#19th Day of Carmilla

[hells-wasabii]

Master list

Hi guys! I figured it was time to make an archive of all of my works so far. On the list, I've included the requests that I am currently working on as well, indicated by the 'in progress' next to them in bold.\

This thing is constantly getting updated, so i definitely recommend coming back every now and again to see what's new!

edit: general does not mean that its not romantic, if it's a character x reader its automatically shipping whether its pre relationship or an established relationship, if its a 'with (insert)!reader' its platonic. Alastor is the exception, I write him with a sort of platonic life partner in mind.

I hope you enjoy your reading!

Alastor

General Headcanons x g/n reader Alastor x doe!reader (Headcanons, General) | Part 1 Alastor x doe!reader (Headcanons, Fluff) | Part 2 Alastor x stronger reader (Headcanons, General) Alastor x son of Zeus m!reader(Headcanons, General)

Charlie

Charlie x son of Zeus m!reader(Headcanons, General)

Angel Dust

Angel Dust x Husk x fem!reader (Headcanons, General, Fluff) Angel Dust x reader (Headcanons, General, Fluff, Angst, NSFW) | Part 1 Angel Dust x reader (Headcanons, General, Fluff, Angst, NSFW) | Part 2 [in progress]

Husk

Angel Dust x Husk x fem!reader (Headcanons, General, Fluff) Husk x reader (Drabble, Fluff, "Catching Feelings")

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious x reader (Headcanons, Fluff, NSFW) | Part 1 Sir Pentious x reader (Headcanons, Fluff, NSFW) | Part 2 [in progress] Sir Pentious x fem!reader (Headcanons, Fluff)

Vox

Vox x obedient assistant!reader who’s hypnosis immune (Headcanons, Fluff) workaholic!Vox x workaholic nb!reader (Headcanon+Drabble, Fluff) Falling Asleep On His Shoulder | Vox x nocturnal Overlord m!reader (Drabble, Fluff) Vox x Overlord of possession!reader (Headcanons, General) Vox x death!reader (Headcanons, General)

Valentino

Valentino w/ a wife!s/o (Headcanons, Fluff) | Part 1 Valentino w/ a wife!s/o (Headcanons, Fluff) | Part 2

Velvette

Meet Cute Gone Wrong (Drabble, General) Velvette x autistic m!reader (Headcanons, General) Velvette x reader who's Carmilla's youngest daughter (Headcanon+Drabble, General, Fluff, Angst) | Part 1 Velvette x reader who's Carmilla's youngest daughter (Drabble, General, Fluff, Angst) | Part 2 Velvette x fem!reader smut(Drabble, NSFW, Smut) Velvette x sycophantic assistant fem!reader (Headcanons, general) Velvette x fem!reader who had an abusive ex (Drabble, Angst, Fluff) [in progress]

Carmilla

Carmilla x fem!reader smut (Drabble, NSFW, Smut, Fluff) Carmilla x injured during extermination day fem!reader (Fic, Angst, Fluff) Carmilla x wife!reader (Drabble, Fluff) Carmilla x imp m!reader (Headcanons, Angst) Carmilla x fem!reader who had an abusive ex (Drabble, Angst, Fluff) [in progress]

Lucifer

Lucifer x sad!reader (Headcanons, Fluff) Lucifer x deaf!reader (Headcanon+Drabble, Fluff) Lucifer x shorter m! reader (Headcanons, General) Lucifer x reader slowburn (Headcanons, Fluff) Lucifer x son of Zeus m!reader (Headcanons, General) Lucifer x southern!reader (Headcanons, Fluff)

Cherri Bomb

Softness In Unexpected Places (Drabble, Fluff)

Rosie

Softness In Unexpected Places (Drabble, Fluff) Rosie x imp m!reader (Headcanons, General) Rosie x fem!reader smut (Drabble, NSFW, Smut)

Zestial

Zestial x reader (Headcanons, General) Zestial x wife!reader (Drabble, Fluff) Zestial x fem!reader smut (Headcanons+Drabble, NSFW)

Adam

Jealous!Adam x reader (Headcanons, General) Adam x seraphim fem!reader (Drabble, Fluff(simping)) Adam x injured exorcist!reader (Headcanons, Angst) injured!Adam x sinner!reader (Headcanons+Drabble, Angst, Fluff) Adam x 19th century angel!reader (Headcanons, General) [in progress]

Lute

Lute x son of Zeus m!reader (Headcanons, General)

Sera

Sera x reader (Headcanons, Fluff, NSFW) Sera x reader (Headcanons, Fluff) [in progress]

General (nonromantic)

Hotel staff/residents with seraphim child!reader (Fic, Plotcentric, Nonromantic, General) Husk with teenager at his bar (Drabble, Nonromantic, General)

Will add more charters as I write for them, if you don’t see something you like feel free to send in a request!

Edit: this is an old Masterlist, please see blog navigation for new list -wasabi

[hazbinhazbinhazbinreblog]

Because of that drawing now I, another anon, got a weird somewhat wholesome au of mixing secretly married and Dadstaticradio, the Domestic au

Like not only is Vox a husband but also a dad. That would really really change shit around Voxtech like he seems to be more open to toy lines and then one day he and Alastor due to sleepless work nights, xame to the overlord Meeting with their rings on and baby Charlie strapped to Alastor's back.

(Let's just say Charlie was given to Alastor fot her protection, maybe Lucifer fell into a coma rather than being an apathetic shut in during depression and god knows what is Lilith's deal is.) Alastor, being a child without a father during the early 20th century or late 19th century couldn't help but get a bit soft and find himself attached to the baby then love her as his own. Literally brought a baby during his and Vox' anniversary and had to keep Charlie's status a secret til she is old enough.

Let us say there is pandemonium during the Overlord meeting because first:

Vox is married to the Radio Demon?!

Alastor is married to Vox?!

They somehow produce a child?!

