very much did appear as Tara and that this would be a complicating extra shadow over all the other trauma, and that without the ultimate longer-term effects of the Twilight War.

The irony, too, is that in this case all of Willow's actions in Seasons 8 and 9 ultimately stem from loving Tara enough to want people to remember the actual human and to give her time to adjust to being alive again on the one hand, and loving Kennedy enough to not simply discard her for not being Tara because their dynamic, while vastly different, very much does have its own recommendations.

Also going to feature, along with my series rewrite, the idea that the world of Buffy had at least a bit in common with that of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in that Dracula is not the only classic literary character to have been real (and not just the Cthulhu Mythos ala the Order of Dagon and Yog-Sothoth, aka Dawn Summers). One of them also has some support from the earlier episodes of the show and that one episode with the formula, as the Mk. I model makes its reappearance and with it the full-blown effects.

[strangestcase]

Ok so in regards to That Awful Fic, You Know The One, I’ve realized that a babified, dumbed down Hyde that doesn’t get to kill not only contradicts Hyde’s characterization in the original Novella, but also his characterization (AND reason for being) in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -both the comics and the movie-… which is ironic since That Awful Fic is supposed to be a riff of LXG, and the author is currently writing for an LXG AU supposedly written to fix the issues with the comics in which their god-awful, ableist take on Hyde appears to be the one in the League

and this is because:

Hyde being a dangerous, violent murderer is the reason he is in the League in the first place. In the comics, the League is recruited by the British Empire, so there is a certain level of commentary on a story in which the goverment knowingly hires a mutated, cannibalistic version of Jack the Ripper to use as a living weapon. In the movie, the League is a ploy by Moriarty, and Hyde is recruited so that Dorian can spy on him and present Moriarty both with the serum and information about him, so that Hyde’s state can be reversed engineered and used to create super-soldiers. If Hyde isn’t all that dangerous, why is he there?

Hyde being intelligent is an important plot point in both the comics and the movie. In LXG, Hyde is portrayed as he is in the book: governed by animal instinct, yet with the reasoning skills, intellect, and knowledge of an upper-class scientist, because that’s what he is. Without his intelligence, LXG Hyde would absolutely useless- unable to negotiate the terms of his recruitment with the League, unable to put his instincts behind when he needs to think clearly, unable to improvise plans (much quicker than the average human!) if he has to. Sure, the League wants him for his superhuman strength and enhanced senses, but him being much MUCH smarter than he looks is, literally, a key point in his characterization in the LXG franchise. Taking that away is a step down from Moore and Robinson’s scripts, and makes the claim that That One Fic is depicting Hyde “better” than most movies (and particularly the LXG movie) not hold any water (other than being rather ableist, keeping in mind they only do that because Hyde is a “child” in their eyes… my guys he’s over 50).

In a meta sense, Hyde not being evil or dangerous enough, portrayed as a spineless coward (I’d say he is a coward but not a spineless one lmao, it’s literally in the OG book, he has more of a spine than Jekyll could ever dream of) defeats the purpose of Hyde being a character in LXG in the first place. In the comics, he’s the let’s say token evil teammate… though he does share that title with Griffin and to a lesser extent with Nemo (who, despite being the villain of 20k, was right, you know). But in volume 2 Griffin betrays the team and Hyde becomes the sole villain-in-the-good-guys-side. In the movie it’s a bit more extreme since Griffin, due to a copyright dispute with Universal, had to be replaced by a new character, Skinner, who is nowhere near as messed up as book!Griffin or comics!Griffin, with Dorian Gray as the traitor- making Hyde alone in being a villain in a heroic team again. Even then, the point of LXG, at least in the comics, was to spoof the idea of a crossover superhero team like Avengers or the JLA- Moore makes the thesis that putting characters that have very different backgrounds and moral alignments in a goverment-backed contingency team is a recipe for disaster, and the “the Empire has trouble distinguishing its heroes from its monsters” line drives the point home. The British Empire was awful, Moore says, they’d gladly have goddamn Edward Hyde of all people work for them and get his hands dirty for them. I do agree that the comics. Dropped the ball hard on the satire but (gestures) Hyde was awful in them for a reason. You don’t have to like it but the reason is there.

The magic in Hyde’s interaction with the League (in the movie, which I like so so so SO MUCH better than the comics!!) is that he’s upfront about being a monster, and willing to latch on to the team like a lost puppy the INSTANT he notices they begin to see him as the human being with feelings that he is. The other members still have their demons, and I’d say the only character that is 100% a hero in their source material is Mina- Hyde is at least honest about his issues, because he literally can’t hide them- he was made to embody them. I don’t know- stripping Hyde of all the traits that made him a scary, compelling villain in the first place is already bad writing if we’re talking OG book fanfiction, but to put that watered down Hyde (the extreme ableism in his depiction aside) in an LXG inspired writing project is like writing an Avengers comic in which you make Bruce Banner a calm, collected, healthy person that doesn’t know jack shit about radiation, and claim you did “better” at writing him than the 2012 movie because you didn’t like that Hulk wasn’t grey like in the first comic! Hmph!

