#anyway. yay dracula time :)

[cutearose]

I didnt get to finish dracula daily last year because my email account got messed up and it was a Whole Thing, so I’m really excited to be doing it again this year :3 and I have the book! because I apparently ordered it in the middle of the night while sleep-deprived and was very joyful when it arrived! yay!

#also as a person very sensitive to spice. i understand jonathan being kept up by paprika being spicy. me too bestie #i want to try listen to the podcast this year but i need to get my friend to unlock the app in my screentime settings #and also figure out what time of day to listen to it. bc i read the entry before bed so its the same time as everyone else getting the emai #but like. reading them takes like 5minutes. the podcasts are gonna take much longer #much to think about. also idk if i will manage it anyway bc im not a podcast girlie but i want to try!!!! #anyway. yay dracula time :) #dracula daily #post

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Cowboys

m Stoker: i've got a great story for you all tonight Koontz: dracula? Stoker: no dean it's not dracula Barker: you have other stories besides dracula? Stoker: Stoker: yes clive i do have other stories Barker: damn big if true!

Stoker: what are you implying clive? i have plenty of stories! Stoker: i'm not some one hit wonder like mary Mary Shelley: whoa there cowboy Shelley: maybe you wanna back that the fuck up? Stoker: i'm sorry mary, i didn't mean it Stoker: clive got me all riled up

Barker: tho bram does raise an interesting point Shelley: oh does he? does he raise an interesting point? and what would that point be clive? Shelley: think real careful before you answer Barker: i Shelley: real careful Shelley: real fuckin careful Barker: Barker: i withdraw the point

Shelley: i wrote plenty of stories Shelley: not my fault you lot only wanna hear frankenstein all the fuckin time Stoker: see? that's exactly what i'm saying King: ah jeez we're sorry guys King: it's just that, ya know… King: dracula! frankenstein! King: they're so iconic King: they just distract us from all the other stories that you guys apparently wrote

Stoker: that's better Stoker: i didn't JUST write dracula Stoker: i also wrote the lair of the white worm Barker: oh yeah we all remember THAT one Poe: clive

Koontz: do the song! Stoker: the song's not in the story Barker: oh but the song does slap Poe: dean loves the song Poe: we all love the song Stoker: Stoker: siiigh Stoker: [clapping, tapping foot] ohhhh john dampton went a-fishin', a-fishin' by the weir…

Stoker: you all remember the cowboy in dracula? King: of course! the cowboy was the best part! Stoker: well, what would you say if i wrote a story that was ALL cowboys? King: King: so like a western? Stoker: a what?

Stoker: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the shoulder of shasta Stoker: a rollicking romance of the old west starring city gal Esse Elstree and rootin' tootin' cowpoke Grizzly Dick- Barker: wait Barker: haha wait Barker: wait ha ha ha ha i'm sorry Barker: what was ha ha ha Barker: what ha ha ha ha

Barker: haha what was that name again ha ha Stoker: Grizzly Dick Barker: hoo ha ha ha oh my GOD Barker: ha ha ha Barker: edgar ha ha Barker: edgar don't you ha ha ha Barker: don't you have anything to say ha ha hoo Poe: cliiiivfffffppppphhhbbttttttahhaah ha ha

Stoker: what's so funny? Barker: nothinggggha ha ha Stoker: do you think there's something funny about Grizzly Dick? Barker: ha ha haaa

Stoker: Grizzly Dick is the best part of the story! Barker: ha ha haaaaaa Stoker: I love Grizzly Dick! Grizzly Dick is my favorite part! Stoker: my wife loves Grizzly Dick!! Barker: hahahahohgodi'mdying

Stoker: next you're going to act like there's something funny about Esse Elstree's stern governess Stoker: miss gimp Barker: HA HAH HAHAAAAA

Stoker: i'm not going to tell the story if you're going to laugh Barker: haha ok ok i'll stop Stoker: ok good Stoker: so anyway Grizzy Dick says Stoker: [ridiculous cowboy voice] "HOWDY PARDNA YIPPEE KAI YAY GIT ON A ROOTIN AND A TOOTIN-" Barker: AHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Robert E Howard: ain't nothin funny about this, hombre

#midnight pals #the midnight society #midnight society #stephen king #clive barker #edgar allan poe #dean koontz #mary shelley #bram stoker #robert e howard

[somanyfuckedupiftruebooks]

TMAGP2

'Okay, Dracula.' I love this show

They have an insane system for categorising the supernatural. So many different subsections and numbers. Just lump em all in 15 vague categories and move on.

Gwen is such a bitch 💅

Time isn't real!

Now we're in therapy??? Fucking finally.

(But didn't Jonnny say that he didn't want to use recorded therapy sessions as a plot device? I thought that came up in TMA S4.)

Oh no eating disorder :(

Oh yay tattoo! Lol I also got myself new tattoos for my 30th. It's a good thing to have stuff in common with characters in horror podcasts, right?

Ugh getting a tattoo livestreamed would be the worst! Here's several hours of sitting perfectly still while experiencing a reasonable amount of pain and a stranger is touching you in ways that may or may not be very intimate the whole time. But now with an unknown amount of strangers watching!

Yeah this sucks supremely. I require a minimum of a year to be anxious about my prospective tattoo designs, the idea of getting something done without even knowing what it's going to be makes me feel nauseous.

'Cleaning their bloody tools'??? The fuck??? Not how tattoos work.

The design sounds cool tho

And it sounds like she didn't have to pay or do any aftercare? Maybe the cursed tattoo is worth it

Plus it has art magic!! Sign me the fuck up I need a cursed tattoo that makes me a good writer (and also eats me alive or whatever probably)

But I guess you never think your work is good enough and work yourself into exhaustion trying to perfect it? Yeah I'm still on board, I already never think anything I create is good enough.

Oh shit she doesn't mean adjusting the painting she's carving her face up. Uh oh!!

And carving her everything else up.

This is a boneturning tattoo. I've been tricked!

She was using acid???? 😬

Anyway Alice is right. Simply ignore the horrors and don't let them bother you. This is an effective coping strategy that never comes back to bite anyone or causes future problems.

Alice's sibling is in a band! Good for them.

Luke.

Sam, please. We don't do any extra research for this job. Stop caring and start coasting. The Magnus Institute is probably nothing and I'm sure it won't come up again :)

#tmagp #tmagp spoilers #tmagp 2 #reeah bringe drinks and binge listens lol #shot update: 1 shot vodka 1 shot rum 1 shot soju (but also i had a vodka ice tea for lunch for actually it's probs 2 vodka) #time for next shot :D

[milomilo]

The idea of having a Dracula Daily BOOK makes me so happy??? I've talked about this to all my colleagues in the book shop and they were all so puzzled about the idea of reading Dracula chronologically - now I'll get to show them!! 🥰

Also I have to share a bit about my own experience with the concept. I read my updates 3 times a week when I go to the gym and it helped me build that habit so wonderfully?? I spent years hating myself because I couldn't find the motivation to go and now I'm going 3 times a WEEK? amazing, breathtaking. And reading Dracula everytime in between reps or while biking helped so much. I surprise myself thinking i have to go because otherwise I will fall behind on the updates, the cold mood is also very refreshing while you exercise i must say ahah

Overall already a life changing experience.

Anyway, yay!! Book!!!! 😁

#dracula daily

[beevean]

Thoughts on Dawn of Sorrow?

Dawn of Sorrow is a good game! It has pretty much all the qualities of Aria of Sorrow, but in a longer, more fleshed out experience.

The plot is a nice continuation of AoS’s, a little meatier. Soma is now the target of an evil cult who wants to resurrect the Dark Lord, and there are two candidates that are set to kill him: Dmitrii, who can copy abilities, and Dario, who can control fire (one of those is much more interesting than the other...). Dmitrii dies not long into the game, even though Soma didn’t try to kill him, leaving Dario as the last one to defeat. So far pretty standard... until you get to the Good and Bad Endings.

The requirements for the Good Ending are... weird. Equipping Mina’s Talisman to not become Dracula, that makes sense and it’s super easy - in fact, if you don’t do it (maybe because you forgot about its existence lol), Arikado will spell out the solution to you in the Bad Ending, and it’s just a matter of reloading the save file after a cutscene. This is not the problem. To avoid the Normal Ending in the first place, you need to kill Aguni, the fire demon that fused with Dario, and to do that, you need Paranoia’s soul to enter mirrors. Okay. But to get to Paranoia, you need to have the Axe Armor, the Killer Clown, and the Ukoback, because there are gates that can only be opened with those Souls. Why? Why those souls to get to Paranoia? And if you don’t have them, back to grinding you go! The game doesn’t even hint at the fact that you need Paranoia until you get to the final boss room! And only if you kill Dario, Arikado reveals that you have to sever the connection between Dario and Aguni. At least the souls in AoS made sense! This is just padding.

On the complete opposite hand, I adore what they did with Julius Mode this time. You can unlock it as usual by beating the game, but much more interestingly, you can unlock it by getting the Bad Ending, the one where Soma succumbs to his nature and becomes Dracula! You didn’t equip Mina’s Talisman, Celia kills her in front of Soma, and welp will you look at that, watching his loved one die in front of him for the third time is enough for Dracula’s spirit to overwhelm poor Soma. And you play as Julius, Alucard and Yoko as a twisted version of Castlevania 3 (rip Hammer), where you have to go and kill your former friend/protagonist :( the concept alone hurt me more than having a hand in killing Shanoa in the bad ending of OoE.