Val is weeping, Vox is a married man and a dilf. XD Velvette kept posting, Carmilla is going "how what why when where?!" Zestial is just relax, Rosie is supportive, cooing: I am an aunt now! O7o

The drawing in question for context

The chaos and confusion skyrockets exponentially when having to process both at the same time, also Val crying over that is funnier to me than it should be

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

happy lesbian visibility day to all the girls kissing girls with sharp sharp teeth

“From 'Dracula's Daughter' to 'Carmilla,' lesbian vampire depictions prove immortal,” Elaina Patton, 2021 / “Carmilla,” Sheridan Le Fanu, 1872 (art by D.H. Friston) / “A terrifying history of lesbian vampires: From 19th century scares to chilling moral panic,” Patrick Kelleher, 2021 / The Vampire Lovers, 1970 / “Christabel,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1797 / Lesbian Vampire Killers, 2009 / “From 'Dracula's Daughter' to 'Carmilla,' lesbian vampire depictions prove immortal,” Elaina Patton, 2021 / Blood and Roses, 1960 / “Why Are We Still So Obsessed With Lesbian Vampires?,” Michelle Hyun Kim, 2019 / The Gilda Stories, Jewelle Gomez, 1991 (25th Anniversary Edition) / “Carmilla,” Theatres Des Vampires, 2011 / Bit, 2019 / “Lesbian Vampyres From Outer Space,” Scary Bitches, 2005

(terfs and radfems fuck off, lesbian vampires eat terfs and radfems)

[thethirdromana]

I have a big clump of thoughts that have been prompted by reading the LOTR newsletter and Dracula Daily at the same time. I haven't quite figured them all out yet, but I'm going to see if writing them out helps.

Specifically the thing I'm interested in is how these books relate to the time at which they were published.

Let's start with the Lord of the Rings. No matter how much I know that the Lord of the Rings was published in the 1950s, there's always a record scratch moment when I'm reminded of it, for instance by discussion of connections to World War II or even World War I.

Because it feels older, right? That's not just me? It feels like it could plausibly have been published in the 1850s rather than the 1950s. A tweet that I now can't find claimed that the Lord of the Rings is among the only exposure that people today have to non-modern ways of thinking. It's a story that Tolkien consciously crafted as mythology. It should feel old, it's supposed to.

But there's also a relationship between this and the response to Tolkien. There's a quote which I also now can't find, which could equally plausibly have been from Ursula Le Guin or some random tumblr post, which says - to paraphrase - Tolkien is the father of all fantasy, and fantasy writers either accept that (Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson) or yell "you're not my real dad!" and write in conscious opposition to him (NK Jemison, George RR Martin, in very different ways). But there's no escaping him.

[Edited: @elven-child suggests this could have been Terry Pratchett, who said:

J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape on the horizon. Sometimes it’s not there at all, which means that the artist either has made a deliberate decision against the mountain, which is interesting in itself, or is in fact standing on Mt. Fuji.

... which I like better than the Oedipal Tolkien-as-father version.]

Game of Thrones was published in 1991. Assassin's Apprentice in 1995. And those are just the examples I chose from books that I can see from where I'm sitting right now. The all-consuming influence of the Lord of the Rings happened very fast after its publication - again, being published in the 1850s would feel more reasonable for the depth and breadth of its cultural impact. It feels like that should take longer!

Then there's Dracula. Which is as consciously modern as the Lord of the Rings is consciously... historic? Medieval? It's remarkable how little effort it would take to move the story of Dracula to the modern day - if Dracula's castle has no wifi and dodgy mobile phone reception, the rest of the story can play out pretty much as-is, with WhatsApp messages standing in for the telegrams and emails for the letters.

(The only bit I would struggle to believe is that Van Helsing could travel back and forth to Amsterdam that often on the Eurostar or Ryanair without once being delayed.)

That's fascinating to me because Dracula is also a call-back to an older mode of writing, just as Tolkien drew on Norse sagas and Old English literature. An epistolary gothic novel is very 18th century. Even in terms of the late 19th century gothic revival, Dracula came along pretty late - Carmilla was 25 years earlier. But instead of the weight of the history of gothic literature dragging Dracula backward, it feels like Dracula drags the rest of it forward instead.

In some ways, I think this is literally what happened. The horror tropes of Dracula became the horror tropes of 20th century cinema, and the result is that the content and themes of gothic literature are familiar to us. We understand most of what Northanger Abbey is parodying even if we've never read the Mysteries of Udolpho or any of the other novels that Austen satirises. The effect of Dracula's popularity has been to keep itself current in ways that Bram Stoker could never have anticipated or planned.

I'm not sure I've figured out exactly what my point is here, but it was fun to think about anyway.

[whatthecrowtold]

#unhallowedarts - "I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side" - Bram Stoker's Dracula

“You reason well, and your wit is bold, but you are too prejudiced. You do not let your eyes see nor your ears hear, and that which is outside your daily life is not of account to you. Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are, that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplated by men's eyes, because they know, or think they know, some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all, and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain. But yet we see around us every day the growth of new beliefs, which think themselves new, and which are yet but the old, which pretend to be young, like the fine ladies at the opera.“

(Bram Stoker “Dracula”)

It was a indeed a dark and stormy night, the one in the year without Summer back in 1816, when the Shelleys, Byron and his physician John Polidori sat down to make pop culture history. Cut off from the world, bored witless and full to the brim with laudanum, his lordship challenged the gathered Romantic enfants perdu to lift the burden of ennui with telling ghost stories in the German fashion. And while both Byron and Shelley brought off rather nothing except consuming more narcotics that night, Mary famously began to write “Frankenstein” and Polidori engendered the other treasured dread, the aristocratic, suave, blood sucking king of the undead, the vampire. The myth itself was, of course, centuries old and only two generations before, a downright mass hysteria ran through Europe when repeated cases of vampirism were reported in the Balkans along the Austro-Turkish military border.

