#Haven't actually read Dracula

[yanderedrabbles]

Letters from a Yandere Vampire

December 7th, 1886

Dear y/n,

Please do not think me presumptuous for writing to you so soon, but my heart would give me no rest. I have been unable to stop thinking of you since our encounter at the Duke's soiree.

Perhaps it is my countenance or perhaps my foreign heritage, but London's débutantes seem to find me positively frightful. I had resigned myself to yet another evening of disappointment when you introduced yourself to me.

In all my travels, I have met few ladies with your boldness of spirit. You transformed my dour evening into one of unimaginable enjoyment.

I have included with my letter some pressed flowers from my native Transylvania. You expressed much interest in the botany of my homeland and I hope these will intrigue you.

Your interest in my travels is remarkably flattering. And, if I may be so bold, may I invite you to a dinner at my salon? I have much still to share.

Yours sincerely,

Count Nicolae Drăculești

December 17th, 1886

My dearest y/n,

How I enjoyed our evening together! When we danced, I felt my soul set afire. In my travels, none have so captivated me.

Do not think me hasty, but I have sent my messenger with a gift. I can think of no better place for these jewels than around your neck. Please, accept them with my most sincere compliments.

You amused me very much when you pointed out my teeth. My fangs are indeed much longer and sharper than a normal man's. Perhaps you wish to feel their sharpness against your skin?

The nights grow longer and colder. Do you dislike the winter darkness, I wonder. Or do you only long for someone to share it with, as I do?

Ah, forgive my rambling! I'm writing to ask if you will allow me the privilege of escorting you to the Yuletide ball? I can think of no finer gift to celebrate Christmas.

I must soon depart for my home and I insist on spending more time together before then.

Yours,

Nicolae Drăculești

December 25th, 1886

My love,

Merry Christmas! I walked through the untouched snow and even London seemed beautiful and pure.

In this cold, I can think of nothing but having you with me. A day without you is an eternity past.

It seems I have been waiting for you for centuries. Is it to bold to say you are the woman of my dreams? Forgive this fool his insolence, but when I write to you I feel possessed.

You have asked me at length about my aversion to the Church and silver. You are such a logical creature but there are some things beyond the realm of science.

Seek to know no more, for both our sakes.

Another matter has been bothering me of late. I have noticed Lord Lancaster has expressed an interest in you.

The man fawns over you like a slobering hound. As your companion, it is my duty to advise against him. He is unworthy of your attention, much less your sympathy. 

Surely you see that it is you and I that are the more compatible match?

Ever yours,

Nicușor

January 1st, 1887

Dear,

I wished to keep you ignorant of my nature. And yet, you have seen me unmasked. A creature of the night.

It was your blood that did it. A single drop was all it took for my instinct to take over.

I hope you are unhurt. If I were in my right mind, I never would have pinned you against the wall as I did. I never would have forced my kiss upon you.

I could hear your heart racing when I showed you my fangs. Why did you not scream?

Did I fighten you into silence? Or was it something else?

You asked me what you are to me and at the time I had no answer to give. Are you my prey? My meal?

I have spent all night in thought and still I fear uttering these words.

You are my beloved.

My heart belongs entirely to you, wretched and sinful though it may be. No blood is sweeter than yours.

I burn for you, my darling.

I grow agitated at each day that passes when we are not together. My treacherous mind plays such awful tricks on me. Surely you have not cast me aside for another? Or worse, have I frightened you beyond redemption?

Oh, banish the thought! Who has your affection? Your love?

Please, put my poor heart at ease. Meet me in the gazebo at the end of your garden after sunset.

I cannot bear to be parted from you much longer.

Ever your slave,

Nicușor

y/n,

My castle must be prepared for your arrival and I have set forth with great haste to do so. In case you awake before my return, I've left you this letter.

You are currently on board a private train car bound for Transylvania. Do not attempt to leave. My guards have strict orders to ensure you reach home.

You are changed, my dear.

I have bitten you and transformed you into a creature like myself. Upon our final meeting, I intended only to say goodbye. You are too fine and beautiful a creature to be wasted on the likes of me.

