#zamfir

[bornfreakdraws]

But what if Sypha got to have TWO girlfriends... *eyes emoji*

(ppst... uncensored version & drawing template for this pose are available. Look me up @ BornFreak on P*tre0n to find them)

[autumnmobile12]

Was Once A Princess

My concept art of Zamfir before Dracula’s attack on Târgoviște. (A little bit more Germanic clothing than it should be and it's the wrong time period...) I used Anne of Cleves as inspiration for the top left one.

Awhile back, I made a post about Zamfir, specifically speculating on Sypha’s line of asking if she was the ‘last person of noble birth left alive’ when everything went to hell. Due to her...devotion, I guess, to the royals, I like to play with the idea she was the daughter of the dead Prince. This would explain how she found herself at the head of the capital's guerilla resistance force.

What I imagine happened was after Dracula's castle landed in the heart of the city and the place became overrun with demons, the court fractured into at least two groups: Zamfir's underground faction and a faction that gave up Târgoviște as lost, fled south, and established a new court in Bucharest. (Historically, Wallachia's capital did move from Târgoviște to Bucharest around this time.) For a little bit of context, the Wallachian throne had been contested by the Dănești and Drăculești branches of the ruling family since 1420, some 56 years before Castlevania takes place. So if the reigning monarch were to die, the boyar lords would not have hesitated to flock to the next viable option. Zamfir, on the other hand, seemed to have the people of the Underground Court pretty convinced the royals were alive and well, so they may have been doggedly believing her promises and clinging to the old regime.

Due to the hostile environment of the court, Zamfir was probably already deeply disturbed before Dracula's attack. If she was the Prince's daughter, she's living a world where her father could be at any time deposed, either by his own people or by an outside force, or even betrayed and murdered by his own family members. As a woman, she wouldn't be able to present herself as a claimant to the throne and so would not be in danger of being murdered as a political rival, but the sudden loss of her father would still threaten her already tenuous place of safety. Her madness didn't start with Dracula; he probably just finished what the Wallachian political scene started.

...

As to the identity of dead prince himself, he can only be Vlad III Dracula or Basarab Laiotă and at the same time, it's impossible for him to be either. It's unlikely the prince has the same name as the vampire and Basarab Laiotă doesn't die until 1480.

To reconcile this, I'm calling the reigning prince Dan III because Dan III did not exist and is often confused by historians with Vladislav II, who may have simply used the name as an alias. (Ever misunderstand something so bad that you accidentally invent a whole-ass dude?)

...

Another thing of note is Zamfir is a Romanian surname that denotes a jeweler, not a given name. With this information, she's neither a Dănești or a Drăculești, but she could be an illegitimate child of the prince. Illegitimate children in Wallachia didn’t have the same status as they did in the west.  Any one of a man’s sons had the opportunity to inherit. The daughters were another story, but the Prince still could technically acknowledge her as his if he chose.

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

It’s time for this week’s Horrible-Scopes! So for those of you that know your Astrological Signs, cool! If not, just pick one, roll a D12, or just make it up as you go along. It really doesn’t matter. Better yet! Check out “Heart of the Game, Fredonia” - they can sell you those D12’s with the symbols on them! Get in contact with them on Facebook, shipping to the U.S. only, and tell them “Shujin Tribble” sentcha. “Hail, Hail, Fredonia!” Home of the Blue Devil!

Rough week at work, huh? Well, have we got the cure for you! Thanks to all those really screwed-up planet placements we told you about LAST week, we’re helping you feel better about your work-place experiences THIS week. So get ready for Yet Another HR-Mandated Safety Training Video and remember… Do NOT short circuit the fork lift’s battery. If the explosion doesn't end you, all the noxious chemicals will make you want to be.

Aries 

Even though we’re coming to the end of the summer and the cavalcade of critters, there is still a viable job for you as a Pest Control Specialist. Now, sure-sure, there’s far less activity from ants invading homes or bees building nests, but now you have to be on the lookout for Wasps and Hornets eating any bit of sweet or meat they can get their little mouths on. So This Week… Yellowjackets are neither hornets nor wasps. They’re, kinda, their own thing. Which might explain why they’re looking to kill everything else for being impure. Sounds a lot like a really expensive Table-Top game, doesn’t it?

