#Oh I saw Alucard (hellsing) it was really cool | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

corvidcrybaby · 4 months

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Hello, friend! I just stepped into Hellsing this past weekend and through my scrolling for blogs to follow, I came across yours. I found you through your posts about your OC. Based on what I've already read from you, you seem like a highly thoughtful, kind and knowledgeable person, and I've got every intention of reading your stories and commenting on them!

If it pleases you, I'd like to ask you some questions about Hellsing and your relationship to it.

1. What first drew you to the series? And is it best to follow the manga, anime, or OVA in terms of interpreting the story?

2. If it was up to you, what would you change about the story?

3. What's your take on the overall dynamic between Alucard, Integra and Seras?

4. I see the story takes quite a few artistic liberties with the lore from Dracula by Bram Stoker. Why do you suppose Alucard tried to turn Mina? Do you suppose it was for similar reasons as those for why he turned Seras?

5. I've been doing my share of research into vampire lore as of late and have come to learn that the lore Bram Stoker borrowed from for and added to through his novel contains antisemitic undertones. As a Jewish individual and a fan of the Hellsing series, how do you navigate this? (Disclaimer: I am not Jewish, which is why I did not recognize this myself until recently.)

Thanks so much for your time and attention. Happy Holidays!

First of all, oh my gosh thank you so much for the kind words! This ask made my whole day - I hope you enjoy my works, I feel like you can physically see my sense of writing develop over time but I put a shitload of heart and soul into them so I hope it shows. <3 As for your questions, I'm going to get into some major spoilers, so reader be warned beneath the Read More.

I think the general aesthetic was what drew me to the series at first. The dark, edgy and mysterious elements blended with pulpy action hero shit and campy horror form a really unique beast in terms of art, storytelling, everything. I saw someone refer to Hellsing's approach as "aesthetic maximalism" and tbh that is everything I love about it - all this, plus the surprisingly heartfelt messages about war, trauma and being human kept me coming back for more. As for which version is best to follow, I personally lean towards the manga as the main reference point, but Hirano was plenty involved (to my knowledge) with Ultimate's development since it's the adaptation that's faithful to the manga. The Gonzo 2001 anime has some fun ideas and cool moments but it's basically fanfic, including some major changes to the characters from their original versions (Integra is outright cruel at times in 2001 and way more dogmatic, Alucard is more brooding and mysterious, and Seras has more to do and feels more mature but her personality got flattened). Oh, that and BDSM as a narrative device. Love that shit.

I would make a couple of changes, personally. First and foremost, I would make it a little clearer why Alucard decided to shoot Seras before then turning her. It's never explained if he did this out of selfish desire to have a companion, or if there's some other reason - from our perspective it seems like he really did just murder Seras to make her his pet. It seems totally plausible for him to have shot the vampire holding her hostage without hurting Seras. Right now, it basically looks like a glorified abduction. However, this kind of clashes with how their dynamic develops over time, and that's clearly not the kind of relationship that's meant to be portrayed between them, as they do have a certain sort of genuine affection for one another, but it isn't delved into as much as I would like. I think making it clear one way or another would dispel the uncertainty. I would also expand on Millennium's origins and personal motivations more, and at least make the references to their crimes against Jews more overt. Beyond that, there is little I would change.

BDSM polycule. No. Literally. I don't even mean this to say that they are canonically a throuple - that misses the mark. BDSM is often sexual, but it does not need to be (plenty of dynamics exist where a dominant and submissive engage in a power exchange without ever touching one another for mutual benefit). The characters call those who direct their actions 'Master' for a reason, and it's because Hellsing is rife with themes of dominance versus submission, and how the act of bending to someone else's will is not necessarily a bad, damning thing that makes you weak. Alucard knows he is not a moral person, so he gladly allows Integra to give him orders on who to kill, who to destroy, and so on. Seras is a fearful person who has long struggled to feel a sense of agency in her life, and lacked authority figures to guide her growth. Alucard and Integra both provide her that push - and it's scary, and it hurts, and she puts up a fight all the while because she's frightened and uncertain of herself. Everyone likes to act as though Alucard hated her for this, but that seriously misses the mark. Especially in the manga, Alucard is surprisingly patient with her refusal to grow, telling her to take her time as she adapts to being a vampire. But at no point do either parties let Seras forget - growth is not optional. Eventually, she will have to accept what she is. And she ends up finding solace, belonging, and fulfillment in her service to others in this way.

I doubt it was for these reasons. Personally, I think Alucard’s affiliation with and interest in Mina Harker is often overstated by the fandom - of Dracula the novel, and of Hellsing. I view what he did to Mina as a cruel, strategic crime of opportunity, a means of striking at the heart of the team of vampire hunters that were pursuing him. That, and a means of keeping an eye on them. Nothing more, nothing less.

Aaahh that's a spicy meatball. So first and foremost I think it is important to note that a great deal of tropes in literature from the Eurosphere have some level of antisemitism baked into them. As one of the oldest forms of bigotry, it's just a fact of life. If you're Jewish and engaging with media whatsoever, you run into it. It just happens. Now, having said that, I would say two things. One, Alucard is far tamer in appearance than Dracula is in the novel. No small beady eyes, no retracted hairline of messy-fluffy hair, and while he does have an aquiline nose, it isn't this grotesque-looking oversized Zeppelin of a thing as most antisemitic caricatures would portray. That, and his negative personality traits are more than of a general brute, rather than this small-minded, vindictive, greedy miser. Having said that, he does still use seduction as a weapon, he does drink blood (blood libel), and so on. That in mind, I think where I fall is that you cannot divorce the vampire from its origins as an antisemitic trope, but you can point to the elements of the trope that aren't necessarily anti-Jewish in nature as well as say that Alucard is departed enough from these roots to be largely divorced from them. Largely, keyword.The other part to this is that antisemites in Hellsing are consistently portrayed as the villains. Indeed, it is perhaps the only usage of the Nazi Vampire trope that I think does it justice. By having the bigots that would normally insist that Jews are blood-drinking monsters be the actual monstrous enemies who kill and plunder just because it's fun for them (and that they did this as humans long before they turned to boot), it gives the impression of commentary on how Jews are often scapegoated for the crimes of actual bad actors, in the same way that Jews get blamed for the economy being bad instead of the rich corporate oil barons who sit in their ivory tower ruining shit for everyone else. That, and general commentary on warfare. Warmongers gorging themselves on the blood of innocent people that their conflicts spill is a classic allegory of the vampire - hell, for that matter, think of how many Confederate vampires there are in fiction. It isn't a coincidence (and come on, we've all seen the thumbnail for that one YouTube video essay on this, LOL). Beyond this, I also want to draw attention to two things: Tubalcain Alhambra's name, and the Captain's death. First off, the fact that Hirano named the Brazilian collaborator with the Nazis after the Alhambra Decree, a watershed moment in European antisemitism which expelled, forcibly converted or murdered all of Iberia's Jews (Sephardim), boggles my mind and to this day I think it's the coolest fucking detail about Hellsing. It links the bad guys both with religious persecution and with violent antisemitism in an unmistakable way. That, and his name, Tubalcain, being named after the son of Cain. It's all very pointed.

Second, the fact that the Captain gives Seras the tools needed to kill him and it's a silver tooth? That Pip specifies comes from a death camp victim and makes it crystal clear for narrative purposes that it represents the crimes of the Nazis coming back to bite them? That's powerful, to me, IMO. It, too, links Millennium with their antisemitic crimes against humanity in a way that you really cannot make excuses for. I've spoken about this with fellow Jewish Hellsing fans, mind you, and my take is more charitable than most. If you want to be specific with it, the widely agreed-on way to properly discuss Nazism is to show point blank that their victims were primarily Jews, first and foremost - and in that, Hellsing falls short, as there isn't a single Jewish character in the series, named or otherwise (which is a gap I wanted to fill through my fanfiction). Having said that, I personally think that as far as depictions of Nazis in anime goes, it's one of the better ones out there - but it isn't perfect, and the style Hellsing is written in (it's basically opera, after all, Bertolt Brecht forgive me) kind of made that a forgone conclusion. Make of that what you will.

Thanks for the questions!!!

#hellsing #hellsing fandom #hellsing fanfiction #hellsing oc #hellsing ultimate #hellsing headcanons #my headcanons #antisemitism #alucard #seras victoria #sir integra

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duhragonball · 3 years

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Battle Tendency Liveblog: JJBA Ch. 65-66

This is the start of the “Ultimate Warriors from Ancient Times” arc, but I want to focus on these two chapters because they feature Mark. I’ve got a lot to say about Mark under the cut, but the short version is that he’s a lousy Nazi and he deserves everything that happens to him.

A large chunk of Chapter 65 is just Caesar hanging out in Joseph and Speedwagon’s hotel room. They try to play cards, but they’re both cheats. This wouldn’t bother me at all until Speedwagon points out that he’s been here for eight hours, and never bothered to explain why. You’d think Joseph would have demanded an answer a long time ago, since he’s not known for patience.

As it turns out, Caesar’s been waiting for Mark, a buddy of his in the German Army. Stroheim was in the German Army too, and he told Joseph that the Nazis had discovered three other Pillar Men in Rome. That’s why he and Speedwagon came here, after all. Well, Caesar’s an Italian, and Italy and Germany are allies, so Caesar managed to persuade the Germans (through Mark) to let him take a look at the Pillar Men. So in this chapter, Mark rolls up in a car and drives them over to the site.

But we already know what happened at the site in Chapter 64. The Pillar Men have already reawakened, and all the Nazi soldiers stationed there have been slaughtered. When Mark leads our heroes into the catacombs, they find the remains of the Germans, while Mark bumps into the Pillar Men themselves. (Note: the above image is not to scale).

The thing is, bumping into the Pillar Men is hazardous to your health. We saw that vampire grab Santana and large chunks of his body were completely absorbed. The same thing happens to Mark, only faster, because Wamuu doesn’t even slow down as he walks past him. He just walks right through Mark and half of his body is gone.

So when I first watched the JoJo anime, it was right after I watched the Hellsing Ultimate anime, and I got a kick out of seeing two completely different anime takes on vampire lore. Let’s face it, the Pillar Men are presented as something beyond mere vampires, but they’re basically just super-vampires, not so different from Alucard in Hellsing. And both make use of the Nazis, except in Hellsing, the Nazis are the villains, while in Battle Tendency, they’re kinda sorta allies. Stroheim is clearly a bad guy, because he killed his prisoners and tormented Speedwagon, but Mark is presented as a completely sympathetic person. He’s got a sweetheart back home, Caesar’s the one who introduced them, and he’s planning to get married the next time he goes back to Germany. And for his very brief appearance in JJBA, he’s completely friendly and helpful to the heroes. We’re supposed to feel very sorry for him when he gets killed here.

Part 2 is my favorite, but I think this stands out as it’s biggest flaw. I get the idea. Hellsing was dealing with a lot of dark themes, and the protagonists were horrifying in their own right. So Kouta Hirano used the Nazis as villains to humanize his vampire characters. By contrast, Hirohiko Araki seems to be using the Nazis to dehumanize the Pillar Men. They’re so evil that even the Nazis look halfway decent by comparison. At least the Nazis are human, with human loves and fears and honor. The Pillar Men kill Mark without even noticing him, and Speedwagon likens this to a human stepping on an ant. I get what Araki is trying to do here, but it rings hollow. Fuck Mark, and fuck his Nazi fiance. The first time we see him, we get a close up of his Iron Cross medal, with the damn swastika in the middle of it. We’re supposed to buy into the idea that he’s “one of the good Germans”, and it’s 1938, so World War II hasn’t officially started yet, so somehow Mark is supposed to be cool. But no, I don’t buy it.