Anyway rant over

[see-arcane]

I did! Kind of. It’s based off an in-progress comic, The League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk, currently updating on @lxgentlefolkcomic -- not to be confused with Alan Moore’s work ending in ‘gentlemen.’ It’s set to feature crossover adventures of multiple public domain characters of the Victorian era while striving to stick a fair bit closer to the actual book versions of the cast and story backgrounds than the ones Moore cooked up. 

In my fic, Jekyll and Hyde do come across Jonathan Harker a fair while after...certain Events have occurred in Dracula (spoilers on top of spoilers!). An idea comes to them. Weirdness and undead violence abounds. Then Mr. Hyde decides to push some buttons and swing walking sticks at heads he really shouldn’t. 

Tumblr and Ao3 versions are here if you want to take a gander: The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde and Mr. Harker

Hyde first said fuck them kids, then fuck them old men, now fuck them homeless solicitors

Look out Bobert! I swear those guys should unionize...

The thing about Edward Hyde is, he'd gladly trample anyone and everyone. Those boots were made for walking. And you know what they say: there's no place like London!

...I believe @see-arcane wrote this fic actually

[writingfromkitchenator]

1,500 Followers Challenge!

The Title/Trope Challenge!

Again, thank you all for all your support!  You are all amazing and I truly cannot thank you enough for helping me get this far.  It’s certainly a milestone that I never thought I’d see.

Straight to the challenge!

Basic rules apply ~ there are 30 songs and 30 quotes posted below, pick one from your fandom with your character.  This will be open for a while as 2 requests per song/quote.  The only rule is here is, is that the requests cannot be from the same fandom.  I will try and keep the lists as updated as I can to try and avoid cross overs!

The extra - This time around, send me either a title and/or a trope to base to the fic on.  They can be as weird and wonderful as you want, or something simple.  In your ask, just specify which you are sending me and I’ll do the rest from there!

Recap:

Send me an ask with your request

Include your fandom and character

Choose a song and quote

Give me a title and/or a trope to base the fic on!

In saying that, please remember that this is all just a bit of fun, I’m sure you can have a laugh at some of the quotes below (based off of some of my favourite movies).  Please send all requests through asks, it’s easier for me to keep track of, and let me know of any questions!  It is, of course, okay to request more than once!

For now, there is no closing date, we will just keep going until all the requests are full!  Requests will be closing 1st May.

Further info below the cut.

Songs

Evermore  ~ Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast) - Lord of the Rings

Protector  ~ City Wolf - Supernatural and The Hobbit

I  See the Light ~ Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (Tangled) - Lord of the Rings

I'd  Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) ~ Meat Loaf - Marvel and Supernatural

Bloodshot  ~ Sam Tinnesz

Let’s  Hear It For The Boy ~ Deniece Williams

All  Eyes On You ~ Smash Into Pieces

Feel  Invincible ~ Skillet

Natural  ~ Imagine Dragons - Lord of the Rings

Wrong  Side Of Heaven ~ Five Finger Death Punch

Shatter  Me ~ Lindsey Stirling Ft. Lzzy Hale - Supernatural

Feeling  Good ~ Nina Simone - The Hobbit and Marvel

Somebody  To Love ~ Queen - The Hobbit and The Witcher

Hurricane  ~ Thirty Seconds to Mars

You  Give Love A Bad Name ~ Bon Jovi - The Hobbit

Girls  Just Wanna Have Fun ~ Cyndi Lauper - Supernatural

Total  Eclipse of the Heart ~ Bonnie Tyler - The Hobbit

Don’t  You (Forget About Me) ~ Simple Minds

Hell  Ain’t a Bad Place to Be ~ AC/DC

Love  Is A War ~ Jeremy Renner

A  Reason to Fight ~ Disturbed - The Witcher

True  Love ~ P!nk ft. Lily Allen - Marvel and Supernatural

Poison  ~ Alice Cooper

Sucker  for Pain ~ Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons w/ Logic & Ty  Dolla $ign ft X Ambassadors (Suicide Squad)

Hello  Hello ~ Elton John ft. Lady Gaga (Gnomeo and Juliet) - Lord of the Rings and Supernatural

I’m  Gonna Be (500 Miles) ~ The Proclaimers - Marvel and Lord of the Rings

I Will Always Love You ~ Whitney Houston  (The Bodyguard) - Supernatural and Lord of the Rings

When You Wish Upon A Star ~ Cliff Edwards  (Pinocchio) - The Hobbit

Raise Hell ~ Dorothy

Leave Me Lonely ~ Imelda May

Quotes

I mean, those people aren't exactly our regular customers. (Legion)

I would not have shown you such mercy. (Legion) - Lord of the Rings

When you hesitate, people die. (Doom)

Yeah, I was thinking about it. (Doom)

Will you please get this child off my leg? (Bedknobs and Broomsticks) - Supernatural

Do you poison the dragon or just the liver? (Bedknobs and Broomsticks)

I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering. (The Music Man) - Supernatural and Lord of the Rings

A man can't turn tail and run just because a little personal risk is involved. (The Music  Man) - Marvel

