#and then as i put on clown makeup i get upset that its not established canon

[nightmarist]

Ohh since @argyleheir's been reblogging vampire lores:

One of my absolute favorite pieces of vampire lore comes from Magic: the Gathering's Innistrad vampires:

When vampires feed, they will sink their teeth into any exposed flesh. Usually the neck is most convenient, but an arm or even a cheek will do. But the siring bite is special. Vampires want to avoid marring the appearance of their future peers, so often a siring bite is made in some out-of-view location, such as on the upper thigh, the torso under the arm, or the bottom of a foot (although in this last case the victim must be special indeed to be worth the vampire's self-humiliation). — A Planeswalker's guide to Innistrad: Stensia and Vampires

I love the idea that the location of The Bite has special meaning!

I also think it can add to the hierarchy of vampire spawns and bride-grooms. A vampire can cultivate a coven/bloodline/what-have-you of sired spawn, but I think a hierarchy can exist between "lower status" vampires bitten on the neck versus a sired vampire without any visible markings (and thus can "pass" as original vampires since Innistrad's first vampires were changed via ritual, but sired vampires thereafter were bitten), or perhaps they would want to flaunt their special marking by wearing, purposely, low or odd-cut blouses and bodices, or above-ankle trousers and skirts.

The cultural implications of hiding them in non-vampire society vs flaunting them (with jewelry? bespoke clothing? makeup?) in vampire society are interesting!

The thigh bite has more overt sexual implications, being so close to the genitals. Under the arm can have fetishistic implications (breast related or armpit related, especially for queer vampires), but it is also very near the ribs and thus heart. The actual torso near the heart can be romantic, and seductive, without being overtly sexually implied. The foot or ankle I think imply something special for two reasons: the obvious one being that the foot in western culture (as these particular vampires are based in the classic Victorian Gothic sense), the foot is seen as dirty for touching the ground.

But I also think there's an additional submissiveness involved, prostrating oneself Below the person you are siring, essentially on your hands and knees (I'm sure there are more comfortable positions but that I find is the intuitive assumption, like kissing the ground or the feet in reverence). Plus, it's one of hardest bites to see when you're wearing long trousers or gowns, boots, or tall socks + garters where the neck is almost always exposed save for chokers, the under arm can be exposed in working garments or simple shirtlessness, and revealing/low cut or open blouses can reveal chest bites. The other unnoticeable options would be the upper legs or lower abdomen, which again have more sexual and seductive implications compared to the reverence of the foot or ankle bite.

I'd like to add that an additional bite location, the Wrist, could be seen as very romantic and perhaps even chaste, more special than the neck but not as special as the ankle given its visibility.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Mysteries of the Q Files

Chapter 14: Answers From the Background

Trick fumed the entire way back into town and towards Camille’s Diner. The moped puttered along and made them look like a comic duo, though their moods were anything but. Naomi’s frown was deeper than a clown’s and she finally poked Trick in the back of the head.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“You left me at that party while you went and sucked face with that Rachel girl. Not only is she a skank and you smell like booze yourself now, but you left me by myself with a crowd of drunken idiots! If you ever do that to me again, I’ll make sure that you wish that your mom and dad were murdering you!”

“Duly noted,” Trick growled over the puttering of their ride.

“And why are you so upset? You got to make out with a bossy know-it-all like yourself at a party for the cool kids. What could you possibly have to be angry about?”

Trick hated the bitterness in her voice, but he figured that she just didn’t understand what had just happened. He tried to explain slowly.

“Okay Naomi, picture this: a boy and a girl like one another and want to get together. But there is a hold up; they are both in a relationship with other people. Rather than break it off and then hook up, these two decide to do something spectacular. You said that Billy and Tara were up on the second floor?”

Naomi nodded grimly, “The video said they were having sex at that moment.”

“The gall of those two! People expect stuff like that to happen at big parties, but they make a video about it!? What is up with this town! They made it clear to the world that they are now in a relationship and they shamed Tara’s now-ex-boyfriend. Furthermore, Billy had his cronies dunk the guy in a cold pool and then tossed garbage at him. They wanted theatrics. They want people to never forget this. It shows their power and puts everyone else in their assigned places. It gives me an idea of what happened to the others.”

“The kids we are about to meet with,” Naomi stated, her lips pursed.

“Exactly. It’s time that we got the missing story. I think that we will be able to from there find out who has been sicking these monsters on the victims,” Trick said.

“Your mother texted me by the way. She says that we need to stay out of trouble. They are about to strike at the Sphinx’s suspect.”