My heart is in pain :(

(Celia here has a great moment though. "Yay, I shall kill the beloved one of the Dark Lord to awaken him! He'll be grateful to me :D wait why are you mad at me for killing your beloved one". Also she literally gets yeeted before the final boss. She wasn't the brighest bulb lol)

Soma as a character has really grown on me. A seemingly normal student, one that is somewhat aloof and only has one friend-maybe-girlfriend, who discovers that he’s the reincarnation of the Dark Lord himself, and now he has powers he barely understands (although in the good ending of AoS he seems to have embraced them lol), and he makes new friends but they all seem to be on edge around him, and he has to accept that if he succumbs to his real nature his Belmont friend will come to kill him... That’s a lot to take in. Poor guy even felt guilty for not becoming the Dark Lord, and Arikado had to remind him that he's just a normal human being :( I guess that at least the beginning confirmed that, as long as he doesn't use his powers, they'll become dormant...

(the other characters were fine, but I’m... not sure of what happened to Hammer. His obsession with Yoko is not funny.)

The castle... wait. We’re not playing in Dracula's castle. What kind of Castlevania-less Castlevania is this??? D: first you change the artstyle to something more anime, then you remove the castle, clearly the series is ruined forever!!!1!

Anyway, the... With Light headquarters? are just as well designed as the castle in AoS, maybe more on the bigger, labyrinthine side, but once again it was easy to orient myself. I noticed that this time there are no optional areas like in AoS - there was one dead end in the form of the Silenced Ruins, but you need to go there for the Bat Company soul. Funny how the GBA game, which you would expect to have memory limitations, has extra areas while the DS game doesn’t. The closest thing to an optional area I've found is the lowest connection between Subterranean Hell and Wizardly Lab: you need the First Class soul to traverse a spike pit, and you find a connection with the Lost Village, some items, and some very creepy unique enemies in the form of the Homunculi, which explain what exactly the cult has been creating in this lab... Love world building like this <3

(Oh, and nice C1 reference in the Silenced Ruins, haven’t seen one in a while. It’s funny how AoS does the whole subverting of expectations by replacing the Giant Bat with Balore, but in DoS it’s all played unironically lmao.)

I know that the souls are grindier than in AoS, which kills the replayability that the fomer game was known and loved for. But... I’m an impatient spoiled brat who suffered in AoS already, so I hardly felt the difference 😂 I’m also glad that this game introduced the idea of ranking souls based on how rare they are.

DoS also makes the souls a little more complex. If you have multiple souls of the same type, the power levels up, up to 9: this is pretty nice for the easily farmable (and usually weaker) souls. But you can also go to Yoko, and let her infuse one of your souls with a certain weapon and upgrade it. I rarely used this mechanic, but it can be useful depending on your playstyle, and I appreciate the choice. Sadly this means you can’t simply find the best weapons in the game like in AoS, rip Claimh Solais :(

Speaking of souls, some of them are really interesting. The Puppet Master soul pretty much replaces the Mist in SoTN, but can I just say that astral projecting using a doll is a sick power in on itself? It’s like what I expected from Ghost lol. First Class is absolutely *chef’s kiss* Taking down Death with the Guilliotine was pretty funny. And I absolutely annhiliated Menace with the OP combo of Death + Abaddon :D

As for the whole Magic Seal mechanic... well, I had to play a hack that removed them, due to me playing on an emulator. The mechanic seems to be somewhat unpopular, and by the time I got the 5th Seal, yeah, I could see why. Let’s just say that it screams “early DS game” and move on. The other uses of the touch screen, such as clearing the ice blocks and solving the labyrinth puzzle in the Guest Room, are far more inoffensive and I didn’t mind them.

I had a few issues with the controls, though, which is odd as AoS went without a hitch. Namely, the Flying Armor. It falls too fast, and sometimes it doesn’t even activate during a jump. Climbing the Condemned Tower was pretty annoying ngl. In general Soma feels stiffer than in AoS, especially in his jumps - nothing game breaking, but I feel the difference.

The bosses are good, a step up from AoS’s, which were also good but a little basic. Dmitrii was especially fun, he reminded me of Copy Mega Man lmao. (I also didn’t expect to tackle Karasuman right after him, good thing he’s just of a pushover as he was in SoTN lmao) Some of the bosses are creepy af - Gergoth, looking like a rotten dinosaur; the Pupper Master, which is just demented; Menace, which is only slightly below Belzeebub in terms of “what in the sheer fuck am I looking at”.

(I’m a bit sad that Death snubbed me, though. C’mon, man, you’re fighting the reincarnation of your boyfriend! You really have nothing to say? :( )

The game is good looking. I’m aware that I sound like a broken record, but look, it’s not my fault Castlevania games have consistent graphics quality D: this being a 2005 DS game, it has far less 3D effects that were included in PoR and OoE, but I guess that it makes it a little more timeless? When the 3D appeared in the Pinnacle, though, it stood out much more, because man is the view so good <3 Of course, you can’t talk about the graphics without mentioning how the general style was changed from gothic to anime and... eh. It’s not the end of the world, but I can see how fans could be irritated. Soma looks good in anime style (although I mourn the loss of his glorious fur collar), and it’s still not as cutesy as PoR, but yeah, I’m glad OoE corrected itself.

(it is a little weird how the portrait want to look cuter, but then parts of the game are creepy af - The Abyss is straight up nightmare fuel, with its heavy hell/Satanic imagery, wow)

The music absolutely benefits from a less crunchy soundfont, and it’s just as good as PoR’s and OoE’s :) I did not expect a track named Dracula’s Tears to sound this funky lmao. Platinum Moonlight is oddly relaxing, with a sweet piano solo. Condemned Tower fits the ascending to Gergoth's lair and the lurking darkness beneath. Demon Guest House is vaguely unsettling, fitting for this elegant yet haunted side of the castle (there are kids' toys here, who grew up here?). Subterranean Hell is anything but hellish, in fact it's quite pleasant to listen to. The Pinnacle is yet another climax-y track for one of the hardest areas in the game, and it's so good when you're outside and you see the 3D scenery. In the Dark Night is one of my favorite boss themes in the series, shred that synth man! Scarlet Battle Soul is a great competitor, though, pumping you up for a fun fight. The Holy Trinity is back in great fashion, and I think it's the first time since Symphony of the Night that one of them has reappeared?

So I guess the final question is: do I prefer AoS or DoS? I honestly expected worse. I would maybe put AoS above DoS due to the excessive grinding in the latter, the less intuitive way to avoid the Normal Ending, and yeah I can imagine how annoying the Seals are in the original game lmao, but I can’t say DoS is a huge step backwards. It has higher highs and lower lows, but not in an extreme fashion. I had fun :)

#castlevania #dawn of sorrow

[oraclekleo]

hi <3

can i request a reading of the "Relationship Role Reading" spread? i'm over 15 years old. love your readings, is so easy to understand 🪐

Hello!

I'm happy you like my readings.

It took me a while but I have yours ready for you. Yay!

Also... I used completely different deck for this one than I usually use because I simply followed my intuition. Your reading was done with Vlad Dracula Tarot deck.

You can check my decks for refference: Kleo's Tarot Decks [01]

I don't use it often but with you... it just felt right. 😂

Anyway! I hope you like the reading, any feedback is welcome.

Have a great time!

@gabiecv

Deck: Vlad Dracula Tarot

Spread: Relationship Role

Friend - Ace of Swords, 9 of Swords

Whoa! You’re a hell of a friend… or better say you can be a hell for your friends if you desire so. Lol. You are likely very smart, intelligent and witty. You don’t hold yourself back and speak your mind. Those are the good aspects. You also spot other people’s weak spots easily. When somebody crosses you or they are so foolish to actually start an argument with you, you already have a massive arsenal of things you noticed in the past, never forgot about them and you will use them against that person. Be aware, sometimes you might slip into manipulative behaviour.

Girlfriend / Boyfriend - 5 of Swords, 4 of Swords

When it comes to dating, you are likely not an easy prey for suitors. You stay low profile, observe and learn about the people in your surroundings and you are likely to find them unworthy for so many reasons. It’s very likely you prefer to stay single rather than lower your expectations. You don’t sugar coat things and any boyfriend or girlfriend dating you will have to have a stomach for your attitude. You can become bickerish and nag people about their downsides.

Lover - X The Wheel of Fortune, 10 of Cups

I’m not sure if you have an experience with physical love but you are likely a pretty naturally skilled lover. You need to feel some sort of an emotional connection with your lover. You are likely to get easily turned on under the right circumstances and your mind is likely full of pretty kinky and racy ideas. You bad devil. Lol.

Wife / Husband / Spouse - III The Empress, XXI The World

I don’t know whether you consider a marriage as an option but the cards suggest you would make a fantastic spouse. You would take the role seriously and enjoy all the aspects of marriage. You would need a supportive and knowledgeable partner by your side, though, so you don’t get bored. You probably consider having children one day.

One-Night-Stand - 9 of Cups, 6 of Coins

Haha… Well! If you don’t have an experience already, you probably fantasised about a hot random love affair already. It would have to be an outstandingly attractive person for you but you’re open to this option. You would probably also spill some tea on the experience with your friends, not feeling shy about it.

#oracle kleo #personal tarot readings #free tarot readings #tarot readings

[snowbellewells]

For the Book Survey…

A B C L & O

Yay!! Thank you K for the ask!! I hoped I would get some, as this looked like a really fun list!!

A- Author you’ve read the most books from

That would probably be either C.S. Lewis or Nora Roberts (interesting pairing to answer the same question, I know) Though I have also read several Regency romances by Sabrina Jeffries, Lisa Kleypas, Kerrigan Byrne, and Anna Harrington, so they would be close behind as well…

B - Best Sequel Ever

That’s tricky, I had to think about that one for a minute! Maybe either Chamber of Secrets in the Harry Potter series, or New Moon in the Twilight series. Chamber entered up being my favorite out of all 7 in the HPs, and New Moon gives us a lot more of the Quileutes, the wolves, and Jacob, which was what I was all about by that point anyway! 😉🐺

C - Currently Reading

I get a lot of grief and disbelief for this but I have about 10-15 books going at most times. I switch back and forth depending on the mood I’m in. For a sampling though, I am currently reading Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie, The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham, A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare, The Girl With the Make Believe Husband by Julia Quinn, The Thief of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep, Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck, Hooked by Emily McIntire, and I am re-reading Dracula to prep for my CSSNS fic.