But when I saw you in the moonlight, I could not help myself.

You are so beautiful. So bright and lively. You are what my cold halls have lacked all these many years.

My love, I drank your blood. Every drop of it. Nothing in my centuries of existence has ever tasted so sweet, so right.

It can be frightening, I know. But do not despair.

The light of the sun will forever be out of reach, but there are a thousand traits you've gained. Strength. Speed. Immortality.

The grave will never taste your flesh, old age will never hound at your door.

As I am the one who changed you, I am also your Lord and Master. The bond between us is forged in blood. Wherever I go, you must always follow. If I am to die, so shall you. If I am to command, you must obey.

It is a tight leash and not one of my devising, I assure you.

I intend to be your partner and not your Lord. So for both our sakes, my love, do not give me cause to use that power.

You and I have all eternity together. Does it please you as it does me?

I have longed for a bride for centuries. You cannot imagine the loneliness. And in all those years, none have impressed themselves upon my heart as you have.

I have stolen you from the sunshine and into my world of night and blood. I have ripped away any hope of heaven and salvation. No God now, no church or altar.

I am a rogue and a thief and still I beg of you. Please love, do not hate me.

I've made you into my vampire bride.

Your husband,

Nicușor Drăculești

[b4sically-ficti0n]

Watching Van Helsing for the first time and have barely finished the first 6 minutes, and I'm already feeling so many kinds of ways.

My prevailing thought is:

"WTF were these people on when they did this!?"

But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

So far this is just weird in a bunch of different ways, but I am vibing with it so far.

[imquitelost]

Dracula: these are my three girlfriends. And yes they drink blood

[comicaurora]

Hello! This isn't comic-related, but concerning the Frankenstein's Eyes Incident, I thought it might be worth it to drop by and say that the main thing your classics summaries inspired me to do is actually read more, especially the source materials, including Frankenstein, which became my favorite book a few years ago, and still inspires basically everything I create (the amount of homunculus and artificially constructed characters in my writing are... something). And after being introduced to it through OSP, Dracula was my gateway read into the horror fan I am today. ith the risk of putting too much feels into an ask to a stranger, if I haven't stumbled into OSP when I did, I might not have ended up being a writer at all, and now a few weeks ago my first short story got actually published and that rekindling of love for the art of storytelling sorta kinda maybe changed my life. It's frustrating when people on the internet misinterpret what you're saying and use it as basis for misinformation, but there's also other cases! I'm sure you know about that already but still, a quick "hey, your fascination with stories was so contagious it made my life better" wouldn't hurt, probably. That's all I hope you have a good day!

cool cool coolcoolcool-

[theabigailthorn]

Have you considered moving to america? you know there are a lot of blond americans in america, and most of them would be absolutely enchanted by a tall lady with a fancy-pants british accent

I've thought about it, for career reasons rather than romance!

It's a difficult question. If I were to move to the US, right now L.A. would be the place to go: I have contacts there and I'm developing projects there. It's likely I'd be able to have a better standard of living out there too. There's also the political angle: if the Conservatives win the next British election there's a nonzero chance I'll have to leave the country because if they pass a national bathroom law and I can't use a women's toilet, I can't go to work on a set or in a theatre! I know the US is worse in a lot of places, but at least over there some politicians are standing up for trans people, some politicians are trans, some cities are refusing to comply with discriminatory laws... There seems to be a better line of defence over there, in some places? The sorts of places I would be going to live anyway. It feels like in the US the extremes are more extreme: some states are worse than Britain, but some are actually better. I think the US entertainment industry is in some ways ahead of the UK on trans issues - I've had British people straight up refuse to work with me cause I'm trans even though that's illegal, and string me along for ages cause they think I'll be a diversity checkbox for them. Whereas in my (admittedly limited) experience American producers are more willing to give me a shot and don't see my transness as an obstacle. The producers of [SUPER REDACTED] are American and they gave me that role even though the character is written as cis and cis women auditioned alongside me! I thanked one of them like, "Hey, this sort of thing has never been done and it's not the sort of thing trans people are usually allowed anywhere near!" and she was like, "Bwuh? You nailed the audition, why wouldn't we give it to you?" I said to her at the wrap party, "The idea that a trans woman could be a [PERFORMER OF THIS TYPE] has not yet entered the minds of anyone outside this room, and when it does it's going to be a gamechanger for all of us." See also Nebula! I pitched Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend to them and they greenlit it 15 days later. Contrastingly, I emailed a pitch deck and pilot episode for a trans-led TV series to a bunch of British production companies back in August and a lot of them haven't even read it yet. I like working for Americans because they just seem to get it on a level that a lot of Brits don't, yet.

