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krewekreep · 7 months

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After the Night Ends Chapter 1

3K Words. Alucard X OC!Reader. Reader is non binary with a femme body. AU but contains lore from Castlevania & Castlevania: Nocturne. Takes place during the last episode and goes from there

Angst, Estranged Lovers AU, Soulmate AU, Alucard is a reclusive, flirtatious snarky brat. Not 18+ yet but following chapters may and will be properly tagged as such. So indulgent I’m adding a soundtrack. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi Love.

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚. ༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚. ༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤

Your estranged love materialized out of thin air. A ghost of his former self; a slimmed figure, stark white hair, pearlescent pale skin. His eyes a hollow but peering yellow. Your heart beat beyond sound, a thunderous full body vibration. Although in mid-air piercing his sleek ornate sword through Drolta’s chest, you could do nothing more but falter in stability at his appearance. “Adrian…” you mumbled low. Richter took in your surprise realizing you had not been truthful of your affiliation with Dracula. Or rather, your affiliation was a lot more intimate than you let on. Much of your facade fell as Drolta’s screech and outreached hand towards you gave no fear. Not only because your Adrian was immaculate with his weapon, or the fact he would never let anything happen to you—you could handle yourself beyond compare.

For the sake of achieving your desire of reuniting with your love you found yourself amongst these well-meaning youth of tomorrow. Disguising your age was not difficult at this point in your travels but faking your background became harder as the old world you knew was vastly changed. You had to learn now, with your darker complexion, and couple hundred years from your original background, how to navigate the questions of who you were and where you came from.

The days of knowing the love of your life as Alucard, fighting and joking alongside Trevor and Sypha were long gone. You had already joined them close to the end of their respective voyages latching onto Alucard because of your shared loneliness and troubled background. Admittedly, you wanted to snatch Adrian away into the darkness to confirm he’s the man who’s dangling in the air as if an ethereal marionette. Yet, in a way he was nothing as you remembered. The soft peach of his warm skin, his lively almost rose golden tresses, the breadth of his shoulders—all replaced by a more demure, reclusive, cold countenance. He felt…dead. You were the only one in suspension at this point as Drolta crashed to the ground without a nail reaching you. Her radiant crimson pink embers dwindling with her decaying body catching up to all the time she used. You could admit she had been captivating even if depraved. And as you watched her body wither into the wind a booted foot fell into your eye line. Large, leathered, and desiring acknowledgment.

Now he was on Earth, on land, the same as yours, beckoning you to confront the man you abandoned almost three hundred and something years ago. Your adoration and yearning caught in your throat. How could you apologize to him? Was it actually on you to apologize? How could you explain you missed him but hated him but loved him but ran away? You hadn’t realized you’d fallen to your knees until Richter prompted: “What the fuck is actually going on?” He stood back protective of Annette and Maria, his bulked arm extended as a barrier. You took no notice of him as when the second foot touched Earth you could muster no confidence to face your estranged beloved. “I heard you are in need of assistance,” he spoke directly above you, turning his head stilted to throw “Belmont.” The name fell from his lips in a knowing but wayward tone. “I am the son of Dracula…and I believe you have been looking for me.” Almost a question, hinted with deprived amusement. Everyone’s eyes fell to you who could do nothing more but clutch your chest tightly, wide-eyed. A nervous wreck of emotions. Richter spoke finally “Yes…we need your help,” he was earnest and determined taking in the gaping white of the eclipse centered in the blackened sky. He wavered looking to the ground defeated. “We…dearly need your help.” Richter was the most overtly perturbed. But also the most obviously willing to sacrifice his life to save the world. You knew them all courageous, even poor Eduard you promised Annette to help. It was easy to lie to them at first, everyone was cautious of the other. Yet, fight after fight, you all proved your loyalty and even love for one another. Then, the guilt of deceit weighed on you. You lied to them about everything focused only on your goal of finding your beloved again. And here he was in all his angelic splendor far from how you left him. You were as weak as when you ran away.