Let me go off on a little sidebar and try to explain how we got here. Battle Tendency was published in 1988. Back then, Hitler had been dead for decades, and Germany had been partitioned into two countries, East and West Germany. The Nazis seemed to have been consigned to the dustbin of history, and as time passed, pop culture grew more comfortable using the Nazis as historical villains in stories like this one. There was a sense that yeah, the Nazis were really bad, but they were gone now, and they would never come back. I think there was a similar mentality surrounding the Soviet Union after the U.S.S.R. dissolved. By the 2000′s there were all sorts of internet memes about Nazi stuff and Soviet stuff and it was rationalized as harmless envelope-pushing.

The problem is, it doesn’t seem so harmless in 2021, when Russia is a autocracy that meddles in U.S. elections, emboldening white nationalists in the process. The “alt-right” fanatics who marched in Charlottesville in 2017? The rioters who stormed the Capitol building this past January? Those assholes probably wouldn’t call themselves Nazis, but neither did the Nazis. They called themselves “National Socialists”, because they were trying to make their ugly policies sound more legitimate. The same holds true for “alt-right”, “economic nationalist”, “Qanon”, “truther”, and so on. They’re just new labels for the same old horseshit.

I don’t want to judge Battle Tendency too harshly, because it’s the product of a different time, an era when people could at least pretend that Nazism was one of the few problems that we didn’t have to worry about any more. The same mentality can be found in Hellsing. The Nazis in Hellsing are definitely villains, but the conceit is that they’re all immortal vampires or werewolves, because that’s the only way the Nazi menace could possibly exist in 1999. Otherwise, they’d all be dead of old age. Battle Tendency is set in 1938, so it takes the liberty of presenting sympathetic Nazis, because we already know they’ll be defeated in the end, right? We might as well see what makes them tick.

Araki may have thought that using Nazis in a story set in the 1930s would be no different than using Napoleonic French soldiers in a story set in the 1800s. And in the long run, that might be true, but I don’t think we’re there yet. In the here and now, it’s aged rather poorly.

Of course, just because Caesar and Joseph feel bad for Mark doesn’t mean I have to. And Araki may have been more self-aware than I’m giving him credit for. Nazi Germany wanted to set itself up as the Master Race, and in this fictional world, the Pillar Men have come to do the same thing, only they’re much, much further ahead of the game. I think part of the point of Stroheim and Mark was to contrast the Nazis’ supreamcist attitudes with Kars’ ambitions. For all of Stroheim’s boasting, he’s helpless against Kars’ might. But at the same time, for all of Kars’ power and brilliance, he’s ultimately chasing the same pipe dream as Hilter and his followers.

Let’s get back on track. While the good guys react in horror at what happened to Mark, the Pillar Men just stand around nearby and discuss their situation. They completely ignore our heroes, just like they ignored Mark. Kars wants to locate the Red Stone of Aja, because it’s the secret ingredient to the mask he designed that will make them immune to sunlight. Esidisi doesn’t understand how the stone helps their plan, but he’s totally on board. But as they head out, Wamuu suddenly attacks Kars, because Kars stepped in his shadow, and apparently Wamuu just lashes out at anyone who does this, friend or foe.

Wamuu is deeply sorry for this, and begs to be punished, but Kars apologizes instead, because he knows about Wamuu’s whole shadow thing and he feels that he’s the one who made the mistake here. I really love this exchange, because it defines the Pillar Men so well. As indifferent as they are to human lives, they respect one another a great deal. Kars is the leader, but he still treats the other two guys like close associates. He needs Wamuu’s sharp senses and keen warrior instincts. Meanwhile, Wamuu and Eisidisi practically worship Kars like a god. They’ve literally followed him around the world and across thousands of years in pursuit of his vision.

So yeah, if the goal here was to use Mark’s suffering to make me hate the Pillar Men, it doesn’t work. The Pillar Men are evil, sure, but they’re pretty cool bad guys. On the other hand, Mark looks ridiculous here, with Caesar holding and talking to half of his body. This looks like something out of a Tex Avery cartoon.

I mean, let’s set aside the whole Nazi thing for a moment. Why should I feel sorry for Mark? Because he’s in pain? He got cut in half! He should have died instantly! Because he was going to get married? We only met this guy one chapter ago! Because he’s Caesar’s friend? Well Caesar’s kind of a jerk too.

Anyway, Mark begs Caesar to kill him and end his suffering, so Caesar uses the Ripple to stop his heart. Or the half of it that’s still there, I guess.

Okay, so the whole point of Mark’s death is to really get the good guys fired up to battle the Pillar Men, right? Okay, Caesar tries to take them on, and he opens with the Bubble Launcher, the same move he talked about earlier. It didn’t beat Joseph, but Caesar’s Hamon power does hurt Wamuu’s skin, which is more than Joseph managed to do against Santana.

The Bubble Launcher is supposed to surround the opponent with dozens of soap bubbles charged with Hamon energy. Wamuu can’t escape without touching them and getting hurt. But Wamuu just sprouts all these long braids from his head and clothes, and swings them around with superhuman precision to know the bubbles away without hurting himself.

As it turns out, these Pillar Men are familiar with Hamon. Santana was surprised to encounter Joseph Joestar’s powers, but Wamuu and the others have fought Ripple users in the past. And Wamuu’s more intrigued than worried...

Oh, as one final aside, on the car ride to the catacombs, Speedwagon asked Caesar if he tried to use the Ripple to destroy the Pillar Men before they woke up, and Caesar explains that it didn’t work while they were in their dormant state. Remember, at the very start of this story, Speedwagon called Straizo because he wanted someone to use the Ripple to destroy Santana before he could wake up. Now we see that even if Straizo had agreed to his request, it wouldn’t have done any good. Sunlight doesn’t seem to kill the Pillar Men so much as it makes them turn to stone, and the Ripple only hurts them while they’re flesh and blood. So the only way to kill them seems to be by using Hamon in a direct confrontation, and that’s a tall order...

#jojo's bizarre adventure #battle tendency #joseph joestar #caesar zeppeli #robert e o speedwagon #mark #wamuu #kars #esidisi #get wrecked mark

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lesmismignon · 3 years

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replying to anon messages

In this post I shall reply to the messages that have been sitting in my inbox for a regrettably long period of time. (It is loooooong. Please click “keep reading” at your own risk.)

I’m not a very good correspondent. I’m very sorry. I never know what to say right off the bat, and then during 2019 and 2020 when I was mostly on hiatus, I would just post a chapter or two and poof back out, and on Tumblr I would browse a few things and then poof back out. I do not have a good track record with social media and online presence in general. And with real life problems (mostly due to work), at worst it was impossible to muster even the strength to write. It was maddening.

But there is something about Hellsing and its fandom that reels me back in even when I am far away. Excuse me if this sounds cheesy, but for me fandoms are like the orbit of a comet. If it is something that you loved, and will continue to love even when you are not “active” on it, you will come back to it, someday, somehow. I’ll always be grateful to Hellsing, for being an inspiration to write, for being a bridge to some of my dearest relationships, for some of the kindest messages I’ve ever received in my life.

you freed yourself for a job that was not good for you and related to toxic people (Integra-like – demanding the respect you deserve). That is badass brave – and that doesn’t become less by that fact that maybe the next job you got is not the end of the journey but still part of the way. And you are brave by sharing your work, sharing your stories revealing parts of your emotional world to the outside – that is totally bad as too. I think you can be very proud of you, really. So maybe right now, you might be in situation that does not yet make you happy in way you deserve it. But you know- there is big chance that this is part of your journey to this place – imagine, in some time from now, you may be a successful (brilliant you are already) author and in an interview you say something like “yes, back there in 2016/17 I went through some tough times, that influenced the work very much I got this price for today”. So just in case you maybe cannot see it right now yourself – please allow me to tell you – you are brave and wonderful. And re. the brave decision you mentioned – I know I am not in the position to tell you anything – but please do not do any harm to you. So, thank you so much for your work you share with the world, my life is better with it. Take care for yourself, you deserve the best. (so sorry, I am really not good with words, hope you get my point….)

Anon, this was the kindest thing you could have ever done for little 2016/17 me. Oh God. Time does fly by so fast. I want you to know that I read this message a long time ago, and it gave me strength to go on, even though I’m not sure if I am so brave, to be compared to our lady Integra >< I hope you are happy and safe, wherever you are. I hope you know how brave and wonderful *you* are. Thank you so much.

just wanted to drop by and say I love all your fanfictions! You capture Integra and Alucard's characters so well; I LOVE it. Take all the time you need updating. You deserve it. And good luck at your job! <3

Ah, I probably changed jobs like twice since then. But they have been all good and meaningful in their own ways. I really did not mean to take THIS long in updating but I hope that you enjoyed the recent updates if you are still reading, thank you so much!

Why can I not write here? I just wanted you to know I am grateful for the reading joys that are 'Snow White' and 'Satis'...

Thank you Anon! I am so glad you enjoyed them!

I LOVE SATIS SO MUCH YOUR WRITING IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND FLOWY AND IT MAKES ME CRY PLEASE KEEP UP THE BRILLIANT WORK!!

Thank you Anon! You give me too much praise, but I shall indeed try to keep it up!

Hey so please don't take this as me pressuring you but I absolutely adore Satis! Is there any chance we might know when the next update is coming in? Totally understand if not- it sounds like work is taking a lot out of you and I understand that you're writing fan fiction purely for fun but DAMN IF I DON'T WANT TO READ MORE OF YOUR FIC OMG I LOVE IT SO MUCH ASDFGHJKL!!!

I’m sorry it’s been ages! I’ll tell you my schedule(???) for this year instead! For this year of 2021 I really hope to average maybe at least 1 chapter a month but I don’t know how I’ll fare during the busy months. I hope you enjoyed the recent chapters if you are still reading!

@fierce-little-miana Can you believe that I have just noticed that I had given you any kudos for Snow White or Satis?! Sorry! Your stories are really worth all the praise we can give them. (so I corrected it) Have a nice day!

Thank you! I’m terribly sorry for this late reply. You’ve been so kind and sent so many lovely messages. Thank you again for each and every one of them!

@sinish-tem Hey sorryy for bothering you but. That ALutegra fic was AMAZING!!I LOVE IT!Amazing job sport<3

You’re not bothering me at all! Thank you old sport!

So I don't mean to rush you or be annoying or anything, but is Satis still happening? (plz plz say yes)

You’re not being annoying! I’m sorry it took so long! Yes :)

Hello! So, um, I have to ask... is Satis going to be updated? It’s just that it’s one of my absolute favorite stories by my absolute favorite author!

Thank you! I’m honored! I hope you enjoyed the recent chapters if you’re still reading!

Hi! Are you still around? Are you doing ok?

Yes, I am fine now, thank you :) I hope you are doing well, too!

@aniphine Hi! First off, I want to say that I absolutely love your writing style and am so looking forward to diving into all of your fics! I just finished Satis and it’s definitely in my Top 10 Fanfics ever, which is saying something! Thanks so much for writing it. On that note, I wanted to ask if you had plans to update it? If not, that’s totally cool - what you’ve written already is fantastic. But if so, I’d pledge my life to you in order to get a chance at reading more. 😆 Anyhoo, you’re awesome! 👋

Thank you so much! You are awesome too! I’m honored that Satis is in your top 10!!

@dontfuckingfollowmeifpornblog You still around?

I am now! Thank you!

@comixqueen Hello have I told you that I really love your Hellsing fics? ;u;/ They're among the best out there and I reread them often!

Thank you very much. That means a lot to me from you. Thank you for rereading, I’m always wary of my earlier writing but I’m glad if people still enjoy them.

I have never squealed higher than when I received the notification for the new chapter of Satis. You are a true blessing <3 thank you for your words

You are a blessing! Thank you so much!

Hello! I know you're not very active around here, but I just saw a trailer for a movie based on the letters of Vita and Virginia, and I was immediately reminded of Satis and the quotes you so expertly used in the narration, and I thought I might tell you in case you're interested in the movie (the title is literally Vita and Virginia) <3

Thank you Anon! I did see the trailer! I haven’t seen the movie yet though, but I will, eventually! I am so glad you think I did the quotes justice! It’s such a beautiful quote.

