#damn Nosferatu looks good

[jagexisterar]

If I love the new nosferatu? Sure i love the new nosferatu

[zephyrchama]

Vampire MC part IV - with Satan

heads up - this is suggestive

(intro/vampire MC masterlist can be found here)

Satan’s room was even more cluttered than usual. Tomes about vampires, nosferatu, jiangshi, and more were strewn about. The two of you were side by side on Satan’s bed with the curtains drawn, surrounded by haphazard stacks of even more books borrowed from the library. The dark candlelit ambiance was incredibly comforting. Being able to see in the dim lighting was such a convenient new trait.

“Can you turn into a bat?” Satan asked casually, as though reading a magazine personality test.

“No, I’ve tried,” you sighed. It was true. Good thing you were alone when you made the attempt, you wound up getting overzealous and ran into a wall.

“What about a firefly? Or snake?”

“I haven’t tried, but I don’t think so? Am I supposed to be able to do that?”

Satan grunted and flipped the book in his hand shut, swapping it out for another one in arm’s reach. “If you could do it, I’m sure you would know by now. Let’s look into what else might have changed.” He skimmed over a passage at random. It was quite impressive how his brilliant green eyes could dart back and forth over the text so quickly. “Have you come into contact with any holy water recently?”

“No…” You raised an eyebrow. “Holy water, in the Devildom?”

“Good point.” On to the next book.

He traced the pages with his finger as he poured over its content. Everything present were books he had read before, and they were all books he had read recently. Satan needed something to fill those long nights you were locked up after your attack. He needed to know what was happening to you and what they were doing to you at the castle. Were you going to be the person he loved when you came home? Were you ever even going to come home?

For the last month, Satan had been afraid. It was emotion he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Something he had very little practice in bottling up like his wrath. The more he read about vampires, the more his fear grew. The more dread pooled in his gut. He would lash out at his brothers and hole up in his room, with each new book digging him into a deeper grave of tumultuous emotions.

An avalanche in his room nearly occurred when he heard you were home. When he saw the group text he had long been avoiding, Satan jumped up and raced to his bedroom door, carefully organized stacks be damned, to find that you had already come to pay him a visit.

“You’ve got to know a lot about vampires, right?” you asked. You were thinner than he remembered. There was something different about your eyes. Though, you didn’t have intestines wrapped around your neck or smoke billowing from your ears. Your size and age remained unchanged. It was too early to rule out extra hair and nipples, as one book described were characteristic of new vampires, but it wasn’t the right time to inquire about that.

“Yeah, come in,” he responded. He tried to hold back the audible high pitched relief in his tone.

Hardly an hour later, it felt just like old times. Reading late into the night, side-by-side with your knees touching. There was a bowl with some uncooked rice grains on the floor, but he was pleased to find that you had no interest in counting it. Satan had discovered a lot of what his books said didn’t apply to you. Whether that was because their contents were obsolete or because you were a special case, he wasn’t sure yet. His priority now was to watch over you and ensure a peaceful transition back to normal life.

‘The blood of a living mammal is a vampire’s required sustenance. It is harvested from the jugular vein or any equivalent artery close to the neck,’ he read. Demons weren’t exactly mammals, but they seemed to qualify.

“What are your eating habits like? Do you always need blood straight from the source, or can you pack some up and have it later?”

You crinkled your nose. “Packed stuff is edible, but it kind of starts to… coagulate. It reminds me of eating apple slices that’ve turned yellow and brown. I’d rather not.”

“Makes sense.” Satan lifted his eyes from the page to observe you with a solemn thoughtfulness. “Does it always have to be the neck?”

You didn’t know. He stared as you mulled the question over by opening and closing your mouth, mimicking the sensation and imagining how it might feel. Your new fangs were cute. “I don’t think so? Blood is blood, doesn’t matter where it comes from.”

“Should we test it out?” Satan suggested.

That was how you wound up on top of him as he lay across his bed. It was a tight squeeze, both of you were too caught up in the experiment to bother moving any books off. Satan suggested starting with his wrist and offered one up to you, but it looked bony and difficult to bite directly. That meant ankles were also out of the question. You felt going for a thigh was too brazen, and so settled on the next softest part you could think of. “What about here?”

You prodded Satan’s side. Just under his ribcage, where the muscle turned fleshy. His leg jerked. His foot sent an encyclopedia thudding to the ground.

“That’s fine,” he remarked, voice softer than normal, face flushed red with the blood you hoped to sample soon. “Ignore the book, it’s an outdated edition. I’ll get it later.”

“You sure?”

Satan was sure, if the decisive act of unbuttoning his shirt was any indicator. Just the bottom few would have sufficed, yet he undid them all and slipped an arm out of its sleeve.

“Can you reach? Should I lift my side more?” he asked.

“No, this looks good,” you replied, in more ways than one.

It was hard to find an optimal angle. You couldn’t just grab his torso and dig in with gusto. Satan was not a sandwich.

Nervous anticipation was visible in the way his stomach moved with each shallow breath. You placed a hand over his naval and latched your other arm over the side of the bed to maintain balance.

You warned him, “I’m gonna do it, okay?”

“Yeah. Any time.” Satan’s patience was tested to the max in such a vulnerable pose. He couldn’t see your face when he looked down. He would have to imagine it as he placed a supportive palm against your back.

Without further ado, you sunk your teeth into his skin. It wasn’t as easy as the neck. You needed to go deeper for any real nourishment and clamp down harder. He winced and sharply inhaled, his stomach fluttered beneath your fingers. Blood trickled into your mouth. It was richer, fattier than neck blood. You let it pool in order to enhance the flavor before lapping it up.

Satan did his best not to squirm under the sensation of your warm tongue pressed against his body, or think about how close you were to his lower half. He tried to keep his breathing steady and not get mad when you adjusted your hand over his naval, causing him to involuntarily bang his head against the headboard. Satan instead focused on the experience as a whole. This was interesting knowledge, he told himself. This kind of information can't be gleaned from a book.

Until now, vampires were pests. If any dared approach him, they’d be swatted away like mosquitoes or burned to a crisp with magic. Now that he’d be living with such a precious one, though, that way of thinking needed to change.

Sucking blood from Satan’s side was strenuous, tiring you out quicker. After one last big gulp, you sat up again, releasing the demon from your clutches. Saliva and blood dripped down your chin until you blotted it with your sleeve. Satan shivered when you lightly touched the fresh puncture marks, now starting to swell. “Did that hurt?”

His face still looked like a red brick wall. He missed you a lot in the time you were gone. As if breaking himself out of a trance, Satan cleared his throat. “No. The pain was negligible.” He lowered his voice to mumble, “it was just challenging in other ways.”

[slapthosewilliessilly]

Got a dude feeling brainwashed

AN; You guys have been waiting so patiently and I seriously appreciate it with the shit going on in my personal life! I really hope you guys enjoy this I’ve always been a huge fan of this song and the idea of stoner!josh yearning something fucking awful lol

Blue is Josh’s thoughts!

Green is texts between Josh and whoever is specified!

I totally imagine Josh crushing on a reader who’s a bit alt tbh. Wearing horror movie shirts, has a couple piercings- loves watching movies with him.

Requests are still open! Plz give me some time to get to them

Warnings; Drug use, jealousy, lowkey internet stalking, Josh is pathetic, Josh definitely smokes cigarettes, AFAB reader, Reader in a committed relationship, Yearning!Josh, Stoner!Josh, Reader has facial piercings, Alt!Reader, cigarette smoking, Nosferatu mention because idc it’s my newest fav movie

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The room was quiet except for the sound of soft mumbled music playing from the tv speakers, paired with gentle taps on the window from the drizzle of rain outside. A faint reminder of the world around him. Josh didn’t pay any mind to it, he was preoccupied to say the least.

He was scrolling through your page again. Something he seemed to be doing more and more even though he promised himself he’d stop. It’s almost like he wanted to torture himself.

Nothing wrong with a little bit of sleuthing from time to time. He’d justify to no one but himself.

A faint smile tugging on the corners of his lips as he looked at your selfie posts, sometimes with mutual friends, more often than not by yourself. Josh’s fingers twitched slightly, he forgot he even had a lit cigarette between his fingers in his other hand. It was easy for you to get him sidetracked- even if you didn’t know it.

Even if it was just your picture popping up on his phone.

Bringing the cigarette to his lips and inhaling, exhaling the smoke through his nostrils before reaching over and putting out his cigarette in his little ashtray on his bedside table. He didn’t look away from his phone screen, focused on your instagram posts covering his screen.

He really didn’t know why he teasing himself like this- just endlessly scrolling your page and looking at your pictures that he’s already seen damn near a hundred times. His heart beating just a little faster as he came across the only picture you posted with him in it- effectively pausing his doom scrolling.

It was at some party at Mike’s house some months ago. Josh honestly couldn’t remember what it was for but he did remember how the only reason he really wanted to go was because you were there. You were smiling and laughing, dressed in something like a cute pair of jeans with a baggy Carrie shirt and an oversized flannel that was definitely Josh’s- one he was all too eager to let you borrow the moment you said you were getting cold.

The flash from the camera made your silver piercings glint in the photo. Josh was holding your phone to take the selfie, big grin on his face with his arm around your shoulders- his hand holding his red solo cup by your shoulder.

Josh remembered taking the selfie with you hoping for a million more.

Safe to say it didn’t happen.

Josh would literally never tell anyone, but he secretly took a screenshot of that selfie together and printed it out. He keeps it hidden away in his wallet, he likes to think of it as his good luck charm.

Josh’s thumb absentmindedly continued to scroll to the previous post and to the one before that, it was almost ritualistic for him. Whenever he missed you he went to your page, the feeling of comfort and warmth building in his chest as he looked at your captured moments in time.

The feeling quickly went away when the next photo appeared on his screen.

His lips absentmindedly forming a frown as he practically glared at his phone. As if he wasn’t the one to scroll down to the photo himself.