Maria joins “We are going to fight against Erzabeth. She has done unspeakable evils…” she weakens to a whimper as the thoughts of her mother hushes the entire group. Richter, now never not scowling, continues: “We are going to kill that Bitch. But it would be helluva lot easier if you join us…” Alucard stood statuesque, as acclaimed a visage as Apollo or Dionysus. A truly remarkable visual that captivated them all. If only they knew how many before them could do nothing more but gawk at his appearance. If only they knew how his skin glowed against the sun, unlike this almost bleached complexion. How his hair fell far beyond his shoulders and bounced with his laugh or his ballerino steps as he sauntered about. 300 years…how alone you had been. How alone he had had to have been. Tears brim but you quickly wipe them away shaking your head. It felt unreal, surreal, a lie.

“Are you…” his voice was soft, loving. “In need of any assistance too? Ma’am?” What? Ma’am? It was sharp and loaded. It was what he referred to you when you arrived appearing as a lost young maiden unbeknownst to him with experience in new identities already. When you arrived in the dark begging for his mercy and somewhere to reprieve. In a long blue ornate dress you stole easily from a paused caravan at the neighboring stop. All you needed to steal was food, medicine, and yeah maybe something to sell. In the unsafe sweep of midnight you saw the torches that lit the garden before the mountainous shadow of castle came into view. You could only make it out as the dark clouds passing peeked moonlight through that reflected off the staggering pointedness of the seemingly alive, angry architecture.

Truly had it not been the dead of night, as a woman (well perceived as such despite your personal desires), and performing the damsel role. You ended up sticking yourself in a situation where you’d need to go back miles the way you came or stick out this con of sorts. You thought to nab a few vegetables but it was so well kept you thought smart of guard dogs or some sort of watcher. Wouldn’t be far fetched someone peers out of the windows of this monstrous abode awaiting a strangers mistake.

You rush past clutching your dress in a hurry. Makes sense to seem distraught, lost, and vulnerable. You knocked softly upon the door which felt immediately futile. How thick and staggering the door was and the real size of the castle sent a cold chill through you. You press your hand to the door because you were sure you felt a pulse, or that rather while you knew it was not flesh—the door felt aware of you. I guess I’ll knock again. You knock much harder this time. Banging actually as you felt foolish becoming annoyed at how hard it was to successfully be weak. But in exchange for your admittedly resounding knocks you lifted your voice to a pitiful, desperate “Please! Hello!!! I’m lost and in dire need of assistance! Any help!! Please!!” Oh how you’d be sure to steal as much as you could. You were about to quit before the hulking door widened by itself. Tired of your persistence the door cracked enough to show a vast gallery with huge winding stairwells on either side. It felt like a library…while life has known these floors there’s a sense that much has happened…but you can’t ignore the cobwebs, floating dusts, and the sense that if someone did live here, they forewent cleaning a good bit of time ago. You shimmied through the doorway as it had not been kind enough to open fully. You stumbled a bit taking it all in.

“Hello?! Apologies, I’ve led myself astray far from those I was traveling with. I can compensate handsomely…” It just didn’t feel like you were talking to no one. Instead of reversing course you were the stubborn, hard headed type. “Please, I…I actually have no one.” You could be somewhat honest you supposed. Becoming genuinely desperate that atleast you weren’t crazy. “I am here in need of food and shelter. Only for a night.” You voice blared across the gallery traveling it’s way into the further darkness of the hallways leading deeper into the abyss of this now increasingly creepy place. Fear, worry, concern crept upon you. Maybe I did choose wrong. “I’m…desperate…but I know an unwelcome guest... I apologize for bothering you…thank you for opening your door if just to bade the weather for a time.” You were sincere. Whatever, whoever this was while maybe not of pure malice or evil was definitely not interested. You turned on your heel quickly about to shimmy back through the door’s crack when a masculine voice of obvious nobility cleared his throat loudly. So much so it stalled your legs leaving you shook to the core. You turned jolted at the sight of a long haired blonde man. A man you could easily claim is 6’3-6’5, dressed in a loose open chested blouse ruffled at the wrists. His broad shoulders, substantial almost bare chest, and his height sent you in a tizzy. You slipped on nothing grabbing at the door with an awkward chuckle. “Hello! Hi! I-uh,” Goddamn he’s attractive. “I’m just here for help. I am in need of food and reprieve, sir.” You clutched your hands to your heart, cleavage corseted against your chest that made your breasts bubble over the arch of the heart shaped hem. You knew how you looked—pathetic, sexy, and in need. You look up at him at a distance that blurs your ability to look him in the eyes. Most men were weak once you looked them in the eyes. Not only would you get what you needed… if he decided you could only take if you gave…you’d consider obliging.