Taurus 

AH! The great outdoors! All that fresh air, the birds chirping, the great view of the sky, and all the farmer’s tan-lines you could ever want in a lifetime while being worried about falling off a house. We’re not sure if you ever got over your fear of heights, but hey! A Paycheck’s A Paycheck, right? Being a roofer isn’t all THAT bad, right? So This Week… We never understood it when you said you weren’t afraid of “High-Heights” only “Low-Heights”. Is it because you’re afraid you’ll survive a 2 story fall and get a broken leg? If you land head-first onto concrete you won’t have to be worried about that anymore.  

Gemini 

Just because you like children and babies doesn’t mean you’re cut out for that as a job. There’s more at stake for you as a preschool worker, and some of it involves some really good drugs. Not the Recreational version, but the Prophylactic version. You’ll want to get all your immunizations re-done so you don’t catch anything, and check if you have any latent allergies that’ve started in your adult life. So This Week… BOY! SuRe hOpE yOu ReMeMbErEd To gEt OvEr yOuR FeAr oF NeEdLeS.

Cancer Moon-Child 

You might think it’s a great gig, but you’re totally wrong. Working Security at a concert has got to be one of the worst jobs out there. Not ONLY do you have to hear every note the headliner’s gunna play, but every warm-up band’s too! You don’t need to like all the music they’re playing, but would it kill you to at least know who “Marillion” is for crying out loud? So This Week… You are not going to work the gig for the Tito Puente cover band, or the Zamfir Tribute Band, or “EE-Oh-oh”, a band that only plays music by The Police. Expand your music appreciation into the 21st century.

Leo 

Just because you look good in elbow-length rubber gloves doesn’t mean the job as a dishwasher is going to be great. You’ll be constantly behind the rush, pushing plates through the machine quick as it’ll function, and scrub whatever gets slid across the counter past you and into the sink. So This Week… Remember the FIRST RULE of working the washup station in an industrial kitchen: Never Reach Into Water You Can’t See Through. Because there is almost ALWAYS a knife in there! 

Virgo 

Nobody ever thinks about this job, but it’s important. Being a part-picker in a battery supply company has got to rank super-high on the, “Don’t Let Me Screw Up Today” meter. Imagine it! Someone decides to screw with you by sliding a chromebook battery pack across the floor and under the forklift you’re operating, setting off a thermal runaway in it and the storage rack full of Lithium-Ion battery packs for digital cameras. So This Week… Learn how to spot a Danger Pillow and know where the cinder block lined burn pit is located. And don’t inhale those fumes! 

Libra

What do you get when you mix wedding cakes and an hour’s drive in distance? You get someone who has to drive a delivery van in the most paranoid way possible! Worse yet it’s got to be kept as cold as possible, even on the hottest day. What do you do if someone cuts you off, or a deer jumps out at you, or the tires start to hydroplane on the way to drop off a multi-tiered cake with no do-overs? Plus if it’s raining, how do you keep the rain off it? So This Week… Just make sure you deliver both cakes and their parts to the right venues. And if you screw it up don’t turn off your phone.

Scorpio 

Working a full-service shoe store can be a really great paycheck based off commissions, but dealing with The Public can be a nightmare. Nevermind the foot smell, since, you know, we’ve all got that - YES EVEN YOU! But what about the creeps in the mall, walking past the window, creeping on the people sitting down to try on shoes? There’s only so far Mall Security can go these days. So This Week… You can still find places to personally dye shoes for weddings. Make sure you have an accurate colour swatch to work from and that the bride doesn’t have a weird colour misperception.

Sagittarius 

In your case we’re not going to talk about you trying to fit into that cute little French Maid outfit. But in your case being a Cleaner is just not a job, it’s an exercise in remembering all your high school levels of chemistry! Mixing different cleaning agents can be not just a bad thing, but a health damaging one if you’re not careful. So This Week… If you want a cute maid outfit, check out the designs in the anime, “He Is My Master”. And DO NOT MAKE MUSTARD GAS! 