You idiots! You fools! You imbeciles! (101 Dalmatians) - Supernatural

It was a beautiful spring day. Tedious time of the year for bachelors. (101  Dalmatians) - Marvel

I think I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this problem until it  swims up and bites you in the ass. (Jaws) - Lord of the Rings

Smile you son of a bitch! (Jaws)

You never have control, that’s the illusion! (Jurassic Park) - The Hobbit

Boy, do I hate being right all the time.  (Jurassic  Park) - The Witcher

The suspense is terrible.  I hope it'll last. (Willy  Wonka and The Chocolate Factory) - Lord of the Rings

So shines a good deed in a weary world. (Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory)

That was naughty. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) - The Hobbit and Supernatural

You broke my heart once. This time you missed. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

You know, he looks heroic and he walks fast, but he’s kind of got a negative attitude.  (The Meg) - The Lord of the Rings

Yeah, well, I’m not crazy, I’ve just seen things no one else has. (The Meg) - Marvel

Eight years is a long time. Can I make you a cup of tea? (Godzilla) - Marvel

As far as he's concerned, you're just a pair of breasts that talk. (Godzilla) - The Hobbit

Afraid? You don't know what afraid is. You will not last five minutes without me.  (Jumanji) - The Hobbit

Oh, okay, honey. Well, that would be cheating. (Jumanji) - The Hobbit

Carrots? Why is it always carrots? I didn't even eat carrots! (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) - Supernatural

I know what you seek, and you will not find it here. (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) - Supernatural and The Witcher

No. I can't do that, and if you were in my position, you'd do the same. (Alien)

When I give an order I expect to be obeyed. (Alien)

I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier.  (Dogma) - Lord of the Rings

Well, I say we get drunk, because I'm all out of ideas. (Dogma) - Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Characters I will write for:

The Hobbit – Thorin, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Bofur, Nori, Gloin (friends only), Frerin, Thranduil, Bard, Legolas, Bilbo, Lindir, Beorn

The Lord of the Rings – Aragorn, Boromir, Eomer, Faramir, Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Elrond, Haldir

Supernatural – Sam, Dean, Castiel, Crowley, Gabriel, Lucifer, Benny, Balthazar, Chuck, Garth, Mick, Gadreel, Charlie, Bobby

Marvel – Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Loki, Thor, Peter Quill, Logan, Stephen Strange, Carol Danvers, Sam Wilson, Heimdall

Dragon Age – Alistair, Anders, Cullen, Morrigan, Zevran, Leliana, Fenris, Sebastian, Iron Bull, Dorian, Cassandra, Blackwall, Varric

Harry Potter – Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Neville, Remus, Sirius, Fred, George

Star Trek (Newer Films) – Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty

The Witcher (TV Series) – Geralt, Yennefer, Jaskier

Of course, this list isn’t a final thing, if you feel I could write a character, please just send me a message and I’ll let you know if I’m comfortable with it or not.

Please of course note that all drabble requests are reader insert.  I will not do character pairings, but I will change to first/third person if you prefer reading that way.  Y/N will be the standard name though and remain that way.

For any Dragon Age requests, if you wish to appear as a certain race, please let me know.

[morallygreyprompts]

I'm sorry... It's your icon Jack of Blades?? And did I hear correctly that you write for LXG???

Honestly, my profile pic was just a cool mask picture I found online. I have no idea where it’s from or who owns it - certainly not me though. I’ve been meaning to change it tbh, but I just never got around to it. I never expected this blog to get so bis either, so I do feel kinda bad about using the pic tbh. By ‘write for LXG’, I mean I OBSESS over The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen more than any other fandom, make most of my friends endure my rants, I even got a few of them into the fandom. I wrote a 180k word fanfic for the movie here, if the link works. I admit I prefer the movie to the comic, mainly cos the comic can be real icky which isn’t my cup of tea (If you know, you know). I add 2 chapters to that story every day, it’s all prewritten btw. I’m also planning a sequel to that fic and have also written a few Skina Oneshots (Skinner x Mina), I could write so much about why but I’ll save everyone else from my fangirling, I can be scary XD. The oneshots are on Fanfic.com, but I was also meaning to move them onto Ao3 too. I might do that tomorrow ^^’ Uh, yeah, I tried to control my fangirling, idk if It worked or not. But it warms my heart seeing people interested in the fandom. It’s a lonely place XD

[wildwood-reader]

Reading Update #5

October 30, 2022

Recently Finished

BOOKS

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Edition: Paperback

Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Final Thoughts: I don't think it captivated me as much as Vol. 1 did, which is probably why I paused it for so long before finishing it, but overall it was still really fun and I'm looking forward to continuing it.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (& The Bottle Imp) by Robert Louis Stevenson

Edition: Paperback

Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Final Thoughts: This was very short, so I read it within a couple of days. I don't know why, but there's just something very relaxing about the way classics are written, at least for me. I feel like the story didn't utilize its full potential, which is a shame, really, because I think this could have been a great longer book. But what we got was nice to read with a little bit of mystery, which was nice. Since this was my first time reading it after only having seen depictions of Mr Hyde in movies such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I was surprised to find out what the original Mr Hyde was really supposed to look like, which is basically the opposite of what I've seen thus far.