On the other hand!

The entire US entertainment industry is about to move to Britain! So, maybe the smart career move is to stay. My family are here, my home is here, and despite everything I do love this country. I would be sad to leave. But we'll see. The next few years are likely to be a little... unusual. My plan right now is to have one foot in both countries, and then perhaps at some point the acting industry will make the decision for me.

[chthonic-cassandra]

hello my friend! currently rereading dracula, as you know, and wondered if you have any recs for where to start with criticism about the novel? 🖤

This question makes me so happy! <3

I am dreadfully out of date on this, but I can certainly give you places to start; these are not all necessarily recommendations for criticism I like (there's precious little of that), but more introductions to classic criticism in the field.

The classics

The Norton Critical Edition of Dracula (edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal), alongside the Cambridge Companion to Dracula, are both good introductions which collect representative examples of some of the most popular scholarly strains of thought on the novel. When someone asks me to recommend an edition of Dracula to start with, I always suggest the Norton.

Leonard Wolf (who was not Virginia Woolf's husband, but who was one of Anne Rice's college professors) was one of the most important voices in the critical reevaluation of Dracula which started in the 1970's. I often disagree with him (so much so that I once wrote a fic about how much I disagree with him), but his annotated edition of Dracula was my first. His important works are A Dream of Dracula and Dracula: A Connoisseur's Guide. He (along with Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally) was an important early proponent of the "Dracula is Vlad Tepes" theory, which was hotly opposed by...

Elizabeth Miller, ornery grand dame of Dracula criticism. She is extremely invested in being the most reasonable and the least prone to flights of fancy of all the critics, which means she does often say useful things, but she's also a little boring. She's best known for Dracula: Sense and Nonsense, but it's more a litany of complaints than actually analysis. Her books in general have useful primary source stuff.

Once you get into analysis of Dracula reception and adaptions, then I can with a full heart recommend David J. Skal's Hollywood Gothic, full of delightful trivia, which was truly Skal's strength.

Recommendations I more stand by:

Donald Glover's Vampires, Mummies, and Liberals: Bram Stoker and the Politics of Popular Fiction is one of the very few works of Dracula criticism that I thought actually dealt in any kind of thoughtful way with the racial politics of the book.

Christy Desmet's essay on Ophelia, Ellen Terry, and Dracula, collected in Shakespearean Gothic, was excellent and I still think about it; the whole collection is very much worth reading.

Loved Ann-Louise Kibbie's Transfusion: Blood and Sympathy in the Nineteenth Century Literary Imagination, which isn't all about Dracula but obviously deals substantially with it.

As a teenager I had a lot of fun reading the uploaded issues of The Journal of Dracula Studies and sometimes fantasized about submitting something to them while concealing my age/lack of higher education to see what happened (I never did). I remember feeling very vindicated by Katharina Mewald's "The Emancipation of Mina?" but don't know how it would hold up now. I haven't kept up with the most recent issues (perhaps I will start!) but at a glance there seem to be some interesting things.

ETA forgot about Allison Case's Plotting Women: Gender and Narration in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Novel! Good Mina material, comparing her with Marian in Woman in White.

[obsidian-warthog]

Haven't seen as much of it this year, but I'm joining the 'aggressive reminder that Jonathan Harker is not oblivious' squad. He literally closed off today's entry on a 'if I don't make it home' note.