Not sure how to start this, might be a little bold, and yet; let me simply say that I am in love with your written works. In fact, so much so that I read it all again, and again. It never ceases to amaze. And as for you, the person behind it all, you do seem immensely precious as well. I hope that you have the most fantastic day, you deserve no less.

Anon, you are so very kind. Thank you so much for your lovely words. I am just an ordinary person unusually invested in a particular set of fictional characters xD and I am often late to things and a bad correspondent, but I must be doing something right if you’re sending me a message as lovely as this. Thank you again, I hope you are having fantastic days as well.

Honestly ive read your snow white fic years ago but I loved it insanely much and im about to read it again today ^.^

Thank you Anon! Ah, Snow White. I am very glad you still enjoy it. It is so old, and I wish I had the courage to edit it and spruce it up, or even update an extra or two...

Are you ever planning to continue Satis? I’m in love with that piece of work.

Thank you Anon! Yes! I hope you enjoyed the recent chapters!

My literal text to a friend of mine that's also a fan of Satis when I got the AO3 mail about the new chapter was: "NOW THEY'RE FINALLY STARTING TO BE *HAPPY* HOLIDAYS"

I am very glad I was able to bring you holiday cheer. Would it be bold of me if I say I aim to bring you non-holiday cheer as well, now? xD Thank you so much!

HEY JUST CAME HERE TO SAY I LOVE SATIS, OKAY BYYYYE

HELLO ANON! THANK YOUUUUU

#anon #reply

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queenie2297 · 4 years

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A PEST NO MORE

A Hellsing Smut

Warning: non-con (rape), blood, gore, death

Millenium kidnapped you, a young female, just barely eighteen, to train as a soldier to attack London. That’s all they told you. Familiar nazi party symbols were littered everywhere, bringing back memories to school and learning about the second world war.

The day brought weapons training, combat fighting and assessments.

Night brought something sinister. People would disappear, never to return to their bed in the barracks.

The night your bunkmate, Nami, went missing was when you really started to worry.

One by one, the kids who lived in the barracks were picked off, leaving you to be one of the few that were left. Rumors flew, but the commanders blew them off saying they were assigning them to different bases after they passed training, and most of them believed it, but you had other thoughts that you did not dare speak out about. So, you kept living like nothing was wrong or out of the ordinary.

But then the day came when there was a raid on base. You were shut up in the barracks, alone, hearing gunfire and explosions that seemed to be just outside the door. You took a few deep breaths and then sighed heavily wanting the raid to be over so you can go to bed.

After what seemed like hours, the halls went quiet, almost too quiet. No one had bothered to come to do a welfare check on you, so you made the decision to investigate.

It was a bad idea.

The moment you opened the barrack door, the smell of death was everywhere. Blood coated every inch of the walls. You covered your mouth, holding back a scream; or holding back vomit, you weren’t sure. You saw your commander lay severely mangled at your feet, and not too far away, your bunkmate, Nami, in the same condition.

“Nami!” you shouted, as if calling her name would bring her back to life. You held her bloody hand, not noticing that in her death, she was baring sharp teeth, sharper than any normal human.

A dark chuckle frightened you, causing you to stiffen your body. A red mist surrounded you and a disembodied voice filled the hallway.

“It seems I have missed a little vermin.” a male voice said. A tall, pale man dressed in red stood approximately five feet away from her, a gun locked and loaded onto her head.

You made the feeble attempt to shield yourself, knowing full well that it would do nothing in your favor.

You managed to lock eyes with the man and you noticed that his jet black hair was covering a pair of red eyes.

Red eyes?

The man paused for a second, lowering his gun and looking at you closer.

“How amusing. You’re not like them.”

You lowered your hands.

“What?”

His looming figure moved closer to you, his crimson eyes not leaving your (E/C) ones.

“Stand up.” He commanded.

You slowly obliged but still on guard. The man still had to bend down at the waist to meet your eyes.

“Your name?” the man said.

“(Y/N)” you responded. “Uhm.. what did you mean by ‘i’m not like the rest-”

You were cut off when the man’s lanky, but strong hand grabbed your chin and squeezed, revealing your non-sharp, plainly human teeth.

The man chuckled.

“Hmm. Just as I had thought. You’re the only one left. Do you know what these Nazi freaks were going to do to you?”

You shook your head.

“Look around you, girl. Look at your friends teeth.” He allowed you a moment to examine the teeth of Nami, accidentally pricking your finger on one of her canines. You gasped and heard a gutteral noise come from the man’s chest.

“They’re sharp!”

The man’s voice was deep, seductive and right in your ear.

“They’re all vampires, my dear. Vermin. Lucky you. You were saved from eternal damnation.”

Your eyes widened. It all made sense.

Your breath trembled as you stared down at your finger, which now had a pearl of crimson pooling at the tip of it. A cool hand wrapped around your wrist, not forcefully, but gently, pulling you to turn toward the man. That’s when you noticed his uniquely sharp teeth and you pulled away in fear.

“Do not be afraid, girl. Yes. Your thoughts are correct. I am a vampire as well. However, I was just going to ask you if you would like me to fix your wound.”

“W-what?”

“Give me your hand.”

“Tell me your name first.” you said, with an arch to your eyebrow.

The man chuckled darkly. “Alucard.” he said as he offered you an outstretched, white gloved hand.

“Alucard.” You repeated, his name falling off your lips just right. Your body was forcing you to take his hand before your mind had a second to possibly retreat..scream….run… anything, really. Alucard knelt down, his hand once again took yours gently and put your finger to his lips. His tongue grazed the flesh on your finger and you gasped softly. Your heart pounded in your ears.

It all seemed like an eternity, when in reality, this interaction was a couple of seconds. You were constantly on guard. His hand released yours and your hand fell back to its side.

“Take a look, girl.” Alucard said, gesturing toward your hand.

Your eyes met your finger, but you were surprised when you noticed that your finger was cleared of blood and the puncture wound was closed up.

You smiled softly.

“Thank you.”

Alucard’s back was to you and he was already walking away.

“Come, girl.”

Your feet moved before your body knew what was even going on. It felt like some unseen force was pushing you.

“O-oh.”

Alucard was silent, walking at a pace that you had to jog to keep up with.

“Alucard-” you said, stopping yourself. A bunch of lights of cars and helicopters surrounded the two of you.

A woman with long blonde hair stepped out of one of the cars. She seemed angry.

“Alucard! What is the meaning of this? I told you to kill everyone in that building.”

“If I may interrupt, master, you said to kill every vampire in that building. This one-” He said, grabbing your arm and hauling you forward, “was the one stray human that I found.”

The woman was just as entrancing as Alucard. Her eyes were the kind of blue that was striking and could pierce the soul of anyone she came into contact with.

The woman looked her up and down and then glanced sideways at Alucard.

“So, she’s human?”

“Yes. though she was most likely next to become one of those vermin that I slaughtered.”

The woman’s gaze softened as she then acknowledged you.

“I’m Sir Integra Hellsing. You’ve already met my servant Alucard.”

“I-I’m (Y/N).”

Integra smiled softly.

“Come. I��m sure you’ve had enough excitement for one day and I am sure you’re tired. I can take you back to Hellsing Manor so you can rest up.”

“Sir Integra, I can take her.” Alucard spoke from the shadows. “I can get her there much faster and get her settled.”

Integra arched a brow and paused.

“Alright. But no funny business. I know how you are with human females.” She turned on her heels and walked back to her car, leaving you to turn and walk in the direction you heard Alucard’s voice in the shadows. His pale skin and looming red eyes uncovered him from the shadows, his frame leaning against a tree.

“Come.” he said, demandingly.

Once again, you felt a force pushing you toward him, almost slamming your petite frame into his tall, lanky one. Your hands wrapped around his waist, drinking in his smell. He smelled delightfully of cinnamon. His arms wrapped protectively around you, and then there was mist.

*************

You had squeezed your eyes shut, so you didn’t see the tree line you were standing at disappear around you and was replaced with a warm, dimly lit bedroom; the light coming from a crackling fireplace and a lamp in one corner of the room.

You still clung onto Alucard as you opened your eyes. A small “woah” left your lips. Your eyes scanned the room and then up at Alucard, who was looking down at you, watching your reaction. Your cheeks flushed and you stepped back from him, clearing your throat.

“Thanks again...Alucard.”

“It was no problem. No problem at all.” he purred. “Get some rest.”

And with that, he had disappeared.

You felt oddly empty after Alucard left. You had just met him, yet you felt some sort of a bond connecting the two of you.

A human and a vampire. You scoffed to yourself. It’s just like the movies.

The room you were in was like something out of a fantasy storybook. There was a large fireplace with crackling wood, a golden chandelier on the ceiling in which the light from the fire was dancing on its polished greatness. Pictures lined the walls of people that she didn’t know until her eyes fell on one. It looked like Sir Integra, but pint sized. Yes, it was labeled Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. She had to have been only eleven in that picture. You thought as your eyes wandered to the canopy bed with red silk sheets.

You groaned softly, finally realizing you needed some sleep and shuffled toward the bed. You shed off your boots, army pants and black T-shirt, leaving you only in your undergarments for the night. As soon as you crawled under the sheets and your head hit the pillow, you were fast asleep.

But not for long.

****************

The fire lighting the room mysteriously blew out, leaving the only light in the room to be the dim lamp in the far corner. While you were asleep, the room grew cold and you subconsciously curled into the fetal position under the covers.

Your dreams started out lively, but quickly turned into a nightmare.

You were back at the base, your friends and commanders surrounding you, licking their lips and their sharp canines, snarling. Two of them grabbed your arms and forcefully shoved you to your knees as you finally recognized Alucard in the crowd, who stepped forward, laughing darkly.

“Let me show you what life would have been like if things had ended differently.”

You struggled against the grip of the two soldiers to get away, but they were much stronger than you. Without warning, Alucard ripped the fabric of your shirt in the way of your bare flesh on your neck and shoulder and bit down. Hard. You tried to scream but nothing came out.

Shush little one. I will show you the way of the devil.

His laughter ran in your ears as you woke up, bolting upright. You felt the burning sensation on your neck, but there was no blood or discernable wound.

You whimpered in pain and rubbed at the area until the burning subsided.

It was now dawn, so you decided that it was best that it was time to get up. As you stood up, a voice in your mind frightened you.

“Until the evening, (Y/N).”

It was Alucard.

Your heart pounded harshly in your chest as you quickly got dressed and made your way out the room. It was still early in the morning, so no one was roaming the halls as of yet in Hellsing Manor. You had to find Alucard.

A trail of red mist appeared before you and low whispers and hissing noises filled your ears.

Your legs carried you to the deepest darkest parts of the manor, down into the dungeon, where it was darker than you had ever seen before. It was quite eerie.

“Excuse me, Miss. (Y/N).”

You whirled around to find an older man with a monocle calmly smiling at you.

“Forgive me for frightening you. I am Walter, the butler in this manor. Come, you seem to be lost.”

“I-I-” you stammered. “Do you see this red mist?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you are talking about, Miss. (Y/N). Do you care for some breakfast?”

“I-” you shook your head free of the whispers. “Yes- that would be lovely. Thank you.”

Walter led you out of the room and back into the main corridors of the manor.

**********************

The next night, you had another dream accompanied by Alucard.

There was red mist, and the shadow of his figure stood right in front of you.

“That damn butler is ruining all of my fun with you. You so easily responded to my call, girl.”

This encounter felt so real, like it was really happening.

“Am I dreaming?”

“Yes.”

There was silence and the only thing you could hear was your own breath. In an instant, Alucard was behind you and sniffing into the nape of your neck. You gasped but couldn’t move. He was holding you down somehow.

“Your blood tasted so sweet on my tongue the other night that I have not been able to take my mind off of you.” he chuckled. Your heart beat in your ears and your stomach turned into knots and you wanted to run away, but you were still paralyzed.

“Tell me, (Y/N). Are you afraid of me? Because you should be.” Alucard whispered into your ear.