L - Longest Book You’ve Read

Hmmmm, I don’t know that I particularly tend to take note in that way. But The Thornbirds was pretty long, and I have read all of it, so maybe I will say that. 🤷🏼‍♀️

O - One Book That You Have Read Multiple Times

I don’t know that there are too many books I have read completely over again - not that I wouldn’t want to, but there are just so many books in the world to read and experience. I have read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis more than once though. And I’ve read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series twice. I’ve read The Scarlet Letter more than once. Oh, and by virtue of teaching it, I’ve read The Great Gatsby MANY times.

#bookish ask games #bookish asks #answers for @kmomof4 #snowbellewells answers asks

[stress-free-album]

Random but I love the first four chapters of Dracula, the ones depicting Jonathan Harker's stay at the castle.

I love how Jonathan's character in a way reflects the reader's first impression of the book. He is young and naive, but thrilled to be traveling to a foreign country for possibly the first time. And for Victorian audiences, this might be their first vampire novel.

I also love how even though Jonathan goes on to stay at the castle (and many people like to comment on how foolish his decision was considering the reactions of the villagers), he is aware of the unsettling atmosphere, and seems aware that something is wrong, and has several good reasons for doing so:

1. He and Mina were dirt poor at the start of the book and he needed the money, and also the reputation to advance in his career. (He had just gotten his first job in a foreign land, he couldn't squander the opportunity.)

2. He could easily link the villagers' reactions with common superstitions, which he might have read about while doing his research (and I doubt the Victorians would have believed in things such as vampires anyway, as they likely would have seen it as madness, something much feared at the time).

3. At the end of the day, he was doing this for Mr. Hawkins, his lifelong mentor (and second father), who was ill and couldn't make the journey, not to mention all the kind things he said in his letter.

However, he realizes his predicament quickly enough, and easily becomes aware of the Count's manipulation tactics, able to judge his intentions. I think it creates a very interesting dynamic between the two men. He learns new information quickly, and is able to use that to his advantage (he is albeit a little reckless and even irrational at times, but yay for realistic character flaws!). He is clever, and Mina is intelligent, and they complement each other well. And they would make a great detective couple. (Someone draw/write that please. Might even do it myself eventually.)

On a different note, I know people might not agree, but I think Arthur and Lucy were perfect for each other. They seemed to really get one another, and I think they had the most in common. (Arthur does lose browney points for saying she was getting fat that one time though lol.) I wish we could have seen more of them together, it would've been lovely to see the way the two main couples differ.

Yeah this sort of turned into a Jonathan/Arthur appreciation post (could've made it more so though), I just feel they deserve it honestly.

(Unpopular opinion: The guys are smarter than everyone says they are and no one in the main cast is even remotely boring. They all have something about them you can love and appreciate.

Mina is still the most intelligent character though, I honestly don't understand why adaptations take that from her it's ridiculous.)

#keep reading thing yet #sorry long post #don't know how to do the #we stan Jonathan and Arthur in this house #all the characters are great #I'm glad people are starting to see that #Jonathan and Arthur have never been done justice in adaptations though #really none of them have #dracula #dracula bram stoker #dracula book #jonathan harker #arthur holmwood #mina murray #mina harker #op is sorry for the long post but it felt nice to write it #lucy westenra

[bagadew]

The Great Ace Attorney Playthrough: The Adventure of the Runaway Room (Part 1b)

Last time: We (and by we I mean Ryunosuke and Susato) arrived in England, and were almost immediately sent to play lawyer by Daemon Gant’s ancestor, who is definitely going to either die or kill someone later. Despite our client being only the richest of able bodied white men, we quickly found ourselves on the ropes thanks to the worlds least impartial jury. Fortunately we now get to put the buggers on the spot and demand they give us their reasons for convicting my client (and boy had they better be good).

Ryunosuke, the more we learn about that man the more of a cad he becomes. I say we should be very thankful we aren’t doing that.

Let me get this straight, instead of smashing their half baked ideas to smithereens and laughing as I go, I have to use the worlds weakest bricks to build my argument.

Susato, one of them knows one of the witnesses.

Oh, so that’s what we’re doing.

Ok, Ryunosuke, lets get shit stirring!

Well firstly, either the drunk juror’s wrong or Beppo’s overcharging people, so jot that down.

Ooh, we’re pacing!

(Also, I’d like to thank Juror No.4 for backing me up, ma’am you are the only member of this group bothering to make even the slightest bit of effort. For this I thank you.)

Of course! Thank you for putting two and two together like that for me!

(Wait a second, I’ve just realized that we’ve got the KBS slung on our hip! That’s amazing!)

And this lady’s and gentleman, is why we don’t let people who know those involved stand on the Jury.

GET HIS ASS JUROR NO.4!

(You are my favourite juror, you can tell the others if you’d like.)

Excellent work Ryunosuke!

Have you not even been listening?

(Susato is explaining the last ten minutes to him because she has more patience than I ever will.)

>:D

And Juror No.2’s crossed over to our side as well!

>:D

And she’s doing it for much better reasons than Juror No.5!

Juror No.2 you’re winning me back!

Just two more jurors to convince now, so let’s go on to the discrepancy about how the victim was stabbed, and maybe point out that the body was left in the seat it was stabbed it.

Old Lady vs Jack the Ripper, here we go!

(Ten guineas on the granny!)

Haha! His knife got stuck in the table!

(I put it again that this man should have that knife taken away from him.)

Yes judge, and if we’d been allowed to go through the whole trial before the jurors jumped the gun, you’d have known that already.

Yay! We’ve won Granny Thickle back!

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE JURY IS SUPPOSED TO DO YOU NINCOMPOOP?!?

And he’s being really racist now.

Fortunately he’s also rubbing the rest of the jury up the wrong way!

Well I consider this to have been a success Ryunosuke.

Well given that the body was found on the seat and there was no blood on the floor... I’m going to say no.

He wants evidence.

Ok then.

As a wise man with a cool sword once said: I will shove it down your throat and make you choke on it.

(Yeah, we should really have seen Kazuma’s moral dubiousness coming...)

Anyways, let’s show him the crime scene photo then.

WRONG???

Of course! The autopsy report shows he was only stabbed once!!!

Meaning that there was only one incident where the witness was stabbed!

VICTORY VICTORY VICTORY!!!

YEAH!!!

Yes, kill each other!

My Lord, Juror No.3 has started licking his knife and threatening the witnesses now...

I’m a little bummed we didn’t get to convince Juror No.4 seeing as she’s the one putting in the hours up there, but never mind. We’re back on track baby!

HE CRUSHED IT!

Oh my god Ryunosuke, we’ve got a prosecution shut up button!

HE THREW OF HIS DRACULA CLOAK!

Oh please, we all know perjury doesn’t exist in this here!

Oho, so apparently Beppo’s been overcharging his customers. Given the conditions he’s been working in I can’t exactly blame him though.

Unfortunately that does kind of rule out the possibility of an extra passenger though, so I’m not sure it helped us much.

Damn right I do!

‘Absolutely’ Ryunosuke and I share one mind.

Now let’s see if we can clear up that whole ‘I saw the victim stabbed on the floor’ bs.

You know, I’m rapidly warming to Mr Furst. Unlike the other witnesses and the god damn jury, he’s not telling lies, or overinflated by his own self importance. He’s actually taking it seriously and doing his best to be as clear and close to factual as he can.

I mean he could well be the killer for all I know, but right now I’m just enjoying him as a nice gentle guy who’s trying his best. It’s refreshing.

Barok’s trying to point out that we still have one witness who saw the stabbing, to which I say: Yeah, a witness with a reason to lie!

Still, Beppo’s the one I should probably be focusing on here, as he’s saying he saw the victim stabbed in places he couldn’t have been.

Well that was easy.

Mr Fairplay on the other hand is going absolutely ham on his cane.

What’s the matter Mr Fairplay?

Got something to say?

Again Mr Fairplay, being a banker in an Ace Attorney Game is not the commending statement you think it is.

Anyways new statement time!

And what’s this I see? Both his hands were covered in blood? That looks like a new contradiction to me!

You know he’s weirdly insistent about this, and I can’t work out why?

Like, regardless of whether or not he committed the murder, he’s clearly hoping that Mr McGilded’s going to be taken out of the picture as a result.

But if he wants that to happen then this is such a weird thing to lie about. It doesn’t add in any way to Mr McGilded’s ‘guilt’, in fact thanks to his gloves it kind of does the opposite.

But if he’s not lying then he has to be mistaken and I don’t understand what that would mean either.

Wow, Juror No.6 is ready to throw down!

(Juror No.3’s going off as well, but I don’t think that’s anything to write home about.)

NOT IN THE WAY HE REPEATEDLY SAID IT WAS!

I’m no longer so sure. After all, if he was it would be far more in his interest to keep quiet about it or say he was mistaken as soon as we bought the gloves out.

What I’m beginning to wonder though, is if there was a mysterious fifth passenger after all, and their hands were the ones Mr Fairplay saw covered in blood.

Come to think of it, he did say that he didn’t see the victim or killers faces, so that’s a good chance, and one that actually gives some hint as to what our suspect looks like: i.e. small.

Debt time.

IT’S A HUGE DEBT!!!

Good to get proper conformation on that theory then.

ORDAAR!

(If you don’t know about the House of Commons cry of Order you should look it up on YouTube. It’s basically the one good thing to have come out of that place.)

So he did lie about seeing the moment the victim was stabbed then. I guess that leave more room for the idea that the fifth passenger did it.

Actually, come to think of it did Mr McGilded ever tell us where he went to sit in the carriage? Could he have been on the open side, the one Mr Fairplay and Mr Furst couldn’t see from where they were?

Huh, he’s still doubling down.

Again I really don’t think he’s lying here, but I do think he’s mistaken about who’s hands he could see.