Capricorn 

As much as people say you’re a horse’s ass, it’s only half true because your head’s almost in there. Working over horseshoes and hooves means you get to be a Farrier. It’s kinda cool, getting to interact with all those animals for a little while before moving on to the next group. It can be fun, getting horse-lip kisses on the back of your neck while you’re working. But please-PLEASE do NOT let that mare stomp on your ankle. You need that! So This Week… Mares are the WORST to work with. Plan appropriately and invest in a BIG box of star mints. 

Aquarius 

You think wearing your fursuit and getting paid for it is fun? Well, it would be! Except, and we can’t stress this enough, but being a Promotional Mascot means you’ll be wearing someone ELSE’S fursuit design, and we all know they do NOT work well for multi-hour excursions. And they almost NEVER look as good as the ones the fandom makes. So This Week… Invest in a Cooler Vest and a CamelBack. Trust us. 

Pisces  

With your fat fingers no one thinks you can be a Computer Technician, but you know what you’re doing! Mostly because of your attention to details, like all the permutations of CPU and RAM and GPU and Motherboards and how they all work together. You went through all the bother of making a web-based database of all the combinations and how to get the most out of what you want to put together… all while forgetting that places like PC Part Picker already do that for you! So This Week… You really have to stop overthinking and overworking yourself. Use someone else’s work for your own benefit and work smarter, not harder. In Other Words… there’s nothing wrong with copying someone else's code into your own programs if it’s Public Domain!

And THOSE are your Horrible-Scopes for this week! Remember if you liked what you got, we’re obviously not working hard enough at these. BUT! If you want a better or nastier one for your own sign or someone else’s, all you need to do to bribe me is just Let Me Know - or check out the Ko-Fi page ( https://ko-fi.com/icarusthelunarguard )! These will be posted online at the end of each week via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Discord, and BLUESKY.

[rastronomicals]

Zamfir

[thestonecuttersguild]

He looks like Zamfir.

We have all been this squirrel.

[selin-n]

🎼🎶 Kızılderililer bu konuda çok başarılı..🪈🎵 Muhteşem!!

🎵🎶

This song is "Einsamer Hirte" (The Lonely Shepherd) which features the pan flute of Gheorghe Zamfir appeared on the soundtrack of the Quentin Tarantino movie.

🎵🎶

Bu şarkı, Quentin Tarantino filminin müziklerinde yer alan Gheorghe Zamfir'in pan flütünü içeren "Einsamer Hirte" (Yalnız Çoban) şarkısıdır.

[bloodraven55]

castlevania s4 is blessing me with so many hot women

[savage-rhi]

Gene Dawkins (Death Stranding)

Caelan Zamfir (FFXV)

Sonja Ainsley (RE8)

Sawyer Kiddo (Resident Evil)

Rhi aka JT-121 (Ravage)

Tav/Khal (BG3)

Decided to give my baby girl ocs some love. I'm proud of them all. Even when they done goof and fuck up real bad cause they're all flawed bitches in some way.

Picrew Link Here

[victusinveritas]

A bargain at any price. Just think of all the Zamfir.

[kaydreamman]

*breaks down ur door with a chainsaw*

What songs do you heavily associate with your characters?

stop breaking my door down.

Realized a lot of them dont have appearance revealed so why not (though i have not drawn most of them so youll have to bear with picrews for most of them)

this is extremely long and a lot of them so read at your own discretion

Raul Acierno ( Devons brother) - is very much Fish in a Birdcage - Rule #4 Fish in a Birdcage. Most is taken from first picrew but he has the nose in the second one.