And keep in mind the landlord's wife only says to Jonathan that the eve of St George's Day is a time of evil spirits, nothing about Dracula himself being dangerous, just the date. And Jonathan has gone past that date plenty of times with no monster encounters.

For those of you who have already read the whole thing, this is basically the situation with Helsing and Lucy's 'illness' in miniature. The critical information was withheld because it'd sound too absurd, but because of that the warnings don't actually carry the information needed to protect the listener.

Also the format of the story itself means that every hint of something being wrong you read in this part is something Jonathan both noticed and chose to write down.

[chickenscratchstudios]

Sad boy hours :(

There's a whole headcannon/motif thing with Dracula I have going on in my head that'll never manifest in anything outside of this piece so I'm gonna yap about it here. I imagine Arthur always had flowers on or around him when Lucy was alive, be it pinned to his lapel, tucked in his hat band, or just stuffed in his pockets. When Lucy dies, he doesn't wear the flowers any more. He also probably grows some facial hair but I haven't figured out what that'll look like yet.

I remember reading somewhere that when Victorian men were in mourning, they'd wear a black band on their left arm. The thickness of the band depended on their relation to the deceased-- I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember that husbands wore the thickest band. I imagine Arthur wears a husband band, despite not actually marrying Lucy. Jack, Quincey, and Van Helsing would probably wear smaller bands, but they'd probably be larger than what was customary. I'm not sure how close Jonathan was with Lucy, but he's definitely at least wear a two-inch band out of solidarity for Mina regardless.

[belles-non-wallpapering-content]

Dracula and Mina E.S x FEM! Reader

Overture- Egon has to go to the mayor's annual Halloween party to babysit Venkman, but he's bringing you, and you just found the perfect costume

CWs- Checking each other out shamelessly, rented costumes, kissing, biting, this is actually just a love letter to Harold Ramis' teeth, because oh my god.

A/N- Day 10! Just about 1/3 of the way through and I still haven't decided between two Halloween costumes. Also I was generally picturing a short version of the red dress Winona Ryder wears in Bram Stoker's Dracula, just for reference. Lots of ruffles, a bustle, low cut, etc.

If you'd like to read the other things I've written this month-- October Writing Master List

Every year the mayor throws a huge halloween party, where he lets his rich and famous donors dress up, drink for free, and usually agree to give him more money. This year you and your boyfriend are going too, and he could not possibly be less enthused. 

Peter leveraged invites from the mayor’s office as payment for a few public service ghost busting jobs, because he wanted to make fun of rich people and drink for free. A noble endeavor, but one Egon was not excited to babysit. Ray begged him to go, and after he agreed that Egon could bring you, he accepted. 

You were over the moon. Even if you weren’t a big party girl, a costume party with your wonderful boyfriend was something you could never pass up. You started brainstorming costume ideas immediately, until you came up with the perfect idea. 

Egon would be Dracula, and you would be his love, Mina. It was purely selfish, you got to wear a short, low cut red dress (Watching Egon get incredibly flustered over it), and you got to look at Egon in a suit with his hair pushed back. You declined getting him false vampire fangs, his naturally sharp teeth were arguably one of your favorite things about him–physically anyway. 

You kept your lips sealed about what you’d both be wearing, but tonight was the night. After as many lie detector tests as he could get away with while you were half asleep, and some intensive snooping, he still couldn’t figure out what you wanted to be for the party. But when he got back to his apartment, while you were nowhere to be found, a garment bag was left on his bed. The suit was inside, with a note stuck to the outside. A hot pink sticky note that just said ‘No Biting 🖤’ written in your handwriting. 

You started getting ready early. You wanted your makeup already done, and hair all set by the time Egon knocked on your door, you knew he’d be here well before you had to leave. He knocked more as a formality, then let himself in with the key you gave him. 

You couldn't decide whether to swoon or laugh at Egon, walking fully serious through your apartment, with his little cape in hand, suit all done up. 

“So no biting? None?” You knew that would get him riled up. But what fun would it be to just tell him what you were planning? He loved surprises. 

“Mmm. I don’t know, this is kind of a work event for you, since we’re going with your coworkers and all.”