“What are you doing to me?” you whimpered.

“Answer my question.” he growled.

You paused, Alucard’s warm breath tickling your ear.

You furrowed your brow and bravely shook your head.

Alucard roared with laughter.

“How amusing. A puny little human unafraid of a vampire who can suck her dry in an instant. I’ll show you to be afraid of me.”

He growled, taking your shoulders and slamming them against a wall so hard that it knocked the wind out of you. His hands then snaked down your torso, expertly finding the nipples on your perky breasts and gave them a quick flick before hoisting you up by the buttocks, wrapping your legs around his waist. Your eyes were now level with his, your face red with trying to break free of his mystery hold he had on you.

Your body, while your head was swimming in dreamland, seemed to have a mind of its own. While you could not move in your dream, your hands were sensually exploring every part of your body. You wiggled and writhed at your own touch, as if someone else was doing this to you.

Finally, you broke the hold he had on you and your eyes flew open. Your body froze. Your heart beat twice as fast as it was supposed to, and two of your fingers were plunged deep into your slick folds. You pulled them out immediately, and while getting ready to wipe them clean on your pants, your hand flew up to your mouth and licked them spotless.

Alucard’s voice creeped into your head again.

Did you enjoy yourself, girl? Next time, look for it to be your reality.

You didn’t respond to him, but he knew you heard him just by the way your breathing hitched when he spoke.

You lay in your bed for the rest of the night, unable to sleep, staring at the ceiling and trying to control your trembling body.

************************

You didn’t come out of your room as dawn broke, and you refused breakfast. You didn’t want to have contact with anyone that day. You prefered to be alone with your thoughts.

You wanted to so badly know more about Alucard, while at the same time being terrified of him. You saw what he could do to mess with your mind and you could only imagine what he would do to you in the real world. You tried to make sense of the ache deep in your core that provided you discomfort for most of the day. You wanted him to touch you, in real life. You wanted him to fill you up, knocking the wind out of you with each thrust his cock made. You wanted to feel his sharp canines slowly graze across your collarbone.

You shook your head and sighed into your hands as you heard Alucard’s voice again.

Why did you not eat this morning?

You groaned, the ache in your belly tightening.

“I don’t feel well.” you responded plainly and flopped onto the red silk sheets of your bed.

Or maybe because I put the fear of the devil into you early this morning?

You whimpered softly.

“I-I don’t know if i’m fascinated with you or frightened of you. I need to figure it out.”

You enjoyed yourself last night didn’t you?

You blushed but didn’t respond.

While I may have influenced you by your mind, your body did the rest to itself.

Your eyes widened. So you touched yourself that night by your own free will!

“Oh.” you whispered. “Alucard?”

Hm?

“How can you control what I dream about? H-How do I feel so bound to you?”

Remember when I fixed your finger the night I found you? Your blood is now part of me and that’s how we’re connected.

“Can you read my thoughts?”

Yes.

Oh christ. He knows then. He knows how you yearn for him sexually.

Your face flushed an even harsher red than before.

“I’m sorry.” you muttered.

Alucard chuckled.

Such wanton thoughts coming from such a young girl.

You flipped onto your stomach and groaned into the silk sheets.

“Damnit.”

If you want me so badly as your thoughts seem to tell me, then come see me tonight. I’ll be waiting.

Your heart leapt up to your throat and you could hardly choke out a reply.

“Yes, Alucard.”

And then he was gone from your mind.

******************************

You paced your room for the remainder of the day, not allowing visitors or even Sir Integra to speak to you that day (much to her surprise). You were too busy in your own head and could not focus on much else. Your heart constantly felt like it was going to leap out of your chest and there were moments where you swore you were going to vomit up the contents of your stomach.

However, you held strong.

Nightfall came quicker than you had expected. Just when your small clock in your sleeping quarters struck eleven, you made your way to the door, not being able to wait much longer. Your hands shook as you reached for your door handle. When you slowly pulled open the door, you made sure no one was coming down the dark hallway. You suddenly felt Alucard’s presence within you once more. He said nothing, but there was a familiar red mist guiding you to his location.

You knew this encounter with the vampire was going to be different than the rest.

As you ventured down further and further into Hellsing Manor, it grew colder. In fact, it was so cold you could see your breath escaping your mouth.

Your arms instinctively wrapped around your body and your footsteps touched cobblestone, which made your steps echo louder than usual. You knew you were close when the red mist tapered out when you reached an old iron door with a latch.

You were about to reach to undo the latch but instead the door slowly swung open on its own.

Beyond the door was darkness.

Warm air encircled you, lifting the trembling feeling you once had. You took a deep breath and stepped beyond the threshold of the door and into the darkness, which you did not know you would not return from.

The door slammed behind you as soon as you stepped inside and the little light that you had from the glowing candles in the dungeon were gone. You could not see anything but you could sense that you were definitely not alone in this room. You knew that Alucard was somewhere in this darkness.

An invisible force grabbed your limbs and you were unable to move even a muscle while you felt Alucard’s tall, lanky body press against your back. His gloved hand grabbed a fistful of your hair and yanked sideways, exposing your neck to him.

You knew exactly what he wanted from you and it did not match what you had expected from him. Just as you were getting ready to cry out for help, you were suddenly rendered speechless. It was then you finally heard Alucard speak.

“Now, now. No need to scream. I’ll give you back your voice later when I want to hear your screams of pleasure.”

You could not move nor speak. You were helpless, meek prey for the monster behind you.

You closed your eyes even though the world around you was dark; until a sharp pain ran through your entire body, sending sparks of light into your vision. Words may have failed you, but that did not stop you from screaming in agony in the confines of your own head, even if Alucard could hear you. You fought against the restraints holding you down with no success. Alucard’s voice returned inside your head.

“How cute of you to try and break away at this point. There’s no turning back now.”

Your fighting got weaker as your blood was running thin and as one final plea, a squeak of protest escaped your lips, like a lion cub attempting to roar.

“This was to be your fate if you had stayed with Millennium. But now, you’ll be much stronger.”

The blur in your vision told you that you were going to pass out and you did not fight it. Your whole body slumped fully into Alucard’s and you could no longer hear his voice.

**********************************

The first thing you heard when you came to was the rocking of the bed and the sense of being sexually pleasured.

Then it was the feeling of warm breath on the nape of your neck and someone licking your wound clean.

When you opened your eyes, you saw the bare, pale body of Alucard curled over you.

Your mind was the last part of your body to regain full consciousness and Alucard knew right away by the mind link. It was at this point you knew what was going on.

He chuckled darkly.

“Ah, welcome back.”

He thrust his hips, rutting himself deeper inside of you. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head in response.

“You have awoken at the perfect time, my pet. We have just surpassed the painful part for you. Do you smell the blood?”

You raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then the stench of a broken hymen filled your nose, and it was particularly more powerful than you had remembered from previous menstrual blood. Your face furrowed in response.

“You-you bit me? Am I a-oh!” You seemed to involuntarily moan as you tried to speak.

“You are now a proper creature of the night. Not like the filth that those fucking nazi’s would make you to be.”

Pain shot through your body not only due to the penetration, but your throat burned and you felt as if there were thousands of spiders crawling all over you. You tried to wriggle away from Alucard, but his hands found your wrists and held them down, pinning you to the bed.

“Let me go!”

“I’m doing you a favor, making you the way you are. Saving you, of sorts.”

“I didn’t want to be a bloodsucker! Let me go!”

“Not a chance, girl.” Alucard smirked. His face was just inches from yours. His breath was cold, just like the rest of his body.

Then again, was my body just as cold as his?

His long, serpent-like tongue left sloppy trails up and down your neck as he continued to thrust sharply into you.

I’m between thrusts, he spoke to you once more.

“Once you have blood, you’ll think differently. Just a few drops will do for now.”

Alucard bit his wrist and a trail of crimson slowly crept down his arm.

“No!” You shouted and tried with a feeble attempt to break free from him, which of course failed.

The blood dropped first onto your breast, then another on your chin before Alucard forcibly shoved his lacerated wrist into your mouth, with no choice but to drink.

Your struggle suddenly stopped as the crimson hit your tongue.

Oh god, it’s so good. It’s making me feel warm again.

The warmth turned into a burn, like a fire blazing wildly. You bit your lower lip, forgetting that your canines were now sharper than any normal humans.

Alucard laughed wildly as he watched his new toy’s eyes turn the signature red color as his blood travelled through her system.

The new power that you possessed seemed to send a vibration throughout your body, because Alucard encouraged you with a wide smile, baring his fangs.

“Yes! Yes! Show me your strength!”

You managed to free your wrists and roll just right, making you the one sitting astride his lap and in control.

Your head was now spinning with lust, spewing dirty talk in your native German dialect.

“verdammt, du bist so gut! Hör nicht auf!”

Alucard’s fingers dig into your hips, as he was thrusting up into you, making you hiss. He came without warning and you did not expect to get filled to the brim.

Your orgasm washed over you unexpectedly and lust told you to dive deep into Alucard’s neck. You managed to bite down on his shoulder.

A satisfied hum crawled out of his throat as he returned the favor.

The two of you sat together, holding each other close and drinking each other’s crimson.

Alucard licked your wound closed and murmured,

“You’re mine now. More powerful than what millennium could have made you out to be.”

You smiled into his neck.

“I’m grateful for you, master.”

It was then you realized that the two of you were still attached at the hip...and that your master was still hard as a rock.

You grinned wickedly.

“Master?”

“Hm?”

“Would you like to keep going?”

Alucard chuckled darkly.

“Absolutely, my pet.”

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sugar-and-pearls · 3 years

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Lucida, Plethora, Kilig, Cachinnating, Saudade, & Serendipity any of your f/os ~ rebeccaselfships

hmm I'll try and see if I can do a different f/o for each question but if your interested in a particular one send another in. Is it bad that I kinda want to do all these questions foe every single one of my f/os now?

Lucida (n.) The brightest star in a constellation. What makes your f/o special to you? What about them makes them shine brighter than everyone else?

I'm going to give this one to Hei cus he's not as well know as my other f/os ( pay no attention to me side glancing at Dabi). Hei is .... a walking paradox of not wanting anyone to be close to anyone yet everyone is attracted to him. He is intellect, stubborn, tactical, funny (but only when he wants to be) and oh so kind. Maybe not nice cus he is mean when he wants to be, but certainly kind. I guess that’s what I love about him.

Plus - he’s a master with knifes and cooking

Plethora (n.) Excess, a large amount. How many total f/os do you have? Do you think you have a lot compared to most people? (Nothing wrong with having a lot of f/os, it’s just cool to see how many some people have!)

At this moment I have 22 f/os - 2 romantic, 7 platonic and 13 familial. I have a lot, especially I think cus I'm still kinda new to the self-shipping but I wouldn't be surprised if more come along.

Kilig (n.) the feeling of butterflies in one’s stomach. Can you remember the first time your f/o gave you butterflies?

This one will go to Dabi cus I like to try and keep things fair between my two boys. The first time I saw his character I was like ‘oh ok- your interesting’ but then I saw him leading the Vanguard Action Squad and then when he was fighting against Eraser Head and I was like

Cachinnating (v.) To laugh loudly. Which of your f/o’s lines/moments makes you laugh the most? Bonus points if they aren’t a comedic character.

there are so many f/os who this one could go for- far far too many but the Storyteller will get this one simply for the story of when he tricked a chef into making him and a begger food by claiming to be able to make ‘stone soup’ - it never gets old for me and the story always gets me to smile to some degree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3UsL0Tyteo

Saudade (n.) the feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia. Have you had any of your f/os for a long time? How long have they been your f/o? Which one have you had the longest?