As for the novelette(?) The Bottle Imp that was also included in my edition, the story was a very interesting one. The idea of a bottle that can fulfill all your wishes but that will drag you to hell basically if you still own it when you die, so your only choice is to sell it for a lower price than the one you bought it for was very fascinating to me. Since I am not an indigenous person of Hawai'i, I can't speak for how well the representation was handled, all I can say is that while I enjoyed the story, some things did rub me the wrong way a little bit.

FANFICTION

The Black Mist House (Series) by Bang Bang Keef Keef

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Kudos: Part 1 ✅️ Part 2 ✅️

Final Thoughts: We finally read Part 2 of the series and it was really fun. The mystery and the unsettling things that were happening were engaging and kept me curious as to how the story would play out in the end. I enjoyed it.

Bella Goes to Therapy by Bouncey

Fandom: The Twilight Saga

Kudos: ✅️

Final Thoughts: I don't know why really, but this week I had the urge to read a fic about Bella going to therapy during Edward's absence in New Moon, and it delivered what I was looking for on almost all fronts. We got some delving into her relationship with Edward and the rest of the Cullens, and how it affected her life (minus explaining that they're vampires, of course), and a confrontation with Edward at the end, so yay for that.

Currently Reading

BOOKS

Marked by Kim Richardson

Edition: ebook

Progress: 38%

Current Rating: ⭐️⭐️.75

Thoughts: The writing is only okay but the story hasn't lost my interest yet, so we'll see how it goes. I like the silly parts of it.

FANFICTION

Fall of the Crimson Flower by AkatsukiShin (in artistic collaboration with brilcrist)

Fandom: Word of Honor

Progress: Chapter 2.5/6/?

Up-to-date? No

Chapters Behind: 4.5

Kudos: ✅️

Thoughts: Okay, this is getting ridiculous, Jen, it's really time to catch up. 🥲

Heaven Has A Road But No One Walks It by Silvestris

Fandom: The Untamed

Progress: Chapter 48/48/?

Up-to-date? Yes

Kudos: ✅️

Thoughts: Ooh, there was so much good stuff in the new chapter, I had such a great time. 😋

This is it for last and current reads. DNFs and my backlog are under the cut. 😶‍🌫️

DNF'd¹

BOOKS

Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain by Richard Roberts

Edition: ebook

Stopped reading at: 2%

DNF'd because: I couldn't even finish the first chapter. Maybe it's because I've been out of school, especially high school age, for a long time, but the descriptions of the MC's school day were just so boring. The writing was fine, but very mediocre and didn't hold my attention, so unfortunately, this was a no from me. Pity, since the premise sounded really good.

Witch for Hire by N.E. Conneely

Edition: ebook

Stopped reading at: 7%

DNF'd because: With this one, I actually made an effort to finish the first chapter, but I wished it were over almost the entire time I was reading. 🥲 The idea of a modern magical society with witches, vampires, trolls and other creatures as well as normal humans is really cool, but the writing is mediocre at best, unfortunately. I found myself repeatedly groaning, so this one's another no from me.

Alone by Robert J. Crane

Edition: ebook

Stopped reading at: 2%

DNF'd because: The first paragraph actually wasn't bad, but then it went downhill really fast. Next.

¹ I should explain that at the moment, I'm going through my ebook library which has mostly books in it that I've owned for 7+ years and still not read. I try to read the first chapter and then decide if I want to continue it or not. I doubt that the majority of them still captivate me the same way as their premises did when I bought them, so there's probably gonna be a lot of DNF'ing 🙈 I've also dropped more books after reading their synopses and realizing that they're not even appealing enough for me to start reading them anymore. 😶‍🌫️

BACKLOG²

BOOKS

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Edition: Paperback

Progress: Page 102/341

Current Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thoughts: This is a buddy read with my bestie, and right now it just doesn't fit the autumn vibe. We'll probably pick it back up some time after Halloween.

FANFICTION

Red Azalea by CeNedraRiva

Fandom: The Untamed

Progress: Chapter 112/135/?

Up-to-date? No

Chapters Behind: 23

Kudos: ✅️

Thoughts: The stars are still not aligned for me to continue it just yet, but I'm really excited for everything that's coming. 👻

Setting Fire To Our Insides by StarsAlignNomore

Fandom: The Untamed

Progress: Chapter 14/22/?

Up-to-date? No

Chapters Behind: 8

Kudos: ✅️

Thoughts: Y'know what, I think I will be ready to continue it soon; it fits my vibe hunger just enough, so we'll see. 😋

Impossible Life (Series) by Comfect

Fandom: The Untamed

Progress: Part 1/3

Finished Reading? No

Parts Behind: 2

Kudos: Part 1 ✅️

Thoughts: Not sure yet when I'll continue this, but I'm looking forward to Part 2.

*Backlog refers to books and fic that I've started reading but have since put on hold due to various reasons

[malreblogs]

I think one of the factors why Eldritcher’s kingsman fics really resonated with me is the generational trauma, it’s quite common in the toxic part of my culture in my side of the world and most of my friends relates to and suffers from it.