“This is only so that Venkman can get intoxicated and embarrass the mayor for fun, I don’t think professionalism is a concern.”

“Oh come on now, calm down. You haven’t even seen my outfit yet.” You winked at him and picked up the garment bag with your costume in it, and then closed yourself in the walk-in closet to change, leaving Egon to sit on your bed and wait. You took your sweet time pulling on the short, extravagant dress, and even longer pulling on the accompanying stockings you bought later. 

“Could you help me lace up the back?” You called out as you opened the door, just as you were walking back out. 

“Of course.” He agreed before he saw you, and he was immediately worried he wouldn’t remember how to tie a knot with how beautiful you looked. He was putting everything he had into focusing on the laces instead of how much he’d rather have no plans, and really forfeit the ‘no biting’ rule. He must’ve cleared his throat half a dozen times to try and reset his brain, just hoping to keep it together a little bit longer.  

“So what do you think? I thought it could be a cute matching type thing, you know? Dracula and Mina.”  He gave a wistful sigh, hands planted firmly on your hips. 

“I cannot believe I agreed to go to this party, I’d much rather be able to stay home with you–in this– tonight.”

“So you like it?” You threw your arms around his neck, his cape in hand, pushing yourself even closer to him. He was just starting to recover from the shock of your costume choice, but the proximity got him flustered again. 

“Yes– that–that is accurate.” But when he leaned in to kiss you, you leaned away, pulling back to wrap the ribbons of his cape around his collar. 

He pouted intensely, but once you got the knot tied loosely, and tucked into the collar of his button up, you gave him two kisses. One on the lips, and then while he was still distracted and smiling, one on the tip of his nose. 

He responded by letting himself fall forward, face first, until his mouth met your shoulder. He pressed one kiss before letting his teeth start to lightly sink into your skin. 

“You are going to leave a mark, and I don't think I can handle the teasing from your coworkers. Even Ray was picking on me last time.” He didn’t come up from his leaned down position, but he did release his teeth long enough to get out a retort

“You’re the one who chose a vampire costume.” 

“And I stand by that. Now let’s go, spend 20 minutes making fun of Peter, he’s probably already drunk by now. But then we can come back here. I have the costume until the 3rd.” You gently pushed him back up, cupping his face with your hand. 

 “I’ll clear my calendar.”

[argyleheir]

Top books to read this year!

Thanks for the tag @tideoftrash <3

High Fidelity (Nick Hornby) - part of my background research into 1990s London, which I am really nervous to write into in my WIP.

The Stars Did Wander Darkling (Colin Meloy) - newish novel by one of my favorite songwriters. Possibly YA? Already bought the soundtrack on vinyl lol <3

The Great War and Modern Memory (Paul Fussell) - classic book about WWI that has been on my shelf a very long time.

The Vampire Lestat (Anne Rice) - if I get to this, it means I've actually finished my reread of IWTV, which has been taking me months. Haven't read TVL since about 2002.

What Manner of Man (St. John Starling) - read this as it was being released weekly and looking forward to taking in the lot.

A Dowry of Blood (ST Gibson) - Dracula tangential novel recced to me a while ago!

We Both Laughed in Pleasure (Lou Sullivan) - have started this before and had to put it down because ~feelings~. Will make it through this time.

Bath Haus (PJ Vernon) - looks sexy and has been sitting on my Kindle for about three years.

Less is Lost (Andrew Sean Greer) - one of those situations where I loved the first book to the extent that it made me not want to read the sequel because I'm weird like that. But I'm going to do it <3

Tagging @0nelittlebirdtoldme @tigerballoons @17panicattacksinatrenchcoat @nightmarist @grimgrinningghost456 or anyone who wants to play!

[petrawood]

I keep thinking about the Jonathan Harker Time Loop and how most posts are about the poor guy having flashbacks or trying to somehow sidestep The Horrors. You know, all reflection about how we see him.

But listen.

How about how HE sees US?

