#genevieve dieudonne

[stainlesssteellocust]

👀

[clevermird]

Review: Drachenfels (The Vampire Genevieve book 1) by Jack Yeovil

A bunch of people traveling to an isolated location where a mysterious figure kills them one by one. . . it’s a slasher movie in book form, just in time for Halloween! 

Twenty years ago, Genevieve Dieudonné was part of a band of brave companions that slew the infamous necromancer Constant Drachenfels at great personal cost. Now the leader of the group, Prince Oswald, has commissioned a grand play about the event, which draws Genevieve from hiding and reunites what remains of the heroes to witness the premier. But strange omens are warning of danger and when people start dying, Genevieve has to team up with disgraced playwright Detlek to prevent yet another bloodbath at the sinister Castle Drachenfels. 

This book was a ton of fun. After a dark, horrifying prologue, the tone lightens somewhat and the remainder of the story is a satirical look at the performing arts and the upper crust of society in the pseudo-early Renaissance society that the book represents, interspersed with a series of gruesome murders that make the story well-deserving of its reprint’s placement in the Warhammer Horror line. Drachenfels is a quick, breezy read with some genuinely funny moments and some really effective kill scenes. The massive cast of characters, although very one-note, are drawn in a way that makes you interested in them quickly and the plot progresses at a snappy pace. It’s predictable, but predictable in a way that feels comfortable rather than tired. 

However not everything is perfect – I found the romantic subplot very underdeveloped, to the point that when the epilogue proclaimed a “happily ever after”, I was genuinely confused. Despite being the title character, Genevieve feels a bit sidelined at points, particularly during the finale, and there really are just too many characters for a book of this length. 

Nevertheless, this book was just a lot of fun, exactly the kind of popcorn read that’s perfect for a rainy October night in. 

Warnings: As is typical for both Warhammer Fantasy and the slasher flicks this book was clearly modeled after, expect plenty of blood and gore, along with some light body horror and several suicides. As is also typical for the setting, many characters display pointed in-universe predjudices against a variety of real and fictitious groups.

Rating: 6/10 (but if going by how much I enjoyed it, 9/10)

[the-news-you-use]

Reflection on the Life of Doctor Dieudonné: I

By Chloe Talbot

On Saturday, October 23, 2008, elder vampire and physician, Geneviève Dieudonne was found rendered into ash in her Tri-West apartment. 

Geneviève Dieudonné died sixteen years ago at the age of 592 in Las Angeles, California. As of now, the exact cause of death is still unknown. It could have been murder, it could have been suicide, she might have left the blinds open and gotten scorched by the sun. But, that leaves us with the facts. I, At the News You Use, will write a series of reflections on the life of Doctor Geneviève Dieudonné, using diaries and newly discovered letters not to paint a biography of a woman who shaped humanity but to give psychological and philosophical insight into her. Let’s start broadly at the beginning and end of her life. Dieudonné was born the daughter of a physician in 1416 and turned 16 years later by a vampire named Chandagnac. She describes the process of her vampirism as occurring very slowly with the bite happening first, followed by Chandagnac gradually feeding her his blood over a lengthy period. I believe that it’s this slow, almost deathless process that caused her to feel a distance between herself and others of her kind.  Her life between being turned and the time when Dracula brought vampirism into the proverbial light. Her diaries make mention of her having multiple careers as a doctor, soldier, sex worker, etc while name-dropping some famous figures like Joan of Arc and Mircalla Karnstein. There are also indications of her living in Asia at points in her lifetime with letters from 1899 indicating familiarity with the changing importance of feudal Japanese cities. Her diary entries spanning from 1888-2001 are where we have the strongest insights into her personality. They’re also the records we have that have survived so perhaps sitting in some cellar somewhere are fresh thoughts of a younger Dieudonné.  In 1888, she was one of the many vampires who found a home in Dracula’s England after the Prince Consort attempted to turn the empire into something of a Nosferatu homeland after she was forced out of her native France. She worked at a free clinic in Whitechapel during the time of the Ripper Murders, even attending to the vampire women who would become victims of the Ripper.  It’s around this time that we have a few diary entries that illustrate her thoughts on vampires of the Dracula bloodline in particular, “My blood of the pure bloodline of Chandagnac might have healed Lily, might have washed out the taint of Dracula’s grave mold, might have made her whole again…” This statement was written after a failed attempt to heal a vampire child who died after failing to shapeshift into a bat. It illustrates this paternalism that Dieudonné had in spades, but also this separation she feels from others of her kind. A sense of superiority.  In letters to a minor government worker named Charles Beauregard, she refers to many of the Dracula bloodline, including the man himself as having “Child brains” and having odd quirks or fixations that she finds herself lacking.  I want to use a philosopher that the doctor probably would have appreciated, a French woman named Julia Kristeva. When the philosopher speaks about the abject as something separate from or cast off from the self. In this Dieudonné is the “self” and most other vampires are cast off for her to react to. In her essay, Approaching Abjection, Powers of Horror, she states this, “The corpse (or cadaver: cadre to fall), that which has become irremediably come a cropper, is cesspool, and death; it upsets even more violently the one who confronts it as fragile and fallacious chance.”  So, this leads me to believe that this is how Dieudonné saw the world of vampires. She fell within Kristeva’s framework of seeing these stupid, walking corpses and she couldn’t help but to think of herself as separate from them because of the circumstances of her turning.