A lot of my f/os are ones that I have had for quite a few years. That's most likely why a lot of my f/os are from child-centred media, cus I was a kid when I was first introduced to them. I think in terms of who is my oldest that probably Nico. Funnily enough I think that's why I don't post as much on him as I do with like Dabi or Chise, cus he's been with me for so long now, it feels a little bit like when you ask someone what's your favourite colour is, and you give them all these different bright answers- and when they say they though you would say the colour that you always have on instead. He's very dear to me and I know that I'm dear to him too so we both don't feel the urge to have to continuously say it.

After Nico its John an then its Alucard and Klarion as they came around about the same time.

Serendipity (n.) Finding something good without looking for it. Which of your f/os did you fall for without meaning to? Were any of them a surprise to you?

For the majority of my f/os there was no real surprise, nothing more than a short “oh” but platonically speaking Alucard fits in perfectly for this question cus I did not expect to like him as much as I did. He is my utter opposite in so many ways and the first time I watched Hellsing he kinda unnerved me but I really really like him.

#Hedone talks #Hedone answers #Hei #Darker than Black #Nico di Angelo #Hellsing #Alucard #self shipping community #self ship #The Storyteller #Jim Henson

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valentinesparda · 4 years

Note

🎫 here's a gush pass ^^ feel free to gush about whichever f/o you want, however much you want, then send this ask to 3 other selfshippers

@lunaeloves oh lucky you I just woke up from a lil nap before I'm gonna end up going to my friend's apartment later tonight and I - predictably - cannot stop thinking about like 6 different f/os right now but I'm gonna edge towards some good eldritch babes (and some not-eldritch babes) for this SUPER LONG RAMBLING ASK IM SORRY IN ADVANCE

first of all, since I haven't stopped playing it on repeat for the past two days, The Baddest preview dropped so I'm obligated to touch on evelynn (or more accurately I would love to touch on evelynn but that's neither here nor there), and whew boy do I love women. and eldritch beings. I f/o quite a few of those now, too. the only disappointing part is how short her section in the song actually is. anyways hello have you not seen my wife?? you're gonna!!

I haven't stopped thinking about this new outfit since I saw it. shes called "the diva" for God's sake. her stupid diamond encrusted claw rings only on the middle finger are making me lose it in the gayest way possible. the cheeky over-top-of-the-sunglasses stare is gonna put me in an early grave. have I talked about how her eyes are like a sunset?? or how her hair looks so soft and long and I want nothing more than to run my fingers through it because this is the longest I think her hair has ever been?? I'm legally not allowed to open my mouth about the open low neckline she has going on there but anyways ms evelynn leagueoflegends please dm me I have feelings for you and there's a lot of them

okay on to the next one which....thinking about writing This gush is making me feel like this rn

bc I haven't really gushed about him yet but boy is it time

so. can we talk about hellsing alucard. can we talk about how cool he is. will you allow me this moment of time in this day to let me try to coherently string a line of thought that isn't just me garbling uncontrollably about this funky eldritch boy?? lets observe shall we--

listen. I fully went into watching hellsing ultimate for the first time just thinking he was like. okay. I was highkey only in it for Sir Integra (still am please dm me ma'am) and then by the midway point in ova episode 2 I was like "okay maybe he's kinda cool" and then by the END of said episode when he is absolutely feasting upon luke valentine's dumb ass and he first activates his protocol or whatever I'm still half asleep I ended up kinda jumping around the entire time just having a GREAT time watching the anime and you can ASK my friends for confirmation on this I could not shut up.

[ side note uh I love jan valentine?? bitch sucks but oh my God is he not the most entertaining character I've met so far, he beats out rip van winkle who I thought just from their look that I would adore but surprise!! go listen to PREY FOR ME/3 by FEVER 333 for an excellent jan valentine song. no I will Not shut up ]

alucard is....he's so goddamn cool?? he's batshit insane for seemingly no reason and over the top and he's FUNNY!! there's something incredibly endearing about him being a vampire in the late 90's who literally just like. does That?? I can't fully explain my thoughts because we would be here longer than we have been and it's complicated right now without me fully experiencing his character and being able to pick him apart outside of the reader inserts I've been reading lmao. it'll probably get worse as I watch the anime and develop more thoughts and feelings. also I've already talked about this on Twitter but his LOOK IN THE BEGINNING OF OVA EP 3?? HELLO????

god I fucking love you. you're so greasy and weird and creepy and fun and I'm GOING to make out with you

coughs. anyways.

i can also say that I've been wholeheartedly avoiding spoilers for the rest of the anime since I stopped on episode 4 WHICH I ALSO ENJOYED IMMENSELY BECAUSE HE HAS A BLACKBIRD?? A CUSTOMIZED HELLSING ORGANIZATION SR-71?? THIS DECADES OLD VAMPIRE EXISTING IN 1999 HAS HIS OWN PERSONAL MILITARY AIRCRAFT AND KNOWS HOW TO FLY IT?? HE CRASHES IT INTO A NAZI SHIP?? EVERYTHING HE RUINS TURNS INTO A BURNING CROSS!! HE ABSOLUTELY EVISCERATED EVERYONE ON THAT SHIP AND IT HAD ME LOSING MY MIND. I'm excited to be able to continue watching the anime and eventually finish it so that I can continue to be a stupid little pansexual mess of a goth

honorable mentions go to sir integra who I would be willing to cross oceans to just have her reject my marriage proposal and possibly have her threaten me with her saber or her gun idc whichever one is more convenient for her at the time. I just want her to slow dance with me in the moonlight and dip me down low in a kiss that we shouldn't be sharing

and pip bernadotte who is Such a good boy and I am going to hold his face in my hands and kiss and compliment him until he is nothing but a melted pile of affection and then braid his hair with ribbons and flowers and all of that wonderful stuff while he talks about everything he's ever experienced in life

okay thank you for reading and GOOD NIGHT LAS VEGAS!!!! *smashes a glass plate before I can be booed off the stage*

#asks #silvie tag #i dont even live in las vegas. anyways sorry this is so long #i had a bad night and day earlier so after my nap (post nap clarity) i am trying to feel better. and this made me feel better.#long post

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pellicano-sanguino · 5 years

Text

Since it’s October, I think it’s time for me to talk about vampires on my main blog again. To be fair, the subject will probably come up all year round, but during this month I feel it’s a good time for making several and longer posts.

Tonight I’d like to make a short rant post about one thing that I really hate in visual forms of vampire fiction (comics,movies,tv etc.). If you absolutely have to kill your female vampires (I’d prefer you don’t kill them at all, but if for storytelling purposes it can’t be avoided), then please do not make it look like a rape metaphor.

I was a young vampire lover before Twilight and True Blood made vampires cool again, so to get my fix of vampire fiction, I had to take what was available. The selection was scarce and it didn’t always match my tastes perfectly. The first time I gave manga a try was Hellsing. I know I’m going to get rocks thrown at me for dissing this one here, since this series is super popular. But you need to understand that while I love blood, I really, really don’t like gore. At all. Hellsing manga was way too overtly violent for my taste and I hated the character of Alucard, who seemed to me like some nerd’s childish power fantasy OC. I kept reading because I liked Seras and found Integra rather hot (look, I like crossdressing women, shut up). But then I got to the scene where Alucard kills the female vampire known as Rip van Winkle, and I was like “Well, the manga artist apparently doesn’t feel the need to hide the fact that he got his career started by drawing hentai.” Just looking at the page made me feel sick to my stomach, much more so than any of the previous gory deaths in the series. And that is because the rape metaphor wasn’t hidden at all.

Now I know killing a vampire of either sex has a chance of looking like a rape metaphor, since the most classic way to defeat a vampire is by impaling them. But there are still some small details that make it worse and turn it from just taking down a dangerous monster to killing a human-shaped creature and taking pleasure in its suffering. I would never trust a vampire hunter who enjoys his work. They give me the impression of violent men who are delighted that there now exists a type of woman they can now slaughter without mercy and still be considered ethically on the side of good.

Sometimes the vampire killers won’t show that they like what they’re doing, but their actions can still look like a rape to the audience. What methods you use for the killing act and how you frame the killing scene matter a lot. One thing that comes off as rape-like is having the vampire pinned down, having her scream and zooming in on her horrified face. Even if the killers don’t show they are into what they do as overtly as Alucard from Hellsing, making a big show about the suffering of the vampire turns the scene into torture porn for the audience.

Like this photo, from Dracula Prince of Darkness. I saw this screenshot in a book about vampire movies and felt the same sickness and nausea come over me again. They are pinning her down, she screams and her face has an expression of horror. To me, when I saw this photo, it looked like a fucking gang rape.

One more thing that makes vampire killings look like a rape is the trope of the killer stoicly looming over his victim as they are dying, looking at them. They don’t show excitement about the act of killing, remaining perfectly serious, but it reminds me of men choking women and looking down at them in disgust while they do it. It also brings to my memory the video one of our (fortunately very few) school shooters filmed before going to massacre everyone, where he put the camera on a low angle so that he looked down at it and pointed his gun at the viewer while telling what he was going to do, as if he was talking to a victim lying on the ground that he was going to shoot. I hate the trope of silently watching over your dying enemy so much. It disgusts me.

So, how to kill your female vampires and not make it look like a rape? I wish I had a good answer, but I don’t. The only advise I can give is either put them down swiftly and cleanly like dangerous wild beasts or let them die fighting honorably like a warrior.

I suppose I should give some examples of killing scenes that I think are done in good taste. I prefer amateur vampire hunters to professional ones, normal people who are forced to defend themselves when suddenly a threat of vampires comes into their lives.

One such example is the original Fright Night. Yes, I like this stupid, cheesy flick and refuse to be ashamed of it. I know the effects are laughable by today’s standards but they terrified me back when I saw this for the first time. The vampires in this film are male, so it’s a bit of a bad example to show how to not kill female vampires, but I wanted to mention Ed’s death scene, because it’s similar to the “watching silently while your enemy dies”-trope in theory but the tone is something completely different. It’s a perfect example of the fact that how you do a thing is more important than what you do. It’s the most memorable vampire death scene in any movie I’ve seen. In the form of a wolf Ed the vampire attacks Vincent the reluctant vampire hunter, but he miscalculates his leap and smashes into furniture, accidentally impaling himself with a broken table leg. His death is slow, as a wolf he whimpers in pain, and Vincent looks on, horrified at the sight of it. Then Ed begins to slowly turn back into human form, trying weakly to remove the shaft of wood, making pleading gestures towards Vincent. But Vincent knows he can’t do it, if he shows compassion and saves Ed, the vampire will not reward his kindness and will kill him. The emotions Vincent goes through during this make it a very intense scene. The more human-like Ed becomes, the harder it is for Vincent to resist the very humane instinct to answer a call for help.

Vincent did not enjoy watching a vampire die, nor did he stoicly stare at it while it was dying, he felt sorry for it and horrified at the thought of killing a creature that used to be human. When Ed resumes his human form in death, we are reminded of that fact - vampires aren’t born monsters, they are humans who fell victim to the curse of vampirism and as such, their original humanity should never be forgotten.

Besides death at the hand of vampire hunters who aren’t natural killers, I mentioned that I do respect vampires falling in honorable battle. As an example of this, I could mention the female vampire generals in Dracula’s army in Netflix’s Castlevania. The main characters barge in and engage in a fight scene, where all the generals are defeated (I was a bit disappointed they ended up being just whip fodder, they had cool designs). These are professional vampire hunters, but they don’t stop to admire their work, lingering the death scenes and looming over their fallen enemies. They are efficient and swift, they make quick, clean kills and move on. I was happy that neither of the female vampires got impaled, and their deaths weren’t made into torture porn. However, I must voice my concern regarding this show’s future.

I worry about season three. Namely, I’m worried how they are going to handle Carmilla. She is either going to get killed or forced to be Dracula’s servant. Being a big bad, she won’t get a swift, clean death like the female vampire generals. I’m afraid they are going to draw out her death scene and have some male character (either Hector, Isaac or Dracula) loom over her while she dies and be like “This is what bitches get for betraying the fan favourite male characters.” Despite my dislike for gore, I’ve liked the show very much so far and would be so disappointed for them to stoop to rape metaphor killing scene, but I’ve seen the patterns, I know where they are leading us. They’ve painted Carmilla as oh-so-evil in hopes that fans will think she deserves what she gets when they eventually kill her. They will want fans to cheer on while she is being killed in the most brutal way possible. Or spared and forced to serve the resurrected Dracula (a thing I hated about her in the games). So, I look forward to the third season with mixed feelings.