Sunya - Emei - That Girl

Nazaire - Static-P - Detective Detective

Octavius, my special unhinged old man mage you guys dont know yet - Adam Jensen - That Man Is a Monster

Iulian - Midnight Divide - Send a Sign AND young friend - feral canadian scaredy cat. The face is more accurate to the picrew but the rest is my drawing

Ankur - good old classic, The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra - An Unhealthy Obsession

Delly - Derivakat - Casino Royale AND Hozier - Talk

Nadia - MARINA - How to be a Heartbreaker AND Britney Manson - FASHION

Bhima (already seen but not to left him out) - Five Finger Death Punch - Wrong Side of Heaven AND Ethan Gander - UNBELIEVABLE

Cynthia (my lovely dumbass buff woman Gangrel primogen) - Alien Stage - Hyunas song ig? (All in), Everything is taken from first picrew except for body build and earrings.

Treat (my wild jester/clown and one of the Princes Hounds/Executioners) - 6arelyhuman - Eat me AND Insane Clown Posse - Rainbows & Stuff

Miika - WAR*HALL - Play with Fire AND The Valla - Anarchist (demo)

he has a spine tattoo that you cant see here but this will do

Devon - DEVO - Puppet Boy AND Tears For Fear

he has a hooked nose but in the first drawing i made for him i didnt give him one argh

[alpaca-clouds]

Lovely analysis! This is the content I am here for!

I might add just one little thing: Given that our dear Dracula is still Vlad Tepes and so clearly not the ruler of Wallachia, it seems that the historical Vlad Tepes Dracula does not exist at all.

There is a small reference, as they enter the court, as Zamfir says something about "In the name of Radu the Black", which makes me think that instead of Vlad Dracula it was Radu on the throne, as the night hordes raided the city. Only that in this world he has taken the title "the Black" instead of "the Handsome", as he had historically. But given that things have changed significantly by the historical Vlad not being around, this would make a lot of sense.

This is an interesting and really vague line, and it’s unfortunate Zamfir’s arc is probably the most rushed subplot in the series.  (I mean, I didn’t really care for what Sumi and Taka had going on, but at least they got a brief flashback explaining their motives.)

So let’s dive into the historical context here:

Since it’s founding in 1310, Wallachia was ruled by the House of Basarab, a family that some historians believe may have migrated from Asia.  Wallachia’s first ruler on record was Basarab the Great.

After the death of Mircea the Old in 1418, a direct descendant of Basarab the Great, the ruling family split into two factions:  Mircea’s descendants through his sons known as the Drăculești and the descendants of his brother, Dan I, known as the Dănești.  This split would become the defining feature of Wallachian politics for this time period.  During the last years of Mircea’s reign, he named his only legitimate son Mihail as co-ruler to ease the transition of power after his death.  Within three years of ruling on his own though, Mihail was overpowered by the Ottoman Empire and the boyar lords under him defected to his cousin Dan II and Wallachia broke into a civil war.  Mihail was killed in the spring of 1420, after which several of his illegitimate half-brothers took up the Drăculești line’s bid for power, fighting the each other as much as Dănești faction.  It’s like Game of Thrones but even more chaos and the bastards are 100% valid players in the eyes of the law and society.

Castlevania takes place in 1476, so in between this year and the year of Mihail I’s death, rule of Wallachia (the Voivodate) would change hands 24 times and see a total of 10 separate rulers, only one of whom would die of natural causes.  (In comparison, England’s throne saw three different occupants in the same amount of time.  Although, one of those three was a usurper and one died under mysterious circumstances of the ‘probably murder’ variety.) So Sypha coming out and guessing that Zamfir is the last of the nobles is thought-provoking in that the royal court was already a hostile place even without Dracula bearing down on the capital.

Zamfir’s psychosis may have deeper roots than what happened when Dracula attacked, and I really want to explore that further.  ‘Last person of noble birth’ can have a few meanings.  The Wallachian nobility were the boyar lords, whose power and influence was dependent on wealth and/or land.  At court, there was the princely council who advised (or schemed against) the ruling prince, and there were also a few court positions that weren’t part of the council.  More to the point, Wallachia’s society behaved the same way as most European nations did at the time: ‘You have no power for you are but a woman.’