“They’ve got the wrong person,” Trick insisted. After what he had seen and heard, he knew that the culprit had to be a fellow student. These crazy antics would definitely send any teenager over the edge. “We’ll know after visiting the diner. Besides, we are not on the cool list. We should be pretty safe.”

“I’ll believe that when this is over,” Naomi said. “And I won’t forget this night Trick, believe me.”

“Oh joy,” he muttered under his breath.

They arrived at the diner soon enough and walked inside. It was a cozy place, with a dozen or so tables, a bar, and some booths for the patrons. There was a skinny woman with fashionable glasses behind the bar talking to a guy with a half beard in a tiger cap. He had a sketch pad in front of him and was talking animatedly as he drew and the lady chowed down on mac n’ cheese. There were a couple of high school students nearby who seemed to be eavesdropping. The walls were covered with tons of pictures of patron and posters of very nerdy stuff. A lot of it Trick did not recognize immediately or at all. Naomi on the other hand looked to be home.

“Now this is the kind of place for a proper party,” she said happily.

“If you say,” Trick shrugged.

“I do say so,” she responded, slugging him in the arm.

Trick led them to the eavesdropping kids.

“Well howdy you youths,” the lady said.

“I thought you only called Young Jed a youth,” the man in the cap said.

“There are other youths than just him, Nate,” she replied.

“Yes, but he is youthiest,” the man called Nate said with a big grin.

“Can’t argue with you there,” the lady answered. The kids started snickering. “And this is a private conversation! If you can’t respect the rules of the establishment, go and play your card games next door!”

The teens retreated further into their booth.

“Hi there,” Trick said with a wave. “Are you Camille?”

“The one and only one who should concern you,” she said around a mouthful of macaroni. “What can I do you for?”

“Are these wonderful boys and girls from the high school,” Trick asked.

“Sure are,” Camille answered.

Trick turned to them and said, “Excellent! Because we have some questions for you.”

The six teens, four boys and two girls, suddenly looked mortified. He raised his hands to placate them and continued, “Don’t worry. It won't hurt.”

“You’re that guy that Eustace was talking about,” one girl blurted.

“What do you want here,” one of the boys sneered.

“Hey! Hey! Respect! So long as they are paying customers, they are allowed here,” Camille put in sternly.

“Laying down the law,” Nate said into his drink.

“We’ll take two bowls of that tasty looking mac n’ cheese,” Trick said with his winning grin. Camille rolled her eyes at him but went off to grab the food. “Now then, I did talk to Eustace. My friend Naomi and I have been investigating what has been going on with the recent attacks on students.” Nate seemed to forget his drawing and lean backwards towards them. “We just came from the big party at Billy’s and I think I might have the case almost solved. But there are some details that only you guys can probably fill in. Are even willing to fill in.”

“Why do you say that,” a boy with thick glasses asked cautiously.

“Because after watching one guy get his life ruined tonight, I think that the same thing happened to someone, or someones, at the high school who the cool kids look down on,” Trick answered.

“Your mac,” Camille said from behind. Naomi retrieved the bowls and began shoveling the contents of both into her mouth.

Rolling his eyes, Trick continued, “I know it’s painful to relive something like that, but I need to know. Whose life did they ruin? How? How many people were there to witness it?”

The kids at the table all shared glances and the second girl finally said, “It really isn’t our place to talk about it. It’s not your business anyway.”

“It is when people start getting attacked and kidnapped,” Trick said hotly.

“Maybe they deserved it,” the sneering boy commented nastily.

“No, I don’t think they did,” Trick said. “Tonight, Tara threw her boyfriend Jason under the bus to get in Billy’s pants and they told everyone over a previously made video. This was planned, and it was vicious. I know they did something similar to other people. I need to know who. Once we have the full story, we can begin to meet out justice to those who truly deserve it.”

The kids still didn’t looked convinced. Naomi finally stepped in after swallowing her noodles. “We can pay them back in kind. I am very, very handy with computers and videos. I can make a video to get them back and in front of everyone if that is what you want. But we do need your information. If these attacks are not stopped now, where will they stop in the future? Who knows? It might just be you six next.”

Nice work, Trick thought appreciatively. “Look guys, it’s now or never. I feel it in my gut, and Naomi is right. After seeing what happened tonight, I am ready to get back at those freaks as much as any of you.”

The teens slowly nodded, except for Mr. Sneer Face, and they crammed to make further room for Naomi and Trick. Trick held up a hand and ordered more macaroni before beginning his interrogation.

“First off, where’s Eustace?”

“Cowering in the card shop, waiting for you guys to show up and go away,” Mr. Sneer Face answered.