Also given how much this statement relies on him being a witness I should probably rule him out of my enquires.

I’m rapidly going back over my notes to see if I ever accused him, but let’s be honest here I did. The False Accusations counter is up to a nice healthy 5/5.

Of course Mr Furst, you’re an angle and we’re all thrilled you’re here.

Ok, well now any doubts I had that Mr Fairplay was telling the truth have been put to rest, thank you Mr Furst. You, me and Susato should form our own breakaway courtroom, Juror No.4 can come if she likes.

Anyway time for more testimony.

Certainly looks that way doesn’t it My Lord?

Now Barok want’s to examine the Omnibus again.

You know what, sure Barok, knock yourself out.

Barok, keep up. It literally a huge contradiction sitting right there.

YES IT MATTERS!!!

Well thanks to Mr Furst, the one good witness, we know that the real killer wasn’t wearing any gloves. Again Mr Furst I thank you.

Wait a second, there was a space under the seat opposite the victim wasn’t there. I know it was full of stuff but was there any room for someone to fit themselves?

Barok’s telling me that there was no trace of blood on Mr McGilded’s actual hands. I’m glad you’ve finally caught up Barok but stop talking now so I can examine the omnibus again.

Yes! A space!

And whoever it was who could fit inside there definitely fits the category of small!

And right on cue it’s time to bring their blind spot to light.

Now, I need to work out if they want to know about the space under the seats or if they just want the seats themselves, because from where Mr Furst and Mr Fairplay were sitting they couldn’t see either.

Fuck it, I’ll just put my cursor half way between the two and hopefully it’ll except whichever one it wants.

Haha, yes... exactly what I was going to say...

MY EVIDENCE IS THE FUCKING BLOODIED GLOVES!!!

Anyways, given that the killer was by all accounts sitting next to the victim with no gloves and bloodied hands, the only person who could have been in the concealed seat was Mr McGilded. Again, did anyone actually bother to check which seat he sat in?

Well done Judge. Still as sharp as ever I see.

Wow, that one hit the light!

Barok, that’s alcohol. If you start a fire in here I’m not going to put you out.

Oh he’s being racist again.

Racist stuff Ryunosuke.

Ok, well let me brake this down into words that a stuck up prick like you would understand. The witnesses never saw the attackers face, but they did see his hands and all agree that they were covered in blood. My clients hands were not covered in blood, and therefor he doesn’t fit the one thing we know about the killer. However we know he was on the omnibus, and the only place he could have been is in the seat that can’t be seen.

... you guys, I think this man might be the OG “protégé” prosecutor. Hugh O’Connor and Sebastian Debeste were simply trending in this mans footsteps.

I’m not really sure how much clearer you want me to be My Lord!

(Also ORDAAAAR!)

Van Zieks is still crawling blindly towards the light, and I suggest we just move on without him.

I know (or at least I hope) he’s just deliberately putting up barriers as the prosecution, but the way he’s doing it really looks like he’s packing his intelligence onto a bus and sending it out to destinations unknown.

(Credit to Ryunosuke for spelling it out for him though.)

Thank you Mr Furst, I knew you’d have my back.

THEN LET’S BRING HIM INTO COURT!!!

(ORDAAARR!!!)

Yeah on what grounds?

I mean this is literally the solution to all our problems.

Yeah, well he probably lied (though I can’t work out why).

Excellent point Ryunosuke!

Now Van Zieks is pointing out that if Mr McGilded lied in his statement there would have been a deliberate reason for doing so. To be honest, as the prosecution, this seems like all the more reason to bring him in.

Anyway we’re demanding his testimony.

WHY THE HELL ARE WE ASKING THEM?!?

Well luckily for us the jury seems to finally be getting its arse in gear and has agreed (fairly unanimously) to let the god damn defendant make a statement in his own murder trial.

Nothing to say here. This just feels like a meme.

HAHA!!! THERE WAS SOMEONE!!!

EAT MY SHIT BAROK!!!

Wait an urchin?

Ace Attorney, I’ve already had a ‘don’t feel good’ case regarding who I’m accusing, don’t make me do that again.

STOP MAKING ME ACCUSE POOR AND FRIGHTENED CHILDREN!

Yeah, they probably would have done, and unlike you I don’t think she’d have been able to pull the ‘I donated a park to this city you know’ trick to win hearts and minds.

I wonder if she was there as a passenger or as a stowaway? Because I’d say that gap under the seat could fit a child pretty easily.

Now Barok’s saying we have no reason to believe Mr McGilded. And he’s right except for, you know, all the evidence...

Wait what.

A smoke bomb just went off!

I really don’t like the face Mr McGilded pulled just then, and he definitely gave a signal for it to be dropped.

...Ah fuck, he’s guilty isn’t he.

And he’s using some kid to cover it up.

Well shit...

#tgaa spoilers #tgaa #the great ace attorney #the adventure of the runaway room #ryunosuke naruhodo #susato mikotoba #barok van zieks #magnus mcgilded #bruce fairplay #lay d furst

[symphonyofthewrite]

Saw your post, getting stuff off your chest, I just wanted to say that I haven't seen the thing with the kids mentioned by anyone and it really stood out to me, I feel what you mean to some extent, because for me it was a stronger reaction, albeit you probably won't feel the same and that's, obviously, perfectly fine. I have an instant recoil these days whenever a character is around kids for like one second and everyone instantly goes "THEY LITERALLY ADOPTED THEM/THAT'S THEIR CHILD/THEY'RE A PARENT"... genuinely sick of it, and I went white as a sheet when I heard it, I wanted to pluck my eyes out. I don't know if it's an American thing but English speaking fandoms (well, those teeming with fancops that is) seem like they cannot process adult looking characters being in any near proximity to childlike characters without automatically imposing parenthood and family dynamics and it's becoming distressing to me. I feel like Alucard needed to process his trauma and learn to trust and be whole again, he's young himself too, why he needed to be a "father figure" all of a sudden is beyond me.

Thank you so much for the ask!! I don’t get many asks so it makes me happy when I can talk meta with people 💛💛 (Sorry I’m a bit late in answering.)

Funnily enough I actually do agree with you. I didn’t have quite so strong a reaction, but I definitely had a very similar one when I first hear it.

My feelings were and are a bit mixed. I was saying in my other post that I would have preferred that I got to actually see this interaction; see the kids run by him and call him father, and him smile when no ones looking. I still think that would have been a better, more touching way to do the scene, and would have had more chance of me liking it (though I probably still would have felt very weird about it). (I think it especially would have been better because it would show that Alucard himself liked it, not that Greta was forcing the role on him.) I know that it was meant to be something touching, and pretty much everyone seems to like it (and I have seen some cute posts about it), so I just tried to like it too, and focus on the fact that all they were really trying to say was he was having a nice relationship with the kids, and that was indeed sweet.

But yeah, when I heard Greta say “I heard some of them calling you father” for me it was less a reaction of horror, and more a “HUH??!!”moment. When I heard it I was like “Alucard...you agree with this???!! This is how you see yourself??!!” I almost expected Alucard to refute it and say he didn’t see himself as a father to them. Like I seriously do not see Alucard as anything remotely close to a father figure, and it felt weird and wrong to me.

Like when I saw him interacting with the kids the first time, I didn’t think “oh he’s a father figure to them.” I just thought “yay, Alucard’s playing with some kids, and getting out of his bubble!!” I didn’t have any thoughts as to what his relationship role was with them, I just thought that first interaction was lovely.

And if I saw him interacting with the kids again, I still wouldn’t go “father figure” I’d just be like “yay, Alucard’s playing with the kids again, how sweet!!”

Sometimes the relationship doesn’t need a role or a label, ya know?

And I thought it was especially strange because…he literally just met them?? Like how can they possibly start calling him father when he’s played with them once or twice? Regardless of Alucard’s side or things, what group of kids would randomly call a nice man they just met ‘father’? Is...Is this a normal thing??

Anyways, back to Alucard’s side of things, Sypha’s line about Alucard being a teenager trapped an adults body has always been something that stuck with me and shaped how I view Alucard. I definitely view him as internally much younger than he looks. No matter how much I might hate them for what they did to him, I think Sumi and Take are about the age he actually is, and their relationship with him made sense to me. He’s still a kid—or at least young—he still needs his parents in his life, really. (That’s part of why I didn’t like that Drac and Lisa don’t go to him at the end. I personally don’t think Alucard really got closure, and in my mind I think he still very much needed them, and that would have been the perfect ending to his story in my mind, where everything comes full circle; He was forced to lose his parents and grow up too early, and only when he’s started to truly grow up does he get them back.) So yeah, I really don’t see him like a father at all. One of my main focuses in my Castlevania fanfiction is his relationship with Dracula, so I very much see him as the son, not as the dad, even when Drac isn’t around.

(Sidenote, come to think of it, I think this is another reason why Greta x Alucard is a nope from me. She’s very much an adult, so I just see a discrepancy between them that makes me feel weird about them being in a romantic relationship. If we need a label I feel like she fits as an older sister for him, guiding him and giving him support. Him unloading all his problems on her within just meeting her makes more sense if he’s like a younger brother who needs to cry to his sister. I felt weird about it in a romantic context when it was so fast. I mean I know he was desperate to talk to someone, and I probably would have done the same, but still).

“I feel like Alucard needed to process his trauma and learn to trust and be whole again, he's young himself too, why he needed to be a "father figure" all of a sudden is beyond me”

^^ THIS. EXACTLY THIS.

I was honestly really hoping they’d go in depth into him dealing with his trauma, and how he’s still hurting from the wounds of it, and how he needs to heal. I thought that’s what his S4 arc would be about. I don’t think they gave him the chance to really process and work through everything that happened. (Again, I don’t think him just unloading all his problems on a nice stranger is truly working through his trauma. I would have much rather watched him struggle to trust her, and him telling her about his trauma happen later, and be difficult for him, and a deep, heartfelt moment).