Imagine you are Jonathan Harker, and you are leaving for a work trip. You haven't really travelled much, and you are very excited, so you do research about that fascinating country called Transylvania, you write down your train schedules, the names of the cities you pass by, the recipes you find interesting or unfamiliar. You really want to remember everything, after all, you know you are going to spend some time away and you are sure Mina would love all the details of this little adventure! You are going to miss her so much, so making sure that everything is accurate so you can later faithfully recreate your journey makes you feel closer to her.

You could do without those weird dreams, though.

Moreover, since the beginning of your travels you have kept meeting more and more people.

They strike you as strange.

Most of them greet you as if you were old friends, clapping you in the back and talking about how happy it made them to receive the letter about your upcoming job trip, which you find mildly confusing, and the familiarity that they spark on the depths of your mind somewhat soothing.

Others smile at you and wish you fast and happy travels, something mournful gleaming in the depths of their eyes, and you feel like they are not really looking at you, but at some other man standing right behind you.

"Maybe this time it will go well, right?"

And you have nothing to say about that.

Some people you can tell recognize you, but don't really come near. They seem hesitant, and not as overtly familiar as the previous groups of people, acting instead in a manner more fitting to strangers. They follow you at a distance, looking torn between curiosity and dread, and you can tell that this is their fist time making this journey as well.

Then you get to Transylvania, and the entire crowd seems to go mad.

While you had only been meeting people in groups before, now they seem to cover almost every free inch of the country, coming together in thick clusters that somehow never actually seem to encumber your travel. They read what you write over your shoulder, they nod at the scenery and watch all the people getting in and out of your carriage.

They seem to be specially fond of the villagers, in spite of the country people's apparent lack of interest in them, since as far as you have seen the two groups never actually cross words.

In one particularly noteworthy morning you have paprika for breakfast, which is met with great approval by all.

You get closer to Castle Dracula, and the amount of people still increases, although a low number of them appear and disappear just as quickly, checking on you and then departing. They explain that they will come back later, or that they are waiting for someone else, and sometimes you swear you can hear the sound of waves in their steps.

Of the ones that stay, some get close enough to stand with you, while others prefer to stay by themselves, either taking notes on their own journals or -something that baffles you every single time you see it- sitting behind some kind of canvas and mixing colors while they wave away your worries at the bumping of the carriage ruining their work.

And at last, after weeks of travel that somehow only feel like three days, you arrive at Castle Dracula.

You stand before a great door, waiting for great man, while a great multitude surrounds you, all their eyes on you.

You hear steps approaching through the wood, and the very universe around you seems to hold their breath, waiting for the beginning of a path that seems new but well tread, a path that just for that endless second you feel extending behind and in front of you, strengthening and waning, with its first knot waiting at that door.

So the strong wood opens, a Count makes his greeting, and you, together with all the people next and behind you, friends new an old, step through the door.

[vickyvicarious]

I've not - and I don't have time now, but I'll make sure to check it out when I do. Thanks!

Go down together by rallamajoop

I thought this was another music rec and spent a few minutes trying to find it on Youtube, hahaha. Only when I went to search the wider webs after having no luck did I realize you were sending me a vampire!Mina fic rec. Specifically, another one where Dracula is defeated but Jonathan still ends up alone in the Castle with vampire women - well, just the one this time.

Go down together - @rallamajoop

To one thing I have made up my mind: if we find out that Mina must be a vampire in the end, then she shall not go into that unknown and terrible land alone.

I love the variation in these. My favorite aspect of this one was the slower and more deliberate pace (though the choice to act was still made at the last moment, the ultimate reason was made well before). We hear the hesitation and the 'knowing better' but being unable to choose differently, and not regretting the choice once made. It is a very good match to the quote it's based on.

[slightlydraconic]

I'm very excited to start @batmanisagatewaydrug's 2025 book bingo! This is such a fun variety of categories. I haven't decided what I'll read for most of the spaces yet, but I have a few ideas to start:

Reread a Childhood Favorite: Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke was my absolute jam as a kid and I've been meaning to revisit it for awhile.

Sequel: Recently learned that Dragon Rider has a sequel, The Griffin's Feather, which I've never read! Amazing!

