#Empire of the Vampire

[ping1n]

insane that empire of the vampire isnt insanely popular on here. it's goth. it's got vampires. it's got vampire-themed fantasy Catholicism. the main character is repressing his bisexuality so hard he cannot have a normal conversation with another man. GOD forbid a male vampire. there are other characters that are explicity homosexual this book is just too committed to the queerbaiting grind.

our main character belongs to an order of vampire hunting priests whose magic tattoos necessitate they fight shirtless. the entire story is our protagonist reluctantly recounting his life story after he has already lost. we know the whole time that everything good in his life will be taken away from him. it's important anyway.

in terms of actual setting is a fantasy world post vampire apocalypse. the sun went out and now the vampires can come out in the day. we follow the protagonist in 3 stages of his life concurrently as he rises to become the legendary hero Gabriel De Lyon, his older, more cynical self on a quest for the holy grail, and the completely defeated sad angry old man captured by vampires and forced to tell his story.

its fucking good. go read it

[vividxpages]

Is there a therapy group yet for people who finished "Empire of the Damned." I feel like I need to talk but I also have no words at all. 🦇🙃

[velxarisq]

Day 1927473 of watching Gabriel De Leon repress his bisexuality (I am being driven to madness just make out w the pretty historian man already)

[morgana0anagrom]

I'm so happy to finally share this artwork with you guys, I did this piece for @thelibrarianbox as an alternate dust jacket for The Empire Of The Damned by @misterkristoff hope you guys will like it xoxo logo design belongs to @jimmyorrsome

[yourlocalcoffeeenthusiast]

Vampires are human and that's what's terrifying about them. The whole rhetoric that vampires loose their human soul upon their transformation is just a good reason to kill them. And it also does make them seem like absolute monsters, untrustworthy liars, beasts. It offers solace to separate humans from monsters with such an obvious and clear line. But vampires are human in the exact way a human is human. What makes them monsters is that they have no limits and no repercussions for their actions. They're immortal, strong humans that can do as they please without being punished. That's why they're monsters. It's not because they're not human anymore. It's because they're as much human as one can be. They're humans with no limits.

[justporo]

I deeply believe it is a law of nature that as soon as you get turned into a vampire (especially if male), your top three buttons just magically open up or the top of your shirt unties, because...

...if people can't see your collarbone, are you even a vampire?

I also brought evidence!

Exhibit A:

Astarion (obviously...), Baldur's Gate 3

Exhibit B:

Alucard, Castlevania (technically only half a vampire but giving full vampire energy)

Exhibit C:

Lestat de Lioncourt, Interview with the Vampire

Exhibit D:

Adam (left), Only Lovers Left Alive

Exhibit E:

Gabriel de Léon, Empire of the Vampire (yeah yeah, ik, this is basically cheating because he's only half vampire, but hear me out:)

(Shirt has left the building at this point)

Exhibit F:

Damon Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries

Exhibit C (Addition):

(Again) Lestat, Queen of the Damned (you can barely see it here, and I'm willing to accept this as addition to Exhibit C)

Exhibit G:

Selene, Underworld (showing at least the one part of skin that's important!)

I'll happily accept additional evidence supporting my case, thank you!

[unheoly-confessions]

[moonflower85]

Put a man in a room for a hundred years with a thousand books, and he'll know a million truths. Put him in a room for a year with silence, and he'll know himself.

- Gabriel de León, Empire of the Vampire

[starfallkaz]

I just finished Empire of the Damned and I am demanding FINANCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPENSATION!!!! WHAT TBE FUCK!!!! What is it with Jay Kristoff and RF Kuang, where they truly don’t believe nice things can happen!! YOU SICK FUCKS!!!!!

[austenwazright]

All those insults, the "let me see your ink", the long looks..... yeah, I'm sure Gabriel and François are flirting

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

5 star reads of 2024 ↳ empire of the damned by jay kristoff

[lucialeevermillion]

The Return of the Black Lion

1st. This Entrance?

Beautifully dramatic. Dude walks out in a lighting storm, sword in hand, lioness at his side? Absolutely stunning. Perfection on a page.

2nd. This set of lines?

What a thing to say

[tg-pilled]

Jean-Francois and Gabriel

[reinekes-fox]

My colleagues „oh are you reading the bible?“

… something like that

[epicnessunfolds]

Empire of the Damned pg. 235-237, now I get it

[lostinpages-99]

“But don’t you see? We don’t get broken. We’re made broken. We are not whole alone. But if we’re blessed, if we’re brave, we might find those few whose edges fit against our own. Like pieces of the same puzzle, or shards of the same shattered blade. Those people who, in their own broken way, make our broken edge complete.”

Jay Kristoff, Empire of the Damned, p. 403.