#vampire

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duhragonball · 3 years

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Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 57-61

This is the “Wizardry” arc.

I don’t know why it just now occurred to me, but there’s more than a hint of the Joker in the Major’s character. He’s always grinning, and now we have him dancing on a blimp while enemy helicopters are firing on him.

The Doctor shits a brick over this, because the arrival of the Vatican’s 9th Crusade force is the first serious resistance that Millennium has encountered since they invaded London. He begs the Major to come back inside and move their airship to safety, but the Major is too preoccupied with dancing like a goofball. Up to this point, the audience must have been eager to see someone take a poke at the Major. I know I was, if only to see what sort of powers he had. I mean, he hasn’t aged a day, but he doesn’t seem to be a vampire, so what’s his deal?

But before we can find out, the helicopter that was about to shoot him gets torn apart by magic wires. Wait... that sounds like...

DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNNNN!

Yeah, Walter’s switched sides. He’s also younger-looking too, so this must be what Schrodinger was talking about when he told Zorin that the Major and Doctor had a new “toy”. They were too busy turning him into a vampire to bother punishing Zorin for disobeying orders. In the previous chapter, the Major asked about using Walter (without mentioning him by name), and the Doc said something about the rushed nature of the job. Presumably, the Doctor was doing the artificial vampire treatment on Walter all through the night, while Seras and the Wild Geese were defending the mansion.

What I’ve never been sure of is whether this was a spur-of-the-moment decision, or if Millennium approached Walter a long time ago, and Walter’s been their mole in Hellsing throughout this entire story. The Major’s line here seems to suggest this was a long-term plan. “I had already decided half a century ago. The Death’s Head [the Nazi SS skull insignia] is a fitting match for the Angel of Death [Walter’s old Hellsing codename].”

But that could just mean the Major thought of the idea way back then. He saw Walter and Alucard wrecking all his stuff in World War II and thought “This kid would be a good recruit someday!” But when did he make the pitch? Was it last night? Before the Valentines’ attack? Before Arthur Hellsing’s death? Before the end of the war?

I think it’s reasonable to assume that Walter was on board at least before he parted ways with Integra back in Chapter 39. The Captain suddenly showed up, and he told Integra to take the car and flee, because he wasn’t sure he could defeat the Captain and he didn’t want her around in case he failed. But it’s much more likely that he only said this to keep her from finding out that he had a rendezvous with the Major, who arrived soon after.

Now that I think about it, this may be the only reason the Major sent his troops to capture Integra. He wasn’t particularly concerned about her, but he knew Walter would be with her, and he wanted to get him to the Doctor as quickly as possible. This may also be why he ordered Zorin Blitz to hold off on attacking the Hellsing mansion. If Walter had been inside, Zorin wouldn’t have known about his allegiance, and it’s very likely that one might have killed the other.

Actually, yeah, this is why the Major fired those rockets on the Hellsing mansion in the first place. If Walter was there, he would know the attack was coming, and use the attack to cover his departure. Then Zorin probably would have been ordered to give him a lift back to the Doctor. But Walter wasn’t home, and Zorin didn’t wait for orders, and Seras turned out to be much too powerful for her.

Wow, this is like peeling an onion. That must be what the Major meant when he chided Zorin for costing him “precious soldiers.” Her reckless tactics got her and her company killed, but she might have also wrecked his plans to extract Walter, and it’s only a matter of luck that he happened to be at the naval base instead of the mansion. And we know that Zorin knew nothing about Walter, because Schrodinger only hinted about him without mentioning his name. If Zorin had known, he would have just said “Yeah, we’re turning Walter into a vampire right now, no thanks to you.”

Anyway, Walter’s betrayal fascinates me, but also fuck you, Walter, you traitorous piece of shit.

Speaking of treachery, the 9th Crusaders are busy shooting the shit out of London, killing anything that survived the previous night. Millennium is a threat, sure, but Maxwell sees this as an opportunity to conquer England for the Catholic church. I’m not really sure “conquer” is meant literally. I think it’s more like, Hellsing and the Iscariot Organization have some treaty, and I think that treaty applies to their respective governments as well, but the civilian governments might know nothing about it. Maybe?

What I’m saying is that I think this 9th Crusade is supposed to end with the overthrow of the Anglican Church in the United Kingdom, with a new Catholic-leaning regime in its place, so that the Pope would have the same influence over the U.K. that he apparently has over continental Europe.

In that sense, I’m pretty sure Hellsing’s version of John Paul II didn’t order Maxwell to gun down civilians and shout “Die did die die!” over a loudspeaker. He may not have been terribly worried about Protestant casualties, but there’s plenty of Catholics living in London, after all. Maxwell doesn’t seem to care, and I think it’s clear that he’s exceeding his mandate.

And Alexander Anderson knows it. I think the whole Catholic contingent in this story knows that Maxwell’s gone too far, but Anderson’s the only one honest enough to say it out loud. Anderson’s group is still escorting Integra home when the 9th Crusade attacks, and Integra accuses Maxwell of betraying her, but Anderson remarks that such backstabbing is typical in war. So it’s not Maxwell’s duplicity that offends him, it’s the way he’s going about it. When Anderson kills people, he’s doing it to serve God, and God alone. Maxwell’s not serving God at all.

“All you’re serving is his power!!” Anderson says. By “his” does Anderson mean Satan? Millennium? Mars, the god of war? Maybe all three, or maybe it doesn’t matter. I always thought Maxwell was serving his own power, but the point is that he’s not doing God’s will by any stretch of the imagination.

But the others still respect the chain of command. Archbishop Maxwell is in charge of the 9th Crusade and the Iscariot Organization, and Heinkel reminds Anderson that they were ordered to capture Sir Integra, not escort her home. So they all draw their guns on Integra, resulting in the most Integra panel ever.

Then Seras shows up and beats all their asses. Yeaaaaahhhhh! Seras, you’re doing amazing, sweetie!

Everyone’s like “Oh shit, it’s Seras Victoria!” like they’re gonna try to fight her, but Anderson can tell that Seras is now way out of their league. Remember, this group of Iscariots fought some Millennium troops and half of them were killed. Seras tore through about as many Milennium troops without much hassle at all, and that was before she drank Pip’s blood.

And Anderson spares some words of praise for his foe. I guess this is like the owner of a Ford truck exchanging compliments with the owner of a Chevy truck. “You’re a rat bastard, Chevy man,” he says, “but those are some fine Truck Nutz” you have dangling from your tow hitch.” They’re never gonna be pals, but real recognizes real.

Also, I just think Seras looks super extra-cool in this moment. Anderson kind of treated her like a joke before, but now he sees her as a peer. She looks so dark and haunted now, and at the same time she’s more comfortable and sure of herself than we’ve ever seen her. Seras never set out to become a vampire, but she’s still found herself on this path. It’s scary and beautiful at the same time.

But never MIND that SHIT, here comes...

No, not Maxwell, Alucard is returning! I just used this page because Maxwell’s reaction to the news is more interesting than gloomy images of a ruined carrier drifting up the Thames river.

There’s a moment in the Hellsing Ultimate anime, right after Seras and Anderson turn to look, where she’s got this big grin on her face, and she goes “I can feel it. He’s returning.” It’s not in the manga, maybe because it’s not that important, but I’m a sucker for any Seras content, and I love that moment because she can sense Alucard at a distance now, and it’s a very pleasant experience. For Seras, I mean. I suspect it’s actually a very bonechilling, bloodcurdling sensation, but Seras has gone Full Goth, so she digs that sort of thing now.

I don’t know how the hell Anderson can sense Alucard, though. Maybe being a Regenerator gave him super smelling powers, like Wolverine.

And even the Major is pleased, because now we finally have all the major players in the same city. Not sure why the Captain rates an appearance here, when he never says a word, but we’ll run with it.

So, up to now, we’ve had these 9th Crusaders lined up against Millennium soldiers, each cosplaying as troops from old wars. I guess Millennium’s SS uniforms have hint of legitimacy to them, as these guys really were part of the SS back in World War II, before they became vampires. But the point stands, they’re walking anachronisms and they know it.

But then Alucard jumps in between them, practically giddy for a chance to participate in this war. Not to be outdone, Anderson and the Captain perform similar Iron Man landings on the same street. When I watched the OVA, this was about the point I started to wonder if I had missed something about the Captain, because this story has been hinting that he’s like Millennium’s strongest guy, and somehow on par with Anderson and Alucard, even though he hasn’t said anything or done anything this entire time. This would be like if Superman and Goku squared off in the middle of London, and then some rando OC from DeviantArt walked up to join them. Like, we know Al and we know Andy, but who the hell is this dude? I don’t care if he can hang with these two, they should have established that earlier.

Al asks for orders, and Integra makes this big production out of “Kill everybody with a racist uniform and a funny accent.” Okay, fine, but this is a lot of bad guys. How is even Alucard supposed to take them all down? And this leads us to Control Art Restriction Level Zero.

I’m just gonna cut to the chase, because this post is running long enough already. Al used “Level 1″ to make short work of Luke Valentine and Rip van Winkle, and maybe Dandyman as well, I’m not sure. Recall that nothing could stop Alucard on the H.M.S. Eagle. The Blackbird crash, the Millennium soldiers, Rip’s magic bullets, none of it. So he activates “Level 0″, which ought to be even more gonzo overpowered, and starts reciting this alchemical poem which I really out to cover in some other post, and all the bad guys panic and start attacking him.

To all the smartasses who say “Well why don’t the bad guys attack them during the transformation?” there you go. AGAIN. This sort of thing happens a lot more than you’d think, and it never works, because anime/manga creators are more self-aware than you’d think. It never works, because if it did, then it wouldn’t be “attacking a character in mid-transformation”. It would just be “killing a guy before he could do his big move.” So when a character does a big climactic thing like this, there’s really only two options. 1) Have the other characters stand back and watch, or 2) have them TRY to stop it, only to fail, because it’s too late for that.

Anyway, I’m skipping all of that and just showing the end result of Alucard’s power-up. The bad guys tear his body apart, but it doesnt’ matter because that never worked on him before, and then all these undead men crawl out of the black ether that seems to make up Al’s body. Just a veritable flood of humans, all washing out of him like a tide of death.

Anderson starts to figure it out when he recognizes some of the uniforms on these creatures. And if that’s not enough, Integra explains it for Seras. When vampires drink blood, they absorb the very essence of the living being who contained it. “To suck blood is to make the whole existence of a life one’s own.” That’s why Zorin saw Pip’s memories when she tried to read Seras’ mind. By drinking Pip’s blood, Seras has taken on Pip’s soul as well. But that’s just one guy. Alucard’s been drinking blood for over 500 years. And each one he consumes becomes another soul in his personal army.

I’m going to guess that Alucard didn’t always have the ability to manifest all of his victims as familiars like this. Otherwise, how in the hell was Abraham van Helsing able to subdue him a century earlier? The Hellsing family did stuff to enhance and improve Alucard’s powers, so maybe this was one of them. They gave him the means to weaponize all of his victims’ souls, for use in large scale battles like this one.

And I think this might be why Seras is trembling in this scene, because she knows that this ability was passed down to her when Alucard turned her into a vampire. Or maybe, she’s realizing that she’s got something in common with all of those dead people in Al’s army. Alucard made her a vampire, sure, but he still drank her blood, so doesn’t that mean there’s a Seras Victoria creature down there, standing alongside all the Janissaries, Wallachians, and everyone else Alucard has consumed?