“Okay, maybe we could tone it down from you,” Trick suggested. “I’m sorry to hear that though. I didn’t mean to frighten him so much.”

While Mr. Sneer Face tried to think of a comeback, one guy with a SlipKnot T-shirt elbowed him hard and told him to shut up as one of the girls asked, “Are you supposed to be hunters?”

“Very astute of you,” Naomi said. “Yes, yes we are.”

“Supernatural, good show,” Camille said as she brought another bowl. Naomi took it promptly.

Trick frowned at his friend but said, “Yes, yes. It is a great show. We had to dress up for the party.”

“Not really,” the kid with glasses said. “The cool kids don’t really like to dress up. They just like to get drunk.”

“I saw a couple of pirates there, though,” Naomi said. Glasses blushed and his eyebrows shot up.

Must be nervous around a cute girl, Trick surmised. “Believe me, the cool kids don’t piss gold. They are for the most part normal, just with more graced lives and with so much more to lose if their popularity wanes. Which is what Jason is learning at the moment.” He shook his head and continued. “So, who in your circle did the cool kids go after with their vicious pranks?”

There was an uncomfortable pause and finally the second girl, one with too much makeup and greasy hair answered, “Not someone from our group, though it was meant for everyone not in the cook kids’ graces. Derek and Mandy…. Derek had a total crush on Tara, and he was so into her that he knew everything about her life. He basically was a stalker, but what she did was even worse. Billy knew that Mandy liked him from afar as well. He worked with Tara and some of their friends to make a video that shown on a projector during lunch.”

The first girl cut in. “They arranged for Derek and Mandy to be with Tara and Billy and surrounded by their goons so they couldn’t escape. They were forced to watch a ten minute long video with embarrassing photos of them with terrible animations. The video made fun of both of them for liking people above their station. They called mandy a pig and Derek shut-in virgin. And well, that was probably the nicest thing they said about them. After the video, Derek was beaten up and Mandy had food thrown at her. They were both hazed for the rest of the day.”

“If this town had its priorities straight, stuff like this wouldn’t happen,” Camille seethed. “It reminds me of some jerks I knew back in college.”

“Looks who’s eavesdropping now,” Glasses smirked. He quickly ducked his head as a dirty rag came at his face.

Trick leaned back and sighed. “Well, I guess that all makes sense. Disgusting sense, but sense nonetheless.”

“I will destroy them with a fine video of my own,” Naomi promised.

“What have Derek and Mandy been up to since then,” Trick asked.

The last boy finally answered, “They’ve been hanging out a lot together. If anyone else hangs with them when the cool kids are around, those with them get hazed and teased. No one wants the same treatment those two got. So basically, they’ve been ostracized.”

He sounded sincerely sorry about it. Trick was amazed at what was going on here. Tara and Billy had successfully destroyed three people and the semester wasn’t even up yet. He wondered how many other victims they had, and who else had been punished by them quietly. He remembered Shannon and the things that were said at the burger joint. Billy and Tara were not alone in their crimes. It made him grind his teeth with anger.

“But no one really knows what’s been going on with Mandy and Derek then,” Trick pressed on. The others just shook their heads.

“Actually, they dropped by my bookstore a couple weeks back,” Nate answered. “They said they needed a book on spirits and communicating with them. It was an uncomfortable conversation, really.”

Naomi cut Trick off and asked, “Do you know about old, abandoned rooms in the high school?”

Nate didn’t answer, but Glasses did. “Sure! There’s one kinda under the theater. The thespians all know about it and a few others, but it’s really creepy. There’s no light down there, and you have to crawl through a vent to get in. People say it’s haunted. There’s a dare to break into the theater at night and try to climb into the room. No one has done it yet.”

“I wonder why,” Trick commented dryly.

“Trick, we need to get in there tonight,” Naomi said suddenly. “I think we have the lead that will take us to the close of this case!”

Before Trick could say anything his phone buzzed.

“If that is Rachel, I swear I’ll-”

“It is from Rachel, Trick said. Naomi proceeded to dump the remaining mac on his head.

“Hey! You’re cleaning that up,” Camille called angrily.

“With pleasure,” Naomi grumbled.

Trick caught her by the shoulder. His eyes were wide with what he had just read. “Naomi… We need to make it to the school now.”

“That’s what I’m say-”

“There’s been another attack. Two of them. At the party. A vampire and werewolf attacked Shannon and some boy named Bo and ran off with them. Guess where they came from.”

Naomi’s eyes widened as well. “The second floor?”

“I think we might have just solved this case,” Trick said flatly to a confused diner crowd.