Polidori though took the revenant peasant prowling around his former home and sucking the blood of his family, clad him in evening attire and modelled him after the pattern of his employer into a Byronic hero. Polidori’s Lord Ruthven became the ancestor of the 19th and 20th century’s vampires that haunted the imaginations of countless readers and the pages of Gothic literature from the likes of Gogol and Merimee to the infamous penny dreadfuls. One of these featured a creature called “Varney the Vampire” who brought in the fangs and the tell-tale bite marks and Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” from 1872 gave the myth the structure of a long dead noble á la Coleridge’s “Christabel” haunting a damsel in distress and a group of heroes bringing the creature to bay with the help of ancient lore and occult paraphernalia. The groundwork was laid and along came Bram Stoker.

As a child, Stoker was bedridden until the age of seven, rose as from the dead after his mysterious illness all of a sudden ceased, became a football star at college, graduated in mathematics and ended up a pen-pusher in Dublin Castle. Not satisfied with his lot, naturally, Stoker changed his career to theatre critic at the Dublin Evening Mail, owned by Sheridan Le Fanu, and attracted the attention of the famous actor Sir Henry Irving with a favourable review, the two became friends and Stoker followed Irving to become his manager. Meanwhile he had won the hand of Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty, courted by Stoker’s acquaintance form Trinity College Oscar Wilde as well as a host of other suitors. Stoker would bring these experiences into a literary form in his opus magnum “Dracula” with Sir Henry Irving acting as model for the undead count as Byron did for Polidori 80 years before.

Stoker had never been to Romania, during the 1890s a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but he did a thorough research on his subjects that he would add with iconic effects to the imagery of the literary Gothic, from local legends of the 1750s, the late 15th century Wallachian Prince Vlad III. Drăculea who was famed in western European sources for his cruelty and other inspirations from Central Europe like Princess Eleonore von Schwarzenberg, rumoured to be a vampire during her lifetime at the beginning of the 18th century and already an inspiration for German poet Gottfried August Bürger to his poem “Leonore”. Well-known enough known to Stoker and everyone else who read and wrote Gothic literature.

Pitting his research-wise well founded mythical Count and his ancient evil that bears strong resemblances to the feared syphilis as well as despicable moral liberties against the forces of the modern age, trains, the telegraph, typewriters, repeating rifles and established processes and organised teamwork, based on thorough research. Published in 1897, “Dracula” became an instant success and the standard followed to this day, even if Stoker and “Dracula” act only as powers behind the throne of “Urban Fantasy”.

All artwork above is by John Coulthart from his 2018 take on "Dracula" and nicked from his blog linked below

[idv-news-boi]

-> IDV OCs and Canons’ Birthdays

January

{ @/the-oletus-parlor } Yami Kazuichi// January 1st

{ @/idv-sinful-deities } Tae Collins// January 3rd

{ @/askidvcerealist } Samuel// January 5th

{ @/asktheforensicpathologistidv } Louise Harris// January 18th

{ @/idv-ask-optometrist } Rue Leogan// January 27th

{ @/avatar-idv } Brendan// January 28th

February

{ @/idv-sinful-deities } K. Sewford// February 2nd

{ @/idv-artists-trio } Sonny Latte // February 11th (National Latte Day ☕) *

{ @/idv-intellectuals } Edward Blackwell// February 11th (National Inventor’s Day ⚙️) *

Andrew Kress// February 13th

{ @/experimental-blueprints} Bianca HighTower// February 14th

{ @/voidproject } Rue// February 28th

March

{ @/idv-intellectuals } Axel Fontaine// March 6th (National Dentist’s Day 🦷)

{ @/idv-sinful-deities} Damien Hardwick// March 7th

{ @/idv-sinful-deities} “Ellis”//March 11th

White Day - March 14th

{ @/idv-artists-trio } Rosalyn Darling// March 21st (World Puppetry Day 🌸)

{ @/manor-tea-time } Sally Day// March 25th

April

{ @/ask-the-idv-jazz-singer } Harriet Mayweather// April 2nd *

{ @/ask-idv-shepherd } Pearce Whittaker// April 2nd *

{ @/hypnotic-melody} Basil// April 14th (National Gardening Day 🪴)

{ @/hypnotic-melody } Allison Hailey //April 22nd (National Baseball Day ⚾️ )

{ @/voidproject } Phil// April 23rd *

Edgar Valden// April 23rd *

{ @/ask-idv-gas-specialist } Ameillia Thomson// April 29th

May

{ @/idv-ask-governess } Ellen Wilson// May 1st

{ @/voidproject } Exe Day// May 2nd

Aesop Carl// May 11th

{ @/idv-ask-the-showman } Flynn Smith// May 30th

{ @/ask-archer-idv } Archer & Wendigo// May 31st

June

Mike Morton// June 1st

{ @/idv-artists-trio } Angel Drew// June 2nd (National Tailors Day 🪡)

{ @/tatya-time } Tatiana Baudelair// June 7th

{ @/idv-intellectuals } Mira Morgan// June 8th (World Ocean Day 🌊)

{ @/manor-tea-time } Wayne Louis Strickland// June 13th

{ @/idv-ask-the-showman } Phineas Smith// June 14th

{ @/idv-sinful-deities} Cole Straub// June 19th

{ @/idv-artists-trio } Eiji Narukami// June 22nd (Dragon Boat Festival🏮)

{ @/idv-asktheconsigliere } Melissa Fair - June 30th

July

{ @/ask-wraithandmedium } Winifred Abbott// July 1st

{ @/idv-artists-trio } Kitty Nutella// July 7th (World Chocolate Day🍫)