It’s not that it was a bad photo of you- no no there were no bad photos of you. Josh didn’t think it was possible for there to be a bad picture of you.

You were sat on some bathroom counter, one of Eric’s hands were placed on your waist. You were half turned around, peering over your shoulder with a big grin and tongue poking out. Your tongue piercing evident and those pretty eyes he loved were hazy red. Eric had matching red hazy eyes, holding your phone with a big toothy grin as he took the photo of you two.

Josh couldn’t help but think bitterly, a scowl carelessly forming on his face. He looked over Eric in the photo again, hyper focused on looking for any details that could help add fuel to his one sided hatred.

How could you not see what a fucking tool Eric was?

Josh hated thinking like this but he lost that fight when he pulled up your instagram page 20 minutes ago.

Dirty ass fingernails? Seriously Eric? Even Mike knows better than that dude.

At least she looks great in that pose.

Josh tried not to pay any mind to the feeling of frustration building in his thoughts before quickly scrolling away. Silently thankful that you didn’t really post anything else with Eric on your main page- mostly you just had your Eric content on Snapchat instead.

He scoffed to himself. Turning his phone off with a click and tossing it down onto some random spot on the mattress, Josh ran his hands over his face. Sighing hard through his nostrils. He felt pathetic like this, stalking your online accounts regularly- hyper attentive to anything you posted.

He needed to do something, anything to stop him from going down the rabbit hole that was you again. He did it too often anymore.

Muted buzzing from said phone made Josh immediately reach for it and unlock it quickly. The name Sweets 🍫 made his heart beat just a little faster.

Speak of the devil.

; Hey! Wanna hang out? I got two tickets to Noesferatu, if you’re busy it’s cool just let me know! ☺️☺️

Josh smiled a little. His thumbs typing a quick response before he could fully comprehend what he was about to send.

; Sounds sick lol want me to bring some 🍃 ??

; Yes plzzz 🙏🏻 that’d be perfect lol

Now he had to actually get ready.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Getting into your car was almost surreal every time Josh did it. It was always so clean, smelled like something that was uniquely you. The dashboard sticker-bombed and graffitied on with sharpie.

“Whats goin’ on girl?” Josh asked playfully as he seated himself in the front passenger seat, quickly buckling himself in.

��Hey!” You couldn’t help but greet sweetly. He loved it. “You got the green? I already got the movie tickets.” You smiled, both hands on the wheel as you started to pull out onto the main road.

He loved moments like this. Just the two of you.

“Yeah you wanted the gummies right?” He asked.

“I was thinking we could hot box actually.”

Oh?

“Since when do you like hot boxing? I thought you preferred the gummies lately?” Josh couldn’t help but ask. Either way he always had a couple gummies wrapped up in one of his pockets and a couple spliffs in a different pocket.

You rolled your eyes, grin never leaving your features. “Eric hates hot boxing, I’ve only been refraining for him.”

Oh yeah- Eric.

“He prefers edibles but they get old after a while.”

Josh dryly chuckled. “Noted. Either way I got us covered.”

“Sick.” You replied cooly, the atmosphere between the two of you was always relaxing. Even just in the car. The only sound was the music playing on the radio quietly, that and the patter of rain paired with windshield wipers as you both cruised down the familiar road of town.

The ride wasn’t a super long one, parking more towards the back of the movie theater parking lot. Somewhat of a packed night then. You unbuckled your seatbelt, turning to face Josh and in turn he did the same. Pulling the spliffs out of his pocket and handing you the first one. He always made sure you got to smoke first.

Josh spoiled you like that.

“Smells good.” You commented before reaching into your pocket and grabbing your lighter. Some old one with pac-man on it that Chris left in your car forever ago.

“I only have the good stuff.” Josh joked weakly, bringing the other spliff to his lips and holding it there, crumbling up the bag he had them in and shoving it in his pocket.

“C’mere.” The way you spoke held a special reserve of sweetness, one that Josh knew you only really used on Eric.

Josh almost did a double take when you said that, he hoped the faint flush on his cheeks wasn’t too noticeable. It felt so good to hear you use that tone with him.

Josh nodded before leaning closer to you, slightly hesitant when he noticed you leaning in closer as well. His air half way caught in his throat when the ends of your spliff touched his, your hand flicking the lighter and lighting both of them at the same time. You were so close.

Josh’s eyes couldn’t help but be focused on your face. Your features basked in the warm orange glow of the lighter flame between the both of you. What he would give for a photo of you like this, with this lighting, in his wallet.

Just for him.

You pulled back once both were lit up properly, taking a deep inhale before moving the spliff away from your lips. Exhaling the smoke through your lips, Josh was quick to follow suit.

“Not that I mind it just being you and me but I gotta ask-“ Josh started to speak, fiddling with the rolled slightly burning tube between his fingers. “I thought you were gonna watch the movie with Eric.” Josh said, his eyes giving you a sideways glance. Hoping that his curiosity wasn’t too much. “What made you want to go with me instead?” Josh asked almost a little too quickly, bringing the spliff back up to his lips and quickly inhaling.

You pursed your lips, taking a slow drag before flicking the ashes into the ashtray that seemed to be glued to your cup holder.

“Honestly he’s been pissing me off a little bit lately.” You answered genuinely. Josh’s eyebrow twitched.

“How so?” He asked. His voice almost mellow sounding.

You shrugged. “It’s just that like- ugh.” Your tone sounding a little more frustrated before leaning your head back against the drivers seat. “I don’t know man. Just seems like every time I want to go out and do something with him he’s just not that interested anymore unless we’re going out to eat or we are going to a store we’ve been to a hundred times before.” You admitted, glancing at Josh once more.

“Sorry. There’s more to it and I don’t want to waste our time bitching ya know? Just frustrated.” You tried to laugh it off, Josh’s hand absentmindedly reaching forward and touching the middle of your back. Rubbing soothing circles.

“It’s okay.” He spoke, tone sweeter than before. “You could never waste my time- you know that.” Josh reassured with a small smile.

You nodded almost meekly, “Thank you.”

Silence settled between the two of you again, smoking the rest of what you each had and your car filling with the smoke. Evidence of what you two were doing.

Josh never moved his hand. His large hand was stilled, no longer making slow circular movements to soothe you but instead it was now resting on the small of your back. He didn’t want to chance moving in case you remembered exactly where his hand was.

Until Eric came along you two were always pretty physically affectionate. Josh would never admit it out loud but god he missed it so bad. Chris however never failed to give him a hard time when the two of them were alone and you were brought up in conversation.

It wasn’t until you put out your roach in the ashtray did Josh realize how little of his own he had left. Cracking the window open so the two of you could fully breathe again, Josh quickly put the rest of his out as well.

“Ready to go?”

Josh nodded in response to your question, despite his soft expression he begrudgingly moving his hand away from your back.

“Let’s go.”

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AN; I REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED! I threw my whole puss into this bruh 😭 depending on how good this goes I WILL make a part two! Please don’t hesitate to let me know what you guys think! Thank you again so much for your patience 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[envysnest]

Nosferatu has a potential metatext about wanting to fuck your own trauma, but they're not ready for that. It is so disturbing to film twt/filmtok that they'd rather not entertain it.

Being repulsed by your trauma is easy; wanting to keep it all to yourself is downright foreign. To these people, of COURSE Ellen would hate her trauma and want to get rid of it! Isn't that what any sane person would do? What do you mean she LIKES IT. What do you mean she WANTS IT, CARNALLY: to recreate her own trauma again and again for sexual gratification?

I think this is, again, another rift between the non-traumatized GP and those of us with cPTSD/PTSD: the desire to be rid of your Bad Thing, mingling with the inverse desire to draw it close and eat it whole and love every second of it. That is Nosferatu! That is Ellenlock!

These feelings are too "icky" and complex for those of us who had good childhoods, who always felt loved and seen. It is incomprehensible that we would love the horrible thing. But for those of us who know that profound, soul-crushing loneliness, we understand Ellen intimately.

I don't think it's any mistake that many of the people who critique ellenlock (or its twin, ellenthomlock) are part of shedtwt. They struggle with image, empathy, feeling seen and heard by those around them. The pain mainfests itself in Catholic-like self-punishment. It is different, still-- and terrifying-- to see the decaying, fragile corpse of your pain-- to see it struggle in the light of day, to hear its rattling breaths, to see it convulse with unearthly hunger-- and to think, oh! Oh oh oh. Flesh of my flesh. You are lonely.

You are hungry.

I will feed you.

It is horribly difficult to gently envelop that wheezing, rotting thing in your arms, and to feed it tenderly, as a mother would her infant, and to look into its glassy eyes and see your own fear and loneliness-- yourself-- reflected back, instead of bestial blankness.

No one wants to fuck the pain. They want the pain GONE. And the pain yearns and yearns and yearns and you tear yourself open trying to rid yourself of it, and how could anyone EVER love such a horrible, ugly thing?

But it's also you. It's yours. It's the only damn thing you own!

We see these same people spitting about freaks and weirdos and pornbrained losers in THEIR precious trauma allegory, and I'm here to remind you that trauma recovery looks very different, and, perhaps, ugly, to anyone outside of it.

Remember to love the monster.

[phoebastria-albatrus]

pd suckers shouldnt have social media

🦎 wark-minter-deactivated2136098

whenever i go to my job there’s this emo kid and he keeps giving me weird looks. the things i do for money i swear

👻 wisp-poetry ♻️

[blurry, unfocused photo of mark standing at the bar talking to tide]

this you?

1000 notes

📖 ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust

[photo of a car covered in blood]

hey does anyone feel like venmo-ing me twenty to pay for the car wash. ignore the paint i’m an artist

0 notes

💥COLESTYLE

[just a photo of a bag of blood]

eating good tonight chat 💪💪💪

👻 wisp-poetry ♻️

why are you posting rn vyncent is literally missing. also WHERE ARE YOU???