Like I was saying in my other post, I think if they framed his arc in how he dealt with the town collectively, I think that would have fit better, and been more touching and satisfying. I would have liked to see him struggling to trust humans, and then see as time progressed how several different people in the town liked him and meant him no harm, and how he realized he could trust them, and that he liked them too. It wasn’t that he had a bad romantic partner and needed a new one. He believed he needed to be punished for killing his father, and in his deep loneliness he let these kids into his house and heart, and they turned on him because he was half vampire. That’s something pretty deeply ingrained, and not something a new romance just fixes by existing. He needed to work through that in a much deeper way.

I know this is gonna be a very unpopular opinion, and it's totally cool if you disagree, but in a weird way... I sort of disliked Alucard’s ending. Don’t get me wrong, Im glad he’s happy, and I’d certainly prefer it to him just getting more trauma like last season (*shudders*), and I don’t think him opening up his castle (and his heart) to humanity is a bad way to end his story, certainly not. I think that fits. And my heart did melt a bit at the "I'm weirdly happy" scene. But, where everyone else is like “*sobbing* happy endings for all our faves” ...I see the creators of the show trying to wrap everything up in a neat little bow, and while that’s certainly not all bad, I don’t love every aspect of that. Theres a time and place for that, but a show based on video games, for which there’s more content in these storylines isn’t one of them in my mind.

Sometimes some of the sadness needs to linger. At the very least, let it linger at the beginning of the season so you can work through it in a powerful way, you know? It may have been tough to see Alucard be more closed off, but I think it would have been more satisfying to see him open up his heart and go back to his old self if we saw his trauma leave lingering effects at the beginning.

To me it didn’t feel like a satisfying arc, it felt like the fairytale ending of “oh look he’s not apprehensive about humanity even after what happened! Oh look he got the girl! And the Castle’s a happy place now! Look he’s not sad anymore! He’s even a father figure to these kids! He’s totally moved on!” And all those things can be awesome when done properly, and when they have depth to them. But they didn’t work through the trauma to get there, so it felt surface level to me, and too fast. I really liked that first episode, and how we saw the two sides of him—one that's become more closed off, and the other that still buries the human despite his comments—and I also really liked the first interaction with the kids, and thought that was one of the few interactions that had depth to it and fit with his arc well. Having it go beyond “they’re helping him learn to like and trust humanity again, and displaying who he really is inside” ended up detracting from the power of his relationship with them in my mind.

Having played SOTN, I think an ingrained loneliness and sadness are, in a way, a key part of Alucard’s character. That sounds really sad and awful out loud but…there are some people that just have a sadness or a loneliness to them, and that's not entirely bad. Here’s the thing…it can make them that much more beautiful. The fact that they still fight for good, even when they see all the dark, those moments when they find true friends, despite how alone they are, those moments when they are happy, are so much more powerful. They just are always a bit…separate from other people. One of my favorite lines in anything is the line "We are connected by our darkness, not by our light" in Pandora Hearts. I think it's a line that fits Alucard well, and it’s always something that’s drawn me personally to him. Don't get me wrong, I don’t think Alucard’s all dark and sad and lonely, he’s definitely got a bright side to him too, of course he does. But I also don't think he ever is able to fully accept the vampire side of himself, and I find that interesting, and worth exploring. Personally I was honestly hoping for the show makers to come up with a bittersweet reason for why he went to sleep for 300 years, (and I thought that's why they set things up with Sumi and Taka that he’d have something against his vampire nature). Personally it felt like they were trying to say “oh he’s all better now, he’ll never be sad or lonely again” and while that’s nice I suppose…for me it sort of…stops feeling like Alucard, in a way? I don't know if I'm explaining it right, or if that sounds terrible...😅

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. I do agree that’s very common of fandom that people are like “boom! Just add water! Instant father figure!” and I don’t love it either. Sometimes it can be cute if it truly fits, but it doesn’t fit every relationship between an adult-looking character and a kid character, and shouldn't be the first place people go to. In the same way every relationship doesn’t have to be romantic, not every relationship has to be parental/familial either. Sometimes it feels like fandom culture isn't really okay to have some characters just be good friends. A good friendship can be more wonderful than a romance sometimes.

If we have to put a label on it, I think he seemed like a nice older brother figure to them? I think that fits who he is in my mind. But father? Nope. Not for me. And again, I don’t think it needs a label.

Thanks again for sending me this ask!! It was nice to get the chance to work through some more of my feelings here too. Sorry if I went too overboard. And I hope I don’t sound too terribly negative, it really was a great season, and I definitely liked some parts of his arc, just not all of it.

If you or anyone else reading would like to discuss with me more, be my guest!! 💕

#alucard #castlevania #castlevania season four #castlevania s4 #castlevania s4 spoilers #castlevania season 4 #castlevania netflix #Adrian tepes #adrian fahrenheit tepes #Greta #greta castlevania #castlevania alucard #alucard castlevania #castlevania Greta #netflix castlevania #castlevania meta #castlevania spoilers #castlevania anime #asks #Castlevania asks #alucard meta #alucard asks

[a-little-slice-of-fandom]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Irish-ness of Dracula, if you wanna ramble about it!

(Okay I just want to apologise for how long this took to answer because I know it’s been sitting in my inbox for over a month but..depression and work happened and I just didn’t have the time or energy to complete it. I seriously do apologise for this but I hope you enjoy the post anyway!)

So the first thing I need to clear up is this: the concept of a monster or a demon that feeds upon the life force of humans is not limited to one singular culture or folklore. In fact, this core concept is a wider cultural phenomenon and variations of it exist across both countries and continents. And no one country can take sole credit for the this core concept of vampires. Anyone who tries to claim otherwise either doesn’t know much about vampires or is intentionally being disingenuous. There can be cultural variations that are specific to certain folklores (and to just blatantly steal these would be cultural appropriation), but the main idea of vampires exists across a wide range of folklores and no singular person, group of people or culture can take credit for the creation of vampires.

However, arguably it was the work of Bram Stoker that aided in the solidification of the concept of Vampires that we know today. While there were other authors from a wide range of nationalities who wrote about Vampires before Stoker (including John William Polidori who wrote the Vampyre in 1819)...Dracula is the best known. (Now I personally believe that’s because Dracula is an absolutely banging novel, although I do concede that the prevalence of adaptations of Dracula from the 1920’s to today helps keep Dracula in the forefront of audiences minds.) In addition, it’s important to remember that Stoker was inspired by another Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, who wrote the novel Carmilla. As far as I know, Le Fanu and Stoker actually worked together on a magazine!

Another thing I think that needs clarification is the common belief that Stoker heavily/religiously based Dracula on the historical figure Vlad the Impailer. This is heavily debated by scholars. While there’s an obvious, undeniable similarity between the names of these two...the similarities start to wain after this, with only small similarities between the two and there’s even literal contradictions between the history of Vlad the Impailer and Dracula’s history in the novel. In fact, there’s not much indication that Stoker based the character Dracula off Vlad the Impailer, or even that he had a working knowledge of Vlad the Impailer beyond the name. In all 124 pages of his notes, there’s nothing to indicate that Stoker’s inspiration for Dracula came from Vlad the Impailer.

(Plus Dracula in the novel wasn’t even originally called Dracula...he was called Count Wampyr in the original drafts of the novel and this was only changed, from what I can gather, in the last couple of drafts.)

In fact, I’d personally argue that that connection between Vlad the Impailer and Dracula is actually something that’s been retroactively added by other artists, for example the 1992 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” heavily leaned into this idea that Dracula and Vald the Impailer were one in the same, and as time has progressed people assume that these elements were in the original novel when that’s simply untrue! Stoker didn’t write that! It’s a retroactive addition by other artists that’s just assumed by the masses to be canon. This phenomenon is actually super interesting and it’s absolutely not limited to Stoker’s novel Dracula/the modern day perception of Dracula (another example would be Mary Shelley’s version of Frankenstein versus the modern day perception Frankenstein). I’m not sure if there’s a word for what this is, but I like the term “cultural canon”, where something that’s been added in by other artists has become as good as canon within the minds of the masses and as such is ingrained within the cultural perception of something, despite it having no basis within the original piece or even directly contradicting what is in canon.

(Now I’ll absolutely concede that Stoker taking the name of a historical figure and possibly their likeness from another country and making them into a literal monster is something that should be discussed. I don’t know how Vlad the Impailer is viewed within Romania - whether he’s viewed positively or negatively or a mixture - but regardless he was a historical figure and Stoker did eventually use that name for his own creative purposes. Again, Stoker didn’t say that Dracula and Vlad the Impailer were the same person, that’s other artists doing, but there’s still issues with Stoker that needs to be discussed)

Now, I’ve seen people talk about how Stoker took a lot of inspiration from the Baltic folklore surrounding vampires for his novel, but I don’t really know this folklore very well and therefore I don’t feel like I’m qualified to discuss it. If anyone is more well versed in this topic wants to add to this post then they’re more than welcome to! I don’t deny that Stoker too inspiration from places other than Ireland (like the novel is set in Whitby) but I just feel like people over hype the relation between stokers Dracula and Vlad the Impailer.

Now, onto the Irish mythology side!

So the most obvious inspiration for Dracula comes from the story of Abhartach. here is a link to an actual, respectable retelling of the story of Abhartach which I’d highly recommend people read (it’s really not that long) but the key points go as follows:

There was this Irish chieftain called Abhartach, who was really cruel and the townsfolk didn’t really like him. So, the townsfolk and another cheiftain (known as Cathain) banded together to kill Abhartach. They did succeed in killing him (yay), however, Abhartach just sort of...rose from the dead and began another reign of terror (not yay). However, Abhartach needed to be sustained by blood and required a bowlful every day to sustain his energy. Cathain comes back and kills Abhartach once again, but Abhartach rises from the dead once more and now needs more blood. Abhartach is only banished when Cathain uses a word made from yew wood and wounds Abhartach with it. Abhartach is buried upside down with a grant stone over the grave to stop Abhartach rising once again.