Luca Balsa// July 10th

{ @/ask-idv-thrillseeker} Cleo Day// July 15th

{ @/the-oletus-parlor} Mari Day// July 16th

August

{ @/ask-wraithandmedium } Cecil Delestre// August 4th

{ @/idv-intellectuals } Peterson ‘August’ Drew// August 12th

{ @/ask-idv-outcast } Carmilla Blackwood// August 13th

{ @/manor-tea-time } Shadowed Man Day// August 19th

{ @/idv-sinful-deities} Amanda MacGurk// August 30th

September

{ @/manor-tea-time } Ivy Madison Nettle// September 5th

{ @/manor-tea-time } LeRoy Fredrick Smith// September 12th

{ @/the-oletus-parlor } Ellie Day// September 20th

{ @/the-oletus-parlor } Amy Kazuichi// September 23rd

{ @/hypnotic-melody } Heath// September 25th (National Cooking Day 🍳)

October

{ @/idv-artists-trio } Darcy Daytona// October 14th (Graffiti Apreciation Day 🎨)

{ @/hypnotic-melody } Sam Day// October 20th (National Writing Day ✏️)

{ @/idv-sinful-deities} Jamel Shervet// October 25th

November

{ @/snow-capped-graphics } Chiaki// November 6th

{ @/ask-idv-baker } Beth Anastazja// November 8th

{ @/ask-idv-philosopher } Theodore Cromwell// November 16th

{ @/snow-capped-graphics } Blake// November 30th

December

{ @/hypnotic-melody } Jamie// December 2nd (National Basketball Day 🏀) *

{ @/hypnotic-melody} Basil Day// December 2nd *

{ @/hypnotic-melody } Mari// December 4th (National Ice Skating Day ⛸️)

{ @/manor-tea-time } Eleanor Day// December 15th

{ @/askthepianist } Angeline Bianchi// December 16th

{ @/the-oletus-parlor } Zachary// December 25th *

Victor Grantz// December 25th *

{ @/traditional-dancer-idv } Beatriz Fernández// December 29th

{ @/askidv-thesurgeon} James// December 31st

———

* with color = event buddies!!!

// Laurence’s Birthday? His birthday is everyday :) *dances* Real spawn day? that will be remained as confidential for now- Kinda goes the same for Akihiko- sowwy (nwn

[nancydrewwouldnever]

It's funny you mentioned reading The Haunting of Hill House yesterday? I just read it for the first time a few months ago. It's solid. I liked the TV show too; it was a very different take on the book. I've ordered Shirley Jackson's short stories now. Ghost stories are just doing it for me these days.

Before this, I was on a Daphne du Maurier kick. I read all her stuff. Nothing can top Rebecca for me. And the Hitchcock film was a perfect adaptation of the book. Doubt any remake can touch it.

You might want to try some of the older originators of "ghost stories" and horror writings: Sheridan Le Fanu and Wilkie Collins from the 19th century. "The Moonstone" by Collins is fun, and Le Fanu is best known for his novella "Carmilla," an early vampire story.

And you're absolutely right about Rebecca.

[susandsnell]

Hey love, hope you can get some sunshine in today! Was wondering if u'd seen the lovecraft batman animated movie and if u had any thoughts for how a similar (but better lmao) au narrative would be crafted for a gotham-based dracula retelling? Also I think we got a Battinson sequel confirmed--ignoring the obligatory postcredits joker, what would you want to see from the next film?

Hi dear!!! There was some sun (albeit humidity + quickly turned to rain), but I did have a nice walk today, thank you. <3 I haven't had the chance to see the Lovecraft animated Batman flick (I'm quite behind on the animated movies, on the basis of having a love/hate relationship with DC Animation...Mask of the Phantasm and Return of the Joker absolutely rock but between the animated Killing Joke, Batman: Year One and Gott im Himmel, that horrendous 2009 Wonder Woman flick, I have my reservations about a lot of them.) I do know of a Batman vs Dracula story that happened but had?? Carmilla Karnstein??? Of all people??? As Drac's lost love/wife??? And I couldn't overlook it lol. I actually have, in my shit billion Batfic WIPs, a Gothic thriller retelling of The Batman 2022 set in the late 19th century and based very heavily around the style/structure of Dracula since Battinson even has the diary entries that lend themselves well to the epistolary style! It's still very WIP, but it's there! Likewise, for a proper crossover, I think the best way to craft the narrative would be to have Bruce more in detective mode investigating the newcomer to Gotham City. The docks feature quite prominently as a location, so perhaps some iteration of the Demeter would wash up there, and Bruce could make use of both being Bruce Wayne and Batman to help solve the mystery of some of Gotham's socialites being drained. I'd love to involve Andrea Beaumont somehow, and some of Gotham's lawyer characters, but there have been some neat discussions on here otherwise on how Jack Seward's subplot could map neatly onto Arkham Asylum and its various suspect staff members (fun could be had with Crane, Strange, or any of the Arkham heirs alternating in this role!). I feel as though more than one Renfield might be found in the ranks of Gotham's rogues and civilians alike, which could make for some tragic intrigue. And of course, lots of fun could be had with the obvious bat imagery/vampiric parallels to Bruce's lifestyle and manner of dress. And I'd actually like to see Leslie Thompkins or Dr. Leland in the Van Helsing role! Do forgive me if this isn't quite so fleshed out as I'm kind of worn out today, but there are a lot of opportunities! And yes, I'm very aware and glad the Reevesverse is (for now) safe! I recall Matt Reeves outright said he probably won't focus on the Joker as the primary villain for the mainverse sequels, which led to some amusing speculation that he'll just show up to befriend every other Rogue and not do much else. I believe Clayface is announced, but I would absolutely love to see another tragic Harvey Dent take, and my fingers are forever crossed for the Scarecrow spinoff we've been promised. There's also rumours of Poison Ivy getting a Rappacini's Daughter-inspired entry into this universe which. Good gravy. Yes please, and let's have her be as canonically and openly queer as possible while we're at it.

Thanks so much for sending this along! <3 I hope you had a great day/evening.

[thiefbird]

R! "Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing?"

I don't want to tag his tumblr bc I am terrified of Annoying People, but in terms of fanfiction the author of Accursed Ones is a massive influence on both my writing style in general and my mental Anders!