But in this way, she could keep more aspects that make herself a whole person. The three original brides of Dracula remain nameless to this day, their personalities gone and replaced by animalistic bloodlust with broadly human traits. The only brides anyone can ascribe names to are Queen Victoria and Wilhemina Murray, who died young like many of Dracula’s bloodline. So, perhaps Dieudonné was right to see the world in this stark contrast between herself and other nosferatu. But setting herself apart like this, meant that she could not conform to either warm or vampire society without being purposefully set apart. Christina Santos described a similar phenomenon in her book, Unbecoming Female Monsters where she uses a fictional vampire named “Isabel” created by Carmen Boullosa for the novella of the same title. “Isable’s monstrosity is not because of her vampirism but more so because of her newfound sexual freedom-as a vampire she still appears human but her abnormal sexual freedom inherently demonizes her because of its opposition to the norm of female chastity and submissiveness.” However, in the real Dieudonné, her separation from society is in a different sort of bucking against the norms. She was a doctor, for starters for centuries, coming back to the same role over and over. Doctor and a detective. In one of her letters describing her life just before Dracula’s rise, she describes being a member of “les goules,” a group of medical students at the University of France studying in the morgue and learning how to perform autopsies for criminal investigations, an occupation that was seen as morbid and unfeminine even before her nature as a vampire was revealed to the college and to her fellow students who would later go on to dissect a vampire huckster De Coulteray. The same vampire who would out her as a member of the living dead to her classmates and would-be colleagues. This is all a long-winded way to say that her sexual independence was quite secondary to other forms of independence and breaking from traditional femininity that bucks up against society no matter which group she ran with.

-More to Come 11/23/2024

[ask-doctor-dimension]

DND Art! Had this one on the burner for a while!

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[cedargrovehq]

Hey guys can you list some most wanted characters? I'm thinking about joining but stuck on a muse to choose!