Also, I’m just amazed with the scope of her fics, I know a few writer friends who will lose it in world building alone, but juggling that with a lot of overlaying themes without overwhelming the reader is pure talent 👌👌👌👌👌

Man I wish I could write it somehow this year 😩 If I ever do, I just dunno how to clear cut end it. I’m really more of a story teller with big ideas than a writer 🥲

I actually expect King’s Man to have strong LXG vibes, a plot trying stopping a world war, access to the latest proto tech of the era, a blimp or two, a tank. Father and pseudo Son bonding via weapons training. The big villain reveal with a death trap. But noooo wasted potential.

the king's man spoilers

actual picture of me me writing fanfiction of the king's man so that conrad doesn't die, he and orlando reconcile, conrad and archie become friends, conrad spends his summers with cousin felix, orlando finally opens up and allows room in his heart for polly, polly teaches the other ladies at oxford estate to shoot, shola gets a vacation bc he's carrying the family on his shoulders, and i rip the shepherd's stupid mustache with my bare hands. erik can just continue doing whatever. we need a villain anyway. and rasputin... yeah sure he can just keep being his horny monk self. whatever

[illusivesoul]

Writing Process Meme

Was tagged by @forlornmelody Thanks :D

I’ll tag @comefeedtherainn @briarfox13 @carolyntheclockworkangel90 @quietborderline and @starlightwrites . Only if you feel like doing this, of course.

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Short stories most of the time.

What genre do you prefer reading?

Historical, alternate history and sci fi.

What genre do you prefer writing?

Sci Fi and Fantasy.

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

I know the general outline of the stories, but I write as the inspiration comes to me. So I write as I go all the time.

What music do you listen to while writing?

I don't listen to music while writing. I am very, very, very easily distracted, so no internet and no music for me while I'm writing lol.

Fave books/movies?

Books: Red Storm Rising, All Quiet on the Western Front, World War Z, the Mass Effect and Dragon Age novels, the War that Came Early, Red Army, Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, and more.

Movies: Lord of War, the Phantom of the Opera, Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Tarzan (disney version), Hunchback of Notre Dame (disney version), A Very Long Engagement, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Van Helsing, and many more.

Any current WIPs?

My Shiara long fic, bunch of of unfinished drabbles for my ME rarepairs, a Shiara postwar AU, a Warden x Leliana longfic that's still in its infancy, some Merril x Hawke drabbles, etc, etc, etc.

With my pace of writing, they will be finished in a couple of decades.

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Crocs sandals, shorts and a tank top. If I could, I'd go everywhere like that lol.

Create a character description for yourself:

“Shy, clumsy, introverted and socially akward dude with no real skills to speak of whose soul was consumed by Bioware on July 2017 and who will remain trapped on Bioware hell till the end of his days"

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

I've never actually done it, now that I think about it. All of my characters have been invented from scratch.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

This is me with my characters.

Because I like to make them suffer with my crappy angst.

Coffee or tea while writing?

Neither. I don't usually eat or drink anything while writing.

Slow or fast writer?

If I write 500 words in 2 weeks, I call that a success. I update my Shiara longfic once a month for this reason, and this is why my Wips will remain wips for many years to come.

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

Everywhere. I see something on my daily life or while watching a movie or a tv series, reading a book, etc, and I use those random inspiration moments to write a little.

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

Thr first person to die from whatever evil the hero has to face lol.

Other possibility is a sylvan. Those spirits in trees from Dragon Age who just stand there all day doing nothing until someone passes nearby and squish them.

Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

Most: I love the "hero fell from glory and turned villain" stories, "the hero became evil trying to do good" and "villain redemption at the end". And bittersweet romances are another of my favorite cliches.

Least: "Hero is perfect and does no wrong" and including romances for the sake of having a romance.

Fave scenes to write?

Bioware broke me and turned me into an angst making machine.

Most productive time of day for writing?

Whenever I get inspired and have time. It can be at any time, really.

Reason for writing:

I started writing my Shiara longfic, which is the first story I ever wrote, because I didn't find enough angst for them. So I decided to make my own angst and make them and muself suffer lol.

So I mainly write because I wonder how things could have been different, to get my ideas reflected in something, and to get more content of pairings that I like out there.

[carterhaughs]

ship asks: 1) what song(s) remind you of Sandor/Sansa? 2) favorite AU ideas for kaboom?

GREAT ASKS!!! Thanks for sending them :)

1. I actually have a mix for SanSan! If you listen, let me know what you think! In keeping with that, I think my favorite songs for them are Your Protector by Fleet Foxes and Mad Girl’s Love Song by Carol Anne McGowan (which reminds me of the “unkiss” - older Sansa coming to terms with what her interactions with Sandor mean to her now as she matures) - the lyrics are from the Sylvia Plath poem. 

2. I need to finish that little Kaboom fic I was working on some time ago; I love writing them. I think a cool AU for them would be one set in the Victorian Era - sort of a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen thing where Tatsu is helping her father run his dojo and bc of underworld enemies her family has made they end up somehow hiring Digger as part of a mercenary company. He starts out as a necessary evil and gradually becomes something more important than that ofc.