“You could’ve taken the food in the garden…why disrupt me?” He was actually confused. Yeah you could’ve just stolen the food but there was a role to play and now by his presentation being a princess for tonight was acceptable. “I could’ve but I found it lacking etiquette. At the very least a proper request is well within my rights.” You fold your arms now in coquettish annoyance. Poking your lips out a bit in a pout. “I knew someone lived here by the attention and cleanliness of your land. So I just felt…determined I guess.” You throw a glance at the man still perched atop the stairway balcony. He’s unmoving and establishing his disinterest clearly. “Hmmm.” He looks you over well accustomed to a swindler. You were quite obvious as you only had began to even run in desperation towards the castle after scoping out much of the area. You were right, you had been watched. Unbeknownst to you the master of this home watched you wrestle your dress in frustration, curse along about your hatred for being girly, and your promise to yourself to take extra for your trouble. How dare you push out your chest, lift your voice, and plead as if a real maiden. He was amused but more cautious. Had he not known true violating betrayal he’d have likely bantered you into exposing yourself. He likely would’ve accepted your cleavage as repentance for lying. But, he actually was growing irritated with you. Had your stomach not growled this whole time he’d have a harder time even wanting to feed you.

“You may eat and leave. You cannot stay the night.” He was stoic. You had no real emotion or response to play off of so you leaned more into your attempt at flirtation. “Is that right?” You walked farther in now center of the gallery. You were able to see more of his features in the wafting light of the candlebras and chandelier. He was beyond. And you caught the raise of his brow at your staring. “Why might I not rest until morning?” Why not press the issue? While past midnight that meant you absolutely could stay till morning. A couple hours wouldn’t hurt this guy. “I’m truly alone. I would not ask of this with such persistence if I had somewhere else.” You place your open hand on your chest hoping to appeal to him. “One must know shame so please be aware I recognize how lowly it is of me to ask of you anything. I can maneuver the day very well…night…as someone like me…is just simply a danger I avoid at all costs.” This time you ended with the truth. Whether it be vagrants, vampires, night creatures, or the general evil person you knew and seen things that will always send you seeking shelter before the bars even begin to bustle with evening noise.

He felt your sincerity but cared not as you were already deceptive and up to no good. “A young maiden alone…” he was not one to be made a fool. “In the dead of night…” he began to slowly, eerily descend the stairs. Your wolf clawed through screaming you needed to scram. A bone deep desire to flee overcame you as his physique, face, and mood of pure annoyance actually intimidated you. “In a dress of such quality…bejeweled…clean…” Oh no. You realized what was happening. He knows I’m lying. He caught me. “How might I believe you are hungry…only in need of rest…where did you come from?” He is now at the last step before being equal on the floor with you. You babbled nothing as you had to look up to face him. “You must think me stupid. As if a mere commoner woman, thief…” he says with a certain venom. “Would be able to make a fool of Dracula’s son.” He hissed this time disappearing before closing the door harshly behind you. You leapt away from him colliding with the floor. “Dracula??? He’s dead??!” You screamed. “There’s no way your Dracula’s son. I apologize.” You bend your head to the floor on your knees. “I beg of you spare me.” The despair at your possible end turned you into a proper beggar. Rubbing your hands pitifully together. You were strong, you weren’t necessarily fully human but…this was beyond your comprehension.

“Sir I beg of you. I beg of you. Spare me. I am nothing more than a hungry wanderer. I lied. I lied. I’m sorry. Please do not hurt me.” Your mortal pain did touch this dhamphir before you. He would never kill you…why would you need to die when you are hungry? He could only understand you but a bite rose in his mouth. How he had trusted Trevor, Sypha…those other two…he could only resent himself for how easy he was. But tonight you will not disrupt him or his solitude or his impending desire to end his life. Your eyes pooled with tears as you watched his booted, leathered feet planted firmly in front you.

All you needed was food right? A couple hours sleep? Then leave and never return. His mind has been made up. “I do not consume as you mortals do. The garden is actually for the community. I do not horde what people are in dire need of…” he couldn’t help the disgust he felt at your trembling crying frame robbed of all the confidence you just had. How disgusting he was. Scary, unwanted, and forever cursed with his Father’s resentful countenance and his mother’s wondrous love and consideration. How deprived to sink his eye site in the lapse of fabric your dress caused in this pose. From your face to your lower belly visible as your hunched over figure exposed you. Once he was upon you the dress was so ill fitting to your size he almost laughed aloud at you pretending to be of some wealth and awareness.