Sound familiar? The similarities between Abhartach and Dracula are undeniable! Yes, there’s some differences between the two but the core story here is almost identical. I could totally reword that paragraph, omitting the names, and it would be indistinguishable from a short summary of Dracula! Even the way that the main characters find out about the wooden weapon that can kill the monster is similar, as both Jonathan and Cathain go to wiser and older members of their community to learn more.

(Also please mythology blogs don’t come for me I know my retelling was an incredible oversimplification but I’m writing on my iPad and my thumbs are starting to hurt. People have wrote full papers on the similarities between Dracula and Abhartach and there’s so many more people more qualified than me, I’m just an 18 year old trying to make a fun and interesting tumblr post. Again, if anyone wants add anything like extra sources or more information or even to point out my mistakes then I more than welcome the additions)

Another piece of folklore that’s also said to have inspired Dracula is the Dearg Due. Now there’s multiple different versions of the tale, but the version I have heard goes like this:

There’s a noble woman who wants to marry a penniless peasant boy, but her dad disapproves and wants her to marry another man who is much richer. The rich man and the noble woman were eventually married but the woman didn’t love the rich man. In retaliation, the rich man locked the woman in a windowless castle where she starved to death. The woman was buried by the locals who took pity on her, but because she was buried hungry she came back to life and drank the blood of her father and her husband as revenge. The version I heard says that the dearg due now basically wanders ireland drinking the blood of men who have hurt or wronged women (as one should) but there’s other endings to the story.

(Again is anyone has a reliable source they want to share then please feel free to add!)

So this is another Irish piece of folklore that clearly includes some elements that we now associate with vampires. Now people (including Wikipedia) claim that this story was specifically what Stoker based Dracula on, and while I definitely think that Stoker was aware of this story and took inspiration from it, I personally think that the Dearg Due inspired the concept of Dracula’s wives more than Dracula himself.

However the key point still stands: Stoker was likely aware of these legends and even the most staunchly anti-Irish person would have to concede that there’s similarities between all three stories. And very rarely are these similarities discussed in classes about Dracula...which I feel is a real disservice. I don’t think students should have to have an intense knowledge of Irish mythology (my knowledge is spotty at best) nor do I think it should be an exam question...but even a brief acknowledgment of “hey, Stoker was inspired by these stories and you can clearly see similarities between them” would be nice. Moreover, it further solidifies my original argument that Stoker was, at least to some extent, Irish and that his Irishness inherently influenced his work.

Also...the social context of what was going on in Ireland in this period can’t be ignored! Again, while Stoker did spend time in both England and Romania, he spent a lot of his life in Ireland and therefore would have known what was going on in his own country.

Dracula was published in 1897, which is exactly 50 years after the worst year of the Irish Famine/ The Great Hunger/An Gorta Mór. Now I don’t have time to do a whole history of the Great Hunger but the effects of the famine were greatly exacerbated by the horrific mismanagement of Ireland by the British government and the British system of ruling in Ireland. How many people died during the famine isn’t clear, but we do know that the population of Ireland at the time was 8 million and the population today is 6 million...200 years later and we still haven’t recovered. So while we all like to joke about the fact that Stoker wrote about an unfeeling member of the aristocracy literally feeding off others with no remorse and basically ruining their lives...are we really going to pretend that there isn’t social commentary there? Scholars specifically think that Stoker was commenting on the absentee landlords (basically British aristocrats who owned land in Ireland but didn’t live there and as such didn’t care about the well being of their tenants) who would often have tenants forced off the land when they couldn’t pay rent...despite the fact that their tenenants were already starving and had no money because their only source of food and income failed.

(I’m not being shady by the way, I also love to joke about the social implications of Dracula, but I feel like people forget that the jokes have actual points behind them)

There was also a cholera epidemic in Ireland in 1832 which is generally accepted to be one of Stoker’s biggest inspirations. You can read more about the epidemic here if you wish, but I’ll summarise what I feel are the key points. Not only was Stoker’s mother from county Sligo and lived through this cholera epidemic, but Stoker also asked her to write down her memories of the epidemic and used her accounts to aid in his research of the cholera epidemic. Now the fact that he was actively researching this should indicate that it would influence his work, especially considering the situation in county Sligo was incredibly morbid. There’s accounts of the 20 carpenters in Sligo town being unable to make enough coffins to keep up with the amount of people dying, resulting in hundreds of dead bodies just lying on the street. However, the most horrific account from this epidemic was the stories of terrified nurses placing cholera patients into mass graves while they were still alive. Stoker himself literally stated that Dracula was “inspired by the idea of someone being buried before they were fully dead”. So while at first there seems to be very little relation between the novel and a medical epidemic, it quickly becomes clear that Stoker’s fascination with this historical event influenced his writing.

My overall point is that Stoker’s irishness inherently influenced his writing. Writers don’t write in their own little bubble, divorced from the world around them, their views and work are shaped by their position in society and their upbringing (it’s why I dislike death of the author as a literary theory). So when people try to claim that Dracula is a piece of British literature...it indicates either a lack of understanding of the context in which Stoker was writing in or a wilful ignorance founded on colonialist ideas. His influences are so obvious to me as an Irish woman but they rarely get discussed, and even if they are it’s seen as overreaching! To call Dracula British literature and to ignore the inherent Irishness of the novel does a great disservice to Stoker!

Anyways I really hope you enjoyed this discussion my love! Once again I apologise for how long this took to write. Also I’m sorry if this comes off as argumentative or anything, that absolutely wasn’t my intention, I just have a particular style of writing long posts haha.

#dracula #bram stoker #irish literature #british literature #bram stoker’s dracula #gothic #gothic literature #ask #ask answered #anon ask #anonymous ask #anon #anonymous #being irish is my only personality trait

[thisbluespirit]

@basiltheratatouille linked me to this (and quite rightly, it’s exactly the silly sort of fannish thing I like doing):

Go to the following website https://www.random.org/lists/ and type in 15 different characters from any Fandom (they can be in the same fandom). Then it will give you an order, after shuffling the characters. You must answer the following in the order they give you!

Fandoms: Dracula (1968), OUaT, Sapphire & Steel, Blake’s 7, Doctor Who, Press Gang, Adam Adamant Lives!, Spooks, The Shadow of the Tower.

Your rival: John Seward.  Yay, possibly the only character I could be in a rivalry and have a chance of winning.  Even I can get stuff done while he’s fainting and sobbing.  Or is this love rival?  In which case, well, I’m fairly sure Lucy would be willing to seduce me, anyway, no problem, but she’s a vampire.  Excuse me, now I also need to sob and faint.  This was a bad idea after all!  (look, he’s very amenable, do we have to fight?  I can just run away with him and see how detachable his fake whiskers are!)

Played 7 Minutes in Heaven with: Regina Mills. I had to look up 7 minutes in heaven, but oh.  0_o  !!!! Well, I think this depends on if she’s evil or not?  Because if she’s evil, that’s going to be seven minutes of verbally and alas deservedly demolishing me in every department of my life for lack of style, taste etc etc, or some sort of curse, but it would be entertaining.  Or.  well.  OMG.  Would 100% take the risk.  Even if this meme was real!

Your boyfriend/girlfriend: Silver.  Okay, possibly time will eat me in the end, and he’s an element so he’s probably up to something, because they’re not really into humans, but honestly Silver is probably a more reasonable proposition than anyone actually human or wanting a normal relationship or anything.  I’ll take it.  Maybe I’ll even get out alive who knows?

Mom/Dad: Servalan.  0_o Please send he--- /dies, stabbed in back.

The random person you meet at the bar: Clara Oswald.  Okay, I’m up for that.  If I ever went in bars.

Your boss: Vila Restal.  Can work with that; he’s not likely to be strict or present or bothered about whatever I’m actually doing.  Best worst boss ever!

Haunts you: Dayna Mellanby.  Not a restful spirit!  Poor Dayna.  Still, could be worse!  Also in metaphorical terms, true of a lot of B7 characters.

Drunk singing karaoke with: Charley Pollard.  Possibly at the bar with Clara?  Make it a date!  It’ll be fun.

Gave you your fave dessert: Ruth Evershed.  OMG, I didn’t think this meme could make a Ruth answer seem sinister, because Ruth!  I love her! She’s not even evil or anything!  But.  Ruth.  Just gave me my favourite dessert.  For no reason!  Why how what.  If I’m lucky, I’m just being vetted or something.  Just please pray Harry Pearce doesn’t want to dispose of me because he’s seen my Google history and it’s vital for national security.

Your sibling: Lynda Day.  Yeah, no.  Lynda is an only child for a reason!

Gave you your first kiss: Georgina Jones.  Well, okay, why not?  I keep meeting time travellers, anything could happen.

Your best friend: Tegan Jovanka.  Aw.  I would be happy with that.  Tegan’s fun when she’s not busy keeping the Doctor accountable and she’s a great person to have on your side.

Grandma/Grandpa: Seventh Doctor.  Yeah.  Um.  No.  I mean, he’d be a great grandparent, up until the moment when everything went to hell because of evil from the dawn of time that he organised, forgot about, and let get out of control, and has manoeuvred me into piano lessons because it’s vital for defeating it by piano playing or something.  This is not really ideal grandparently behaviour.  At least other Doctors would give me sweets first.  /holds Tegan’s hand and faints again.

Proposed to you: Leela.  Please don’t kill me - I accept, of course I accept!  Who could refuse? (As I’m pretty sure Andred once said.)

Ex: Henry VII.  Fair.  I think that’s probably the safest thing for him to be, really.  Bye, Henry, go find Elizabeth!  Be grateful this meme did nothing weirder!

Tagging anyone who likes generating nonsense & wants to play!

