#ault

[une-valse-pour-rien]

Après la pluie...

[postcard-from-the-past]

Cliffs of Ault, Picardy region of northern France

French vintage postcard

[vieuxmetiers]

Les filets à marée basse, Ault, Somme.

[federer7]

Mariacarla Boscono, Sharon Cohendy. Ault, France 2014

Photo: Peter Lindbergh

[tiguel66]

Ault plage

[trottoir-s]

ault

royal canadian - Malte

[postcard-from-the-past]

100 years ago:

Ault-Onival, France, 7 août 2019.

[captainsparklefingers]

One of the things I'm taking away from the second go round of Dracula Daily (and particularly from David Ault's excellent performance in Re: Dracula) is how much I like Lord Arthur Godalming.

Like. On the surface and the first time round he stands out the least of Lucy's suitors, and given how much time we hear from Jack, he can come off the most developed. Quincy, of course, gives us a heck of a lot of personality with relatively little (again, compared to how much we get from Jack). Arthur, though, doesn't have the same volume of words to develop, nor the instantly clear personality. He's just Lucy's fiancee, Jack and Quincy's friend, the heroes of light's wealthy benefactor.

But God, this poor man. He's suffered several immense losses in a very short period, been forced to see the woman he loved as a monster, and then had to put her down so she could rest in peace. Beyond the emotional burdens of such losses, he has to deal with the legal matters and the settling of affairs for three different people, probably doing whatever one needs to do to take his father's place in the House of Lords (something I know absolutely nothing about but I assume there's things to do there), AND the earth shattering revelation the supernatural is real, monsters do exist, and the one who killed Lucy is still out there.

And all of that while having to abide by the Victorian standards of manhood. Stalwart, strong, showing no emotions that could make him seem weak.

I think the scene in September 30th, where Mina comforts him and finally he has the chance to let go of all of these burdens he's felt he must carry alone, all of the grief and sorrow he's been forced to carry, he can for at least a moment put aside the mask of manliness society insist he wear and just let himself be a man who has lost his father and his fiancee within days of each other, who is dealing with situations beyond belief.

Obviously we've seen him cry and grieve before but it always felt like he was stifling it to a degree because, well. He only has his male friends to lean on now and the stupid proprieties of society mean he can only lean so much. But now he's had a chance to finally let go, made a connection with Lucy's dearest friend and a new sister of choice. He has his friends, he's finally been allowed to mourn in the way he's truly feeling...and now he's ready to help in whatever way possible to avenge Lucy.

Arthur comes off to me as a very strong character, a man driven by great love, who's emotions, as constrained as they may be, are one of his greatest strengths (and, of course, every good monster hunting group needs a financial benefactor). He's not a flat character at all, he's not forgettable character. Lucy loved him for a reason and, I think, in the moment his grief finally breaks, we get a glimpse at that.

I think that one of the good things of Dracula Daily has been making people realize how good of a character Jonathan Harker is, how pop culture has done damage to the true character of Lucy and Mina…I think we should add that its done a good job of making one care for a character as Arthur, who at first glance seems flat and boring.

Or at least it's made me appreciate him more. And I still want to know how he and Jack and Quincy became friends and what sort of shenanigans they got up to before the events of the book.

[in-cara-gible]

I think we should pay all voice actors one million dollar

[une-valse-pour-rien]

[postcard-from-the-past]

Beach scene in Ault, Picardy region of France

French vintage postcard

[ultranerdygirl]

I forgot how much David Ault broke my heart in the September 20th entry. His broken sobbing as Arthur is just gut-wrenching.

[theholmwoodfoundation]

THE HOLMWOOD FOUNDATION SUPPORTING CAST

Announcing our wonderful supporting cast, hopefully to appear in Season One if we reach our Kickstarter goal!

Please welcome to the team:

Basil Waite as Thomas Van Helsing

Michelle Kelly as Henri Martin

Jackie Calistahhh as Elena

Robyn Holdaway as CAM

David Ault as Dr Timothy Lake

Karim Kronfli as Dave

Candace McAfee as Magdalena Swift

and

Andrew Biss as Jonathan Harker 3rd

As always, you can listen to our pilot episode now for free at the link below. And please donate to our Kickstarter for Season One, if you're able!

[thermodynamic-comedian]

listening to tsv as one of my later fiction podcasts is insane because tell me why they hit me with back to back jonny sims AND david ault appearances. hello??? i feel like i'm being haunted by the ghosts of audio dramas past

[ex-libris-craux]

So Re: Dracula ended and has left a horror-themed-audiofiction-shaped hole in your life? Please allow me to recommend Shadows At The Door as your next listen! Some reasons you may be interested:

David Ault (Judge Moneybags, aka Lord Arthur Godalming) is, for the first couple of seasons, almost literally the entire cast. There are jokes about it. So many jokes. I think there are even T-shirts.

Karim Kronfli- you know, that Dracula dude? Is also a recurring VA, including for SatD's PHENOMENAL dramatisation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Rahul Motherfucking Kohli - also a VA for SatD! Believe me when I say I screamed like a little girl and replayed the episode four times in a day.

Ever listened to The Magnus Archives? Did you like their sound design? Nico does the score for SatD as well and it's BREATHTAKING.

Jamie Flanagan wrote the script for an episode in the current season. Yes, THAT Jamie Flanagan. The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Fall of the House Of Usher, Jamie Flanagan. You're welcome.

Two podcasts in one! Each episode features not just the horror fiction, but a post-episode discussion that is every bit as entertaining as the stories themselves. Mark Nixon (the showrunner) and David (Ault, yes), occasionally joined by VAs or writers, chat together thoughtfully, irreverently, frequently filthily, always entertainingly, sometimes even about the episode itself, lol (digressions are frequent, and frequently hilarious).

Drunk. Ghost. Stories. Trust me. TRUST ME.

The sound design is exquisite. Mark has a fantastically talented ear for effective and atmospheric foley and a flawless editor's touch.

An engaging blend of classic stories and new authors.

QUEER REP IN QUEER MEDIA MADE BY QUEER PEOPLE!!!!

Genuinely, Shadows at the Door is one of my favourite podcasts, full stop, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's just *so damn good*. Please consider giving it a listen!

[newyorkthegoldenage]

George Copeland Ault, Morning in Brooklyn, 1929. Oil on canvas.

Photo: Invaluable Auctions