Ask me about ships. 

[cuprum63]

Pathfinders AN 3

Author’s notes for paragraphs 31-51 of Pathfinders.

P32:

I was the insult that broke her

Lucy was born into wealth and was turned into a vampire for no known reason. Cixi longed for eternal life, had a vampire for a teacher, and still wasn’t turned.

monster hunters that comprised the Yihetuan

The Yihetuan are the Boxers. In this universe, they were also legitimate monster hunters.

P33:

The conflict resurrected Dracula by the end of first month.

Circa early December 1899.

merchants who sold invincibility potions as late as 1748

Harmony of Dissonance: the merchant sells medicine jars for 10,000 gold.

the formula itself dates back to the mirage skeletons from before the First Crusade.

Lament of Innocence: the mirage skeleton drops the invincible jar relic.

P34:

Surprisingly, she wasn't in China because of him or the Boxers; she'd come in search of new recipes for her tinned foods empire.

Jonathan Harker wrote about getting recipes for Mina in Dracula. As he’s confined to Exeter by this point, she has to step up and get them herself.

The Harkers have diversified into canned foods by the time of the Boxer Rebellion. Mina’s idea is to see if any foreign foods were adaptable to British tastes. China happened to be next on her tour.

Her mission to build a teleportation node in Peking was a cover story to her own allies

Another parallel with Lucy. Mina’s not loyal to her own group.

she'd grown to hate Jonathan and their son by then

Again, Mina is the reincarnation of Lisa. Loving Jonathan and their son is betraying Dracula and Alucard. Loving at all is betraying herself. This is a reversal of Alucard’s words to Dracula at the end of Symphony of the Night.

I have to add that I wrote Mina and Lucy as two different aspects of Lisa. Lucy, until her turning, had Lisa’s personality and even her visage, but no skills. Mina grew up an orphan, acquiring knowledge and strength, but little of Lisa’s empathy.

and longed to feel the joys of adventure, battle, and good food once again.

A reference to Clan Murray’s motto. As for good food, check out all the food items in the Castlevania games.

P35:

section of her bodyguard

Lucy’s slipping into modern British Army terminology. Here, section refers to the unit size—around eight bodyguards.

only to find that every estate needed to be guarded and staffed

Ever hear of “lumpy assets”? This is a similar idea. You buy one thing and create so many other problems that you’re thrown all the way back to square one.

she employed even more servants and mercenary retainers from wherever they could be found

Mina’s solution, enabled only because of her marriage to Jonathan and the money she looted from Castlevania.

P36:

Unlike any hunter before or since, she infiltrated Dracula's hideout, evaded all detection, and slew him as he slumbered.

This is consistent with Mina’s secretiveness. She and Lucy started so many fires in their youth and were never caught. She taught Lucy a way to become independent. Mina even killed Quincey and covered it up. She’s a natural assassin.

Anyway, not the finest hour for Dracula’s minions.

P37:

She was fleeing up the Yellow River; I chose to outflank her at the Dragon's Gate.

There’s more than one Dragon Gate around; Lucy’s referring to the one in at Longmen. A Dragon Gate is a waterfall that in myths, Asian carp jump over…

old Chinese legend

The legend tells that a carp that successfully jumps the waterfall becomes a dragon.

P38:

one of their leaders neutralized

Pay attention of the word “neutralized.”

P39:

We shadowed Morris and Lecarde as they traveled across a war-torn Europe to eliminate Elizabeth Bartley.

Castlevania: Bloodlines, set in 1917.

one of the Draculinas was betrayed by her servant, Sandor,

Dracula’s Daughter (1936), meaning one of the Draculinas took an alias of Countess Marya Zaleska and was also plotting against Dracula.

At Dark Oaks, we prevented Caldwell from usurping Dracula's power for herself

Son of Dracula (1943). Dark Oaks was a New Orleans plantation and home to the Caldwell family. Katherine “Kay” Caldwell manipulated Alucard (Dracula) into marrying and biting her because of her fear of death. Obviously, in this universe, whomever she manipulated was neither of the Tepes men.

treasure hoard hidden on that Okinawan island

Among other things, the mythical M-Funds of Major General William Frederic Marquat. Here, the funds are named after Mina Murray, and they are not Japan’s property.

and on the mainland, the fifteen swords stolen with the help of Sergeant Cody Belnades

Sign Cody Belnades’ name in cursive. Compress and fudge the writing a bit. The ‘e’ looks like an ‘i’, the ‘n’ turns into an ‘m’, the ‘a’ becomes an ‘o’ if you end too high and especially if you mix it up in the ‘d’, the downward motion used for the vertical line in the ‘d’ looks like an ‘r’, and the ‘s’ blends into the end of the ‘e’ if it’s too small. 

His name becomes Cody Bilmore. He’s the one responsible for the Honjo Masamune’s disappearance, and the swords have never left Japan.