💥COLESTYLE ♻️

mind ur business ✋

3 notes

🙅random-citizen

whby are the re teeth in m y nevk

🦈tide

Whoops

100,000 notes

🐀birion

okay so I Might Be Stuck In This Sewer System whatever you guys do do not go into the sewer system underneath Club Crepescule by The Alleyway okay Theres So Many Rats

🐀 birion ♻️

[photo of ladders. vyncent gives a bloody thumbs up]

Nevermind we’re good

👻wisp-poetry♻️

VYNCENT????

3 notes

🦆 nosferatu

damn new vampires. all they know how to do is break the masquerade, hit people with cars, and lie

💀 wisperer ♻️

didn’t you just hit someone with your car mal?

🦆 nosferatu ♻️

maybe

👻wisp-poetry ♻️

what the fuck

2000 notes

🦈tide Follow

Not Going To Lie I miss Beef stroganoff

0 notes

💀calbert-deactivated10340

anyone ever think about death

💀wisperer

WELL.

5000 notes

📖ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust

💥COLESTYLE asked

asheeee can i come visit please 🙏🙏🙏

bro you have my number what. hiw did you find this blog

💥COLESTYLE

the car photo 😔

📖ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust

ah

🦎 wark-minter-deactivated2136098

if you let him in i’m not giving you the car again

💥COLESTYLE

[selfie of ashe and dakota]

💪

6 notes

[bl00dline]

my take on nosferatu (2024) as someone who loves silent movies, 19th century history, and gothic horror-- a highly informal and adhd-fuelled review

i finally got around to watching nosferatu in theatres the other day, and needless to say i was VERY excited. i have many many MANY thoughts on this movie, so here's a bit of verbal vomiting as to what i thought about it! all of my thoughts surrounding major spoilers will be under the cut

so overall, WOWWOWOWOWOW. i think the original movie has ABSOLITELY been done justice. while there is something that bothers me about this adaptation (which i'll get to later), this movie was easily a 5/5 for me.

the main thing that made me love this movie is the AESTHETIC. this movie is absolutely STUNNING. the colours and sets make this movie so immersive and i swear to god i was SALIVATING over the 19th century gothic aesthetic. like if you look inside my brain it probably looks like this

now i am fucking insufferable when it comes to historical accuracy with 19th century costumes, but clearly the people involved with this movie DID THEIR RESEARCH. the silhouettes were right, the hair was perfect, the attention to detail was amazing, and what shocked me the most was the accuracy of the undergarments, especially the corset and split drawers! there were only a couple very minor errors, which i think can be forgiven considering how generally accurate the costumes were.

these genuinely make me want to sew an 1830s outfit :') but anyways yeah the costumes made the movie even more immersive.

i love how ellen was portrayed, too. i'm very likely projecting because i've loved her character for a while now, but i thought that her relationship with count orlok was a great metaphor for mental illness. her recurring visions/trances really reminded me of the recurring nature of illnesses like depression and anxiety and how inescapable it feels. her line about not feeling human was a huge mood too, and yeah as someone who's neurodivergent i could definitely see myself in her. but again, maybe i'm projecting because i think she's a great character and i dressed as her for halloween in 2019 (which, weirdly enough, is exactly when i first started having significant issues with my mental health. is this some sort of omen should i be concerned)

in spite of this, though, my favourite character wasn't even ellen-- it was professor von franz, played by the national treasure that is willem dafoe. i very well could be biased because i knew beforehand that willem loved being on set with the rats, but i thought that von franz was such a sweet character, especially with all of his cats and having cat treats in his pocket <33 (now that i think about it, that in itself is a DAMN GOOD metaphor too)

but here's the major issue i had with the movie-- count orlok himself. yes, i am another moustache hater. while i can appreciate that robert eggers wanted orlok to be more of a folk vampire by being an old romanian count, to me the vampire just wasn't count orlok. maybe i'm too attached to the original movie, but in my eyes nosferatu is a tall, lanky, ratty looking gremlin, and the more monstrous, corpse-like orlok in 2024 just isn’t nosferatu to me. while his grotesque look definitely made the movie more visceral and disturbing, i really wish he had looked more like all of the other nosferatu adaptations. having said that, though, it was definitely interesting to see a folk vampire in a movie rather than the typical byronic vampire!

anyways i have one last thing to talk about which is very spoilery so i'll put my summary here. overall this movie was just as disturbing as i had hoped, and though some parts DEFINITELY grossed me out i think it really did the original justice. this movie is absolutely not for everyone because it's undoubtedly WEIRD, but i think that if you can handle disturbing content and love gothic horror or 19th century history and aesthetics then you'd love this! i think this adaptation would have made f.w. murnau proud.

anyways, thank you to my friend @nefarious-nightjar for going to see it with me!! 🖤🖤🖤

spoiler time spoiler time spoiler time

so yeah aside from being for the gothic horror bitches and the art hoes this movie was VERY MUCH for the monster fuckers. now i love me a good byronic vampire and it would be SUCH A SHAME if one bit me, but as someone who isn't a monster fucker this nosferatu made me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE-- not in a way that made me dislike the movie, but sometimes i was like. ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)

not complaining that i was uncomfortable though because that’s really what you want in horror! but yeah i’d be a liar if i said the movie didn’t gross me out a bit

but the big spoilery thing i wanted to talk about was the FINAL SHOT.

OUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

this is VERY death and the maiden and it reminded me so much of artistic representations i've seen of that trope. i was hoping orlok would do the dramatic ass pose and burn like he did in the original, but this final shot is just 😫😫😫😫🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

this is what i meant when i said it’s for the art hoes! i definitely think eggers took inspiration from things like this.

but anyways that’s all, i loved this movie and it really needs a rewatch. thank you for putting up with my ramble 🙏🏻

[colorful-white-ideas]

I'm really scared cause Nosferatu is getting hates now because of Bill, people say he's not a leading man and his movies are all bombs at the box office. They also say his career is over cause of The Crow and that's why till now we didn't get any update of him being involved in anything cause noone wants to work with him. They say Nosferatu is gonna be the next box office bomb remake cause Bill destroys anything he's in. Some said Bill's filmography is awful and he has to chage his agent and his team, even some people said he's a nepo baby and his dad helps him to get roles.

I want to cry. Pls send help 😭😭😭😭😭

My best answer to that is they all can go to FUCK THEMSELVES.

And I say this not as a Bill fan but as someone who likes good movies , he is a good damn actor. People who hate the new crow movie and criticize Bill are only whining about his look , they don't say anything else besides that so blinded by hate , they dont see how good his body language was , the control of his eyes , the good voice control he had for the emotional scenes... Just for example the scene where he finally puts the make up on . It's so powerful how he transmits the self hate , pain and agony for what he has become.

The box office issue is not because people decided not to go to see it , those die hard crow fans are giving themselves too much credit. Their fandom is minuscule. It was the terrible lack of promotion from Lionsgate that caused this. That company played dirty to BKW and did the bare minimum for The Crow , the amount of comments I've seen of people saying they didn't know the movie was out ... Is frankly upsetting.

It didn't reach all the cinemas either , and as with BKW , they are withdrawing the movie from small cinemas after the first weekend. The marketing around these movies was horrible. Promoting The Crow as a remake was the first nail in the coffin and it took them TOO DAMN LONG RELEASE THE PROMOTIONAL INTERVIEWS.

Lastly what is wrong with all the movies he participated in ? They all look good to me. The best of all ( for me) was The devil all the time and people SLEPT on him , his work there was 10 times better than Pattinson. ( Sorry not sorry)

His career will do more than fine. Locked will be shown in the TiFF in September, Nosferatu in December ( we are like 4 months away, almost nothing)

Haters can suck a dick and shut up for once.

I won't even say sorry for being this aggressive. All the hate The Crow 2024 is getting , out of pocket, got me in my last nerve. Fuck them all.

[shinysparklesapphires]

showtime precure!

Chapter 18: New girls in the theater course!

A/n: the trio are in their 6th year since they are all young adults (19, 18, and 20)

🎀: @baileypie-writes @xryptik @harufallinwonderland

"Um I really like you, please be my girlfriend!" A boy handed Lacey a bouquet of roses, his face bright red. She took them out of his hands and held them.

"Yo sorry to let you down but I'm already dating someone so..." She handed the bouquet back to him, "Also dude I like girls anyway so even if I were single you still wouldn't stand a chance."

"Ah ok I understand!" The boy smiled at her and bowed, even though he was slightly embarrassed and walked away with his head hung low.

"Wow Lacey you got another confession?! That's like the fifth one this week!" Lucia looked at the giant bouquet in her hands. There had already been a pile of love letters and gifts and such sent by other students to the trio, who were rather surprised by thier sudden popularity.

"But that's not important right now, there's something you need to know about curtain call," Dominique popped her head out of the pile of gifts in the corner of the room, Nosferatu trying to dig her out.

"Dominique are you ok?" Amber went over to help Nosferatu dig her out.

"Oh yeah I'm good," she pulled herself out and sat down at one of the tables, "as I was saying, Tragedy is probably going to send her two little brats after you next."

"There are more than Catwalk??" Violet sighed.

"Sadly, and those two are even worse," Lacey took a flower out of the bouquet and twirled it around in her hands, "That's as far as we know though."

"Well atleast we know something about Curtain Call now right?" Lyna looked around, but everyone was bummed out.

"Achoo!" A little girl sneezed.

"Whats wrong?" Another girl sitting next to her looked up from a book she was reading.

"It's strange I feel like someone was talking about me," she wiped her 'nose' that was covered by a tragedy mask.

"Calamity, Catastrophe," the girls looked up at Catwalk and giggled to each other, "Yes Catwalk?" They said in a mocking tone.

"Miss Tragedy wants you two to collect the coins of the academy students."

"Well we were already on our way to do that!" Calamity made a face at him, causing Catwalk to turn bright red from anger before he calmed himself down.