Something I picked up on was that this is what all of those eyes in Alucard’s design are supposed to represent. When he used Level 1 you’d see all these eyes staring out from the shadows, and now Level 0 has brought out all these dead people, like they’re the ones the eyes belong to. Although, most of them don’t actually have eyes, just smoke trailing from their eye sockets. So maybe that’s symbolic as well.

There’s also horses in this mess, and that makes me wonder if Alucard drank the horses’ blood along with the riders. Anyway, Archbishop Maxwell observes all of this from his Popemobile and finally confronts the elephant in the room: Alucard is Dracula, like the Dracula. I don’t think it was ever meant to be a secret, but Kouta Hirano’s been dancing around it this whole time, without ever spelling it out, and now he’s finally spelling it out.

I think the only one who might not know is Seras? Someone might have filled her in off-panel, or maybe she figured it out, since it’s not exactly hard, but I don’t know.

So yeah, somewhere in this arc, they do a headcount of all three sides of this thing. Millennium has “572″ soldiers left, and the 9th Crusade has “2875″, while Hellsing, of course, is down to just 3. But Alucard has more than evened the playing field, since he can do this trick and spawn an invincible army. I’m more confused how Millennium lost 428 guys in one night. Seras killed a lot of them, but not that many. Sir Penwood got some and Anderson killed a bunch of them, but not hundreds of them. The Crusaders could have taken out that many, but they haven’t been here very long.

But yeah, they try to form a Phalanx to hold off Alucard’s forces, and it does not work at all. You can’t kill these things because they’re already dead. right? I mean, maybe the Crusaders have holy weapons that can destroy these things, but there’s just too many of them. And the Millennium troops don’t even have holy weapons, so they’re completely fucked.

But what about the helicopters? Well, Alucard drank the blood of Dandyman and Rip Van Winkle too, and their powers are now a part of him, which makes quick work of nearby aircraft. I like how these two look the same as before, but they never say a word. I think they’re the only ones with normal eyes, although Alucard’s shadow tentrils are still fused with their bodies.

The Crusaders’ battle lines are broken, and they beg for Maxwell to order a retreat before they’re all slaughtered. But Maxwell refuses to give up. He’s drunk on his new power, and so he can’t accept that he’s been one-upped so easily. Then the helicopter carrying his Popetruck gets destroyed, and he somehow crashes without getting hurt.

And now he’s got a front-row seat to the same hell his troops are experiencing, but he still gloats, because somehow Alucard’s soldiers can’t get through the glass. He refers to “tektite” reinforcement, and that’s dumb because Tektites are just an enemy in the Legend of Zelda. I’m onto your ass, Hirano.

But then Anderson throws a knife at the glass, and that breaks it, so maybe it was magic glass that only a blessed weapon could pierce? All that really matters is that Anderson has finally turned on Maxwell, and Maxwell is doomed.

Alucard’s dead warriors hoist him up on pikes, fitting for Vlad the Impaler, and Maxwell realizes that he’s going to die alone in a foreign land. The moral is: Don’t start none, won’t be none.

Then this happens, and I’m pretty sure Dark Horse Comics goofed when they scanned this manga for the digital edition. I’d contact them to complain, but they don’t even sell Hellsing anymore because they lost the license years ago. I don’t think a lot of stuff happened on Pages 62-63 of Volume 8 of the Hellsing manga, but I can’t tell. I’m guessing just Maxwell finally succumbing to his injuries while Anderson pontificates about why he had to do it to him. And really, Anderson hardly needs to explain his actions in this case. Maxwell sucked.

Moving on, Anderson contacts all Vatican forces and tells them to withdraw. They can’t beat Alucard, Maxwell is dead, and there’s nothing more they can do here. However, Anderson chooses to stay behind and take on Alucard.

This is Anderson’s reasoning: By releasing all of Alucard’s stolen lives to fight as his army, Alucard has left his person vulnerable to attack. So Andy thinks that if he gets close enough to Alucard, he can finally have a chance to defeat him. If he’s right, this might be his only chance to try.

Anderson further speculates that this may have been the Major’s plan from the beginning. Invade London, force Alucard to use this Level 0 ability, all to leave Alucard vulnerable to assassination. Perhaps the Major was even counting on Anderson to see this opening and take it.

More to the point, I think Anderson kind of has to fight Alucard because it’s the only way his people can escape London. Integra’s orders were clear: None of these invaders leaves the island alive. Alucard would continue hunting down the Crusaders whether they retreat or fight back, so some force has to stay and keep them occupied to save the rest.

Anyway, now we get to the actual part with this scene, where Alucard kneels before his master and she welcomes him back. It’s pretty satisfying to see all these butthole soldiers finally get what’s coming to them.

I’m just gonna put up the entire reunion moment because it’s so sweet. Interesting how Seras sort of reverts to her old self when Alucard returns. For all that badass power she gained from drinking Pip, she’s still uneasy around Alucard. But he missed her and I think that look on his face tells the whole story. He of all people can tell that Seras has finally taken the fateful step to becoming a “true vampire”.

I do think it’s kind of interesting how Seras continues to address Alucard as “Master”. He promised her way back in Volume 1 that she’d no longer be a servant if she drank blood of her own free will, but maybe it’s more complicated than that. Or, perhaps she still calls him “Master” out of respect, rather than any sort of blood bond or whatever you want to call it. It’s like how Anakin continued to call Obi-Wan “Master” in “Revenge of the Sith”, even though he had been promoted to Jedi Knight. The relationship is still there, even if it’s no longer official.

I’m a big, dumb Seras fanboy, so you’d better believe I think about this sort of thing a lot. I’m not real crazy about Alucard/Seras shipping, although I do sort of get it. I’m really not interested in Seras in some freaky-deaky sex kind of way. Take the D/s stuff to the Alucard/Integra room where it belongs. No, there’s something very wholesome between Alucard and Seras, and I could talk about it all damn day. And why not? It’s my blog, and I’ve got the time. So let’s start with--

Um, excuse you?!

Okay, so Anderson isn’t waiting around to take on Alucard, so I guess we’re doing this now.

And whether or not the Major planned for this to happen, he certainly approves...

#2021hellsingliveblog #hellsing #alucard #seras victoria #alexander anderson #the major #the captain #sir integra hellsing #walter c dornez #enrico maxwell #the doctor #warrant officer shrodinger #is that everybody?#i think so #i'm not gonna tag dandy and rip because they're dead

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duhragonball · 3 years

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Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 35-40

This is the one-part “Xanado”, and the five-part “Final Fantasy”.

So last time, we saw a Millennium team led by Rip Van Winkle take control of a British aircraft carrier, which forced Hellsing to send Alucard to deal with the situation. He accomplished his mission, but now he’s stuck on the boat by himself, because vampires can’t cross running water. I suppose Hellsing would have arranged a second aircraft to pick him up, but they’ve got bigger problems on their hands. Just as Alucard finishes off Winkle, reports come in of communication breakdowns all over Great Britain. Military, intelligence, police, all out of reach. Integra recognizes this as Millennium’s next move. By taking out the communications networks, they ensure a clear shot for their invasion force to move in. But how did they pull this off?

Simple, they did it the same way they arranged all those vampire attacks during the summer, and the Valentine assault on Hellsing Manor, and the Brazillian Police raid on Alucard’s hotel suite, and Lt. Winkle’s takeover of the H.M.S Eagle. They convinced a bunch of Brits to betray their country in exchange for being turned into vampires. The only real surprise here is the sheer breadth of treachery this time around, as Millennium must have created dozens of sleeper agents throughout the country, each tasked with hijacking or sabotaging key defense systems. And Vice-Admiral Penwood’s command is no exception. Those a-holes who gave Integra a hard time earlier? Turns out they were in the tank for Millennium all along, and now that the invasion force has arrived, they’ve revealed their true colors. At first, they’re pretty thrilled to have captured Integra Hellsing herself, but she calmly informs them that they’re minor league vampires at best, and they’ve foolishly revealed themselves in the presence of expert vampire hunters.

And Walter calmly slices them all up with his magic wire powers. Cool.

But that’s not going to stop the one thousand vampire soldiers currently heading into British airspace. I think the most striking visual in this part of the story are the expressions of sheer excitement on these guys’ faces. They’re just so thrilled for what’s about to happen, and when you consider how long they’ve waited, it only makes sense. It’s almost infectious, until you recall just what it is they’ve come here to do.

Meanwhile, Alexander Anderson watches the Millennium blimps roll in. Oh, right, I forgot about him. Back in chapter 25 he was still in Brazil, trying to locate Millennium’s HQ, but all he found were human agents trying to stop him, which he found rather insulting. Then Maxwell contacted him to explain what he learned from the summit with Hellsing, and he ordered Maxwell to come to London in preparation for a great crusade. But unlike the Crusads of old, their enemy is not Allah, but Mars, since Millennium is so devoted to war. Anyway, Anderson’s here and ready to rock.

Meanwhile, the people of London finally spot these blimps rolling in, and it’s pretty horrifying stuff. We’ve already seen the carnage that can be wrought by a few vampires, and now it’s a thousand vampires, and they’re all Nazi soldiers to boot. The sense of dread here is just palpable.

Aboard the flagship (flagblimp?) the Major starts giving his men their orders, and they even have a stupid invasion handbook for the occasion. Warrant Officer Schrodinger lost his and has to share with the Captain. I suppose this is intended to alleviate the tension, except, no, it really doesn’t. These guys are all horrible monsters in every sense of the word, and they’re about to do awful, unspeakable things. Schrodinger’s comic relief moments only make it worse.

The Major gives an extra-long speech for the occasion, basically outlining all the buildings and people in London that he wants his men to destroy (tl;dr: “all of them”). He then assigns Lt. Zorin Blitz to take one of the blimps with a contingent of men and head for the Hellsing mansion on the outskirts of town. She figures that’ll be an easy gig, since Alucard is away, but the Major warns her not to underestimate Integra Hellsing or Seras Victoria. He doesn’t exactly explain his concerns about Seras, but the mere fact that she’s Alucard’s servant is probably reason enough to be mindful, and Integra is Alucard’s master, and she comes from a long line of vampire hunters, so the Major considers them both to be archenemies on the same level as Al himself, despite their inexperience.

So the Major explicitly orders Zorin to go to the mansion but not to attack. Her task is to observe an wait for the Major’s order. This will be important later.

Then the Major orders a bunch of V-1 and V-2 rockets launched at London. I mean, geez, were the hundreds of vampire soldiers not enough? Did he think he needed to soften the city up first?

Then the troops jump out of the blimp to begin their assault. They look like they’re parachuting down, but I don’t think any of them are wearing parachutes, since they shouldn’t need them. It’s almost pathetic the way they talk to each other with all of this professional military talk and congratulating each other on a successful landing. London is virtually defenseless and this is a slaughter, not a battle, but they’ve been psyched up for this for 55 years.

Back at Penwood’s base, Integra warns him to flee before the main invasion force arrives, but Penwood insists on remaining at his post. He confesses that he’s completely incompetent, and he only has this position because of his inherited title, but he refuses to abandon his duty, since that’s the only honorable thing he can do. Integra leaves him a gun with silver bullets and wishes him well as she heads for her own duty. Penwood orders his men to evacuate, but they refuse, since Penwood can’t actually operate any of the equipment here.

So now we get an extended sequence of Milennium marching through London, basically sacking the city and slaughtering anyone they meet. This is accompanied by the lyrics to “Akuma Stocking” which I think was used in the anime adaptation as well. There’s a lot of gory scenes here, but the three main visuals that stuck with me in the anime are these:

First, this motherfucker eating a baby.

Second, all the Londinian civilians they bite end up rising up and transforming into ghouls, who then join in the slaughter. It’s easy to forget about ghouls at this point, but Millennium never forgot. Their artificial vampires can’t turn virgins into new vampires, and I think that may be by design. They were counting on their victims rising up to compound the horror.

Third, just a lot of bayonet-usage going on here. You’d think they’d be content to bite and shoot people, but these guys seem to enjoy hoisting up their prey to show them off. It’s a horrific nightmare and there’s no end in sight.