More generally, a lot of early-mid 19th century authors really helped build my love of words, especially Austen, Shelley, and Byron, and Irish authors Sheridan Le Fanu(Carmilla, the sapphic-vampire precurser to Dracula) and Oscar Wilde inspired my love of period queer writing. Patrick O'Brian, too, is a big recent influence; the way he writes relationships - be they romantic, platonic, or wonderfully confusing - is something I hope to one day be able to accomplish even half so well.

Thank you for the question, nonny!

[wyrmhaven]

Session #28

Sep 19th, 2023

Zoey spends the last few days of Summer Vacation in the Plane of Fire She only sees glimpses of Anji's dad She sees a lot of Anji's stepmoms though, who Anji hates The Angels press Zoey for gossip, particularly about Carmilla They tell her that she owes them, and has to spend more time with them next vacation Zoey agrees Summer Vacation ends, and the students of Wyrm Academy return to campus Carmilla nearly tackles Aurora out of excitement Aurora assures Carmilla that she did not forget the gift, and pulls out a plague doctor mask Carmilla is moved to tears Aurora tells her to put it on Carmilla thought it was just for decoration, but agrees Carmilla goes to ask Doya to take a picture of her Carmilla accidentally terrifies Doya Rin asks Vladimir how his summer was Vladimir complains about the heat and humidity Zoey and Larksann catch up on what happened Larksann mentioned that she was working on something, but didn't finish it, and so brought the piece to school Urzmaktok asks White how campus was while he was gone He tells White that his home was also hot, but with a different type of heat Greta rambles about her family to Doya Rin remembers the souvenirs he got from Valtahost, and begins to deliver them to our group He gives Aurora and Carmilla sunglasses to help with Lux Concordia's lights Carmilla excuses herself in a suspicious way Aurora wonders why Rin suggests that it's related to his blood Aurora is horrified, and asks who all knows about it Rin admits that it was just his immediate friends He adds that Doya thinks that Aurora has a crush on him Aurora is disgusted, and apologizes for it She asks Rin for peanut butter, and explains that she wants to put it on Carmilla's pillow as a revenge prank Rin supplies the peanut butter, but is hesitant to help her Meanwhile, Carmilla goes to Nicollin's dorm and asks him how his summer was Nicollin describes the seminars about seminars that he attended He asks if Carmilla did vampire things over the summer Carmilla doesn't answer, and asks to speak to Nicollin Nicollin offers to take a message Carmilla tries to slip by to talk to him directly Sunny notices, and tells Carmilla that he didn't do much during that time Classes begin, and all the first assignments are to just write about what happened over Summer Vacation Throughout the day, our group hear rumors that Anji and Zanther broke up Our group, except Zoey, are targeted by their usual bullies Rin goes to speak to Doya He explains that he struggled to decide what to get her from Valtahost, and shows her a pen Doya clicks on the pen, and a red dot appears where it is pointing Next, Rin goes to talk to Larksann and Zoey in their dorm He shows them his gift for them - a mechanical puppy toy Larksann and Zoey are ecstatic Zoey asks what she owes Rin for it Rin assures her that these type of things are normal in Valtahost The two discuss Valtahost's oddities

Next, Rin goes to talk to White He is stopped when Chadriz exits his room Chadriz demands to know what Rin is looking at, before storming away Rin reaches White's room He explains to Urzmaktok and White that he got toys for the others, but thought that they would appreciate more practical items He gives them devices that clean dust from an area White expresses his gratitude, saying that gifts from a friend are always appreciated The students of Wyrm Academy's first year students return to their normal boring standard, leaving some wishing for the return of adventure Our group hears about the upper classman's fashion shows and masquerade dances They also hear about the Dragon House Mage Tower games They overhear students talking about the Dragon Houses, and how Laelia was retired as a mascot and replaced with another more terrifying mascot Laelia tries to convince Doya to join the Mage Tower team Doya refuses, telling Laelia that she hates sports Laelia insists, claiming that sports will make her cool Doya counters that she prefers her free time, and isn’t a mage anyway Laelia points out that Mage Tower doesn't require its players to be mages Doya is unmoved

While nothing major occurs in the later half of the year, there is still some excitement During Inkomancy class, Carmilla is surprised by a pop quiz in her She panics, but goes on to ace it After class, she is approached by a student who offers a necklace Carmilla drops it and hisses when she learns it's made out of silver Nandor wonders why the student gave her that, and comments that fiends don't live silver either During the Arcano-botany class, Puffcap accidentally creates a mushroom that explodes into vines Zoey dodges the vines, and receives praise for it During a trip into the Sedgemoor, Doya saves Zanther from falling into the mud Zanther is grateful Doya jokes that she was worried that Zanther would be extinguished by the water She asks why he and Anji broke up Zanther explains that Anji simply got bored of their relationship During Physical Education, White spots a giant rat fighting off some creatures while sparring with Quentillius Antiphiun Melentor III The two go to investigate White notices some goo in the rat's hair The two hear screeches as two stirges descend and attack! FIGHT! White incinerates them with burning sand, Quentillius congratulates his hard work VICTORY! As Magical Physiologies begins, the students enter to see Professor Sharpbeak feeding a hippogriff Professor Sharpbeak asks the class about it Angelique gives a dictionary definition about it Sharpbeak tells the class that this hippogriff is named Goldfeather, and that she has worked with it a lot Sharpbeak explains that the class is to use their knowledge about hippogriffs and try to pet it The Angels are able to pet it Carmilla and White are able to as well Doya and Zoey get snapped at Rin is afraid, but is able to eventually approach and pet it That night, Doya walks home from her job and sees a line of students confessing their feelings to Anji and giving her gifts She spots Rin, who thinks there's food at the front, in the line too