"We're off!" Catastrophe vanished, and Calamity followed.

"Wow those girls from the theater course are so cool!"

"And super pretty too!"

"I wish I could be like them!"

The trio walked through the corridor of the main building in order to get to the cafeteria, but they could still hear the whispers about them throughout the halls.

"Damn they're awful at whispering," Dominique had a pained expression on her face.

"Oh well at least they're not slandering us," Nicolette twirled her hair around on her finger.

"Guys over here!" Lucia waved to to trio from the table the girls were sitting at.

"You guys are way too forgiving..." Lacey took a sip from her drink.

"What do you mean?" Lucia looked at her confused.

"I mean one day you're fighting us and now you're letting us eat with you," she scratched her head.

"I mean you guys were being controlled though right?"

"I mean yeah but-"

"Even if you did do those things, you're purified now, perfection is subjective yknow?" Amber took a bite of her burger.

"I mean yeah I guess so.."

The boy who had confessed to Lacey sighed holding his bouquet.

"I understand why she rejected me but I'm still disappointed," he held his head in his hands.

"Oh how unlucky right Calamity?" The boy looked up to see two young girls hanging from a tree branch, both wore fancy dresses and tragedy masks.

"For sure Catastrophe! The wish of someone in love is super powerful!" She giggled.

"You two should get down from there, where are your parents?" The boy yelled, only to be met with a glare from both of them.

"What a party pooper!"

"No wonder her got rejected!"

"He should be elimated!"

"Misery loves company right?"

The girls clapped thier hands together and laughed, "You're lucks run out today, time to come out and play! Facade, wreak your havoc!"

The boy gasped as he saw a small white light fly out of his body and into his bouquet, before blacking out completely.

"SAWWW!" The group of girls looked up from thier food.

"Did you hear that?"

Lyna nodded, "let's go check it out!"

They ran over to where the commotion was to see a monster tearing up the courtyard.

"Look look! It's the legendary playwrights Catwalk ran his mouth about!"

"We should see if they're really all that!"

"Guys!" Lucia turned to the others, who nodded in agreement.

"Precure, Rollback! Lights! Camera! Action!"

"SAWW!" The monster shot a rose at Showtime's feet catching her off guard.

"Ah! Seriously this is what we're dealing with? Some stupid flowers?!" Wright kicked at it, only to be stabbed in the foot by a giant thorn, "Ouch!" She winced.

"They might be just flowers but they still have thorns!" Action jumped to dodge an incoming attack.

"Set can you try and capture it with your net?" Showtime slid under the creature and kicked it from behind.

"I can try but I can't find an opening!" The monster shot a vine at her, trapping her in its grip, "Shit!"

"Calamity these girls are so boring are you sure they're the Precure?"

"Positive! I'm never wrong!"

"I beg to differ!"

"Like you're so smart you dumbass!"

"Hey! Who are you calling a dumbass?!"

"You!" The girls started fighting each other causing the Facade to look at them confused.

"Saw?" It let go of Cure Set, letting her land safely on the ground.

"Set now!" Set nodded and pulled out her paimt pallete.

"Precure! Set Lasso....Net!"

"Saw!" The monster squirmed around trying to break free from the net that it had gotten tangled in.

The girls held thier hands together and got in a circle.

"Our beautiful hearts will crush your evil! Precure, Roccoco lovely...Shock!" And just like that, the monster vanished.

"Look what you did you weren't paying attention and now we don't have the ribbons!"

"You weren't paying attention either!"

"I'M SO SICK OF YOU!" both girls vanished.

"phew I'm glad we solved that problem," Violet wiped her forehead.

"Yeah but now we gotta deal with those girls," Amber sighed.

"It was weird how they also had masks like Tragedy, they're so....creepy," Lucia shuddered.

"It's too bad you didn't get to finish your burger Amber," Amber's stomach growled at the thought.

"It's cool, I can just get another one."

[inquisitornocturn]

≪─ ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍɪᴅɴɪɢʜᴛ: ᴄʜ. 15 - ɢʜᴏꜱᴛ ─≫

⋟ ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: Sebastian LaCroix/f!reader the Ventrue neonate

⋟ ᴛᴀɢꜱ: y/n etc is not used, overall story rating - E, none for this chapter.

⋟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: Needing to pursue the Nosferatu, you travel to Hollywood. You seek out Velvet Velour because of the tip from Bertram, but you find more than just information.

⋟ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 3,240

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: This chapter was intended to deal with more, but it came to a natural end and I decided to leave the rest for a following chapter. It's a little shorter but hopefully not disappointing. Sebastian will return in the next chapter as well. Enjoy~

⋟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ʟɪꜱᴛ: [link] | on AO3 [link]

You slam the door behind you and don’t even look back when the taxi driver wishes you a good night and drives off. Looking in front of you, first you see a convenience store, then when your eyes sweep to both sides of the building you notice other businesses, most of them having dark windows and locked doors. Only makes sense at this hour, especially at Hollywood.

Hollywood. You’ve been here before, many times, just not exactly… here. Your visits consisted of skyscrapers, elaborate mansions that cost millions of dollars, expensive parties where one bottle of champagne or wine cost almost a yearly salary of a middle-class worker and the rest that comes from being rich, powerful and young: sex, drugs and political games.

Yet that past seems so distant to you now, like it happened not months but centuries ago. A life that belonged to someone else. Someone who is not a kindred or a so called Ventrue. Who is not a plaything to a spoiled vampire Prince or a pawn to those sitting in the Ivory Tower. Someone who was somebody before. Is that woman still alive, somewhere? In memories or in wills, in documents that you signed and contracts that you made. In deals that you shook hands over and fucked for, selling if not your soul then your body for more profit, for more power, for more influence. Do you still exist, as you were, or is that all gone? Forgotten, swept away like a pile of dirt by the corporate broom that has neither mercy or empathy for those who fall, disappear, vanish.

Are you any more free now than you were before? You had shackles before, you do have them now, just of a different kind. The shackles of hunger, the Beast, the Camarilla and… the shackles of your own, still very human, desires.

With a sigh you lower your head for a moment, feeling the hunger gnawing at you somewhere deep inside and far away despite the fact that you fed before leaving your apartment at Skylines. That hunger is always lingering, always just a whistle call away, like a monstrous animal ready to pounce upon you the moment you don’t pay enough attention. No, you can’t focus on that now. Neither the blood or the fact that you had an unpleasantly long time to ponder your strange, twisted existence while on the way here. Someone busted the tires of your car, again, and the taxi driver, for some reason, refused to turn on a radio, one thing that would’ve helped you drown out your thoughts.

“Watch it!” A man in semi-expensive sportswear runs his shoulder into yours, forcing you backwards and off the cerb where you almost lose your step. He doesn’t even look back at you while you try to momentarily find your balance and when you find your footing, the middle finger rises on its own.

“Fucker!” You yell, but the stranger doesn’t react even to that. Someone else passing by snickers and you lower your hand, feeling foolish and too emotional once again. Maybe Sebastian is right, maybe you’re not too far from a damned Gangrel with your temper.

Looking around once again, trying not to think what exactly is it that allows you to show your temper like this when before, in your mortal life, you were never so hotheaded or so angry, you try to remember what Tung’s text message said. Something about a strip club, so you pull out your phone and after few clicks on silicone buttons you bring up the singular sentence that the nosferatu deemed you worthy enough of receiving last night:

“Vesuvius, meet VV, she might know something.”

You only heard about VV, the Toreador that found her place here in Hollywood. Some suspect she’s Abrams’ childe, but the truth is that she has been adopted by him, just like you are going to be adopted by Sebastian. You wonder if the news spread here too, in the Anarch territory, but you can worry about that later. Only if you are confronted with such information, but if not, you are not going to be the one presenting the facts to the people who might as well become your enemies at the turn of heart.

Soft clicks of your heels on the concrete begin to give you more confidence the further you walk and thankfully you don’t need to wander the streets of Hollywood forever because the green, neon sign of Vesuvius appears quite quickly before you. The closer you draw to it, the louder music inside appears, yet when you push open the door – it’s not as deafening as you thought it will be.

At your entrance, the woman at the counter just glances at you and says nothing else, returning to read the pop culture magazine that you recognize only by name. Maybe because you’re not a man she sees no reason to accost you, shake you down for anything suspicious, or maybe she’s one of VV’s girls and knows a kindred when she sees one. Whichever the case is, you are glad not be forced into yapping needlessly. You have a suspicion that you will do this plenty while here.

Entering the main floor you see the usual. Countless strip clubs looks the same: scantily dressed young things, swinging their goods for the patrons that either haven’t seen a clean shirt in a week or have so much spare cash they don’t even see these girls as people. You also easily notice how Vesuvius is trying to look more high-class than what it actually is. The paint is peeling in places, the seats look worn from the scrubbing of cleaners and the stages look dull. You don’t feel good here.

Making your way through the club that you don’t expect to be any fuller than what it is on a Wednesday night, you try to find anyone who looks like they stand out. Or rather, you are looking for VV and if you know anything about Toreadors, which is not much, she should be the prettiest flower in this garden.

Approaching the main bar, you ignore couple patrons who are trying to cheese the bartender out of cheaper drinks and then stop in your tracks. Out of the doorway to the right of the bar a figure emerges. Voluptuous and alluring like a sin wrapped in silken ribbons. Woman’s hair is bright red and her lips match the color. The lingerie she’s wearing leaves almost nothing to the imagination, the top pushing her breasts up like two pale mounds that countless people, you are sure, wish to climb. Her thong strings are hiked up high over her hip bones and stockings only add to the sensuality of her visage, all topped off with tasteful heels and a choker.

This must be VV.

You walk towards her and the woman does not seem surprised to see you. In fact, she smiles with the most welcoming yet seductive smile you’ve seen, and you’ve seen some high-class escorts in your previous life.