P40:

Schneider clan after they fell in with the Nazis

Reinhardt Schneider was a playable character in the noncanon Castlevania 64. Vampire hunting is still a type of genocide, and as his descendants were blond-haired, blue-eyed, tall, and strong, they embodied the Nazi ideal.

Holmwood LLC

Major antagonists to Arikado and crew in later fics.

Harkers felt our wrath in 1986

The first Castlevania was released in 1986.

elderly Quincey A.J.A.X. Harker's life

Quincey Harker was born on November 6, 1898 in this universe. He would have been 87-88 when he was killed.

His initials stand for “Abraham John Arthur Xavier,” as adding “Jonathan” would be redundant because of Seward. This is where Xavier Lecarde comes in: with his name, the X can be added.

AJAX, also called Typhoon is the name of another Konami game. From this game is the song “Command 770,” remixed as “Golden Bough” for Kokoro Belmont in Otomedius Excellent.

counterfeiting of the AH-64 and F-14

In A-JAX, you fly the Tom Tiger (AH-64) and Jerry Mouse (F-14). The A-JAX 2 Jerry Mouse is also a playable aircraft in Airforce Delta Strike.

P41:

Dracula had been vindicated, his evil surpassed many times over by other forces.

All the tyrants of the 20th century.

God's own flocks committed sins with abandon and still called themselves holy.

Look up any of the Abrahamic religions’ abuses in the 20th century alone, and how many people now belong to no religion. Mathias Cronqvist would be nothing unusual if he’d lived in modern Europe.

Church's crimes be revealed

Among these crimes was the war on Dracula. No matter how justified, the Church deployed a military force to assassinate a sapient being who had legally done nothing wrong. It sends a message that dissent will not be tolerated, and no matter where you run, you will be hunted down.

P42:

Madmen control nuclear powers or slaughter countless innocents while their lackeys gush at how wonderful it is to be creating their paradise.

Welcome to 2017.

Being weak or a victim has not only become acceptable, but desirable.

Tumblr in a nutshell. This is the same excuse used by the HIV+ to avoid being tested and therefore having to disclose their status. For that matter, it was the same mindset that Gandhi encouraged—weakness to invoke sympathy from others.

Meanwhile, people like me end up having to clean up their messes.

The masses have more tools available to improve their station in life than ever before, yet they are firmly committed to remaining ignorant.

You have computers. You have cell phones. You have the internet. You have search engines. Stop hiding in your echo chambers and use them.

P43:

Ecclesian who volunteered her unborn child to serve as the vessel for Dracula's reincarnation

In this universe, a baby receives a soul after birth.

She simply had to get pregnant with her husband from Japan seven months ahead of schedule.

Late April 2016, for a due date of late January/early February 2017. Shortly after the Iraqis retook Hit.

Japanese-Brazilian-American pilot

A clue to the Ecclesian pilot’s true identity..

who stepped up in late November.

Probably around Thanksgiving, if shooting for the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Also, this means Soma’s mother wasn’t the first choice.

Phoenix isn't one to leave survivors.

Survivors as in enemies or descendants.

P44:

San Diego hospital

The baby is automatically an American citizen by being born on American soil to parents subject to American law. The Japanese father means the baby is also a Japanese citizen, and while Japan doesn’t recognize dual-citizenship for adults, it does for minors.

P45:

This paragraph changes the meaning of a lot since P39.

Born into nobility, you died from disease and your husband declared war against God.

Elisabetha Cronqvist.

Returned as a doctor, you were burned as a witch and your husband went mad against mankind.

Lisa.

leave behind the drudgery of the match factory

Wilhelmina Murray from this universe.

You became a teacher, then a legal secretary,

Canon from Dracula.

then a vampire hunter and mercenary commander

Inspired by the Fury of Dracula board game and Mina’s role in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics.

Memsahib

A term for married white women in India during the Raj. Also from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and a hint of the Harker business empire’s composition by 2017.

established a crime family to uphold your values as the times changed

To be covered in the fic where Quincey Harker dies.

P46:

Dracula and his son fought against each other in your name, interpreting your memory according to their own beliefs.

Castlevania 3 to Symphony of the Night.

Your former coven sister and apprentice, the first Draculina, still has flashes of self-doubt even now, when she has grown more powerful than any Dark Lord.

Lisa, in this universe, truly was a witch.

The first Draculina is a dark reflection of the games’ vampire hunters. She serves as the penultimate boss of my planned fic series, and the battle is planned to last several chapters against the entire Sorrow crew at once before they end up being whittled down.

The final boss, in case you’re wondering, is a duel between the instigators of the entire series.

Without you, Van Helsing's coalition fell apart.

Also from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Without Mina, her team of Allan Quatermain and Orlando fell apart in 1969 and would not reunite until 2009.

P47:

You won the duel that day at the Dragon's Gate.

Inspired by two Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes, of all things. Like the duel between Solomon Muto and Arthur Hawkins or their grandchildren, Yugi and Rebecca, Mina had Lucy dead to rights and surrendered instead.

You spared me and chose to surrender your mortality and identity for my sake

Here, Mina finally shows where her true loyalties lie: with Lucy.

and like a carp that becomes a dragon, you were reborn into the power you deserved

This is where the legend from P37 is explained if you weren’t reading these notes.