Published Before 1950: I've never actually read all of Dracula by Bram Stoker, and I really want to this year.

Bookseller or Librarian Rec.: One of my friends is a librarian, and in the past he has highly recommended The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, which intrigues me.

I'll be looking for more titles to fit the other categories, and am definitely taking recommendations if anyone has them!

[rasstegai]

You like vampires and toxic yaoi, yes? Have you heard of/ read the indie substack novel "What Manner of Man"? It's like Dracula but with a priest kink mixed in and he actually fucks the vampire.

whoa mama haven't heard of it, thank you for the rec!

[whoiwanttoday]

I have never posted Lily-Rose Depp before despite the fact that obviously she is attractive and obviously I have heard of her. The problem is the children of celebrities come with baggage. I am not mad about the Nepo baby thing, neither do I hold it against them nor do I agree with the people who think it is unfair to point out. Like all things, I think people can go too far one direction or another. There are so many invisible advantages that come with being the daughter of a famous actor when trying to be an actor and not all of them are as simple as access, there is just a baseline of knowledge. I am the rare sort who can trace a line of college graduates back 4 generations into the 1800's and while the vast majority of those ancestors were either men of the cloth or teachers so it didn't come with the benefit of fabulous wealth or access to halls of power that most people would assume and point to as the advantages it does come with a tradition of learning and knowledge that gave me a foundation many people don't get. Children of college educated people tend to be given many, many early childhood educational advantages because their parents are educated and that compounds as you go back further. My grandmother was not churning butter or working a loom when she watched me but she was teaching me about germ theory. Anyway, all that said, there are so many invisible advantages, including just the knowledge that being an actor is a real career and there are ways to make it work, a thing that might feel obvious but probably feels less real and more like a pipe dream to someone who grew up the son of a pipe fitter in Wisconsin.

So what I am saying is her dad comes with her when I post her and I have no interest in that and it probably kept me from ever seriously pursuing a post with her but now she is very appropriate because I watched Nosferatu, a movie that comes with a great deal of baggage. The Dracula story is so often filmed that the character of Dracula is actually the single most played character in the history of film. This iteration of course comes from a legendary silent film that is an exemplar of both the silent era and the German Expressionism that changed film making forever. But also there is already a legendary remake of that legendary movie, Nosferatu the Vampyre by Warner Herzog that does the same thing this movie does by taking the silent movie and then adding back all the bits from the Dracula novel to flesh things out giving us a synthisized version that is the Dracula story but with all the changes Nosferatu made. So I could not watch this movie without thinking about those movies, they were in conversation with each other whether this movie wanted to be or not. And that brings me to Lily-Rose Depp. I had a professor once who used to rage against "extra textuals". And he was right in one sense, any reading of the text has to be supported by the text itself. I have no time for your bullshit head cannon that is never in the text just because you like it, it's psuedo-intellectual nonsense. But also art grows and changes with you because of your experiences and that idea that people will view every movie in a vacuum is bullshit, that's not how life works and we can't cordon off parts of our brains like that. True greats knew that. Hitchcock cast people specifically because of their past roles and public image because he wanted that baggage, he knew people would bring it with him and this allowed him to manipulate them. So what I am saying is that Lily-Rose Depp is very pretty and on some level it might be unfair to not allow her to be a separate person from her parents but that's how the world works sometimes and this is all very low steaks. Maybe that will change now as this is actually the first thing I have ever seen her in and she was pretty good. That surprised me, which is likely unfair but I haven't liked her dad in anything in decades. Oh, well, no, apparently she can't escape the comparisons still. Oh well. Today I want to fuck Lily-Rose Depp.

[amf-studios]

The spooky month is upon us!

But before I begin my plans for Halloween festivities, I'd like to introduce you all to last year's Halloween yokai! These are some the first fankai I ever made and post(so go easy on them. XP)

First up, the vampire nemesis, Dracula and Desperatu!

These boys are my interpretations of characters from Bram stokers world famous Gothic horror novel, Dracula!

The titular character has already been name dropped in yokai watch before, however he has not made an on-screen appearance. So I corrected that~!