Honestly tired of your very mortal woman fear he bent to a knee, offering a hand to you saying. “Ma’am? If you could consider my earlier behavior that of a brute…you may eat as you wish and rest until morning.” You began to protest. “No-No that’s absolutely okay. I will leave and it is as if I never bothered you.” You rose without raising your head. “I will leave as fast as I arrived.” But as you looked up directly into his eyes your stomach twisted and your mouth agape. He was immaculate. Gorgeous. Perfect. Son of Dracula? He huffed a chuckle and an incredibly weak smile. He’s trying, you thought. Caught up in the poke out of his fangs, he closes his mouth self consciously offering “Would you like maybe more comfortable clothes? A beautiful dress completely unsuitable for your stature.” He was judging. “Uh-I mean the dress isn’t actually that bad.” You choke out defending your outfit. “No no it’s not the attire at all…” it seems his eyes wandered too low there. “It’s you in it…” Oh okay ouch? “I have had many a traveler seek here for shelter. The kitchen is through the lower foyer on the right. Whatever is there is what you may use. It will have only what anyone has decided not to take. Do not do anything more than that. First and final warning.” He rose from you without another word ascending the stairs soon disappearing into the blackness of the upper hallway. The moment his aura depleted you could breathe again taking a couple of minutes to collect yourself before heading towards the kitchen. You threw a fearful glance up at the staircase walking under it and through to the expansive ground floor. Unable to get the image of the master of this home out of your mind. Scared of him but weirdly yearning deeply to know more.

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚. ༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚. ༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

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louzathame · 8 months

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𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀 𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝟐:

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN��T SEEN NETFLIX’S CASTLEVANIA NOCTURNE.

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐅:

After finishing the series, I couldn’t help but feel there was so much more that they could have added/implemented. I DO like the series at the moment but I feel there can be some room for improvement - it has so much more potential.

___________________

NOCTURNE CRITICISM:

PROS:

- The animation was absolutely Gorgeous and I loved all the watercolour scenes - I thought that was a good touch. It still felt like I was watching Castlevania

- I adored the character designs - especially Drolta’s look. It’s a different take from the original series and it stands out a lot; it’s also one of my personal favourites. I loved seeing the different takes of characters as well.

- The music and soundtrack was just as good as ever. I especially loved hearing “Opposing bloodlines”.

- I like how some of the characters were written. However, they don’t come off as strong as the original. Regardless, they were okay and at the same time likeable.

I especially enjoyed most of the characters including Orlox and the newest: Edouard. Not forgetting to mention his lovely voice. He helps make scenes more emotional and come off stronger. I love the diversity and cultures Castlevania has to offer and has added; I love every single one of the characters. It’s so great to see all different beautiful cultures.

- I noticed along with some other friends that there were some popular anime references snuck into the show which I really liked. Although I don’t watch anime, it’s still pretty cool and fun to see!

- And of course the ending. I was over the moon when I saw Alucard appear again and it was the cherry on the top for me. At the same time, it was bitter sweet but at the same time I was sort of expecting it. He’s one of my favourite characters of all time so there’s nothing bad I want to say here. Definitely a cheeky but yet great way for engagement, for the die hard fans and Alucard-lovers ( such as yours truly). Something everyone can enjoy and look forward to.

CONS:

- The pacing wasn’t the best. I feel Nocturne was very rushed and the writers didn’t allow enough time for more character development and arcs.

For example Richter’s character development wasn’t all that. I wished he got more screen time as I also feel like 95% of the show is about Annette. Really in writing you’re supposed to show a character a lot of they have a significant impact in the story ( I know she’s a main character and all but what ties?) she is a great character and has her flaws she needs to overcome but I feel the writers are forgetting Richter is the star of the show. I know she’s a love interest and I don’t know if they’re trying to make the audience like her more by showing us more things about her but he barely got any screen time at all, in my opinion.