Rin reaches the front of the line Anji asks him what he wants She's baffled when he has no idea what's happening She admits that she finds all of this annoying, and would rather not deal with all of this Rin offers to help her reject all of the students Anji is grateful, and leaves as her familiar and Rin start rejecting students for her Doya approaches Anji when she is alone Anji tells Doya to go to the line if she wants to confess Doya assures her that she doesn't want to confess She wonders if people liking Anji like that was a curse Anji tells her no Doya offers her a sandwich Anji hesitates, and takes it Doya tries to ask Anji about the party and the theater She asks Anji about magic instead Doya rambles about how she can't do magic The two discuss whether her aasimar traits are magic or not Doya asks to see Anji cast magic Anji refuses, but relents when Doya offers to give Anji a picture of herself Anji throws the sandwich, and retrieves it via magic She explains that it is her favorite spell since allows her to be lazy Doya honors the agreement, and takes two pictures of Anji - one for Anji, and one for herself Anji admires her picture for a little too long Anji then leaves, and takes some of the presents that Rin had harvested from the rejected students as she goes

Carmilla is awakened by the sounds of Aurora doing her morning preparations and opening the window Carmilla is annoyed, and asks Aurora why the windows was opened She sees Aurora in surprisingly bright colors, with her hair in a ponytail Carmilla is concerned, and asks Aurora what's happening Aurora doesn't know what's wrong, and asks Carmilla if they're good to hang out later She tells Carmilla to take some medication to calm herself down Carmilla starts to freak out, and goes to Doya's dorm She is greeted by a skinny and weak Greta Doya, whose hair is not messy and whose halo is floating, then approaches Carmilla freaks out She then goes to Rin's room A confident and suave Vladimir opens the door, and tells Rin that Carmilla is there An equally confident yet messy Rin says hello to Carmilla Carmilla freaks out anymore, and goes to find White She goes to his dorm and encounters Urzmaktok, who threatens her but eventually lets her pass She finds White, who is out of sorts and slow to respond to anything Desperate to find anyone sane, Carmilla goes to Zoey's dorm Along the way she encounters Dismay and Violence, who are peppy and wearing bright colors She reaches Zoey's dorm, and is greeted by Larksann who casually swears at Carmilla Carmilla is scandalized Zoey speaks up, and coldly tells Carmilla to leave Carmilla stops, and realizes that everyone is the opposite of who they should be She realizes that she needs to find the worst person imaginable She goes to find Chadriz She finds him, and asks to speak to him alone Chadriz asks if she is okay Carmilla admits that she is not, and is freaking out She asks what she is normally like Chadriz tells her that she's normally more distant, and a cheerleader Carmilla enters a panic She decides to try to speak to her patron As she and Chadriz heads to her dorm, Chadriz pulls her into his dorm Carmilla sees why, as a Drazhomir walks by and beats another students senseless The two resume their journey, but are stopped by Doya Doya asks Carmilla where Carmilla is taking her boyfriend Carmilla insults Doya Doya breaks into tears Chadriz comforts Doya The three gather the rest of our group, and head towards Carmilla's dorm They have to dodge a chicken, and Max tries get them with a prank Carmilla makes a detour at Nicollin and Sunny's room The door is opened by another halfling, who asks why Carmilla wants to speak with the boss Carmilla assures the halfling that she's there for Nicollin, not Sunny Sunny demands tribute for even being tangentially bothered Carmilla offers the silver necklace, and speaks to Nicollin Nicollin is quiet He springs into activity though, and tells Carmilla that he was just sleepy Our group, Chadriz, and Nicollin gather in Carmilla's room Carmilla tries to contact her patron, and fails She asks the rest of the group who they think her patron is They tell her that she's not a warlock, but a cleric of the Tabaxi God Carmilla does her best to hold off a meltdown Doya suggests that she talk to Rika, since Rika is smart After a moment, Carmilla realizes that Rika is the inverse nickname for Anjarika She goes to where Anji's room should be, and finds Mailu and the rest of Missing Peace in prayer Mailu calmly tells Carmilla that Rika is with her two friends Carmilla is nearly hit by a skateboarding Rampart She goes to Angelika's dorm The door is opened by a meek and bespectacled Anjarika Carmilla explains that she needs help, and Rika is the only one that can help her Rika lets her in Carmilla enters to see a lazy Angelique, and a quiet Angelika in the corner Carmilla discusses the possibility of alternate timelines with Doya, Rika, and an annoyed Zoey Carmilla pleads with the group, explaining that everyone is wrong Rika offers to help Carmilla figure out what is wrong

Angelique and Rin scheme on how to get to Carmilla world, since they're smart there Carmilla realizes that an inverted Yasha would be willing to help Rika informs Carmilla that Yasha is a Spring Eladrin Carmilla, along with the rest of our group and the Angels, go to find an elevator They pass by a pathetic and ugly Zanther Carmilla is stopped Quentillius, who insists on helping Carmilla and being called Quentin They pass by Johrel and Vhalshera, who are smoking They are stopped by Nadia, who scolds them for running Dean Kol, who is a deva, rescues them When Carmilla calls him dad, Kol assures her that he is not her guardian but thinks that it would be nice The group find the elevator, and file into it The elevator begins to descend down the Hexpiral Pit Carmilla comments on how nice the Angels are here The elevator reaches the bottom, and after a little bit of walking the group finds themselves at Yasha's office They see Yasha dancing to music, but she stops when she sees the students

She asks the students to sit, and offers to help with whatever problems they are having Carmilla desperately explains the situation Yashs suggests that it is a dream, and that maybe being pinched or slapped would help Angelique happily obliges, but nothing changes Yasha suggests maybe the sensation of falling would help She asks Carmilla to close her eyes, and then tips over Carmilla's chair Carmilla opens her eyes, and sees the inside of her coffin She bolts up, and checks that her birds are there They are, as Carmilla has returned to the waking world! She is pleasantly surprised to a normally goth Aurora Carmilla rapidly explains what happened Aurora suggests that Carmilla calm down and take a shower Carmilla goes to check if Rin is normal She finds him, and Rin is back to his usual self Carmilla hugs Rin Rin notices peanut butter on the back of her head Carmilla leaves to go check on the other members of our group

[arg-machine]

Comics at machine HQ

It’s been a while since the last Comics post was published. This week, therefore, arg decided to publish another installment featuring some of the comic books and graphic novels he has read since that post.