“Ah, you must be the famous fledgling, are you not? I knew you will find your way to my club.” VV begins and you smile to her in return.

“VV, I presume? Yes, it is me. Mind if we speak somewhere private?” Your eyes involuntarily turn to the closest patron, a man in black shirt on a bar stool. He doesn’t look like he’s paying attention, but you don’t want to take any chances. Any risk of breaking the Masquerade makes your muscles tense.

“So eager to have me all to yourself, sweet thing?” With a chuckle VV draws your attention back to her and you can clearly envision just how many mortals she enchants exactly like this. “Very well, I have been meaning to talk to you as well. Follow me.”

Turning on her silver heel, the Toreador walks back through where she emerged and you are having a hard time trying not to stare at her pale, round ass, swinging seductively right in front of your face, as if VV is climbing the stairs as slow as possible on purpose. You clear your throat, your cheeks begin to burn if not with a real blush then at least with the memory of being so flustered, and you try to keep your eyes to the ground, but it’s almost impossible.

Where Velvet leads you appear to be her private ‘dancing’ room. There’s a small tub, a pole, comfortable couch that looks much better than the ones downstairs. She gestures for you to sit, but you just shake your head.

“I’ll pass.”

“If you prefer to do it standing, I can fulfill that wish. And… many others.” She smiles and puts hands on her hips, pushing her chest out. “So, little Camarilla snack, what can I do for you?” VV gives your figure a long, slow one-over and you swallow dryly.

“I heard that you might have information where nosferatu have tucked themselves away?” You fight yourself to keep your eyes on VV’s, but her breasts keep enticing you like a siren call. VV herself seems not to mind your staring one bit. Instead she chuckles and steps a little closer, her slender finger adorned with crimson painted nail, pushes your chin up and forces you to meet her heavy-lidded gaze.

“Did you now? And who exactly told you this, hm?” She speaks in a voice as rich and smooth as velour. How fitting. You wonder if she truly is trying to seduce you or is it just how she is.

“Doesn’t matter.” You politely push her hand away and VV pretends to pout for a little bit, then she chuckles.

“Unfair. How about this, honey buns, you give me information, I give you information.”

“Does that mean you do actually know where nosferatu are?”

“Maybe. But…” She sighs and for a moment the act drops, Velvet’s smile disappears and she crosses arms under her heavy chest, pushing her breasts up even more. You swallow again. “Seems you have come here knowing who I am and knowing what I might know. If you do me a favor, I will share with you what I know.”

“A favor.” You echo and frown, seductive charms dissipating like cigarette smoke in the night air. “You want me to do some dirty job for you and I don’t even know if you are not bluffing.” You mirror VV subconsciously, folding your arms as well and she smirks at you.

“Let’s speak plainly then.” Velvet begins and you see the apex predator in her at last. Beneath the charms, the undress, the words, there she is – the vampire, huntress of the night and much more experienced than you are. “I don’t know where nosferatu are, but Isaac does. Help him, he will help you.” The woman pauses and taps one perfectly lacquered finger against her painted lips. “It is most curious that you didn’t go to him first though, I’m sure those have been your orders?”

You can’t mistake the taunting in the Toreador’s voice and try to keep yourself cool, relaxed, at ease. Being honest with yourself, you didn’t expect her to taunt you, try to provoke you, but you probably should have.

“Yes, those have been my orders. However, I would prefer not to deal with him.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“I don’t believe he would be very much willing to share what he knows without, just like you, sending me on million errands first.” Your smile is bitter and VV’s eyes narrow at that, but she keeps the smirk on her lips.

“So you’re trying to cut corners with me. Clever, little morsel, very clever.” At last Velour seems to relax a little bit and waves her hand as if trying to make a point. “Unfortunately, you will still have to talk to Isaac. But I have other information that could serve you and your dear, dear Camarilla. Only if you do that one, little, teensy, tiny thing I asked of you.” The seductress returns and you slowly exhale, your shoulders slump and you accept defeat. It’s always like that. Anyone with one rung on the ladder above you feel like they can send you around doing their dirty work.

“Just tell me.”

You only half-listen to VV detailing and lamenting some sort of amateur script writer and how he is most likely working with a kindred to write his latest horror flick or something. You nod and agree to help her, if not for Velvet’s own benefit, then for one of the Camarilla. You’re about to turn away and head out, when something snaps you out of your thoughts that already drifted to how you are going to deal with Abrams.

“You know, I went through adoption myself.” She says and you stop, then turn halfway to her, your eyes fixating on VV’s and you see mischievous sparks in them. “Very much like yourself, don’t you think?”

“And what exactly do you mean?” You’re aware that your voice sounds harsher than you intend, but that doesn’t appear to perturb VV in the slightest. She just chuckles and taps her bottom lip just like she did earlier.

“Oh the entanglements with Sires, or would-be-Sires.” Leaning slightly in your direction, Velvet narrows her eyes in an expression that is full of smugness. “Do you think Prince really wants you?”

You try your best to school your emotions, not to show that her question caught you off-guard and poked a sensitive spot, but you know that she noticed. You know that she’s aware just how much this little probe rattled you. Clearing your throat, you turn to her fully once again and rise an eyebrow, tapping into your defiant nature like it’s your sword and armor.

“Why would he suggest adopting me if he didn’t.”

“Maybe he just likes putting reigns on the fiery ones. Or shutting them up. In more ways than one.”

Good Lord, you wish you could wipe that smug smirk off her face, but you just momentarily clench your jaw and offer a smirk in return.

“Just like you have been by Abrams?” You think this will hit the sensitive spot in VV as well, but you clearly are wrong because she just laughs.

“Yes, exactly like that. Don’t be ashamed, sugar plum, we all want power. If we don’t have our own, we borrow it from others, by any means necessary. But-“ She straightens her back and looks away, to the stripping poll, then back at you. “I do not judge you, just so you know. Let’s stay good, good friends, okay?” Biting her bottom lip, VV appears like she’s undressing you with her eyes alone and you can’t help but chuckle.

“Take care, VV. I will come back with that script you wish for.” When your back is turned to her, you hear her parting words, but don’t look at the Toreador again.

“Your adoption is big news, you know. Be careful out there, you don’t know on who’s toes you might be stepping, my love.”

You walk out.

With your thoughts reeling like a hamster’s wheel, you barely notice how you make it down the stairs, across the club and outside, into the not-so-fresh Hollywood’s night air. Paranoia gnaws at you for a moment, VV’s words haunting you like shadows of the past and you quickly look around, almost expecting to see a glow of vampiric eyes or a barrel of a gun aimed at you. Maybe even a stake launched in your direction. But there’s nothing. Some late night strollers and hookers is all you see around.

You need a break, you know it.

Letting out a tired sigh, you rub the bridge of your nose, trying to regain your composure. Trying to regain the sense of self. Focus on your tasks, you remind yourself, focus on your goals. But then, a familiar voice calls your name and your head snaps up in attention. You glance around and immediately notice a figure rushing towards you. The closer it gets, the more your unbeating heart sinks. It’s one face you were hoping to never see again.

Samantha.

“Oh my God, it is you!” She rushes from the restaurant entrance and you nearly reel back from the woman, but stand your ground. You knew this day might come, one where someone from your past runs into you, yet you are not sure just how ready you are to deal with this. “Everyone’s so worried about you! What happened? You just vanished after that last party! You know what, nevermind, let’s just go, I will call the others, we have been looking for you for so long!” Samantha reaches to take your elbow but you step aside and avoid her touch, making the woman look at you with concern. “What… happened to you?” She asks again but this time her voice sounds sad.

“I cannot talk. Whatever it is you thought you knew about me – forget it.” With a frown you look at her and Samantha gives you an even more worried look.

“What do you mean, forget it?” She then changes her mind and tries to get a hold of your arm again. “Let’s go, whatever happened, we will help.”

You avoid the touch again and noticing some people walking in your direction, begin to feel the rising panic. You need to shut her up, before she causes the scene and possibly gets you both killed.

“Samantha, look at me.” You demand and the woman is clearly about to take out her cellphone, but now she rises her dark eyes which show nothing but concern and confusion. “You will walk away and forget seeing me. You will never come here looking for me again. You won’t let others to look for me either.”

The fount of your power increases your hunger when you tap into it, but you can worry about it later. Kine are getting closer and you are not sure if your attempt even worked, but at last Samantha’s shoulders relax and she looks dazed, like she’s experiencing a dream.

“I won’t ever… come… looking for you…” With a slow drawl the woman replies and you sigh slightly with relief. So it did work. Glancing around you at last see that it’s just a prostitute with some John and then look back at Samantha.

“Go now, leave. Don’t ever come back.”

Samantha’s head bobs on her shoulders for a moment, then she nods, even her actions betraying her dream-like state, and at last this shadow of your past departs. Slowly, step by step, the woman you once called a friend walks away and out of your life. For her sake you hope permanently. The couple pass you without even giving you a second glance and you exhale with relief. Crisis averted, Masquerade protected. For now.

Yet as you watch Samantha disappear into some side street, the reality of what just happened threatens to come crushing down. Your past, your present, the hunger, the vampires, the fragile balance between your world and hers. No, you can’t allow yourself to sink into these musings, you know they will only make you miserable. So you shake your head, roll your shoulders and exhale in a self-soothing attempt.

Focus. Proceed. Seek.

Abrams. You need to see Abrams after all.

And you still have enough time to do just that tonight.

[visions--of--collisions]

for @spidereticas who requested 400 words of something I have fragments of: here is .. more than 400 words of an inspired-by/follow-up to I Get So Hungry (When You Say You Love Me) by AbiCats16, in which an experimental trial at Spider Society goes poorly for Hobie (and for Miles, in turn)

EXCERPT: some of us will never sleep again • hobie/miles, drama, romance, angst, friendship, established relationship; rated: m

“Ope,” said LYLA, somewhere close to Hobie’s ear. “Incoming!”