As for the mummified corpses in the Underground Court, in the interest of loose historical accuracy, the dead prince could only be Vlad III Dracula of House Drăculești.  In November of 1476, Vlad III usurped the throne from Basarab III, who had held it since 1474 after killing his predecessor Radu III (Vlad III’s younger brother, actually.)  In December of that year, Basarab III returned to Wallachia and took back the throne, killing Vlad III in the process.  Basarab III would live another four years.  In addition, the capital of Wallachia was moved from Târgovişte to Bucharest this same year.  So intentional or not on the creators’ part, the show roughly matches up with the historical timeline.  There’s also the fact that it’s not entirely clear exactly how Vlad III died and there is some speculation by historians that Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the historical Dracula only share the same name and the latter was not the actual inspiration for the former.

It’s a bit of a stretch to say Vlad III Dracula and the vampire Vlad Dracula Ţepeş were intended to be two separate people in the series, so I won’t go out there and make that claim.  The mummified royals are probably just nameless artifacts for the plot and we are definitely in speculation, headcanon, string and thumbtacks territory now.

Still, the ‘last person of noble birth’ line does have me wondering what Zamfir’s connection to the court is aside from ‘leader of the Târgovişte resistance.’  Daughter of a courtier, daughter of a council lord, or daughter of the ruling prince himself?

[barovianbitches]

Yvan Canagan Zamfir-Alvanja

art by @tt-vision

Full Name: Yvan Canagan Zamfir-Alvanja

Age: 25

Birthday: August 16

Zodiac: Leo

Myers Brigs: Protagonist, ENFJ-A

Race: Human

Height: 6’7.5”

Weight: 275lbs. What, if you are hauling casks of wine and beautiful people around, you have to have the muscle to show for it!

Looks: A strikingly handsome man with features cut from stone. He is a pillar of muscle and strength. His body is covered in scars from being attacked by a mob some years ago, as well as tattoos dotting his form.

Hair: Impossibly long brown-black hair. He has 3B hair when worn naturally, but for the sake of styling he keeps his hair in locs over the course of the winter to keep the maintenance of detangling down.

Eyes: A purple that seems to shift colors in the light. In the sun, they appear lilac. But in the dark stormy climate of Barovia, they take on deeper tone.

Class: Fighter, Whipmaster

Parents:

Ladinus Velvela (bio father) (unknown). Ladinus is Yvan’s birth father. He is not of Vistani heritage, and very little is known about him. He hails from the far Northwest region of Barovia. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Catalina Zamfir (bio mother) (✝ deceased). Catalina was a Vistana woman and Yvan’s birth mother, though he never knew her due to her passing when he was born. It is her family that took him in when Ladinus cast him out.

Margereta Zamfir-Ardelean (bio aunt/adoptive mother) (alive). Margereta is Catalina’s eldest sister, a bright and happy soul and the diamond of her clan. She has six children besides Yvan, so when Ladinus approached her about the care of Yvan, she was happy to take him in.

Anton Zamfir-Ardelean (uncle by marriage/adoptive father) (alive). Anton is the husband to Margereta and father to her children. He is a man of few words and proves his love through action. Family is everything to this man. He cares deeply for Yvan and curses Yvan’s father for abandoning his boy.

Siblings: Yvan has no biological siblings, as he is the one and only child of both Ladinus and Catalina. However, he has many cousins. Margereta’s children are the closest thing he has to siblings. He is the fourth oldest of her flock.

Sofia Zamfir-Ardelean, 27. The eldest daughter, she still lives with Margereta and Anton along with her husband Emil. They have a daughter and she is currently pregnant with her second child.

Gabriela Zamfir-Ardelean, 27. Gabriela is Sofia’s twin sister. She left her home clan to marry her longtime lover Lulia in another clan. She has become a wonderful weaver and artisan alongside her wife who raises sheep.

Stefan Zamfir-Ardelean, 26. The third child of Margereta and Anton, he is a a quiet young man and enjoys scholarly activities. He no longer lives in Barovia, instead having found his calling in Daggerford where he owns a bookstore and a large maine coon cat named Gyb. The clan visits him every time they travel beyond the mists.