Of course, a lot happened between these posts: both machine HQ and The Apocalypse Project found second homes over at Mastodon, arg finally crossed the 100 posts mark at Instagram and even published some new music!

One thing remained unchanged, though: he read a lot: not just fiction, but a bunch of graphic novels and comics as well. In this post, he’ll list some of these…

Comics and graphic novels read recently Well, here are the comics/graphic novels arg has read and enjoyed in the last few months. All titles are arranged alphabetically, and related titles – or titles from same/similar genres – are listed in the Also recommended sections. Keep in mind that many – not all, though – of these titles are suitable for mature readers only.

“Far from the auction halls of the elite, The Collector seeks out rare and mysterious artifacts across the world. He is as at home in the salons of Paris as he is in the jungles of Borneo. Set against the backdrop of late 19th-century colonialism, this collection of short stories and swashbuckling adventures is full of surprises and twists, as Toppi is well known for!” Terrific art and exciting stories, books like The Collector truly demonstrate the beauty and power of this medium.

Also recommended: Judegement Day & Other Stories, Navigator, Everyday Hero Machine Boy, MFK, Gurvan - A Dream of Earth, Joyama and Rocketeer - The Great Race.

“BLAB! – the Harvey Award-winning anthology of cutting-edge comics, art, and culture – has returned to its comics roots with a stellar lineup of contributors. Noah Van Sciver depicts the tragic demise of Crime Does Not Pay editor Robert Wood. Sasha Velour portrays the making of film director F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu. Children's book illustrator Giselle Potter examines Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter's passion as a naturalist. Illustrated articles include the history of the gorilla and a report on UFOs. All this and much more in Comics and Stories That Will Make You BLAB!” A superb collection!

Also recommended: Gnartoons, Be Your Own Backing Band, Alison, Eight Limbs, Sports is Hell, Art Brut, Public Domain and Unretouchable.

“From creatures of the night to even more terrifying creatures of the day, HAUNTHOLOGY is an anxiety-inducing collection of 28 short stories and vignettes from the mind of Jeremy Haun, the writer and artist behind many acclaimed nightmarish mindscapes. Whether exploring a claustrophobic old house full of nefarious entities or the heavy thoughts one has during the pending end of the world, this very personal project was written and drawn entirely during the COVID lockdowns.” Highly recommended!

Also recommended: Essential Judge Dredd - Dredd Vs. Death, House, Death of the Horror Anthology, Carmilla - The First Vampire, The Keeper and Hell Phone.

“Who are you, really? Are you the things you do, or are you the person inside your mind? In Europe on a business trip, Jonathan Webb can’t sleep. Instead, he finds himself wandering the night in a strange foreign city with his new friend, the mysterious and violent Rainer, as his guide. Rainer shows Jonathan the hidden world of the night, a world without rules or limits. But when the fun turns dangerous, Jonathan may find himself trapped in the dark – the question is, what will he do to get home? Night Fever – the gripping new original graphic novel from best-selling creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips – is a pulse-pounding Jekyll-and-Hyde noir thriller about a man facing the darkness inside himself.”

Also recommended: Zaroff's Revenge, Cover, The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book and The Killer: Affairs of The State.

“This heartbreaking manga, by an award-winning cartoonist, examines the history of Okinawa and its military occupation. An essential manga classic presented in English for the first time. Okinawa brings together two collections of intertwined stories by the island's pre-eminent mangaka, Susumu Higa, which reflect on this difficult history and pull together traditional Okinawan spirituality and the senselessness of the War.”

Also recommended: Battle Action, The Witches of World War II and Dead Romans.

machine HQ’s Retro Pick! “First the headaches, then the nightmares of mass murderers who must die – by his hand, the hand that wields the energy of a living sun, the hand of Nexus!

Possessing limitless power, Nexus is the greatest avenger in history, but his power and purpose come from an alien race with their own agenda. Is Nexus a hero or pawn? Deliverer or destroyer? God or devil?” What is for certain is that Nexus, created by Mike Baron and Steve Rude,is a science-fiction superhero masterpiece!

And that, good reader, brings us to the end of this short list! Visit The Apocalypse Project [on Mastodon, on twitter and on tumblr], and stay tuned to machine HQ blog…

Header image features artwork from Vann Nath - Painting the Khmer Rouge and from John Carpenter's Asylum.

The busy boys! Over at Mastodon, arg and Marvin were pleasantly surprised to find the boys from Copiers of Hindustan already there! And from what arg has been able to gather, they’ve been putting the pedal to the metal with their posts!

So, if y’all wish to enlighten yourselves about how plagiarism has reached alarming, pandemic proportions in a certain entertainment industry [wink, wink!] and have an eye-opening experience in general then… go ahead and visit the boys! They’ll be delighted by your presence, or so they tell arg and Melvin.

[mouldremover]

heya besties, i’m mould, this is my awesome blog. the pronouns are they/he. i love vampire stuff and am regrettably a huge twilight stan, also love 19th century gothic lit (wuthering heights and carmilla my beloveds) as well as hyperfixating on a new book series every week. or any media really.

i rarely make original posts because i’m an introverted little worm who is scared to speak on the internet, but y��know we all have our flaws. i’m british so i will NOT be using z’s in words like organised and you can’t bully me for it that’s mean :-(

what else even is there about me. i love uquizzes. i want to make uquizzes but they take ages.

DNI if you’re an asshole - aka a terf, racist, sexist, homophobe, etc etc - i will block you.

apart from all that, thanks for stopping by, have a great [insert time of day] here!