#fannish nonsense #memes #basiltheratatouille #also i think i lost to my rival #if it was a fainting contest #this is not really the kind of eventful life i'm built for #thanks! <3

[askjerrydandridge]

Question for the owner of this blog! What do you like most and least about vampires?

(( YAY A QUESTION FOR ME! Mmkay, I will try to put this into words the best I can.

I love, love, love vampires. I was fascinated with them ever since I was a little kid. I think it was the mystery, the immortality. Everlasting life and beauty that lingers forever. I love even the horrific, monstrous vampires. I've seen countless films, even lesser known ones like the Stake Land films or something such as Fright Night. Dracula. Everything. I even saw the Dracula 2000 movie with Gerard Butler. Even if the films aren't super great, I watch them. The idea that people REALLY thought they existed throughout history because of how the body decomposed. It really is fascinating! A part of me wishes they were real KDKDKDKKD only because I have held such a liking to them for so long. Something about their hold on Western culture has pulled me back to them every single time. In my ravenous search for new vampire media, I found Fright Night--I fell in love with it and stuck with it ever since. But anyway, I'd say it is all the lore and myth that surrounds them. That and they can certainly be attractive sometimes, which helps.

Something I don't like about vampires..hmmm..

There are very few things I don't like. I'd say the thing I like the least is how authors or directors don't do their research, or just don't respect the idea enough to even give a fuck about the basic principles of what a vampire is. I'mma straight up say that is Twilight without a doubt. They literally SPARKLE

They SPARKLE

in THE SUN?

It's been years and I still have never gotten over that. Vampires dying in the sun is common knowledge jfc. Anyway, things like that! ))

~~

#ask #askjerrydandridge #fright night #jerry dandridge #vampire #fright night 2011 #open for asks #askblog #purple speaks #writing

[shanie-the-toyaddict]

To anyone who is curious as to just how bad the post-show Buffyverse comics were, let me provide you with a list of spoilers from "Season 8" alone that should tell you all you need to know about why they need never be read.

Buffy has forcefully turned slayers into expendable clones of herself to thrown the forces of evil off her scent. Emphasis on the word "EXPENDABLE"

Dawn loses her virginity to a demon and now she's a giant.

OOPS! Now she's a Centaur. How the hell do these things happen?

Willow dumps Kennedy in favor of an astral plane magic deity who she spends most of her time fucking rather than contributing anything productive to the group (like restoring Dawn)

At one point when she does return to help the group, she is exceedingly manipulative, including using Kennedy for sex magic.

If that isn't enough, it's implied that Willow is no long human and, in a dark, apocalyptic future, she's fully evil again. When she gets to a point where she's losing her powers, she drags Buffy into her hellhole timeline under the guise of "changing the future by preventing it" and wanting to die. She promises Buffy that by returning to her own timeline after being in the future, the apocalypse future will never happen. Believing her, Buffy goes ahead and kills Future-Dark Willow and returns to the past "knowing" that the future is fine.... Spoiler alert. Future Willow was lying, the world still ended and Buffy killed Future Willow for real.

Xander hooks up with a slayer... who is killed IMMEDIATELY afterward, forcing him to bury yet another love interest. He swears he's done... at least until the next season when he decides to start dating DAWN. (Excuse me while I go VOMIT)

Harmony gets a reality TV show because clearly this timeline wasn't dark enough.

Giles disowns Buffy in favor of Faith. Somehow, this is the best plotline of the entire comics canon.

Dracula comes back and boy do he and Xander have some ish to work through.

WARREN IS BACK! He's back, he's dating Amy, and he's GOT NO FUGGIN SKIN!

Sidenote: Out of all the layers of bullshit in this saga, somehow this one is just downright unbelievable. Amy is far too much of a lesbian and Warren hates women. How the fuck did this happen and why are they still together by the end of Season 8?

Anyway, Angel is a god. And Evil.

OOP! Now Buffy is a god too.

They superpower sky fight Then they superpower sky fuck

Unfortunately, they can't seem to come to an agreement and Angel decides to make his point by MURDERING GILES.

Buffy's response is to say "FUCK EVERYTHING" and win the day by... *checks notes*... REMOVING ALL MAGIC FROM EXISTENCE thereby depowering herself, every member of her slayer army, depowering WILLOW (and forcefully ending her relationship with magic-deity-being), eradicating all magical creatures from the planet (spike survives by flying through a wormhole), oh and because somewhere along the way Buffy forgot how she got a sister, DAWN STARTS TO BTTF FADE FROM EXISTENCE AS WELL.

But... uh, destroying all magic also kills Warren off for good too so... uh... yay? I guess? In short. Don't read the comics. JUST DON'T. They are the absolute drizzling shit and JW clearly forgot his medication when crafting them. FUCK THE COMICS.

[mintymiknow]

[5:30]

This drabble is part of the 50 Kisses Drabble Challenge! [ Requested: Number 15 + 21 + Chan ]

Number 15: A fierce kiss that ends with a bite on the lip, soothing it with a lick

Number 21: A chaste kiss given to each other because they are in mixed company

A/N: I’m not exactly and completely back, but I wrote this to de-stress from all the assignments that are overwhelming me right now :) It’s more of a very self-indulgent Chan piece because I am whipped for the man. It’s a bit sloppy and messy as I haven’t written in so long, but I enjoyed putting these into writing to relieve stress. Also, it might be suggestive for some, so I’m putting this out here to warn just in case! Enjoy! 

This year had been a good one for your group, and it certainly has been for your fellow labelmates. The other artists under JYP Entertainment also had several accomplishments and achieved goals throughout the year, but there were still some unfinished tasks.

The other artists were busy with comebacks and promotions, but your group and Stray Kids met at the company building’s practice room to polish certain things. The idea came from one of the managers of the company, suggesting that Stray Kids and your group should have a collaboration stage for an upcoming award show. Everyone thought it was a good idea as the dynamics and chemistry between the groups was pretty good.

And there was the fact that you, your group’s leader, and Bang Chan, Stray Kids’ leader, were dating.

No one knew. The public didn’t know. Only your respective members, managers, and a handful of people at the company knew, but that was it. The relationship was a secret, as usual, and despite being in the same company, you and Chan rarely got to spend time with each other due to schedules.

Perhaps this collab stage would be a means for the two of you to bond even more.

Minho, Hyunjin and your group’s main dancer were busy discussing how a certain portion of the choreography should go. The other members were either exhausted and sprawled on the floor, or sitting on the leather couch to cool themselves while eating ice cream.

You were next to Chan on the leather couch, legs cutely tucked to your chest as you leaned on his shoulder. Chan was showing you various videos to get inspiration from, and the exchange of ideas was just a natural thing between the two of you. You’d joke around from time to time, laughing and playfully swatting each other from time to time.

“Chan,” you point at his phone, “let’s play with the Snow filters.”

Chan laughs,‌ “Did Minho influence you to start using his cute filters as well?”

“They are cute.” you say in a matter-of-fact tone.

With a light chuckle, Chan opens the app, handing the phone over to you so you can browse through the various filters and effects. You take a few random shots of yourself with various animal ears and little doodles on your face. Afterwards, you select a wacky and weird one and tell Chan to join you.

The finished product prompts the two of you to burst in laughter, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “Please don’t ever show me that filter ever again!” Chan says in between giggles.

You mimic his actions, clutching your stomach from laughing too much, “Ok, but you have to admit it was really funny.”

Once you both have calmed down from the giggly fits, the main dancers call everyone’s attention and explain how the formations and choreo was going to work. Minutes turned into a few hours, and eventually, both your groups got the basic gist of everything.

Later on, you and Chan sat on the couch, monitoring the routine from where you sat. When you were both satisfied, you called for another break. Some members went out to buy drinks at Soul Cup while others opted to take a quick nap to energize. You, Chan, Changbin, Felix, and your group’s main rapper were seated on the floor, discussing random things like possible costumes, styling, and makeup for this stage.

“I’d pay with my whole bank account to see the stylists put shiny red lip gloss on Lix.” your rapper points out with a grin.

Felix laughs, shrugging cutely, “I don’t think that actually sounds bad. It sounds great, actually!”

Changbin smirks, turning to face you, “What do you want the stylists to do with Chan?”

“Please don’t say rip my shirt or something like that.” Chan laughs, shaking his head.

You laugh with him, humming for a few seconds as you rummage through your brain archives. You have thought of particular stylings you wanted to see on your boyfriend. “I’m not too sure. Chan pulls everything off, but I guess I want to see him wear stuff inspired by the whole vampire concept or the like.” you muse.

“Vamp Chan!” Felix jokes before proceeding to make an impersonation of Dracula.

Your rapper laughs, nodding enthusiastically, “That would really suit Chan, honestly. He has the looks and vibe for it.”

“Then we should tell Minho to add a part in the choreo where Chan bites y/n’s neck or something.” Changbin wiggles his eyebrows, the colors in his eyes displaying a cheeky nature.

You playfully swat his leg, “Hey, the performance isn’t supposed to be kinky!”

“Who says?” Chan plays along, copying the way Changbin wiggled his eyebrows.

“I actually think it would add a nice touch!” your rapper notes, her eyes serious, “Think about it. The song you and Chan made has a very dark and sexy vibe, and the choreo our dancers came up with is very sultry and pretty cinematic. It would make a beautiful touch!”

Felix nods, “It could be included in the ending. Like as the whole song and routine ends, Chan comes up from behind and proceeds to ‘bite’ y/n, and then the lights go out so it’s up to the audiences’ interpretation.”

“Mysterious, sexy, and intriguing.” Chan pouts his lips, nodding slowly, “It’s really artistic, and I don’t think it sounds bad. What do you think, y/n?”

You hum, the thought of doing such an action with your boyfriend buzzing your nerves with excitement. Surely, intimacy was something you and Chan weren’t foreign to as you both have done things in private, but to do something that “sensual” on a stage for millions to see, you were a bit embarrassed. Willing but embarrassed.