Andrei Zamfir-Ardelean, 23. A spirited boy, Andrei dreams of glory as a warrior for the Untamed clan under the guidance of Vasile Cel Tradat. He practices sword fighting with a rapier a family member in Yester Hill forged for him.

Cezar Zamfir-Ardelean, 21. The second youngest of the children, Cezar is a sensitive and outgoing boy who is as practical as they come. He is a family man like his father, and currently head over heels for a girl from another clan by the name of Martzia. She does not return his affections, despite his grand displays of affection.

Camelia Zamfir-Ardelean, 18. Sweet, little Camelia. She is the apple of her mother’s eye and the kindest soul to grace Barovia. She is quiet and shy, but loves reading like her older brother Stefan. One day, she hopes to join him in his shop and apprentice as a book binder.

Heritage: Yvan hails from his mother’s Vistani clan of the Starseekers. His father, though, is not Vistana. The union of Catalina and Ladinus was a controversial one, as Catalina’s family feared for her safety in the hands of this outsider without an origin. Still, she was wooed by him, and soon they married and she became pregnant with Yvan. The pregnancy was a difficult one, and her clan did all they could to keep her comfortable despite Ladinus insisting that he take her somewhere else for care. The clan refused, already not trusting him with Catalina. She ended up passing, to which Ladinus left in the night with Yvan. For many years Yvan was raised away from his mother’s clan, much to their dismay. They never gave up searching for him. While in the care of Ladinus, he learned the ways of the land. How to track, to hunt, to survive. Though it soon became clear that Yvan was not the type for this way of life in such solitude. Ladinus soon gave up, approaching Margereta and Anton to take their nephew as their own. They obliged, overjoyed with his return to his mother’s clan. Ladinus left that night, and Yvan has not seen him since.

Religion: Yvan follows the way of the Fates and the Great Tapestry, the core Vistani belief system. It is a laidback lifestyle, involving the acknowledgement that your story is being woven as it is told and their is no predetermined path or true “destiny”.

Hobbies: Yvan thoroughly enjoys all of the arts. Having travelled for such a long time, he has had the chance to immerse himself in activities of many cultures. He loves music and poetry, and has a good set of pipes on him. He sings on the low end of bass, but gets shy so normally he will only hum along to music. (Example Here) Even then, his voice could resonate and break open boulders. He also adores storytelling, he likes to share stories around a fire with his friends and family. He gets REALLY into it.

Likes: Animals (dogs especially, like his cane corso Boris), wine and mead, teaching new skills to others, the smell of ozone as a storm rolls in, the feeling of rain on his skin, exploring ancient places, comfortable silence shared between (lovers) friends, incense, PDA, a cool swim in a river or lake.

Dislikes: The ocean, closed spaces, funerals, shirts (clothing in general. If he could be a nudist, he would), sitting still for too long, and places with a hot climate/high humidity.

Strengths: Physically, he is extremely capable. He can hoist just about anything over his shoulder, including barrels, hay bales, and particularly cute bards (if they consent of course). He is fiercely loyal to his family and friends. He’d much rather die than cut a deal with a devil. Yvan is also very level-headed and is able to keep his emotions on an even keel, he can remain calm in even the most dire of situations.

Weaknesses: Though he says he likes to forgive and forget, he has a tendency to hold grudges. He is EXTREMELY slow to anger, so once someone pushes him over the edge or breaks his trust there is very little one can do to go back on it. However, he is empathetic and merciful to a fault. When he was attacked by the mob, he implored Constantin to not hurt them, as the villagers were clouded by their prejudice and didn’t understand. He also seems to have a particular weakness to the Dragonborn of the party. In recent events, he had to keep his cool when said Dragonborn was threatened. Usually he doesn’t feel so compelled to violence, but his instincts took over for that moment. Who knows, perhaps it’ll become more of a common occurrence..

Goals: To find his person he is going to live for. While he is perfectly happy and healed alone, he lives to serve and his happiness comes from the overall content of those around him. If there is anything he can do to help, he’ll do it.