[canadachronicles]

Elise and Natasha at New York Comic Con 2017, New York City, NY (October 5th, 2017)

[ukulelekatie]

me and my mutuals spending years obsessing over Carmilla the webseries only to become obsessed with yet another late 19th century vampire story adapted for a modern-day media format

[itscritiquegeek]

Surrogate Lovers: The Female Body as Proxy for Consummating Homoerotic Desire in Dracula

Happy World Dracula Day! 

Dracula was first published on this day in 1897. To celebrate it’s 125th anniversary, here’s part of my favorite paper I wrote ten years ago in undergrad. Original paper covered Frankenstein, Dracula, and Carmilla.

The Gothic novel combines that which is natural and familiar with the unnatural and unfamiliar in order to create the sense of uncanny dread that is hallmark of the genre. At its height in the 19th century, the subversion of Victorian ideals and the exploration of deviant behavior was a key part of the gothic and, in particular, the sub-genre of the Monster gothic. Though never explicit, homoerotic subtext runs rampant throughout Bram Stoker’s Dracula - from the Count’s possessiveness of Jonathan to the homosocial friendship of Lucy’s suitors. Restricted by the standards of the time, however, none of these would-be queer relationships are allowed to express their desire in the usual manner; instead, the male subjects consummate their desire via a female surrogate through the exchange of blood. 

Our primary polycule is of course compromised of Quincey, Arthur, and Jack. Not only are these men old friends, war-time buddies, but in this post-war world they all fixate on one woman... Lucy Westenra. Lucy, who so boldly asks “Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble?” In this question she establishes herself as a sexual deviant in the eyes of the time, thus becoming the perfect candidate to act as proxy for the homoerotic marriage between her suitors. Though the men cannot express their love for Lucy, and by extent one another, in the traditional physical sense, her declining health unites them in a way that was previously impossible.  Through their blood transfusions, the three suitors and Van Helsing—who also expresses a level of attraction to Lucy—unite in one body.

In her work Our Vampires, Ourselves, Nina Auerbach writes: “Dracula forges this male community of passionate mutual admiration, but he cannot join it. Only indirectly, by drinking Lucy’s blood after the four men have “married” her (and each other) in a series of transfusions can Dracula infiltrate the heroic brotherhood (Auerbach 82).”

Dracula’s drinking of Lucy’s post-transfusion blood is a violation of the contract the four men have created with one another; he is an outsider, uninvited, imposing himself upon their sacred union. The drinking of Lucy’s blood not only establishes him as an active agent in the ‘marriage’ (whereas Lucy herself is a passive body), but the very nature of his participation is contrary to that of the other men. Instead of putting blood into Lucy in a symbolic act of penetration (male body fluid entering the female host), Dracula’s bite, though penetrative, removes the fluid that binds the men in the marriage. This can be seen as a reversal of the sex act, a further “abomination” in the eyes of Victorian heteronormativity.

After the death of Lucy, the role of surrogate falls to the next available woman—Mina Harker, adding Jonathan to the homosocial polycule. This quick shift from Lucy to Mina brings into question whether or not the identity of the surrogate truly matters, or merely that she exists. (Note, this was written before I’d considered the coding between Lucy and Mina. They really went from Lucy to her girlfriend!) When Dracula targets Mina as his next victim, he again acts as the catalyst for the homoerotic marriage to be consummated in the new surrogate. By forcing Mina to drink his blood, Dracula formally introduces himself into the marriage, thus increasing the horror of the situation for the men. Their already diluted marriage (considering they did not directly give their blood to Mina as they did with Lucy) has once again been tainted. The elimination of Dracula becomes their primary concern out of vengeance and a need to restore the sanctity of their union - the men are eventually successful in this mission.

Outwardly, Dracula holds up the moral ideals of the time as the most aberrant characters are ultimately punished; in reality, however, it remains queer through the homoerotic marriage. Lucy is ultimately destroyed as is the direct mingling of blood that unites the men in marriage. Dracula, the source of the reversed sex act, is also destroyed through an act of manly sacrifice on the part of Quincey Morris. While the disrupted marriage of the remaining companions cannot exist as it once did, it continues on via their surrogate. Through Mina and her son Quincey, the mingling of the blood continues. The young Quincey becomes a product of the homoerotic polygamist marriage, a true symbol of the love the men felt and continue to feel for one another.  TL;DR The men of Dracula all fixate on the same woman, first Lucy, then Mina, because they all actually want to bang one another but can’t because of heteronormativity. Giving blood transfusions to the same woman is the closest they can get to sexy times with each other. This book is very gay. 

[atundratoadstool]

heyy you might have been asked this before but im about to start a project for my english class about queer (especially bisexual) vampires, i can find quite a lot of stuff about dracula but do you have any links or anything to more general stuff about vampires and sexuality

I did write a little bit about landmark articles regarding queer readings of Dracula here, but I confess to being very out of the loop as regards this vein of scholarship and as regards non-Dracula vampire scholarship in general these days. Nina Auerbach's Our Vampires Ourselves might have some critical material you could find useful, and while I haven't read it in a long while Trevor Holmes "Coming Out of the Coffin: Gay Males and Queer Goths in Contemporary Vampire Fiction" in Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture is certainly applicable to your topic. Both of these works are fairly old at this point, however, and I wasn't blown out of the water by either of them.

In terms of vampire texts you might examine outside of Dracula that will provide fruitful queer readings, I can probably give you some more direction. I assume if you're researching this topic, you are familiar with Carmilla, but another queer 19th century vampire text I wish more people were familiar with was Karl Heinrich Ulrichs’ "Manor," a short story written by an early gay rights activist that [Spoilers] feature's a youth beset by a vampire boyfriend who yearns for him hard enough to twist his way around and off of the stake pinning him to his coffin! Interview with the Vampire is pretty easily read through a queer lens as is the film The Hunger. While I've only had it recommended to me by a colleague and have yet to read it, The Gilda Stories features a black bisexual heroine and I have been told it is a very enjoyable text.

If any of my followers have additional suggestions, please feel free to chime in! This is a topic I'd be happy to revisit at this point myself, and I'd benefit from any recommendations people have.