Another thing I’d like to add is Juste’s out-of-the-blue appearance. He just randomly appears for two episodes and we never see him again nor know where he went. Like what was the point? I assume he was a pillar for Richter’s development but so much more could have been done here! I know many fans like him as a character by himself and it’s quite a risky move to have 2 Belmonts in one show. His appearance was okay but I feel like it didn’t tie to the story very well. I felt like there could have been more episodes with the two to strengthen their bond.

Looking back at the main cast, I can understand why people are unhappy with Richter’s character. It’s okay to give a character weakness and trauma and they’ve done it well but what makes me laugh is how Annette mocks his PTSD. To be honest, Annette’s character has a lot of flaws. I get she’s supposed to be a strong female lead but she comes to him for help yet jeers and says he doesn’t need him? Also that blushing scene was well out of the blue and at a bad time. I do like her but she has so much more work needing to be done.

And when Richter got his powers back. Where was the climax for that? It felt very rushed and there was no build up AT ALL. Stuff like that would take time and building - it all felt too rushed. There wasn’t enough emotion and build up for that to happen. It happen far too quickly.

Maria was absolutely fine and I enjoyed the mother’s backstory, regardless.

I wasn’t too keen of the main villain. I like her design and how she ties to vampiric history and thought it was clever but what was her goal again? I feel like it’s another one of those they’re-just-evil cliches but that’s the worst way to write a villain. One of the main (and many) goals is to conquer the sun; which is cliche. Like why? What’s her backstory? Another thing that made me hesitant was that she’s an ( or a representation idk which) of an Egyptian God. Now I can see why some people can be upset about this. Some people out there worship deities and in some beliefs and religions, people can take offence. While I find it to be a different take, I still find it a bit lazy. I feel like Erzebet is portrayed as “ Big bad vampire goddess lady, be scared” but I’m not scared? I get most of the characters are afraid of her but I don’t feel like her presence is THAT impactful and worthy yet. Even Dracula and Carmilla had a better goal s and ones we can sympathise with. We understood what they did and why they did it. I’m afraid I’m just not warming up to her yet. It feels very bland to me and left very confused on her complicated lore.

OTHER NOTES:

I get many people are calling it woke. To be fair, Castlevania has always added religion as an opposing impact. The show tries to set the tone and story as historically accurate as they can, I’ve noticed.

People forget everyone was delusional back then and hyper-religious. Back then religions were taken more seriously and many people suffered more due to paranoia: take witch trials for example. Nocturne DOES stick to some important key elements of what the French Revolution was like back then ( of course the real life one had less vampires) but I do also like that as well.

I appreciate the attempt of twisting history with fiction but they need to be more careful. I still found it lazy and repetitive for a plot. I thought it was far too cliche and washed.

WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST:

If season 2 ever comes, here as my thoughts and things I would like to see:

- A slower storyline:

I get animation is a tedious process with all the story writing, composing, money etc ( I’m also an animation student myself). But I can wait a bit longer for so the series can get to its full glory. Good things come with time and less mistakes will be made.

- More humour:

This is what was missing. True, it does have some humour but the original feels less forced the some of the lines we receive. I would love to see more sarcasm and silly jokes like in the original. They need to have more fun.

- Trevor, Sypha and Alucard:

Now I know these characters are unfortunately long gone but I would like to perhaps see some scenes of the triofacing off against a threat which leads up to this series or just having a laugh for old times same. It would make more sense why Alucard is there, apart from another world threat. There is so much they can do here. Especially since Alucard is going to see a lot of his old friends on Richter. It would be nice for him to tell him more about his ancestors.

- Character improvement:

So, so much more can be done! The pacing hinders the story as a whole and makes the writing looks rushed, sloppy and confusing. Some of the characters were fine and would be fine kept the way there are but Richter definitely needs his times in the spotlight.

I feel like it should take more episodes for him to get his powers back and to fight the f antagonist. The other episodes can be revolved around him and him learning more about his past and on his self discovery; especially since he has ptsd. You can’t build a character on just that - it’s lazy and boring. He needs more wit and more experiences. He already has a weakness but how will he overcome it? Make Olrox tease him more maybe? Maybe throw him into more situations where he get triggers? Some people who suffer with mental illness would like a character to look up to and relate. Making him just have PTSD isn’t great character building at all. I can see where they’re trying to go with the build ups and that but it just isn’t working. Maybe Juste can also help him more? He needs more relevance than just “being there” have some Grandfather and Grandson time and hey maybe get Alucard involved to train him and shape him into the Belmont he’s supposed to be. Obviously he can’t be like Trevor and is his own character but he’s had very little scenes.