Character Background/Lore: Of Snow and Song Vuk & Voron

[oldsardens]

Zamfir Dumitrescu - Floarea-Soarelui 1976

[rastronomicals]

8:35 PM EST January 22, 2023:

Zamfir - "The Lonely Shepherd" From the Soundtrack album Kill Bill Vol. 1 (September 23, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

[thefearfulheart]

Depths of Darkness

Random au of mine and @kaydreamman characters.

Kay own Iulian Zamfir and I own Jose De Leon

“What…” Iulian can’t help but hesitate for a moment as his hands tighten on the sword's handle, his fingers brushing against the drum of it, as he stares at the janitor.

He watches as the janitor leans against his mop and he smiles back at him. The man’s light brown hair is free from the ponytail that Iulian has been used to seeing him in ever since he came here, and the sleeves of the man’s grey jumpsuit are pulled up as well to show thin, spiralling scars on his arms that sends slight shivers down Iulian’s spine as he can swear that they are moving…squirming as the janitor scratches his head.

Iulian can ignore the vicious, hungry words of HISS as it chorus its song throughout the Security Department as he stares, or tries to stare away, at the other's eyes…

The janitor's eyes are…

The Director can…recall that the eyes from before…the eyes he saw weren’t like that.

Lighter, softer…something so humanely normal. Sincere he could almost say…

The eyes he’s staring at right now remind him of the deep, pitch-blackness of the sea. Ravenous, hungry and all-consuming as they stare into his soul.

He feels like he’s drowning the more he stares into them.

Spiraling into the depths the devil smiles at him.

Iulian’s grip on the Sword tightens as he breathes heavily, unable to break eye contact.

He can hear the Janitor humming an old Spanish song under his breath.

Sirius is just a faint rustle in the back of his mind right now.

He’s trapped and he(‘s afraid) hates it.

It reminds him all over of-

“Ah, you finally remember now?” The janitor chuckles. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”

That snaps Iulian out of it.

Whatever spell he was under is now…gone.

“Yes, I do.” Iulian stiffly says. “Quite a long time…”

‘You shouldn’t even be-’ Are Iulian’s thoughts before the janitor bursts out laughing.

The laughter evokes a feeling of dread.

“Alive? Yes, I shouldn’t,” The man is amused, plucking those thoughts from Iulian’s head as if it were nothing. “Funny that.”

The man is smiling as he proceeds to mop the floor again and Iulian, foolishly again, stares at him as he does so.

“What happened to you?” The Director decides to blurt out. “I just remember seeing-”

“A dead fucking body in that lake?” The other finishes his words for him with a simple shrug. “Yeah, I know.”

The rare times that Iulian finds himself without words can be…distressing.

He dislikes them so.

“But, hey! I’m alive and I’m well!” The man chuckles. “Well, as well as I can be I suppose…but they treat me. So it’s not too bad.”

“The Board?” Iulian asks, finally finding his words.

The man just stares at him for a few moments.

Unblinking.

“No,” The janitor finally says.

He doesn’t elaborate on that and Iulian thinks that he might prefer it that way.

The way that he stared at him…felt cold.

Empty.

Iulian clears his throat.

“How are you here then?” Stronger, louder with that touch of sharpness that Iulian is famous for.

He can’t show weakness.

He’s come so far already.

“IT let me out,” The man says with a devastating calm that it makes Iulian…interested. “Well, a little bit of me…and some of IT.”

“Where were you?” It might be his hunger for knowledge or perhaps the Sword. “What are you?”

“A very dark place. An endless ocean of pitch, black shadows that consumes all light itself…you don’t know where up or down is in that place,” The janitor smiles as he mops further along the red-tiled floor. “Me? Well, I'm Jose! You’re friendly janitor of the Bureau!”

The man is silent for a few minutes.

No smiles.

No laughter.

No humming.

It…unsettles Iulian.

The man’s-Jose’s words…

“I’m the little, teeny, tiny parts that remain of him.” Jose finally says.