Peter crossed the cell to get the door, and Miguel dismissed the last of the medical team with a sigh. Miles’ anxious voice carried over the noise of their departure; Hobie rolled his shoulders and climbed to his feet.

“You’re cleared to go,” Miguel informed him, pointedly not looking up from his readings as Miles led the charge across the room with Margo and Peter in tow. “Your system’s clean, but I’m going to ask that you take the next twenty-four hours to rest. Margo here’s agreed to cover your patrols for the evening; Pavitr will take over when she’s done.”

“Just call me Renfield, I guess,” Margo drawled. She watched with raised eyebrows as Miles reached up to grab Hobie’s face, turning it this way and that like he was looking for physical proof that the serum’s effects had faded.

Like he wasn’t the one with the scars to prove its viability.

“Let’s not,” Miguel grunted. Hobie snorted. Margo hadn’t been privy to the trials until she’d shown up for her morning shift and Peter’d convinced him to rope her in, according to the texts Miles had sent from Medbay. Miguel hadn’t been happy about it then, and he wasn’t now, it seemed like, regardless of how much sense the choice made. He dismissed the projected screens with a curt motion. “There were no previous reports of any side effects, but if anything feels off, ping LYLA and come back to HQ. That applies to you both,” he added, with a meaningful look Miles’ way.

Miles made an affirmative noise, though his focus remained on Hobie. “You look wiped, man,” he observed. He thumbed across the hollow under Hobie’s left eye.

“M’alright,” he mumbled. He caught Miles’ wrist and managed a smile. “Better for seeing you in one piece.” There was an adhesive bandage matching Miles’ skintone just visible under the cowl neck of the sweatshirt Medbay must have supplied him with. The tall boots and the slate-coloured trousers had to be theirs too then, because getting him into anything that tight that wasn’t his Suit was usually a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of occurrence.

Miles chuffed. “‘In one piece?’ Are you kidding, I slept through the whole thing. I dunno what they gave me, but that stuff was potent.”

“This man was fully snoring and drooling when I walked in there,” Margo agreed. “Sheets fucked up, pillows on the damn floor. Giving the whole ward a free show! Pete really had my ass worried for nothing.” She folded her arms, tucking a neatly-folded bundle that looked awfully like Miles’ Suit into the crook of her elbow. “I thought I was gonna be hauling both your corpses through a portal, the way this dude was talking.”

“In my defence, you kinda blipped out of there before I could elaborate,” Peter pointed out. Hobie noticed he was still just in his Suit, for once; his memory of the night was all over the place, practically blank in some spots and almost excruciatingly vivid in others. MJ’s dressing gown had vanished in one of the latter - really, in the clearest stretch - after Jess and Miguel had burst in to rescue Miles before things went any further south.

Didn’t really take an educated guess to work out what had happened to it.

“Well, you know, you tell a girl one of her friend’s in a cell dosed up on Nosferatu juice and the other’s bleeding out in Medbay, it really lights a fire under her!”

Miles’ pulse was strong and steady under his thumb. Hobie didn’t remember feeling for it. He loosened his grip and let Miles slip free.

Miles grabbed his forearm before he could step back. “You good to get outta here?” he asked.

The hopeful tilt to his smile made Hobie’s answer easier than it probably should’ve been. “Yeah, mate.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m good. You?” he couldn’t help but ask. There was none of the feverish sheen or the washed-out look of his skin that had shocked Hobie into letting Miles go after their last ill-fated conversation, even though he was looking for it. His hair might have suffered a bit of shrinkage while he spent the night in a hospital bed, but it was negligible. 

The shirt was thick and its sleeves fell past Miles’ knuckles. He couldn’t make out any telltale bump where the gauze might be taped over an IV site. Hobie decided he’d ask when they had a second alone.

Assuming Miles was feeling up to that any time soon. Who could blame him if he wasn’t? “I have been ready, Hobes,” Miles informed him. He was smiling, his eyes creased at the corners in the way that meant Miles was laughing at him.

The knot in his stomach unravelled a bit. “Alright, shit. Don’t hang about on my account.”

Miles reached up just in time to intercept the folded bundle of his suit before it hit him in the head. “I am also ready to leave, if we’re all done here with this Twilight bullshit,” Margo chirped.

“Great. Thanks. How do you even know what that is?” Miles groused. He tucked himself against Hobie’s side, looping an arm around his lower back like he was ready to do the walking for him if need be. Hobie waited until Miles met his eye to drape his arm around his shoulders with exaggerated enthusiasm, pecking his temple when he glanced away sheepishly.

“Are you kidding, Pavitr lives for those movies! He’s got Collector’s Editions. Gayatri hates them and it’s like he doesn’t even care.” She oof-ed a bit as Hobie hooked his free arm around her avatar’s shoulders, but tucked her hand in between his and Miles’ sides readily enough.

“Huh. You know, that scans, actually,” Peter opined.

“Hmm. Espere un momento,” Miguel interjected, behind them. “You can go from here. LYLA, open access for Peter, por favor.”

“Y’got it!”

Peter rubbed his hands together. “Okay, where to, guys? Straight to ‘138 or should I drop you someplace else?”

Miles shook his head when Hobie glanced at him; Margo rolled her eyes and called up her mask. “Nah, mine’s good. I can give you the coordinates.”

Peter tapped at his Watch’s interface. “Go for it.”

Hobie rattled off the location of the first towpath bridge that came to mind; he hadn’t moored anywhere near there, but they could swing the rest of the way, and he had a better shot at finding Roxie the further afield they were. A minute later, the portal opened up a hole in the adjacent wall of the cell. Miles stuffed his Suit into his waistband, underneath the shirt.

“Okay, you guys, have a good one. Call us if you need anything! Me and Jess and Miguel are all burning the midnight oil this week, so don’t worry about catching us at a weird hour. Reach out whenever. Try and get some rest in the meantime, and make sure you eat, Hobie!”

The three of them waited in front of the portal, staring. “ … Anything else?” Margo prompted him.

“Remember what we talked about,” Miguel said, before he could answer. He was squinting at something LYLA was showing him, half-turned away. Just in case anyone was audacious enough to hope for context clues or a clarification, Hobie supposed.

He didn’t need any, but it was the principal of the thing.

“ … Cool. Alright.” Even with her headgear donned, Margo managed to give Hobie a disbelieving look. “Catch you later.”

She nudged Hobie forward; on his other side, Miles’ hand closed around the arm that hugged him close, and they walked through the dimensional door.

*

The portal dropped them into the half-light under a bridge in Islington. Experience had quickly taught Hobie to note the coordinates that pointed away from nearby bodies of water (it hadn’t been a learning curve so much as one or two deeply unpleasant and inconvenient swandives directly into the Thames) so instead they fetched up against a wall covered in faded graffiti and posters and some piss, which was still better than the alternative.

Between the three of them, it was Miles and Hobie who managed to cling to enough of their wits to stick out a leg before they all face-planted into the bricks. Margo let out a surprised breath where Hobie had twisted her back by the shoulders, on reflex.

The ruddy cast on the walls dimmed and died as the portal closed up behind them. In the gloom it left behind, they collected themselves and took stock. Hobie lifted his right arm high enough to check his watch without letting go of Miles. It had been after ten in the morning when the last tests declared him free of any traces or symptoms; his HQ watch had already dutifully ticked over to local time. 17:02, the glowing orange face read.

“Huh. Well this feels pretty on-brand.” Margo’s gear shone lilac when Hobie turned; her silhouette was stark against the fog spilling into the far end of the tunnel.

“What do you mean?” Miles asked. He reached up and squeezed Hobie’s hand, waiting for him to take his arm back before he turned to consider the other end of the tunnel, which looked much the same.

“I dunno, the London fog, this Dracula nonsense. You know?” Margo put her hands on her hips, frowning as she glanced about. Her lenses multiplied. “Where’s the good ship Demeter at?”

“Not here.” Hobie stretched a bit and checked his web-shooters. “We’ll swing over. Haven’t seen Roxie in a bit; I wanna find out where she’s got to.”

“‘Find her?’ In that?” Margo said, doubtfully. Her peripheral lenses changed colour as she tabbed through different visual modes, casting soft rainbow reflections off the surface of the water. 

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Miles watching the rippling colours as he clipped on his web shooters and dug out his mask. Hobie adjusted his guitar strap. “S’fine, I know her usual spots. Let’s cut.”

Miles’ and Margo’s footsteps were bare whispers following the echo of his boots as Hobie lead them out onto the towpath. In the open, the mist hung thicker in his lungs than it did in the air; Hobie tugged his mask on and told them to stay close, just in case. 

The approaching rumble of a lorry made him straighten up, and the other two turned to follow his gaze. Briefly, as its headlights cut through the haze, Hobie’s eyes caught on the sliver of skin between the slouchy neck of Miles’ jumper and his mask, where the bandage underneath strained against the torsion of his neck. Then Miles turned to him, the lenses of his mask refractive and questioning. Hobie nodded and threw out a web after the truck, letting its momentum haul him off the ground.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

[b-skarsgard]

Bill Skarsgård in a big interview with MovieZine: "Horror is always best at the cinema"

"Nosferatu" current actor in great interview with Alexander Kardelo - about finding Orlok's look and voice, love for Robert Eggers and a busy 2025.

It is a great pleasure to follow Bill Skarsgård's career, which moves from one exciting collaboration to another. Now the Swede is very current in the title role in "Nosferatu", the hottest thriller of the winter. But the risk is that you won't recognize Bill, who has turned into a 350-year-old vampire count with a taste for blood.

MovieZine exclusively tells us that Daniel Day-Lewis could have played Orlok, and that he himself was initially considered for a completely different role in the film. But years of delays led to something good, and Robert Egger's "Nosferatu" is now ready for release.