Integra and Walter speed home as fast as they can, but they stop to take out a Millennium soldier in a shootout with London police. She can’t save the cops, but she does avenge them.

Back at the Naval base, Penwood sends out a final transmission as he expects the enemy to enter his post at any moment. His men are all dead, with the last one shooting himself to avoid becoming a ghoul. He tells anyone who can hear him to resist and do their duty. Then he recalls his first meeting with the young Sir Integra. Back then, he found it ridiculous that a 12 year old should be in charge of Hellsing, but she quickly puts him in his place, and established that she would be asking him for favors from then on.

But Penwood won’t be granting any favors to the Kraut bastards who storm his post. Instead he sets off the explosives they set up earlier and I guess they all die together. I wouldn’t have thought an explosion would kill these vampires, but they are a lot less formidable than Dandyman or the Valentines. Luke couldn’t regenerate his foot, for example.

When Integra shot that one vampire, she gave away her position, and now Millennium is on her trail. Just when it seems they have a clear shot at escape, someone blocks their path, and Walter tells Integra to take the wheel and find another route. He’s going to stay behind to fight this guy, but he doesn’t think he can hold him off for long.

Integra does as he asks, but orders him to return alive “at all costs.” Hmm.

Walter uses his wire power, but it turns out this is the Captain, and he’s apparently powerful enough to foil his attack. Walter recognizes him, presumably from when he and Alucard fought the proto-Millennium in the 1940s.

And then the Major flies along in his blimp and confirms it.

Meanwhile, Integra gives the Last Battalion a merry chase, but eventually she crashes the car and seems to be cornered. One asshole tries to get closer to finish her off, but she decapitates him with her sword.

His comrades accuse her of being a “sore loser” and tell her to give up, but she mocks them all for being cowards who surrendered their humanity. She’s hardcore, she’s hardcore.

But before she can fight all these vampires alone, somebody comes along and throws a bunch of blessed bayonets at them. These did a number on Alucard and Seras, but they didn’t cause any lasting harm. Seras was even able to pull them out without too much trouble. But this shithead just disintigrates on the spot. Remember, the Last Battalion’s main advantage is their number. Individually, they’re not terribly impressive, at least as vampires go.

But yeah, it’s Alexander Anderson, along with his two sidekicks, Heinkel Wolfe and Yumiko Takagi, the stars of Kouta Hirano’s earlier manga, “Cross-Fire”. We’ve seen Heinkel in Hellsing before, but I think this is Yumie’s debut here. They chastise Anderson for interfering, since they were only sent to observe, but Anderson is too fired up by Integra’s fighting spirit, and he wants to kill some vampires, dammit.

Turns out there’s quite a few of these Iscariot guys here, maybe all of them, but Anderson starts doing a whole routine with them, as they chant all this stuff about how they’re assassins in the tradition of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Christ. I’m not sure I get much of this, but it’s nice that Hirano put some thought into Section XIII as the super-secret death squad of this fantasy version of the Vatican.

And that’s all we have for now.

#2021 hellsingliveblog #hellsing #sir integra hellsing #alexander anderson #walter c dornez #seras victoria #sir shelby penwood #the major #the doctor #warrant officer shrodinger #the captain #zorin blitz #heinkel wolfe #yumiko takagi

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duhragonball · 3 years

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Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 14-19

This is the “Elevator Action” arc, presumably named after the 1983 video game of the same name. I’m pretty sure a lot of Hellsing arcs are named for video games, which makes me wonder about the ones that aren’t. Like, is “Master of Monster” a video game that I just haven’t heard of?

The title fits, in the sense that there’s an elevator in the story, but we don’t spend much time there. Anyway, this thing starts off with Alucard checking into a ritzy hotel in Rio de Janiero, and his only luggage is two big-ass coffins covered in sheets. What happens next might surprise you...

For some reason, the guy at the front desk objects to Al’s luggage, not because they’re coffins, but because they’re just really big? Like, he’s not even remotely suspicious, even though the sheets sort of hint that they’re trying to smuggle something in. No, this guy just thinks it’s too big. So Alucard uses vampire hypnotic powers or whatever to Jedi Mind Trick him. Pip Bernadotte thinks it’s a “sex beam”, and yeah, this dude sure looks like he got hit with a sex beam.

Seras is part of this mission, but she can’t travel over running water, so she had to make the transatlantic flight in her coffin. Apparently they tricked her into this, which I don’t understand, but okay.

And Al makes a big production over the debut of his own coffin, because he’s a diva like that.

During the trip, Seras fell asleep, and she dreams of a visitation by the guy who played Baron Harkonnen in the Dune movie. I think? This is all a big gag revolving around her gun being named after a guy in Dune. Then Alucard wakes her up because there’s helicopters and soldiers surrounding their hotel, and he thinks it’s awesome.

A bunch of this arc is panels and panels of commando goons taking up positions and getting ready. A Brazilian newscaster is there covering the story, which he says is a hostage situation. The authorities seem to think Alucard and Seras massacred a bunch of people in the hotel, and have hostages on the top floor. It’s weird that they would even have a photo of Seras for this, since no one saw her. As for Alucard, they identify him as “J.H. Brenner”, which I believe was an alias Dracula used in the Bram Stoker novel. He shoulda spelled it backwards. “Yes, I have a reservation for R. E. Nnerbhj”.

Also, these photos are just panels from the Valentine Bros. arc. That’s Seras killing ghouls in her berzerker rage, and that’s Alucard chillaxing while he waits for Luke Valentine to find him. How would a Brazilian TV station have these? I’m starting to think this comic about gun-toting vampires might not be on the level.

So now all the main cast can see this situation unfold on international television. Pip watches from his crappy one-star hotel room, Integra, Walter, and the Convention of Twelve watch from Jolly Old England, and Millennium is watching from... well, somewhere.

They clearly orchestrated this whole situation, which means they not only knew about Alucard’s mission, but they had a whole thing prepared for him. As far as they’re concerned, this is just a test to see if Alucard will kill humans as readily as he hunts monsters.

What follows is, well, a bloodbath. The police try to enter Alucard’s hotel room, only to find his coffin, engraved with “The BIrd of Hermes is my name, Eating my wings to make me tame.” While they try to suss out that riddle, Alucard shows up and demands they stay away from his coffin, so they shoot at him for like three pages in a row. But bullets don’t work on Alucard, so he just grows back a new everything and starts slaughtering these guys.

The last guy in the room is so horrified that he just gives up and shoots himself, which actually shocks, then enrages Alucard.

Then he tells Seras to come out of a cupboard he hid her in, and he gets all upset when she objects to his killing humans. “Look, this is war,” he tells her, but that look he gives her at the end kind of suggests that he knows she has a point. Those cops were never any match for him. The two of them could have easily escaped this penthouse without a scratch. Alucard’s ethics may excuse this kind of overkill in the line of duty, but he knows it’s not right.

This scene also marks the first (only?) time Seras defies him. There’s a part in the Gonzoverse series where Alucard is about to execute a human reporter who Knows Too Much, so she pulls a gun on him, but then Integra shows up and is like “No, it’s cool, you can kill this lady, idgaf.” I guess that whole moment mirrors this one pretty well now that I write it out. Seras doesn’t like how this is playing out. She joined Hellsing to fight vampires, not human police officers, but she still follows Alucard’s lead in the end. So is he influencing her, or is she influencing him? It’s kind of hard to tell.

And maybe Seras really did make an impression on Al, because the next thing he does is call Integra to report in and confirm his orders. She told him “Search and Destroy” before he left, but that was before all these human dupes shows up at his doorstep. He’s willing and able to kill them without regret, but he wants to know if Integra is cool with it, since she’s the one calling the shots. But Integra holds firm and insists that nothing has changed. She looks resolute here, but leading up to this moment she was pretty anxious about what Alucard was going to do with all these humans.

So why is Walter so giddy about this? Is he just proud to see his commander displaying this ruthless leadership style? Or is it something more? After she hangs up, she asks Walter if she made the right call, but he declines to give an opinion, since he’s just the butler.

I’m not sure Seras was privy to any of this, since she was preparing the coffins for transport while Al was on the phone. He orders her to take the coffins to the roof and steal a helicopter to escape. While she does this...

Alucard leaves the suite and heads down to the front door of the hotel. There’s more cops in the hallway waiting for him, but he just mows them down the same way he did the ones in his suite.

Back to Millennium, their leader, known only as “The Major”, is now satisfied with the knowledge that Alucard can and will kill humans that get in the way of his mission. But he sees no reason to prolong this battle, so he orders his man in the field, Tubalcain Alhambra, to put this to an end.

Oh, and here’s the elevator. The cops scramble inside and try to close the doors to escape Alucard, but he sex beams one of them to hit the “door open” button, which gives him just enough time to get inside. He kills them all, then emerges on the ground floor and kills the cops there to make his way to the entrance. Along the way, he tosses some of their bodies out the windows, and they land on nearby flagpoles, which impale their corpses like pikes. Because he’s Vlad the Impaler, get it?

And finally Tubalcain Alhambra reveals himself. He calls himself “The Dandyman”, and he has card powers. Is he anything like D’arby the Elder from JoJo? Well, he’s got a vest, so maybe. He explains that he manipulated the authorities into sending those cops into the hotel. All he had to do was promise them eternal life. They didn’t hurt Alucard, but they did get him to waste a bunch of his ammunition. Maybe all of it, since I’m pretty sure Al never shoots Dandyman during this fight. See? Seras had the right idea after all.

Never mind, he does shoot him. Also these two hit a lot of innocent bystanders while they fight. It’s worth noting that Dandyman seems to have a lot of the same abilities Alucard expected from Luke Valentine during their battle. Luke thought he was hot shit, but he couldn’t regenerate or transform himself. But it looks like Tubalcain can shrug off gunfire and turn his whole body into playing cards.

While all of this vampire fightin’ is a-goin’ on, Pip Bernadotte infiltrates the bad guys’ command post, shoots all of the crooked authorities in league with Dandyman, and then blows the whole thing up for good measure.

Oh, and here’s the third (and final?) Cross-Fire backup. Bishop Maxwell gets injured during a pagan cult tries to assassinate the Pope, so he sends Heinkel Wolfe and Yumiko Takagi to go to Wales and slaughter their entire congregation. And they do. These Cross-Fire stories just don’t hold up. It’s two overzealous religious fanatics killing other fanatics, except they always have the firepower and the element of surprise, so there’s no suspense or tension to any of it.

Back to the Dandyman fight, well... wait, we gotta go through a flashback, first.

The last installment opens with young Integra learning about vampires from her father, Arthur Hellsing. He quizzes her about why vampires are so feared, and the answer is that vampires are powerful, and they’re also vicious and aware of their own power. So in close-quarters they’ll tear a human to pieces. And another monster wouldn’t? I’m not sure I understand his point.

Back to the fight, Dandyman seems to have Alucard in a bit of trouble, because his cards are razor sharp and once they cut Al, he can’t recover from the wounds so easily. Fortunately, Seras shows up to provide a helpful diversion. And by “diversion”, I mean, shooting enormous shells at Dandyman.

And that gives Alucard a chance to get the drop on him. He breaks Dandy’s leg, splits his left arm in half, longways, and then drinks his blood. Also, Millennium does that self-destruct thing on Dandyman, so he goes up in flames. This is about as defeated as a bad guy can get.

And then Pip shows up in a helicopter, I guess the same one Seras was ordered to steal, since they have the coffins ready to go. But Alucard is in no hurry to withdraw, because he’s just so gosh darn excited to be fighting this Millennium group. They’re bloodthirsty, violent maniacs, just like him, so it’s perfect. Or is it...

#2021hellsingliveblog #hellsing #alucard #seras victoria #tubalcain alhambra #pip bernadotte #sir integra hellsing #walter c dornez #yumiko takagi #the major #the captain #the doctor #but not the dr who doctor #the hellsing doctor #... you know what i'm not gonna bother tagging that guy

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