- Alucard:

Although it is highly unlikely and as much as I hate to say it but something drastic should happen to Alucard. He’s a very powerful character but why could he need Richter’s help? He literally took down one of the strongest antagonists in seconds when the others were struggling. Hopefully the tables turn and we see Richter save Alucard instead of the other way around.

- Erzebet development:

I feel her character needs a whole rewrite. She needs a better goal other than “conquering the sun” and “feeding”. Like why does she want to do that? Was she betrayed? Turned? Made that way? Or maybe just pure evil. She also needs more impact and scenes of where the characters are effected by her actions. I know she’s based of a real historical figure but making her a goddess or whatever seems very out of the blue. I feel even Drolta is a better written character than the actual villain.

Maybe Erzebet grew up poor herself and is taking advantage of the rich? Maybe she was promised something by someone and taking back what she is owed. Just making her evil isn’t executing enough. Hopefully we get more explanation in future.

- The “Wokeness”:

They can perhaps turn thing down a tad. I feel this series is revolved around god a bit too much and deities we don’t need. Also the Abbot doesn’t make much sense. I’m still confused why he’s doing what he does. I liked the twist with Maria but everything can’t just be “In the name of God”. Need to be a bit more imaginative.

I could go into more depth of what I would add but I could ramble forever. I’ve tried my best to list down the main things I’d do. Other than that I still enjoyed this series and felt S1 as more of an introduction.

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𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥.

Other than that, I still tip my hat to everyone’s hard work and hopefully they can get the rest they’ve earned. I would love to see what happens next.

Thank you all for bringing back my beloved series 🖤🖤

#castlevania netflix #castlevania nocturne #Netflix criticism #netflix #animation #castlevania #critical thinking #clive bradley #writing #appriciationpost #review #alucard

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musicthatyoucandanceto · 4 months

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robin's opinions about sparks albums 2013-2023

the final part, where I talk a lot more than the rest of my reviews for some reason (4/4)

Two Hands One Mouth (2013): I've only listened to this once all the way through and I didn't like it very much

Bops: Sparks Overture?? I love an overture, I am what's known as a Musical Theatre Bitch

Flops: ...the rest of it... for now...

FFS self-titled (2015): I have also only listened to this a few times

Bops (aka songs that stood out) : Call Girl <3, Johnny Delusional, Dictator's Son

Flops: I don't remember if any of the others were good!! I have to listen to this album more

Hippopotamus (2017): I didn't think of this before but "Life With The Macbeths" sounds like it could really fit in with the Annette soundtrack!! I think it's a little too basic for Annette but too dramatic for the rest of Hippopotamus. I don't know what to do with this information

Bops: What The Hell Is It This Time (!!), Missionary Position (!!), So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln.../Bummer (lots of bops on this album)

Flops: I get tired of Giddy Giddy often, and A Little Bit Like Fun is actually not that fun to me. The rest of them are great, which is nice!!

A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (2020)

Bops: weirdly I LOVE Lawnmower! it's such a charming song and they are truly grandpa-core at heart!! second and third place are Onomato Pia and Left Out in the Cold. surprise fourth place goes to All That because I don't listen to it very much but it makes me emotional when I do :')

Flops: Please Don't Fuck Up My World (immediate skip for me. not sure why) and Nothing Travels Faster Than The Speed of Light, which is just a little boring :/

Annette soundtrack (2021): I don't listen to this regularly but I've seen Annette twice so I'll base my opinions off of that

Bops: I loved anything Marion Cotilliard sang (for example The Woods) and anything to do with the Baby Aria. Also the Lalala song that sampled Thanks but No Thanks was GENIUS (and So May We Start, of course). I'm going through the demos rn and a lot of them are really cool too

Flops: Most of the time Adam Driver was not the moment. I really didn't like the ending songs, like the thing about the abyss, I thought they were equal parts overdramatic and boring. (Somehow.) You Used to Laugh is pretty cool but I could go without a lot of his other songs

and finally... The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte (2023)

Bops: The first half of this album is SO incredible because it feels like they're reinventing synth/electronic pop in a really cool way! The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, Veronica Lake, and Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is are my favorites.