We also talk about Bill's other intense roles, from last year's "The Crow" to the upcoming "Lords of War" where he meets Nicolas Cage.

read at the link above or below the cut

translated through google

Last time we talked about you being in "The Northman" but choosing "Clark" instead. But you got to work with Robert Eggers in the end, fun! What was it like stepping into his dark world?

- It has been fantastic. It's a long damn journey. I met him at a meeting in New York right after he had done The Witch. I saw it and thought "who the hell is this, I have to work with this man".

- Our meeting only confirmed even more how much I wanted to work with him. I felt that he speaks to all my interests. He inspires. He is so chill in his integrity, in his creative expression. I felt wow , this guy makes no compromises.

- I was cast in "Nosferatu" when it was to be his second film. I read the script and auditioned, first for the role of Harding, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and then for the role of Thomas Hutter, who is the male romantic lead, played by Nick (Hoult). I got it, and I was so incredibly excited and tickled!

The idea was that Bill Skarsgård and Anya Taylor-Joy would have played the love couple at the center of "Nosferatu". But the project fell apart - Eggers refused to compromise his vision, and made "The Lighthouse" (2019) instead. Skarsgård got a minor role in Egger's third feature film "The Northman" but instead chose to jump on the Swedish miniseries "Clark".

- I felt that I love Robert, but that role could not be compared to the challenge in "Clark". I produced "Clark", it was mine and Jonas (Åkerlund's) baby. I didn't know if Robert would be easily offended and write me off forever... Then "Nosferatu" was going to be his next movie and I heard he chose Nick Hoult for the role that was promised to me - that bastard...!

- But the Harding role then? I think I can do it well. No, he wanted Aaron Taylor-Johnson for it. Both of those actors are really my peers, I've been losing roles to them for a hundred years. They are my competitors. I thought Eggers will never want to work with me again. Thanks and bye, I will survive. But out of nowhere he came to me and offered me Orlok.

It is not the most expected choice. Orlok is a 350 year old, stinking, living dead count. Maybe you're not the first person who comes to mind for the role?

- No, I didn't think so either. I know he was talking about Daniel Day-Lewis, and for a while it was Willem Dafoe who was going to play him, and Mads Mikkelsen... When he came to me years later, it was a shock at first, but then I was very flattered. He can have whoever the hell he wants. Giants, big names... What does Robert see in me that I might not see myself?

- But I know he's a perfectionist, and would never ever cast that role with someone he doesn't think can do it. Because the film is so personal to him. My trial filming process was 10 days back and forth, where he shared his research, as he is known for doing. I got a big folder with details, clothes, what Orlok looks like... I would watch some movies for references. Then we started dating: "What do you think of such and such inspiration?"

Bill Skarsgård is really unrecognizable under layers of all the makeup. It took six hours in the makeup chair, every day, to make him hideous and mysterious. But the biggest challenge was finding Orlok's voice:

- How can I make my voice almost so supernaturally dark? And breathing was damn important. I started recording clips and sending them to him. "Should I go more for Bela Lugosi? Or find someone more nuanced?" It was an intense 10 days of express development for the character. But that led to camera tests, which led to me booking the role.

- Then the film fell apart again. And it took two years before we actually started filming. Then the real work began, Bill remembers.

- I worked with an opera singer to get the technique, to activate the voice and get it as deep as I could. Then followed hundreds of hours of recording yourself, listening, recording yourself... From that I found my method - I knew when the voice was at its best. When I was most relaxed. Then I started to build up my routine. I had a 20-minute vocal warm-up process before every damn take.

It's absolutely incredible, you don't see and you don't hear that it's you.

- I have 600 hours of voice recordings that prove it's my voice, haha.

How did you find the look itself?

- The look was based on: what did a Transylvanian nobleman look like in the 16th century, and what would he look like if he had been dead for 300 years? I read the script for the first time almost 10 years ago. Not much has changed. He has marinated on this film for so long. As you know, he always goes to research and to authenticity, to historical clues, for his creation. That's how it always is. He strives to be as historically authentic as possible.

- I asked Robert at some point: "Will you ever make a contemporary film?" "Never," he said. He will never make a film that is not set in the past.

Did you guys use the old "Nosferatu" as a reference?

- I had already seen the old "Nosferatu" many times before. And Herzog's too, to some extent. But there was absolutely nothing I watched before this one. I think it can be harmful to study what people have done before. Even subconsciously, you can start stealing.

You choose courageous roles and exciting film projects. In 2024 you've released 'Boy Kills World', 'The Crow' and 'Nosferatu', all of which are quite dark and brutal in different ways. Just a coincidence, or are you attracted to such roles?

- For me, it is that the characters attract you, and you yourself attract characters. And then you meet in the middle. For some unfathomable reason, I'm drawn to these characters and they seem to be drawn to me. That year was a little too intense and a little too dark, to make the three films back to back. But I think all three of them deserve it. And if you look at the three films, you see that "Bill does different types of characters anyway", haha.

- I am a completely different person than when I was 16 or 18 years old. But what is it that has always been consistent? Playing as many different roles as possible is something that has been true for me ever since I was young.

"Boy Kills World" went under the radar a bit. And "The Crow" was already criticized in advance. Are you affected by that, how the films are received?

- I notice how "Boy Kills World" has grown on streaming. There were a lot of different reasons: it was an independent film, the marketing didn't have that high of a budget, so that film wasn't launched to do best in theaters in today's climate. Then these films can live on-demand. A bit suspicious, I think. How much have these movies made from home rentals? It is nothing that becomes public. I can almost wonder, because I should have a piece of that cake too…

- But "Boy Kills World" is growing and finding its audience, which is fun. I think that film has its place, says Bill.

- With "The Crow" there was just a wave of negativity already in front. I think that film was a little undeservedly harshly judged without that negativity. The film is not for everyone, and I have a lot of opinions about the result as well. But I see that it runs well on-demand. And I meet fans who say "that movie is really important to me". That movie resonates with people. It is not for everyone. But if you meet someone who says "I loved The Crow", then that's enough for me.

After these three dark roles, what's next for you in 2025?

- It's starting to clear up more and more. Looks like it's going to be a pretty busy year... and a bit dark too, haha.

Is "Lords of War" with Nicolas Cage one of your upcoming projects?

- I'm looking forward to it. It looks like it will be released later in 2025. It is a dark comedy. The character is a bit like Clark... A real self-centered sociopath who is an asshole but also quite fun.

- But next I will work with Gus van Sant. We will start recording in January. It is a very demanding and intensive role. It's something I seem to have stuck with, that the roles become demanding. I'm like that. If it's a tight uphill, then I get motivated to start climbing up. When I feel scared, "I can't do this" - I do it! I don't know how wise it is for my well-being, but there is something masochistic about it that motivates me.

But blockbusters don't seem to attract you, do they? On the other hand, you have appeared in two Marvel movies with "Eternals" and "Deadpool 2"... How is it - were you considered for the role of Lex Luthor in "Superman"?

- No, no one contacted me. It was just media rumours. But just because it's a Hollywood blockbuster... that's not enough to get me going on it. But if I feel that I see a challenge, that I can do something that feels good or that I believe in the project - then it suddenly becomes relevant. If you make a big film, you want to make a Gus van Sant film after that. It's fun to switch tracks like that.

- I hope that "Nosferatu" can become a blockbuster. I think it has the potential to be. It is art house. Extremely artistic, very scary, but it's also very conventional. It's the Dracula story. We know this story. It sits in our spine. It's horror. It's a big release. So in that way, I hope and believe that the film can really find a large audience.

- And horror is always best at the cinema. Not enough of that. It's also one heck of a craft. It's the kind of movie that can't be made anymore. Almost everything is practical effects. It is filmed on film. Every single picture looks like a painting. This is filmmaking of the highest order, and should be seen on the largest screen possible.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2025-01-06

Damn that last Monday of the week really barely got in under the wire.

Listening: Among other things kind of going through a bunch of popular songs and albums from the past year to see like. What I missed, which has included me introducing my partner to Guess from Brat by Charli xcx.

Brat is a good album, despite Brat Summer not actually being a real thing.

Watching: Ended up going to Nosferatu (2024) with the partner and a friend after their other movie companion bailed. Damn they really did file the serial numbers off Dracula with this thing huh. I have never seen Original Nosferatu.

This is a very good looking movie, and it manages to mostly retain some of my favourite bits of Dracula-ness like the protagonists generally getting along remarkably well given the situation. Friedrich is a little antsy for much of it but it's for a good reason and it pays off well with his Mina situation.

The shots in this movie are all... weirdly smooth. Every single shot feels like it's on an ultra-filtered dolly-crane move. It turns out it was shot on film so I guess it probably was, no one wants to handhold a film camera. It lends it a slightly strange air, lots of big long dramatic camera moves but also in situations where you'd really expect a shaky handheld shot it holds rock solid, to the point that I genuinely burst out laughing at a perfectly stable shot of knock-off Jonathan hoofing it down a street.

The steady camera doesn't do the composited backgrounds and effects any favours, some of the backgrounds are really obviously painted in. Weird choice! Some interesting BTS stories about shooting though. And it was shot around Prague, so that's fun.

It's good! You should check it out. Very different opinions on how sexy Nosferatu is from me and my friend. I would fuck that old man (bill skarsgard in so so so much makeup and a huge moustache).

Playing: Nothing really! Been busy unpacking and [REDACTED]

Reading: Finished The Apocalypse of Herschel Schoen by @nostalgebraist which is one of those things that gets its hooks into you. I think it makes its case well, which is basically "even if GenAI is going to take over the world, that might actually be great for the abstract moral state of the universe". I love an extremely disconnected look at humanity.

I do adore Miriam's chapters. She's meant to be this everyman narrator with no personality but she's so weird.