Dracula is an S rank, drain attribute of the shady tribe, with the soultimate "blood moon blitz" where he transforms into a swarm of bats to drain his opponents vitality!

Now the other guy is a bit more inspired! Desperatu is a portmanteau of Desperado(a term often used in wild west stories) and Nosfuratu(another word for Vampire). This Gothic cowboy is the spirit of Quincy P. Morris, which if you've actually read Dracula, you'd know as the man who got the killing blow on old drac!

Being a walking representation of the state of Texas, I played up his already present cowboy influence, and made him a vampire-hunting, cowboy vampire!

Desperatu is an S rank yokai of the brave tribe. He's a Merican yokai, a fire attribute, and has the soultimate "high moon showdown!" Where he fires of six shots from each of his silver-bullet-loaded guns.

If I were to ever make a game, these guys would be the Kyubi/venoct, Arachnus/toadel dude equivalents.

With the vamps out of the way, here's a werewolf! Or should I say, Blairwolf!

By day a young girl named Blair akafudo is a sporty outdoorsman with some mild canine quirks. But by night she's the fierce and a strong Blairwolf!

Like Dracula, we know werewolves exist in yokai watch, we've just never seen them. Though there was an academy Y episode that had weredog/jinmenkin hybrids. Speaking of hybrids, Blair also has some inspiration from the Okuri Inu, a ghostly black dog with piercing red eyes.

But despite her fierce inspiration, she's more like a were-puppy than anything. She's loyal, fun-loving and very affectionate toward her friends!

Blairwolf is D rank, earth attribute of the charming tribe. Her soultimate is called "Lycan-throw" where she digs up a Boulder to throw at her unsuspecting opponents!

Moving on to the next of the big three monsters, time for Frankenstein!

Say hello to Adam Frankenstein, the famous monster from Mary Shelly's sci-fi horror novel! Along with his shadowside form, Krankenstein!

The two forms represent the juxtaposition between the Monster in the book, who was an intelligent, tragic figure abandoned by his creator for his imperfect eyes, from the monster in the movie, which was a hulking, mindless brute.

Adam is normally intelligent and reasonable, but... he has quite the explosive temper if you can get him angry.

In both forms, he is an A rank, lightning attribute of the Eerie tribe. In his lightside, his soultimate is "Charged Adam" which boosts his stats. While his shadowside's is called "ITS ALIVE!" which boosts the entire parties stats!

Next are a more generic monster, a redesign I made of yokai watch style Zombies!

While I love yokai watch 3 and think zombie night was a brilliant idea, I can't say I've always liked their basic Zombie designs. The core part of a Zombie that makes them scary is they still resemble a human, and the yokai watch ones do, just not enough.

So, I ended up making more humanish Zombie designs. You could interpret these ones as more recently deceased then the ones in Canon. Haven't had as much time to rot just yet!

Next up, the spirit of Halloween himself, Stingy Jack/Jack O'Lantern!

The spirit of the man who managed to trick the devil herself, now forced to wonder the earth by lanterns light. Everyone's heard of this pumpkin headed freak in some way or other, even if they don't know his story.

Jack here is a C rank of the shady tribe. A fire attribute with the soultimate "lose your head!" Where he used the alcohol swishing around in his pumpkin head to make it into a molotov cocktail, and throws it at the enemy!

This of course also acts as a self destruct soultimate, because he doesn't have a head after using it. XP

And finally, a yokai late to the batch, but still fitting the Halloween vibes! Here's Potianna!

Ending things off with a wicked witch, Potianna (potion+anna) was one of the best potion brewers of her time, before the witch hunts finally caught up with her.

Now as yokai, she's fused to her beloved cauldron and keeps up her prized work~!

Potianna is a C rank, water attribute of the charming tribe. Her soultimate is called "Brutal Brew" where she dumps her cauldron onto the enemy team, both dealing damage and giving them a random debuff.

She also has a unique skill, "Alchemy" which heals her up every time she's hit with her own element!

I hope you enjoy these Halloween yokai of yesteryear, and look forward to this year's festivities~!