Lucy isn’t saying that she turned Mina into a vampire, but that the Dragon’s Gate was a place where a chosen hero can absorb power. Or it’s one of those locations where you can pick up permanent stat boosts, like the HP/MP/Heart Max Ups from the games.

There’s also the issue that Dracula means “son of the dragon.” By defeating Lucy, Dracula’s last bride, Mina has become a dragon herself. Partially inspired by the Yakuza series, where one of the themes is that there can be only one dragon.

demi-savage hidden under layers of trained refinement .

The demi-savage comes from Clan Murray’s coat of arms. Lucy is saying that under her mask, Mina is a warrior.

your name will be known as the harbinger of the end.

Again, a point from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (volume 3). While Mary Poppins is fighting the Antichrist (Harry Potter), Oliver Haddo tells Mina that she is to be the harbinger of the apocalypse.

Lucy says “your name” because Mina’s new identity is Mina Hakuba. The kanji for Hakuba mean “white horse,” and a white horse is associated with the first horseman of the apocalypse. Adding to this is if Soma doesn’t equip Mina’s Talisman at the right time, he ends up reverting to Dracula.

P48:

Only my sisters—you and the Draculinas—have ever remained loyal to me, and now I must choose a side.

Lucy’s never been loyal to the Draculinas, as she said long ago in P1 and P10.

I can save you from sacrificing yourself at the cost of damning the world, or I can let you be reborn once again as a mortal and become your enemy in the future.

Mina is the last person on Earth Lucy loves. Lucy doesn’t want to let Mina kill herself to be reborn, but she knows she must.

P49:

There never was a choice, was there? This is still your path to walk, no matter my wishes.

Two meanings here: Mina’s life is her own choice, and Lucy is loyal to her.

Maybe in your next life, I will be the one to help you find your path.

They won’t meet until 2045, but Mina has been on Lucy’s trail since around 2038.

P50 & P51:

Farewell, Mina.

And welcome back.

Mina is finally named. Mina Harker dies and her soul is transferred into Mina Hakuba.

[consistentsquash]

Yeah! I feel like a lot of slash fics in a lot of fandoms just go directly to the relationship. If they talk about trauma it feels really like a US Big City/University Town type of vibe. Which is pretty different from what I connect with culturally around generational trauma and experiences.

It’s a bit like The Hillbilly Elegy book by J. D. Vance. It had some interesting things to say but it was really really not that relatable for somebody like me who grew up in a similar type of culture. Which makes sense because I think the book wasn’t written for that audience.

Also, I’m just amazed with the scope of her fics, I know a few writer friends who will lose it in world building alone, but juggling that with a lot of overlaying themes without overwhelming the reader is pure talent 👌👌👌👌👌

Yeah. One of the impressive things I noticed when rereading the Kalinka series was how it switched tenses and POVs.

 Kitchener was really, really about ambition/protecting others but thinking about them as weaker than him and needing his protection/making decisions for others/ego-driven. He had a 1st person past tense POV.

Rasputin is more “global”/able to relate to others/put himself in other people’s shoes. He had a 3rd person past tense POV because Imperial Russia, The Shepherd Cult, Rasputin himself are  doomed.

Conrad was total confusion. Because Conrad is total confusion. He gets that weird 3rd person present tense POV.

Oxford’s was the most interesting IMO. He gets a 3rd person past tense POV which kind of zooms in/out from really close/limited POV to something that’s almost 3rd omniscient in some of the scenes. Where we kind of get see the differences between Oxford the father, Oxford the lover and Oxford who is becoming Arthur/Kingsman. It really shouldn’t work because of the contradiction but I feel the zoom/blur/focus type writing worked great for giving us a sense of the person + the world.

Also I definitely love that difference between storytellers with big ideas and writers. I mean most of the time I really want storytellers with big ideas and I don’t generally care if things are slow to update/get abandoned if the ideas are big because they spark my imagination and I get to make up my own endings for the fics! It’s really one of the things I love so much about fandom!!! <3 But I feel during the pandemic and the last few crazy years I am definitely looking for “closure” in everything I read/watch. Really unhealthy fixation with the characters getting their guaranteed happy endings :D We need both! Go do you with your big ideas <3 Take your time. Don’t put pressure on yourself for anything. It’s just fandom. It’s not going anywhere. Totally be self-indulgent. Big ideas are awesome <3

But noooo wasted potential. 

Yep. This movie had a great cast + great potential with a pretty different ww1 setting and they really messed it up.

the king's man spoilers

actual picture of me me writing fanfiction of the king's man so that conrad doesn't die, he and orlando reconcile, conrad and archie become friends, conrad spends his summers with cousin felix, orlando finally opens up and allows room in his heart for polly, polly teaches the other ladies at oxford estate to shoot, shola gets a vacation bc he's carrying the family on his shoulders, and i rip the shepherd's stupid mustache with my bare hands. erik can just continue doing whatever. we need a villain anyway. and rasputin... yeah sure he can just keep being his horny monk self. whatever