I gotta go read The Northern Caves and Almost Nowhere. I read Floornight a while ago and then just. forgot I guess.

the On Raven chapter intro to Herschel really heavily informs how I saw him for the rest of the book. He's kind of someone who thinks anything should be possible because anything else would be too sad to imagine. You can kind of take this two ways I think, one more literal that is explored more heavily in the story, and another as sort of. I guess the feeling of what it must be like to be a noise diffusion algorithm. You start out with this infinite possibility of random noise and it is slowly hacked up into likely meaning.

It's on AO3! Go read it!

Making: Nothing really! See Playing.

Tools and Equipment: Do Not Fucking Use CentOS Stream In Applications Where You Very Clearly Want RedHat Compatiblity, For The Love Of God.

[nsfwer-xtra]

Best Nude / Sex Scenes in 2024 Movies

Now that most of the notable 2024 films have released in theaters and VOD, I figured I'd create a list of the best sex scenes in films (not including TV cause it'd be too much). List will only include scenes where there is actual nudity or a sexual act occurring, no implied nudity or sex!

(These are in no particular order)

Megan Fox plays a sex robot we'd all probably fuck in Subservience

Not pictured above, but this scene has a moment where Megan drops her panties and starts riding the main character. Let's forget the weirdness (or hotness?) of having sex with a robot for a second, Megan Fox's body looks crazy good and this is probably the only time we'll see her show any real skin.

Florence Pugh's gum drop nipples in We Live in Time

This film has a few nude scenes, but most notable is this sex scene where Florence gets naked and shows her suckable nips. Don't tell me she's flat chested cause that doesn't matter when your nipples look that good.

Truly *shocking* Kate Winslet got naked again in Lee

Kate Winslet's been doing this for so long that any time she appears nude, it's gotta be on one of these lists. A true legend.

Emma Stone and Margaret Qualley get pounded hard during a foursome in Kinds of Kindness

In probably the wildest sex scene (and movie) of the year, we see a T.V. recording of Margaret and Emma taking it from behind in a wife swap foursome scenario. The only downside of this scene is that we don't get a great visual of all the action, but what we do see is truly golden.

Lily Rose Depp cucks her husband for Nosferatu in Nosferatu

I almost didn't include this scene on this list, but I thought, "ah what the hell, it qualifies". I'll just say this...Nosferatu had his mind in the right spot: his penis

Park Ji-Hyun doesn't keep much hidden in Hidden Face

I haven't seen the film, but I do know that it's been garnering a lot of attention for it's porn-level sex scenes involving actress Park Ji-Hyun. And damn, is she HOT!

Margaret Qualley & Demi Moore look INCREDIBLE in The Substance

In what is my favorite movie of the year, both actresses get tons of scenes of nudity (thanks to the amazing plot). But the scene that shines the most is the initial introduction of Margaret's character during the bathroom scene. IYKYK.

Let me know which of these were your favorite of the year. And if I missed any, let me know what other scenes should've made the list!

[queenie-ofthe-void]

Tagged by @wheneverfeasible Thanks for including me!! <3

Last song: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

Favorite color: Dark Pink or Black

Last book: Never Whistle at Night horror anthology but I also kind of count The Magnus Archives podcast, since it's fiction and is taking the place of my audiobooks

Last movie: Nosferatu (2024) and holy damn was it good

Last TV show: X-Files switching back and forth with Hannibal

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Savory and umami for sure

Relationship status: live-in partner

Last Google: Stardew Valley Gifts I ran out of teardrops, sashimi, and coffee for Seb

Looking forward to: Daredevil: Born Again and the new season of Drive to Survive

People I’d like to get to know better: Since I can’t “@ everyone”, if you don’t get tagged but want to do this, please consider yourself tagged! I'm a little late to the game on this one so sorry if you've already been tagged <3

@runninriot @runraerun @thewickedkat @estrellami-1 @ataliagold

@mugloversonly @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @sadisticaltarts @bramble-berries @hotluncheddie

[dailydemonspotlight]

Kudlak - Day 123

Race: Haunt

Arcana: Magician

Alignment: Dark-Chaos

October 9th, 2024

It's a bit surprising that, among the many famous horror monsters, Vampires aren't referenced that often among the ranks of Demons in SMT. Vampires are, naturally, a staple in horror and most things halloweeny, and for good reason, as they have a lot going for them- connections to the occult, famous works deriving from them, and an iconic design. You walk out with a cloak and some sharp fangs and people will know right away that, hey, you're Dracula! Dracula and Nosferatu are commonly seen as the archetypal vampires, and for good reason, as they both play on the most common aspects of them being unholy figures who suck blood, to the point that many people seem to think that Dracula was the original Vampire. However, the idea has a lot of historical backing dating far before Bram Stoker's masterpiece, and one example of this comes in the form of today's Demon of the Day, and a surprisingly popular one at that- Kudlak, the Slavic vampire and mortal enemy of Kresnik, legendary Hunter.

Kudlak and Krsnik [sic] are intrinsically linked in many ways, with them both being mortal (or, perhaps, immortal) enemies of each other. Originating both from several Slavic areas but primarily Croatia and Slovenia, the legends of the two are an incredibly interesting bit of folklore, all starting from birth. Literally. Kudlak and Krsnik are both less figures in their own rights and more titles given to two different kinds of beings, with Kudlak being a vampire and Krsnik a shaman. How do you know if someone is one or the other? Look at how they were born- it depends on if the child is born with a caul, a rare medical phenomenon where a baby is born with a thin membrane still over their head. Typically, this would be removed without second thought, but in the case of these two eternal rivals, it indicates the direction their lives will go.

A child born with a red and/or dark caul will turn into a Kudlak as they grow older, becoming a fearsome monster who could shapeshift into the form of any animal they choose. The Kudlak would use this power to strike fear into people's hearts, damaging wildlife and razing cities to the ground until eventually, hopefully stopped by a Krsnik, who are babies born with a bright caul over their head. Krsniks and Kudlaks both were revered at the time, and it was said that the only way to actually defeat a Kudlak would be to get it to confess to its sins- and, if that didn't work, to cut its damn tendons off- and, if even that didn't work, they'd be forced to stake it with one made of hawthorne wood, likely being the origin of Vampires and their connections and aversion to stakes.

Not a lot can be said about Kudlak without going over Krsnik, as, again, the two are completely connected down to the last fiber. However, as for the design in SMT, it feels like they really just wanted to come up with a vampire, and honestly, it works wonders. The black skin calls reference to the black caul a Kudlak is born with, and past that, it's a genuinely fun design. I love the artwork for it shown in the 3DS titles, as Kudlak has an insanely dynamic pose and the billowing cape on top of all of it is just... chef's kiss. Perfect. I do wish they found a way to connect the shapeshifting into the design, but I'm not complaining, as everything about this one is utterly rock solid.

[darkfictionjude]

For the IF Question, I'd say I'm largely turned off by IFs that go straight into the action. Keeper of Sun and Moon, Werewolves: Haven, all of these dive in headfirst without giving us time to actually look at the characters.

WWC we have the asylum and the party, Bastard of Camelot starts from your character's birth, Blood Moon we have the pack hunting down strays (their idea of 'normal'), The Fog Knows Your Name has the ferry ride and then hanging out, and Thicker Than, etc before the main plotline starts.

It's just better (in my opinion) to have a few scenes regarding normal life before the main plotline begins. Establish characters, get a backstory, all that fun stuff.

Hmm...what else? Genrewise I'll take anything that's good, but I prefer supernatural and fantasy stories.

Writing style: Paragraphs. Give us paragraphs, please. I won't say this is a deal breaker, but how hard is it to just press 'enter' to make it easier for your viewers' eyes? Plus I find it helps with pacing as well.

However, I do dislike it when authors clearly haven't put all their effort into thinking about what a person can do.

I know this is a me issue, but when there's only two choices to make and it's obvious to me that there are at least five different ways to get a more favorable outcome...it's not a dealbreaker but it's damn annoying.

Also, well-developed characters, but that's a pretty borderline requirement.

I love poetic languages, metaphors, etc.

Also, I love darker or at the least, thematically appropriate worldbuilding. E.g, Thicker Than (a vampire IF that's a sequel to Blood Moon), where being a vampire kinda sucks.

To elaborate: a lot of vampire fiction tries to make it seem like being a vampire is bad or at least, not all good. And sure, there's the basics like not being able to enter a home, not walking out in the sun.

But the Vampire Diaries for instance pretty much takes these away. Sun protection in the form of magical rings, hypnosis to be able to come inside a home, etc, to the point where being a vampire is much more fun and beneficial than being a boring human. And when they die, they get to go to Peace (basically Heaven).

But Thicker Than actually treats vampirism as being a bit of a grey thing. The character gets superpowers, sure, and immortality, and advanced healing. But their thirst for blood grows everyday. The oldest vampire is a sociopathic wreck who lives in utter boredom and hunger, restrained to a single city because that's the only way he can get the blood he needs to survive.

This thirst is especially bad when you play the route where you have a kid (Which I did because angst, angst, angst). And then, perhaps the singular reason to not become a vampire in this world: vampires don't have souls. When a vampire is made, the human soul moves on leaving a shambling corpse behind.

So the vampire self and the human self are completely different. And once a vampire dies, it's game over.

Side note: Vampires can't cry either, because 'grief belongs to the living, not the dead'. I love the world-building in this IF. It's just very thematically appropriate and here it actually makes sense as to why people wouldn't want to become a vampire.

I love how half of this is about vamps one of my fav topics and so yeah I’ve played thicker than I’m a fan of the author

You see I think like when vampirism is seen as a curse, that it’s nightmarish I really want to see nosferatu since I’ve heard how bleak it is. I think vampirism is treated as a bad thing because it’s used as metaphor for something whether it be aids, sexual assault, repression, night terrors, serial killers and the fear of death but also the fear of not dying before someone you love does

I saw the vampire diaries and I think it’s fine to show the virtues of being a vampire but what I hated was that they sought to take away what makes vampires vampires. Like the daylight ring stuff, the fact that they can eat human food, etc., I like my vamps more gothic so I felt they were defanged in that show