In the end, you gave in to the thought. The others were right; it would be a nice touch to the performance, and since you were most comfortable with Chan, there shouldn’t be any problems. You nodded and offered a small smile, “Yeah, sure. I think it’s going to be great.”

Once the practice resumes, you and Chan bring the dancers aside to share the idea with them. Amused, they immediately agree and change the routine just a little to accommodate the additional idea.

With the new addition sorted out, your groups run through the whole routine a few more times. During the final run-through, you deliver your final line as the members slowly and gracefully fall to the ground. You end your line by standing in the middle of the formation, bringing your arms out as if longing to reach for someone. Chan then creeps up behind, wrapping his arms around you seductively, head leaning in and burying his face by the crook of your neck.

You both remain in that position for a few seconds until Minho says it’s done. A bunch of yay’s and claps ring through the room, and for some reason, you feel your cheeks heating up with a pink tint. Chan keeps his arms around you, gently swaying your bodies. “How was it?” the leader asks.

Minho smirks, giving a thumbs up, “You guys were right. It added some spice to the whole thing. I like it.”

Hyunjin nods, his plump lips curling into a giddy smile, “I know it’s ‘cause you’re both dating, but you and y/n make a really great pair. The chemistry is off the charts!”

You giggle shyly, biting your lip at the dancer’s words. Chan smirks proudly, craning his head so he can lean in and place a chaste kiss onto your lips. A few of the members whistle and hoot, causing you to shyly smile against your boyfriend’s lips. You peck him once more before pulling away to smile at him, “You’re really going to do this in front of the kids?”

Chan looks at you innocently, “Do what?”

You playfully scoff, squirming away from his arms. You miss the feel of his skin on yours, so you end up just holding his hand. “The routine is perfect, but I think Chan and I should do some final check up on the song itself. See if it needs to be tweaked.”

“Hmm, that’s true.” Jisung nods.

“Do you and Changbin want to work with us, or will you take it easy?” you ask with a smile.

Changbin shakes his head, “It’s fine! You and Chan can do it. I have to go to the gym in a while anyway.”

Chan nods, squeezing your hand, “Alright, we’ll go now.”

With that, you and Chan exit the practice room and head for this studio. Once you’re both out of reach, Minho turns to everyone else, “Pretty sure they aren’t going to work on the song.”

“Please.” your rapper laughs with a naughty smirk, “The song is perfect already. They’re working on something else.”

“Please stop.” Jeongin and Seungmin pretend to gag, laughing afterwards.

Meanwhile, you and Chan go inside his studio, shutting the door. You sit on one of the black couches there, tilting your head, “What if we make the song sound more intense?‌ Like, the beat itself. The lyrics and flow are perfect already.”

“Hmmm,” Chan hums, spinning around on his chair, “I think it’s perfect as it is, honestly. You added the final touches yesterday, and I think that sealed it.”

“Really?” you muse, biting your lip, “You’re the better producer, so I’ll trust you on that.”

Chan shakes his head, smiling cutely, “You’re just as good, y/n. The girls are lucky to have you as their leader.”

“And Stray Kids is lucky to have you.” you chuckle, playfully giving him finger-hearts.

Chan playfully wiggles his eyebrows, giving you a funny face, “Do you want to hear me say something cheesy?”

“Don’t you always say stuff like that?” you joke, “But go ahead. I’d like to hear this.”

Chan tries his best to look seductive, but he ends up cracking up in laughter. With a goofier grin, he says, “I’m lucky to have you.”

You know he’s joking around and being his playful self, but you take the words to heart and feel like a melting pool of fluff. With a gentle smile, you stand up and walk over to him, situating yourself between his legs. Your hands go up to rest on his shoulders, eyes warmly staring at the male, “I’d say the same thing, but we’re just going to argue over who’s the luckier one.”

Chan laughs airily, hands gently perched on your waist, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

With that, one of Chan’s hands travel up your back, resting at your nape to bring your faces closer to each other. He captures your lips with is own, kissing you much deeper than back at the practice room. His soft and plump lips feel glorious on your own, moving with a fluidity and fire that has your knees going week. You end up straddling your boyfriend, moving your arms to coil around his neck.

Chan’s hands return to your waist, gently squeezing the area as he elicits a sigh from you. His kisses grow hungrier by the second, tongues mingling in a sultry dance as neither of you pull back to breathe. Your fingers begin to gingerly rake through his messy blond hair, tugging at the curls each time his tongue brushes against yours.

One particular tug has him biting your lip, which in turn causes you to release another sigh. Chan realizes what he had just done, afraid that he may have gone too far and hurt your lip. He pulls away slightly, your lips still ghosting above each other’s as his tongue darts out to soothingly lick the bitten area.

But then his kisses traverse lower, ending up on the slope of your neck. His supple lips send shivers down your spine and buzz every inch of your nerves as he gingerly presses his kisses. The way you’re stroking his hair encourages him as he begins to lightly nibble and suckle on the exposed skin there. You can’t help but smile and giggle softly at how it tickles.

The male drags his lips up to your jaw, peppering it with more kisses until he returns to your lips. With one more chaste kiss to your red, swollen lips, you both pull away completely. You giggle, playing with the hairs on Chan’s nape, “You’re really taking your vampire role seriously, Bang Chan.”

“Am not.” he laughs, pecking your lips once more, “I just really love you.”

You giggle giddily, pressing your forehead against his, “And I just really love you too.”

#stray kids #chan #bang chan #chan scenario #chan imagine #bang chan scenario #bang chan imagine #stray kids scenario #stray kids imagine #skz #skz scenario #skz imagine #skz chan #chan x reader #bang chan x reader

[reikoackerman]

Helloooo 😘

1. do you and porco have the tradition to celebrate halloween?

We like to find an halloween party. No trick or treaters here, we be OUT on halloween haha

2. did you and porco dress up in couple costumes for halloween?

I can usually convince him 👀 I always have big Halloween costume plans and then the day arrive too fast and we’re both scrambling to do something with what we have 💀 this year I want us to go as tombo and Kiki from kikis delivery service, he would be Kiki 👀

3. what are some of you and porcos favourite activities to do during the autumn season?

We like to get out of the city! I don’t drive, but Porco does and we like to rent a cottage or something to get cozy and enjoy the fall colours 🥰 we tried some of the classic activities but Porco gets super grumpy about them haha like going apple picking, he doesn’t understand why it’s more expensive than buying them at the groceries when we are picking them

My questions:

1. What do you guys do for Halloween??

2. Do you share some favourite candies or are your taste different in that?

3. Do you guys have a tradition of some sort when fall arrives?

Rei: Day!!! Ahhhh yay, welcome back my dear!

Levi: Tch. Why do I have to wear this stupid thing? [Levi points to the green wig and coat that he was forced to wear.]

Rei: Because we are here to answer Halloween-themed questions? [I twirled the ends of my wig, popping the bubblegum I was chewing. I made Levi dress up as Joker from Suicide Squad, while I was Harley Quinn.]

Levi: And why the fuck are your pants so short? Are you preparing to get railed by me later?

Rei: Well why don't you ask Harley Quinn then? Anyway, let's stop wasting time and start answering!

Rei: Okay, that I agree. You have to go out and have fun during Halloween!! Levi and I don't really celebrate Halloween, but we do have our own fun!! I'll touch on that later~ oh, but I'm dying to know!!! Where do you and Porco go for your Halloween parties?? Reiner's??? Marcel's??? Pieck's???

Levi: Thank goodness none of the neighbour's kids come knocking on our door for trick or treating.

Rei: You'll scare them away, anyway. They would think you're Count Dracula.

Rei: Okay I TOTALLY GET WHAT YOU MEAN DAY!!! I always tell Levi about the many costumes ideas I have and force him to wear them with me hehehe. I think the best costume we ever wore was with Erwin, Hange, and Mike!!! There were five of us, so we decided to dress up as characters from Scooby Doo. I got lucky and got Daphne, Mike got Shaggy. Erwin got Fred, Hange got Velma, and guess who got Scooby. *giggles*

Levi: ... That shit was the shittiest thing I've ever done.

Rei: Oh but wait- PORCO AS KIKI???? Wait what???? How are you going to get him to agree with you!!!! Spill the details!!!

Rei: Awwww, that's so sweet. It must be nice being in the countryside!!!! Ahhh, time just passes so slowly when you're there~ I bet you and Porco would love taking walks outside, yes?

Rei: Oh, and the men just DON'T get it, right???????? It's the experience behind it, and picking apples yourselves is different from buying them!!!

Levi: Aren't they still just apples?

Rei: *sigh* Levi...

Rei: Hmm! Levi and I are not that strung up on Halloween haha, although we love autumn! We still dress up in cool costumes when we go over to Hange's! Levi always complains about how I force him to dress up but he secretly loves it.

Rei: Hange also loves hosting our annual Halloween parties. They make lots of cool Halloween drinks, and Moblit and Nanaba always help them!

Levi: And I also hate how you're making me dress up for this stupid session too.

Rei: Shhh Levi, you should tell them which costume of ours was your favourite.

Levi: Tch. Fine. The year where we did the Teen Titans one was kinda cool.

Levi: I hate sweet stuff, so I just eat whatever Rei likes to eat.

Rei: We like eating Mars Bars, Resse's Peanut Butter Cups, and Snickers! Like Levi, I don't really like sweet stuff too. Oh but one thing we hate for sure, we hate licorice. Hahaha.

Rei: We don't have a tradition per se??? But we decorate the house with more warm colours! Our house's interior is Scandinavian, so there's a lot of white and neutrals! But for autumn, I will replace the bed sheet with one that has pumpkins printed on it.

Levi: She brings out a lot of those autumn candles that smells like leaves and wood.

Rei: It's also the time for us to wear all our knitted sweaters and scarves!! Aunty Kuchel knitted us a matching set.

#day x porco #dorco #levi x rei #reivi #self-ship sunday #the men just DON'T GET IT #I WANNA SEE PORCO AS KIKI OMG