 finn, anakin skywalker, emperor palpatine, bail organa, bb-8, captain phasma, maz kanata, breha organa, & obi wan kenobi (star wars) cora, henry, lucy, hook, rumple, baelfire, gideon, zelena, snow white, peter pan, charming, hades, & august (once upon a time)  jasper, emmett, carlisle, jessica, aro, beau, edward, jacob, royal, archie, victoria, james, paul, caius, carine, leah, earnest, eleanor, & sam (life and death & twilight) james potter, sirius black, tom riddle, helga hufflepuff, queenie goldstein, marlene mckinnon, rodolphus lestrange, albus dumbledore, jacob kowalski, dorcas meadowes, peter pettigrew, bertha jorkins, lucinda talkalot, emma vanity, kendra dumbledore, petunia dursley, milicent bulstrode, hannah abbott, susan bones, seamus finnigan, dean thomas, daphne greengrass, lavender brown, rose granger-weasley, molly weasley ii, albus severus potter, bellatrix black, & vernon dursley (harry potter) mr. crocker, poof, chester mcbadbat, cosmo, the crimson chin, foop, a.j, mark chang, adam west, elmer, fracis, chip skylark, & jorgen von strangle (the fairyodd parents) tina cohen-chang, quinn fabray, shelby corcoran, noah puckerman, hunter clarington, kurt hummel, mercedes jones, ryder lynn, sugar mota, santana lopez, brittany pierce, artie abrams, sam evans, sue sylvester, emma pillsbury, unique adams, dani, & jane hayward !! (glee) doctor strange, ultron, jane foster, vision, odin, nova, sif, mantis, okoye, drax, cull obsidian, ebony maw, proxima midnight, frigga, cassy, erik selvig, harley keener, m'baku, laura barton, t’challa, wolverine, bucky barnes, ramonda, thanos, thor, iron man, clint barton, nick fury, star-lord, nebula, valkyrie, pepper potts, janes foster, maria hill, daisy johnson, wasp, mikasa ackerman, natasha romanoff, emma frost, scott summers, & jack rollins !! (marvel) lydia branwell, heidi mckenzie, kaelie, camille belcourt, cleophas graymark, dorothea rollins, maureen, morgan young, olivia wilson, gretel monro, rebecca lewsi, imogen herondale, iris rouse, elodie verlac, sebastian verlac, jonathan morgenstern, lucian graymark, will herondale, maryse lightwood, jordan kyle, emma carstairs, amatis herondale, alaric rodriguez, azazek, lorenzo rey, malachi dieudonne, brother enoch, brother jeremiah, cain, charlie cooper, raziel, rober lightwood, rufus, russell, leen, elias, elliot nourse, hodge starkweather, jeremy, joshue, taito, & victor aldertree !! (shadowhunters) zevon, lonnie, belle, adam, maleficent, doug, anxelin, ruby, ally, jordan, artie, celia, claudine, clay, desiree, ginny gothel, squeaky, squirmy, sleepy jr., & li shang jr. (descendants)  caroline, bonnie, stefan, isobel, damon, matt, enzo, jeremy, , tyler, lexi, vicki, jenna, anna, sybil, kol, elijah, freya, finn, marcel, esther, mikael, aurora, sophie, monique roman, vincent, dahlia, josephine, genevieve, agnes, jane-anne, mrs. claire, dorian, ryan clarke, malivore, dana, kaleb, jo laughlin, the necromancer, & rafael. (tvd/the originals/legacies) bow, flutterina, princess glimmer, princess frosta, light hope, princess mermista, princess perfuma, sea hawk, hordak, catra, princess scorpia, and shadow weaver ( she-ra ).  tommy & dill pickles, chucky finster, susie carmichael, and phil deville ( rugrats ).  daphne, sky, brandon, helia, timmy, riven, and stormy ( winx club ).   mojo jojo, professor utonium, brick, and butch ( powerpuff girls ).  aang katara sokka toph zuko, azula, firelord ozai, zhae, mai, suki, korra, asami, mako, and bolin ( avatar ). . steven unvierse, sadie miller, garnet, pearl, amethyst, greg universe, blue diamond, yellow diamond, yellow pearl, blue pearl, white diamond, white pearl, “rose quartz”, rhodonite, padparadscha, the rutile twins, fluorite, bismuth ( steven universe ). ralph, vanellope von schweetz, fix-it felix, yes, sergeant calhoun, shank’s crew ( fix it ralph  ).fred jonas,shaggy rogers, scooby doo (scooby doo)

[nerdasaurus1200]

Yes you right,i was joking Edward was just a joke

Good. Oh, another past Bat could be Genevieve Dieudonne. Did I spell that right?