Flops: As soon as we hit Track 7 I feel like I lose interest, with the exception of A Love Story. It's a weird phenomenon and I'm curious to see if anyone else feels this way!

#sparks #my 'sparks opinions' tag #really warming up to these albums tbh

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doubtfultaste · 16 days

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youtube

Hexvessel - When we are death

youtube

Lowertown - I love to lie

youtube

Strawberry Switchblade (self-titled)

youtube

The Rats (self-titled)

youtube

Sadesper Record - A Sort Of Soundtrack For U.F.O.

youtube

Nervous Norvus - Transfusion: The Bizarre Best Of Nervous Norvus

youtube

The Meteors - In Heaven

youtube

Rose McDowall - Cut With the Cake Knife

youtube

The Garden - Mirror Might Steal Your Charm

youtube

Annette Peacock - I'm the One

I was tagged by grimmly-fiendish-0 to do this, so here are my 10-minute-choices of stuff I actually keep coming back to. Taste doubtful or good?

#music #top 10 #Youtube

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world-cinema-research · 17 days

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Head (1968) essay

Directed by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson

Written by Jacob Christopher

Roger Ebert:

"The Monkees themselves are a harmless lot, little pop-idol puppies who can't sing, can't dance, can't talk, don't need to. The movie fits them into a plot somehow reminiscent of "A Hard Day's Night" and then forgets them. They themselves admit, at the film's beginning, that they're a "manufactured image," and the film tries to dismantle and discredit the image."

This quote from Roger Ebert really shows how this movie presents The Monkees. There is not much rhyme or reason to how the film gets from one point to another. Throughout the movie they bounce from musical sets to antiwar commentary, to surreal humor.

One interesting thing about this movie is that the critical reception of the film was horrible upon release but more recently has become mostly positive. One of the older reviews goes as follows.

"Rafelson's first feature, made when Monkee mania had all but died, Head proved too experimental for the diminishing weenybop audience which had lapped up the ingenious TV series. It flopped dismally in the US, and only achieved belated release here."

The film was certainly based off of "A Hard Day's Night" and shares many similarities. The most obvious similarity is that both were movies made in order to capitalize on the success of a band. They are also similar in that they don't take themselves too seriously. Both films are Mockumentaries, employing a style that blurs the lines between fiction and reality, offering a look behind the scenes of these band members. The Humor in these movies is also very similar, often poking fun at their own image as a band. Also, both films had a soundtrack created by the band, and both soundtracks are from an album of the same name as their films.

The soundtrack of the movie is the album from the Monkees that goes by the same name "HEAD". The film also features several notable cameos, including Frank Zappa, Annette Funicello, and boxer Sonny Liston.

The film was also important historically. At the time of the creation of the film, the Vietnam war was ongoing, and celebrity culture was a big deal. Both of these topics are covered in the movie. The topic of war is covered in several scenes of the movie. There is a very clear antiwar agenda being covered throughout the movie that was very prevalent in America at the time. The topic of celebrity culture was one of the main themes in the movie. At the beginning of the movie, they state "Hey, Hey, we are The Monkees, to that we all agree. A manufactured image with no philosophies." This quotation is drawing attention to the fact that the band was essentially created to be marketed and did as they were told. This was a very common thing at the time due to celebrity culture and was something that they were trying to draw attention to with this movie. This was part of the reason why the movie jumped around with seemingly no rhyme or reason, to draw attention to the fact that they didn't have a coherent identity.

There is no room for argument in stating that this was most certainly an unconventional film. This film heavily pushed the boundaries of the film industry. This is one of the main reasons why it was received so poorly upon release. However, this is also the reason why it became such a classic afterwards. The film was full of awkward transitions, parts that had no plot, and jokes that wouldn't hit with most audiences. All in all, the film was strange and opaque, like a dream. The style of this film is one that I have never seen before.

In conclusion, Head is a groundbreaking film that challenged and reflected the cultural landscape of the 1960s. It shows the band, the Monkees, in a broken-down form, blending antiwar commentary, surreal humor, and musical sets. Although the initial reception of the movie was poor, over time it gained notoriety and is now known as a cult classic. The film critiques celebrity culture and the Vietnam war, pushing against social norms of the time. The film HEAD remains a testament to artistic experimentation and captivates audiences to this day.

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