[titleleaf]

I’m enjoying Sexual Anarchy very much so far and the jaundiced descriptions cited of the femme nouvelle remind me, in the best ways, of Genevieve Dieudonne. I really appreciate that out of all the AD characters who recur, it’s obvious that Newman loves Genevieve and Kate best.

[marginalutilite]

Closer, she saw the killer’s face in the moonlight. Doll-pretty, with an upturned nose and the faintest fading traces of freckles. She was frowning with concentration now but probably had a winning smile, perfect teeth. She should be a cheerleader, not an assassin. She wasn’t a vampire, but Geneviève knew she was no warm creampuff, either. She had killed a strong man twice her weight with a single thrust and was prepared for a charging nosferatu. Geneviève stood still, twenty yards from the girl. The killer produced her stake. It was stained. ‘Meet Simon Sharp,’ she said in a clear, casual voice. Geneviève found her flippancy terrifying. ‘You killed a man,’ Geneviève said, trying to get through to her, past the madness. ‘Not a man, a viper. One of you, undead vermin.’ ‘He was alive.’ ‘You’d snacked on him, Frenchie. He would have turned.’ ‘It doesn’t work like that.’ ‘That’s not what I hear, not what I know.’ From her icy eyes, this teenager was a fanatic. There could be no reasoning with her. Geneviève would have to take her down, hold her until the police got here. Whose side would the cops take? A vampire or a prom queen?... The girl smiled. She did look awfully cute. Geneviève knew the mad bitch could probably get away with it. At least once. She had the whole Tuesday Weld thing going for her. ‘You’ve been warned, not spared,’ said the girl. ‘My A plan was to skewer you on sight, but the Overlooker thinks this is better strategy. It’s some English kick, like cricket. Go figure.’ The Overlooker? ‘It’d be peachiest all around if you left the state, Frenchie. The country, even. Preferably, the planet. Next time we meet, it won’t be a warning. You’ll get a formal introduction to the stalwart Simon. Capisce?’ ‘Who are you?’ ‘The Slayer,’ said the girl, gesturing with her stake. ‘Barbie, the Vampire Slayer.’ Despite herself, despite everything, Geneviève had to laugh.

Genevieve Dieudonne versus Buffy--er, Barbie--in Anno Dracula:Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman

I just love these books so much. In the 70s-90s volume, there are cameos by Andy Warhol, Travis Bickle, Columbo, The Dude, Quentin Tarantino, Micky and Mallory, Count Orlok, Nico, Captain America, Francis Ford Coppola (making Apocalypse Now from Dracula rather than Heart of Darkness), Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Sid and Nancy, John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, Studio 54 itself and Steve Rubbell, Val Kilmer, L. Ron Hubbard--all slightly altered to fit a world where vampirism abounds. The cameos in the Fellini Italy 50s volume, the WWI volume (The Bloody Red Baron) and the Victorian volume are even better.

[stainlesssteellocust]

snerk

It’s a shame Anno Dracula is the way it is because Genevieve is genuinely great

Still, that’s what her alt-self from Warhammer Fantasy is for

[stainlesssteellocust]

This book is a trash fire but genevieve is fun

[stainlesssteellocust]

Genevieve just being like “lol your marriage is doomed to failure” like girl we know, but did you really have to come for him like that

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wait

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Drachenfels is like “what if Kim Newman used his powers for good instead of evil”

[stainlesssteellocust]

ily gene, this book would have been so good if it was good

[stainlesssteellocust]

I’ll give you this Kimmy my man, at least your girls don’t Boob Boobily

[ask-doctor-dimension]

More DND art! The most recent version of my elven cleric, Genevieve! Borrowed a few design elements, from her original Great War designs, to a bit of Princess Zelda and SAMU uniform features! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Home . Mod . Commissions .